71

Dramarama!

That's all there is to say, and I'm only in the third week of school. That's a new record, celebration time!

First day of school

I walk into my first class late due to first day of the semester traffic. Parking was a nightmare, and I didn't have a pass. That meant meter parking. As soon as I walk into class, the first person I see is Berman. Fuck. I'm not thrilled that I have another class with him. Comp Media went by so slow. I met up with Katie for a quick lunch, before she had to run to class. I tried to buy my parking permit, but my check hadn't processed yet. I left campus pissed off, and decided that I should visit MC for some cheering up. Yeah...

I get to MC and had to park on the side streets, since I no longer hold a valid parking pass there, either. I walk into the music building, and the first people I see are Flora and Mike. I talked to Mike for a little, before he had to leave. It was nice seeing him again, he's a cool guy. I gave Flora her drawing, and I asked her about her transfer situation. She told us that she was supposed to be in NYC, but plans changed. She's aiming for Berklee College of Music, which is a prestigious music school on the East Coast (one of the many). She's planning on trasnfering by next fall. She told me that my drawing is her first piece of furniture. Megan came in shortly and gave me presents from her visit from Korea. She told us stories about her trip, and more familiar faces showed up. Dani was happy to see everyone, but had to leave briefly to do something. Jess and Carla came in, but the only things they said to me were "What the hell, you don't go here anymore". They said it in a joking manner, but at the same time it wasn't exactly a heartfelt welcome, either.Daniela showed up, but she was working, so I can understand that. I was like that this time last year. Isaac walks in, but doesn't say anything to me. I was wondering what the hell is going on with everyone. I stick around to see what world ensemble is like, and there's literally no one there. The size of the group was roughly the same size as when I first joined. I was thinking that maybe no one showed up, because it's the first day. That didn't even make sense, because there are still a lot of people on the first day. Isaac looked at me, and looked away. I said bye to Flora, Megan and Carla. I told Carla to call me if they were doing anything afterwords, but I never got a call. Normally people go out for dinner, but oh well. I took a much need nap. Tommy messages me later that night on facebook, asking if I wanted to come over and do s'mores like we did in OC. Angel was staying with him that night, because she and Brent got into a fight. I drove up there at 11:00 pm and we took a trip to the 24 hour Walmart near his place. It was practically in Baltimore, and insisted it was closer. I told him about the one on 174, which I personally think is closer. We stocked up on s'mores supplies and junk food, and went back to Tommy's place to watch movies and eat crap. It was possibly the worst idea in the world, but it was fun. We hung out again the next day and hung out at Columbia mall. We crammed ourselves into one of those photo booths and took an updated picture. We also had dinner and plotted Josh's birthday surprise involving a certain picture.

A week and a half go by and I can't remember much. All I can recall is talking to Charlie and figuring out his flight details. I had breakfast with J, which was fun and much needed. I mass text everyone to see if they wanted to go to the Hirshhorn over the weekend, and also placed invites on facebook, but only received replies from 5 people. It turned out that Daniela and I were the only ones going. On the metro I asked Daniela how MC was, and she told me it's bad. She tells me that no one's friends anymore, that everyone has their own clique within the group. I told her that I got that vibe when I visited last, and that would explain it. We get to DC and there's that stupid taxpayer tea party shit going on. It honestly felt like a massive white power march. I've never seen so many white people assemble in my life. We made it to the Hirshhorn and hung out for a little. After that we went to this place called Sweet Green in Dupont and get fro-yo. That place is AMAZING! There's one in Bethesda, and I swear I have to go back. I feel like it's an organic version of Pink Berry, or Yogi Berry over here, and it's so good. The prices are pretty good. It's $4 something for a small, and you get 3 toppings; additional toppings are .50. The small is more that enough. After that we go to Panera for dinner, and call it a night.

Monday I decided to go visit MC, and again it's Flora, Megan, and Julian hanging out. Jess, Daniela, and Carla are going to get food. Daniela extends the invite to come along, but I said that I was broke. The others had already eaten. Carla talked to me a little, and Jess didn't say anything to me at all. Megan told me that the thing about Luis graduating wasn't true. He didn't graduate yet, and he's still taking one class. He did show up to world ensemble last week, and supposedly he is trying to transfer. Isaac comes in at some point, and he looks at me expectingly. I didn't say a thing to him, I had my back turned to him the entire time. I'm tired of bullshit, and I'm tired of playing games. I overhear him talking to Jess, Andy, and Julian about Luis, and he's talking shit. Jess calls him a hater, and he said that Luis is fun to hate on. Uh huh...for someone who's supposedly his friend, that's messed up. I got that vibe that Daniela was telling me about, so I come straight out and ask Flora and Megan what the hell is going on. People are acting like we don't know one another, or someone was talking shit about everyone. Flora said that it's been this way since she's came, but at the same time things have gotten worse. She told me that someone told her that everyone in this group will come off as nice, but they will talk shit about you. I have a feeling it's David, but in his case he brought it upon himself. When it comes to talking shit about other people, then that's something else entirely. I do agree and told her that yes this group has problems when it comes to gossip. I even admit that I am guilty when it comes to gossip, but what person isn't? She agreed, and pointed out that if anyone has a problem with her or has something to say, they better come forward. We both agreed that we're getting this vibe from Carla, Jess, and possibly Daniela. I wonder what's being said about me, because I come to visit and people are scrutinizing me. I vowed that that would be the last time I would visit. Dani and Daniela were begging me to join world ensemble since I'm always there. I told them that this is only the second monday I come to visit, and I'm not really feeling up to joining. I do admit that I worked my schedule around so I could join. Now I don't want to do it. I hang out in the rehearsal hall with the downsized Latin band and took some pictures. I left and that's it. I feel like it's going to be hard to not visit with Judith coming to visit next month. Plus Charlie's coming home tomorrow, so who knows. I was talking to my mom about all of this, especially about Isaac. She told me that he sounds so much like a girl. Daniela tried to justify that he was having a bad day on the first day of school, so that's why he was all weird. I said that he does that every time he has a bad day. She claims that the old Isaac is back, but I have yet to see it. I said that he can go ahead and be a woman about all of this. I'm just returning the favor. I was expecting him to come talk to me the other, but he was smart and stayed away.

