I Try To Be Funny So Someone Finds At Least Something About Me Attractive

Wow. I havent written in here in forever, and I have less than two weeks left. Um... what to say.... it's been good and it has been bad. I had the best time ever with Jon last Sunday. Took me around Grand Rapids and I had so much fun. So that was awesome. Too bad I wont be able to hang out with him anymore. I was really bad, and was supposed to hang out with Creepy Pizza Guy that Sunday, but never called him back... the girls gave me crap today about it. They actually counted down the guys I haven't called back.... six. SIX?!?! Oh my gosh.... that makes me look horrible. Either that, or it makes the guys here look desperate. Haha.
Cant believe I am going to miss the Olympics... I love watching the gymnastics. Not really a summer Olympics fan otherwise. So instead of enjoying routines, I am going to a wedding I dont condone. Finally got an outfit today. It's actually cute! Hoping I will be comfortable in it. We're leaving tomorrow to go up north. I'll let you know more when I have more time... have a great day!

I Eat Applesauce Without A Spoon

Oh my.... I am so lethargic right now... as soon as I sit down I am ready to pass out... and I am getting even more sleep so I am not sure why I am so tired! I'm hoping that if I get to bed as soon as the girls get to bed maybe I can catch up.
Nothing much has happened this week. Fairly uneventful, which I guess is a good thing. I know I'll get enough excitement when I get back home. As much as I love being here and love the girls, if I had the chance I would hop the next boat home. It's time.
I told Athena that she can do anything that she wants when she grows up and I suggested my own dream to her: travel the world. Never stay in one place for a long time. If I could, I would stay in a place just long enough to get comfortable and then hop out of here. I want to live everywhere. Be a wanderer. And go home ever so often, of course.
The other day I took the girls to the pool and had a run in with a creeper. Back in the end of June we took Athena to Pizza Hut for her birthday and I chatted with our server because I had nothing else to do. So I guess he was at the pool and recognized me. I didnt know his face from anyone else's. Hadnt made much of an impression on me, I guess. Anyway, I bring the girls into the pool and hop in the car to get some reading done. After an hour I check up on the Athena and Audrey (Sam is at camp this week) and this guy swims up to me and says "I know this may sound weird, but did I wait on you at Pizza Hut?" I thought about it and said yeah. He GETS OUT OF THE POOL and sits next to me, talking to me for like 20 minutes. He remembers every detail of our last encounter including Athena's name, where I am from and how old I am. Being polite, I talk to him for a bit while watching the girls and finally the pool gets ready to close. I tell the girls to get out and try to hurry them so we can just go, and I get unlucky enough for him to ask me when I'm free and can he have my number. I had no real reason to not give it to him, so I gave it to him. I just really hope he doesnt call. Creeper. Or if anything, we could just hang out..... and that is it. He's nice.... but creepy. What is UP with these Michigan guys?

I Can Blow Up Things With My MIND!

So I figured out why I gained back my Oh My Gosh There Is No Food In This House weight.... they now have a "Jakki" special at the ice cream parlor. I am not joking. Curse you, Little Dipper Ice Cream that is located RIGHT NEXT TO THE HOUSE! And curse your delicious goodness and friendly servers. So the Jakki is a small sundae with a surprise topping. I always get that. Unlike most situations, "Surprise me" is actually okay to say there without getting my hair chopped off 5 more inches than I anticipated. I've gotten everything from caramel to peanut butter/hot fudge (please note that the "hot" fudge is more like room temperature fudge, but I'm not complaining).
Thats it for today!

I Will Never Treat My Kids Like That.

