WE GOT A CANOE.

WHO WANTS TO COME CANOEING WITH ME?!?! Seriously, who wants to come canoeing with me?


Here's how it all went down:

Kara and I had emailed this person on Craigslist who was selling a nice looking canoe. 16' and bright blue. We wanted it. AND WE GOT IT. It was a great price for the great quality and overall awesomeness of the canoe.

The canoe was located in Manchester, NH, which is not too far from where we live. So, Kara picked me up from work in Kittery on Friday, and we headed down 95 to the 101 and over to the Queen City. We found the location of the canoe pretty easily and tied it down to the car with some straps that Kara had bought earlier in the day. SUCCESS.




Yes, that is Kara's car with the canoe strapped down, parked in front of Mr. Mac's, which is a macaroni and cheese restaurant located in Manchester. DOUBLE WIN. We knew that we would want to celebrate our new canoe with some macaroni and cheese. And it was pretty delicious. The girl working there asked me and Kara if we were twins. NOPE! Surprisingly, that girl is like the one billionth person to ask us that. We get it all the time. And it makes absolutely no sense because we don't think we even resemble each other even just a little, tiny, teensy bit.

Anyways, the car looked great with the canoe on top.



Now, due to our hectic work schedules, it was a few days before we were able to take the canoe out for her maiden voyage. Or at least, our maiden voyage with her. We had been searching and searching for something to name her, and had finally come up with Nancy Blue. A play on Nancy Drew, because the canoe was adventurous and blue.

SO, I had been reading up all morning on boat blessing ceremonies and how they're necessary in order to keep the water Gods at bay (haha. "at bay.") I had read through all 7 or so pages of a traditional boat blessing and picked out some parts that I really liked and thought were the most important. After all, we weren't launching the boat in the ocean, and it was only a simple canoe. BUT - I didn't want to skip any necessities that would mean bad luck.

So, I went to the grocery store and purchased a bottle of fine $6.99 champagne, printed out the blessing and we took the canoe to the lake!

We get to the lake and start loading things into the boat when Kara spots a tiny nameplate at the bow of the boat. We read it and it says,

"Welcome aboard the MOONRAKER." Then, in small letters at the bottom it says,

"For a fun time
la belle epoque."

Which means, 'the beautiful era.'



So, then we had a quick captain's meeting and decided that we would keep the name of Moonraker and call her Nancy Blue as a nickname.

Moonraker is the name given to the very highest sail on a sail boat, usually only used for speed. I think it's a sweet name. Moonraker.

So then we brought the boat down to the water for the blessing ceremony. Kara opened the bottle of champagne, ready to pour over the bow. This is what I read,

“In the name of all who have sailed aboard this vessel in the past and in the name of all who may sail aboard her in the future. We invoke the ancient Gods of wind, Aeolus, and the sea, Neptune, also hailed as Poseidon, to favor us with their blessing today.”

“Mighty Neptune, King of all that moves in or on the waves, and mighty Aeolus, guardian of the winds and all that blows before them! We offer thanks for the protection you have afforded this vessel in the past. We voice our gratitude that she has always found shelter from tempest and storm and enjoyed safe passage to port.”

"In return for this, we rededicate this vessel to thy domain in full knowledge that she
shall be subject as always to the immutable laws of the Gods of wind and sea.”

“Oh mighty and great ruler of the seas and oceans, to whom all ships and we who venture upon your vast domain are required to pay homage, implore you in your graciousness to take unto your records and recollection this worthy vessel hereafter and for all time known as __________( new name), guarding her with your mighty arm and trident and ensuring her of safe and rapid passage throughout her journeys within your realm”.

“In consequence whereof, and in good faith, we seal this pact with a libation offered
according to the hallowed ritual of the sea.”

“In appreciation of your munificence, dispensation and in honor of your greatness, we offer these libations to your majesty and your court.”

And then we poured the champagne over the bow!!! It was an exciting time. Then we took some sips, but not very many because it was warm. I had also read that to ensure your safe return on your maiden voyage, you are supposed to place a branch of green leaves at the stern of the ship.




Stern first, into the water. We eventually turned the boat around.





And we were off!!!!!




This was the area from which we first saw the lake. Way back in December. By all those electrical equipment. Today when we were there, it was making a lot of noise, which must meant it was doing something important. Also, there were giant orange balls floating in the ocean:





EXPLORING THE LAKE WAS AWESOME. So full-filling and amazing. Like, we couldn't believe that we were actually there.





We found this nice little bay which we canoed around for a while. We ended up naming it Michael Bay.





It was such a beautiful day!!! The lake is gorgeous and so big. There are lots of islands floating around.




Also, lots of tiny clearings on the shore with CAMPSITES. Campsites that at one point were probably the home of an awesome high school party that I was not invited to. Not that I would get invited to a high school party now, because I don't know anyone in high school. But, rather, a possible high school party that I was not invited to when I was in high school.

POINT IS: apparently I was lame in high school. ALSO, I've seen more people I graduated with this year than any other year since I graduated. It's been a little crazy. But mostly awesome. Mostly happy, but also a little sad.

ACTUALLY, the point IS that the lake is totally awesome. And that one night Kara and I are going to have our own awesome party at one of those probably illegal campsites.




Also everywhere: LILYPADS.
Also everywhere: DRAGONFLIES.

Seriously guys, this lake is infested with dragonflies. There are probably a billion. And they just land in your boat and hitch a ride. And then me and Kara say,

ME AND KARA: Hey pal, get outta here!

Seriously though, that's what we say.




AND - there are some birdhouses!! In trees!! Much like the one pictured above. It's a very interesting lake, because there are some small human additions that make for an overall mysterious experience.

The lake itself is actually man made, formed by a dam made across the former 'Hatfield Bog.' That's probably why people call it Hatfield Pond. Where the name Murdock Lake came from, I have yet to find out.

Kara was at a bonfire the other night and she heard a myth that there are bodies at the bottom of the lake. She also heard a myth that if you drive down Ridlon Road at night, your car shuts off. I tested that rumor last night and my car worked fine. I was prepared for a ghost encounter, though.

But, getting back to the bodies - the lake used to be a BOG! Which relates back to when we were in Ireland two years ago and went to the Bog Bodies exhibit in Dublin. About when they found all the beautifully preserved bodies hidden in the bogs. BOG BUTTER!!

I guess that doesn't really relate. Whatevs. That was a cool exhibit.






Then there is this little part where the island connects ever so slightly to the land. What's the geography term? ISTHMUS!!! Yep. Had to Google that one, but got it eventually. It's pretty over there.




Another campfire site!









I have probably at some point in this blog talked about how I want to find the road that connects Long Swamp Road to Ridlon Road. I think it's more of a glorified path, actually. But, it's there. And you can't access it by car from the Long Swamp side due to a large gate.

And there is a section of road that crosses the lake. AND I BELIEVE IT TO BE THIS SECTION, as pictured above. We tried tying up the boat and getting off to explore this area, but it was too marshy and gross and too dragonfly-y and so we aborted the mission. Instead, we'll walk the path by foot sometime, because we DID find the access point on the Ridlon Road side.

