Summa Summa Summatime
October 9, 2009
Hello. I’ve missed you. Like, a lot. Only for some reason I didn’t realize it until it hit me hard in the face this morning. And then I had to go to four hours of class. Figures. But because of my lack of writing over the summer, I decided that I should definitely do an extensive recap, in the same vein as this, but totally way better. I’m trying to type fast here, which is hard on a practically empty stomach, plus I’ve got this funky Batman ring on, which is all sorts of awkward, but also all sorts of awesome, but I want to finish this soon because I feel like I owe this to…somebody. Maybe myself. So let’s talk about this summer, in depth and in detail:
This summer was so so SO different from last summer. It was not the best summer of my life, and while I was in it, I didn’t appreciate it at all, but now, looking back, it was pretty fucking golden. This summer started with tears in the arms of my (now ex-) roommate over having to leave so much of what I had loved and grown comfortable with. The beginning of summer brought an end to something else; it brought an end to my “rescue year”. The people and places I encountered through the year saved me time and time again, and leaving them behind was so scary because I knew that when I returned in the fall, everything would be different, would have changed. And change is very hard for me. So this summer was a little scary. This summer I readjusted to being in Dayton, to working there instead of here, to being with those friends more often than BG friends. This summer I didn’t have a freakin’ CAR for the first month-ish of being home, so I felt isolated and bored and frustrated alot. My dad took me to and from work, so this summer was kind of like being 14, only I didn’t work when I was 14, so maybe not. Anyways, this summer there was a Florida family vacation for my oldest sister’s wedding, which was understated and perfect and made me believe in true love and all that icky stuff. This summer was waves and sand and dinners out and lots and lots of family time in the evenings. This summer was Coldstone, Coldstone, Coldstone day in, day out, working with some people I knew and loved from last summer and some new people whom I now know and love, too. There were regulars, Virgil the ice cream machine, a broken freezer door, and in general alot of fun that consisted of the last memories I may ever make there. This summer was also pretty fattening. This summer was a drunken late-night walk up ghetto Main Street in search of food; instead we found goth kids and prostitutes. Not a bad trade-off. This summer two of my very best friends in the whole wide world left for month long trips to Spain and Cameroon, and I felt stranded without them. I threw myself into working as much as possible because there was not a whole lot else to do. This summer I spent so much time with Martha, trying to make up for the fact that we won’t see each other a whole lot this year. I think the people working at the local cheap movie theater started to recognize our faces this summer because of the sheer amount of nights we went to see crap like Obsessed and 17 Again. Yes, I paid money to see both of those films. We all know how I feel about Beyonce, people! And Zac Efron…well, that was a sacrifice I made for Martha’s sake. This summer I got Lost in Austen, and MY GOD it was horribly wonderful, and I highly suggest it. This summer saw the return of the trip to Indian Lake for Martha’s yearly family reunion, which oh my GOD, I have missed. Her family is HUGE and doesn’t mind when I get drunk on whiskey, and her cousins and uncles all do their best to charm me. It always works. This summer was a spectacular camping trip involving sangria and apple pie, as well as dirtbikes and whole flaming tree branches. I like a mix of classy and hillbilly, sometimes. I saw this band in concert this summer, only to be severely disappointed when their lead singer acted like a total dick, insulting other bands and actually criticizing the way Columbus was laid out, like when was the last time you worked professionally as a city planner, dude? Shut your trap. I spent alot of time