For the next few classes, I get out earlier that usual on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I still have to write my paper for writing about art. It has to be at least 3 pages. I have to describe the details about a painting. It shouldn't be hard, but at the same time there's only so much you can say. Ugh. I'm just so excited about Charlie coming home. I haven't seen him in 2 years..I think. It's been a long time. I know the last time I saw him was around the time of the David mask.

I spoke with Juhi the other day, and she had a nervous breakdown at the Conservatory. The gist of her story is that her profs are insinuating that she's a waste of time. I told her that I feel like all music and art profs are the same; you're never good enough until you reach the point where you want to punch them in the face. You start to show your raw emotion, and that's what they're looking for. She said that her private lesson prof tells her she doesn't listen and doesn't have perfect pitch. I told her not to take so much offense to it, and use it as a tool to push yourself. She said that she needed her girls from MC to hang out. I wanted to tell her that I feel like the girls from MC will be non existent, but I didn't want to make her day worse.

I got a text message from Jess last night, asking if I wanted to go to the Hirshhorn today. I told her that I didn't have metro fare, which was a complete lie. I don't appreciate the fact that she didn't have the decency to reply to me the first time around, but suddenly wants to go because it's convenient for her. She said that Daniela told her I needed to go for my paper, but I took pictures. I can work off of those.

I got Dan Brown's new book, and I can't put it down. I did eventually, because I had homework to do, but I've learned some things about DC that I never knew. L'enfant Plaza is named after the architect who designed the capitol. The capitol is haunted by the ghost of L'enfant and a construction worker who fell off the dome. It's also haunted by a black cat. The capitol also has a permantly bloodly tub or staircase in which a vice president died in, and there was a room where a deceased stuffed horse was discovered that used to belong to a president or vice president or something in the '30s. The book begins with a history about the Free Masons and how misunderstood they are.

70

While looking through friends' summer photos, I did get a little on the jealous side. Okay, so I didn't get to go on spectacular trips to the Bahamas on a cruise, or go to the beach every day, etc. My summer was spent working. And sulking. Surlking. Given these past three months, I have come to realize that my entire summer wasn't a complete bust. In no particular order:

SUMMER 2009 RECAP EXTRAVAGANZA!

1. I got my first PAID photography job photographing the Ft. Meade confirmation. I would like to thank the people who flaked out on the job, without whom this would not be possible.

2. I fought the law, and I won. My run in with the DC Po-po after Will, Ava, Claire, and I ditched Carla's party and made a spontaneous trip to DC at night. Haines Point will forever be bittered with the memories of Will jumping on my front bumper, getting interrogated by the police, Claire having a beer in her purse, Ava drunk off her underage ass, and myself having a knife in my purse. I still have to admit that almost getting arrested in one of my favorite places made up for the gather that was "Carla's party" (no offense, Carla).

3. Midnight Walmart trips. The one with Adrienne; finding the medium sized shirt packed in a "Small" plastic bag. Adrienne trying on a pair of jeans, coming out of the dressing room in her regular shorts to find a thong hanging out of her pant leg. It was clean, but some how she missed that stuck in her pants the entire day after she put the shorts on. It didn't help that she held it out in the open to examine it, after I threw it at her and yelled. The dressing room attendant received her amusement for the night from two brown girls, one loud and blunt, and the other loud and clueless.

Midnight Walmart trip with J. Finding out that stores really do sell those neon orange hazard vests. Finding the disgusting cakes in the "bakery", as well as the frost bitten cakes in the freezer.

4. Playing tour guide to my parents in DC. The fact that they wanted to walk around DC came as a major shock to me.

5. The Harry Potter and Cho Chang scarves. I finished them. *ACCOMPLISHED*

6. Midnight hike on along the C&O canal. Running into a group of hick campers, one of them was extremely cool and chilled with us. The others were assholes. Still have bug bite scars on my legs...and the muddy excuse for Vans in the garage somewhere.

7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince premiere. Three of the five girls dressed up as planned.

8. Trip to my absolute favorite place in the whole wide world. I finally got to go to the Strand and went on a shopping spree. I was flat broke after I reluctantly left that building. It was worth it!

9. I finally beat that damn Cracker Barrel peg game! *ACCOMPLISHED PT. II*

10. Discovering the wonders of Bananagrams.

11. TINTED WINDOWS. *nods* first show of the year.

12. MoCo fair. Gotta keep the tradition going. Maybe we could incorporate an Office marathon afterwords next year.

13. BITCHFACE FREE MONTH IN AUGUST!!! *A-FUCKING-CCOMPLISHED PT. III*

It's been a great summer!

*UPDATE*

So I was checking my facebook, and Bitchface finally deleted me off of her friends list. I noticed that she deleted Isaac from her friends list, as well. I want to say that she finally got the hint, and that would explain why I haven't seen her at work.

69

^*teehee*

Today is a complaint post. Tonight was hell at work. Tips were freakin' awesome, but none the less it was hell. Four girls came in being obnoxious and loud. They exclaimed how they go to Holy Cross, and I ran to the back to join Nathalie in hiding. They were trying way to hard to flirt with the guys, but their annoying, inane banter caused Paul to tell one of us to go out there and hit them all with a tire iron. I told him that I have a box full of tools in my car, take his pick. They kept tipping us to sing, but Nathalie and I refused to go out there. We let the boys take care of this, because you can't pay either one of us to go out there and deal with their shrill, screeching laughter. All I have to say is: those Holy Cross girls= crazy bitches!

