Day 101: Become a chocoholic

Day 101

Today I’m supposed to become addicted to chocolate.

So not hard to do, I’m pretty much already a chocoholic.

I start my day way too early again. Work drags on for the first half, but I wake up after I have my break and some food (including a chocolate brownie melt).

Just one annoying customer today—this woman who’s talking on her phone while ordering and therefore not listening to me try to confirm her order so she ends up with completely the wrong thing and of course it’s all my fault.

She wouldn’t even hang up the phone when she was getting her order fixed.

You know, most customers on the phone tell the person on the other end to hang on for a minute before they place their order. Those who don’t do that, well I tend to think of them as horribly rude people and it’s your damn fault if I screw up your order.

Also today I’m told that I can get my next meal for free because of the mix-up with my (lack of) break on Monday. And I get an apology. So I feel so much better about that.

After work, I buy a chocolate shake and drink it on my way home. Then at home I sit in front of the TV and eat handfuls of chocolate candies.

I really do like chocolate.

Right before going to bed, I learn that Mike’s car has sadly broken down. So he was planning to come out here in just over a week? Yeah, that’s not happening.

--

It's sad that most of my summer seems to be obsessed with seeing Mike.

well. it's hard to go from seeing him practically every day to seeing him maybe once a month.

Day 100: Counterfeiting Day

Day 100

Wow. A hundred days already. Almost a third of the year is done.

I’m supposed to use some fake money in the book and see if anyone buys it, but I will not cut anything out of the book, so I can’t.

Today I decide just to be absolutely lazy. I haven’t had a lazy day in a few days with seeing Mike and working so much.

It’s nice so far.

The day is really really boring actually. Nothing to say.

--

now it seems I have way too many lazy days.
Working sucks at times, but money's good. I miss you money.

Day 99: Experience Christ's Plight

Day 99

Today I’m supposed to carry a giant wooden cross to experience Jesus’s sacrifice.

Okay, a religious day? Let’s spend a moment saying my views.

I am agnostic. I have always been agnostic. I will never not be agnostic. I understand that there is no way I will understand the mysterious powers of the universe, if there are any, before I die and meet them.

Christianity is an interesting religion, but not one that I ever plan on joining. There is just too much stigma against it, also churches make me feel really uncomfortable.

I have read the Bible, and I admit that the story of Jesus is worth remembering. However, I cannot know if it is true or only a story, and that is really what makes me not a Christian.

I get a small silver cross on a necklace for today. It’s not a giant wooden cross, but it gets the point across, right?

Turns out the chain has nickel in it. Turns out I’m allergic to nickel. Also my day completely sucks.

I work 7 hours today, and guess what? They forget to give me a break.

Then at the end of my incredibly long day, I ask to get my discount for my food since I never got a break, and I’m told no, because I was still not paid for the half hour I would’ve gotten my break.

I’m hoping the manager who told me that was wrong. Because even though it’s only half an hour, they did not give me a break therefore I have to be paid, right? I’m really pissed off about this, and I end up crying on the way home because I’m mad and upset that they can just screw me over and get away with it.

I take off the necklace after work, and my day suddenly improves. I spend hours talking to Mike online, watching TV, it’s all good.

I do have to put some anti-itch cream on my neck as the chain of the necklace gave me a rash, but otherwise all’s good today.

--

Okay, so I ended up getting paid for that half hour that day after all.
Still pisses me off that if they wanted to, they could've gotten away without paying me. I could argue all I want, but what chance would I have in court? Even if I'm right, they have lots better lawyers.

Day 98: No swearing

Day 98

Today I’m not supposed to swear.

I spend most of the day just fine with this. I start the day going to church with Mike.

Church today is…you know I can’t actually remember what happened, I zoned out the entire time.

I notice that I’m apparently accepted in this community now. People I’ve only met a few times come up to me and ask how I am, how Mike and I are doing, holding a conversation like we’ve been friends for years. Also, when they’re taking pictures of all the church members for some random reason (I was not paying attention) they take my picture too, even though I’m not a member.

Then Mike and I head to the mall. We have fun just walking around together, hanging out in various stores. I like just being with him.

We then head to a friend’s house for hanging out with people. This group of people, I’m friends with some and becoming friends with others, but they all went to high school together. I’m kind of the odd one out whenever they talk about people who aren’t there.

Ariel’s there, so we spend most of the time exchanging fast food hell stories. Oh so fun.

We go swimming, and it’s fun. Swimming is nice.

I’m worried that my period will start right then (because it still hasn’t come). I’ve convinced myself that if/when my period comes, it will be the most inopportune time.

But it doesn’t come and we just all have fun.

While hanging out with friends, I swear 3 times. Oops.

Okay, one of those times is talking about the House class Ariel and I took and talking about Asshole and Other Asshole, and since those were technically names idk if it counts.

After hanging out, I have to drive home. And I swear one more time while singing along to my music. The word’s in the song and I don’t really realize it until after it’s out of my mouth.

Then I’m home, sadly away from Mike, and I have work tomorrow. Blah.

--

I wrote all these a year in advance so I wouldn't have to dedicate too much time each day to crafting the perfect entry now.
and yet here I am using Panera's wi-fi to post.

Day 97: In Da House

Day 97

Today I’m supposed to rap.

I don’t. I mean to, but then I don’t.

Today is Mike’s dad’s graduation party, the main reason I’m visiting Mike in the first place.

So much of the day is taken up by helping Mike help his parents set up. It’s work and it would suck normally, but it’s Mike. We make it fun.

The best part is when we hose down patio furniture, and we’re both in bathing suits so we end up turning the hose on each other a lot.