You have no idea how excited I was to find this. Like, YOU HAVE NO IDEA.




OK. So this is an island Kara and I have named 'Shoe Island.' We wanted to look at this path closer, so we canoed up to it. As we got closer, Kara said,

KARA: OH MAN. You're not gonna believe this...


THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND:



A PAIR OF SHOES AND SOCKS. Stranded on the island. We tried to figure it out. There was no boat anywhere near this island, so if there was a person on this island, they must have swam out. But why would they swim in their shoes and socks?? MYSTERY. Which makes me believe that there are in fact, Island Folk that live on these islands. The birdhouses, the shoes, the campfires...





After exploring the lake for about three hours, we decided to row back to the shore.




"...and they returned safely home."


I put that in quotes because it sounded like it was maybe a line from a book.

What great explorers we are.

Here is a map of some of the places we just talked about!



Penguin Island is named for a piece of wood sticking up in front of the island, and when I saw it at first, I thought it was a penguin. Kara thought it was a baby goat, hence the Goat Island in parenthesis. I've also marked the location where we launched our boat, and also Ridlon Road, because I talk about it a lot and am obsessed with it.

Oh it was so fun. so. fun.

We went back to the lake the next day and did some more canoeing/exploring. I hung my feet over the side of the canoe while Kara paddled!! It was super refreshing.

We're actually really great paddlers.

CANOE: so far it's a great thing. The paddles are great - they have pictures of feathers on them, which is something I didn't even notice until we were using them. The canoe is a bit heavy to lift onto the car, but we've done it without problem every time. It took a few tries to feel safe with it strapped to the car, but we've got it down pretty good.

Our arms are gonna be ripped by the end of the summer. It's hard work lifting and paddling. I think I'm gonna buy some sort of makeshift car rack so that I can take the Moonraker out if I ever want to go out with one of you. Or, someone other than Kara. Come with me!

In other news: I just painted my fingernails hott pink and my toe nails mint green. Fresh, summery and crisp! Watching 'Chopped' right now. Think I'm gonna go get some sherbert.

Been really thinking about my compass tattoo. I want it, man. Bad. I really feel lacking in direction. And it's so great and general, it scares me. I feel scared because I have absolutely no idea where I'm going. I'm not doing anything substantial. I'm feeling disappointed in myself and also with the way things in my life are turning out. And I'm torn between feeling like I shouldn't complain because I have it better than a lot of people, but also feeling like I need something good to happen in my life, because I'm sort of stuck in this phase that I don't know how to get out of. And I think it's a negative thing, which I'm trying to turn into a positive.

That didn't make sense because it was totally cryptic.

Yeah. I'm sure it's a negative thing. And I've tricked myself into thinking it's a positive. And now I feel tangled.

I have also been toying around with the phrase 'downward spiral' when thinking about my life over the past few months. Not like, being totally serious, just like, wallowing, mostly. But I shouldn't complain, because I'm mostly being stupid about everything.

OKAY. That was enough depressing stuff, right? Yeah. You're totally like, "omg, what's up with Julie, she's so weird and depressing!" You're totally running for the door. Closing your web browser. Turning the computer off.

Thanks for listening, friends. This is a safe place for me. I've had this blog for a long time now, and it kind of feels like home. If I were made up of the alphabet, all these entries are what I would look like.

Love you guys,

Captain Julie


☸ ☸ ☸

banana residue

I'm 25 years old and the flavor of my toothpaste is 'Silly Strawberry.' FACT. It's a children's flavor. I'm assuming that it works as well as adult toothpaste, but if anyone knows otherwise, you can let me know. That doesn't mean I'll stop using it, though.

So - this will be a quick one.

TODAY I MANAGED TO:

- Get nail polish on/in my:
a. new sweater
b. purse
c. hair
d. all of the above

CORRECT ANSWER: d. ALL OF THE ABOVE. It was a bad chain of events that was the result of me being in a rush and thinking, "oh sure, you can paint your nails and have them dry in like three minutes." No Julie, no you can't.

AND THEN, I really classed things up by rolling down my car window and sticking my hand out so my nails would dry faster. YEP. I guess it's maybe a normal thing to do... but the whole time I was doing it I kept thinking, "I can't believe I'm doing this right now." You know me, keepin' it classy 24/7.

AND THEN,

I get into my car with my banana and am ready to eat it on my way to work, and because of my wet nails, I'm trying not to touch like, anything, so what happens? I drop the banana like, all over myself. And then I had banana residue on my clothes all day. Super.

BUT GUESS WHAT???

I still managed to have a good day. Nay, a great day. (yes, i just used 'nay.' you read that right.) Work was EH, but it went by quick. I folded some shirts. It was awesome. Also, someone brought in donuts.

Then I came home and did a lot of laundry. Now, I love doing laundry, so it was a WIN situation. I ended up cleaning my room a bunch too. I hung up a lot of my clothes. I give myself TWO DAYS before they're all on the floor again.

What's that?!?!?! BLOG CHALLENGE?!?!!?!? Um, yes.

Challenge ACCEPTED!!!!!

This time it'll be me against my room floor in a battle of how long I can keep my clothes in my drawers and in the closet. Competitive Mind Sports, baby. I love 'em.

Alright, so I'll update you all on the floor v. closet challenge. This'll be more interesting than you think. Trust me.

Actually, I won't lie, it probably won't be that interesting. But, I get excited when we do blog challenges. Also - not sure if I've ever used 'this'll' before. I don't know if it's a real word. It sounds like, 'thistle.' 'Thistle be more interesting than you think.' Haha. I like that.

Anyways, I guess that's all. There's not much more you can say after a challenge. It's probably all downhill from here. I'm getting tired anyways. I changed my sheets a few nights ago and it's just been so rewarding getting into bed at night. Of course, it makes it like 90% harder to get out of bed in the morning.

Alright, hope everyone is having a great week!! It's Friday!! Hopefully you all have the weekend off. I have to work all weekend. But, it'll still be good. OKAY!

Enjoy the day!!!!


I have a feeling thistle bee a great weekend!!!



(thistle bee.)

Come visit scenic Berwick, Maine!

Kara and I had another adventure at Lake Murdock today. Ever since all the snow has melted, I've been waiting and waiting and waiting until the day when we could go back to the Lake.

TODAY WAS THAT DAY.

We took Ridlon Road! Over the tiny bridge. Past the turf farm. Turned onto the tiny dirt road on the right. Last time we were there, we took the dirt path road, which led to the water, but it was also all those pipes and things...remember?

Today, we took the other road, which led to a beach! And there were three other cars there! Other adventurists, presumably. Actually, that would be 'adventurers,' duh. So, we hung around the beach area a little, in awe, before heading down an ATV trail leading into the woods. I was hoping to get a better view of the lake.

So, we were headed into the woods, braving the threat of deer and bear and werewolves, even though Kara says that wolves don't live around here, and that werewolves don't even exist. Kara also thought the further we walked into the woods, the further we were walking away from the lake, but I have studied enough of the Google map photos to know the shape of the lake. I figured we would see the lake at some point.

And then! Through the trees!! We saw water to our right! So, we walked up a little bit to a clearing that led down a hill, and opened up to something beautiful...







