Oh, hi stranger!

This new layout is a bit odd.  Looks like I have to get used to the fact that social media and blog sites are constantly changing.  Oh well.

I don't like feeling like there's always something I'm neglecting.  I've had the same journal since 1998, and I still haven't finished writing on all the pages after 14 years!  They're starting to fall out now.  I do still write in it, but not nearly as much as I mean to.  Same with this, I guess, but without the whole "pages falling out" problem. 

Anyway, I guess it's about time for a mini update of sorts.  Let's see... I had my first international experience in April at Niagara Falls (combined with an upstate NY journey).  Went on the Maid of the Mist and felt like I was in the middle of a hurricane at one point!  Nevertheless, it was one of the most memorable things I've done in 26 years.  Would definitely do it again! :)  On the last day of vacation, we stopped at a town in the middle of nowhere (which makes up most of upstate NY) called Howes Cave.  Went 156 feet underground to Howe Caverns on a small group tour, went on a short boat ride along a river that flows through the cave.  The story of it was fascinating and the place was gorgeous.  That night was the first time in years that I'd been able to see so many stars without a telescope.  Got a little chilly, but it was well worth it!

Bob and I started a garden in his backyard, too!  It's quite a bit of work, especially considering how hot it's been this summer, but seeing how much the plants have grown is pretty rewarding.  That is, when they're not being eaten by deer or bunnies or mischievous woodchucks, who get stuck in said garden after climbing in, and meet a not-so-happy fate.  That's one for the books, but I'd rather not remember it...

I also picked up a bit of volunteer writing for an online publication called QW Magazine that's based in London.  Been researching and reporting on mainly political happenings since February.  Haven't written every month since then, but so far I've done 3 articles - one each for February, March, and June.  Gotta start somewhere if I ever plan on making a difference!

Well, this has been fun, but it's 11:00 now, and I've got work tomorrow.  Nighty night, world.  Sweet dreams... <3

go (north)west

finally made it around to an area of massachusetts that i hadn't really seen much of before, aside from visiting springfield twice when i was looking at colleges once upon a time.

it was a nice little trip... deerfield area, greenfield, shelburne falls, buckland. such cute little places! went almost to the top of the poet's seat tower in greenfield, and all i can say is: WHAT A VIEW! there's nothing like being able to see just about an entire town from one place. i would've gone to the very top of the tower, but considering that my head was getting dizzy from the heights, i figured that wouldn't be such a hot idea. i still could see sooo much though.

i think shelburne falls may have been my favorite, but it gets some competition from south deerfield only because of the yankee candle headquarters that has a ridiculously amazing christmas display (all year round!!) and really cool architecture/scenery inside. i felt like i was going to get lost in the place. by the time bob and i came out, an hour and a half had passed, but i had absolutely no idea that it had been so long.

can't believe i left my camera behind though. i would've loved to take pictures of the bridge of flowers. after the thunderstorm moved through, of course. lucky for me there was a hole-in-the-wall bookstore to hide myself away in for an hour while the storm(s) came barreling through. still had a not-so-beautiful view from the back room though. ughhh... only about 3 more weeks of summer though. YAY for the return of beautiful colored leaves and apple cider and pumpkin picking and cooler temperatures! soooo excited.

all for now... i feel like i've been doing pretty well with keeping myself up to date on here. sweet! :)

"ooooh, burn!"

haven't had a sunburn in a while. i almost forgot how much it hurts to scratch them... until last night.

lesson of the day/weekend - don't mess with that bright new hampshire sun.

thank goodness for lotion with aloe... :)
and for hour-long naps in the car.
and for phone calls at a random mcdonald's in uxbridge.

<3

chasing mistakes

Today's been the first day in a while that I thought about my old high school friends a lot.

I signed into Facebook for the usual news feed check/snoop around (yeah, yeah, I do that sometimes!) and a picture of a girl named Libby that I had been friends with in high school popped up in the corner. I looked at the picture and realized that I haven't talked to her for probably about 8 years or so, but went to look at her profile just because.

Learned a few things there, one being that (of all days I had to randomly check her profile) she got married today in her hometown! But for the life of me, I can't get over what foolish things caused us to stop talking to each other.

Libby was always friendly to me, but during our sophomore year, she started hanging out with another girl a lot - so much so that I hardly saw her anymore. It bothered me that we didn't talk much, so I figured the best thing to do would be to tell her about it. Looking back on it, when I did finally discuss it with her, I probably didn't phrase it exactly as I should have (although I remember trying to be tactful), and she seemed pretty upset when we finished. After that, we basically didn't talk at all.