The party itself is so boring. I only know Mike and vaguely a few other people, and Mike keeps abandoning me to talk to people I don’t know. This is so uncomfortable.

Eventually Mike and I ditch the party to go to his room and watch Buffy. Fun times!

The party continues until late, then Mike and his sister and his dad and I watch the season finale of Doctor Who.

We are all such dorks.

Good episode though!

Then Mike and I head off to bed. We’re together for a while, and it’s good, and honestly the best part is cuddling with him after the togetherness. We’re talking about my perfect future wedding (and the way we’re talking, it would be our wedding) and it’s just nice. It’s not out of the blue wedding plans, it’s that the Doctor Who episode had a wedding in it so we were talking about weddings anyways.

But I do sometimes imagine what it would be like to marry Mike. Not seriously, I’m way too young to actually get married. It’s just a nice fleeting thought. And talking to Mike about it is just as nice.

--

I am curious what people out there think about this. I'm only 20, Mike is actually my first boyfriend, is it crazy to have little thoughts about marrying him? I'm not planning, just imagining.

some days I feel way too young and some days I think yeah, I could be ready. I don't know what to think.

I know overall if I did marry him, it wouldn't be now. It would be after college. So at least another two years. That's a long time to think about it.

Mike if you're reading this post please don't think I'm crazy.

Day 96: Stockpile as much free sugar as possible in one day

Day 96

Today, I’m supposed to stockpile as much free sugar as I can.

Today I also see Mike. Yay!

I don’t actually get any of the free sugar from work. Strange, I know, because hey I work at McDonald’s, I could get all the free sugar I want.

But I think it would just look too weird to grab a handful of sugar while leaving work. Besides, I’m on my way to see Mike and that’s way more important.

The drive there takes a while, and I get lost. The GPS stops working and I’m stuck in downtown Leominster at night until I can get it to work again. I don’t have cell phone reception and it’s very scary.

I finally make it to Mike’s house, and I hug him and kiss him and I am so happy to see him again!

We spend the night together (not the sleeping part, we do sleep in separate rooms) and it’s nice.

--

It's weird remembering a happy night seeing Mike when I just found out that I won't be seeing him this week like planned.

Day 95: Today be on the lookout for aliens

Day 95

Today, I’ve met 18 aliens, but I’ve still not met my period.

Today the book wanted me to be on the lookout for aliens posing as humans. I read the signs before work, and I kept a careful watch on all my customers.

18 of them were aliens, most of them regular customers. Oh great, McDonald’s food attracts aliens.

Do I honestly think that they’re all aliens? Of course not. Maybe just a few of them. There was a baby today with huge eyes, beyond cute to the point of utterly creepy, that one was totally not human.

I thought one of my coworkers was an alien, but no, he was just stoned. It was kind of hilarious to watch him.

Anyways. Now I’m home, and I need to make cupcakes.

The cupcakes actually turn out pretty good. I’m going to be able to bring them to Mike’s dad’s party and not be embarrassed by them.

I also make dinner for my family. This is so much fun, getting back into cooking.

Everything I make turns out good. This is a good day.

Except that I still don’t have a period. Researching internet things shows this is totally fine, really.

I’m hoping that this journal won’t suddenly turn into a pregnancy diary.

--

Seriously that baby was creepy.

Day 94: Today avoid all sources of electromagnetic energy

Day 94

Today, I’m supposed to stay away from electromagnetic energy.

What does this even mean. I don’t exactly know where electromagnetic energy comes from.

But whatever. I’ll do one of the suggestions—stay away from microwaves.

Good thing I don’t work in the kitchens at McDonald’s.

Work is long and boring.

My whole day is long and boring.

My period still hasn’t come yet. I’m worried.

I can’t be pregnant, but I can have some other problem. Even though I logically know it’s just stress, I can’t get over this worry.

--

Periods are a nightmare. first there's the worry if it's even just a day late, then when it happens, it's a miserable time.

Day 93: Humility Day

Day 93

Today, I’m supposed to show humility.

I try, but this one is really hard. I don’t know if that means I’m selfish or what—I’ve always thought I’m a nice person, but now idk.

I’m good at work. I’m perfectly patient, I’m never snarky to a customer nor do I even roll my eyes at a manager.

But then I get home.

I think that okay, for today I’ll be nice to my parents. I’ll make dinner for them and I won’t argue with them.

But my mom has plans for dinner, and that’s fine. Except, I need to eat at 6 because of my weird problem with schedules (meaning, I will have a panic attack if my schedule’s messed up). But my mom won’t be home before 6:30.

I ask my dad if he can make it, and he’s stubborn about it. My parents are constantly trying to break my schedule to prove I won’t have a panic attack, and guess what? I still get panic attacks. Every time.

So I can’t be too nice to him because I really really want to avoid a panic attack and he’s just not listening to me.

I’m also a little stressed right now because my period hasn’t started yet, and it’s supposed to start today. I’m 100% positive I’m not pregnant, mostly because I haven’t had sex in about 2 months. Still, I don’t like not knowing when it will start.

But even though I don’t get my period, I do get terrible cramps! Oh joy.

--

I'm better about my schedules.
it was a bit of crazy OCD-like thing that I was going through for a while, and I'm glad it's better now.

Day 92: Write your will here

Day 92

Today, I’m supposed to write my will.

Today is my day off, and of course that means it’s pretty much boring.

So my will.

If I have a car by the time I die, I’ll let my parents have that.

CD collection: Steph can have them. No one else will appreciate my mix of Broadway soundtracks and classic and punk rock.

Hat: I don’t own a hat, silly book.

House: Well. My parents own my house, so.

Garden: I will never have a garden, I don’t really care about gardens.

Truck: Why does the book think I’ve got all these crazy things?

