For my birthday present to myself, I decided to go to the Aerosmith concert at Blossom on Monday night. Lindsey and Sam went with me and we had a really good time. It was pouring down rain from the time we left until the time we got there, but there were blue skies in the distance, so the concert was not a wet one (something I was very, very worried about, as we had lawn seats). Cheap Trick was there too, but I only knew about three of their songs, so that wasn't quite as exciting.
After the concert, we managed to get out of the parking lot in about 45 minutes, which I considered pretty lucky. Then we headed for Wendy's, where, at 1:52, they decided to close the drive-thru one car ahead of us. Nice, Wendy's. We ended up getting iced tea and potato chips at a BP before heading home.
I went to see my second midnight-opening movie last night, Spider-Man 2. I recommend it and I also liked it a lot better than the first one.
On my way home, my car hit 100,000 miles. As per a tradition of mine and Lindsey's, I blared my favorite song. So last night, at 3:15 am, I was driving down Beer Can Alley listening to Bush's Glycerine. Being 20 has been fun so far.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Monday, June 28, 2004
To begin my 20th year...
First, thanks to everyone who made my day happier by sending me birthday IMs--even though I fished for them in my away message.
I had a great birthday. Jimmy's friend David and I share the same birthday, and Jimmy threw him a party. But when I got home on Saturday night, they also had a little cake for me and everyone sang and it was really nice. Then yesterday morning, I got up and drove to Cassie's, where I met her, Justin, and Megan to go to the Indians game. Not only did we have great seats, but they also won (beating the Colorado Rockies. He he, Christina!), and Cassie had them put my name on the screen with all of the birthdays, so that was really exciting. Thanks Cassie!
After the game, I drove home, and it took awhile because there is this rule that I don't go somewhere without going the wrong way at least once throughout the trip. I successfully went the wrong way TWICE on my drive home, which added about 25 minutes to my travel time. Oh well. When I got home I cleaned up and Monica surprised me by meeting me at my house with Abby, and we all went out to dinner. Afterwards we had cake with my family.
Today's the Aerosmith concert...hopefully it stops raining because I don't want to go sit on the lawn in the rain. Cross your fingers for me.
I had a great birthday. Jimmy's friend David and I share the same birthday, and Jimmy threw him a party. But when I got home on Saturday night, they also had a little cake for me and everyone sang and it was really nice. Then yesterday morning, I got up and drove to Cassie's, where I met her, Justin, and Megan to go to the Indians game. Not only did we have great seats, but they also won (beating the Colorado Rockies. He he, Christina!), and Cassie had them put my name on the screen with all of the birthdays, so that was really exciting. Thanks Cassie!
After the game, I drove home, and it took awhile because there is this rule that I don't go somewhere without going the wrong way at least once throughout the trip. I successfully went the wrong way TWICE on my drive home, which added about 25 minutes to my travel time. Oh well. When I got home I cleaned up and Monica surprised me by meeting me at my house with Abby, and we all went out to dinner. Afterwards we had cake with my family.
Today's the Aerosmith concert...hopefully it stops raining because I don't want to go sit on the lawn in the rain. Cross your fingers for me.
Thursday, June 24, 2004
It's Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
This is fun:
AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Movie Music
One of my faves, Meet Me in St. Louis, made it in the list twice and so did some of Judy Garland's other stuff. "Puttin' on the Ritz" from Young Frankenstein made it, as did "Summer Nights" from Grease. It's a pretty interesting list. Betcha didn't realize you knew this many movie songs.
AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Movie Music
One of my faves, Meet Me in St. Louis, made it in the list twice and so did some of Judy Garland's other stuff. "Puttin' on the Ritz" from Young Frankenstein made it, as did "Summer Nights" from Grease. It's a pretty interesting list. Betcha didn't realize you knew this many movie songs.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Why I Love the Loudonville Pool
Today was one of the most typical days possible at the pool and it reminded me of what a great time I have working there. The day started off at 10:25, when I got to there and swim team practices were finishing up. We are giving preschool swimming lessons right now, and those are always fun: you can get a "dud," who is a kid who won't leave his or her mother/the side of the pool/the ladder, cries constantly, and makes you feel bad about your skills as an instructor. Or, on the other hand, you can get a "daredevil" who thinks its fun to jump in while you're turned around to get his/her floatie and nearly drown (these are pretty funny, because the kids don't realize that they're drowning. They enjoy struggling underneath the water. I don't get it.). I worked with a little girl who is almost a dud but with a little coaxing became not so bad.
