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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.