I feel like I may be doing this a bit early, but I feel like I'm in the clear. Recap of my month long attempts to avoid Bitchface.





It's been a Bitchface free month! She hasn't come in when I have been working. I did catch her on facebook the other night, and I quickly averted my window to another site. I noticed that her chat option was on sleep mode, but I wasn't risking her changing that. I told this to Megan, and she congratulated me. She asked me if Bitchface knows how much of bitch I think she is, but I told her I didn't know. My theories are:

a) She completely forgot
b) She came in when I wasn't working
c) She found out from Isaac that I think she's a major bitch
d) She just got the hint

I'm leaning towards A. The month is practically over, she has to be going to Chicago soon. Classes will be starting next week. It's been a good month.

Carla text me earlier, asking if I wanted to go to the beach tomorrow. As much as I would love to go, I told her I can't. First and foremost, I have plans to hit up Hagerstown with J. Secondly, the beach requires spending vast amounts of money on nothing, whereas I can restrain myself at the Outlets.

I had to pick up my dad at Dulles after work last night. I made a quick stop at home to eat a quick snack and get Maxx. The car ride down there, he was too excited. As soon as we pulled into the arrival terminal, his nose was permanently pressed against the window. He had to make up for a weeks worth of kisses to my dad. I've been listening to the Rex Navarrete cd's he got me in Vacaville. I couldn't stop laughing on my way to work. He has this one joke about a headline he saw in a Filipino newspaper; guy dies while trying to ship himself in a balikbayan box. Before I continues, a balikbayan box is a moving box containing things you would bring back to your families; clothes, toothpaste, candy, toys, etc. This guy thought it would be a great idea to ship himself in a box back to the Philippines, but froze to death. His joke was the sermon during the guy's funeral. The priest would be singing everything that comes out of his mouth. The friends would ask the family, "Wat da puck was dis guy tinking?!" I couldn't breathe as soon as I pulled into the parking lot.

I've been reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" and I'm almost done. That book is so addicting. I'm kicking myself for not reading this earlier. I remember Jess telling me to read this almost 2 years ago. I can't wait to see how this compares to the movie. This is my absolute favorite line from the book (great reference to my future hubby), "When the woman you live with is an artist, every day is a surprise" (Niffenegger 286). Love it! I feel like it's very true. Just when you think you really know an artist, you come to realize that you don't.

Speaking of books, I still have my stack from the Strand that I have to finish. I also bought two more books from Wonder Book, formerly the Book Alcove. Wonder Book is Maryland's answer to the Strand in NYC. I do like the new owner and the way the store is. I feel like there's more selection. I had a brief conversation with the owner, and she was just lovely. I do remember her. Claire said that the new owner used to work at the Book Alcove, but bought it out. I remember having a conversation with the new owner a few years back when I purchased a book about Audrey Hepburn. What's great about Wonder Book is that not only to you have more selection on books, especially NEW books, there's movies and music for sale. There's a "Dollar room", which was the old antique room. Just about all the books are brand new books that never sold at other places, and there's the mixture of used books. She provides more selection on categories, as well. There's a huge section on graphic novels and manga in the front of the store. All the categories of the books have been changed around from what I remember of the store. She also sells bookmarks. The ones that I've seen besides the free ones they insert in your purchases are the Harry Potter bookmarks. She even has shirts promoting the store, like the Strand. Wonder Book's shirts have literary greats on the front. I think they all say, "Read as if your mind depended on it". I remember Claire wearing that shirt when we went to see "(500) Days of Summer". My favorite picture on the shirt is of a guy scratching his head in confusion with the "read as if your mind depended on it" on the front. I may go back at get a shirt one day.

Still listening to one of the Rex Navarrete CD's...this joke is about an "abused over seas worker for the Superfriends". OMG!!! I just found the "dat Batman...he is a gay. I'm sorry, I tink he is a gay! He's always hanging around that boy, Robin. I don't know , he's going down dat bat pole!" I've been trying to figure out who made that joke for 8 years. FINALLY!

I should continue my reading...while I still can.