Food in my fridge: Local homeless shelter.

Food in my freezer: Same thing.

Socks: Um. Idk. Goodwill?

Makeup: I don’t really have much makeup, so it probably goes to the trash.

Cat: I don’t have a cat.

Favorite sweater: whoever wants it? Or Goodwill.

Secret life savings: Immediate family. Depending on when I die, this could be my parents or my kids.

Giant dildo: I don’t have one. If I get one, just throw it away because that being reused? EW.

Priceless works of art: Sell and donate proceeds to some awesome charity.

Pencil: Mike can have this. I have to give him something.

Children: my children can take care of themselves. Unless they’re still babies, then their dad gets them.

Aerobics videotape: Goodwill.

Hoard of pubic hair: Will never even exist.

Space shuttle: If I get one of these, bury it with me. Seriously, I wouldn’t part with that, that’s awesome.

The rest is boring. I’ll just say my parents get everything and they can give it all to my friends if they want.

I do have a small fight with Mike today.

It’s about something personal. I tell him my issues, and as a good boyfriend, he tries to help. I guess I didn’t really want him to help, because I snap at him and become a bitch.

Then he gets sarcastic and stops talking to me.

I do apologize an hour later, and I think we’re good right now. But that was a bad hour.

--

That fight was the start of some problems.
Mike and I are still together, but we keep having some fights and they're almost always my fault. Also, they almost always happen at the same time of the month.
I think the pill, the one I'm on, is causing some extra crazy, but it's also worth it. Mike puts up with the crazy, and I love him for that.

Day 91: Today invent a new way of peeling potatoes

Day 91

Today, I have to find a new way to peel potatoes.

So I tell my mom, and she says we’ll have potatoes with dinner. I then go to work, and it’s actually interesting again.

First of all, there’s this adorable little kid. He’s telling me how many happy meal toys he has, and he holds up two fingers, middle and index. Then he remembers he only has one, so he puts down his index finger.

Ever had a little kid accidentally flip you off? It’s the most hilarious thing.

Later, a customer notices one of my coworkers, who’s really just a kid, leaning against the counter and stretching out his feet.

She comments to the manager that his posture is unprofessional.

The manager, being sane here, just walks away.

So she asks me, “Isn’t he going to say something to him?”

I just shrug, and cover for the kid with, “Well, his feet hurt.”

“This is terrible customer service,” she snaps, grabbing her food and walking away.

Seriously, lady? He wasn’t even serving you, I was. How is his foot pain even remotely related to customer service.

Of course, the kid laughs about it (and is also shocked that anyone even cared about that, really).

When I get home, my parents are busy cleaning the house for the housekeepers to come tomorrow. This has never made sense to me, but whatever. I clean up a bit too.

Then I work with the potatoes for dinner. I have no idea what to do, so my mom suggests I use an apple peeler.

We have a weird device that peels, cores, and cuts apples into rings. So why not use it for a potato?

It works. And then my mom deep-fries the potato rings and bam, curly fries.

Delicious.

--

I forgot about those fries! I'm going to make some more tomorrow. Homemade curly fries are cool.

Day 90: Today help collapse a currency!

Day 90

I really wish people would stop belittling things I like.

I know, that’s not how I normally start these entries, but I need to say that.

My task today won’t be done. I have to collapse a country’s economy by buying some of their currency and selling it at the same time as the rest of the people who have the book.

Since this book is a few years old, that’s probably been done by other people. Do I really want to take a part in devastating that country even more? No. Also I’m lazy.

Anyways. Work sucks, but it’s okay because I’m looking forward to Lainie’s graduation party, getting to see friends again and showing off my new red hair.

But it doesn’t go well.

I’m sucked into high school drama once again. I’m sick of that, but I play the good friend and I listen to it. But whenever I bring up what’s important to me right now—Mike or I really need to vent about work or are the cupcakes I brought any good?—they completely ignore me.

Okay, it’s not everyone there, mostly just Jessie and Ari. I know if I actually complained about that I listened to their bitching, they should listen to mine, they would. But Lainie mentioned that she didn’t want to deal with Ari’s drama today, so I didn’t want to make everything worse by bringing up mine. I just left.

I don’t want to say that I’m mad at Ari or Jessie for this. They’re great friends, today I’m just in a bad mood and their not listening just happened to make it worse.

--

I don't think Lanie is reading this blog.
and I kind of hope not, because I don't know how to spell her name.
seriously. Lainie? Lanie? we've been friends four years and I don't know this.

Day 89: Primal Scream Day

Day 89

Today, I’m going to bake cupcakes.

That’s not the book’s task. The book says I need to do a primal scream, which I totally plan to do, I think I need it.

But I also really want to bake cupcakes.

Work is boring as usual, nothing really to write about.

The cupcakes, however. I’m gonna write about them. I’m proud of myself for my resourcefulness here.

My plan was to make chocolate cupcakes with pureed raspberries added to the mix (which I did) and then a little white chocolate raspberry decoration topping it. They were to be very elegant.

The cupcake part turns out great, but not so much the decoration. I melt white chocolate and added raspberry extract and some food coloring—then the chocolate rehardens. For some weird reason, I can’t get it to melt again.

So I stick it in the middle of the cupcakes as a filling. I’m so proud of me for thinking of this, seriously—usually I throw a fit and give up when something I’m cooking doesn’t go right. Yay, I’m improving!

Anyways, the cupcakes are raspberry-licious.

I decide not to bother with a full on primal scream today. I don’t feel like it.

I do a silent scream, purposely blocking my voice so that a random scream doesn’t freak out my parents. Still fulfills the purpose—I feel a sense of relief and I’m good.

