4 posts tagged “outing”
Jon's family and I were riding to a fireworks display (which we decided not to attend because the weather was horrible -- we called it "thunderworks" instead of fireworks) and we got bored on the way there. We started listening to random radio stations and as we were listening to a bunch of different bands and songs (we were going all over the place musically: pop, rock, "alternative", and Jon's mom even tried to put bluegrass on the radio), and eventually, out of boredom, I asked this question to Jon and Sean: if you could take any song and have it played by another artist, what would it be?
We came up with some really messed up combinations (sometimes on purpose, sometimes accidentally), but some of them were actually good. Here are a few from our "good" list.
- Korn performs "Youth of the Nation" by P.O.D. (my idea)
- Amy Winehouse performs "I'm Not Okay (I promise)" by My Chemical Romance (Jon's idea)
- System of a Down performs "Cherry Pie" by Warrant (Sean's idea)
- Carrie Underwood performs "Drops of Jupiter" by Train (Jon's idea)
- Linkin Park performs "Time and Time Again" by Chronic Future (Jon's idea)
- Christina Aguilera performs "Famous Last Words" by My Chemical Romance (my idea)
- Green Day performs "Sillyworld" by Stone Sour (Jon's idea)
- Tool performs "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode (my idea)
- Eminem performs "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurhythmics (my idea)
- Dragonforce performs "Barracuda" by Heart (Jon's idea)
What about you guys? Come on! Throw the funniest ones you can at me (well, us). Seriously.
On Friday, Jon and I got a look at the place we were staying for the next four years of our lives. We met people who could eventually become our friends, we met people I think I can say will be friends to both of us, and we both met our professors (who, are different for each of us, since we are taking entirely different classes). There are a few things that still stick out in my mind about the entire trip...
...the food poisoning I got from some nachos have knocked out some of the memories, but the most important ones have stayed.
We left around 10:45 on Friday, hoping to get there by 12. It was Jon, Jon's mother, Jon's aunt, and Jon's little brother, Sean -- all of us in the car, ready to go. I wanted to go with my parents, but frankly, both of them were kind of apathetic. Work was more important to them, so I didn't push it. On top of that, I'm going to be alone there, so I might as well get used to it. Jon's family is pretty quiet, but his Dad's got the best sense of humor on the face of the planet.
Ms. Shirley (Jon's Mom) apparently has a really hard time with directions, so Mr. John (Jon's dad, shockingly enough) lent her his GPS-direction-giving-thinamabob for the trip. He has the voice set to that of Mr. T, so we were constantly called "fools" during the trip. It was special, and I couldn't stop laughing for the first 20 minutes of the trip.
When we got there, we were too late for lunch and had to get to the introductions of everything immediately. I was really genuinely moved by the speech of the Vice President of the school, who really emphasized the importance of growing as a person while you're in college, and not just 'learning'. I looked over at Jon, who said nothing, but I could tell that something was getting through to him.
After the speeches, all students had to go to different rooms for foreign language proficiency testing. Even though I took three different languages in high school, I picked Spanish simply because I thought I could score the highest on it. Jon took two languages: Spanish and Latin. I recommended that he take Spanish, but he opted for Latin since he was the least removed from that subject.
While walking to the building for our test, I think I earned the ire and hatred of every freshman in the group when the student guide asked us only one question: "Anyone have any questions about the test?"
"Can we take more than one? Like, if we're done early, can we just go to, let's say, the French exam and do that?"
Apparently, the kids thought I was a sucker for punishment, or insane. I did manage to make one friend, though: Veronica, whom I believe is either a fellow language/ed. major, or a psychology major (I can't remember which..we talked about everything).
When we got into the room, I was absolutely stunned by the immaturity of the people there. Lots of swearing, loud talking, and flat-out rudeness to the proctor of the test, who had to restart the listening section of the exam due to an excess of talking from students. I'm not kidding.
I realized why these kids were being so rude: they had no concept whatsoever of the importance of college.
I was always taught (whether or not this is true, I do not know) that "money makes manners", and let me say this: that room proved it dead wrong. These kids for the most part came from very privileged families, and they acted like it -- completely aloof, rude, disrespectful, and apathetic towards how much of an investment going to a college is. The figure for that college is about 31-35 thousand dollars a year, and I don't know about you, but my family doesn't have that kind of money just laying around. I know how lucky I am to be there, and these kids just didn't. They were too focused on their clothing, their cell phones, and their shallow view of the world around them. I know how mean that sounds, but trust me, there is no other excuse for the way they acted, unless they were complete idiots (which is entirely possible).
The test...was unbelievably easy. It was entirely multiple choice (which I did not think they would do), and the speakers on the listening section went at about a third of the speed of the speaking sections I had to listen to for my two years of AP Spanish in high school. Most of the kids in there seemed absolutely drained by it, and angry that I was very excited about it. Most of them probably weren't double majors in two different languages, though.
However, what made me the happiest was the fact that the professor administering the test recognized me, and was happy to see me. There's something very exciting about that.