Today I spent the day watching How I Met Your Mother and reading almost due library books. But what really hit me was Athena when she returned today from the lake house. Mike and Carrie dropped off the food to go into the fridge before picking up Audrey and I saw Athena, her face red and tear-streaked. Later, after sending Audrey to bed I had Athena cuddle and talk to me. She started sobbing saying that her dad had told her mom that he didnt love Athena and didnt want to come see her. Carrie had set up the phone so that it was a three way specifically so that Athena could hear his reaction when Carrie asked why he hadn't seen her lately. I thought that this was too cruel for words. What kind of mom, knowing exactly what Athena's dad would say, would set her kid up for that pain? I rocked Athena and brushed away her tears, but my heart was just breaking. I kissed her on the top of her head and told her how wonderful she was, and how so many people love her. She said that her mom had said that Athena wasnt doing well in school so she thought that she wasnt mentally all there. I told Athena that just because a person isnt book smart doesnt mean that they have a disability. I explained to her that she has many friends and she is a wonderful person that will go far in life because of her sweet nature. I told her that she can do whatever she wants, and as long as she is happy she is blessed. I cuddled with her and encouraged her for about an hour before having to tuck her into bed. I sang her the song that my mom used to sing to me (oh god, I'm getting so emotional right now... I just cant do this anymore. She deserves so much better...I miss my parents. Thank you so much for loving me and showing me that) as I gave her a hug, and I heard her get choked up. I dont think her mom ever sang her to sleep. And she certainly would never tuck her into bed. Heck, I still love it when my mom comes and tucks me in! Does that make me a baby? I dont care, I love it! But I dont know what to do... I told her that I will always be there for her, and I mean it. If she ever needs me, some way I will make sure that she is safe. I just want her to be happy. She has already had to deal with so much in life yet she is just an amazing kid...
I have to sleep. If I can.

I'm Sorry..... WHAT?

Finally got to see The Dark Knight. It was pretty much everything I expected it to be. I would absolutely recommend it. Though I hope your experience does not include a screaming baby or obnoxiously loud teenagers. Took Jon with. He was 30 minutes late and we ended up going to a different show. So no points for reliability. Anyway, so we watched the movie and then I got invited to go to Kalamazoo with him. I didnt have anything else to do for the day and I thought it would be fun, so I said sure. Fun as it was, looking back on it I should have said no. Anyway, he talks the entire hour drive there and I just listen to his past antics meanwhile thinking "Oh my gosh... he was one of the guys in high school that I made fun of!" Still it was fun to hear about horrible situations that would never happen to me. And it made the hour go by quite quickly. He made a comment about his mom having called and wanting him to stop by and I was thinking "Oh, we are NOT going to your parents house... that would be more awkward than I could handle." Luckily we just went to DJ and Megan's house. (I went to her parents' house to watch fireworks on the fourth...) Turns out she is pregnant. Congrats to them. So the boys decide that we should do dinner and a movie. We go to Olive Garden and I keep thinking "I cant afford this..." so I just order something small. The entire time I sit in silence as the guys talk about the past and people I do not know and situations I dont find humorous. I keep trying to strike up a conversation with Megan, but nothing is happening. I put in a witty comment here and there, and when I get no response, I have no idea what to do. I've never been not funny before. I'm usually the outgoing one with all the jokes, but they just werent going with it. It made me even more uncomfortable because I didnt know how to act around these guys. After dinner, instead of going to the movie we had just seen the guys decide we should go bowling. Nevermind that I hate bowling. So much. I try getting out of it by saying I dont have socks (yay sandals!) but wouldnt you know it... Megan has socks in her car. Who has socks in their car?!?! We go bowling and I did horrible as always. I even went past the line on the lane and did the splits because it was so slick. I almost couldnt get up again! I had such a hard time getting my footing. And the entire time we are bowling the others arent saying anything. No cheering, no encouraging words, not even joking around. Just waiting for their turn. I was miserable. I kept trying to smile and make do, but by the time we left (11.30 pm) I just wanted to go home. We all ended up going back to DJ and Megan's house and watching the VH1 Tribute to The Who for an hour. The Who? I dont think I recognize anything they play. And they werent even the ones playing! I started to fall asleep on the couch from boredom when I think Jon realized I was either tired or bored and suggested we leave. Again we got along just fine on the way back. I listened to him talk about his ex girlfriends for the entire hour while I braced myself at every red light (I am still freaked out when others drive). My car was at his house because I couldnt leave it at the mall where we had watched the movie so we went back there. I thought I was going to hang out there for a while since he didnt say anything about my leaving and he knew I didnt have to back at any certain time. So I basically stood around while he talked to his roommate and friend for an hour. I was not acknowledged at all, nor introduced to these guys. Eventually I just said that I was going to leave, and grabbed my purse, said thanks for the fun, and left. No walk to the door, no real Cya later, nothing. I even left the two stuffed animals that he won for me at the bowling alley. Though I'm not sure if they were for me... he said "I got these for you", but that was to everyone at the table.... though he was looking at me... he looked at me a lot throughout the night. You know when you feel someone looking at you and you can see out of the corner of your eye... whatever. So I left those there. I get back home at 2.30 and was going to write him a letter saying thanks for all the fun and for taking a poor girl out on the town, so I go to his myspace to find his address or at least his last name. I look at this note that kinda stands out, and he talks about how he hung out with this girl for one night that didnt really have good social skills. This note was written almost right after us hanging out for the first time. All I could think of was Fuck You. You try being thrown into a situation where you know NOBODY and nobody makes any move to talk to you or make you feel even slightly comfortable. No social skills? Thanks for never holding the door open, introducing me to anyone, or asking me what I thought about anything. Some friend. So yeah, I'm a little upset. But at least the movie was good and I have lunch from Olive Garden tomorrow. You learn a little bit more every day, and I have learned a little bit about what my limits are today.
Have a great day!

