Saturday, July 20, 2002

My mom woke me up at 9:00 this morning when she called. For some reason, my brother Matt spent the night at her house and she wanted to know what time to get him up so that he could go to Home Depot with me. I told her that he could just come get me at 10:00 and we'd ride together. My other brother Marc wanted to go, too, so we said okay. Somehow, the messages got all mixed up and he called me at 10:15 from Home Depot, wanting to know where I was. I was like "At home? Waiting for you?" It was kind of funny. They had to wait half an hour for me to drive there. We got what my dad wanted, but couldn't find the things I wanted for class. I'll just have to make them myself.

We went to the grocery store, which is my least favorite place in the whole world (besides the gas station), but we had fun. We don't usually get to do things together, just the three of us. And now that we're all old enough not to fight with each other, we have a good time. Anyway, after that, we took the groceries to my grandma and drove to my mom's house for lunch. She made what she called a "seafood buffet" but it was really shrimp, fish sticks, and okra. It was good, though. Well, not the fish sticks, I didn't eat those.

After lunch, I fixed Marc's computer. He installed his own CD-RW drive, and he did something that made it boot first instead of the hard drive. No wonder the computer thought Windows didn't exist. Then he and Matt played some CIA thing on the PS2 and my mom and I watched the Braves game.

I left at four to get ready for church and dinner. I was early, so being a good step-daughter I visited my stepmother in the hospital. Sigh. Anyway, I know, I already talked about one dinner we had for Steve and Linda, but that was the whole church. This one was special because it was just for the Sunday school teachers. We all went to the Saturday night Mass first. Deacon Paul, who is almost ready to be ordained as a priest, gave the homily. I don't usually go to that Mass, so I'd never heard him talk before. He told many anecdotes. Many. He started off with gardening, went to Jekyll and Hyde, then covered Star Trek, and something else. He lost me at some point, and I am not kidding, one of the altar boys fell asleep!

After that, us CCD teachers went to the restaurant. Of course, it was the most expensive one in town. I'd never been, but we had lots of fun. When we got our food, Steve led the prayer. And I'm not sure how much you all know about Catholicism, but we have a prayer that's specifically for meals. It's in no way required to say that one, but most of us do because we learn it when we're two or whatever. We started with the Sign of the Cross; I'm sure you've seen Catholic people cross themselves. Imagine 15 of us doing it in a crowded restaurant. In a predominantly Baptist town. By the time we were on the fifth word, everyone was staring. Didn't bother us.

Dinner was good, we gave them our going away present thing that I couldn't really see from where I was sitting. Everyone shared little stories, some people cried. There's only one male teacher, Mr. Crosby, and we were all making fun of him. He said he probably didn't do as good of a job as everyone else. But Linda pointed at me and said, "Here's one fruit of the seeds you planted." We all stared at her, then started laughing. Mrs. Dunleavy said "Hey Margie, I bet you've never been called a fruit before!" He said, "Well, I did teach Margie in 3rd grade and in 7th grade. If she's still around, maybe I wasn't as bad as I thought." Eventually we all left and went home.

Oh, I forgot! Craig was online! For the first time in months! I was so excited, we talked for a long time. Maybe he'll be on more often. And one final thing: Welcome back Adam! And welcome back Zach! I missed you!



Friday, July 19, 2002

My bookends are now little castles. The PVC pipes are the towers. That was John's idea. Not mine. ;) And my teacher approved of it. Good for John. Yesterday, I learned how to use the lathe! And I turned a block into several little cones for the tops of the towers! Actually, it was a lot of fun, I want to make some more. It's a shame I don't need them.

We went out for dinner after work tonight. We all brought clothes to change into and put them in Sharon's office. After the last patient left, we all ran back there like it was a sleepover or something and did each other's hair and makeup. Then we all got in our cars and drove to this new restaurant, the Bistro. I led the way because no one else really knew exactly where they were going. It's very small, the eight of us took up about half the seating. The outside is purple, the inside is brick, the bathroom is (I am not kidding) bright pink. Neon, almost. They all had some wine, I did not. They all got slightly drunk, I did not. But let me just say, they were being very open about their personal lives. Some of that stuff I just did not need to know. And everything was funny. In case anyone is wondering, I had chicken with portabella mushrooms in red wine sauce. For dessert, we had raspberry chocolate cheesecake. Dr. Loeffler paid, which is good because I couldn't have afforded it.