After the test, I had an interview with the members of the LOFT housing (LOFT is an acronym for "Lifestyles of Opportunity, Friendship, and Temperance) for students interested in living in the LOFT building. LOFT is for students who do not smoke, drink, or do illicit drugs -- lest they lose their scholarships. Since I live in a community and went to a school dedicated to smoking, drinking, and drugs, and I want to get as far away from it as possible, I immediately signed on for it. I got to the interview 20 minutes early, which was fantastic. First of all, I got to see Jon and touch base with him -- I get so nervous when I'm in a new place full of a lot of people, so having him around was a blessing, and since the girl who was supposed to go at the 4:00 slot wasn't there, I got to be interviewed by her would be interviewers -- and it was great.
There were two of them: a girl named Jess, with dark hair and glasses, and a guy named Taylor, who had some of the most blond hair I've ever seen. I got along with them from the get-go, and it was fantastic. Five minutes into the would-be 20 minute interview, Taylor looked at me and said "Just so you know, you're pretty much in." We spent the rest of the time talking about possible trips, our interests, and just basic things about the program.
Jess: So, what are you majoring in?
Me: I'm trying for a double major: Spanish and French.
Jess: ...
Taylor: French?
Me: I took a year of it in high school and fell in love with it.
Taylor: I love you, so much right now.
Jess: Yeah, Taylor's in love with anything from France.
Me: *laughing*
Jess: What do you want to do with that?
Me: Honestly? Teach.
*Jess and Taylor both look at me, apparently anticipating my workload*
Jess: Good LUCK.
What got me in were my answers to these questions:
Taylor: OK, back to what we're supposed to be doing... *looks at Jess* we have to ask her some questions.
Jess: Alright. "What unique characteristics can you bring to the LOFT community?"
Me: *knowing that they have the same sense of humor as I do* Uhmm...I write plays with crossdressing in them, I like music, and I can tell you the pitches of car horns.
*both are laughing*
Me: Oh, and I can cook a mean quesadilla.
Jess: OH MY GOD I LOVE QUESADILLAS.
Me: Me too...
Jess: We had a girl in LOFT who worked at Chick-Fil-A, and we got stuff from there all the time...
Me: My high school has connections to Chick-fil-a, almost everything we did had free food from there in it.
Jess: ...oh my god.
Taylor: Yeah, but she was REALLY SERIOUS about that place...like if you called it "fast food", she got ticked off and went on a rant. She said it wasn't fast food, it was "sit-in dining"...
Me: Yeah...it's such great dining, it's done in three minutes or less!
Taylor: *laughing* Okay, one more question. Why do you want to be in LOFT? What can you bring to us, seriously?
Me: Honestly...I don't want anything to derail me. This is the first time...I've ever been far away from home, and...not to sound rude...
*Taylor and Jess start to look serious*
Me: But from what I've seen, a lot of the kids going to this school are very privileged, which is fine, but it seems like they just have no concept of money. I understand this and I appreciate this opportunity for what it is right now...and I don't think many people here can say that. I want to do as much as I can, and I want to do well because I know how much it's worth.
Taylor was floored. "FINALLY. SOMEONE WHO GETS IT." He lamented, "I got some many federal grants and things, and so many kids here, it's like they have no clue how much it really costs to go here..."
Jess continued: "Yeah. We'll tell you if you're in in August. So you know: you probably, pretty much, definitely are."
I also offered to help with the committees to plan trips out to places...so I'm already "involved", in a way, which makes me happy.
After the interviews, Jon and I both had to go to a thing called "The Pact", which, as I thought it would be, was about a book (the title of the thing we had to do next was in italics, so I figured it had to be a book). We talked with Dr. MacFadden about the Freshman Seminar class (it's required...think of homeroom in high school, but it's a full class) and what to expect from it. In there, I managed to make a "friend", of sorts, based on my love of music and theater.
His name is Jedd...and while I definitely do not discriminate, if this guy was not gay, I'll be stunned. He was singing (and he had an amazing voice), and mentioned that it was from "Les Miserables". When I said I had never seen "Les Mis", he put his hand over his chest and gasped. When he mentioned later in the day that he had a girlfriend, I was pretty sure he was lying. Jedd's a little different though, insomuch that he seems a bit competitive with other music/theater people. When I mentioned to him that I had perfect pitch (I told him that I constantly got "abused" as the choir tuning fork in high school, and sought to explain the reference), he got a little...defensive. I was wondering what it was that I said, but hey, you can't please everyone. Maybe he'll get along with me better if we talk more.
After getting our books, Jon and I headed to dinner, where we were invited to talk with other members of LOFT (which made me realize that he and I are pretty sure bets for getting in). I was just really happy that we seem to have found our niche amongst people in the community. A lot of the people in the freshman seminar group were very rude to us because of where we were from, and frankly, they weren't exactly the most well-spoken of people...which, honestly, made them sound extremely...non-bright. We got into a 20-minute argument about the correct pronunciation of 'caramel': I (along with many of the ofter LOFT kids) said that it is three syllables; Jon says it's only two. Most of the people there were either language dorks or math dorks (seriously), so we were definitely in the right place.
At the end of the evening, we went to the other side of the campus (via a really really cool underground road for pedestrians that's beneath the highway) to see a comedian who was coming in. Both of us were expecting this guy to suck (since it was college entertainment), but he was really GREAT. I was very happy I went because as well as being a comedian, the guy was also a motivational speaker (who used his routines to help people), and what he said to me made me feel so much better about what I had been telling Jon: Find what you love, and do it.