I'm Huge In China

The past few days have been uneventful. Yesterday Athena and I were watching Tyra and the show was about people who had addictions. One of the guys was addicted to porn. I certainly wasnt going to explain to Athena what porn was, and the show didnt go into details, just said that the guy loved watching videos of porn and loved looking at photos. I thought it had slid past her until after the show Thene looked at me and asked "Why would someone be addicted to corn?" Thank you, innocent minds!
Today I wasnt feeling well so Athena brought me some vanilla yogurt and let me sleep in. What a sweetheart. She also poured me a bowl of my own cereal (probably shouldnt leave the box out...). The girl is adorable and so thoughtful... it's so sad that her parents never show any physical love. She always cuddles up next to me and I shower her with hugs and kisses to the forehead. But her parents always shy away and push her to the side whenever she comes for consolation. I just dont know how a girl treated like that could be so loving.
Didnt get to see The Dark Knight yet. I wanted to go to the Imax and see it but it turns out that it has been sold out for over a month and the next open spot is two weeks from now. Well dang. I guess I'm going to have to go see it with all the other poor fans. I've heard simply amazing things about it, though. Even that it was better than sex. So I really hope to not be disappointed.
I watched Penelope on my laptop today and it inspired me to buy more soundtrack music. I purchased The Fall of Palladio by Kerry Muzzey, A Nice Ride from Seabiscuit, Hero from Kung Fu Panda, Smart Exit from Get Smart, a few songs from Penelope, even some songs from The Sims 2! But my favorite/worst purchase was Casper's Lullaby by James Horner. I absolutely HATE Casper because it makes me so sad. I rarely cry, but this movie makes me sob. So listening to the main song that has so many memories attached to it is pretty harsh to listen to. Unfortunately my stupid brain keeps listening to it on repeat. I'm a glutton for punishment. Here is a link to the song if you dont know it: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_8LZLn3BHBM
Because I didnt go to TDK I gave Jon a call today. He was at the Vans Warped Tour.... lucky. Anyway, I'm going with him sometime tomorrow. Better than going alone!
Have a great day!

I Survived a Japanese Gameshow

The cat.... he clawed me.... and ruined my shirt! One of my favorite shirts!!! So now I'll have to make a pillow out of it or something.... but I became sad. But at least today I had most of the day "off". Athena went to a friend's house and I chatted with Steph and Laura (my roomies next year) and got some reading in. It was nice.
My shirt.....