My stepmother is in the hospital with some kind of infection. She's on about five different medications. My father is, of course, not leaving her room. Which is understandable, I know, but he was supposed to go with me to Home Depot and the grocery story tomorrow. I haven't seen him since....Monday. Tomorrow was going to be our day out. But he called and said "Hey, while you're at Home Depot, get this and this and this. You don't mind do you? Oh, and at the grocery store, we need some of this and this and this. You can pay for it, right?" Sure, Daddy, whatever. I mean, I don't like the woman, but I don't want her to be in the hospital. Especially if it ruins my day with my Daddy. Damn it.



Wednesday, July 17, 2002

I didn't go to class today. Not because I was sick or anything, I just didn't go. All he was going to do was approve of our final designs and send us home. He can approve of mine tomorrow. Not that I exactly have one yet, I've been busy updating the site. We'll see.

I was supposed to go to the dentist today, but they called and cancelled it. Which is fine with me. So I went to the gym instead. I found out that my personal trainer apparently quit and they gave me a new one. And then I came home and worked on my site a lot. The end.



Tuesday, July 16, 2002

Yesterday I went to school. We cut apart ping pong balls and hot glued them back together. Then we cut out tiny wooden bases for them to sit on. Mine looks like golden snitch. I even spray-painted it gold. I went to work, nothing exciting. I went to the gym, also boring. I came home and went to bed.

Today, Richard didn't like my idea for my final project. He did approve of my idea of special bookends, specifically made for my Harry Potter books. They look like lightning bolts and have built in shelves to put my collectible stuff on. But he said it was kind of boring, and that I should add other symbols from the story. Or better yet, to make a set of bookends like they belonged to a character. Let's see...can we just imagine what Voldemort's bookends would look like? ;) If anyone has any ideas of how I can make them more interesting, let me know. I need all the help I can get.

At work, we weren't busy. I got to hear all of the nurses' horror stories of giving birth and now I never want to have a baby, ever. Well, maybe one day. Later, I was trying to take this kid's temperature (under his arm, he was three) and he kicked me! So I left and let Erica take it. He didn't kick her. And there was this one father who looked just like Bryan McKnight, the singer. We kept making excuses to go in that room. It was fun.



Sunday, July 14, 2002

I did go see Men in Black II. It was cute. The first one was better, though. The very best part for me was the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers preview before the movie. I wasn't expecting it. It was a shorter version of the one they played after the first movie, but it was still exciting.

I think I've decided what to make for my final project in 3D class. The requirements are that it has to be made out of wood and PVC pipe, and it has to be something useful, yet artistic. Andrea's making a flower vase, I think. I'm considering making something to store all of my art in. It would have a wood base, and the PVC pipes would make slots I could file my paintings in. The top would also be a wood base and function as a shelf. I could make it the right size to fit between my desk and my bookshelf. That would extend my desk space. But it's kind of a boring design. I'd have to do something to make it more exciting. Anyone have any ideas? ;)



Saturday, July 13, 2002

I went to Robin's house and painted a dolphin on her daughter's wall today. It turned out very cute, if I do say so myself. We had a good time.

And then I came home and worked on To the Barricades! The Tri-Leader Musical. Um...that's all I did today. But tomorrow I'm going to see Men in Black II with my brother. That's it. Oh, hey Ann! If you happen to read this, I have four important things to discuss with you.



Friday, July 12, 2002

I'm looking for a word to describe work today, and I haven't found it yet.

It started off normally, then Dr. Loeffler left for some appointment she had. Turns out it was an appointment to get the results of a biopsy she had done on Wednesday. She has breast cancer. She called from the other office and told us. And then said she was on her way back to the office to finish the day. We were surprised.

Mary and Robin left immediately and went to Winn Dixie to get some flowers for her. She arrived, and we all congregated in her office. She seemed fine, but then she started crying. So Monica started crying. Then Colleen did. Sharon, the nurse practitioner, ran off to see a patient before she started crying. I chased her down because I hadn't done vital signs yet. Felicia went to answer the phone, and Erica went to get back on the phone line she'd been on.

