"I've never liked you"

I had to call our neighbor yesterday to ask her if I could use her shed for a film project so I wrote down a few things I wanted to remember to say and then walked away from my note for a second. When I came back, there in scrawly handwriting, on my "script" were the words, "I've never liked you!" I looked over at my brother, who looked rather guilty, and said something like, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

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Costuming Class: Part I

It’s been very long time and finals are looming but... I decided to post about my costuming class that I started back in January…and subsequently dropped. I always start out with an extra class anyway so I can drop the one I like the least. :-)

It’s the first day of class and I’m sitting in the stuffy basement dressing of the performing arts centre with about ten other kids I don’t know at all. Finally, the teacher arrives and we begin to go over the syllabus. We are to meet twice a week and in different classrooms on different days. “But,” says our teacher, “We’ll be meeting in Robin’s classroom next Monday and then be back to the schedule next week.” The other kids nod, they obviously know who Robin is, but I am left to ponder these intriguing questions, “Where is Robin’s classroom? Why does she have a classroom? What does she teach? For that matter, who is Robin?!”

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Costuming Class: Part II

Very, very early on a winter morning some time ago, the first day of costuming lab went something like this: “Hi, I’m so glad you all came! Now I’ll show you around!” We obediently followed in a line down the hall to the cutting and sewing room. “Now,” she stood by an ironing board, “This is an iron....” (Really? We all thought it was just a strange steaming lump) She moved across the room, “And these are our cutting tables; this is a sewing machine and this is a serger—but you probably won’t need to use that in this class.” Our guide picked up a box, “This is your sewing kit: these are safety pins and these are straight pins; this is your tomato pincushion...you just stick your pins in it. (Really? Is that what a pincushion’s for?) These are your scissors, one for fabric and one for crafts—only use the fabric scissors for fabric or they get dull.” Closing the box, “Well, I think that’s about it. Now you’re free to leave early!” No, I didn’t laugh until I left; everyone else was taking it so seriously and I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. But I did drop the class and got my money back.... I already know how to sew (real costumes...and with a serger!! :-D) and it seemed absurd to take a class to learn how to make a pair of pajama pants.

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Farewell Ick... but not the in the way you might think...

I must confess something…. I like Ick now. This will be the last time I ever refer to it as Ick. My change in feeling probably has something to do with being interviewed for another school last December and a stuffy dean asking me in hauteur-type voice, “So, why did you choose the community college route?” and a few other questions dripping with snobbery. I didn’t let it make me mad until afterwards but then, I tell you it made me so mad I wanted to wring his neck. I’m NOT going to his school and I intend to stay at my community college next year and I LIKE MY COLLEGE!! And my education is NOT inferior to anyone else's!! Ahem… rant over… mostly. :-) Strange how you don’t realize how much you like something until someone else picks on it.

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Of Sports and Bibles

I’m watching the Winter Classic on TV with my brother and right now, it’s still 0 to 0. Besides being sick of the Rose Parade ("Look!!! This float’s decorative scrolls are made out of two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand white amaryllis!!!" That gets old after about two seconds. :-D) I think it’s pretty cool that they’re playing hockey at Fenway Park (can you tell I’m a Red Sox fan?) and it was even more cool when Daniel Powter sang “O Canada.” (I don’t want to sound all fannish but I admit that having him sing was a nice touch on the event planner’s part.) Another random note... When I asked my brother if he knew why Daniel Powter always wears a hat, he said, “Hezes zald?” My brother was putting his rubber bands on his braces at the time, so he was a little hard to understand. (And that’s not the reason Daniel Powter wears a hat.) And we’re waiting for the announcement about which NHL players made the USA Team for the Olympics. (That’s very important. :-) ) Anyway, the commercials are the same as baseball season... especially that one by Budweiser where they say, “The difference is drinkability.” Hearing that slogan reminded me of something that happened last summer. Our church decided to change our pew Bibles from the New International Version to the English Standard Version and to ease us into it, they had the ESV salesman come and talk to the congregation. I was unimpressed and a little annoyed by his speaking during church...not only do I prefer the NIV but there’s just something wrong about sales pitches in church. I kept thinking about the time Jesus overturned the tables in the temple and wondering if the deacon and elders would tackle me if I tried the same thing. Deciding they would, I just tried to tune out the salesman but that’s easier said than done. About halfway through the spiel, when the salesman said, “The ESV is so readable...” I leaned over to my brother and whispered, “The difference is readability.” We spent the rest of the service trying not to dissolve into fits.... :-) I think I’ve been watching too much baseball and hockey.