I've realized it takes a lot of nerve, especially now, to say that with conviction. Think about that: find what you love, and do it. I believed (and continue to believe) that since I live in a great country and I am at the age where I can choose to learn about something and use that for the rest of my life, that I am going to find something I like, and do what I have to do to make it work. Jon always shot me down when I said that (intentionally or otherwise), but after hearing Mister Ester talk about it, he seemed to believe it as well...which means more than I can explain. If you ever read this, sir, thank you -- very, very much.
After that, we had an ice-breaking activity with the freshman class. Now, I enjoy socializing, but I can't do it when you're pretty much forcing me to do it...so this was just hell on earth for me. When we entered the gymnasium, we were given a white T-shirt, and a marker. We were told to get into a group with people who had the same colored marker, and have them sign our shirt...then afterwards, we were doing the same thing with the entire freshman class.
It turned into an orgy, basically. People touching each other in places, doing it quickly and dirtily, almost. I politely requested that no guys touch the front of my shirt, since I really didn't want any guy (well, maybe other than Jon) touching anywhere near my chest.
I found Jon and signed on his (out of fun), and when I tried to talk to him...guess what happened? HE GOT ATTACKED BY FIVE GIRLS AT ONCE. It was one of the weirdest things EVER. Thankfully, I'm not the jealous type, and just got a laugh out of the fact that he was having a pretty good time with it. Although I did have to ask one question:
"Uhm, why do you have pink writing on your chest?"
"Someone signed it...obviously."
"Yeah, but why the...boob area.."
"I don't know, and the weird thing is...it was a guy. Oh, and I have NO IDEA what it says."
When we went back to the main campus, we sat and talked about everything we had taken in that day: the beauty of the campus (it really is stunning - especially at night), the people we've met, the expectations...and I started to tell him something I had never told anyone:
Me: I'm just happy that I made friends today...I can never talk to anyone, it seems...
Jon: Yeah, me too.
Me: I mean, I feel like...I think differently, I take things in differently...I mean, even when I have friends, sometimes I feel like I'm still an outsider, even though I'm in the group...do you understand that?
Jon: Yeah, I do, actually...
Me: I mean, you're charming, but I don't feel like I ever have any positive social traits, even though people seem to get along with me...what do you think?
Jon: Positive social traits you have...hrm. Well, you are kind of abrasive...sometimes, you just say things the WRONG way. I know the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but man do you say some messed up things.
Me: ...look, it's late. I gotta go to bed.
Jon: WHAT.
Not what I wanted, or needed to hear...especially since I was really telling him something that made me feel unbelievably vulnerable. I was almost to the point of tears, so I just got up and left. He followed me, asking what was wrong, but I said nothing to him. I was blank; past anger, past sadness, and in fact while I was walking I wasn't even thinking about it. Eventually, we made up, but it just hurts a lot, and still does: I feel like he judges everything I say now, and that I cannot trust him to see me entirely as I am. I'm still censoring myself around him now...it's definitely a step backwards. We'll get past it in time, I hope.
The next day, we signed up for classes and found out how we scored on our proficiency tests. Remember when I said that the kids in the testing room were complete jackasses? Well, they can kiss my butt: I scored out of both elementary and intermediate Spanish, which means not only am I starting at a 300-level class, assuming I pass that class (and I will), I will have half of a minor done, and I have saved myself over 5000 dollars in classes.
...which is good, since apparently, I will have to take classes over the summer which will total the same amount of money. It's the cost of a double major, and I'm fine with it -- I'll take out the loan and do it.
I met my Freshman Seminar professor, Dr. Long, and I can already tell he's a sweet man -- very charming, soft-spoken, and he already likes me because I mentioned that I really wanted to get involved in music after I adjusted to the workload (he's the head of the music department).
I almost didn't want to go home, but on our last day there, I woke up very very early, got dressed, and decided to go for a walk outside. I looked up at the sun rising over the mountains, listened to the birds singing, heard the church bells chime...and something in my heart just knew that no matter how hard it was going to be, I was supposed to be here, and that everything was going to work out. I believe that what happens, will happen, and that maybe, just maybe, all of my trials over the last year were all in preparation for this, an academic crucible, a social maze, and quite possibly, the best experience I will have in my young life so far.
That sounded overly idealized, and I don't care. I meant every word. I can't wait for August.
Jon and I went out to the mall yesterday, which was a definite welcome change to our usual schedule. After that long talk we had, you'd think it would get much easier in terms of our relationship. In some ways, I think we've both become more understanding of one another, but darn if it didn't make some things even more frustrating...
We were talking on the phone on Friday, and Jon mentioned that he wouldn't be opposed to going out somewhere on Saturday, maybe to the mall or to the movies. I had a little bit of money, so did he, and even though it wouldn't be a "grand night out", sometimes it's just nice to get out and get some air. On top of that, I think we both need to learn to socialize...I think once I get out of the house and into the "real world", I'm going to be hit with such a shock I may never recover!