68

ZOMGWTFBBQ!111

Yes, you've read it correctly. I've been in such a great mood, that I've decided to make this post flashy. Not epileptic flashy, but just...flashy. First let me recap the fair. At first I wasn't planning on attending, due to insufficient funds. I had a ton of things to take care of, such as help dad finalize stuff before his California trip. He gave me some money just for whatever purposes, and the morning that I was taking him to Dulles, he gave me money for breakfast. We were supposed to hit up a diner, but Hollywood and Silver were closed. I was going to take him to Tastee, but he insisted on finding a closer place. Unfortunately Dulles and the surrounding areas suck, because there are no 24 hour diners. The places at the airport don't even open until 6:00 am, so dad was stuck for an hour. I told Stephanie to count me in for the fair trip. First and foremost, it was a goodbye hang out for her. She was leaving for WVU the next day. Secondly, it's tradition. I can't break tradition. We do the usual and park at Panera to escape the parking fees on the fairgrounds. We hit up the usual cheese place for grilled cheese and lemonade, and then hit up the Lion's club ice cream place for gratuitous amounts of "single dip" cones. They consider single cones as two large scoops of ice cream. We see the bunny barn, and I couldn't tear myself away. I noticed a couple of bunnies for sale, and I wanted to buy one. Megan reminded me that Maxx would flip out if he saw it in the house. Not to mention that the cage and all of its necessities are E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E! She said that she would get a bunny and purposely name it "Dinner". I told her that she would do that. There were three black bunnies that were the names of three Twilight characters. This person must be a Cullen fan. I finally got to meet the elusive Saalika. I thought she was going to be a pain in the ass, but she was actually really cool. Her boyfriend was very nice, he looks like Ashton Kutcher. The first thing she said to me was to check out what was wrong with her camera. We're both Nikon girls. We walk around some more and we see the cow pavilion. There were two Holstein cows hanging out, so we walk over to see if we could pet them. One of the pavilions had a huge sign that said "BEEF" on it. I thought it was horrible. Megan cracked a joke about it being dinner, and I chimed in with a "meet before you eat" crack. I hate myself. We stood around petting the cows and taking pictures. There was one cow in particular that is officially my buddy. If I could take it home, I would. I wouldn't mind having livestock for pets. I confessed that I wouldn't mind having a pig for a pet. I already have a rooster in the Philippines. Oddly enough I named it "Fried Chicken". As we bid farewell to my cow buddy, I gave it a kiss on the head and kept walking. There was another pavilion where you could watch cows being milked. All of us thought it was going to be the old fashioned way, but they had the milking machines. All of us also thought of Family Guy when we saw the cows being milked. To further explain the Family Guy reference, it's a cow being milked by a farmer, and it's pretty much having an orgasm complete with "OOOOOHHH YES! YESSSSSS!!!!" Stephanie promised to see her aunt who was selling stuff. Her parents were also there, and they were trying to keep tabs on her, because they wanted her to leave with them. After a short visit with the Willetts, we walked towards the games. At this point Kevin joined us, and we all bombarded him to play games and win something for us. Saalika's boyfriend was such a sweetie and played three games to try to win something for her. We played this fool proof darts game, and the people running the stand were really cool. They said that if any one of us hit a balloon and it says "large" on the tag, all of us win a large stuffed animal. What we would do with large stuffed animals, I don't know. All of us hit "smalls", but the people upgraded us to mediums. Megan got a stuffed wolf and named it "Rug". I think Saalika got a bear and her boyfriend won her a small flower thing. I got a tiger, and named it "Tiger" *rolls eyes* We got tickets to go on rides, and instead of going on the usual swings, we went on this one called "Veritgo". It was like the swings, only it hoisted you 100 ft in the air. Considering how much we had eaten and my sudden weak stomach, I got dizzy right away. The bad part about that ride is that it literally lasted 5 seconds. We should've stuck with the traditional swings. We went on the ferris wheel to close off the night as tradition follows. Saalika and her boyfriend tried their hand at the dunk tank, but missed. It wasn't the same obnoxious guy from last year, this one was really chill. We sat on a bench deliberating on what to do next. The consensus was to travel to Megan's, and watch the remainder of season 3 of the Office. All of us are huge Office fans, and Megan's the only one trying to play catch up. We spent a good hour and a half watching before we all began to crash. At this point I drove home, making sure that Kevin doesn't get lost along the way.

Work: Tonight: 6-close.

I have to say that work was so much fun tonight. It was myself, Sandra, Sarah. Hien, Randy, and Nathalie. In the beginning I was working with Joey and Paul, since I started at 6:00 pm. I already knew it was going to be an interesting night, because we were out of coffee, chocolate, and we were on our last pan of french vanilla. These two pain in the ass girls came in, and one was so particular about not having orange gummi bears, or any orange candy in her ice cream. We introduced the theory of rainbow sprinkles; would you make the person pick out every single orange sprinkle. The girl said that she wouldn't, because it's sugar with orange dye. She went on to rant about orange gummi bears, M&Ms...that's where we stopped her and asked her to think about what she just said. Rainbow sprinkles are just colored sugar coating, so are M&Ms. She insisted it wasn't the same thing, whatever. Her friend wasn't any better. After explaining that we don't have coffee, she kept insisted that the vanilla bean was coffee. If you wonder why your ice cream tastes like vanilla bean, then don't ask me. She asked for brownie and oreos in a love it. I forgot how much brownies will elevate the ice cream, so I had to double the cups. Her friend starts to complain about ice cream sizes, how come her friend "got more" and she didn't. Basically she was trying to scam us for more ice cream. Paul didn't give it to her.

7:00 pm hit and so did the rain clouds. All of us were watching the sky as we helped customers. Randy joked that it was a CS apocalypse, I said that the death eaters are coming. At this point there was a torrential downpour, so things were dead. Sarah and decided that it would be a good idea to run a lap around the entire building complex in uniform, in the rain, while screaming our heads off. People in Moby Dick's and Cal Tor were looking at us like we were nuts, but it was most amusing. Sandra gave Nathalie her going away present, which was chasing her around the store dancing like "party boy" from Jackass. Sarah and Randy made a run to 7-11 to get snack, slurrpies and my Arizona iced tea. Hien and Sarah then ran to Taco Bell across the hill and got food. We were supposed to hit up a diner after work, but just about everyone couldn't go except Sarah and I. We opted for another day. Randy kept doing some sort of creeper dance, and we all joked that he would be the reason why customers would slowly back away in horror. They would have the Lee Trevino face from Happy Gilmore, slowing backing away, mouth dropped, shaking their heads. We drew all over the dry erase board with pictures of Ronald McDonald, and the old school McDonald characters that scared children. I drew the Pedo Bear seal of approval on the side. We also did a list of ghetto names; this Jamaican group came in and bought a small round cake. They wanted something written on it; "Happy Birthday Charmaine" or something like that. We all ran to the back, and laughed about how black people come up with ridiculous, long names. We especially laughed about how this woman wants that happy birthday message on such a tiny cake. It didn't really happen. Towards the end of the night, some people wondered if John and/or Diana were watching the cameras. We ruled out that they weren't, because they are the types to call the store and flip out on the manager right away. I would have to say that tonight was a really good night.

67

People can officially suck it. I had enough of customers and their demanding ways. You DO realize who you're talking to, right?!

Have to take dad to Dulles in 2 and a half hours. Why am I still up? I don't know.

Anyways, on a "Titanic" fix again. Not going to lie, one of my all time favorite movies. This scene never fails to rip my heart apart.

