:::luck:::

it happens every now and then
i hear the words i need to hear
coming from the tiny speakers
that i shove into my ears


our trip is here. our Ireland trip. we're leaving tomorrow, Monday. our flight is at 7pm from Boston.

we're heading to Boston today, sunday, to stay at Kate's house. she is a friend from Hampshire. we're meeting up with some of Aliya's friends on monday morning and will probably have a hip, hang-out day until our trek to the airport.

we've been packing and watching wedding movies all night. first was 27 Dresses. then was Mamma Mia. both were great and gave us some awesome tips for weddings!!!! now we know what is happening.

i made all my wedding jewelery today. earrings, bracelet, anklet. i ended up making the anklet in fear that there wouldn't be enough red accessories. aliya assured me i had enough. so, i'll bring the anket, but i might not wear it. i'm not that crazy about it.

i bought a backpack. from LL Bean. one of those backpacks. i don't know that i've ever owned anything from LL Bean before. i was going in hoping for a cheap, sale backpack that was teal. and i went there and asked the lady working,

JULIE: Hi! So, I'm looking for a backpack. Not like a super backpack, just a normal one.
LL BEAN WORKER: So, just a bookpack?
JULIE: ...Yeah.
LL BEAN WORKER: Ok, they are over by the kids shoes towards the back.
JULIE: And, do you have a clearance section?
LL BEAN WORKER: We actually don't. That's pretty much all we have because we're getting in all our summer stock. We'll have more sales towards the fall.
JULIE: Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Great, thanks!

so, i left this conversation and headed back to the backpack section. now i was totally thinking that i wouldn't buy one because it wouldn't be on sale. and they were $40! yime that's a lot of money. so, i was like, "ah well, no backpack tonight."

but then, i saw them. and i was looking through it. and looking at all the different pocket options. and it did seem really useful. and i decided it would definitely be a good trip bag. so, i purchased. navy blue.

and immediately i was like, "how can i make this prettier?!" (more later)

ALSO: the LL Bean store is in The Powerhouse Mall. now, before tonight, i had never been into this mall. but, i assumed that they didn't reall mean it was a mall, it was just the area that they called the LL Bean. BUT NO! it's a mall!!!

and so, i walk in the doors expecting to walk into the LL Bean, but no - i was walking into the mall! what a surprise! there are other stores ON THE INSIDE! there was a candy store! i stood there for a minute trying to figure out where i was, since i was not in the LL Bean. unexpected, and i will have to explore this more later.

so then, i also had to run into JoAnn's and buy some necklace clasps. did that. also found some pretty buttons with birds on them to sew onto my new backpack. everything was on sale because of Memorial Day, and then i had a 10% off coupon. perf.

and then i decided i needed a notebook. and some socks. and gum. so, i tripped to wal-mart. found some Sasquatch notebooks. i like them a lot. bought some socks. gum. pens. and a 5$ watch.

we're not bringing cell phones, so the question was, 'how are we going to know what time it is??' and so i wandered into the kids jewelery section for a watch. found a sparkly teal one for five bucks. nice.

headed home. organized. packed slightly. turned the watch into a necklace. aliya trimmed my hair. consolidated my bobby pins. cleaned out my purse and wallet.

ended up sewing three things onto my backpack:

1. bird button purchased tonight
2. CITIZEN pin from aliya's div 3
3. lucky turtle charm from my mom

i did all my laundry. washed and dryed. tomorrow i will sort and pack.

OK. i guess this might be the last update before i leave.....before i get back? i'll try hard to update from Ireland, but i'm not promising anything. i will keep a journal, duh, to update you as much as possible when i return.

i'll take pictures for you to see. i'm actually pretty excited about my backpack.

alright, friends. i'll miss you.

tonight marks my THE END OF MY THREE MONTH WORKING STRAIGHT MARATHON. words cannot express how happy i am about this. i was starting to go crazy in this house.

and now, i feel like i have to bring things back for the girls. because i live with them.

whatever, i won't get into that because i have lots of feeling and opinions about it which i am too tired to express.

man, i'll really miss you. will we seriously not be talking for over two weeks?!??! no, i'll have to make time. for you? definitely.


love you.


j.ulie

"reach and throw, but never go"

that's the motto you have to remember if you are helping someone who is drowning. you can reach to them, and throw something to them, but never GO to them. UNLESS they are in water that is waist deep or below. or, if you're like, an olympic swimmer. because when someone is drowning and they realize that someone is there to rescue them, they will immediately try and climb on top of you to get out of the water. and then the situation could turn from bad to worse and become a double drowning.

i learned this and other super important information at water safety training tonight in claremont, new hampshire. it was a required course for residential staff. especially because it's summertime now and that's when people like to go swimming.

i found this training highly emotional. it took a lot to get through it. there were many times in the evening where i just wanted to cry. so hard. it was basically like 2.5 hours of "how children die."

did you know that drowning is the number 2 accidential cause of death in the united states overall, but number one in the state of new hampshire? NH is the only state where it's number one! and he said that new hampshire has some of the strictest water safety regs ever. so, that just doesn't make sense.

it only takes 10 seconds for someone to drown. TEN SECONDS. i had no idea. if you are watching people in the water you have to do face counts every 10 seconds. and we practiced this. he chose random people from the class and assigned them rows to count every 10 seconds. i was chosen and i had 12 people i had to count. there wasn't enough time in between the face counts to do anything else! no talking to others. no reading a book. changing a diaper. taking out a splinter.

and then we had to watch this movie. it's the only footage in the world of people actual drowning. taken from Orchard Beach in the bronx. there's this like, huge drop off underwater and tons of people get caught it in and drown. so, this guy who made the movie was the head life guard there and set up a camera on the back of the lifeguard chair and filmed it for a few days.

omg. soooooo strange to watch. i mean, the water would be JAM PACKED with people. and he'd be like, "see that boy in the back? he's drowning." and he would be surrounded by people who clearly just thought he was splashing and playing. it was horrible. and then at the last minute the lifeguard would swim in and save them.

except for this one guy. 6 foot tall man who had been drinking. drowned in 4 feet of water.

and then, at the end of the movie the narrator (who was the head lifeguard at the beach) was like, "i'd like to end by telling you this tragic story." and it was like, 'oh great, a tragic story to end with.' and he was telling the story and started crying and it was just awful.

so, the training was so eye opening. and also really scary to think that thousands of parents will take their children to the beaches this summer not knowing all this information. and that some of these parents will lose their children because of things that probably could have been prevented.

