I just had a nightmare concerning the mom-mobile, a berkely-esque field, a herd (?) of brown bears, and a scary eastern European man who resembled that creep who was dismissed from the Jonbenet case. I am in my hotel room alone with every bolt bolted and the light on in the bathroom.


So.


I also get free meals at my upcoming school, in addition to boarding, but I get to sit at the headmaster's table. For four weeks.
Since that's a little too much for me to think about right now, I think I will attempt to go back to bed and try to elude the molester that is haunting my dreams.

I can't wait for tomorrow...eeee philly!

I hate Verizon.

I don't like to start out on a negative note, but I #$@%@$! hate verizon. It drives me literally insane. I have been lacking service everywhere. Highways, hotels, home, etc. The only place I get service is in front of SBUX, which I'm sure has a world-domination plan with Verizon. I waited for 45 minutes today just to have them tell me it was a "battery issue." Morons! No, I don't get SERVICE. Ahhhhh and now I still don't have it. I have to pay for a new plan with T-Mobile (I still pronounce it Mo-bile sometimes, English accents die hard), but whatever. I needs a phone.

I love my new Mac, although it is still largely a mystery to me. I was trying to get it to wake up today and was having some difficulties. I also don't know my keychain password. It is different than my sign-in password. Hmmm...also the font is a little small, but overall, i'm loving it. I know more than i did concerning my PC (RIP Jean-Robert).

What else. I did some preferencing yesterday. Bermuda, PA, TX, CA, Barbados, Nova Scotia, and Jamaica are on the list for Sept, Oct, and Nov. for various reasons.


I will be in KOP in two weeks. Yesssss.

I got my new computer! Hopefully when I unpack it today everything will be fine and this will be the last entry written on M. Jean-Robert.

I am livin' in the Holiday Innnnn (yes, I went there) for the next three weeks for training. So far, it's going well. Much better than RA training. There are nine people in my program, and the administration is really cool. It's funny to wear heels everyday and talk about health insurance. It's kind of a bridge to the real world. Also, my students will call me "Miss Perry." I get to teach how to take notes, a skill I was meant to teach. It's a calling of sorts.

Speaking of bridge, I can't stop singing JT's Sexyback. It is a rediculous song that plays in my head on repeat. Now that I have it on a CD, one of the best CDs ever, it is at my disposal.

I have to go. They are cleaning my room and I have training for four more hours.


I wish KOPPA was closer. Like, here.

here's looking at you, kid

Lots of things happening, quite rapidly, seemingly without explanation.

A quick recap:

LA visited and we had a fabulous time, as always. I don't think I laugh (or curse) half as much as when I am with her. Beach, lobster rolls, and the best D evaaaaaa.

I saw Tim frequently. I learned that iceberg lettuce can be both ugly and utilitarian, amongst other things.

Brandon is here, sleeping on my couch while Match Point is playing in the background. I am packing my new/old briefcase with work stuff, loading a boat and tote with clothes, and baking cupcakes for work tomorrow. Summer ends on Tuesday with work beginning in the guise of a bagel business breakfast. I am both excited and apprehensive, for various reasons.

So let's see.

I saw Tim yesterday, which was delightful. He met me on the Cape and we made valiant attempts to get fish and chips. Capt Frosty's, an old stand-by, was an hour-long wait. Why you need an hour to throw some cod in a vat of bubbling oil is beyond me. Next stop: Kate's.

Girl: Just to let you know, guys, the wait for food is 50 minutes.
Me: Fifty or fifteen?
Girl: Fifty.
Me: Like, an hour?
Girl (now clearly annoyed): Yes.


Tim (in the car): Fitty? Fitty minutes for some fish?!


Awesome. We ended up going to Cobie's in Brewster, where were forced to listen to the moronic conversation behind us. A sample, if you will:

Stupid #1: You know what would make more money? Beer.
Stupid #2: They should have more combo plates.

