Interests:"If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars." Expertise:Being me. Occupation:Student
Well, the other day I was helping my G-Ma grocery shop. We were all done shopping, we loaded up the car, and my G-ma was backing out of her spot. An older man behind us was backing out at the same time. We bumped each other, not causing any really damage, but still colliding. The man backed back into his spot and got out of the car. My G-ma should have did that, but instead she diagonally positioned herself in the spot so that she couldn't get back in. I told her to stop over and over, she said she couldn't (even though she could) and kept creeping along, never really stopping. She got back out in to traffic and I told her to pull over and stop, but she wanted to "drive back around" (how the hell was the guy supposed to know that?). Fortunately, the guy figured G-Ma was just going to keep on creeping (which she was) and he motioned for us to move on. The whole drive home my G-Ma kept telling me that in a situation like that it's no big deal if you just keep on going (which is definitely isn't). So we come home, and she tells G-Pa this story about how I was all worked up because she bumped someone and this and that. I told her again that she should have stopped. She got all pissed at me and said, "Listen, I've been driving for many years and I think I know what to do in situations like those." All I said in response was, "Right, it's OK to hit someone and just keep going. Your right. Bye." And I went down stairs. The whole way home my G-Ma drove fast, so I knew she was still pissed at me.
Then later, I had my first really bad experience as I driver. I was driving down this busy highway, and my dad kept warning me that I needed to get over. I really didn't have that much of an opportunity to though, so I sped up so that I had a little room in front of this white car. I didn't really look, and just sort of went for it and got into white cars lane. This huge honk came, and I asked my dad if that was at me. His response? "HELL YES! YOU JUST COMPLETELY CUT THAT GUY OFF! Didn't you see him?!" I was feeling all bad, and he drove up beside us at the next stop light and I was sure I was gonna get it. Luckily, he saw I was a youngin' and wasn't mean at all. My dad told him I was new at this and I apologized profusely. He just laughed it off and said it was OK and that everyone in his car was fine. Thank Shiva I cut off a really nice guy! I probably would have cried if it was someone mean. :(
Anyway, today was a bonding day with mom. We went to her man's condo complex's pool and swam. First it was just mom and I, my sister came later. It wasn't a bad day to swim. It wasn't really sunny, but it was rather warm. I got to use my awesome blow up water elephant for the first time (that I got last year for my birthday). Her name is Deborah. She OWNS. She's a water toy I can actually fit on! I was riding her around and feeling all cool. The water was really cold, but it was fun. I hadn't swam at all yet this summer, and we got the whole pool to ourselves, so I was pleased. Katie came later and swam a little bit, after which we decided to go feast at Red Lobster. We had a really nice waitress, and the food was amazing. Then, home again where I slept for two hours! Yay! Swimming takes a lot out of you.
And one final message I leave you with: I hate banks and California hogs all the good shit for themselves.
Woo to my second favorite holiday! Sadly, it wasn't the greatest this year. I spent nearly all of it in a PMS induced depression slump. I didn't invite any friends over, so I was alone. We had no food for any fun grill out session. And it rained all day, so there weren't that many fireworks. :( But, I did feel cool standing outside in the dark watching whar fireworks there were. And, yay for the Twilight Zone marathon! They were showing all the good ones on the night of the fourth, too.
I did go over to Emily's a little on the fourth. We made some riceballs. Mine were cute, one was a heart with a strawberry inside and the other was green with a sausage inside. Erms and Amanda made their's patriotic American flag colors. Amanda made faces for them, and I took pictures, but only with my phone so I can't post them here. :(
And in other news, I tried to clean my room the other day and filled up about two bags of trash before my ovaries exploded and I gave up, deciding to spend my day watching cute animal videos on Youtube and playing Persona 3.
Well, that's all I got going on right now. Here, I leave you with this insanely cute Pullip music video:
Yay! So, I'm back and A LOT has gone down since I last blogged. I'll fill you in first about my trip though, because it was pretty damn amazing.
So, we left Ohio around noon after picking up Lynne (we had to leave later so Janie's daughter's boyfriend could finish up his counseling at the camp her works at), and met up with my dad's woman friend (Janie), her daughter (Megan), and her daughter's man (Brady), and their dog (Jake) at a road side rest in Kentucky. We all met, and then began the long drive (six hours) on into Virginia. Lynne and I kept ourselves busy by eating clementines (and dressing up in the peels afterward), making fun of her crossword puzzles (and giving ourselves Norse mythology names. She's Hoth, I'm... I forget), and jamming to our Pod's.