this summer lonely for school and school people, which meant I traveled back and forth to Springboro alot to visit my future/now current roommate, after, oh yeah, I GOT A FREAKING CAR!!! That might have been the highlight of my summer. That or the time I threw up in an East Side Wendy’s parking lot. Oh yes. Highlights galore. This summer was Gossip Girl, Dorm Life, and Mad Men at the very end, so this summer was super dramatic and award-winning. Because I was so lonely for BG, this summer I also took a trip up here to see some of the people I missed the most. The trip involved me touching snakes and lizards, standing by while a train sped past my face, eating dinner with a motley crew of friends and friends of friends, and having the exact same conversation with a drunken co-worker while he was well and truly plastered and then sober the next morning. This summer was baseball, like every other summer, which is not bad, but cozy. The Cold War Kids and My Morning Jacket came into my life this summer, so as far as music goes, this summer was pretty damn satisfactory. You would probably be surprised how many times I carted drunk friends to Waffle House this summer. Once, the cops were called, and the giant, imposing chef bellowed at people to get out. They listened. With good reason, trust and believe. This summer I almost skipped the best barbeque of my life. Thank God Martha is so persuasive, otherwise I wouldn’t have the memory of waking up (miraculouslyalone in my own bed at home, to an alarm someone had had the good sense to set for me) still drunk in purple frog pajama shorts on backwards with puncture wounds in both my arms. No, it wasn’t heroin. It was almost as trashy, though. Sigh. Can that be the motto of my summer? Or, better yet, my life? “No, it wasn’t heroin. It was almost as trashy, though.” That’s the life of every Daytonian. This summer…wasn’t all that bad. I’m glad to be back where I am, but part of me now misses it a little. This summer, I was spoiled, working at an easy job, making decent money, driving around in a new-to-me car, seeing the people I love as much as possible, while still having PLENTY of me time. So in the end, this summer was pretty OK.
Verbatim, Out Of My Mouth Two Minutes Ago As I Spotted A Large Winged Insect Creeping Across My Floor
June 16, 2009
- “Motherfucker, what is that?”
- Heading to closet to retrieve shoe/murder weapon: “Oh no, we are NOT doing this tonight.”
- Smashing the nasty thing violently: “Guh! DIE!”
Just so you know, I’m still alive here in Dayton. That freaky bug, sadly, is not.
Trip Around The Sun, Part Two
January 12, 2009
Aaaaaaaaaaaand, apparently I have so much to say about last year that I ran out of room in one entry! There’s a reason my father nicknamed me Gabriella von Flappingtongue when I was little. So. Here’s the second half of my year, in riveting detail:
July….man, the summer months run together in my head a little. July brought my best friend to town unexpectedly, so you know it was good. Honestly, most of the things I remember from June and July are things I already wrote about on here, which cemented them in my brain, so it feels kind of cheap to keep this up. So let’s move onto August. The Olympics happened, and I was in Florida with two of my sisters and several cats. I spent my days at the beach, then reading, showering, napping, and snacking in various combinations, and my evenings out to dinner and then in my sister’s apartment watching the Olympics with some of the people I love most in the whole world. It was pretty perfect. It was exactly what vacation should feel like, that feeling of wet beachy hair and old armchair comfort while you just sit and listen to the people around you talk because you’re too golden to function at the moment. In sad news, August brought the death of the best car known to man, and this death is on my hands. I have still not dealt with it fully. I miss that car so hard, all the time. She was so… so stalwart. And if I hadn’t totaled her, I know she would’ve stuck with me for at least the next three years. I’m sorry I’m so serious about my car; I’m not sure how it happened, but I am sure I can’t stop.