This is like ten minutes from my house!!! And for 25 years never knew it existed!!! Amazing, no?

We walked a bit further down the path and it opened up again....



A diving board!! We also saw lots of bonfire remnants, which makes me think that lots of awesome high school parties take place at this lake. Which makes me wonder WHY WAS I NEVER INVITED TO AWESOME HIGH SCHOOL PARTIES AT THE LAKE?!?!?!!? It also made me wonder if Berwick has like, a high school make out spot. Like a "lovers lane" type deal. Anyone know? If there is such a thing, again it makes me wonder, WHY HAVE I NEVER BEEN THERE TO MAKE OUT!?!?!?! Seriously guys, I feel pretty lame.

It was so beautiful being there. I want to go to that lake all the time and hang out. Once Kara and I get a canoe, we will be spending all our time there. And we will be the type of people that say, "hey, let's take the boat to the lake for the day!" We will pack light sandwiches and eat them in the boat. And it will be awesome.

And it will all occur TEN MINUTES FROM HOME! Like, right now, as I sit in my living room writing this, that awesome lake is just sitting there, ten minutes away from me, its water tempting and tantalizing in the moonlight. CRAZY.

I will take ANYONE to this lake. ANYONE who wants to go. Anyone reading this who is like, 'that looks pretty cool,' just let me know, we'll meet up, and I'll take you there. Or, for anyone who doesn't believe this place really exists in Berwick, Maine - I'll take you there.

Anybody know if you can swim in the lake? How clean is it? We saw two people out on kayaks and one guy fishing. So, it's not completely unknown and deserted.

But, it's a great place. Super cool. And there are islands in the lake! Like, three of them, maybe. I said today,

JULIE: I wonder if there are any Island Folk that live on those islands...
KARA: Ummm...I don't think so.

You never know.

Other than awesome adventures, I haven't done too much. Saw The Hangover 2 with Greg on Sunday night. It was really funny. I enjoyed it more than the first one. It didn't seem as rude, or something.

I just made brownies. I hope they turn out yummy or else everyone in my house will hate me. I don't know why they made me make them. I hate baking and Kara is a professional baker anyways.

OH WELL. Tomorrow is back to work. I'm working 9:30-2 in Kittery and then 3-10 in Springvale. Wednesday is my marathon day. Today I decided that I'm just not cut out for the workforce. That's that.

Have you all had a nice week? A good Memorial Day? Been enjoying the super hott weather? I haven't been. I hate summer. That's that.

Okay! Hope everyone is having a good night. Talk to you again soon!!!

FACT: I start every workout with a Ricky Martin song.

Yep, that's a true story. Which Ricky Martin song, you are probably asking? 'The Cup of Life.' Yep. Another true story. It's a great song to get you motivated at the gym when you really don't want to be there. Which is every time I go to the gym. Although today - I killed it. Yeah, I ROCKED the gym today. It was not a pretty sight after. Lots of sweatyness.

So, there are some things I've been wanting to tell you about and in order to do that, I will use the popular bullet point format so as to keep things organized here. Also, so I don't forget about what I want to say.

1. 236
2. feet shrinking
3. reality tv
4. strep
5. dance party gym
6. canoe

I guess it's actually a numbered list format. This is also used as a hooker, to hook you, the reader, in and make you want to continue reading. In reviewing this list, I think I will keep that order. It seems like a pretty good one. I know sometimes I like to jump around. But, probably not today.

Let's go!


1. 236

I'm talking about Route 236. Here's the route on a map. I guess it's a pretty typical road, in terms of roads. Here's a Facebook page for the route. (Note that it has zero likes.) It's a 15-mile road that runs north to south in southern Maine. I have never liked this road. Ever since I was little. It's too long. And it just takes forever to drive.

Unfortunately for me, this road is also the most direct route for me to get from Berwick to Kittery for my job working in a retail store. So, I have to take this road like, every day. And taking this road everyday has made me go from a simple dislike of the road to a burning, fiery hatred.

I hate that road. Those of you who know me, know that I don't hate many things. I'm a pretty easy person to please and I get excited very easy about very little things. I'm rarely in a bad mood and try to be as positive as I can. This road brings out the worst in me. I HATE it.

I don't just hate it for it's length, I hate it for its traffic. The traffic on this road is so totally unpredictable it's amazing. If you've been reading this blog long enough, you may have heard me analyze a traffic pattern or two. I really like looking at traffic patterns and trying to figure out how to make them better. (RE: easy to please, easily excited.) And, I've been driving this road a while now, since I've started working in Kittery, so I've had a lot of time to analyze it, and I've come to the conclusion that it's not only the pattern of which the vehicles travel that's the problem, but also the types of vehicles that travel on the road.

• The road needs to be four lanes. Two lanes going north, two lanes going south.

This would solve the whole problem, really. Both problems. Because the SOURCE are the kinds of cars that travel on this road and the lack of opportunity to pass them. If you're not stuck behind a giant, super truck, then you're stuck behind a normal sized car, going exactly the speed limit. Now, how many other roads in this country do people go the posted speed limit?? You can probably count them on one hand. And Route 236 would be one of them. It's kind of ridiculous. Ridiculous to the point that every morning when I leave for work, I say silently to myself, "please let me just get through this road." It's 15 miles of 45 mph. That takes a while. And that's 45 mph IF YOU'RE LUCKY and don't get stuck behind a giant super truck.

• SCHOOL ZONES

I get out of work at 2pm most days in Kittery. This means that on my drive home, I drive through 3 school zones. That's ACTIVE school zones. Which means 15 mph. Two of these school zones occur on Route 236. Those school zones make me wish I stayed at work just a little bit longer.

• Boring

The road is just plain boring. It's really 15 miles of Hell. I hate it. If I had enough money, I would probably buy the entire road and then somehow destroy it. And then rebuild the road 100 times better. I think the rebuilt version would also include some sort of time warp. So you can just warp through the whole thing.

BAD ROAD. It's just a bad road.


2. Feet Shrinking

So, I have the weirdest shaped feet. Like, ever. It's no secret. They are short and tiny and very high and very wide. I have freakishly small hands and feet. Anyways.

There are two parts to this story.

1. I have a pair of black flats. They're super cute. I have worn them a few times a while ago, and then recently started wearing them again. The first time I wore them after not wearing them for a while, my feet were covered with blisters by the end of the night. It was a very painful experience. I'm still recovering from the first episode of blisters.

Now, this confused me, because I had never gotten blisters from wearing them before, and suddenly, my heels were slipping all over the place. So, I put in heel gripper things and waited for my blisters to heal so I could wear them again.

(Keep in mind that these flats are size 6.5, which is my normal shoe size.)

So, TODAY was the day where my feet were finally healed well enough to try and wear the shoes again. With the heel grippers. And still - my heels slip. And now I have a new batch of blisters. I don't understand.

2. I recently ordered a great pair of sandals from Eddie Bauer online. They're super cute and I loved them instantly. I feel goddess-esque while wearing them. Even more than normal. ;)

(that might have been the first winky face used in this blog. milestone!)