The two winners debated on whether to get shrimp in a box or clams in a box for over ten minutes. I kid you not. All Tim and I wanted was some fish. Period. One Feehan grad, a fight over straws ("They should be under your napkins. Did you check?" Um, are you serious?), and a buzzing, taking gizmo later (not sexual, promise), we had our fish. It was good. I don't know if Tim would agree that it was worth the wait.

We went to his friend John's house (who worked at Arbor, what a small world) and I met his HC friends. They were very nice, I think they humored me. We went on a dock that was straight out of Dawson's Creek. Really, the dinghy and everything. I think Tim made a reference to Joey as a whore tramping around with Pacey. I amazed him with my trivial (haha double entendre) knowledge (Wilmington, anyone?) while he fielded the neverending question that inevitably follows the declaration of a PhD program in philosophy: "Soooo, what are you going to do with that?" Overall, it was a stellar night.

Lizzlely Anne was busy today so I went to go see my Gram, who is doing well. We had shortbread cookies and iced tea under a tree, near the wind chimes. She is such a wonderful lady, love her so much. Then I went to harass the people at the Apple store (Reid is sending me the computer because he trusts me...it's a beautiful thing when trust is established over ebay) and then came home, read my mail, and crashed.

My computer, Jean Robert, is doing so well right now that I am questioning my powerbook purchase. But then I remember that it takes a whopping 30 minutes to open itunes.

Five-Star now makes a binder/notebook combo that is enough to make a grown man (or in my case, woman) cry with happiness. Dividers? Check. Reinforced binding? Check. Ali never leaving academia in her life? Check.

I'm going to Warsaw tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Nantucket is off for several reasons.

I am going to Wellesley to see my gram, then going home to Bwater (after a stop at the Apple store to pick up a switch book).


I will be capeside at some point tomorrow.

That's all.
More updates to come.

I feel so strange right now.

I went to work at seven this morning; the air was a cool 73 degrees, and smelled like the ocean. It was a welcome change from the heat and humidity of the past three days. I enjoy the drive to work because I can listen to the news (I can't really listen to music in the morning when I'm still sleepy), the roads are nearly deserted, and the lack of crowds reminds me why I like this place so much.

The pool was pretty much the same. The days kind of blur together in the summertime, especially when you do the same thing day in and day out. I vacuumed the pool, which is kind of relaxing, and then hung around talking to Micaela and Tim until the first people came to swim. There was a dad and his 2-year old daughter. You could tell he was just in love with being a father but in the long run, it got to be a bit much. It started thundering, we closed the pool, but then had to reopen it. I talked with a bunch of people--a couple from Vermont, some people from Germany, a kid from New York (but emphasized that he was a Red Sox fan). I got paid and went home. Overall, not a bad day.

But once I got home I couldn't stay awake. Literally. I was checking my email because I bought a computer last night ( a 12" powerbook. Yes, I know that Apple doesn't make powerbooks anymore, which is a shame. I don't like the Macbooks). I won it in an auction, it comes with all the software, applecare, a case, etc. It's brand-new. On one hand, I'm apprehensive because I've had a PC for years. On the other, I really like to manage my music, photos, writing, etc. and that's what Apple is known for. As Tim noted, I'm not really the gaming type. So if anyone has any good books for making the switch from PC to Apple, let me know so I can run out and buy it.

Anyway, I got a call from Brandon, an email from my parents (they are in Italy and heading to South Africa on Monday), and then fell asleep. For three hours. I never nap for that long. I woke up really confused, thinking I had to go to work and wondering why it was suddenly sunny outside. I am still kind of sleepy. It wasn't really a fulfilling nap; that is, the type when you wake up bleary-eyed and sleepy, but happy. I'm not really content. I just want to go back to sleep. The sound of the keyboard is obtrusive and I can't think of turning on the radio right now. Maybe I'll listen to On and On later. I never fully appreciated that album until this summer, in early July, when I started listening to it compulsively. I listened to it in the emergency room, in the car with my parents (backseat: flashbacks to childhood), on the Cape by myself.