August also brought my return here, to BG. I was so panicked. And then things turned out okay. I don’t know how else to say it, because it really was that simple. The world did not end, it only got better, and I know I am really one lucky bitch. September flew by. Really. My sister got married and looked good doing it. I got to see the Florida sister for the second time in as many months, which is so rare and so happy-making. I threw up in the bushes outside of my house one night after a taxi ride home in which my driver may have popped some pills while stopped at a red light. Incidentally, this was the night before the wedding. Funny how these things happen! I feel like mostly in September I just got to hang out with a bunch of cool people and get to know them better. Did you know that I’m also at school? You wouldn’t, from the way I would describe my September. There’s nothing of note school-wise that happened in September, and that’s weird to me. Anyways, September also brought a job that sort of tumbled into my lap, as all the jobs that I have ever had have. Again, I am one lucky bitch. October brought glorious fall weather. It started to get cool and breezy and the leaves changed and it was gorgeous. I love the change of seasons, so I was in bliss. I think that in October I began to find every single boy around me attractive; there’s a lot of eye candy around here, man, and in October I took full advantage of it. October also brought four migraines in eight days, so therefore, there was one week where basically all I did was go to bed early and lie around moaning and feeling nauseous. But! I also went to the doctor and got these magic pills that melt under your tongue and get rid of your headache. I have never experienced anything that did that ever before, ever, besides an hour-and-a-half nap, and I have literally had migraines for my entire life. Thank GOD for October, then. I feel like October was more of the same socially, but that is the furthest thing from bad, because for once in my life “the same socially” is not crying and constantly worrying about what others think of me and wondering if I’ll ever have friends and if I’ll ever fit in and stop wanting to go home and why does nobody like meeeeeee? Yeah. No more of that. As the clock changed from October to November, I cast my vote for change while listening to “Charlemagne in Sweatpants”. And four days later, surrounded by the people that have been my saving grace this fall, I watched him give his acceptance speech and held back tears. It was breathtaking. I remember when the family walked onstage, smiling and waving to the adoring crowds, I freakin’ squealed with glee, “Awww, look how great they are!” It was one of my favorite nights of the year.
I’m sorry, I know that this second part is sort of a copout on month-describing, but November too feels like it went by really fast. I went to classes, had lazy weekends, ate lots of bacon, spent a disgusting amount of time dicking around on the internet, probably drank some beer, got new brown boots, ate turkey, called people and asked them for money. You know. Same old, same old. December was a weird, patchwork month, because half was spent at school and half was spent here at home. Exams were gross, but I attended a silent dance party (glowsticks included!) and ate Mexican food, and spent many a night staying up talking to and laughing with my adorable roommate. And packing up to go home, I was actually sad. I had people I loved and would miss over the next three and a half weeks, and I had trouble leaving them for home. That was a new feeling. And then I came home and was absolutely engulfed by family time. I don’t see my sisters enough, but over break I got to spend a LOT of time with them, and I’m glad that happened. There wasn’t a whole lot of time with friends because of all of the aforementioned family time, but there was just enough for me to be happy, and I know there’ll be some more here in the next few days, so it’s all good.
Aaaaaaand, that was my year. The first four months? I’d like to keep the tags on and return ‘em, please. But the last eight were amazing, better than I ever expected, and now I think 2009 will be absolutely magical, so anything less than the absolute best simply will not do. Even though two hours into 2009 saw me vigorously scrubbing at carpet to get out the vomit stains, I still have high hopes for the next twelve months. I’m wishing on an eyelash I won’t be disappointed.
Trip Around The Sun, Part One
January 12, 2009
Hello. I just wanted to sit and reflect a little bit on the last year of my life. Actually, this part of the entry is being written on September 11th, because my mind kept wandering to this topic during English class instead of actually paying attention to Wimsatt and New Criticism and all that boring bullshit. I’m just so much happier than I was last year, so happy that things have changed for the better here, and I thought that instead of just marinating in the juicy sauces of joy (ETA on October 27: What the fuck is up with this imagery here? What was I doing with that, exactly?), I thought I’d make myself a tiny little bit more miserable by revisiting parts of the past. Let’s do the time warp (again?)!