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Hoth

Yesterday, after church, when my siblings and I were putting on our coats and waiting for our parents to exit, I saw an older lady with her back to us in an enormous, shaggy white fur coat. (It wasn’t mink…frankly I’m not sure what it was...I've never seen one like that before.) “Yikes, look at that coat.” I whispered to my brother and sister. (We’re obviously such kind and sweet people.) My sister made a face and then my brother calmly said, “She looks like a Wampa!” And you know, she…um…actually kind of did. :-D



P.S. If you’re not Star Wars nuts like me and my siblings, then you might not know that, “Wampa ice creatures were carnivorous predatory reptomammals indigenous to the Outer Rim Territories ice planet Hoth.” (According to http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Wampa anyway... And what in heck is a reptomammal? :-D Who comes up with this stuff?)


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The Wedding

My cousin’s wedding is over… and now I’m a little let down. *sob* :-( But it was a lovely wedding…they’re two really great people and the whole thing went beautifully. Of course, there were a few hitches.... First, my sister and I were the guest book attendants (it’s a very important job) and at the beginning of the seating, the ushers were missing and nobody knew where they were! And I discovered that ushers really are important because people expect someone to be there to guide them. If no ushers are standing at the door, the guests are completely helpless about knowing where to sit. :-) But the ushers finally did appear and all was well…for a time…. As the bridesmaids were going up the steps to the platform, each one tripped on her dress but thankfully, they were hanging onto a groomsman and so none of them went headlong into the pastor. Then, during the vows, one of the bridesmaids calmly knelt and put her head down and then, after a moment, she stood up and slipped out a back door. (I don’t even think the bride and groom noticed…they were into their vows so….) The bridesmaid did come back after a bit, resumed her position, and walked out with the others. Later, she said that she felt like she was going to faint. (It was rather warm in the sanctuary of the church and she had to stand up for a long time…so that was understandable.) So other than a few small things, and one near crisis, the wedding went beautifully. "I love weddings. Drinks all around!" (Don't worry, I only had one sip of champagne and one sip of chocolate raspberry wine and they were both very nasty. I've decided that I really don't like alcoholic beverages at all.) :-) I didn’t get to sleep until 11:45 last night…and I had to get up at 7:00 for church this morning… so I’ve been walking into doors and dropping things and mixing up words like I usually do when I’m sleep deprived. :-) (It’s dangerous!) And, then, last night, at 11:30, I remembered that I’d forgotten to sign the guestbook. :-D

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That Matchmaking Gleam

Okay, so the ceremony was over, and there was a little cake and punch reception at the church before the dinner reception somewhere else, and one of my Mom’s old friends came over to talk to my sister and I. She asked about our ages and school situations and then she said, “Do you have beaus?” I wanted to laugh but held it together enough to reply that no, I don’t have a boyfriend and exchanged a look of amusement with my sister as she said she didn’t have a boyfriend either. “Well, you know, there’s plenty of time for that…let me tell you how my sister met her husband at a hospital.” (Remember my sister is a nurse.) So she told us the story and it was a nice one and I liked it…but then, she said sorrowfully, “But, she lost him five years ago, in his sleep, and now she’s dying of cancer…so it wasn’t a happily ever after story.” I was completely stunned but managed to gasp “I’m…so…sorry.” My mom’s friend is very matter of fact and a Christian so she wasn’t being morbid but, yikes! She moved on then and a gleam came into her eyes, “Now, I do have three nephews and two of them are about your ages…” “Horrors! A matchmaker!” I groaned inwardly and exchanged another look with my sister. So, then she told us about her nephews and how they want to go to Med. School and how they don’t have girlfriends and all their good points and ages…. Sounded like she was trying to start a clinic or build a bridge or something. Such a nice lady but, oh, for pity’s sake, I don’t want to buy your nephews! :-D When we politely got away, I dragged my sister out to the hall and groaned, “Wasn’t that just awful?!” And then we practically collapsed laughing...it was all so ridiculous…we just couldn’t help it. :-)