66

I think it's about time for an update. Work stuff, as always. Things have gotten interesting with all the stress. Eric and I had a gummi bear fight last night. This customer came in just as we were about to close, and ordered something. She kept telling her boyfriend to get something, or try whatever she ordered. She kept saying "C'mon put it in your mouth. Just put it in your mouth!" Eric ran to the back, and yelled "That's what she said!!!"

Tonight: Sara was at work decorating Nathalie's cake. When she finished, she took out her hackey sack and she, Malloy, and I tried playing in the backroom. I washing dishes at the time, so I wasn't so involved. At one point I tried to kick it, and I slipped and fell against the sink. I accidentally sprayed Sara with the hose faucet thing. I slightly bruised my left ribs, and part of my left wrist, but it was funny! I'm sure Diana and John are going to have a field day watching that video. Sara sat down next to Malloy on the step ladder, and out of nowhere the stack of pans came tumbling down. I quickly turned my back and did a slight crouch as they fell my way. Sara laughed and told Malloy, "SEE! I TOLD YOU that was a hazard! But NOOOOO...I'm just the crazy white girl with the hackey sack!" Sandra, Amy, and I ordered food from Cal Tor, but we didn't get a chance to eat our food. I came to the conclusion that when we order food, the crowd comes in. Just as the line died down and we were about to run to the back to eat, a buttload of people would come walking in. Everyone's going to Nathalie's going away party tomorrow, but it'll be hard for us closers. I wasn't supposed to work, but Amber called me in because she has some family thing. I wasn't supposed to work tonight, but I guess they were desperate for another person. Malloy has a bad habit of calling when it's that time. He called me the other day to see if I wanted to cover for him. I didn't realize that my phone dropped out of my pocket, and sat on the driver's seat. He called me 10 minutes before I had to go in, and I didn't get the call until it was that time. At least I'm getting some great overtime in before classes start.

I was talking to my mom earlier, and confirmed exactly what I told her. She had an encounter with Kate Gosselin at her work. She said that Kate was shopping for shelving units, and didn't do her hair or have any make up on. My mom was the assisting her, and she told the woman that she looked just like Kate. The woman claimed that she wasn't Kate, but gets that all the time. The woman said that "I really hate (Kate)." My mom told me that Kate was wearing obviously expensive stuff, my mom noticed her designer yellow purse. My mom has had a yellow fix, especially when it comes to handbags. She wasn't certain that it was Kate, until she told me the description. Her coworker's daughter also had an encounter with Kate, she was at a restaurant.

I'm watching that Degrassi movie right now, and all I can think now is: DAMMIT CRAIG! STOP IT!

65

Just had a really off day. I need this.

64

I feel like it's about time for another update, don't you?

I've been running on no sleep for the past 3 days. I think I know what T feels like. First off, Tinted Windows= AWESOME!

Next topic: Jimmie Cone. That didn't happen. I spent the good part of Friday cooking like crazy for the Rosary the next day, and I had to keep in mind that my dad and I were leaving for NYC at 4:00 AM (so we thought). I went to J's house and we decided to take a trip to Jimmie Cone since her friend was in town. There were already closed, so we diverted to Waffle House. I came back home around 1:00 am. I hopped in the shower around 1:45 and finished at 2 something. By the time I was done blow drying my hair, it was 3:00 am. I got literally 15 minutes of sleep before my dad came knocking on my door to wake me up. We leave for Tommy's and get there around 4 something in the morning. We stand around talking, and call auntie Shirl's to see if everyone's on their way. We were supposed to have left at 5:00 AM, and they had just woken up. My insisted on getting breakfast, so we went to Frank's Diner which is down the street from Tommy's. It was a really small place, but it was a REAL diner. They served me epic pancakes and hash browns, none of which I could finish. Tommy's mom called us "from the road" and auntie Shirl was yelling in the background about us eating breakfast; "WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE, THEY DON'T NEED TO EAT NOW!!!" Yeah...when we called them from Maryland House (the first rest stop with fast food and what not), they weren't even through Baltimore yet. We were WAY ahead of them. Dad got irritated that they were rushing us through breakfast, and they haven't even left the house yet. They told us to keep going. We stopped at the Vince Lombardi rest stop in Jersey to change in to our formal attire, and they told us to wait for them again. We waited a good 45 minutes, before my dad got super pissed off. At that point Tommy's mom told us to keep going, because they being the sunday drivers that they are, were still way behind us. She gave us bad directions from the GW bridge, and we ended up going towards Connecticut. Uncle George called to find out where we were, because the people were about to close the casket. Dad yelled on the phone about this bullshit, and how we got bad directions. We didn't have the address, so I couldn't use the GPS on my phone. He called back a minute later with one of the priests who knows the area inside and out, and gave me awesome directions. We were late for the mass, but none of the less we arrived no thanks to some people. Dad was pretty much a wreck as soon as he sat down. There was a priest from Guam who was giving the eulogy, and it was a great one. He talked about how Father Jack made such a huge impact on everyone, especially those in Guam and Hawaii. He said that even til his final days, Father Jack remained his usual, cheerful self. Another priest said how Father Jack joked, saying "I don't want anybody coming up to the front at my funeral, and saying all these great things about me. If they haven't said it now, then it's too late!" On the ride to the church, I kept trying to think back on when I met him. The only thing that came to mind was me running around somewhere. Dad said that I was running around and playing in the monastery. After the mass was over, I saw that Uncle George was one of the pallbearers. He was trying so hard not to burst in to tears. At the very end I did cry a little bit. Zoe and Doney were asking me why I was crying, they could understand why everyone else was. I said that I did meet him when I was little, but I wasn't going to get in to a huge story about why. As much as both my parents feel like they owe him, I feel the same way too. He did such a huge service for my parents, my entire family, etc. He broke the rules to marry my parents in 3 days. When my family immigrated from the Philippines, they couldn't afford the tuition for their school, so he let them go for free. He personally helped my grandma with her financial burdens by assisting her with whatever he could spare. He kept a close and watchful eye on my dad, and really straightened him out. The cemetery was right around back. It contained all the bodies of the former priests, the majority were missionaries in Guam. I have this rule for myself that I will no take pictures during funerals. I just won't. It's not something I want to have on file, it's not something I want to remember. On this wall thing, there was a rose and right behind it was Father Jack's casket. I had to admit that that would have made a cool picture. The people crowding around blocked my view, and I still wasn't about to take any pictures. It was amazing to see the amount of Capuchin Friars, as well as priests alike, attending his funeral. Guam PDN made an obituary for Father Jack; it was a collage of photos of him and his service at Mt. Carmel (my family's school growing up). It was entitled, "The House that JACK Built". Indeed it was correctly titled. He did make that school! Back then people didn't really care so much for a decent education, until Father Jack came around. Now it feels even better when I went with my dad and repainted that classroom. Back then we did it in the name of my grandma Eva, but now it's also for Father Jack.