--

So...those cupcakes weren't the best, actually.
I still like having the pureed raspberry in the actual chocolate cupcake. The filling thing? Eh.

on another note, I have a new short story up at my other blog.

Day 88: Today measure your biceps

Day 88

Today, I have to measure my bicep muscle.

I don’t really have muscle there. I’m very weak.

Anyways, this is again a wait until after work thing.

Work is boring. I don’t really remember any terrible or great customers, it’s kind of all a blur.

Oh wait, there’s one. The machine that filters the tap water is broken, so we can’t provide the free tap water. So when I tell one customer this when he asks for water, his response is confusing.

“So you don’t have coffee?”

“No, we do have coffee,” I reply. “It’s only the machine with the filtered water that’s broken.”

“So how do you make coffee without water?”

I try to explain that the restaurant does still have water, it’s just not the free water to drink. He’s confused, and this goes on for a while.

Finally he leaves, and the most confusing thing about all this is he didn’t want coffee anyways.

When I get home, I really want to take a shower. It’s been a hot day and I’m feeling blah.

But I can’t. It’s still within 24 hours of dying my hair, I can’t wash it. I probably could get it wet by being in the shower, but I don’t want to risk that.

Also when I’m home, I notice something really sad.

There’s been a bird in her nest outside the house for the past few weeks. I’ve even seen the eggs in there when the bird was gone—I’d never actually seen eggs that were that bright blue.

The bird was letting us get within a few feet of her without attacking. She was trusting us.

And today, I come home to see the abandoned nest sitting in the driveway with the eggs completely gone.

I tell my dad and he says that something got them. Probably ate them.

I want to cry. I know it’s part of nature, but I thought that I was maybe going to see those birds hatch. I’d looked forward to just seeing that nest and the mother bird in it every day. But now, they’re dead.

I hope the mother bird was away and she’s safe.

At the same time as I’m upset, I’m thinking that I should include this in some book or story I write someday. Birds are always deep important metaphors.

But right now, it’s not a metaphor. There really are dead baby birds. And that’s sad.

When I do manage to measure my bicep, it’s 12 inches.

According to the book, this is average to good.

Okay. But I’m pretty sure that’s mostly fat, not muscle. As I said earlier, I really don’t have muscle there.

--

aw I remember that nest.
there isn't one in the bush this year.

Day 87: Tonight send a message in Morse

Day 87

Today, I’m supposed to send a message with a flashlight from my window in Morse code.

This is something I need to wait till it’s dark to do. And since this is the middle of summer, it doesn’t get dark till pretty late.

Work is weird today.

The girl who starts the grill early before opening never showed up, so we open an hour late. I have to spend that hour explaining what’s going on to angry customers.

Then, when we finally can serve breakfast, we run out of sausage. Half the breakfast items at McDonald’s have sausage on them.

Things become more normal, if a bit slow, later.

Then after work, I dye my hair.

Finally, I’m a redhead. It’s interesting. I keep looking at myself in the mirror and not recognizing me. I like it, but it’s so bizarre.

I’ve been a blonde for so long that I don’t know how to be a redhead, but now I am.

I’m trying to figure out how to debut my hair to my friends. A Facebook message and a photo is boring, but I won’t see any friends for a few days, so it’ll be faded by then.

When my mom gets home, she points out that there’s streaks and bits of hair that didn’t get dyed, but that’s fine. I only have to live with this for maybe 2 weeks before it washes out and I get it done professionally.

I don’t know if I’ll ever send Morse code. It’s an hour and a half before I need to get to bed and it’s not dark yet.

I did jokingly tap out SOS on the counter while I was at work, maybe that’ll be enough for the book.

--
The streakiness and bits that weren't dyed were because of my dad.
Never let your dad dye your hair. He does not know what he's doing.

Day 86: Go to the wrong side of the tracks

Day 86

Today, I have to go to the wrong side of the tracks.

Since I’ve been to both sides of the railroad tracks in town, I decide to go to a place that scares me—the Abercrombie & Fitch store.

Yeah, laugh at that. There’s this weird huge divide around here between the punk kids and the prep kids, and since I’m more on the punk side, I just don’t belong in Abercrombie. (Besides that, I’m too fat to fit in any of those clothes.)

Anyways. When I say there’s a huge divide, I don’t mean people on either side actually hate each other. They all get along pretty well, but at the same time cliques are big.

Yay for being done with high school drama.

So my trip to the mall takes a long time to start. My dad takes the car in for an oil change, and somehow they take 4 hours to do this.

But I do eventually get the car and I go.

Abercrombie is interesting. I don’t buy anything, but I do say hi to two really hot guys who are working there. Then I leave. The end.

At another store, I do something a bit daring. For the first time, I buy thongs.

Deb’s has them on sale for 5 for $10, and I have always been a bit curious if they’re as uncomfortable as they look. So I buy a few.

Of course, when I mention this to Mike, he gets excited and wants pictures. It’s fun to tease him.

--

Thongs? Uncomfortable.

Day 85: Today release a red balloon

Day 85

Today, I have to release a red balloon into the sky.

That means a helium one, I think. I don’t know where to find a helium balloon.

So I may have to accept today’s bad luck.

I’ll go check the floral sections at some grocery stores to see if I can find one there, but I’m not too optimistic.

To my surprise, I actually do find a red balloon. It’s not a simple red latex balloon, it’s actually a Mylar star. But it’s red and it’s a balloon.

I test my luck after buying this by also buying a scratchcard. I win $10. My day’s going good again.

Then it starts raining. I won’t be able to release a balloon in this heavy downpour.

But, the rain stops in just a few minutes. New England weather.

So I head outside with the balloon and let it go. It floats up and up and over the neighborhood, until I can no longer see it. Tada. Done.