Now, they only come in whole sizes, and it says to order a size up. So, I got a size 7. This is the size that I usually get if shoes only come in whole sizes, or if I am unable to get a size 6.5, so I was not too worried.

So, the shoes come (finally!), and they're great. I love 'em. It is very exciting to wear them for the first time. But, after the first time of wearing them, they seemed wayyyy too big. Like, super big. Like, REALLY big. But I was like, 'no, this can't be. i must be imagining it.' But I wasn't. And I tried, and tried and tried to convince myself that they were actually fine and fit great and it wasn't as bad as I thought. But, I wore them to work the other day, and felt like a clown. A CLOWN. Now, that's probably a tad overkill, but it was close to that. They felt so big and I felt ridiculous. So, I'm going to return the shoes and exchange them for a size 6.


These two instances lead me to believe that my feet are shrinking. There's really no other explanation.


3. REALITY TV

I cannot believe:

1. That Chelsea came in THIRD FREAKING PLACE on Dancing with the Stars. There's no way that Kirstie Alley is the better dancer. NO WAY. I won't believe it for one second. Kara and I both broke down and finally voted for Chelsea like five times each. Wouldn't it have been amazing if she had won by ten points?! Yeah, that would have been cool. Talk about power.

Anyways, Chelsea totally deserved to win. Not only because she is on JONAS, which is like the best show ever, but she was the most fun dancer to watch and always was super nice when talking about the other contestants. And Nick and Joe of the Jonas Brothers came to watch her dance a few nights!! It was really exciting. Sometimes I randomly start laughing if I think about Jonas too much. Because the show is THAT FREAKING FUNNY. Yep. Anyways, I can't believe that Chelsea came in third place.

2. I can't believe that Lauren didn't win American Idol! I can't believe it. I watched the start of the finals on Tuesday night and felt pretty certain that Lauren would win. Crazy. She's super cute! And has a great voice! I mean, Scotty is great too. I can't believe how old his voice sounds. I guess 'old' isn't the right word. Mature? Weathered?


But, I had watched AI a few weeks ago and still thought that Lauren was the frontrunner. HM.

I think the moral of the story is that I'm a better judge of talent than the rest of America. Obvi.


4. STREP

I HAD STREP THROAT. Yep. I know you don't believe it, but it's true. I've never had strep throat before and then all of a sudden - BAM. There it was. Here's the story:

- My throat kinda started feeling weird last Tuesday. I thought nothing of it, because my allergies are bad, and my throat frequently feels scratchy or weird.

- Wednesday it started to hurt. And I was like, 'aw this is crap, i'm getting a cold.' My throat also felt a little swollen, and my voice started to become funny-sounding. I looked back there with a flashlight and it looked a little white. I thought this was strange, but thought nothing of it.

- Thursday it really hurt. I was taking ibuprofen like, every four hours. It felt more swollen. I looked back there with a flashlight again on Thursday night and said, 'uh oh.' The back of my throat was covered with this huge white patches, the left side of my throat was totally swollen and huge.

That was when I got out my insurance card and went online to see if I still had health insurance. I had never gotten anything in the mail saying that I didn't... nor was I ever sent anything about COBRA health insurance. So, I was a little fuzzy on the whole thing. But I thought, I should maybe think about going to the doctor because of this throat thing, and I should find out if I have health insurance.

Nope. Negative on the insurance. Bummer.

- Friday I woke up around 6:30am because my throat hurt so bad. I actually didn't think I would be able to get back to sleep. I did eventually. I woke a bit later to call into work to see if I needed to come in... and I didn't. I was happy about that, because I figured I should probably go to the doctor.

So, me and Kara went to the Berwick Medical Center, where I have been before. It's a great walk-in clinic for people with or without health insurance.

**SIDE NOTE** I love walk-in clinics. I love them. If I were a doctor, I would work in a walk-in clinic. I think they're great. Also, I wish I were a doctor. **END SIDE NOTE**

So, I get there and fill out the required paperwork, etc. It's not a very long wait in the waiting room and then I get into the doctor room. The doctor, Jeffery (who I had when I went there for the first time because I was in desperate need of asthma medicine), walked in, took one look in my throat, jumped back and exclaimed,

JEFFERY: UGH!! Well you've got strep!!

It was a bummer. He said it's been going around like crazy and he's seen a ton of people come in with it. He also said that working in the two different, people-oriented jobs that I work in, I could've picked it up anywhere.

My first case of strep. He said I should quarantine myself for 24 hours and give it about two days for the medicine to start working.

I checked out of the Berwick Medical Center and they said they weren't sure how much it would cost, but they would give me a 15% discount and bill me later.

So, I brought the prescription to Targs to get it filled. They gave me a non-insurance discount, so it came to $14. Not too bad.

I felt like a statistic all day long. Being like, "no...I don't have insurance..." I don't know. It was lame. I felt like a loser. Not only was I sick, but I didn't have insurance.

- Saturday morning I woke up really early again almost in tears because the throat hurt so bad. Yeah, it was bad. Saturday it was also really, really swollen in the morning. I was finding it hard to talk. I had to call out of work for Sunday. By Saturday night the medicine finally started to feel like it was working. So, that was good.

- Sunday I felt pretty good. I was super tired, but eating and talking was pretty easy.

- By Monday I was feeling better.
- Tuesday, 100%.

And that's the story about how I survived my first case of the strep. I don't recommend it.


OK. We're almost there! Almost to the end of the list!!!! This is a marathon blog entry. I was not expecting it to turn out this long, actually. Only two more! And the last one will be short! I promise!


5. DANCE PARTY GYM

Ok, so I have this great business idea. DANCE. PARTY. GYM. It's like a normal gym, with normal fitness equipment, etc, but then there's a dance party room, where you can just go and dance.

NO - It's not like zumba.
YES - It's like a dance club, only without the alcohol and high heels.

Just a place where you can go and dance your face off. It'd be super fun. Like, a FUN way to work up a sweat. A great way to warm up before you hit the treadmill! A fun way to end your workout.

And - I would hire all my friends to be professional Dance Party Gym Dancers, who just nonstop dance all the time in order to encourage others to come join. Because, not many people will start dancing in an empty room. I don't know any of those people , but I'm sure they're out there.

I think it's a great idea. Every time I go to the gym and find myself hating it, I think of my dance party gym idea and I get really excited. The best part about the gym is getting to listen to loud, dance music anyways, so why not just play it out loud and let people dance?? WHY NOT?!!

DANCE PARTY GYM. My future claim to fame.


6. Canoe

Kara and I are looking to buy a canoe. If you have any leads on canoes that are for sale, reasonably priced, good condition, please let me know. Paddles included would be great, but not necessary. We have a newly installed roof-rack on Kara's car, so transport of the canoe could be pretty immediate.


THAT MIGHT BE IT. I think that about wraps it up. I think this was pretty informative, no? A decent update.

Just finished watching the Bruins game. They won! So that means it'll be Vancouver against Boston in the Stanley Cup!! I'm actually pretty excited about this. Hockey is the only sport that I will willingly watch. And, my dad lives out on Vancouver Island, and I live out here in New England, so it's kinda exciting, I guess. It's like a family battle.