Fast forward to Saturday, circa 4 PM. I'm dressed, ready to go, and waiting for Jon to message me at any minute -- we usually leave around 5 PM. Well, the good news is that instead of messaging me, Jon calls me (!) -- to tell me that we can't go today. I was so upset that I told him flat-out that I didn't want to talk to him or see him for a while. Thankfully, I was able to get in touch with Liz, and she managed to calm me down. We watched movies, ordered pizza (which I should not have done -- it was a waste of money), and just ranted. She agreed that after all of the emotions and difficulties we had gone through a few days before, now was not the time to ditch me at the last second. Jon has this tendency to do that, and it's one of the reasons why I felt so lonely and hurt very frequently.
Then I realized something that, until we had that argument, I wouldn't have understood before: Jon's friends were/are not exactly what I would call the most social of people -- most of the things they do would just level other people. Because of that, Jon's just used to things like, let's say, canceling dates at the last second, changing plans entirely, not calling people, and what have you. He's just used to it. He doesn't know that it's not what you do with people you're dating! So, I eventually messaged him again and explained to him exactly why I was so upset -- and guess what? I was right; he didn't know that it upset me! And when he realized it and understood why, he was so receptive. We rescheduled our date to Monday, and that was all there was to it.
Fast forward again to Monday. Jon told me to be ready around 12 to 1 -- we didn't leave until around 2! Not his fault, but really...it's one of my biggest pet peeves. If someone tells me that we're going out at such-and-such a time, then I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that I'm ready to leave at that time -- and I expect the other person to keep up their end of the deal! I've been told that I'm a "Type-A" personality, and that's the only point I really agree with: urgency.
Regardless, we went out and we had a nice time. I'm not a big fan of malls, but it's a place to go. We have a pretty democratic way of "shopping" (mostly window shopping): I pick a store and we both go in, then he picks one, and so on. If there's a place that one of us just won't go into (e.g: Jon won't go into Bath and Body Works), then the other person can go to one of their choice at the same time. We went into Suncoast first (my choice) and looked around at movies. I'd been wanting to buy the movie "The Big Lebowski" for a while now, and they had it -- but I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy it -- I had only wanted to see it based on what I read, and if I didn't like it, well...I was stuck with it. So, we opted to go to his choice instead: GameStop.
I'm not a big gaming person, but every once in a while, I'll pick up a game or two to play on my old school GameBoy. I also wanted to look at how much the DS was going for, so that way I could see exactly how much I was going to wind up spending to indulge my terrible, terrible habit (if you've read my entries, you already know what it is). We had fun in there:
The store had a lot of consoles set up so customers could demo games. They had the DS, the PS3, and then two more whose situations just made me laugh. I saw the demo console for the WII right next to the PS3. Everything looks great, but there's one detail that just doesn't make any sense: there's a sign on it that reads "All customers who wish to demo the WII must have a valid ID, or a guardian with a valid ID. Thank you." If someone could explain to me why you need an ID to play a video game, I'd appreciate it.Me: Jon, I found a game you'd like.
Jon: Really? *sees it* ...I hate you.
Me: Come on! You know you wanna play "Cabbage Patch Kids: Where's my Pony".
Jon: Just no. This is something I'd like, even though I have most of these. *looking at a box set of the "Civilization" games*
Me: *thinking: he's gonna drop that.*
Jon: *drops it on the ground extremely loudly, with the separate cases going everywhere* ...crap.
Me: *helps him clean it up* ...I knew you were going to do that.
Jon: Me too.
The other one was just sad. At the console next to me, there was a line of guys in their late teens to their early twenties. Jon, realizing what was happening, ran over to jump in line. I looked over and realized what it was: Guitar Hero. Oh God. It was just pathetic. A line of guys, clearly too old to be that interested in a game, talking about the game like gossipy little girls. I actually took pictures of the whole scene just so I would have proof that it happened.
We went to lunch afterwards. I was in the mood for Chick-fil-A, and so we went into the restaurant that was set up in the mall and had a nice lunch. Well, correction: a FANTASTIC lunch. Sometimes you're just in a mood for something, and I was in the mood for a sandwich form there. It just hit the spot so well.
I hadn't eaten something really good in a while, so the next place we went was a candy store. Maybe I'm just weird, but there's something about seeing things organized into color order and seeing them side by side that makes me happy. For example, I used to make beads with some kind of bead maker thing when I was a kid. I loved getting a box with different sections and putting the ones of the same shape and color all together, and doing the same with each kind. Seeing them together just made me happy. Well, this candy store has a gigantic "fill-your-own-bag" section of the store with nothing but gigantic tubes of differently colored M&Ms. I can't go in there and not be thrilled. We wound up deciding that since most of the candy in there would qualify as movie candy (and since it was getting late), we would get some candy for the two of us, go back to Suncoast and get the movie we were eying, then go home and watch it together.
Some fun things we learned during these last two steps of our trip:
- Neither of us have a good idea of how much stuff weighs. - Well, we had it just about right (Jon guessed "just over a pound", and it wound up being 1.05 lbs.), but we certainly didn't expect for our bill at the candy store to be over 10 dollars.
- We are divided in terms of candy. - We used the "draft pick" system. Jon got first choice, then I went, and so on. Jon got nothing but sour or gummy candy (sour worms, sour smiley faces, and gummy cola bottles), and I got nothing but chocolate (s'mores bars, sno-caps, and a wonka bar that didn't go towards the final weight).