I have to go to the dentist today. Luckily, no cavities. Unluckily, I have to get my wisdom teeth out.

--

I ended up having surprisingly no trouble with my wisdom teeth.
Seriously, pain was manageable with just Tylenol the entire time.

In other news, WHO SAW HARRY POTTER LAST NIGHT.

Day 84: Today throw away an apple core

Day 84

Today, I need to toss an apple core into a park and come back in 20 years to see if a tree has grown.

Once more, after work.

Work is long and slow, as it always is on Sundays. I get through it, though, because I know I’ve got tomorrow and the next day off.

When I get home, I talk to my mom about dying hair. I’ve been thinking for a while about dying mine red. So we head to CVS and get a box of nonpermanent dye and some of those hairstyle magazines. I’m dying it tonight.

Back home, I get an apple core (and I eat the apple—yummy) and head out to the backyard to toss it. There’s an area of woods behind our house, and it’s community-owned, so I can call it a park. Plus, it’s less likely to be disturbed and could actually be a tree.

I toss it in a pile of leaves right by our entrance to the woods. 20 years from now, let’s see what happens.

The only other interesting thing that happens tonight is I see the international space station in orbit. It’s just a dot of very bright light that moves really fast, and it’s awesome.

I don’t even dye my hair tonight. I realize that my head’s sunburned from Canobie Lake, so I probably shouldn’t dye it yet.

--

So, I did eventually dye my hair red, and I absolutely loved it.
In fact, I've gone between red and blonde ever since. Dying my hair is addicting!
I went out to my backyard to see if I could see a small apple tree--and there's a lot of plants out there, so no, I couldn't.

did anyone else see the ISS last year, or have you ever seen it? It was pretty cool.

Day 83: Demonstrate the arbitrariness of human timekeeping

Day 83

Today, I’m supposed to call someone I know across the ocean and share the arbitrariness of human timekeeping with them.

I’d totally do this if I knew anyone across the ocean. But I don’t.

So this morning, I share the thought with Mike. This quickly turns into quoting Doctor Who, that time is like a “ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff”.

I spend the whole morning clinging to Mike, making out with him a lot. I don’t want him to go.

When he does have to leave, I cry. I know I’m ridiculous, but I may not see him again for another 2 weeks. I don’t want that, I want him around always.

I may sound crazy, but it seems nothing bad can happen with him around. I can definitely think of times when bad stuff has happened, times I’ve cried in front of him, but I still know things are better with him there.

And now he’s not here, so I’m upset.

This only lasts a few minutes, then I start looking forward to the next time I see him. Yay, only 2 weeks!

--

Looking back on that? Yeah, I did sound crazy.
in other news, I've started a new blog showing off my creative writing bits. Won't be updated as frequently, but will be a hell of a lot more interesting than my boring life.
http://steph-writingstoshare.blogspot.com/

Day 82: Sit in the lotus position for 30 minutes today

Day 82

Today, I need to sit in lotus position for half an hour.

But the day starts first with Mike and I going off to Canobie Lake Park, a fun local amusement park.

We spend the day riding the rides, and trying to survive the insane heat.

Mike suggests we go on a boat ride, a tour around the lake behind the park. I don’t think that’ll be a great ride, kind of slow and nothing really to see, but he says it’ll be romantic. So I give in.

It kind of is romantic, getting to sit next to him.

The rides are fun, especially when we get to the water rides and can cool off. It’s great.

The water park area itself kind of sucks, though, so we leave soon after going there.

We spend the night cuddling and watching sci-fi. We’re geeks, yeah, but it’s fun.

I do try the lotus position late at night when I remember it, but I can’t do it without hurting my ankle pretty badly. So I only manage to sit that way for about 7 minutes.

By that time, it’s too late at night for bad luck.

--

I understand the point of meditation.
what I don't understand is why it needs to happen in specific positions? Can't I be comfortable to meditate?

Day 81: Celebrate Nature

Day 81

Today, Mike is coming!

Also I’m supposed to kill a fly on a page of the Book.

There’s no flies in the house. This could be hard.

So I never really get around to doing it, and it makes my day suck.

Early this morning, I’m driving to work, happily singing along to the Thumbelina soundtrack (I love Thumbelina so much) and suddenly, I get a flat tire.

So I have to call my parents to come get me and drive me to work. This makes me late and in a blah mood.

Customers aren’t so terrible today, at least, but they are very stupid. I’m constantly explaining the most basic things to people.

Also, more badness happens when I trip in the bathroom and bang my head against the handicapped bar. Oww.

I stay late a bit because my dad has to pick me up, and I don’t know he’s there. He’s sitting out in the parking lot where I can’t see him. So I just keep working.

I should be okay with this—it’s up to me to ask my manager if I can go, so really this is my choice, but I’m a little annoyed at the whole thing. I really just want to get out of there.

I make it home, and then spend a long time showering and making myself all pretty for Mike. He won’t be here for a few hours, but I like being pretty.

I then start on making dinner for my family (and for Mike if he’d perhaps like some when he’s here. Okay really it’s for Mike. I wanna show off a bit for him) and it takes a long time.

By a long time, I mean I started at 4 and now it’s 7:45 and it’s not done.

It finally finishes at 8, and it is delicious. Apple-crusted pork loin and chive-buttered potatoes. One of the best meals I’ve ever made.

Mike’s still not here. Sigh.

But then Mike does get here, and I am very happy. I missed him.

We watch TV for a while, make out for a while, and I’m just happy to be with him. I forget about the book and my bad day, the only thing important is Mike is here.