OK! I hope everyone has plans for an awesome weekend. I will be working. And I think it will be super busy. Like, super busy. I worked this morning from 9-1 and it was crazy town. Like, CRAZY TOWN. Ah well, it makes the time go by faster.

Alright, I'm going to bed very soon. I'm looking forward very much to sleeping in a little bit tomorrow. This getting up at 8:30am is too hard. Today I had to get up at 7:30. That's like, middle of the night.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!! Talk to everyone soon :)




ps: it's been really nice talking to you again. i feel like it's been too long.

Julie Recaps the News and Other Adventures

Hi friends! I know I haven't updated in a while. I feel like every entry, I promise to be better about updating and then I never am. My fault.

I guess there's been a lot going on. I feel like I've been super busy. I've been in Boston the past two weekends, once for a Red Sox game and the other for a fancy wedding.




Those were the shoes I wore to the wedding, btw. YEP. They were pretty serious. Comfortable? HELL NO. As in, there were times where I did not think I would be able to take another step, because my feet hurt so bad. Luckily, I had brought my sparkly gold flats to change into for the dancing portion of the night. Which took up a big portion, because I love dancing.

So, it was my second-cousin who was getting married. And, while Kara and I were there, we met another second-cousin that we didn't even know we had!!!! And turns out, him and his wife are totally awesome and cool and now we want to become best friends with them. So - FAMILY WIN.

Also, it was open bar all night.

And the weekend before was the Red Sox game. They were playing the team from Minnesota. They won! I can't even tell you the last time I watched a whole baseball game. Like, I can't even tell you. Turns out - it was really fun being there. Now I know who Dustin Pedroia is! It was me, Kara, my mom, my cousin Evan and my Uncle Bob! Great time. I had a hot dog and a beer. Classic ballgame eats.

Other than exciting events I have been attending, not much has been going on. Been working a lot. It's been good. I'm so lucky to work with awesome people at both jobs. There's not one person that I don't like.


SO. The first portion of the title of this entry was, "Julie Recaps the News," which I will do now.

THE OTHER NIGHT, we were all watching the news at like, 10pm or something. I think it was after Dancing with the Stars... (go Chelsea!), and they did a story about a group of students that went on a whale watch. Now, this whale watch ended very badly, as the boat hit like this giant wave and a bunch of the students were injured. I think it was off of Cape Cod somewhere. And, they interviewed this one girl from the boat and she had to have stitches in her lip and everything. So, at the end of the news story, the news lady is like, "and the worst part of the whole thing is that the students didn't even get to see any whales, but all received rainchecks so they can go again."

NOW. My mom, Kara and I all started laughing pretty hard at this. THEY GOT RAINCHECKS?!!? Awesome. But was even MORE AWESOME, was that the whole news team starts laughing too. Like, the two newscasters sitting at the desk, the reporter on the scene, AND then they cut to Matt Nois who does the weather, and he's standing there laughing too!!! IT WAS HILARIOUS. And, I have laughed every time I have randomly thought about it ever since then. Which has been a lot, because I'm pretty lame.

And then the next night on the news, Matt Nois was doing the weather and he made a joke about the whale watching trip story from the night before. We all started laughing again. SO GREAT. And it really made me appreciate the "News Team" community. Like, everyone standing in their respective places, ready to read the news. It's kind of a funny set up.

Anyways, today I went searching for the video of the story online, and I found it, but they cut it out at the end just as it's starting to get good. The news ladies start laughing a little bit, and then the story ends.

But I encourage you to watch the video here. And, there's a bonus when they interview the high school girl with the stitched up lip, because she has on GREAT nail polish. Girl from the video, if you're reading - LOVE IT. Love the nails.

Aahhhh, anyways. That was a good time.

So, I have to go to Target tonight. Need some eye drops. Also, cold medicine. Also might buy some cucumber and some limeade to make cucumber limeade smoothies at home. We made them at work last night and they were delish! So, I want to recreate them.

Ok. Well, I hope you all are having lovely evenings. OH! I've seen some movies recently that I will quickly recap you on:

1. BRIDESMAIDS: Excellent. Ohhh I laughed pretty hard at a lot of parts. Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph are kind of unstoppable. Definitely recommend.

2. PROM: Loved it. A lot. And the bad-boy male lead in it TOTALLY looked like Tony from Crash Kings. Yes?



Thomas McDonell, from PROM.


(warning:: hott, sweaty musician...)



Tony, from Crash Kings.

THEY LOOK ALIKE, RIGHT?!?!!? They do. They totally do. During parts of the movie I was just smiling, because it reminded me of being at a Crash Kings concert. Minus the Crash Kings songs. And Ryan and Jo. Also, Mike and Jason. haha. I guess they're a big part of the Crash Kings experience too. But, more so Ryan and Jo. :)

Anyways, Prom was awesome. The dress-trying-on montage was definitely a highlight. Many lame prom jokes were made that night, and I take full responsibility. Haha.

3. FAST AND THE FURIOUS: I know this is called something else, but I can't remember what it is. It's the sequel. FAST FIVE. That's what it's called. I had never seen any of the first Fast and the Furious movies, but I went with some friends who were fans. It was a good action movie. I'm a fan of The Rock, so I enjoyed it. Yes, I am a fan of The Rock. He seems like a nice guy. Anyways, fun movie.

4. NO STRINGS ATTACHED: Yep, the NatPort and Ashton "friends with benefits" rom com. Um, LOVED IT. It was totally funny. Really, I just love anything that Ashton does. I find him highly enjoyable to watch and look at. It was light and fun. And yet another joke about the Prius. Yep, just keep making fun of it, people. It seems in every movie, there is a lame character who drives a Prius and everyone can't stop making fun of him. Well guess what?? I was the one getting 56 mpg the other week so HA! Joke's on all of you, bitches!

5. LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS: The sex movie. It was all about sex. People having sex everywhere, all over the place. Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway. Eh, it was alright. I enjoyed it less than I thought I would. Depressing because it was also all about the pharmaceutical industries and how they only want to screw people over. Pun only semi-intended.


So, yep. Been watching a lot of rom coms. Don't judge. I'll get back to watching serious movies soon enough.

ALRIGHT. I guess I should go be productive. OH! I forgot to tell you the best thing!!!!!

RUBY TUESDAY TURNED 7!!!!!!!! Yep! The big 7. On May 6. We were gone most of the day, which I was upset about, but we celebrated when I got home. She got lots of new toys and treats. And, it's been like, three weeks and not even all the new toys are lost yet! So, that's a good thing. I went to three different stores looking for this compressed catnip ball, which I finally found her. The things we do for our kids.

ANYWAYS. I guess now I should go get dressed finally and go do my errands.

OH WAIT!!!! I'll tell you about songs that I love right now:

1. "Young Blood," by The Naked and Famous. I admit, I didn't start liking this song until I heard it in 'Prom.' But, now I love it.

the bittersweet between my teeth
trying to find the inbetween
fall back in love eventually
yeahyeahyeahyeah

2. "Help I'm Alive," by Metric. WORDDDDDD.

come take my pulse the pace is on a runaway train
help i'm alive
my heart keeps beating like a hammer


Two great songs for you to enjoy!!! Enjoy!

