Saturday, July 17, 2010

Hate Driving

Today was the first time in the history of Chloe that I would be driving alone. Before going to my mom's, I tried to calm down. I took deep breaths. I sat in the car and visualized what I was going to do. I felt not terrible, and it got a little better as I went. My park job wasn't so good when I got there, but I just backed up and had it perfect. Mom and I visited Laura and her mom on Brandywine Blvd. and craziest fucking thing, my roommate was there and recognized me from Facebook! I talked to her real quick, but she seems totally normal and easily got into a conversation with my mom. It was a lovely afternoon with many stories told and three bagels eaten. On the way back, we took 95. I felt alright with it. My mom didn't direct me as well as I would've hoped, but hey, I recovered.

THEN.

>:(

I got home, went on Facebook to grab Surya's address, and then my dad decided that we should watch the State Farm safety video. "Oh! Excellent!" I thought, "some driving tips from the people whose business it is to make money preventing accidents." It was this motherfucking video that's about killing everyone you've ever loved with your car and/or yourself. That's exactly the kind of stuff that runs through my head anyway and makes me not want to drive. So I almost cried during this 11 minute "DRIVING IS SCARY" video, then almost immediately left for the party. If I hadn't been so emotional, I would've remembered that being emotional is not a great state to drive in and/or to go through my calming down routine. Totally not confident, I made it to Surya's house. I had a good time. I was the only white girl there. The food was delicious. Hallelujah. As I went to leave, I figured I would stop by Nicki's before going to Kevin's. She wasn't home, and I reasoned that it was too much driving for one day and that I should go home. I didn't turn the wrong direction on 202. I didn't rear end somebody going to in Wawa, but as I drove, that movie was alternating between the back of my mind and the forefront of my focus. Not good. Finally. I was relieved to see my house. I made a very quick turn into the driveway because a car was coming, then went to turn into my parking spot and ouch. Hit my neighbor's car. I don't know why he parks in our driveway. I almost cried sitting in my car before I saw the damage. I thought that my dad probably heard it and would be running outside, but no. I locked up. I walked around the front of my car. I had entirely smashed my right headlight. Thankfully, his only has minor superficial damage to the front bumper, but still. I will no longer be able to drive. I am almost sort of relieved that I won't have to again.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Duh

I never realized that coincidence was literally co-incidence, meaning two of the same events. D'oh.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Geocaching

Dan, Brandon, Gab, Alex, and I went geocaching in the Grist Mill today. The humidity remained at an uncomfortably high level, and Brandon flashed the entire parking lot as a result. Ignoring that, the day turned to one of discovery and ab-aching laughter. We eventually found three caches; two of them contained an interesting assortment of children's toys and knick-knacks, while the third was a film canister that held barely more than the signature log. Finished adventuring, we made our way over to Bravo's pizza, which reminded me of the night that Viv, Jeff, (maybe Dana K.), and I went there and ate sugar powdered Italian things. During the drive over, Gabby waved at a guy in a Corvette, which prompted him to roll down the window and start flirting. Learning that she and Brandon date, he advised him to stay in school, work hard, and maybe he could buy her a car like that one day. Later estimates pegged his age at somewhere between 50 and 60. Dan, Alex, and I got gas at Wawa, then took a smoke break in the Target parking lot. We got back to Gabby's around 8:30 to settle in and watch Dead Snow. Dan and I both saw it previously, but oh, it definitely earned its second viewing. The audience commentary added another layer of excellence to an already stellar film. Dan needed to get home by 11, so we took our leave. Another lovely summer evening complete.

Sign Graffiti

Emily and I set out last night to paint the town gold (with black Sharpie accents). Our goal was to leave inconspicuous little messages throughout the area. The stars were absolutely radiant last night, and the air was cool and mosquito-less. We laughed. We talked. We defaced public property. Several spots in a lot were converted to Handicapable Parking, and there is no longer Barking allowed in a few areas. Admittedly, I would call some of the work vandalism and not art, but that is subjective for the viewer anyway. Most of the time, I feel my graffiti is justifiable as art. The stencils are usually of some creative merit, and more often than not clever (not that I'm biased or anything). I see no harm in messengers. However, my graffiti hypocrisy is most evident when it comes to tagging. Occasionally, I can appreciate the skill involved, the uniqueness, the daring, but 99% of the time I define it as vandalism. Of course, the enormous three piece monstrosities are works of awe and nearly always art. Towards the end of the night, we settled in the hammock because she had not thought to bring a sweater of any sort. It was conversation of the sort that can only be had in a hammock at 3 in the morning during your last summer of no obligations.

Thinking Thoughts

I feel that in novels, tales of "love at first sight" always begin with, "and then she walked through the door, and the whole room seemed to stand still." Admittedly, if I saw a woman walked through a solid door, I would also be left speechless. One usually does not walk through the door, but through the doorway. Oh idioms.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

5(s)

National AP Scholar! Fuck yeah!

How much studying did I do outside of class? I dunno. Maybe one hour for all of my subjects combined. BOOYAH! And most of that was literally outside the classroom waiting for the test to begin. Bangin'!

[Edit: this also means I am triple qualified to place out of Temple's basic English Comp.]