--

Mike never shows up when he says he will.
I know he has stuff going on and I'm pretty far away from him, but it would be nice to not have him show up hours late.
Okay, it isn't hours late every time, but it's enough times that I get sad.

Day 80: Eat furniture

Day 80

Today, I have to begin to eat a piece of furniture.

Once more, I’ll do this after work.

Work sucks.

To set the mood of my day, the first customer isn’t even halfway through the door before barking at me, “Sausage McMuffin!”

No exaggeration, he cut off my friendly polite greeting to say that.

There were terrible customers all day, but really the worst is this old woman and her granddaughter.

She complains that there was nowhere to sit (it was crowded) and people are taking up booths by themselves and using their laptops instead of eating.

I point out a free table nearby, one of the tall ones with swivelly chairs.

She gives me this snooty look, and asks, “You don’t have kids, do you?”

Seriously, lady, I’m 19. Do I really look like I’ve had kids? But all I say is “No.”

“Well of course not, because you know those tables aren’t suitable for kids.”

I shrug, turn back to my register, and make an offhand comment about how I’d loved those tables when I was a kid.

“Well, you might love them, but little kids don’t!”

Then she orders her food, and I ask if she wanted it to go, but she insists on eating in the restaurant where she knows there are no tables.

Whatever, not my problem.

She circles the restaurant again, and returns to inform me there’s still no tables, and people are still using their laptops.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t kick them out. They have a right to be here.”

“Then where am I supposed to sit?”

“I don’t know. I can put your food in bags to go if you’d like.”

“No! That’s no way for a kid to eat!”

(by the way, the kid in question seems really bored by all this, and obviously just wants to eat. Where doesn’t matter to her.)

Finally this lady leaves, muttering about the horrible service and how we don’t care about the children.

I see her hover around another family until they left their table, then immediately take it.

Then, she comes back to complain to us that the table was dirty. I’m glad someone else takes care of that, because I would’ve turned into a bitch. Or started crying. Or both.

Anyways, work finally does end, and I get home. Yay home!

I talk to Mike for a short while. I so cannot wait for him to get here tomorrow.

Then, I eat furniture.

I talk about this idea to my dad first, because I need to know if wooden furniture is poisonous. I know they chemically treat wood, and I don’t want to get sick.

He suggests building furniture out of food. The book suggests wood, but it doesn’t specifically say it.

So I make a graham cracker and frosting table, and eat it. Task done with no poisoning yay.

The rest of my day is boring. Mostly, I’m just excited about seeing Mike tomorrow.

--

I remember that woman. She was one of the few customers I've had that seriously pissed me off.

Day 79: Today

Day 79

Today, I’m supposed to be aware of the world and read newspapers.

Okay, so today I’ll read the New York Times, the Westford Eagle, and the Lowell Sun. That’s probably good enough.

I’ve got some time in the morning since for once I don’t need to be at work till 11.

However, this morning I notice a leak in the wall. My dad describes it as the wall is peeing.

It’s possible I’ll be out of a shower and toilet for a few days, forcing us into a hotel. And Mike is coming soon! If this stupid leak makes me miss him, I’ll be so miserable.

Work is short today, only 6 hours. It sort of sucks, but not as much as normal.

I come home and I’m done reading the papers, but I don’t know the answers to what’s in the book.

I’ll Google them.

Weather in Zambia today: it was in the 80s.

Number of wars in progress today: Searching this on Google leads me to a game called “Progress Wars”, so I’ll just say at least 1. I know there’s this “war on terrorism” going on still. (And it should end, but I don’t want to get political now, so I’ll say no more.)

World population: 6,697,254,041. wow.

Result of main sporting event today: I actually know this! I watched this at work! Netherlands won in the semifinals of the World Cup.

First topic on Jerry Springer today: don’t care.

Middle East oil reserves today: are still in the Middle East.

Number of astronauts in space today: None.

Lottery results in Colorado today: 3 5 6 21 34 40

Percentage of faked orgasms today: I heard that on average daily, this is like 70%. Poor girls.

Time spent waiting for phones to be picked up: every phone I heard ring, like 40 seconds.

Moon-Earth distance at midday: About a quarter million miles.

Horoscope of Leo with Scorpio ascendant: “You're feeling a little extra stubborn today, but that doesn't mean that all is lost for those around you! It may be a good time for you to experiment with standing your ground in a different way.”

Number of birthdays worldwide: 350,200.

I am now an expert on today. Whee.

Also, the leak is fixed, so no hotel for us!

--

Despite being an expert a year ago, I haven't remembered any of this stuff.
Except that Netherlands won the semifinals. I got weirdly way into the world cup.

okay, people who I hope are reading this? I'm starting to get kind of depressed at lack of comments. I do give up too easily sometimes and I don't want to, but why am I putting effort into a blog that no one's reading?

Day 78: How politically correct is your circle of friends?

Day 78

Today, I have to see how politically correct my circle of friends is.

This is another wait until after work to do it thing.

Work is so slow today. Slower than yesterday, which is unexpected, since today’s just the day after a holiday.

But hey! I get to leave an hour early today because of how slow it is. Yay, more free time (and I can rest my feet)!

I get home and just spend time relaxing, talking to Mike online.

Then my mom takes me to Joanns to get fabric and things for my Dalek costume. I’ve just got 2 months to make this before the convention.

I find fabric that’s almost perfect—but more importantly than perfect, it’s cheap.

Actually, I get the fabric, pattern, and some of the trim for less than $20. Yay for holiday weekend sales!

So now, 10:30 pm, I’ll finally do today’s task.

Caucasian. Check.

Hispanic. Well, I used to have a Mexican friend back when I lived in California, but I haven’t talked to her since I moved. Since we’re Facebook friends, I’ll say it counts.