After that, our day began with the foreboding sounds of loud little kids on the other side of the fence: the dreaded children of Mrs. Young's Summer Playground, or, as we call it, the Park Program. It's basically this free childcare thing offered to the community. The kids usually play at the park downtown, but come to the pool twice a week. Now, I'm not talking 10 or 15 kids. I'm talking something like 50 or 60. Today, we had 52 wild children running around the pool, losing their towels, causing trouble, and finding "lost" items. (I think I made one little boy's day by telling him he could keep the penny he turned into the lost and found.)
At 4, when they had finally left, things slowed down but at 6:45 we had to give another round of swimming lessons. Luckily for us, the pool temp is about 85 right now, which is really really nice. I have a really sweet little girl that I work with during night lessons. She's not quite a daredevil, but is willing to go underwater and that is always a relief. She likes me a lot and loves to talk. This kind of kid is the kind that makes me love to teach lessons.
After lessons were over, no one was left at the pool so we decided it was time to close up and play a game of lifeguard water polo, which we invented way back in my first year at the pool. I will say that my team dominated, and we did so with my help. I can't believe I almost didn't work there this year. What was I thinking?
After that, our day began with the foreboding sounds of loud little kids on the other side of the fence: the dreaded children of Mrs. Young's Summer Playground, or, as we call it, the Park Program. It's basically this free childcare thing offered to the community. The kids usually play at the park downtown, but come to the pool twice a week. Now, I'm not talking 10 or 15 kids. I'm talking something like 50 or 60. Today, we had 52 wild children running around the pool, losing their towels, causing trouble, and finding "lost" items. (I think I made one little boy's day by telling him he could keep the penny he turned into the lost and found.)
At 4, when they had finally left, things slowed down but at 6:45 we had to give another round of swimming lessons. Luckily for us, the pool temp is about 85 right now, which is really really nice. I have a really sweet little girl that I work with during night lessons. She's not quite a daredevil, but is willing to go underwater and that is always a relief. She likes me a lot and loves to talk. This kind of kid is the kind that makes me love to teach lessons.
After lessons were over, no one was left at the pool so we decided it was time to close up and play a game of lifeguard water polo, which we invented way back in my first year at the pool. I will say that my team dominated, and we did so with my help. I can't believe I almost didn't work there this year. What was I thinking?
Sunday, June 20, 2004
I'm ready...
to head back to Oxford and have a good fall semester. Don't get me wrong. I love my home, and I have good friends here, and I can't complain about making money. (My job/co-workers, yes. The money, no.) I'm homesick for school and I haven't even been home for most of my summer vacation yet: The total of 41 breaks down into 22 days gone, 19 days here.
What spurred the thoughts of getting back down to good old Miami was a call I received from my roommate on Thursday. What had happened was this: We signed up for room 069 Thomson Hall in February. In May, we were informed that we had been transferred to room 169 in the same hall. However, while I was vacationing, both Cassie and I were informed that Thomson was going to become a first-year dorm and that we had been moved to 132 Mary Lyon Hall.
At first I was a little bummed: this is an all-girls dorm (or at least it was last year), and perhaps I could be bombarded with too much estrogen. Cassie told me that it would be air-conditioned, but then I found out that Mary Lyon was not an air-conditioned hall. The only good thing was the addition of about ten square feet of space. Then, as I was listening to the answering machine this morning, I came upon a message that told me I would be receiving a FREE air-conditioning unit for my room. For what, I don't know, nor will I be able to find out until tomorrow. I hope it's because they decided to move me all over the place.
So, it's just a short 55 days until summer ends and I go back. Which kind of does sound short. Oh, summer...
What spurred the thoughts of getting back down to good old Miami was a call I received from my roommate on Thursday. What had happened was this: We signed up for room 069 Thomson Hall in February. In May, we were informed that we had been transferred to room 169 in the same hall. However, while I was vacationing, both Cassie and I were informed that Thomson was going to become a first-year dorm and that we had been moved to 132 Mary Lyon Hall.