Ok, now I guess I'll go. I might also buy chicken salad because it's my favorite food in the whole world and why not?!?!

Hope you all reading this are having a great night. I'm gonna have a great night. I have no plans, but I'm gonna make it fun. DUH.

Alright, we'll talk soon.


LATERRRRR.

this night is sparkling

UPDATE:: I'm STILL in a great mood.


So much and so little has been going on in my life, I don't even know where to start...


1. FURR. I hope everyone knows this song. If you don't, you can check it out here. It's a song by the wonderful band, Blitzen Trapper. Keith got me into this band back in the fall. They are so great. Definitely check out their record, also titled 'Furr.'

Anyways - this song has been such a source of comfort to me. Like, it seems to fit into my life so beautifully, which is what I love about it. It's just a song about a transformation. A boy turns into a wolf one day, and his skin turns into fur and he lives with wolves for like, 6 years. And then when he meets the girl he's supposed to marry, his fur turns back into skin and he turns into a man.

I just listen to it and am like, "hey, it's okay." Like, being in a transformation phase, a life transition,an ending, a beginning, a fresh start... it's okay. It's all okay. Because one day, you'll turn into the person you're supposed to be. And sometimes lately, I just feel lost. Like, people enter my life, they leave, I enter, I leave, I move, I meet, I change, I learn, I cry because I'm heartbroken, I cry because I'm so happy, I'm inspired, I'm pathetic, I'm home, I'm out of place, I'm lost, I'm home again, I'm evolving.

But it's all okay. Because, one day, I'll turn into the person I'm supposed to be. But, right now, I feel like I've got the furr. I'm changing, man. I used to always think that big things never happen to me. But, they do. Things are happening. I've felt like, every emotion imaginable in the past 6 months and that's awesome and scary.

RIGHT NOW, however: i'm a rattlesnake, babe, i'm like fuel on a fire.

Love that lyric. I did feel like fuel on a fire today. I FEEL GREAT TODAY. Today is a good day. Fuel on a fire.

Here's Blitzen Trapper performing Furr on Conan. BONUS: they're also super cute.


2. Video of a kitten riding on a turtle. Don't think about it! Just watch. We might have watched this video a lot when I was in Brooklyn. MIGHT.


3. I dyed shirts purple tonight. Three of them. I asked my mom and Kara if they had anything they wanted dyed purple, and they both did! So great! Now we all have purple things!! There was one day where Kara and I were like, "Let's all wear plaid shirts today!!" So me, my mom and Kara all wore plaid shirts and went out to dinner. Yep. 'Cause we're that awesome. So, we'll wear the purple shirts on purple day.

I instituted Theme Days at Eddie Bauer, the retail store where I work. YEP. I was like, "hey guys, let's have THEME DRESS DAYS!!!!" And all the other associates were like, "UUGHHHHH" but the managers were like, "YES!" So, today was "T-shirt Tuesday." We all had to wear the Eddie Bauer essential tee, currently on sale for $7.99. (wow what a great deal.) They could be any color, but they had to be the t-shirt. It went awesomely. I loved it. And one of the managers, Jen, requested that I match my nail polish to my shirt. YEP. So, I woke up ten minutes early this morning to repaint my nails. GREAT. I'm kind of rocking that job. To the max. Obvi.

I have to come up with the next Theme Day. Something easy, but also fun and awesome. Maybe it will be Purple Day.

We should have Ruby Red Day on Friday, in celebration of Ruby Tuesday's birthday. Yep - she's turning 7!! I went out birthday shopping for her this afternoon. I'm not done yet. I couldn't get everything I wanted. That's right, I've known for weeks what she's getting for her birthday. I think I've told like, everyone I've come into contact with that it's Ruby's birthday this week. I mentioned it at work today, even. Yep - RUBY RED DAY. Too bad I'm not working on Friday. Oh, I just love Ruby Tuesday. She's the best.

I realize I've gone off the bullet points. Or, numbers, rather. This is still all under number 3. That's okay. I'm ending now anyways.

Yes, I must away to sleep. I'm very tired. Burnt out, if you will. Keeping with the 'fuel on a fire' theme. ALRIGHT! I hope everyone has lovely Wednesdays.

LAST WEEK ON WEDNESDAY: I actually said aloud, "I can't believe it's only Wednesday." And then I was like, "OMG I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO THAT." Unexpected Crash Kings song title worked into normal conversation?!?!?! #AWESOME.

Also - I miss Crash Kings. Like, A LOT. Why can't they play a show around here!!!??? Like, NOW. I haven't seen them since D.C. in OCTOBER. That was like, a thousand years ago. Wow that was a great weekend.

Ohh ok. I'll go to bed now. Have a lovely rest of the week. Let's all continue to be in excellent moods.

Oh! More exciting news!!! About my dad!! He voted for the very first time ever!!!! The very first time EVER!!!!! He could never vote in the USA because he wasn't a citizen, but now that he moved back to the homeland, Canada, he can vote!! And they just had their big election!!! Isn't that cool? I think this is great. :)


OK. Excellent moods: GO!

#IFEELGREATTODAY

Oh, hi! I didn't see you there.

FAVE OPENING FOR A BLOG ENTRY?? Check.

Ok. I am in a good mood today. I might even say I'm in a great mood today.




Documentation of my great mood.


1. I don't have to work today!! In fact, I have TWO DAYS OFF IN A ROW. No way? Yes way. I was "on call" today for my retail job. I know what you're thinking... "On call?? For a retail job?? It's just clothes!!" Yes. I have the same thoughts. But, whatevs. So, today, I was on call from 10-2. The rules are, you have to call in an hour before your shift to see if they need you. Now, this proves tough because I like to leave the house 40 minutes before my shift to make sure I have enough time. So, that doesn't leave me with much time. So, I like to call like, an hour and fifteen minutes before my shift.

So this morning, I called in around 8:50 and they said I didn't have to work!! Nice! I was super happy. I've been on call three times so far since I've started working there, and all three times they haven't needed me. But each time I haven't gotten my hopes up... I've prepared to go in. So, I've been in super great moods each time, because I'm not expecting it.

I'm trying this new thing where I don't get my hopes up. Twice recently, I've gotten my hopes up very, very high for things that haven't worked out. So, instead of "hope for the best, prepare for the worst," I'm going with, "prepare for the worst, prepare for the worst!" Because, the "hope for the best" part of that statement always wins. So far, I think I'm doing okay.


2. See that scarf I'm wearing in the above picture? BACK STORY!! So, that scarf used to be part of a bed sheet that we found when we were cleaning out my grandmother's apartment. And it was going to be thrown away, because it was kind of old and faded, but I thought, "SCARF POTENTIAL!!!" So, I saved it, measured out a nice section and voila! New scarf. Loves it.


3. I think I'm going to try and get back to my minor craftiness. Like dying things and making jewelry. And scarf making. Today I was like,

JULIE: I'm going to repaint my bedroom tomorrow!!!!

But then immediately I was like,

JULIE: Ok, hold on...