Japanese. I think so yes? I can’t name a person, but.

Chinese. Check. I can’t remember her name, but there was a girl who I hung out with sometimes towards the end of senior year. She was a bit clingy, but nice enough.

African/American. Yes! I have black friends! This makes me not a racist, right? (or does the fact that I don’t assume anything about people based on the color of their skin make me not racist? I think it’s that.)

Native American. I have a bunch of friends who say they’re part Native American, but I don’t know how much they have to have to count for this.

Pacific Islander: One of my coworkers is Filipino. I don’t hate him, so that makes him friend enough.

Indian/Pakistani. I had a Pakistani friend, yeah. But she moved to the UAE when we were in 7th grade, and I haven’t talked to her since, so we’re not really friends anymore. Facebook friends though.

Other Asian: is what I call Mike on Glee, and since my boyfriend’s name is Mike, this totally counts really.

--

I have mostly white friends because I live in a predominately white area. even back in California, I went to predominately white school.
I don't want to be called racist. I have never been outrightly called racist, but I have had other white people, both friends and strangers, think that I'll automatically agree with their racist jokes.

I don't even know what to say. I try to walk the PC line but I'm scared I'll cross it somehow. Even without intending to.
Shouldn't people be offended by the intent behind the word, not the word itself? If I offend you without honestly knowing what I'm saying is offensive and you know there's no offensive intent, then do I deserve the same treatment as someone who does proudly use ethnic slurs?
Sometimes I don't feel like that distinction is ever made.

Day 77: Today design your own logo

Day 77

Today, I’m supposed to design my own logo.

I do this at work. Since it’s the 4th of July, no one’s there, and I have plenty of time to think of a logo.

I create a large S (for Stephanie of course) with a ton of spirals drawn into it and three stars next to it.

I’ll draw it later.

When I finally get home today, my feet are killing me, but I need to make the flag cake for tonight.

The cake ends up looking good. I tried a new decorating technique—laying parchment paper on the cake and sprinkling colored sugar over the rest. It’s great.

My parents have bought a grill and plan to assemble it for dinner tonight. This should be interesting.

The approximate time the instructions say is 50 minutes, it takes my parents about 2 hours. And I have to step in and help towards the end because they’re just so slow and I’m hungry.

And then, dinner’s not the best. I don’t like barbecue.

At least the cake is good!

But then, no fireworks tonight, despite this being the 4th. I have to get to sleep to get up early for work tomorrow.

--

I learned this year on the 4th that telling people you're not a fan of barbecue or fireworks is not a good idea.
I wish I still had a picture of the logo. I did actually draw it, but then I lost it.
Here's a picture of the cake.

Day 76

Today, I’m supposed to wear shoes a size too small, then pamper my feet when I take them off.

Today’s my day off from work, and when I’m at home, I don’t wear shoes.

But okay, I’ll do this if I go outside. I’ve got a terrible headache, I don’t want to change my plans to go out just to wear small shoes.

I do eventually go out to the grocery store—tomorrow being the 4th, I’m gonna make a flag cake and I need to get ingredients.

I end up with a blister on my toe—and I need to stand for 8 hours tomorrow at work. Great.

Today, even though I managed to do the task, sucked.

--

um.

people reading, you are clear that I wrote this last year and I'm sharing thoughts a year later?

'cause if not, saying tomorrow's the 4th when it's actually the 6th won't make sense.

sometimes I'm really scared that it's not clear which is why nobody's apparently reading or commenting.

or I'm not interesting.

Day 75: Gino's Italian Restaurant

Day 75

I wake up dragging today, I’m so tired.

My task is to make a reservation for some restaurant in Louisiana for the 4th of July next year. I just choose not to do this—it’s the 2nd of July this year today, so I doubt that any restaurant will be making reservations more than a year in advance. It would be confusing.

I’m so tired, but somehow I manage to make it to work.

Work is—you know, I don’t even remember how work was today. I spent the entire time humming Lady Gaga songs, looking forward to going to her concert tonight!

So, I’ll just talk about that concert.

There were so many people there! The concert’s at TD Garden, which I’m pretty sure is the biggest venue in Boston. I’ve never been there before, so I’m so surprised to see just how many people there are.

Everyone’s dressed as Gaga, but sadly, some of them don’t know the difference between being Gaga and being a slut.

I feel out of place wearing just my jeans and a T-shirt, but my T-shirt does say “Be Weird” which is kind of Gaga if you think about it.

The opening band, Semi Precious Weapons, kind of sucks. They’ve got the shock value of Gaga but none of her talent.

Actually, the singer is kind of good, he’s just not singing as well as he probably could then.

Gaga herself is fantastic. The sets and costumes are really spectacular and way out there. My favorite is the “fame monster” which is just huge and actually kind of terrifying. It reminds me of the monster fish from Finding Nemo.

I’m dancing and singing along to every song, putting my “paws up” like everyone around me, and even though I’m like 30 kajillion rows back, there’s a part of me that feels like Gaga can see me there and appreciates my fan-ness.

It’s so cool.

I even love the crazy leaving the venue after the concert. There’s a huge crowd on the way out of course, and no one can hear anything ‘cause it was so loud, and everyone’s in that post-concert haze where you just keep talking about how awesome it was.

Then, someone starts singing Bad Romance, and random strangers around them join in. And within seconds, the entire stairwell sings.

We only make it to “want your bad romance”, but still. Just music joining together random strangers is always an amazing thing.

I fall asleep on the ride home. I’ve been up since 5 this morning, and now it’s after midnight, I’m so tired.

--

If I'd actually done the task a year ago, I could have been in Louisiana yesterday.
I would have much preferred that to working 7 hours.

