Commuter Update

Whirlwind update here...I'm living with Marie for now, and though the commute is obnoxious, the whole roommate thing is working out very well. (Knock on wood.) She said to me Wednesday night, "You know, I never thought I'd do well with a roommate." Having done badly with some myself at Keene, I explained that you have to have the right roommate; it helps to have one whose OCD is similar to yours, and who doesn't get worked up about small stuff.

The drive to Sunderland is an hour, the drive to UMass an hour and ten, but I'm getting used to it already. I have days' worth of music on my iPod, and there's something therapeutic about just driving and singing, especially in nice weather like we're having today.

Bdubs has been giving me all crap shifts, but fortunately I've picked up some good ones from people who want days off, so it evens out. I worked last night, and if I've talked to you in person, you know that story. Anyway, I was the closer, and the dining room was done by 11:00. I then stood around and watched Heath work like crazy in the bar for the rest of the night, and tried to look busy when the manager came around. I did all right in tips, not great. I broke my record for lowest tip ever: 12 cents. And it wasn't that she tossed her change on the table, either; she actually wrote out ".12" on her credit card slip. Her bill was only $3-change, but still, what is wrong with people?

Return Trip

I'm back early from Virginia. I was supposed to stay through the weekend, and don't get me wrong, I would have loved to...but Tuesday night we went out with Alex's friends for St. Patty's Day and got drunk, and Wendesday morning we got in a fight. Normally I can put up with a lot, but since I had gone down there in the first place to escape some local drama and bullshit, I couldn't handle any more. When she went to pick up her brother at the airport, I wrote her a letter, packed my suitcase, and left.

Since I had nowhere to be, I stopped less than an hour north of Roanoke to see one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World: Natural Bridge. I took a bunch of pictures that I have yet to take off my camera, but you know the drill: I'll post when I do. The walk was really nice, and I did my best to enjoy the beautiful summer weather before heading back up north.

The drive home was not quite as uneventful as the drive down, though nothing terrible happened. I got stuck in two hours worth of stop-and-go from route 66 in Virginia to the 495 beltway in Maryland into I-95. By the time I reached the outskirts of Philadelphia, the sun was down, and it was pitch dark when I pulled off the highway. My cell phone was dead, so I called mom from a pay phone in what seemed to the sketchiest district of Philly I could possibly have found. I explained why I was on my home, and she told me to get a hotel for the night if I was too tired.

Not tired yet, I got dinner at McD's (after having had lunch at the same) and got back on the road. In New Jersey I started looking for a hotel, but somehow I ended up over the bay and lost in Manhattan. Well, I can say I've been to New York now! After recovering from that, I wandered around for a while in Secaucus, then got back on the turnpike. I was really getting tired when I hit Stamford, Connecticut, but after getting lost there too, couldn't find a hotel less than $180. Back on the turnpike.

I finally found a Motel 6 somewhere just south of the Massachusetts border off of I-91 and crashed at about 1:30 in the morning. I finished the drive to mom's house the next day, and that's where I still am. I still have not caught up on the reading I that I swore I'd do. Some of drama has finally cooled off, due mostly to various people studiously ignoring each other. I'm moving in with Marie tomorrow, returning to work on Monday and school on Tuesday. It'll be one hell of an obnoxious commute from her place to the corner of Massachusetts where most of my life is, but I'll survive. The worst part will be the times I get out of work at 2am...

Solo Road Trip

Hm. I have posted absolutely nothing of what's actually been going on lately. I think for the most I'll keep it that way...but the result of the drama is that I'm not going to Atlantic City with Craig for spring break. We were supposed to leave this morning. Instead, I left by myself and went to Virginia to visit Alex. Eleven hours of driving by myself was certainly not my ideal way to spend a day, but it actually wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been. There's something therapeutic about just sailing along by yourself, listening to whatever music you want, singing if you want, and stopping where and when you want.