I finished the vital signs and went back to the nurses desk. Monica was already holding the kleenex box. Erica was getting some because Monica was making her cry. Colleen came out of Dr. Loeffler's office, shut the door, said "Damn you." and started crying even more. So Monica ran over and hugged her. Erica said "Stop it! I'll get a headache if I cry!" I was just watching.

Robin and Mary came back with baskets of flowers and a card that said "We love you." Dr. Loeffler actually came out of her office to see a patient, but she started crying again when she saw the flowers. Then Robin cried. And Mary, who is never emotional, started sniffling. Monica passed around the Kleenex. Parents were all kind of staring at us, they knew something was really wrong.

But I wasn't just going to stand around with crying people. I grabbed the next chart, put the patient in the room, and did the vital signs. That apparently was the sign for everyone to get it together and go back to work. Which we did. But it was a very somber afternoon.

Sharon's actually supposed to be leaving next week to go teach some classes at Vanderbuilt. But she called and cancelled her plans. She's going to stay as long as necessary. We may still have to close down the office for a while when she has surgery, but we'll see, I guess. Sigh.

Oh, and my stepbrother came home this morning. He's fine. He was arguing with me when I told him to turn off the PS2 before it got hit by lightning.



Thursday, July 11, 2002

I turned in my sculpture! Finally! I was so tired of looking at it. I never want to see it ever again. He did a critique of everyone's sculpture in front of the whole class. He was kind of mean to everyone, including me, but that's just Richard.

At work, we were very busy. We saw a whole six patients. We worked very hard. End sarcasm. And I bravely talked to my boss about my school schedule next semester. She told me to talk to the morning person and see what we could work out. My schedule is really weird. I have to take night classes because that's the only time they're offered. I hope I get to stay at the office. Even though it doesn't relate to my future career, it's a good job and I don't feel like looking for another one. Although working at the bookstore would be nice....nah. It wouldn't pay as well.

I didn't go the gym today! I was being lazy. Shame on me. I went home and had pizza. My brother who was supposed to be at camp all week is now at home because one of the leaders got sick or something. He went to Pizza Hut, where he works, and got us some free pizza. ;) My stepbrother is in the hospital with kidney stones, I think they said. I wasn't paying attention. If something doesn't work, they're doing surgery...I don't know. All I know is that I'm dog-sitting my stepmother's dog. When he gets home, he'll probably have a new stereo system for surviving the ordeal. Not that he needs a new one, he got one when he had his tonsils taken out a few months ago. Hmph.



Wednesday, July 10, 2002

Okay, new picture over there <<< This time, it's not a free picture I got from my photo editor disk and edited; it's really me. But the other one was much cuter, I think. Ah well.

Class was uneventful today. We discussed religion and having children, and that was basically it. Tomorrow is the critique of our projects, which shouldn't go too badly, I hope. Meghan's is really good. It's the stomach of a pregnant woman, but it's cut out so that you can see the baby inside.

In the parking lot after class, I heard a car horn, but I didn't think anything of it. Then it pulled up behind me and stopped. So I turned around, and it was Roselle! I haven't seen her since she went off to UGA two years ago! She's taking summer classes here, while she visits her dad. We talked in the parking lot until we realized we were blocking traffic. Then the person next to me left, so she pulled in. We exchanged phone numbers and we're going out to dinner with our "group" of friends sometime soon. I'm not sure how many of us are left in town, but we'll see. It should be fun. And Ben still has that autographed picture that Christopher sent to me. I need to get it. (If you really want to know...that person dressed up as a yellow jacket on TV at the Georgia Tech games? The mascot? That's my good friend Christopher. But don't tell him I told you that ;) I said that since he was famous, I needed an autograph. He gave it to Ben about a year ago, but I haven't seen it yet.)

After school, I didn't have to work because it's Wednesday, so I went to the gym with my mom. There's this....person....who works out at the same time we do every day. And I honestly can't figure out if it's a girl or a guy. I really can't tell. The clothes and the haircut could be either, and I haven't heard him/her say anything yet. I just don't know.



