The week in (p)review

Ah, spring break. 2 weeks at home, with almost nothing to do. And if one more person asks me "What are you doing home?" as if it's a crime I'm not in Cancun getting blacked out and catching syphilis, well, my responses are going to become very angry. At the least. So, you know, consider yourselves warned.

Break started last Tuesday (the 14th) after an amazing econ final. You know, the kind when the test starts at 8 and you wake up at 8:25 and then can't find the room you're supposed to be in. So basically it was awesome. It wasn't too bad though, cause it wouldn't have taken the whole 3 hours for me to figure out I couldn't answer half the questions, so really I just saved myself some time and got some extra sleep, which, in the end, was pretty nice.

So let's see... got home that night, uhhh... slept. Wednesday? Don't really remember it. I did something though, I'm pretty sure. Thursday, I had my follow up appointment with the rheumatologist, Dr. Leff. He told me I don't have lupus, which is nice. The results came back like 6 weeks ago, and I kind of figured he would have called me if they were positive, so I wasn't exactly anxious to hear the news. So I showed him my brace and he said it was a good one to have. I said it was uncomfortable and he said "Yeah, I know." And I said "OK." And I payed my $10 copay and left. Oh, before that, I went to the bank to deposit my checks. Which reminds me, why does the bank continue to send me statements when I have like $7 in my checking account. I mean, I'm really well aware of it and I don't need any reminders, thank you. Besides, it costs them, between the envelope, the postage, the statement, and labor putting those things together, like $1 to make sure I'm aware of the situation. I guess then, it's kind of my way of sticking it to the man. You know, that man. I may have no money, but banks are gonna go broke telling me that.

Anyway, after all that, George, Sheena, Doug, Joey, and Heather came over. I made everyone uncomfortable by putting Requiem for a Dream on. But then, after Sheena left, totally confused as to what was going on, the movie ended and we watched the Game Show Network. Heather's right, the X's on the old Family Feud are much cooler than the new ones. The hosts were a little creepy, though. I'll take Al "The Flannel" Man Borlin over guys that make out with grandmas any day. Speaking of Al, I watched Home Improvement today, and it was even better than I remembered. Those sweaters the boys had to wear - absolutely priceless.

So then I took Doug and Heather home and pretty much got a tour of Sullivan Country (Kyle and Ryan will know that wasn't a typo). It was nice to get out, though, and after a few days, I was back home.

Friday, I met Megan at Port Java, and continued to be amazed. Since it's been there, I've been home 3 times. I've gone to Port Java all three times, which were all with Meg, who got a vanilla latte all (I think) 3 times. And, all 3 times, I saw my old bus driver, Stan. Stan, to my knowledge, does not have a last name, but he's a nice guy. If you see him, say hello. He'll say it back. If you're doing something kind of dangerous, he'll also let you know about that. "It's not safe!" ...is what he'll say.

Then, I went and visited Kyle's mom. That was nice. I hadn't seen her in awhile. Then I went home.

THEN, at like 10, Molly came over cause it was almost my birthday, and she had to bring me coloring books. We colored for like 5 minutes and decided we didn't want to color anymore, so we watched a movie. Then it was midnight and Molly said "Happy Birthday!" and I said "Thanks Molly!" Then we fell asleep. Then we woke up and George Clooney was running over some bad guys in this pretty cool movie The Peacemaker. Then it was late, and Molly had to go home. I said "Bye Molly!" and she said "Bye John" and she drove away, and then I went to sleep.

By this time, it was, of course Saturday. I don't remember much of Saturday, except at 5 Chris Farlekas and my sister's boyfriend, also John (he's an awesome dude) came over for dinner. Chris took some pictures of me with my bike for the article he's gonna write, but we need to take some more (which we'll do tomorrow). Dinner was great, and then my parents gave me a guitar!!! I was so surprised... I really didn't expect that at all. All I asked for was some help, when it came time, with money for Bike and Build, if I didn't have enough for the stuff I needed, or I was short of that $4000 I still need to raise (donations?). So yeah, it was a really great surprise. Give me a few years, and ask me how it's going. After playing a few songs with my UGA in the fall, I determined that I'd learn guitar before graduation. Now I can get started! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Sunday, I went up with my dad to my uncle's house cause there was some wood there that he said we could have. So we went up and saw some pictures my uncle took (he's a photographer) on his trip to Southeast Asia. Some of them were amazing, but I thought "Man, I could totally take pictures like this," and so I felt kind of inspired. He's retired from his real job (some manager of something somewhere) but he goes to shows and sells his pictures, and sometimes makes pretty good money. Interesting...
So then we got the wood and went home, and I don't remember the rest of Sunday.

Monday I watched the Price is Right with my mom. She makes fun of me cause it's one of my favorite shows, but she knows she loves it too. The commercials - all for diabetes, osteoporosis, viagara, and Medicare stuff - are the best part. Except for when people say "One dollar Bob!" I love that!