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Gotta Hot* Date and Good Friends and Schemes

*Humid would be more accurate. It was positively nasty outside.

Joel and I went to see Despicable Me today. It was adorably in the style of Pixar, but without the cohesion and incredible story telling. The kids in the audience enjoyed a number of the slapstick scenes, but the adults I think were most amused by the Bank of Evil (formerly Lehman Brothers). For all of its good points, I wouldn't recommend it unless you didn't have to pay, as Joel and I didn't by simply walking into the theater because nobody paid attention. I <3 Painter's. Afterward we went to the Grist Mill. Of course, the night was filled with a torrential downpour and the air felt like swimming, but hell, Nature! Because it was an impulsive visit, I was wearing flip-flops. Awesome choice? No, no they were not. My feet got muddy and itchy and I got stuck in my shoe in a way I would not have expected. I was significantly less attractive by the end of our hike.

He's a little overbearing in conversation, which isn't much conversing, but more a scrambling for related stories to fill the void of silence. I discovered I'm kinda freakin' selfish and don't feel particularly guilty about leading him on. I'm not being overtly sexual, but it's flattering attention and something to do. It's nice to know I could get dates in college.

Nick and Emily came over last night, so we hung out in the yard with Jack & Jack. We talked. We scowled. Nick ranted. We walked down to the lake to listen to bull frogs, and there were geese sleeping on the water. They left close to 3. It was a nice night.

There is no mallet percussion section in Temple's Marching Band. I was warming up to the idea of joining band as something to do. With all the free time of college, it will be imperative I get out of the dorm and out of my head. If I get down, I'll need something to force me to get out and laughing with other people. Thus being true, I've sent an inquiry about possibly joining the battery. I'm sure I'd get cymbals or bass drum or something shitty like that, but maybe I could make tenors (what a lovely delusion). Their band meets Mon.-Wed.-Fri. and the mornings of home games. It's mostly pop music that is played simply for crowd entertainment that changes game to game. Every student receives a scholarship, which might translate to tuition remission for me. It would be weird to have spending money. I could go to museums!

I made and bookmarked a list of every museum and book store in Philadelphia that offers interest, relatively cheap admission, and/or free events. I'll try to bop up to NYC some weekend to visit Steve and perhaps crash at his place if possible. Ceci has invited me down to DC to check out all of her free museums *so jealous,* which I would definitely like to take up. I'll be sure to have Emily and Jeff over to visit, and seriously anybody who could possibly desire a night's stay in Philly. I will make it my business to hang out with Viv and her arty friends. Plus homework and classes and hanging out with kids on my floor and generally bothering everyone to find common interests; I'm very excited for college, but still worried that I may not live as brilliantly as I could.

Monday, July 12, 2010

She's So Lucky

I'm a cutie with smarts and a pretty sweet personality.
I don't have to worry about paying for higher education.
Jack is the coolest person I know and clever and generally awesome.
My dad is the handiest man I know, and literate on SO MANY SUBJECTS.
Our home is the homiest place I know. It is the best.
My mom lends unfaltering support and makes me a stronger person.
Collectively, my family is ballin'.
I could wax endlessly on my friends and their influence on my life.
In fact!

When Jewish Upon a Star

In elementary school, I was taught that because the Jews were God's chosen people but never given a home, that He gave them a special gift. That gift was their being good with money.

Seriously, my parents paid good money for me to learn that.

Jews are the only slight evidence I have for the existence of a Greater Being, specifically the God of Moses. They get so much extra-special shit, and in my experience, yeah, they actually are pretty good with their finances.

Relatedly, I had never heard the term "JAP (Jewish American Princess)" until maybe a year or two ago. Since then, I have found several examples to be true, though almost exclusively my cousins.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

I Am Awesome

These are some reasons why I'm the shit:

I floss every day
-have awesome stories
-rock the random trivia
-carve fruit
-play guitar
-play mallet percussion
-have a fantastic memory
-have sweet dreams
-read poetry
-write often
-am a good listener
-keep a wall collage
-am a good screamer
-keep a journal
-don't drink lots of soda
-climb trees
-am a pirate
-have an eye for typography
-garden
-am an immigrant's daughter
-walk on my tip toes
-walk a lot
-give good handshakes
-give great bjs
-do not imbibe
-send letters via USPS
-can solve a Rubix Cube
-disregard authority
-'m just about fearless
-am politically active
-graffiti message
-listen to NPR
-am a feminist
-am anti-consumption
-am a terrible, yet proud, dancer
-deface money
-text quickly
-have never broken a bone
-have never broken a phone
-sneak out
-am an atheist
-have awesome posters in my room
-(almost) play mandolin
-love learning
-draw on shirts
-am a swell artist
-can flip a pencil around my thumb
-sing
-wear long, tall socks
-don't have cable
-word play
-am an alright conversationalist
-am beastly at CLUE
-also rock the Trivial Pursuit
-collect vinyl albums
-costar in an award winning short movie :P
-appreciate the things I have
-am above average in academic subjects
-talk to all sorts of people
-collect dirt/sand
-wear some crazy outfits sometimes
-read
-stencil on occasion
-can read treble clef
-hablo un pocito espanol
-listen to good music
-read xkcd
-am honest