UGH.

so, the training was 2.5 hours. and he started by saying, "this is a 6 hour training that we're condensing to 2.5 hours! so i'm going to go really fast!!!" and then he'd be like, "oh, we can make it, we've only got half an hour!" or, "hang in there, almost done!!" and this just really bothered me that he had to keep saying this.

like, this is so important. we shouldn't be rushing through it. and i wrote that on the evaluation of the class. (i was the last person writing the evaluation in the room and i thank Hampshire College for that.) like, make the training longer. why does it have to be 2.5 hours? make it a whole day. get some pizza involved. get more comfy chairs. there's no reason this has to be rushed.

also, this guy teaching. he was really animated and very easy to listen to. and i kept hearing that all week leading up to the training..."oh, this is a great training, the guy does a great job." and yeah, he did do a great job and he was very engaging to watch. but, at the same time, i thought he was borderline insensitive. and that also really bothered me. and i wrote that on the evaluation too.

so, after the training i just felt like i was in this weird space. like, 'okay, so i just listened to hours about how children die....now what?' and it made me feel even weirder than it didn't seem that anyone else felt this way.

like, the first question i was asked after the training was, "can we stop at dairy twirl on the way home??" and it was like, "how can you think about ice cream after that?" it just didn't make sense to me. (we didn't end up going to dairy twirl because we went a different way home.)

hm. so, now i have a certificate from the training. i hope i never have to use any of the information i learned. we also got whistles. they are the second most powerful type of whistle in the world. they can be heard for 2 miles! and they are bright orange. and they float! and they are self-emptying of water. i feel like i should make it into a necklace and wear it all the time.

soooo. water safety training is done. not again for another three years. i'm glad about that. it was hard.

aliya is here now!!!! adventure begin!!! we're having a blogging session right now. and then we're going to go to bed.

tomorrow is my last morning of work until 12 JUNE!!!!! i can't believe it's here.

my last overnight is saturday night. EXACTLY THREE MONTHS from when i had my last night off. these last few weeks have been really hard to get through. it's like i feel semi-trapped in this place right now. and i've been in kind of a panic in trying to separate work from home. i realized how hard that is. and how stressed it makes me. it's a lot harder than i thought it would be.

i have more to say, but i think i'm done for now. i'm really tired and still feel sad from training. i'm very happy aliya is here, though. we have lots of projects to complete. awesome. i'm excited.

alright friends. have a good end of the week. and a good weekend. and everything in between. i'll talk to you soon again, promise.


<3

bad decision

i was like, "oh, i've got an hour before water safety training, i'll just watch the Private Practice season finale. it will probably be super dramatic and emotional, but i'll risk it anyways."


I SHOULD NOT HAVE RISKED IT.

pretty lame

i know, i know. i promised you the part 2 update and i haven't given it to you. YET. i'm too busy and tired. but let's recap some exciting things i've done over the past few days:

1. became red cross certified in first aid.
2. wrote 3 songs and finished recording a cd with andrew.
3. make 4 possible red earring choices for kerianne's wedding.
4. watched A Chorus Line.
5. bought a pair of yoga pants for all the non-yoga i will be doing.
6. made my student loan payment early because it's due while i am away.

hooray for me. tonight is thursday, i think. tonight i am going to be certified in water safety. it's summertime, and that's when some people like to go swimming.

anyways. i think i will eventually need another bead case. i have soooo many beads!! (i am saying BEADS, not BEES, for all you Gobs reading....) and they are all gorgeous. i just want to quit everything and become a jewelery maker. and also a broadway star.

actually, i really just want Michael Douglas's job where he just sits at the desk in the audience and judges people. i guess that could also be Simon Cowell.

the bottom of my toes have cuts on them and they hurt when i walk. i've tried putting band-aids on them but they just fall off immediately. that's my sad news.

aliya is coming up tonight!!!! we are going to make curtains for my living room. i'm pretty excited about this.

i'm supposed to get the movie Incendiary in the mail today. this is the one with Michelle Williams and Ewan Mcgregor. where she is having an affair with him and she's married and has a little boy. and then one day when she's away with Ewan, her husband and son are killed in a terrorist bombing and she never forgives herself for not being there with them. the first time i saw the preview i cried my eyes out. so, we'll see how the movie goes.

i'll hopefully also get Last Chance Harvey on saturday. i'm excited to see it because i want Emma Thompson to be my best friend.

ok. i prrrrrromise that the part 2 update will be coming soon. WITH PICTURES. oh, it will be great.

have a nice day. i hear it's supposed to be hott and sunny. dreadful.


<3

dee lay

ATTN::: there will be a delay for part 2 of my graduation day posting. i'm too tired. it was a long night at work and i was just not in a good mood. i felt bad for the girls because i was irritable. and stressed.

anyways. i'm going to sleep now. i'll update some tomorrow.

have a great start to the week!