- DUDE. Chocolate melts. - We wound up having to eat the s'more bars at the mall to keep them from...infiltrating the other things.
Me: I'm hungry.
Jon: Ehhh, I kinda am.
Me: Do you wanna order something?
Jon: Ehhh...I'm...indifferent...
Me: Well, I could go for pizza.
Jon: Order it, then.
Me: Yeah, but I don't know how much to get, or what kind, or if we even should...
Jon: If you're hungry, order it. I will eat some of it, I promise you. And I will pay part of it.
Me: Yeah but I don't feel like spending so much on like...a medium pizza. Especially since we'll probably have to share it...
Jon: Yeah...
Me: So, what do you wanna do?
Jon: I don't know, what do you wanna do?
Me: I don't know! Flip a coin. Heads, we get it, tails we don't.
Jon: *flips a coin* it's tails. So we're not ordering pizza.
Me: Good. ...I still want something though.
Jon: Geez! Just go get something.
Me: But I'll feel bad for leaving you here!
Jon: It's OKAY. GO GET SOMETHING.
Me: I'll make it quick.
So I went out to the local Chinese takeout place and ordered some stir-fry and won tons, which we both ate. It was great, but definitely not worth nine dollars. Not buying from there for a while.
I could write about the mushy, overly "aww"-worthy things we talked about while having dinner, but I think that will actually be better for another entry. I have entirely too much to talk about.
Yesterday marked my 18th birthday. Overall, it was wonderful; it went completely above and beyond my expectations.
Get your brains out of the gutter. Geez.
My "day" started at around 2:30 AM, when I woke up, unable to get back to sleep. I checked my messages on AIM to figure out around what time I passed out, since I honestly couldn't even remember getting in bed. From the messages from Jon and Matt, I was able to figure out that apparently, I went to bed at 8 PM -- which, if you know me, is entirely too early. I'd love to be able to go to bed at that time, but I just can't. I stayed online until about 4 AM, when I got up and got into the shower.
Why was I up so early? My friends in my Latin class decided to throw me a party, since my original party plans had been ruined. The only thing they requested is that I make brownies. So, to make sure that no one at my house ate them, any to make sure they were fresh, I intentionally wanted to get up early, get ready for school, then start working on the brownies.
Everything went really well, until I got to the "oven" part. I did everything it said. I greased the pan. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees. I let it warm up for about 20 minutes. I put the pan into the oven and waited 25 minutes (I always like to check on its progress before the actual finish time, which in this case was 35 minutes). I checked the brownies -- no change. There's some bubbles at the top, but the batter is not changing into a brownie form. I stick my hand into the oven -- it's actually about as warm as the room is! I decide that maybe something's wrong with the oven, since over the winter our heater stopped working and Mom would just open the oven after letting it warm up to full blast. I set the oven to 500 and check on it again in 20 minutes. Still nothing. This is where it turns into DEFCON-1, or at least something similar to that show "24".
I look at the clock -- I'm going to miss my bus. I arrange a ride for 20 minutes later, hoping that maybe another ten minutes will help. It didn't. The clock is ticking away. Ginger comes up with a great idea, though: "There's a cooking class at your school, right? How about you just wrap up the pan in aluminum foil and take it school and ask if you can use their oven?"
She's so smart. She's REALLY smart.
I can't find the aluminum foil. Ginger finds it upstairs in Carly's room. At first, I'm confused. Ginger then explains why. My only reaction was a collective sigh. I'll never understand the fixation. Before I leave, I smell a rotten egg smell -- it's a gas leak. I tell Ginger to make sure the oven is off and to call Mom. Something's definitely wrong with the oven.
I get to school, trying to figure out what to do with this. I see my friend Kirstie, and I ask her if she wants to help. We run to the cooking room -- teacher's not there. SHOOT. We wait. Justin and Chey see us waiting outside.
Chey: Have you seen Chris yet?
Me: No.
Justin: He has a present for you.
Me: Well, I gotta get THIS done first.
Kirstie: Uhhh, Marisa?
Me: Yeah?
Kirstie: ...you have something on your shirt and pants.
I look, and notice that brownie batter has melted and spilled all over my shirt and pants. FANTASTIC. Now we have to get this done, for the sake of my dignity -- it looked like I had just made love to the Swamp Thing. Or maybe that guy from the old Dunkin' Donuts commercials. Time's still ticking down...I have somewhere to be in about 10 minutes. Justin finds one of the cooking teachers and gets permission for me to use the oven. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I get in there and the oven is taking forever to preheat. Shoot.
Matt comes in. I ask him to watch the oven while I go to homeroom and make sure that my teacher knows where I am. He agrees, as long as I give him a brownie. Seemed like a fair trade. Kirstie says she has to go to class, so Justin, Chey, and I go to my homeroom while Matt guards the oven. We were literally running. We get permission; Chey and Justin say they have to go back to class. I run back to the oven -- MATT HAS LEFT BECAUSE HE DIDN'T FEEL LIKE WAITING THAT LONG. I'm thinking, "Come on dude. You weren't going to do anything else that was more important."