I quickly realized that the project was too big. And every time I decide to paint a room, I usually end up ruining it. Also, my bedroom is a disaster and cleaning it out with take an army. So, I'll stick to the small stuff.


4. 'Wires,' by Coconut Records. I've been loving this song lately. And actually, I've been getting back into my Coconut Records roots. It's really where I belong. SUCH a great song. It's one of my faves. It's been putting me in a good mood when I find myself in a sad mood.

Had a lot of things to say
Had a lot of points to make
Put me down on walk sweet take before you go away
Close the door in case you stay
And I can't believe it's already tired
Oh go and cut all my wires


5. And speaking of Jason Schwartzman.... I've been rewatching season 1 of Bored to Death! Man, it's so funny. Like, way funnier than I remember it to be. That's not saying that it wasn't funny the first time around. No, it was totes hilars. But, it's even funnier now. Great. Anyways! So, the show is about a writer who begins to moonlight as a private detective. Schwartzman, Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis. Awesome. So, on the episode that I watched today, they went to investigate at the "Brooklyn Coop!" Which was the Park Slope Coop that I was at last week!!! OMG, I kind of flipped out. They started talking about it and were like, "yeah, you have to be a member to shop there..." And I was like, "holy crap they're talking about the place I just was!" And then they got there and the name had been changed, but they were talking about being in Park Slope, so it was definitely the same coop. AWESOME. Right?! Me and Schwartzman. We belong together.


6. Shock Top! My new fave beer. Thanks, Aliya ♡


7. I think I'm done for now! Kara and I are going to the gym. I'm kind of dreading it. My great mood has lessened to 'good.' But, whatevs.


OK! I hope you all are also having a great day. We'll talk again soon!! It's super windy here today and I think that means a change is coming. Let's hope it's a good one. Nay, a great one.



LOVESIT!!!

Brookyn, Brooklyn, take me in...

WHAT A STRANGE WEEK I HAD LAST WEEK. I put that in all caps to emphasize my point. It was a week of extreme emotions. Like, covering the whole spectrum. WEIRD. Oh man, so weird. So, it was kind of perfect that I had a trip to Brooklyn planned for the end of the week. Elizabeth was flying up from Austin, and Joe and Aliya already lived there! So, it was an almost-complete MOD 16 reunion. Kerianne couldn't make it :( But, we'll see her soon.

So the last time that Joe, Aliya, Elizabeth and I were together was in Ireland!!! Yes, that's right. I hadn't seen Elizabeth since DUBLIN. Crazy, right?!?! UM, YEAH.

Remember this one? This photo was self-timered in Doolin! If the four of us started an indie-rock-folk band, this would be the cover of our first record.




Also, note the bras hanging from the bunk ladder. Keepin' it classy 'cross the globe.

So, I had seen Aliya over the summer in Chicago, and then in Ogunquit, and I had seen Joe when I was in Manhattan back in October. FINALLY we were all able to adventure again!

We had a GREAT AMAZING TIME in Brooklyn.

I left late Wednesday morning. Stopped for gas and coffee. No matter how much gas prices rise, I never seem to pay more than like, $27 to fill my tank. I think that's still the most I've ever paid for gas. Weird. But, awesome, because I was getting 52 mpg on the trip down to NY.

So, the ride down was super easy. I kind of switched up my directions mid-trip because I looked at the GPS directions and it was saying that I should go on 91 and 95 and I was like, "no thanks." So, I called Kara and had her give me alternate directions, because I knew I wanted to stay on I-84 most of the way there. So, I did. And it was still super easy.

I had only ever been over the Whitestone Bridge once before, and it was my second year at Hampshire when I drove to the Bronx to visit Maria. It was on accident, and one way across was $4.50. I thought THAT was outrageous. THIS TIME ACROSS, it cost me $6.50. One way. Unbelievable, right?? Yes.

But, I made it. And driving through Queens I drove under Queens Boulevard, which was exciting, because it is referenced a bunch on Entourage. I might have actually uttered aloud, "You kidding? I am Queens Boulevard" whilst passing under... (Entourage reference.)

ANYWAYS. I drove through Brooklyn under I arrived at Joe's house!!!!! Parking on his street is super easy, and I was able to get a spot right in front of his house! And on the correct side of the street. (Street sweeping purposes.)

And I rang the buzzer and walked up to Joe's apartment and ELIZABETH WAS THERE!!!!! Lots of hugging took place. As well as lots of exclamations of excitement. SO GREAT. As it turned out, Joe was off filming a Pretty Reckless charity concert, so we wouldn't see him until later that night. (Taylor Momsen, of Gossip Girl fame, is the lead singer of the band, so it was pretty exciting.)

So, Elizabeth and I sat on the floor and talked. Ohhh it was great to see her.

Then Aliya called after she was out of work and we planned to meet up with her for drinks in Manhattan. She was at a Sporkful podcast event, so we would meet her there. So, eventually we found our way from Joe's house to the train station and took the train right onto Houston Street!!!! Which was where we saw Crash Kings back in May at the Mercury Lounge. Also, that was where I saw River City Extension for the first time. MEMORIES. So great.

We made our way to the East Village and ended up at Drop Off Service, the bar where we were meeting Aliya. AND THEN WE FOUND HER!!!!! Ohhhh reunions are so great. It was a super exciting time. We drank hard cider together!! We stayed there for a little bit and then ventured back to Brooklyn. We went to TJ's to pick up delicious things to eat. Including goat cheese, chocolate ice cream and ginger cookies. YUM.

Then we went back to Aliya's lovely apartment, met her roomie, also a Hampshire alum, and proceeded to make dinner! Delish. And YAY - with friends. The friend euphoria was still intense. AND THEN JOE SHOWED UP!!!!!! So great!!!! Then we all sat around, drank red wine, ate chocolate ice cream and ginger cookies, and talked until the early hours of the morning. Even though Elizabeth and I didn't have any of our things with us, we opted to stay at Aliya's house rather than walking the 2 miles back to Joe's house. So, we set up shop in the living room and I slept great that night.

The next morning Elizabeth and I woke up and Aliya had already gone to work. So, we hung around only for a little while, and then headed over to Joe's house. But not before getting awesome coffee from this super cool skate shop/coffee shop, Homage, right around the corner from Aliya's house.

It was a lovely walk back to Joe's. We got back and Joe was awake! We all hung around a little bit, then I took a shower and Joe went out to get BAGELS. Yummm. Then we ate lots of bagels with hummus and did some more hanging around. Then Joe needed to be off on another important assignment, so Elizabeth and I made ourselves at home. We took over Joe's iTunes and ended up listening to a recording that Joe had of Elizabeth, Aliya, Kerianne and himself at SAGA one day. Remember SAGA? The Hampshire dining hall? YEP. Ohhhh college. That was like, 45 minutes. Nice.

Then Joe came back after about an hour or so. We decided that we wanted to walk around Brooklyn before we had plans to meet up with our friend Finn, who we went to Hampshire with. (Brooklyn is basically like an extension of Hampshire's housing developments.)