Then I went to the high school, which was better than last time cause I was only there a couple of hours. I finally saw Fredo, and we had a nice chat. I hadn't seen her since last June, I think. Then I saw Lamberg, and we had our usual exciting political debate. She'll never let me win. Then I saw Santos, and asked him how the show was going. He said good, but he had no help. So I said I could be available Saturday and Sunday if he really needed someone. As it turns out, that's extremely convenient for him, because someone who signed up for stage crew ended up not being available those 2 days. So yeah, I'm doing stage crew Sat. and Sun. I was gonna be there Saturday anyway cause it seems 95% of the people that are coming home for the show are going then, and of course I want to see them, so it really works out. Then I saw Mrs. Dinan and talked to her for a little while. She's such a sweet woman, and is one of the biggest reasons I miss the high school. I also saw most of the people in the show, which was nice but also weird. To them, the show is a huge thing, just like the other ones they've done. To me... it's foreign and strange. But anyway, it was good to see everybody. Except Molly, who called me a loser for being there. I know Molly, but you didn't have to announce it to the world. Whatevs.

Tuesday, I went back to the HS briefly to make sure Santos actually needed me. He said yeah, but he wanted me to rehearse sometime. I said I'd be available Wednesday, but I might be a little out of it cause I thought I was getting wisdom teeth pulled that morning. He asked how many, I said 3, and he said that there was no way I'd be able to rehearse then (I think cause of the effects of novacaine more than anything else). So then I said I'd call him and let him know if I actually got teeth pulled, and again later on if I did, to let him know if I'd be able to make it in. Flash forward to Wednesday at the dentist:

So the surgeon comes in, looks at the X-Rays, and asks if I'll be home for a few weeks. Not a good sign. So I tell him I'm going back next Tuesday, but I'd rather he pulled them today cause I'll only be home for a week in June before my biking trip, and I don't really want to wait until August if things will get worse. He says he's gonna be a tough job cause of the way the teeth are coming in, but it doesn't make a difference if we wait, and he'd rather I was home for at least 2 weeks after just in case I need to go back in. So, I was able to go to the rehearsal no problem, and I have an awesome day in August to look forward to. Who invented wisdom teeth anyway? Back to Tuesday:

So after that, I go to Hess' to say hey to Megan Schmitz, who is working like every day this week. She came around the counter to talk to me (thanks Megan!) and we had a nice talk about nothing in particular. Then I went home.

That night, my mom and I started watching Man on Fire. We finished it today. It's such a great movie... but really tough. But also good. But tough.

So Wednesday, I went to the dentist and then grocery shopping with my mom, and then home. And then I had to go to rehearsal (aka Parents' Night) and didn't really do much, cause all I had to do was shadow the tech person I'm replacing, and she doesn't have many responsibilities. So basically, I figured things out and then watched the show from the wings (great job guys) and apparently snuck up on Molly a lot. But Molly, you don't hear me because 1, I'm a ninja, and 2, because you're wearing and talking into a headset so you can't really observe what's going on around you. If you did that, you'd be a bad AD/Stage Manager, but since you're a good AD/SM, I sneak up on you. See?

Today my mom and I (wow, we're really hanging out a lot) took my cat to the vet. That was an adventure, cause he escaped, but then we got him back, and then it wasn't really an adventure anymore. There was a little puppy at the vet's, which was adorable. But not for long, cause it was a Rotty and in about 3 months will weigh more than me and eat small children. But for now, you know, he was funny.

Then, as I mentioned, my mom and I finished watching Man on Fire. And then some hours went by, and Karuss and I went to G-Mart to get some spaghetti cause my mom forget to get it when she bought the stuff for meatballs. Then Karuss and I went for a walk in the woods, which was nice cause I hadn't done that since I've been home, and I don't think Karuss has seen the hill without snow on it, and her only memory is getting pushed off by Ryan and then saved by George. What a nice guy, that George. I can't really recall what I did after that, but I know I ate at some point and then started writing this blog, which leads to now.

Tomorrow is the show! I'm going with my parents and Chris and hopefully also John and Kate Hoover from DV. I'm meeting Chris earlier so we can work on that article, which hopefully will inspire people to donate money to Bike & Build and get me closer to my goal of $4000. The evening, with dinner at Homer's before the show, should be splendid. Saturday, I'm going to visit Pete and Eva because I haven't done that since September, and then I'm probably splitting wood with my dad before going to the show that night and flying some stuff in and out (yeah, that's basically all I do) and then seeing everyone that's home. And then the show on Sunday... then there's Monday, and I go back to Dartmouth at around 12 on Tuesday. Yayyy.

Wow. So I hope that makes up for having almost no new entries over the past few days, though I was hoping more people would comment on Dubai and the UN. Or after what I wrote was there nothing left to say? Yeah, that was probably it. More than anything, I hope this entry pleases Jesse, who has become my Blog Police, and doesn't hesitate to vocalize his disapproval over the lack/poor quality of blog entries. Is this acceptable Mr. Kalin? I hope so. You probably didn't even make it all the way through, like most people. Anyone?

Anyone?