We made it into the Appalachian Mountains after it got dark. Driving up their was kind of creepy. It was all dark, we didn't really know where we were going, we were surrounded by nothing but woodland forests, and our GPS Wilhelmina kept calling the "highway" a "dieway". That didn't really help matters. Finally, we reached a little patch of civilization in which we stopped at a gas station/food mart (the only one for miles) and went inside to get some pizza.
I guess for lack of a better term, it was a "culture shock".
The people down there are hard core mountain folks. That's not a bad thing, it's just when your a group of suburbia people driving all day and you pop up in a little food mart with people with thick accents, only half dressed, and you aren't really sure where you are your just kind of like: ... 0.0
So, dad, Janie, Megan, and Brady were all in there socializing while Lynne and I waited outside by our truck. We were just sitting there, talking, when this guy (about 23, I'd say) came up to us. He had on no shirt so you could see the big anarchy symbol tattoo he had on his back. His accent was also very thick. This is pretty much how the conversation between us went: Him: "Hey." Me: "Hi." Him: "So where ya'll from?" Me: "We're from Cincinnati." Him: "Cincinnati, huh? What ya'll come here to do?" Me: "My dad really likes to bike ride, so that's basically why we're here." Him: "Well, that's about all there is to do around here." Me: "Yeah, but it's really beautiful up here." Him: "Well, you to take care." Me: "OK, bye."
Now, that seems like a simple enough conversation, but it got creepier. This guy went inside the store, but kept walking back in forth in front of the window looking at us. Lynne and I got a little creeped, so we got in the car, locked the doors, and waited for dad (who took forever to come out). Shirtless guy also went and talked to Brady and Megan, who reported back that he seemed like a good guy, so now I feel kind of bad for being creeped out by him. I guess I'm just not used to shirtless country men coming up to me at night in a food mart parking lot to talk to me.
So after we got out pizza, we hopped back in the car and followed Wilhelmina's directions up this creepy little gravel path to this creepy little run down looking cabin that looked like something out of a horror film in the dark. Once we all got out to look at it we were all just kind of dumbstruck (the internet made it looks so cute). Janie complained that it's not what she'd hope it would be. But as we got inside things got better. The inside of it was actually very cute and homey. It was all wood (like, everything was wood almost), and it was very open (the only doors were the entrance door and ones for bathrooms). Lynne and I first thought we wanted to sleep in the loft, but decided on another cozier room instead. Shortly after that, we got in the hot tub (Lynne and I. It was hot. GET IT?! Ha!), talked about stuff, and then went to bed.
The next day was bike day. We all drove down to the Virginia Creeper Trail (I love that name), and began our biking epic. I really loved the trail. Not only was it beautiful, with plenty of brooks and streams and waterfalls and foliage to look at on the way, it was on a mountain, slopping down hill. So, it was a very easy fourteen miles to bike. ^.^ We made some pit stops on the trail for pictures and stuff. And at one point, Megan, Brady (both of them being wild, go-gettum, sporty, athletic people), Lynne and I got pretty far ahead of the old folks. We stopped by this stream to wait for them, but before long this family came down the trail and informed us that people were looking for us. So, we all started to ride back on the trail (up hill, mind you) and as we did, about three more groups of people informed us that two people were looking for us. Megan, Lynne, and I eventually got tired and gave up as Brady went on ahead to look for them. We all just sat around talking, thinking why in the hell would dad and Janie would be so worried when they saw that we went ahead of them long ago. After a few minutes, Brady came back and said he biked four miles back to the last picture spot we all stopped at and they weren't there. So then we were annoyed because why the hell would people go back to look for people they knew were ahead of them? Megan kept talking about how Janie was going to be really pissed when she finally found us, which made me kind of mad because we did nothing wrong. Finally, they found us. Janie did have a mild freak out, and they told us they were only worried about Lynne and I because they didn't believe we were beastly enough to be that far ahead of them and they though we were eaten by a bear or something. Then, she yelled at us to stick together, and we were on our way.