I don't really know what to do now. I think I might watch a Louis Malle movie and make a huge salad. It's kind of late to go running; I'm not a big fan of running at night, alone, on streets with no lights. Call me crazy. I have to pay for my powerbook and get ready for work tomorrow. Then L's coming and it's time for Nantucket. Hopefully it will be better than last time.

I just bought a powerbook and I am kind of freaking out. If any apple-users are out there, call me. Please.

Quick: What do these three people have in common?

Hugh Hefner

Fidel Castro

Queen Elizabeth II (love her and her hat!)

National icons? World domination? Perhaps. But all three are celebrating their 80th birthdays this year. As www.radioopensource.org notes, "...each one of them came to power nearly 50 years ago and they each did their part to define the second half of the 20th century…they continue to thrive in the 21st. So come raise a glass and join us at the intersection of Monarchism, Hedonism and Communism."

Amen.


In other news, it was much cooler poolside today with fewer crowds and disgruntled guests. After all of that was over, I came home and brought our smelly trash to the dump. It made me think of how I have taken my father and his dump-runs for granted. We don't have trash pickup. Don't ask. When I can drop my trash at the curb, it will be a luxury. Better than a panini-maker, even.

I went to the beach and floated lazily in my inner tube that Brandon and I bought this weekend in P-Town. Alas, we found that you can't use floatation devices at Waldon Pond (the inner lifeguard had a sneaking suspicion that this might be the case). However, the pesky lifesavers leave the beach promptly at 4pm, along with the gate attendants. So I got to park for free and use my inner tube in peace. Until the greenheaded flies started biting my legs incessently as I read the Sunday NYT Magazine. Came home, made a killer salad, and talked with miss Lesley on the phone. We are going (read: swanging) to Nantucket this weekend for some R&R.

Tonight I really should do some work for work (which begins in a little over a week!) and then go to sleep so I don't regret staying up late like I do every morning when I stumble out of bed at 7am to vacuum a pool of 136,000 gallons.

I am listening nonstop to the news, I have already heard "The World" broadcast once today. I will comment on the war between Israel and Lebanon (not to be confused with Hezbollah) in a later post where it will be more appropriate. It would be wrong to include such circumstances in a post with the Hefner-Windsor-Castro (love?) triangle.



To save my own ass, the pictures in this post are courtesy of Google images.

Although I generally hate air conditioning, I have to say that it is lovely to sit in my 68 degree house after spending seven hours at the pool (aka fiery hell). It actually wasn't that bad, although the water literally evaporated off of me seconds after I jumped into the pool 98932938 times. Global warming is a bitch. But then again, a guy told us today that he's not worried about global warming because "the world has been around for billions of years and it'll survive for a few more." Damn Republicans.

Last weekend was wonderful. Brandon came up from UNC, we went to the beach and to Walden Pond, hung around at the Cape. It was a much needed break from work and the summer drama. We made dinner, listened to a lot of NPR, caught up, went swimming, etc. It was a good way for him to relax from his intensive summer program and now he's up in Vermont. I'm jealous. I miss it.

I saw my grandmother the other day, which was very nice since she's doing so much better. I'm hoping to see her more this week. My parents left for Italy yesterday, they will be in South Africa in five days, and they won't be back until the 17th. So I want to make sure that I get to Wellesley to see her.

Yesterday was terrible--migraine headaches, bad memories, and a woman who was complaining about the water not being hot enough in the shower (although it was 90 degrees), who told me that she "didn't like my tone." I haven't heard that since I was about six years old. Whatever. Apparently she apologized today to our pool tech, who passed it on to me. The pumps were breaking as I left, there weren't enough guards, and there were about 120 people in the pool. Needless to say, I wasn't too sad to drive away in the mom-mobile.

I have to work tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday. Then I might see Tim if he's in Dennis, and then LA is coming and we're going to Nantucket for the weekend. It'll be another nice weekend. Then four more days of work and I'm done at the pool and starting my new job. Awesome.


It's thundering outside with driving rain. Yesssss.

I'm sorry my entries are so boring.