I wait at the oven for about 30 minutes. YES. THEY'RE DONE. I CAN PUT THESE INTO THE RIGHT CLASSROOM AND BE DONE WITH THIS. I walk out, start going to the place where I'm supposed to put them, and I see a sign on the door: "B1 and B2 -- go to -- " with a number at the end. I can't make out the first number; there's tape over it. Out of nowhere, as if by magic (as it usually happens), Max W. shows up.
Max: Heeeeey Marisa.
Me: Heeeeey Max.
Max: Oh my God. Brownies.
Me: Yeah. They're for my birthday.
Max: Oh man, well, happy birthday. I'M TAKING ONE.
Me: YOU CAN'T! I HAVE TO MAKE SURE THERE'S ENOUGH FOR MY CLASS!
Max: Oh come on. THEY'RE STILL WARM.
Me: That's why I just want to get these to the right room.
Max: Which one?
Me: Well, it was supposed to be that one. but it says to go to...214.
Max: Well let's go then!
We didn't realize that it said 114 until AFTER we went through the middle school hallways upstairs looking for the room. We seriously tormented all of the people outside, because you could smell those things -- and it was a good smell. One woman who was in the hallway asked me what was going on, and of course, I told her. We're having a wonderful conversation (since she knows my Mom), and Max just has this magical moment of tactlessness. He's at the other end of the hallway, ready to go downstairs, and he yells over to me: "Hey Marisa, are these those better than sex things? Those were GREAT."
In front of women who knew me when I was 11, and one of whom knew me when I was about three. I could have killed him.
We went downstairs to 114 and my teacher's not in there either. WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO BE SO DIFFICULT. Eventually, I make a trade with the people in the guidance office to let me keep them in there so I can get back to class. UGH.
After 9:20, I found him and was able to put them away. THANK GOD. I'm sorry, but having a batch of any kind of sweet in this school is an invitation for death. I really just wanted to make sure I had them, since I promised my class I'd have them. THAT'S RIGHT, LATIN DORKS: I went through all that crap FOR YOU. And you can bet my first period teacher gave me lip for being so late.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED -- in just about an hour. YES. Jack Bauer has nothing on me. He can handle terrorists and lots of non-hungry people, but really -- a room full of teenagers and adults who probably haven't eaten yet, while you're holding a tray of double-fudge cheesecake brownies? Death wish.
Chorus class was fun -- I got wished happy birthday by about fifteen people. I truly count myself as blessed because I've never had that many friends, even if they're more informal than close. I got into AP Psychology and finally saw Chris, who looked so relieved.
Chris: WHERE. WERE. YOU.
Me: I missed the bus. Gas leaks and brownies were involved...as you can see from my pants.
Chris: HAH. Well, I have a present for you.
Me: I heard.
Chris: You didn't get it?
Me: No...
Chris: Well, it's in Librada's room. Let's get it.
It was a card, which was just WONDERFUL. I'll post a picture when I get home. And a GIGANTIC stuffed butterfly, which was made out of the softest material I've ever felt. And it was glittery.
Chris: I carried that around looking for you for an hour.
Me: *laughing hysterically*
Chris: I know what people were thinking..."Dude, we already know you're gay. Why do you even have that..."
Me: Maybe they figured your neon sign was out of commission?
Psych was fun. We wound up having a party as a celebration for the AP test and for the end of the year. Well, let me correct that: it was a "party" that turned into a 90 minute complaint festival about the second essay on the exam. We didn't give a flying fudge about "test integrity", because technically all of our scores should have been invalidated -- the proctor let people out of the test early!
It's been a little shy of 48 hours, so I can say a little bit without being too worried: most AP Psych essays are a Whitman's Sampler of Psych terms -- they give you a list of, let's say, six to eight terms, and you have to explain how they apply to a given situation. The first essay was like that, but the last one decided to throw everyone a loop. It was on ONE DISORDER.
First off, the AP Board is supposed to be going away from the abnormal psychology as a basis for test questions since it's becoming more and more important in freshman psych to know other topics -- you're not expected as a first-year Psychology student to be able to know everything on abnormal psych -- you have to know NORMAL psych first!
I will say a little more. I went into that test confident. I nailed the multiple choice section -- it took me less than 40 minutes to do the 100 questions. I went in there with only one weakness: I said, aloud, "as long as they don't ask me about schizophrenia, I'll be fine."
THE ENTIRE SECOND ESSAY WAS ON SCHIZOPHRENIA. Ms. B-P was stunned; she said she had never seen an essay on one specific concept, and with the fact that the AP test was supposed to be moving away from abnormal psych, she said it was an absolute anomaly.
When we got to the second essay on the test, I guarantee you at least three people heard what I said: "F--K." It was like someone knew superman was showing up and just decided to throw kryptonite at his face.
Latin class was remarkably amusing. The "ambush" party worked out somewhat well; we didn't really have too much of an "academic" day in class, but I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be that way, anyway. Matthew was there, again, and per our conversation the last time I saw him, I gave him a gift. Every time he's there, he draws something. Well, I happened to have this gigantic box of crayons at the house...and I knew for a fact that I wasn't going to be doing anything with them any time soon. So, I figured, why not -- he'll use them.
Well, I don't think his Dad took it the right way...and I didn't take his reaction the right way. I asked Matthew if he wanted a brownie (I had offered everyone in the class one), his Dad said to me, "He doesn't eat them." Okay. Fine. Strike one.