The trail took all day, and we had to wait about an hour at this little bike rental place for a tram to come pick us up and drop us and our bike off at the our cars. The guy driving the tram was this really nice old guy named Bill. He told us a lot of neat stuff about the mountains, the wildlife, some stories about motorcycle wreaks, and about his little grand daughter. After about thirty minutes, we made it back to our car, went back to the cabin where the parental units proceeded to boss the kids around. They had the right after we worried them so much, apparently. We made dinner and cleaned up. Then, Lynne and I watched Mama Mia, and then we went to bed.
Next day we decided to pack up a lunch and go explore a park up in the mountains. So, we did. Now when I say up in the mountains, I mean UP in the mountains. We drove pretty much to the top of the mountains. It was beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. It reminded me of Mini Alps! ^.^ I also peed in public behind a tree, which I was pretty proud of, and Lynne and I epically sang The Hills Are Alive up on the mountains (Janie filmed it and dad took action shots), which was pretty sweet. After that, we drove back down and ate lunch at a really pretty overlook. This cute little butterfly kept flying around us, too. It took a picture of her. In all honest truth, I don't really remember much else of what we did that day. I think we just drove around and looked at mountains and stuff. We went to the cabin and had dinner. Then, I took a shower and decided to go to bed while all the others were downstairs playing Euchre.
Next morning, Janie and dad were off looking for some place to horseback ride, because I really wanted to. Lynne and I decided to explore around the cabin, because there was supposed to be a little trail leading to a creek right on the property. We finally found a trail (after following one that just sort of stopped in the middle of the forest). It was overgrown and kind of lame, but the stream at the end of it was really cute (except you couldn't go down to it). We then explored the Christmas tree farm opposite our cabin (there are a bunch of tree farms where we were). When we were done with that, we retreated back to our favorite swing on the front porch. Then we went back inside and waited for the parental units. They came back quite a bit later with news that they found what looked like a horse farm. So, we drove wall the way out there only to discover from some guy camping at the horse park that the man who owned the stables was never home, and you could call and make a reservation, but no one knew his phone number. So, that was a waste of time. In fact, the whole day was a waste because we didn't do anything else that day. But again, it was nice to drive around and look at everything. Then again we went to the cabin, had dinner, and had our first campfire. It's really pretty out there in Virginia at night. The skies are really clear, so you could see a bunch of stars and some satellites. Brady was the "big man" and made the fire, and Janie tricked the whole group by saying she saw a bear when she didn't. Jerk. Brady told us some stories about camp, ghosts, and run in's with the law. Both of them shared college stories. It was pretty sweet. Then, off to bed!
Wednesday came next (surprisingly), and we woke up early to go test out this bike trail dad and Janie heard about that was up in the state park we ate lunch at. We got there, and after asking for directions, we found it. To put it simply, the trail was beast. It was treacherous as all get out. Muddy, big rocks everywhere, sticks everywhere, and it was downhill, so you had to dodge it all fast. It was a SRS BSNS trail, for real. Finally, it went up hill, but that only got worse. Single file, up hill, more huge stick and rocks, roots, carnage. It was intense. REALLY intense. Mountain biking at it's best. But none of us had mountain bikes (except Brady), and none of us were ready for that beastly of a trail (except maybe Brady). So, we went back to the cars and decided to go on a hiking trail instead.
The trail we found was supposed to have wild horses on it's grounds, so we went on it in hopes of seeing the horses. The trail was about half up hill (steep), which was hard, but we handled it. Janie kept talking about how we all needed mountain boots for grip and to protect us from snakes (if you haven't figured it out yet, she was very protective). We kept on walking until we found this small herd of wild horses. Most of them were in this little holding pen thing (that was open so they could come and go as they please) but one big brown one was out and about. Lynne and I stopped to take pictures, and I wanted to go up to the horses, but she didn't think you were allowed. But, my dad started to go up to them so I followed (and I was the only one who did). My dad and I went way up to the pin, and took close ups of all the nice horseys grazing. Then, I heard this loud, not to happy sounding neigh. I looked over, and big brown was pissed. He started walking towards us. I got scared, and told my dad that we should leave, so I started walking away from the path the horse was taking. Then, another loud neigh, and the damn thing started galloping towards me! I was scared off my ass, and was pretty sure that horse was going to own me. Luckily, he went past me, and I ran over to dad because I was afraid. We made it down in one piece, where Janie and the others laughed at me and said they were worried I was a goner (thanks -.-u). Then after the danger was gone, they of course decided to go visit the docile horses. Dad told me the brown one was probably the male protecting the other females (the ones in the pen). I could understand, I guess. The horse was threatened by my manly appeal to the lady horses. I guess I'm just infused with the power of Kamina. :P I laid on the grass and looked at the sky with dad while the others apparently had a magical time with the nice horses. It kinda put me in a bad mood, so we kept on walking. We found this other trail that led to these huge boulder things. Brady, Megan, Lynne, and I climbed up on them (while Janie was freaking out) and got some cool pictures on them. After that, we were all pretty tired, so we went home, made dinner, Lynne and I hung out and had a jam session with our iPods on the swing. We also got in the hot tub (I think), and then we had another campfire where we talked about movies, books, and the stars.