At first I was a little bummed: this is an all-girls dorm (or at least it was last year), and perhaps I could be bombarded with too much estrogen. Cassie told me that it would be air-conditioned, but then I found out that Mary Lyon was not an air-conditioned hall. The only good thing was the addition of about ten square feet of space. Then, as I was listening to the answering machine this morning, I came upon a message that told me I would be receiving a FREE air-conditioning unit for my room. For what, I don't know, nor will I be able to find out until tomorrow. I hope it's because they decided to move me all over the place.
So, it's just a short 55 days until summer ends and I go back. Which kind of does sound short. Oh, summer...
Vacation 2: The Florida Adventure
Although I had a great time the past two weeks, I have to tell you that it wasn't quite as adventurous as the trip to Colorado. After a roughly 20-hour-long drive, we made it to Orlando, Florida, city of theme parks. Our hotel was nice. I'm talking, even I was willing to walk into the bathroom without wearing shoes. We went to Universal Studios for three days (more like two-and-a-half), that was fun. There were an awful lot of 3D rides/attractions and you know what? I have discovered that I really dislike 3D entertainment. Do I want evil villains throwing fireballs at my face?
No. Do I like it when people sneeze and I feel the "snot" (a.k.a. water sprayed from some cleverly hidden contraption) hit me? No. Not at all. Evidently I am the only person in the world who feels this way because everyone else seemed to enjoy it. Whatever, guys.
We spent our last day in Orlando at Disney World's Magic Kingdom. I would like to point out that the summer happens to be a fairly heavy tourist time for Disney World, and obviously if I know that, so should they. So, Michael Eisner...What's the deal? Why would you close It's a Small World for repairs in JUNE??? WHY? I was disappointed. Probably this was mostly because it was hot and muggy and that ride is a kind of long, sit-down, non-3D ride that is cool and relaxing. Oh well. I did eat at Tony's, which is a tribute to the movie Lady and the Tramp, one of my very favorites. I also got some pretty cute Alice in Wonderland stuff.
Orlando was fun, and then we decided to head for Ormond Beach where my mom's cousin Sandy lives. We stayed on the beach, but I had gotten something like sun poisoning a few days before we got there so I opted to stay out of the sun. Instead, I went shopping with Anna, visited with Sandy, and found other things to do.
Grandpa and I enjoyed our trip home in our first-class comfort. I did have some trouble in the airports, however, and because I feel that this is the most blog-worthy event of the trip that I can remember at the moment, I am going to go ahead and share it with you.
Erin and I had to go to the bathroom before I got on the plane, so we decided to go find a restroom. We did, but it was the men's and I was walking into a stall before Erin said, "Loren, this is a BOYS bathroom!" Needless to say, we were both very embarrassed as we walked out. Then, after my flight, I decided to make a stop at the Cleveland airport restroom. But when I tried to leave, I couldn't get the door to open. The handle was turning but not moving the little thing holding the door shut. And there was no way I was crawling on that nasty floor to get out. So I stood there for a few minutes banging on the door and trying to get the stupid thing to open. I finally did, and I really hope none of the women standing in the bathroom thought I was too weird. I couldn't help that the door was broken.
So, now I'm back at home, settling in for the rest of the summer. The rest of the fam is stopped for a few days in Savannah, GA, so Christy, Jimmy and I are here without any parents. Coincidentally, we also have no food and my car has no gas. We also have no money with which to buy these things, because it is Sunday and I can't cash my paychecks. Hehe. Should be fun.
No. Do I like it when people sneeze and I feel the "snot" (a.k.a. water sprayed from some cleverly hidden contraption) hit me? No. Not at all. Evidently I am the only person in the world who feels this way because everyone else seemed to enjoy it. Whatever, guys.We spent our last day in Orlando at Disney World's Magic Kingdom. I would like to point out that the summer happens to be a fairly heavy tourist time for Disney World, and obviously if I know that, so should they. So, Michael Eisner...What's the deal? Why would you close It's a Small World for repairs in JUNE??? WHY? I was disappointed. Probably this was mostly because it was hot and muggy and that ride is a kind of long, sit-down, non-3D ride that is cool and relaxing. Oh well. I did eat at Tony's, which is a tribute to the movie Lady and the Tramp, one of my very favorites. I also got some pretty cute Alice in Wonderland stuff.