Of course, being me, I did manage to get a bit lost in New York, but with the help of mom and Google Maps I got out again and the rest of the trip went fine. I skipped Pennsylvania entirely, which was a large part of my original route, but I found a good way to get here and it worked out. I called Alex from the city of Roanoke, and she came and found me and we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Alejandro's. They had something I've never seen before but am a huge fan of: a salsa bar. They set a basket of chips on the table and you go get whatever types of salsa you want to go with it. I'm a salsa whore - it was a little piece of food heaven for me.

Thinking about it now is making me hungry again. Damn.

Alex has class all day tomorrow, so I'm going to hang out in her apartment and get as much school catchup work done as I can. Having recently failed two exams, I've got plenty to work on. But first, I sleep in, since I went to sleep at 2:30 this morning, was woken again at 4am, and then again at 6:30, and have been up since then. I just wish I had some way to work the kinks out of my neck and back that came from all the driving.

Oh, and in other wonderful news: my car needs a new engine. When it rains, it pours, right?

Wednesday Weirdness

1. What makes a person sexy to you?

It's all in the personality...and even though it's technically a physical thing, I include someone's smile as part of their personality. A good smile generally means a good sense of humor.

2. When having the 'number of sex partners' talk with a potential significant other, would you be turned off if they had slept with more than a certain number of people? If yes, what is that number?

Ha. Haha. Ha. NO. I have no number.

3. Once and for all, pocketbook sized dogs and the people who carry them in pocketbooks. Cute or crazy?

CRAZY! Anything small enough to fly when kicked is too damn small. And why would you want to carry something in your purse that might shit in said purse?

4. Do you give up anything for Lent? If so, what?

If I was religious in the least I might have an answer.

Wednesday Weirdness #46

Looky Here...

...it's me! Well, not in the picture, but quoted in the article about the UMass Juggling Club.

There are two more pictures that Craig managed to dig up, as well:



This one's too wide for the page:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh276/keskipper/2317640623.jpg

(For anyone wondering, I'm swinging poi.)

Fangs/Wednesday Weirdness

Tuesday and Wednesday - most of you know by now that means Haven and Wednesday Weirdness. Marie came down last night to join us at Haven, finally! I don't see that girl enough...moving sucks sometimes. I haven't seen Snaric in about two months either.

Anyway, Marie, Craig and I went to dinner at Bdubs, so Marie could see where I'm working. Abel was cut just as we got there, so after he finished his sidework he came and joined us, and the four of us hung out for a while. Then he went home, and the three of us got gothed up and headed for NoHo.

Marie finally gave in to the call of RJ's handmade vampire fangs, and I kept her company while she sat in the spotlight and had them made. They came out looking really nice - I'll post pictures later. I made the mistake of following my spicy buffalo wings with a Long Island Ice Tea and then shaking up the whole mix on the dance floor. I didn't get drunk, and nothing terrible happened, but my stomach wasn't happy with me. I'd like to think I won't do that again.

Now for Wednesday Weirdness (some questions removed to keep this blog PG)...

1. What is one thing one of your closest friends does that drives you batshit crazy?

Marie worries way too much. I had to convince her last week that going out to look for Matt in a snowstorm because he had stopped answering texts was a bad idea.

3. If you woke up the opposite gender for one day, what would be the biggest downside to that for you?

Having my wardrobe be suddenly so limited. A girl can wear pretty much whatever she wants and be accepted...a guy, not so much. Then again, I might put on eyeliner just to see what would happen.

4. Do you use curse words in front of children?

I'm not around children all that much. If I'm sitting near one in a restaurant, I still curse, but I try to make sure they don't hear me.

5. If you were zapped with a laser and turned into an animated character, what Disney movie would you hate to play a part in?

Finding Nemo. Too much water!

7. What are three things you want to try doing but haven't yet?

a) racing cars

b) writing a computer game, concept to graphics to code

c) snowboarding the half-pipe

Brought to you by Wednesday Weirdness.