He asked for something to drink, so I poured him some -- his Dad goes off on the class: "Okay. Who gave my son soda?" D'oh. Strike two.
Then, strike three: his Dad makes him give the crayons I gave to him back to me. I seriously felt really hurt by it. Then when he realized that I had given him them to keep, things got better. I always wonder if I'm doing the right thing when it comes to things like that (giving children things and playing with them), people are (justifiably) so sensitive with their children...
By the end of the school day, I had an empty cake pan, three cards from friends, a stuffed butterfly, a drawing from a five-year-old, some sweet-smelling stuff for my hair, and a very full belly. That was just the beginning, though.
At around 5 o'clock, Jon and I went out for the night to a movie and dinner. He gave me a lovely purple gift bag (seriously, it was a really pretty shade of purple) with two shirts in it -- "from my Mother" -- and one of my favorite albums, "A Night at the Opera". I freaked out when I saw it. I adore Queen; Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest voices in rock music, and I doubt anyone will ever be as good as he was. Brian May's probably one of the most influential guitarists in the last 30 years as well. Jon made fun of me, but when I mentioned to him that the overwhelming majority of the artists he likes were influenced by Queen, he got quiet. Seriously: He likes the album "The Black Parade", and most of the guitar solos on there are so similar to Brian May's, it's not even funny, he likes The Smashing Pumpkins and NIN...come on Jon. Just admit you like them by proxy, at least.
We went to see Spider-Man 3, and despite what I had heard about it from reviews, I thought it was fantastic. It's one of the few movies I've seen where I left the theater feeling like it was money well-spent (or, more accurately, Jon's money well spent, since he won't let me pay for anything when we go out). A rule of thumb for me is that if I can stay quiet during a movie, then it's good. No, I'm not one of those people who yells at the screen or anything like that, but I'm sure everyone does this -- you kind of whisper to the other person you're with about the movie, and I tend to do that. I didn't say a thing to Jon until about 45 minutes into the movie. I was that drawn into it. Actually, upon rethinking it, he was the one who started the first conversation:
Jon: I know that guy from somewhere...I just can't figure out where...
Me: That '70s show.
Jon: OH. Yeah.
Me: Yeah, Eric's being a little jackass right now...Red's gonna shove a boot up his ass.
Jon: *rolls eyes*
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD: There were a couple things that really got me about this movie. First off, I totally called Flint Marko's demise; when Jon and I started talking to each other, once the Sand Creature got into the city, I said to him, "Why don't they just throw water on him?" Jon gave me a look like a parent would give a child, as if to say, "Just go to your corner. You're ruining the plot here."
I also want to know if Kirsten Dunst's singing was real. Brownie points and my eternal love to whomever is able to find this information for me.
I don't understand why Venom was in the film. He was pretty much an add-a-character -- for crying out loud, his name isn't even mentioned in the entire movie.
Biggest complaint though was the "evil" Peter Parker. Apparently, if you're evil, your hair becomes asymmetrical and you wear girl pants. Watch the movie -- it's just way too funny.
Despite the detractions to it I've made, I would definitely see it in a theater again -- it was interesting, funny, and overall a fantastic film. On top of that, it had some nice eye candy in it -- seriously, I know "Spider-Man 3" as "Hot Guy Festival 2007". Tobey McGuire? Hot. James Franco? Not my type, but hot. Topher Grace? Hot. And yes, even Thomas Hayden Church was looking pretty nice -- the guy apparently put on about 20 pounds in muscle for the part. Chris noted it while we were talking about it today: "I want to know if his forearms were real. If they were, I want to touch them. Like now."
I think part of the reason why the movie had such an effect on me was because the problems that Peter and MJ were having were eerily similar to the ones Jon and I have been having for the past few weeks: a slight but painful disconnect, a desire to stay together, but a seeming inability to help one another and accept the other entirely. I think both of us left the theater feeling a little disturbed -- it just hit way too close to home. Except for the "other man" thing, that whole storyline was pretty much our last month together. Oh, and minus the marriage proposal.
Regardless of how eerie it was, I did take notice of one thing: I'm not a touchy person in public for the most part. I know a lot of people my age who are really touchy-feely with their significant others, and it just bugs me. A relationship shouldn't be just physical...groping. Well, he probably doesn't think I notice, but every time we're out at a play or at a movie, Jon always puts his hand on mine, and somehow, we always wind up locking pinky fingers together. Well, even though I was entirely too fascinated with the movie, I felt his hand touch mine, and almost unconsciously, we wound up with our pinkies joined together within a few seconds. It was such a small gesture, but I felt unbelievably loved.
After the movie, we were both REALLY hungry. Jon hadn't eaten since breakfast, and I was getting there myself, so we just walked around the plaza talking about where to go.
Me: What do you want?
Jon: It's your birthday.
Me: Don't give me that. I don't want to choose something that you HATE, but you deal with because you want me to be happy. That's not right.
Jon: Seriously...I'm hungry enough that I'll take anything. Almost anything.
We wound up going to Chili's because of something Liz had said earlier that day: "Chili's -- eat fresh! Wait...that's not right, is it?" The food was good, but there was just too much of it for me since we ordered an appetizer to split. It was pleasant, but I really had no idea how to act in there. The last time my family went out somewhere as an entire family was at least six years ago, and Jon's family goes out at least twice a month. Case in point, when the waitress brought out our drinks:
Me: Crap.