Orlando was fun, and then we decided to head for Ormond Beach where my mom's cousin Sandy lives. We stayed on the beach, but I had gotten something like sun poisoning a few days before we got there so I opted to stay out of the sun. Instead, I went shopping with Anna, visited with Sandy, and found other things to do.
Grandpa and I enjoyed our trip home in our first-class comfort. I did have some trouble in the airports, however, and because I feel that this is the most blog-worthy event of the trip that I can remember at the moment, I am going to go ahead and share it with you.
Erin and I had to go to the bathroom before I got on the plane, so we decided to go find a restroom. We did, but it was the men's and I was walking into a stall before Erin said, "Loren, this is a BOYS bathroom!" Needless to say, we were both very embarrassed as we walked out. Then, after my flight, I decided to make a stop at the Cleveland airport restroom. But when I tried to leave, I couldn't get the door to open. The handle was turning but not moving the little thing holding the door shut. And there was no way I was crawling on that nasty floor to get out. So I stood there for a few minutes banging on the door and trying to get the stupid thing to open. I finally did, and I really hope none of the women standing in the bathroom thought I was too weird. I couldn't help that the door was broken.
So, now I'm back at home, settling in for the rest of the summer. The rest of the fam is stopped for a few days in Savannah, GA, so Christy, Jimmy and I are here without any parents. Coincidentally, we also have no food and my car has no gas. We also have no money with which to buy these things, because it is Sunday and I can't cash my paychecks. Hehe. Should be fun.
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
Just Pondering...
okay, okay. I thought both of these were interesting:
Michael Moore vs. Himself, hating America
and
Supersize Me guy vs. SoSo Whaley
What are we to take from all this? I don't know about the Michael Moore issue, but I do know that you shouldn't eat at McDonald's as often as either of these people. (Sorry, Christina.)
Thoughts?
Michael Moore vs. Himself, hating America
and
Supersize Me guy vs. SoSo Whaley
What are we to take from all this? I don't know about the Michael Moore issue, but I do know that you shouldn't eat at McDonald's as often as either of these people. (Sorry, Christina.)
Thoughts?
Busy Week. Where is my summer going?
It's been a week (plus some), and this is what I've done:
I've worked everyday. Two pools = lots of lifeguarding opportunity = lots of $$$ for me. Which is good, because I put gas in the car today and have $7.05 in my checking account right now. OUCH.
Except for Sunday. I had my first fever since I can remember and I slept all day. It was a bummer because not only did I fall asleep at Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on Saturday night, but I also missed out on some grad parties Saturday afternoon, not to mention bragging rights on 9 straight days of work. Not to mention the money.
Our DDR game came in the mail yesterday, so Erin and I (and Rachel too) were dancing for hours last night. I realize that it looks ridiculous, but it really is fun. You should give it a try.
I've worked the longest days at the campgrounds. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll be able to write a well-rounded entry on the characteristics of campers. It's an interesting job, to say the least. Or maybe the most.
Now, I'm getting ready to head to sunny Florida for a family vacation on the beach. I'll be flying home with my grandpa first class (because my uncle is awesome) and I'll be back to blog then!
I've worked everyday. Two pools = lots of lifeguarding opportunity = lots of $$$ for me. Which is good, because I put gas in the car today and have $7.05 in my checking account right now. OUCH.
Except for Sunday. I had my first fever since I can remember and I slept all day. It was a bummer because not only did I fall asleep at Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on Saturday night, but I also missed out on some grad parties Saturday afternoon, not to mention bragging rights on 9 straight days of work. Not to mention the money.
Our DDR game came in the mail yesterday, so Erin and I (and Rachel too) were dancing for hours last night. I realize that it looks ridiculous, but it really is fun. You should give it a try.
I've worked the longest days at the campgrounds. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll be able to write a well-rounded entry on the characteristics of campers. It's an interesting job, to say the least. Or maybe the most.
Now, I'm getting ready to head to sunny Florida for a family vacation on the beach. I'll be flying home with my grandpa first class (because my uncle is awesome) and I'll be back to blog then!
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