After the burial, the friars held a reception in one of their gathering spaces. Fr. Jack's mother was there, so my dad went up to her and thanked her for her son's great deeds. His bedroom was right around the corner of the gathering room, so we went over and knocked on the door and thanked him. One of the other priests joked with us saying that "oops, it's locked! I don't think you'll be allowed in." We hung around for another hour and a half. There were some old family friends who traveled from Guam to attend the funeral. One of the other Capuchin Friars was another who had taught my family at Mt. Carmel...I think. All I can remember was that he recognized my family there. He was the one who gave me the terrific directions. He saw my dad, and asked if it was him. My dad didn't recognize him at first, but it all came back to him. The friar couldn't believe how my dad looks now, compared to when he last saw him as a little boy. He had old photos in his pocket, and shared them with my dad. The Capuchin friar who ran the museum let us in, and took us on a tour. There were many art pieces dating back to the 15 c. There were also two robes on display, the old traditional robe which was more intricate with lace and hand embroidered designs, and the new St. Francis robes with sandals. The Friar talked about how their rosaries that hang from their robes are hand made by artisans who are also friars. There was a display case in the middle containing many crosses for the rosaries hand made by past friars. There was a crucifix made entirely out of mother of pearl. He told us that there is more to the museum, but unfortunately we won't be able to view it since it's not visiting hours, plus it's slightly under construction. They're in the process of putting up a memorial for Father Jack. They're going to take all his effects, and put it in the museum. He told us that they're also going to do a thing on Guam within the next year.

After changing our clothes, we sped back down 95 to make it home to get the food and go to the final rosary. I was so out of it, that it was a struggle to drive to Zoe's. We missed the rosary, but obviously we made it for dinner. Tommy, Josh, Angel, and I went in to the basement to eat dinner and play scrabble. On my way home, Megan called me to see if I was going to Andrew's going away party. I completely forgot, and told her how I was running on 15 minutes of sleep, and just got back from an emergency trip to NYC. She said that she would give Andrew my love for me if she ever made it the place. It was Piratz Tavern in downtown Silver Spring.

Today was another one of those ehhhh days. I had a hard time trying to get up, even though I got 11 hours of sleep. Someone was supposed to call my family about when everyone got to the cemetery, since we are closer. They conveniently forgot, and didn't call us. My dad was like, "It's okay. They don't want to call us, whatever then." I went to CalTor with Maxx, since he's been locked up for how long. He needed to get out of the house. After eating, I went back to my room to take another nap before work. I forgot my phone in the car, and I thought I had overslept. I still had another 2 hours before it was time to get up to get ready for work. Work was another story. 90 degree days bring the lines. No break. I was falling asleep when I got to work, but I woke up when it was time to work. I have to work again tomorrow night. Yay. I was on my toes all night watching the door. Since there were so many people, I didn't know if Bitchface was standing in line. She didn't come. Let's keep it that way. It was (work)Megan's last day, so I officially take over her shifts starting tomorrow night. She told me that she's going to visit before she goes to school, she's going to UMD College Park. I have one more month at Cold Stone, before it's time for me to leave. I'll be coming back during breaks, worst comes to worst. That makes me wonder, I don't think I can attend Brian's wedding. It's in January, and it's right before classes start for me. IF I do go back to work, then it's not going to happen. Plus I need the money for my books, supplies, and parking permit. Crazy schedule.

I got home and ate a late dinner. I was starving. I played with Maxx for a little bit, and decided that I wanted to bake brownies. I did that while watching the Simpsons. After that I went online and made a Tinted Windows ringtone. It's been driving me nuts since I was cooking, so I couldn't wait to walk upstairs to make this. It's a "back with you" ringtone. It'll replace my obnoxious phone explosion ringtone that I know everyone loves so much. It's super loud, so for sure I can't miss any calls...unless I leave my phone somewhere. Even then I could still hear it. I kept playing it over and over on my phone, completely disregarding that I have that song on my laptop, and the cd sitting right next to me.

I really need some sleep.

63

Discussing this with Charlie, we have come to the conclusion that he may very well be a descendant of the original Welsh. Therefore we now present you with:

The Charles Welsch and Giselle Palma Reign of Terror

With our new found royal blood lines, Charlie and I will form a super couple (take THAT Brangelina). By decree of the royal couple our first act will be to exploit the people. We will control the ancient "Running of the Bulls" by places our enemies in the pits as the runners. We will have specially trained bulls designed to kill. Our national treasury will be funded by the royalties of the fallen; we'd like to think of this as a very generous donation.

Unfortunately we do understand that some work will be involved. We will hire an academic to write out our treaties. He or she should not demand payment for their services, because hanging out with us should be payment enough. If the chosen does decide to ask for payment, he or she will be charged with treason.

We shall make the people dance for us for entertainment as we shoot their feet with our flintlock pistols.