Jon: What?
Me: This isn't what I wanted.
Jon: What, it's tea.
Me: Yeah, it's tea, but...it's crap tea. I wanted like, Nestea. Not "teabag" tea. It doesn't taste right.
Jon: It's tea. You -- asked -- for --- tea.
Me: I thought it would be the good kind!
Jon: Okay, well, when she comes back, tell her you want something else.
[about ten minutes later]
Waitress: How is everything? You two need anything?
Jon: No, I'm fine.
Me: Uhm, actually--
*waitress leaves before I finish my sentence*
Jon: *chuckles*
Me: I TRIED!
I can't talk to people. Seriously.
After everything was paid for, we went out for a walk to a water fountain -- which I called a "wishing well" -- and I made myself a birthday wish. I tried to get Jon to make one, but he said all he wanted was to see me trip and fall into the "well". Jerk.
It's okay. I got revenge -- I made him go into a book store with me.
Jon: BARF.
Me: What?
Jon: I've been in here before with Dustin and his weird friends...they just like, flocked to the anime section.
Me: Well, I'll be staying as far away from that as possible.
Jon: Where are you going?
*I go to the American History section*
Jon: BORING.
Me: Just because you don't understand any of the references doesn't mean it's boring.
Jon: Shut up.
A little later:
Jon: This one time, I was here with Dustin and some of his friends on another trip, and we see this huge brown book...and we look at it, and it's titled "the encyclopedia of sex positions". I kept trying to get him or one of his friends to walk around with it under their arm...I offered 'em a dollar, but nobody took me up on it.
Me: I would've done it. I mean...it's free money, and what the heck do I care if someone sees me with a book?
Jon: Yeah, really. Wussies.
Book stores (as well as libraries) are just genuinely interesting places, even if you just window shop (like I did; I can never decide on what to buy). It makes you realize that there are so many facets to the world, so many things to experience, and so much that humanity is capable of. Whenever I go into a library, I'll get a stack of completely unrelated items -- biology, French, African history, abnormal psychology -- and just read for hours. Maybe only a little bit of each (since I legitimately have ADD, I can't focus too well on things for extended periods of time. Even right now, I'm taking little breaks here and there to look at the TV or think about something else), but I read through it, just fascinated.
Best thing of the book trip, though:
Jon: Why are we in the fiction section again?
Me: I'm looking for books on language.
Jon: Wouldn't they be in another section?
Me: Yeah, but I don't know where that is, and besides, there might be something good here....
*we both focus on the same book as we turn around: "Sex as a Second Language*
*short pause.*
Me: That's AMAZING.
We left and wound up curling up on a bench, talking about the night and about how it was just too darn cold for me. Thanks to the brownie batter, I was down a jacket -- and I certainly wasn't expecting it to be as chilly as it was. Of course, Jon just had to make it worse. "I'm gonna think about things that are cold. Other than you, of course. Let's see. Snow. Eskimos. Antarctica. The North Pole. Penguins. Ice cubes. Ice CREAM. Siberia. Freezer pops."
I just curled up closer to him since I knew that was what he really wanted. He's always warm.
I'm so lucky to have someone like him in my life. Jon's not exactly what anyone would call the most motivated person in the world, but when it's something he cares about, he goes all out and will do anything to make sure that his idea achieves fruition. He had been acting like his idea was off the cuff and at the last minute, but something was different. I took notice of how much he spent (which I know probably isn't the most polite thing to do), and I noticed it was definitely more than he usually has on him.
Then I put it all together. He'd been acting so stressed out, doing a lot of work all over the place. I thought he was just paying off a game he had bought, but he had intentionally been overloading himself just so he could give me a good time. I was so moved by the gesture that when I went to bed and thought about it, I almost started crying. Sometimes, he just amazes me; we had gotten into a fight a few weeks ago about how he stagnates and I do a lot of work -- he agreed with me, and I think something in him may have changed, because I wanted to break up so that way we could interact with each other without too much strain -- I can deal with inequality in friendships (to a degree), but with someone to whom you've given so much of yourself, it just hurts a lot. For every time I think he's being flighty or short-sighted, he does something so kind, so thoughtful, and so-well planned, I just melt. I could come up with a list of times he's done that.
Really though...everything last night went wonderfully. I just melted over him, and I know that I fell in love with him all over again. Jon, you're amazing. Flat-out. Even though we are entirely different people, I know I can keep my promise to you: I will always be with you, and anything that happens, we will talk about, work out, and get through together. I love you.
For those of you who managed to survive that LOVE FEST, I commend you. As a final aside, I took some of my birthday money and invested in the funniest thing I've ever seen in my LIFE: "The Reduced Shakespeare Company Presents: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged." You don't even have to have read any of his works to find it funny, but it certainly helps. I think my next post will be the drinking game I made based off of the play. As my gift to you, here are links to the first condensed play they did, "Romeo and Juliet": Part 1, and Part 2.
Expect pictures soon. I finally have a cellphone -- a camera phone, no less -- and as soon as I put some minutes on it, I'll upload the photos to flickr and embed them here.