Next day, we had made reservations to go tubing up in a place in South Carolina. So, after a few mishaps on where the place was, we finally found the rental place. The lady at the desk didn't believe Brady and Megan were twenty, nor did she believe that Lynne and I were eighteen (ah, youth!). But we got our stuff and were on our way. We parked out car and took a van up to the spot the rafting starts at. The guy driving the truck told us that the New River we would be floating on was actually the second oldest river in the world, and flowed in the opposite direction. He told us our floating would last about two hours, and let us loose. We started out with this big group of people, but eventually our group got ahead of them. We floated rather slowly (like, two MPH tops), and it took us about two and a half hours to make it down the river. Lynne and I stuck together, and it was nice just floating around in the sun. I got a little sick from all the heat and water though, so by the time we hit shore Lynne and I were done. Janie and the others went to buy snacks to take with them on their second trip, while Lynne and I sat in the car and chilled and dad rode his bike around. Since none of my group wanted to go again, we decided to go out to eat while the others tubed on. We had a feast at Appleby's (looking gross from being the river all day :P) and then went back to the cabin where Lynne and I chilled in the hot tub.
Also, one afternoon (but I forget when) we all decided to go out biking on a different trail. We found a cute little one that led us along the road and to a big bridge. This path was more strenuous because for the most part it was either flat or slightly uphill. Before this trip, Lynne told me how she wasn't really a big biker and how she didn't really do it a lot. Well, you could have fooled me, because she was kicking my ass. For the most part, she was way ahead of me. And not only that, she didn't seem that tired or out of it. Even when I tried to catch up to her, or was a little ahead, she'd zoom way on out past me! It was like Mello and Near, with me being Mello. It was kind of disheartening. -.- But hey, I tried. And the trail was nice and pretty. And we saw some wild chickens next to a sewage dump, which is pretty memorable.
Anyway, our last day was Friday. Janie, Brady, Megan and the dog decided to leave on Friday so they could catch a family reunion, so dad, Lynne and I were on our own. I decided we should go to Dollywood because I love it and I haven't been there since I was like twelve. So, we made or two hour long drive out to Tennessee. Boy, has Dollywood grown! The last time I was there they had one roller coaster (which I was afraid of at the time) and the rest was pretty much all water rides. Now there are a whole slew of roller coasters and a bunch of added other little ride areas. Lynne and I both really liked the County Fair area, because that's where all the cool spinny and old fashion rides were (we rode some awesome elephants). All the new roller coasters were fun too. I really liked to wooden one. It had all the joy and fun of a wooden roller coaster, without the pain. They also have a new one call the Mystery Mine or something, and it's really bizarre. Your in these little cars, two rows with four seats in each, and you go through all these spins and loops and when you reach a hill, it's literally STRAIGHT UP. It's so weird, kind of painful, but really unique and rather fun! Also, they have a new one called River Wars, were people sit in this big boat and just shoot water at each other, while people on land can also shoot at them with hand cranked water shooters. It was cute, but no one but me wanted to ride it, so we didn't.
Dollywood kept it's beauty and cuteness which I was glad to see. Most the people working there are still older, and they still wear their cute costumes. It's in the mountains, so it keeps it's mountainy feel, and everyone there is really nice. The train conductors were really cool and happy. Upbeat majorly, and they played their roles perfectly. We got to see a cool show on wild birds too. We saw a lot of Bald Eagles, owls (a really cute screech one, among them), and this funny little Mexican crow that took money from you. Also, I don't know if anyone has seen the show Zaboomafoo before, but I loved it as a kid. So I was completely psyched to see the Kratt Brothers had a show going on when we got there. Of course, Lynne and I were the oldest "kids" in the room, and the show was very much aimed towards kids, it was still a great blast from the past. They brought out a baby kangaroo and a baby zebra during the show which were ultra cute.