It seems a little melodramatic to start with January, but it’s…the beginning, so I’ll just dive right in. January was rough, y’all. I remember very vividly one single night smack-dab in the middle of the month that involved desperate midnight crying, a momentary turn to Jesus, and alot of talking to myself, practicing breathing exercises. Okay, so basically like every other day around here, come to think of it. Moving on. It was the start of a new semester, which offered some hope, but I think that by this point in the school year, I was resigned to a bitter, awful ride til the end. I was not wrong. February…uhhhh, I don’t remember alot about February. Two years ago in February, I read Crime and Punishment, if that counts for anything. Probably not, huh? I do remember getting a box of Valentine’s candy from my mom, because I will never really be cool. And I’m not ashamed to say that I can’t wait to get yet another Valentine’s box this year. Best! tradition! ever! March was my birthday month! I was hungover. Not for the whole month, just for my birthday. My friends went to lunch with me and then left for Dayton, and I spent my birthday chilling in my room, watching other people I didn’t like get drunk, and editing other people’s English papers because they were too stupid to pass their class without me. I am still a little bitter about this past birthday, but then again, I couldn’t even tell you what my best birthday was. I think it may have involved Marian’s, which is not too shabby, but I am not a “let’s celebrate my birthday, because clearly the day I was born is monumental and epic!” kind of person. I am not one who likes the limelight, although saying that makes me want to peer over my shoulder for someone pointing at me and shouting, “WRONG, you lying, attention-whoring princess!” That person may or may not be one of my sisters.
Oh my God, anyways. Do I remember anything else about March? Nothing comes to mind. Some things probably happened. Was this the month I wrote a paper drunk and then had my professor call its prose “enviably beautiful”? Oh no, that was April. Whoa, maybe I am an attention whore… Things seemed a bit more bearable in April, because I knew the end of the school year was coming. However, there was the weekend where my ex-roommate’s little sister appeared on a Sunday night to stay and hang out that night and the next day because her spoiled sophomore-in-high-school ass had the Monday off. Anyways, I had some sort of panic attack that night and took a walk around campus by myself at 1:30 in the morning, which in general is something I guess you’re not supposed to do. I did not get raped. I also distinctly remember the evening I wrote said drunken paper. It was about 7:00, and I decided to walk to Starbucks, because I knew I had a long night ahead of me. That walk may have been the happiest I was all school year. Is that overly dramatic? I just remember that the sun was setting and it was a beautiful day and there was this boy I liked, and I wasn’t worried about my paper and I knew the end of the year was coming soon so things would be alright. I still remember that night alot, because it was one of precious few memories I enjoy from last school year. Other than that, I think my favorite April day was my oldest sister’s birthday, April 29th. I was sitting in my bed on the phone with her, taking down the things I had hung up on my wall to remind me of home, and I just remember this incredible feeling of happiness, of, of, of relief I guess, of a return to wholeness, like finally, I made it, things can go back to normal now. Two days later it was May, and it rained and I moved out; I remember sitting on the unmade, unlofted bed of the girl across the hall from me, in her unfurnished room thinking to myself : “I’m going to remember this for a very long time”. I suppose there were a lot of things that were ”un-” that day, but happy is not one of them. And I remember very well the ride home because GOD I was overjoyed. I’m sorry, I know I sound like a melodramatic baby with all the talk of the horrors of freshman year, like girl, why didn’t you just move your ass out of there at the first, second, or 75th sign of trouble? And I can tell you that the reason is because I am a pussy. Seriously, I am the biggest wuss about standing up for myself. The first step, I hear, is admitting you have a problem.
So, May. In May, one of my close friends had a beautiful baby boy named Alan. He only weighed four pounds when he was born, and the day he was born I didn’t even get to see him becuase he was in a special nursery, but now, he’s just fine. He’s better than fine. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I also went to New York with my three best friends in May. That’s one of the single most important highlights of the month, and probably of the year, but it’s only September right now, so maybe someone will surprise me with a 4.0 or a free pony or a home-cooked dinner or something. I am ever hopeful. But seriously, I think that’s basically all that happened in May, and I remember thinking that when I came back, things should probably start happening to me, like this is the point in the movie where I get swept off my feet or offered a life-changing internship or get hit by a train. Come on, New York! Spit me out something good! June meant more minor traveling, like to Yellow Springs for a camping trip and Kentucky for a sister trip. June was a pretty perfect representation of what summer should be like, all lemonade and heat. I’m pretty into June.
To be continued….
