Now, I don't want to come across as an ungrateful bitch for all the great things that are going on in my life right now, but it's fucking HOT out. Do you know how nearly impossible it is to enjoy life when it's this hot and humid. Dad just got back from Washington state, where he reports it was 80's and 90's with no humidity whatsoever all week he was there. That sounds LOVELY. If it weren't for the fact that everyone i know and love is on the east coast, i might be tempted to move out there. Believe me, it's a real thought.

But i did have a wonderful day despite the heat. Thanks to Lee and Alan visiting, along with the environmentally hazardous miracle of air-conditioning, today was an adventure of walking and sweating from one air-conditioned establishment to the next, with lots of catching up in between. We had lunch at this great place called The Wrap, which gives you your choice of motifs for filling flavors, and then you can decide whether you want that flavor with chicken, beef, roasted vegetables, or (what i was excited about) the baked tofu. Mmm. It was so good. I got a Bangkok style with peanut sauce and cucumbers. Oh, lordy. They do a good smoothy too.
It was a good time. Then we all (except Matt who had to meet someone at 3:30) made our sweaty way back to the ranch and talked some more, which was great, and played Carcassonne (a great board game) in our miraculously air-conditioned room. A good day.

Well, i'm off to get my laundry. Wish me luck.

NEWS IN SHORT

Everything peachy-keen in life of Lindsay  Lindsay is finding herself self-conscious these days of how well things are going for her: "I feel bad -- whenever I get on the phone with someone I haven't spoken with for a while, i'm all like, 'everything's going GREAT!   Dan and I signed a lease for an apartment, i got great scores on my GRE's, and i'm finally having that sinus surgery I've been talking about for a while.  My life smells like roses and yours smells like poo!  How's your crappy job coming along?'  I feel like I'm being borderline insensitive," Lindsay says.  Damn, I hate that girl. 
Update on the situation in Sinuses A procedure to correct and rebuild the warzone of the Sinuses has been assessed and scheduled for October 4th.  More on this story below. 

SINUS INFECTIONS BEWARE!!!

Come one, come all! Hear the amazing story of Sinuses Gone Bad! There was a time when the Sinuses in the quaint town of Lindsay were a peaceful place, when the law-abiding citizen bacteria were only the good kind. But 12 years ago, the picture rapidly changed, and now the Sinuses in Lindsay are incapable of surviving The Attack of the Bad Bacteria on their own. The Bad Bacteria has known ties to hoodlum gangs of Allergies, under the tags of "C-Zon'L" and "KRoNik." Working in conjunction with The Common Cold, they have wreaked havoc on the Sinuses, now too weak to fight against even the smallest Allergy Attack.

Much community involvement has gone into the fight. For twelve long years, Lindsay has employed the reliable likes of Allegra-D, Claritin, and Nasalcrom, to provide constant vigilance in the fight against the Allergies gang, but it's often not enough. At least five times a year, the town of Lindsay has had to seek outside reinforcement to restore a semblence of peace. Always an expensive and time-consuming venture, they have relied on the "Big Guns" Erythromycin, Ceclor, and good-old, reliable Amoxicyllin. It's been a long and tiresome battle trying to keep the peace in the town of Lindsay, and now, sadly, the Sinuses are shot. But this is not the first time this story has been told, and another community has stepped in to foot the bill for a much larger venture that will revolutionize life in the Lindsay community. Lindsay will be greatly indebted to all the benefactors, but like all good stories for all good little boys and girls, this story has a happy ending, and soon the Reconstruction shall begin. It's been a difficult civil war, but the rebuilding of the Sinuses should help to clear out the Bad Bacteria, creating a hopeful future for the once peaceful town of Lindsay.

i was really stressed out with everything going on.  i wasn't quite sure how to handle the combination of bridesmaid duties competing with the desires to see the friends who also very much wanted to see me.  so i called mum when i had no voice and whispered to her over the phone.  i was practically panicking.  mum told me that i just had to calm down about how much stuff there is coming up.  she was right.  i told her "i'm TRYING."  and she said, "that's half the problem.  calming down isn't something you TRY to do.  it doesn't work that way."  she's right.
 
the wedding went off without a hitch.  the rain held off (i spoke with mother earth in the morning) for the ceremony and politely refrained from downpouring during the reception.  in the morning before the ceremony, amy (maid of honor), venice, and i decorated the place -- set up the tables, put on the tableclothes and centerpieces, decorated the chairs that lined the aisles, set up the gift table/boat, and finally managed to get ourselves dressed in record time while keeping stef calm and out of the way.  she was so excited.  it was so cute.  they both cried as she made her way down the aisle.   it was beautiful. 
 
so it's over.  i cried up there next to her, smiled at dan, and thought about how someday i would like something like this for the two of us. 
 
i drove back home to boston last night after the kick-ass reception.  it was a long haul from lincolnville beach, maine.  i made it home around 9:45 when parking was said and done, called dan and mum to let them each know that i made it back safely, and fell asleep so fast i that i don't remember my head hitting the pillow. 
 
but i did have time for one more bit of excitement --  my final GRE scores came in the mail, and my multiple choice we already knew is a 1300, but i got a perfect 6 out of 6 on the writing!!!   A SIX OUT OF SIX!!!  that's AWESOME!  so that is in the 96th percentile.  the reality of how fucking COOL that is finally sunk in today, and i must say it feels really nice to know that even after 3 years at a non-traditional school with no grades or tests, i'm still competitive in the traditional world.  go me.

