Time in town...

I'm in St. John's! Hurrah for the big city!

I got a ride in with a friend's family, which was very nice of them. It was also rather amusing, because myself and an 16 year old boy were sharing the back seat. He stumbled out of the house at seven in the morning, clutching a pillow, and saw me. *stares* So the pillow went in between us two, and we both leaned on opposite windows and slept. *thumb up*

I'm staying with Ms. B for the weekend, so once we got into town I was dropped off at her house, and got a tour... It's a nice apartment. :D She has a balcony and everything. 

OH, and we ate out in the college food court, which is very college-y. You know, people behind the count who don't really care, straws on the floor, everything tastes like fridge, and people my age. Oh, and half the people are guys, which is just strange and unsettling. 

(And by the way, interspersed between all this is watching of Firefly; we're going through the series. Some moments are totally matchy, and some ver ver awful- put a quilt over your head AND stick your fingers in your ears. )

Mmmmm, then PT and PT's GF came by, and we went out to Tims! Coffee and tea all round, and various munchables. PT's GF is very cute. And sweet. And tiny. And giggly. And despite that description, I do actually like her. :P She and PT are really cute together. They do hold hands a lot, though. And seeing your little brother kiss anyone, even on the cheek, is traumatizing any time when the little brother is over the age of four.

Then, at 9:00, we all went out downtown- to a church coffee house. There was free music and coffee! MARVELOUS! My Classical Pianist brother, bless his shiny heart, thought the music was too loud. Just because he couldn't hear himself talk. Sheesh. I thought it was pretty good though. The first act was really good, just a man and a guitar. I recognized a couple of Johnny cash songs, and quite a few I would liked to have been able to identify but wasn't. Then there was a band which showed a lot of promise for the first minute of intro to their first song, and then repeated the intro with variations for forty minutes. They were all first year engineering students, however, so I suppose I'll forgive them. After the first years came a more established band, which is well known in the "christian scene." At least, the players are well known, I"m not sure about the band unit its self. Despite having The St. John's Sound and a lead singer who couldn't find the pocket in a pair of cargo pants, they were pretty good. If you're playing John Mayer, a decent guitar player makes up for much. Side note; I approve of well- played guitars in general. 

Thoughts on travel

A test. 

Think over some of your most memorable (negative) travel moments.

• I once spend a four hour plane ride next to a highly vocal man who LITERALLY used the f-word every four words. At least.
• I slept in a pile of suitcases for three days in the back of a van. Refugee much?
• I was delayed for four days over Christmas, and the airline effectively shrugged in my direction and- no, that's it. Just shrugged. 
• I had my luggage lost for eight (8) days, forcing me to live out of my carry-on for that time.
• I only realized when I was 16 that you don't always get pulled aside and interviewed more closely when crossing borders. 
• I've started Security in full outdoor winter gear, and exited in socks, under-t-shirt, pants and beading wire. (Seriously, people, is your brain even in gear? Beading wire? Gosh.) 
• I've slept in LOTS of gas stations. 
• I know how to find the coffee in any gas station.
• I crossed the dessert double-buckled, with no A/C. Ponder that one a while, children.  
  

Now think. Do these things sound fun? If the answer is yes, you are unfit to contribute to any conversation involving travel, and may go lie down until your brain returns.

I'm clearly not thinking logically, because most of those things DO sound fun. :D *sigh*

Yep, I'm still alive. 

What has been happening? Let me see. I fail at getting the dishes washed. And I don't fail entirely at sales. I got my first referral at the bank, which means that I found/convinced someone that they would like/wouldn't mind a phone call from one of our personal bankers. :P

Oh, and my quick temper annoys me. How's THAT for an ironic statement?

Life in a small town; constant recognition, minimal inclusion.

Sometimes living here just dances along the edge of intolerable. There are so many people who know who I am and my circumstances, and yet so few who I actually can relax around. I know I'm the weird one, who likes strange things and doesn't even have the redeeming feature of liking normal ones, and I know it all the time. I mean, I just wrote 50,000 words in 15 days, and I haven't told anyone other than my sister. In other places I would get a reaction, I know. I've seen it. Maybe it would be hatred or resentment, but here I'm just weird. And I'm stuck in the bounds of the hills I can see from my window.

Is it always this hard to stay in a place? Am I only satisfied when I'm anonymous to everyone I don't choose to let in? Or would that even help? Does it ever get better? In a year, maybe, will I be okay to be the one who inspires an understanding smile on being seen? Or does being an adult mean never quite fitting in?

Around here there are the church groups, where not only do I not know the responses and jokes, I have to cram the panic back down my throat to keep from curling into a ball and rocking. And then there are the parties, where the participants get drunk and go home with other people than they arrived with. I don't want either. Given that they both involve removal of most of my psyche, neither option is enticing to me. I like sarcasm and quick remarks and irony and references to obscure bits of everything; which doesn't work when you're drunk. I like philosophical discussion and political debate and all those things that girls aren't really supposed to in good christian circles. So I settle for NOT going out and being out of place, I stay home and try to hide.

Would it have been easier if I hadn't lived in other places, I wonder? Or if I had sucked up and stayed in the mind-rotting church circles? If I had had anything closer to a normal life, if I had tried to be social and ignored the scrape of eyes on my back, would I be able to have people look at me without wanting to cringe?

WHY DON"T OTHER PEOPLE FIND THIS SO HARD?

Does it ever get better?

"Maybe you've got a bright one this time!"

I am, really tired. Really.

*slump over and smacks forehead off of floor.*

But what have I done since I last blogged? Hm. The whole St. john's extravaganza was last weekend, I see if I check my records, and that means it has been a little under a week since I was writing here. Remembrance Day took place in that time, so I went out and got fair sogged. :D I have not seen so many umbrellas in one place outside of pictures. Despite the rain, it seemed like there was a fairly good turnout to the Ceremony.

And this morning I went on a bottle blitz with the Sparks, Brownies, Guides, Pathfinders, and Rangers. And hour and a half of tramping the streets collecting, and then an hour and a half of throwing bags half my height into a storage container. Given that it is not warm out, some of those bags got pitched a little more enthusiastically than they maybe needed too. :P I'm amused at how surprised people always get when I do things with energy. I mean, the paper needs to be stamped anyhow, so I might as well make sure it gives a GOOD imprint. And those bags? Not going to get themselves into the back of the container. :P

Anyhow, I"m off to make Brownies. The edible ones, with chocolate. :P

Love Story

Now that NaNoWriMo has officially started, I don't think I will be posting here very much for the next month. However, given my remarkable talents for procrastinating, I could be posting daily.

I just managed to say absolutely nothing. Good JOB, me!

Anyhow, this is what I wanted to talk about. Yesterday I was resting my brain by looking up videos on Youtube, *coughcough* and I found two songs that have come out recently, both entitled "Love Story." I was rather struck by the difference between the definition of love depicted in the two videos. Not to mention the "romantic clothing," and the "happy ending."

Anyhow, here are the links. Taylor Swift vs. Katherine McPhee.