Regarding treaties, Charlie cannot go Henry the 8th on me. If he breaks the treaty, I have the power to seek revenge by doing the ever so popular "what goes around comes around." Any act of war declared upon each other will be conducted as so; a cat fight to the death...or to who's very tired...or horny (Charlie's idea). It shall be a no holds barred fight, weave pulling and all. Each fighter must remember to remove their earrings before entering the fight.

Our personal act of war would also be a great innovator for world peace. As countries around the world watch how we reconcile our differences, they too shall follow in our footsteps. Once they fall for the plan-BAM! Your country has officially been invaded.

We will place bombs under the seats of our enemies during meetings. Or we will have those large suction tubes that you see on the Simpsons, you just press a button and the enemy goes flying out to some Arab nation where they will be forced to dance.

While completing our treaties and/or making appearances, Charlie and Giselle shall have a personal panic room for escape purposes. Public transportation is as follows:
1. We will buy out Air Force One and modify it to have that drop platform like all other military planes.
2. We will buy the Bat mobile and rename it "Bat Mobile One".
3. We will have a pope mobile complete with bullet proof glass enclosure.

David Blane will be hired to help us escape during a crisis. Criss Angel will also be hired a the scapegoat/douche bag. People will hate him for being a douche bag, and forget about us.

Seth Rogan will be the official royal jester.

Christian Bale will be our driver.

Keifer Sutherland will be renamed "Jack Bauer" and be knighted as so. The ticking clock from "24" will be present during his knighting. He will be addressed as Sir Jack Bauer, and will be the head of our secret service.

Robert De Niro and Al Pacino will team up and run our mafia. Their goons will be Joe Pesci, Danny Devito, and Chris Rock for the "wimpy but tough" guy.

Jackie Chan and Jet Li will be our bodyguards. They will train ninjas for back up.

George W. Bush will be secretary of state, and the sacrifice to the terrorists. We will do the opposite of what Dubya says. Or we'll have Dubya team up with Osama to create the "Bush and Osama Comedy Hour".

Tom Hanks will be the head of foreign affairs, seeing as how he's had experience in "Cast Away". He will be teamed up with a Wilson volleyball, only Wilson's face will be made with peasant blood.

That's our decree, and we're sticking to it!

Rightfully I AM a princess

I'm not talking about the "my mommy and daddy say I'm a princess, therefore I am" deal. I mean I really am a princess. I'll get in to that in a second.

I went to Keisha's party, she was thrilled that we showed up. I told her that I couldn't wrap her presents, but there was something in there for our niece as well, so I was going to let them fight it out. I got to meet my other niece and nephew. My new niece is such a smiley baby. She really has her father's facial features, but prominently has Kira's skin. Same goes for her little brother. I hung out in the kitchen talking to uncle Winston. All of us caught up with each other. They mentioned that Jade's (my first niece from Kira) dad was there, along with his current girlfriend. I whispered, "awk-ward!" Kira was there as well, she hung out in the back the entire time. Eventually she emerged and came to the front of the house. She looks like hell. I thought I had gained some weight...not even close. I know she had 3 kids, but she was a little smaller than I was back in high school. Uncle Winston said that she's on birth control now, and gets the shot. She's 4 times my size now. On top of that, her teeth are just as yellow as butter. All of us noticed that there were these weird growths on her teeth. They look much smaller than I remember. Her teeth are basically rotting out of her head. We didn't say anything to each other, so I think the feelings were mutual. Although I still believe I have every reason to be pissed off at her. At least that portion was taken care of. Keisha got a haircut in honor of her birthday, but her dad was saying how he threatened to shave her head. She pulls out her hair when she's stressed. He said one time it got so bad that she had a bald spot on the back of her head. She looks almost like the good skin heads (not neo nazi). The edges of her head are where the hair is long. Other than that she's growing in to a little lady. It's hard to believe that she's now 12 years old; I was her age when she was born. Wilbur, my old manager from EB Games, came to the party. It turns out that he's renting a room in Keisha's house. Her dad told us how he had part of his esophagus removed, and it's so bad that it's now cancerous. He was given only 9 months left to live. It's so sad, this guy had such a rough life. Speaking of cancer, this conversation moved to how the Philippines' first female president died yesterday from colon cancer. Her name was Corazon "Cory" Aquino.

That lead to the discussion of my ancestry. My dad would always tell me how his cousins from his mom's side were in politics and entertainment. My one uncle is a huge actor in the Philippines, and has a show on TFC right now. Another is a well known politician. From what I was told, our bloodline is linked to Cory Aquino, one of the oldest clans in the Philippines. I think that's on my grandma's side, which is Manikan and Cordoza. My grandpa's bloodline is Alvarez, another ancient bloodline. My dad and uncle said that if you go to their provinces in the Philippines, there are statues of our ancestors. The grave site of my great grandma Alvarez is gated off in the cemetary. She lived to be 104 years old. My uncle who was the politician is buried in the family mausoleum. From there they told me that the blood line traces back to Spain, which I already knew. My great grandpa from my grandma's side was pretty much a mob boss. His name was Don Braulio Manikan. He was a well known professor at the University of Madrid. This may very well answer my question of whether or not my family was linked to Salvador Dali or Federico Garcia Lorca in any way. They said that if you go back to University of Madrid, my great grandpa's name is on a plaque, as well as another plaque with all the Don's. I remember Brandon's dad tried to research our family lineage when he was stationed in Spain. He told Keisha's dad that he wouldn't believe the stuff he found. The family blood line in Spain is linked to royalty. This could also answer if the Spanish island, La Palma, belongs to us. My uncle asked me if I ever wondered why their cousins, my aunts and uncles, referred to them as "Auntie," and, "Uncle," and did the customary hand gesture. I'm older than a lot of my cousins, but we don't do that. They said the reason why that happens is the royal blood. Our blood is superior to theirs. Too bad my uncle didn't make a copy of information. I was told that if I can get back to Spain, I need to bring a copy of my birth certificate, research the family documents and make copies. I can go to the king of Spain, and as long as the blood line isn't broken, which it isn't, I can claim my status as princess. I'm determined to go back to Spain one of these days, and reclaim my family's status in royalty. I jokingly asked what happened to our status and money, since we are royalty. My dad and uncle laughed, and said that I could still claim all of this. The only thing I could get is my princess status and a medal indicating that I am legit. That works for me! I think this is so fascinating how my family has such high rank, but we were the commoner and the peasants in the Philippines. One day I'm going to claim that status. I knew there was something in me that was meant to be great, other than my artistic talents. If I could do a study abroad program, that's one goal I am determined to accomplish. La Reina Giselle P. "Spanish Princess Giselle." That's so cool!