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I Could Have Danced All Night

At the wedding reception last night, I danced. No really, I did―I grabbed my brother and pulled him out to the dance floor and discovered that I love dancing. I always thought I would like it but I’ve never really had the chance to try. My sister had already asked my grandpa to dance and my great aunt and uncle were swing dancing―they were really good and I never knew they could dance like that! Before long, we had my first cousins (ages 9 & 13) in on the act and were doing what I’d call demi-swing because we knew a few things and then made up the rest. :-) (Unfortunately, only one song out of three was worth dancing to―that’s the way it goes these days―and not many songs were exactly the swing type. :-/) It was great…especially because the boys soon figured out how much fun it is (and they were really good) and kept asking my sister and I (and my grandma and aunt) to dance. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen my brother demi-swing dancing with my great aunt! (Check out the introverted, un-socialized home-educated kids! :-D) We also did line dancing and waltzing. Towards the end, I was waltzing with my nine-year-old cousin (so fun!) and then, I nearly fell over in a heap. Why? Because my parents were on the dance floor and, get this, they had never danced before last night. Never. My dad hates it so much that they didn’t even have dancing at their wedding. It was truly a miracle. As we were leaving, Thriller came on and we all started groaning because we didn’t get to dance to it…even the boys were sad. :-)

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Ducklings in Suits

About a month ago, when my sister came home from her job as a nurse, she told us that all the new med students had been on her floor. (We have a large med-school near us and she works at a large hospital so I’m sure there were quite a few students.) Apparently, their senior doctor was giving them a tour of the hospital and as they processed down the hall after him like little ducklings in black suits, they passed the nurse’s station. My sister (who is rather young) was sitting there, charting and she said that each guy in the group turned and gave her a full-on stare as he passed. So picture all the med students in their little duckling line making sheep-eyes at little blond nurse―who then spent the whole time trying not to laugh at them. :-) When she told me I said, that she should have looked up very seriously and said, “Didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s impolite to stare?”





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Skate Laces

My new ice-skates finally came! (The UPS man was very late today…why is it that when you really want something, he’s several hours behind schedule?) Though I’m not sure why I’m happy about it…. I still have to take them somewhere to be sharpened and attempt to find skate-guards since the stores don’t seem to be carrying them and then find a place to skate…. *sigh* Anyway, I was trying to lace them and I have to say, one of my least favorite things to do is put new laces in footwear. I don’t do it often enough and forget how they go and then they don’t look right to me and I have to rip them out. Poor Mom was trying to talk to me as I sat on the floor with four pounds of ice-skates on my lap and I think all she got out of me was, “I’m…very hot…how does this work…they’re not right! *rip* ...hate lacing…diagram would be helpful…they look funny! *rip* ...don’t talk to me right now….” :-) (Granted I was very hot because it’s been freezing cold in the house for days and I’ve been so cold lately that today I wore a turtleneck and thick sweater…and then it was 42 outside and the house heated up. Now (4:45pm) I’m cold again.) I wasn’t very happy…and they still aren’t laced to my satisfaction. *groan/sigh* In the meantime, I think I’ll try to track down some orange skate guards.

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Starting a Panic

As I was typing in my room, Mom called “dryer,” from downstairs because I washed my sheets today and was drying them. “What did she say?” asked my brother from the next room. “Dryer,” I said. “Oh, I thought she said ‘fire’.” When I went downstairs, I told Mom that she could have started a panic. Dad once told me that it’s illegal to yell “fire!” because it might start a panic and someone could get squashed. After Dad said this, my brother said, “Then we should yell “No fire!” :-D

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Evil Cookware

I had just fried an egg for lunch and was turning to get something else when I heard a loud hissing noise and my brother went, “Ahhh!” “Something wrong?” I asked, turning back to him. He had a kind of creeped out look on his face and said, “I was reaching over the pan and it hissed at me.” “Pans don’t like you.” I said. Maybe they don’t because he smashed one finger and burned another (not badly) while he was making his lunch.

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