Day 74: Express your views today

Day 74

Today, I’m supposed to express my views. I’ll go to the book’s website and say my views.

But first, work. Work sucks today.

I don’t even feel like explaining why work sucks again, ‘cause I just ranted to Mike, so I’m gonna copy/paste that.

ghostlyhamburger: This morning I was freaked out that there was possibly a bug in my cereal, because I saw one a few days ago, so I was eating really slow and examining each piece. This made me late.

ghostlyhamburger: Also, my mom was watching Little People, Big World this morning, and that show just really bugs me.

[Mike]: :[

ghostlyhamburger: Then work sucked. Manager offered me my break really early, so I refused 'cause I didn't want to stand for 6 straight hours. But then I didn't get my break until way later. Which would've been okay if I wasn't really really hungry about 5 minutes after I refused the break.

[Mike]: i hate being hungry at work

ghostlyhamburger: Especially serving food. I kept wanting to grab fries off of people's trays.

ghostlyhamburger: There was a good moment during my break. I got to talk to you and I got to try one of the new smoothies. It was so good.

ghostlyhamburger: But then I had to actually work again which sucked 'cause I went right back to the lunch rush.

[Mike]: just think of all the money you'll have when you get back to school

Then Mike had to leave, so I’ll continue my rant here for you all.

For the first time today, I actually yelled at a customer. He was saying “medium coke, 3” and then being confused when I asked if he meant 3 sodas. So I raised my voice and I let him know I was annoyed when I asked “which meal?”

Turns out he meant meal #3 and a medium coke, but it was the middle of the lunch rush and the blender was going nonstop making those new smoothies and it was so loud I couldn’t handle it anymore. I needed to snap.

I did apologize to the guy, but still.

I actually felt a lot better after that. I hate having to be polite to people.

I’m a nice person, really, but some of my customers just don’t deserve politeness. They deserve sarcasm and yelling. But I still have to be polite.

I was alone during this lunch rush, really. The only other one there was this new guy who was extremely slow. So I had to take the majority of the orders.

Later on, my foot was hurting so bad (I’d rubbed it raw with my shoes) and I was tired. I wanted to go home.

But 15 minutes before I could leave, I was assigned to clean trays. Which is fine, it’s not a hard task.

But even though there were two people on registers on either side of me, people kept coming up to me to place their orders.

The only reason I can think of for this—and this is going to sound horrible, I know—is that the other two cashiers were black and I’m white. There are apparently a lot of racist customers around here, those who ask my Hispanic coworkers if they speak English, and those who choose to talk to me because I’m white.

I know some people would think I shouldn’t be offended because I’m the preferred one here, but I don’t want to be. I don’t want to see this kind of thing going on, I want to live in a happy world where I think racism is completely gone from the utopia that is Massachusetts and I don’t have to feel guilty just for being white.

I hate reality.

Also, I almost crash the car on the way home because people are bad drivers. That just puts me in a bad mood even more.

But hey. Now my feet feel better (I got Neosporin on the sore spot) and at least there was a good point to this day—those smoothies are awesome.

As I’m falling asleep tonight, I realize something: I never actually finished today’s task. Oops.

--

Looking now at the racism accusation, that does sound really bad.
I have seen a few racist customers. I doubt that everyone I saw that day was racist, maybe one or two was, but I was just angry and pissed off that day.

Day 73: Start a new hobby

Day 73

I would like to point out that right now it is 5:06 am and no one should be up this ungodly early.

Today I’m supposed to start a new hobby. There’s a bunch of options in the book that I’m supposed to pick from.

I pick “Set out to see all films with Morgan Freeman”. He’s a good actor, I’ve seen a bunch of his movies. So, I could do this, see all of his movies.

My day at work is long and very busy. It doesn’t really suck, except for some terrible cramps around noon.

But then my day ends and I get to come home. And now, I’m going to look up how many movies Morgan Freeman has been in.

Okay, Wikipedia shows he’s been in 60-some movies. And I’ve seen 5 of them. So I really need to see more.

I decide to rent Driving Miss Daisy next time we’re getting a Netflix movie. I really should see that anyways.

I also decide tonight should be our family movie night. It’s my mom’s turn to pick a movie.

I ask if there’s any movie I should see with Morgan Freeman in it, and she immediately answers Shawshank Redemption.

And true, I’ve never seen that and probably should see it. So I will.

So I watch it, and it’s a really good movie.

I’m pretty sure I’ve read the short story it’s based on, because it’s just so familiar.

--

I'm now more used to getting up at 5, but I still hate it.
also I really have been watching more Morgan Freeman movies.
he's been in some pretty bad movies.

Day 72: Closure Day

Day 72

Today, I’m supposed to call my kindergarten and ask if they found my rattle that I supposedly lost back when I was little.

I’m not really sure where I went to kindergarten. I remember three different schools before I started grade school, and I only know the name of one.

There was “the blue school” where my only memory is seeing lightning for the first time, “the yellow school” which I really don’t remember anything beyond it being yellow, and Prodigy Preschool.

So I won’t do this. I can’t.

I looked up Prodigy online, but I’m not sure if the one I went to still exists. It’s possible, but I’m really just not sure.

Hopefully this doesn’t mean my day sucks because this is something I can’t do.

My day doesn’t suck so far, except when I go to make cupcakes for my family (they’re home today), there is no useable buttermilk in the house. It’s separated and it’s all gross.

But I use water instead and I hope they’ll turn out okay.

They turn out fine, but I manage to burn my finger by using a thin potholder. Blah.

Today doesn’t really suck too much, but having my parents around again just makes me feel crowded.

--

to add closure to closure day, Prodigy was indeed where I went to kindergarten. and it does exist. I just never called them.