62

The raise. I go pick up my check last night, and as I'm heading out to the bank I notice a five dollar increase. I wonder what the deal is, because I didn't work that many hours. I check the rate at which I'm working and it went from $6.80 to $7.25. HELL YES! This will give me more money for school! Speaking of school, I tell mom and dad that I have to pay a remaining balance on my tuition, and they looked just as confused as I was when I first found out. I explained what the lady at the bursar's office told me; the $7500 is split for both semesters, and clearly the amount of classes I am about to take exceeded the amount that would cover this semester. I told them it was only $27, so it's not bad. It could've been a a couple of hundred or even a thousand, if I had signed up for more classes. Now I'm glad that registration was acting stupid. Dad told me that he would reimburse me after I pay, because he knows I'm pretty much broke. I've been trying to help with gas, and considering how much I make at work, there goes my paychecks.

Speaking of money, I told everyone who was going to see 500 Days of Summer that I can no longer attend, because I'm broke. Plus there was talks of having dinner before hand, and I knew that wasn't going to happen for me. Natalie was the first to say how lame that was, but it was a very good reason. She then suggested that they start a "Giselle must see this movie fund". Claire offered to pay for my ticket as a late/early birthday present. She even offered to drive me, since I took her to Harry Potter. I've told the girls that I don't really need to see this, but thanks for the offer. They won't take no for an answer. It's one of our last hangs outs before we all scatter back to school. I know Claire is leaving in two weeks. Speaking of, Andrew and Flora leave as well. I have to give Flora her present, and figure something out for Andrew. I can't believe they're moving to NYC. I'm so excited for them! Anyways I think 6 people are contributing, which exceeds the amount for a ticket. The plan after is to go to karaoke. Jose found a new place in old town Gaithersburg, so now we can resurrect karaoke.

So the conversation last night with N...that was hilariously awkward.
We began talking about toothpaste, and how T claims the he may be allergic. The area around his mouth was getting red. N told him that after 26 years of using it, that CANNOT be the reason. She told me how she likes to use Tom's all natural toothpaste, the kind you can find at MOM's or Whole Foods. From there it segued in to how eating all organic isn't necessarily good for your health. I told her that I've always thought it was the other way around, at least there aren't any pesticides or growth hormones, etc. She said that she doesn't know the whole story by heart, but I should ask T for the full explanation. Then she said that people who claim to be vegan/vegetarians make her laugh. I paused for a moment, but let her keep talking. I've done my research, and gave this huge presentation in speech class. She says that she doesn't understand why people would deprive themselves from such good food and nutrients. I told her animal rights, and she started laughing. She said that she does believe in animal rights to an extent, but God put these animals on earth to feed us. I understand that. That was another part of my presentation; I know you can't win them all, but I urged people to eat organically grown, local meat. At least you know what's in it and where it came from. I started laughing and said "this is awkward..." She continued talking about how it's better to just eat meat. I finally spoke up and told her that I'm a vegetarian. She had her foot in her mouth for a second, and apologized. She hoped she didn't offend me with the things she said. I told her not at all. I actually like hearing the opposition, and their stance (ahem, recall older entry involving Ashley and abortion). My reasons for going veg are my own, and it's not such a ridiculous reason. I told her that I'm not one to chain myself to a fence where cows are grazing, just to stop them from being slaughtered. It's like tree huggers, chaining yourself to a tree won't stop it from being cut down. I don't agree with the way harvest animals are raised for the killing floors, it's disgusting, it's inhumane. People wonder why their meat is tainted. Another big this is people wonder why their children are "growing up too fast". I told her my stance on animal rights, and she did agree with me to a certain extent. I told her that I don't agree with fur manufacturing for aesthetics and vanity. She told me that given the situation, if you were stuck in the cold ice lands and this was for survival, then it's necessary. I completely agree with her. I feel like the situation would change any person. I told her that I understand I can't change the world, but I like to listen. That's a huge step. I'm not going around preaching to my friends and family what they're doing is wrong. The only time I do that is in a joking matter. This lead to how we both hate it when people force others in to beliefs that they may no agree with. It's not right, if the person doesn't agree, then what can you do? Besides that, she told me about their trip to Euro Disney. She told me how upset E was when he couldn't go on space mountain hahahaha! Poor kid, I told her soon enough he'll try to go on. She told me how they managed to lose two kids in the process of walking. She said that E was making friends with a littler girl; he went to help her reach a fast past. She was glad that they raised him to be a little gentleman, but he's only 6! She would like him to act 6 while he can. It's frightening how all these children are trying so hard to be adults. I told her when I was 6, all I wanted to was paint, draw, play, be 6 years old. She told me she just wanted to sing and dance. Kids are growing up way too fast.

So...I just realized what time it is. It's 2:18 pm. Keisha's birthday party started 18 minutes ago. I think we're waiting for mom to get home. I know for the past month they kept bugging me if we were coming or not. It was beginning to piss me off, to be honest. I don't know how many times I have to keep telling them that we are coming. At one point I almost did tell her that we weren't, but I decided not to reply.

61

GUESS WHO GOT A RAISE!?

Had an interesting convo with N tonight, will reiterate later.