We had a great time at Dollywood, and I left with a T-shirt, cool hat, and a renewed love for Dolly Parton. :)
So, we came home, and started to pack up. We had to leave early because Lynne wanted to make it back to meet her aunt. So, we all feel asleep fairly early (after I wrote a really cool note in the guest book). Next morning, we packed up, said goodbye, took some pictures, and were on our way back to Ohio!
All in all, I had a good time. It was extremely beautiful up in the mountains, and our cabin was nice and cozy. I was really glad Lynne could come along (especially because she'll be leaving for college soon). Although it wasn't as epic as the Wisconsin trip, it was superbly marvelous in it's own right. YAY FOR VIRGINIA! AND YAY FOR A PACK OF CREEPERS CREEPIN' ON THE CREEPER!
Then when I got home, more awesome came! Awesome meaning MY NEW LAPTOP! I love her so much! She's a sexy little Dell! I lovingly named her Shaquisha Indonesia Jones. She's a strong black woman. :P She has Window's Vista, and actually loads sites fast and she's AMAZING! I love her so much! In fact, yesterday I was on her for like seven straight hours (which probs isn't good but oh well). Her webcam is really awesome too. You can add all these cool effects like backgrounds and mustaches. I was having a ball! YAY!
Then, bad news came. My dads job isn't really doing so hot, and his salary is getting cut back 20%. We have to make some sacrifices (like getting rid of cable and such), but he's still worrying it's going to get worse. :( I feel really bad for my dad. He works really hard. Damn economy! It has humbled me a bit though. I look at my new laptop, and my iPod, and my camera, and my phone, and I feel really privileged. It also made me realize potentially paying $389 for a doll is really out there, so I'll stick with my Pullip's and not a BJD, thanks. ^.^u
Other than that, I have to clean my room this weekend to get ready for the big move to my dads house. I walked in my home after my Virginia trip and found it half empty, so I started to cry, I lived here for nearly nineteen years, and now it's really hitting home that I'm leaving it soon. It really makes me very sad. I'll really miss it...
But on a happier note, L CHANGE THE WORLD ON DVD AUGUST 18TH! Just in time for someone's birthday! AND BLOOD THE LAST VAMPIRE IS COMING TO THEATERS ON THE TENTH!!!! I AM SO DAMN EXCITED! Also, I've been on a HALCALI spree recently, so get ready for a change in layout soon.
... And what's this crap on Scifi about ruining my long awaited Twilight Zone marathon being replaced with some crappy 80's Twilight Zone remake? Blasphemy! You made Rod cry. :( At least they fixed it now! Yay! ^.^
Fourth of July is just around the corner! Get ready to get your fireworks on everyone!
And I scheduled my in cars for a week from now. I hope I do good! GAH!
And I got a lot of stuff I want to tell you! But not right now! Because I was typing out my trip for an hour and a half and my hand nearly feel off! So, I decided to finish later! BUT, GUESS WHAT?! She runs beautifully! And that's what brings me to this blog post! You know all the times I promised to show you pictures and didn't? Well, they've been piling up like mad, so I decided to show them to you via slideshow!Slideshow with spiffy effects! BECAUSE MY NEW LAPTOP CAN HANDLE THAT!!!! I love her so much!!! So, I made this niffty little slideshow of my Senior Year stuff for your viewing pleasure! Enjoy! Oh, and P.S., I'm the strawberry blonde girl who's in almost every picture! :P
Her Stomach Is Like A Portal To Another Dimension...
I would like to compose for you a list of several of the things my dog has ingested since she has become part of our family several moths ago.
She has eaten: Toilet paper A wicker Basket A razor blade A whole basket of soap Used feminine products Used baby diapers A gas line A can of chocolate sprinkles Our outside fountain Our family room couch Our can opener (we're pretty sure) A flower pot A night light Our TV remote Batteries A bunch of other odds and ends
And I'm sure their is much more to be eaten...
Other than that, I leave on my epic quest tomorrow! I'm sure I'll have quite an epic tale to tell when I get back (and my computer will be here by then!!!!)! Later!