I hadn't thought about that too much before now, but it's one of the things I would do over if that were possible. Apparently tact wasn't something I had a lot of as a 15-year-old, but I like to think that I would handle a similar situation very differently now.

Seems like planning out how to discuss things with people was one of the most valuable lessons I learned in high school. Maybe a bit too late, but better late than never.

maybe?

been wondering about this job posting i found on craigslist last night.

small textbook publishing firm called victory productions in worcester. has a bunch of positions that they need to fill, but that's a crazy commute to make every day from here, so i'd need to move relatively soon if anything came of it.

i haven't sent in my resume, but i'm still thinking about it.

definitely could use the experience and a change of scenery, but worrying a bit about how mom would fair considering that she'd have to pay the rent and all the utilities on her own if i were to get it. i know i'll have to go eventually, and she might not be too concerned if i did take this, but then again, she's not always honest about that stuff.

and i'd probably need to find a roommate. hm... too many questions!

Weekend Wanderings

I think this weekend felt more like Halloween than next weekend will.

Bob and I hung out with dear Francis and his new girlfriend, Audrey, on Saturday. Francis had been wanting to go visit the Lizzie Borden house for quite a while, so we finally made plans to go. The whole story is really curious. I'm still thinking about the possibilities of who killed the stepmother since I'm almost positive that the maid got the father... but anyway!

So we went there, and then when that was over, we decided to get the full effect of the Lizzie Borden experience and show Francis and Audrey where she's buried. I know, this probably sounds a little morbid, but with Francis being the history nut that he is, it ended up being an amusing time for all of us... lol. :) After that we did something normal and went to dinner at the 99 restaurant. We had actually decided on Applebee's, but apparently, Bob's car wanted to meander its way into the wrong parking lot! Very yummy, nonetheless.

I found out that Audrey and I have the same favorite colors, and that Francis likes chocolate chip ice cream, and that his eyes will light up like a kid in a candy store when you tell him historical facts. Bob demonstrated that a few times! :)

Then today was shopping day... Burlington Coat Factory and the Dollar Store. They had Christmas decorations and cards and wrapping paper! I was so tempted, but I was good and didn't get anything Christmas related yet. Bob just kept laughing at me. :sigh:

Watched some of the game at his house, then went home to drop my things off and back out to meet my mom, silly aunts, and cousin at Panera's. They really are insane. I have no other words. Getting sleepy now.... off to bed!

Dream, Dream, Dream...

My subconscious is very disturbing.
I don't know if this happens to anyone else at all, but I've been dreaming of very strange scenarios with people that I've never met. Particularly older people as of late.

Dream 1:
I'm visiting some place that looks like the midwest with my mom and Bob. We're staying in a nice neighborhood with an older man (maybe in his 70s) that none of us have ever met. I don't even recall knowing his name in the dream. Anyway, we were staying at his house, which he said was haunted by a woman who was murdered there years earlier. During our stay, the woman's spirit is frequently present, and only attacks the old man.

On one occasion, she throws him down the flight of stairs near his front door. Just before she attacked, we were aware of her presence and went into the old man's kitchen to fill a bowl with tomato sauce. As she was throwing him, we ran out of the kitchen and threw the bowl in her direction as if the sauce would stop her! The old man wasn't injured, but we wanted to get him out of the house for a while since he had come to the conclusion that the spirit wouldn't follow him out.

Then we ended up in a plaza that had a dollar store. As the four of us were walking toward the store, we passed a kid with ice cream. The ice cream was melting onto the ground, and I happened to look behind me at that moment and saw a set of footprints walking through the melted ice cream. We realized that the spirit was still following us, and then my dream was interrupted by my obnoxious alarm clock.


Dream 2:
I'm moving back up to college and I start unpacking my stuff, but I'm not moving into a dorm. I'm moving into the library, and the entire campus looks nothing like it does in reality.

Oddly, I know that there was more than one person that came with me on the trip, but the only person I recall from the dream is an old woman who was supposed to be my grandmother. Yet she looked nothing at all like how I remember my dad's mother or my mom's mother.

On one of my journeys back to the car, my "grandmother" starts complaining at me because I'm carrying something in my mouth. Then I argue back, saying that both of my hands are full and that my mouth was the only other place I could fit anything! I have no idea how I'm even getting that out considering that I have a CD case (or something of the sort) stuck in between my teeth...

After that, I walk back into the library with my things, and I see a bunch of people that I remember from Assumption, but no one that I was close with. Just acquaintances. And not a single person looked at me strangely because I was moving my stuff in there. It was as if moving into the library were completely normal. Then, yet again, my alarm woke me up.


I'm not even sure that a dream interpretation book could help me at this point! Weird.