Tuesday, July 9, 2002

I started spraying my final turtle/rose sculpture with shiny, high-gloss fixative today, as required. It's going to take many coats. Amanda was working on her sculpture and one of the man's legs broke off. She started crying and ran to the bathroom. I don't blame her; if mine had broken, I would be crying, too. That was a lot of work. Richard said not to worry, he could fix it, and that someone should go talk to Amanda. So I volunteered and went to the bathroom. She was fine, though. She even asked who sent me. ;) And she decided to leave the man in pieces and not glue him back together. It's supposed to represent something, but I didn't quite get it.

My daddy cut out and sanded my base for me! I got to go to dinner at church for Steve and Linda! I've been a CCD (Sunday School) teacher for seven years now, and they're the people in charge of me. They also do lots of other things for our church. So I showed up and sat with some other teachers that I knew and I even carried my part of the conversation! And they listened! Yay for me! We discussed how they'll need a new art teacher soon. (How great would it be to work at my church? And teach art to the little kids!) We also talked about the person taking over for Linda and Steve. If I understood correctly, it's someone who recently moved here and wants to jump right in and get to know people. I'm the newest teacher there, and after seven years, you know we're all pretty much set in our ways. We're a little worried about how it all will go.

Father John said his little speech and then asked Father Marv to talk. So we clapped for Father John's speech while Father Marv walked up to the microphone. The first thing he said was "Well, I've never been greeted with applause before." We laughed. Then he said, "Linda and Dave.....wait. Your name's not Dave. It's Steve. Well, Linda and whatever your name is, we'll miss you, etc, etc..."

Dave is the other Deacon, along with Steve. He talked next and said "Linda and I did spend every Friday night together in Tifton for four years, but other people were there! She's not cheating on Steve!"

All in all, it was a great time, and I did get to say goodbye to them. For the person who I've talked to about this before, you're right, people always do leave. And it's always the good ones. Shame, really. The bad ones will never go away.



Monday, July 8, 2002

I forgot to mention that the view from my hotel room was the "Adult Video and Toy Store" across the street. They were having a special "Buy one movie, get one for half price!" sale. I was tempted to go over there, just to see what my mom said, but no.

Today in class, Richard decided that our finished projects and bases are due on Thursday. I didn't do much work in class because I wanted to make my wooden base at home. Not a good idea. It just figures that my dad would be working, and that I had no idea where to find the wood or how to use his power tools. Hmph. Not that I'll have time to do it tomorrow, I have to go to a farewell dinner for people at church.

On a completely unrelated note, Wild Adventures, the amusement park near my house, got a new feature today. It's a giant American flag at the gates. I swear, the thing is bigger than my house. I'm all for flying the flag and such, but one that big is just....creepy. Nothing that size should just appear and start waving in the air one day.



Sunday, July 7, 2002

Maybe it's about time I started one of these online journal things. I guess I'll see how it goes.

I really wanted to start this today because I have to write down everything about my vacation to tell people. And if I do it here, I only have to write it all once. So I'm lazy.

My vacation was a two day trip to Atlanta for shopping and the Braves game Saturday night. It was the worst vacation I've ever had in my entire life.

The bad part started Friday night when I tripped over a chair and broke my toe. I realized that I would have to walk around the mall in Macon the next day and climb the stairs to the top section of the stadium, and I seriously considered not going. But the tickets were already paid for, and my mom told me to get over it and get in the car. And I did. After taking some Advil.

The other people on this trip were: my mom, my brother Marc, his friend Lundy, my mom's friend Patty, her daughter Nikki, and Nikki's daughter Dominique. I arrived to meet them at my mom's house at 6:30 am Saturday morning. At 7:00, we called Patty and Nikki, who were still sleeping. We finally left at 7:30, already an hour behind schedule.

It took about 2 and a half hours to get to Macon. We walked around the entire mall (well, they walked, I limped) looking for the Disney Store. It was apparently no longer there. Then I convinced them that I wanted to go to Hot Topic because I'd heard it was a good store. So they agreed. I have never felt so out of place in a store. When the 30-something year old cashier with long blond hair and more piercings on his face than I could count asked my mom if she needed any help, we decided it was time to go somewhere else. We looked around a few more stores, but didn't find anything we wanted. I had more success in the bookstore, where I bought three new books, all by Terry Pratchett. Ones that I'd been looking for in Valdosta with no results.