Well, this has been a busy few days, however long it has been since last i wrote. Dan and i found our dream apartment, if only we can find a way to get it. The guy needs to fill it immediately, but he'll take whoever comes first. We got there pretty soon, and now we're just trying to figure out how to get it since we don't even need to consider a place until August. But seriously, the place it big, sunny, not too far from Harvard Sq and Porter Sq, and it's GORGEOUS with plenty of counter space in the kitchen (and enough room for a kitchen table!) and plenty of storage space.

Right now i'm in Maine doing wedding things primarily. We had SO MUCH FUN at Aquaboggin. I'd never been to a water park, and it turns out i'm really a water park kind of person! It was a blast! We kept throwing ourselves down slides, and we went on this thing that is basically shaped like a half-pipe, but you use an inner tube and get shoved off the side of it. You slide down four stories before you finally start slowing down. So much fun! Mark and Stef gave that to the Wedding Party as a thank you gift, and it was well received. Dang was it a good time.

Time to get going. I've got showering and wrapping to do.

I've lost my voice, so it's been nice to write things out.

The Next Big Thing

Well, after an exciting week of socialing with our new locals Q and by proximity her boyfriend Alex, and also hanging out with Kal twice and going to see Madonna, immediately followed by a weekend of a trip to Maine, i'm pooped.

This weekend the primary concern was getting to the bridal shower in time and having the food and gifts with me. I got them a waffle iron, which went over really well. I figured it was worth the extra ten or fifteen bucks out of my budget to make sure they are excited about it, and they were (both Mark and Stef were there... well, OBVIOUSLy Stef was there -- she's the bride.) I made some four-bean salad and brought it there, and we all ate a LOT, opened her gifts, and shared memories about Mark and Stef with them. Their mothers were crying regularly, and it was a good time had by all.

This weekend also featured gorgeous Maine. On the trip up on Friday night, Dan and I crossed the border and were greeted by the most incredible skies we'd ever seen in our lives. We were sandwiched in between a sunset and a thunderstorm the whole way up, and we saw lightening flash against the clouds, dark purple clouds against featherly yellow clouds just above a pink and blue streaked sky. I'm trying my best hear, but words really cannot describe the beauty.

There was of course also the Fourth of July, for which we were very busy. All the day before we had mostly spent with his mother, and we also hung out with Nate and Tara. in the afternoon and evening. The next day we went to a BBQ with Nana, Aunt Kimmie, Mum, and Rick, and that was a lot of fun too. Nana lives across the road from some really nice cows, so i hung out with them for a while. One of them exfoliated my right arm to ultimate smoothness. Cow tongues are good for that. We ate and ate and shot the shit, and then it was time to head over to Dad's. We ended up meeting him at Yulia's (Dad and Jeanne's daughter) friend Ryan's parents' house. Yulia and Ryan are 7 (?) and were in and out of the pool quite regularly. Had a nice time talking with all of them and avoiding as much of the food as possible (we were still full from Nana's), and then Dan, Dad and i went to chill at Dad's place for a while. That was really great. We were tired and needed some chill time, so we drank coffee, sat on the porch, and talked for a while. Dad's got some really cool new art too...

Sigh. Yeah. Good weekend. The only part of it that sucked was the drive back here today, because it took over an hour to get from South Portland to Biddeford, and it should NEVER take that long. It was a trying expedition. Today's been good otherwise though. We've all been chilling in our separate ways. I actually want to do a bit of landscape drawings for some ideas i have for the future. And i found an apartment on craiglist today that is opening up in Sept 1, and Dan is going to go see it tomorrow. I told him to take it if he likes it :)

Ok, i'll stop writing now.

NEW!!!

SO, a lot has been going on lately, and it's been crazy. there are some very important things i must share with my dear readers.

1. took the GRE's, and i got a 1300!!! YAY! i was hoping for low 1100's at best. i find out about the writing scores in another week or so.

2. last night, i saw MADONNA!!! kal-el called up yesterday afternoon with free tickets to see her in worcester, so we all (dan, matt, kal, and i) dropped everything and hopped on the commuter rail to worcester. all i have to say is HOLY SHIT does she know how to put on a show. no wonder it's so expensive for the tickets because she involves dancers, circus, skate-boarders, cabaret, and an incredible media show. everything going on complimented the other stuff SO well. amazingly well put together and well-conceived performance, aside from also being MADONNA.

that's all for now since i'm on break at work and that has taken up the time. love to all... i'll be in maine this weekend...