After eating in the food court, we resumed the trip to Atlanta. It was uneventful until we got off at the wrong exit and had to turn around to find this hotel Patty wanted to stay at. She'd been there a few years before, and liked it. Hmph. It was the dirtiest place I've ever stayed in.

Immediately upon arriving, and climbing the *wooden* stairs to the second floor, I found our room. It did not have real numbers on the door, just a piece of paper taped to it. I went inside and locked myself in the bathroom to call Adam. I was talking to him and noticed that while the top half of the shower curtain was white, the bottom half needed to be washed. Back in the room, the lampshades were either A. missing or B. broken. One light didn't work. The curtains had holes in them. Marc, Lundy, and Nikki went swimming, but I questioned the water quality and did not.

They finished swimming, and we got ready for the game. We rode the Marta to the bus stop, and the bus to the stadium. It wasn't too bad. Then we went to the 755 Club, the place where the rich people eat and watch the game. We got passes from my mom's doctor. It was air conditioned, but the food was terrible. We left around the second inning to find our seats. Unfortunately for my poor toe, they were on the upper deck. In the middle of a row where people were already sitting. We climbed around them, I did not fall down, and sat down. It was crowded. It was hot. Both of which I can handle, but not both at the same time. I was surrounded by sweaty people. To make a long story short, the Braves lost.

We went back to the hotel on a very crowded bus and Marta train. My mom took a shower, then I did. I wore my socks and washed my feet one at a time because I was afraid of the shower. I came out to find Marc and Lundy on their air matresses and my mom in her bed. I got in my bed to discover that I had no blanket. The hotel did not put both a blanket and a comforter on the beds, just a comforter, which my brother had stolen. I was left with a sheet that had been washed way too many times. I was apprehensive about the pillows, but having no choice, I used one. They all fell asleep immediately, but I laid awake, wishing my daddy was there to protect me from the scary people hanging out on the balcony and around the hotel. Around 1 am, the hotel security people parked their car right under our window. It had a flashing light. Because of the holes in the curtains, it flashed in our room. I stared at it until 2:17, when I finally fell asleep. It's the last time I remember seeing on the clock.

My mom got up at 8 am and started making noise. Then my brother got up. As I was freezing, I reached down and stole my comforter back. Before I had a chance to get warm, my mom told me to get up and get dressed. I did. We woke up Patty, Nikki, and Dominique, and made our way downstairs to the Waffle House for breakfast. The people working there were nothing but nice and pleasant, but the food wasn't so great. Especially since I don't eat breakfast.

We finally got in our cars and went the JC Penny Outlet center-thing. We stayed for two hours, I tried on lots of clothes and ended up only getting a new purse. Hmph. Half the point of going was to get new clothes, and there just weren't any I liked. We left JC Penny and went to the Tangier Outlet Center. We looked at more clothes, shoes, and toys. Then the boys and Nikki were tired of shopping. I, of course limping the whole time, was still a shopper and wanted to go to the other side. Everyone else wanted to go home. What did I buy on this shopping trip? Nothing. Sigh.

Finally, we were on our way home. It started storming. As many of you know, if there's one thing I'm afraid of, it's thunderstorms. Absolutely terrified. I was stuck in a car, it was raining, it was lighting, we were going fast. Eventually, it started raining so hard that everyone on the interstate was going 35 mph. I was freaking out, but not saying anything.

After a very long car ride, we made it home. And here I am. I have a sculpture due in class tomorrow. It's not really finished, but I just don't care. And then I have to go to work. Oh, and after work, it's the gym! With my broken toe! I might just have to skip parts of my workout. *crosses fingers*

Anyway, that is my terrible vacation. There were highlights of course:

I got three new books! I talked to Adam! There was a fraternity sitting behind us at the game, and they were all drunk! I was very amused, the entire time. The top section of the stadium did the wave! Three times! I survived walking on my toe!

But let's just say. Next time we're going somewhere and I break my toe, I'm giving my seat to someone else. And hope that they have a better time than I did.