So, we walked over to Prospect Park. Saw the famous, Grand Army Plaza, which I had never seen before, so that was cool. I didn't want to seem too touristy by taking pictures all the time, so Joe, Elizabeth and I devised this story that I was a location scout taking photos for a new spy thriller rom-com starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. Clever, right?

These are the pictures I came up with:




Secret spy meeting under a quaint bridge? Check.









Sp pretty, right? Joe said one time he was walking past the boathouse and he saw a giant film crew! Everyone was wearing period costumes and they had giant wind fans trying to create waves. COOL. We sat in front of the boat house for a long time and people-watched. There were lots of small children getting way too close to the lake. We were nervous. Also, there was "Hott Legs." This girl wearing a very short mini skirt was walking around with a personal long-range photographer. We watched their photo shoot from across the lake. HOTT LEGS.





More boathouse. We hadn't seen Hott Legs in a while and then..... SHE WALKED RIGHT BY US. We tried not to stare. Joe said,

JOE: I think I was the only one staring at the camera and not at her legs.

He was right.





Joe, Elizabeth and Julie!! Together in Prospect Park.

Then we continued on our walk.




That location was for the other secret spy meeting/love confession portion of the movie.

Then! We exited Prospect Park and took the train back to Manhattan to 14th Street. Union Square! Where Joe and I had met up before. "Our park." I had also been there with Ryan a heck of a lot. Last April, in fact, we stayed nearby to Union Square with Ryan's friend on our way back from Philadelphia. And we ate at the same coffee shop twice in one day with two different people!!! It was funny. So, Union Square is fun. And this time - we were meeting up with Finn!! Who, I hadn't seen since I graduated from Hampshire in 2008. So great to see him!!! He suggested that we go to this restaurant, Thai Terminal, for dinner. I loved this place. It reminded me of being in the Airport Lounge, because it was furnished like one. AWESOME.

Food was great, mango thai iced tea was excellent, company was wonderful. Aliya joined us after she got out of work! And Finn's brother, Thomas, joined us as well!! We knew him from the times he went to visit Finn at Hampshire. And we would all hang out in MOD 16. Super fun.

Then, we google mapped a bar on Aliya's phone and found our way. The 11th Street Bar! It was a great time. I had some kind of a Southampton beer....?? I don't understand beer, but it was called Southampton something. And it came with a slice of lemon. I thought it tasted like cinnamon. Delish.

Then we ventured back to Brooklyn and parted ways with Finn. Super fun night.

I stayed at Joe's house that night, while Elizabeth stayed with Aliya. Nice!

The next morning, we all had plans to meet up at DOUGH, this lovely doughnut shop not too far from Joe's house, in Clinton Hill. Aliya's dad had found this shop on a food blog and told Aliya she should go! They have delicious flavors including: blood orange, passion fruit, chai cream, hibiscus, cafe au lait, and lemon poppy. I tried a hibiscus because I was curious about it, and also because it was this gorgeous shade of fuschia. And it had dried hibiscus flowers on the top. It was super tangy and fruity and delicious. SO GOOD. I ended up bringing some home for my mom and Kara. Yumm.

Then, Joe had to leave to go to work. He works at the Park Slope Food Coop, which is like the most brillz place ever. It's a grocery store, but you can only shop there if you work there. And all work is volunteer. So no one's getting paid, but the benefit is that you are allowed to shop there. And since they have to pay no employees, the food prices are super cheap. And there's like, 14,000 members, so all you need to do is work 3 hours every month and that's it! Great plan.

Aliya, Elizabeth and I walked around Clinton Hill a while. Went to a hardware store, went to a dollar store, went into a cutesy clothing store. Then, decided to go visit Joe at work. But, we didn't want to walk there because it was far away.

That's us in Dough. (Hotties.)

So, we walked back to Joe's house, got into my car and drove through Brooklyn until we found a parking spot close to the Park Slope Coop. We found a spot like, two blocks away, so that was awesome. And we walked in and had to announce ourselves as visitors, because we were not allowed to shop there. And then this beautiful woman named Karen came over and gave us a tour!! Of the grocery store! And explained a lot about it and the way it works. It was like the best time ever. Love that place. I can understand why Joe is obsessed with it.

Then we found Joe!

Joe's job is "walker" which means he helps people walk home with their groceries. Nice guy, right? On this particular day, he walked someone home and through conversation, he learned that this man's niece went to Hampshire and that Joe actually knew her. Small world.

After visiting the Coop, we drove over to Aliya's house and found a great parking spot like, two streets over. NICE. Now the plan was to meet one of Aliya's friend Amy for Vietnamese sandwiches!!! OMG DELISH. Like, we walked into this place and it smelled amazing. And the food tasted exactly like everything smelled. OMG SO GOOD. It was seriously like delicious. I was blown away. I would eat there like every day if I lived in Cobble Hill. Amy is in fashion designing school in NYC, so she told us all about all the rompers and bathing suits she makes.

This place was just across the street from Aliya's house, so we walked over there after and explored her backyard!

Backyards of Brooklyn! That sounds like the name of a coffee table picture book. Aliya's backyard was super cute. That fountain was in the backyard next door.

That night, we had plans to go to Camp, which is a bar right down the street from Aliya. Best bar ever. It's all camp themed with smores and games and movies. Um, funnest bar ever.

We all talked about it and decided we wouldn't get the smores. Because, they were $16 and we hadn't had dinner really and we also wanted to buy drinks and so we decided instead, we would go to TJ's after the bar and buy things to make smores at home instead.

And then Aliya and I got up to the bar to order beers and open and tab and we were like, "screw it! Let's get the smores!!" So, we got the smores. And they were awesome.

Here's Camp:

SMORES. MINI CAMPFIRE. IN BROOKLYN.




Elizabeth doesn't actually eat marshmallows because they're not vegetarian, but she was an excellent roaster. This also meant that Aliya and I ate like, 6 smores each. True story.

Ohhhh it was a great, great night. Super fun times. And, may I mention again, that Aliya and I ate all the smores. Yeah, like all of them.

Then we walked back to Aliya's house. But not before stopped at a 24 hour diner and getting some onion rings. Then we stopped at a little bodega and bought some eggs.

Then we went back to Aliya's house and made scrambled eggs with spinach and goat cheese! So good. And we drank some more wine, ate some more ginger cookies and played Ticket to Ride! This was the first time I had ever played this game. It was pretty confusing at first, but once you understand the game and the point of the game, it's super fun. All about creating different train routes across the country.

We also did laundry that night.

Then sadly, Joe had to leave. And we had to get to bed because I needed to leave early in the morning. I was supposed to leave Friday night, but opted for Saturday morning instead. So, I said goodbye to Joe :(

We all went to bed very shortly after and woke up at 7:30am. While I got ready to leave, Aliya and Elizabeth walked across the street to Dunkin Donuts and picked me up a coffee and a bagel. Thanks friends!

Then, sadly, we had to say goodbye. I was very sad to leave, as it meant going back to the real world and not fake Hampshire world.

The drive back north was good, no problems. Stopped twice, once for gas, once for bathroom, and arrived home just before 2pm on Saturday.

I told my mom all about our exciting activities in the city, showered very quickly, and then had to leave for work around 3:20 or so. I was kind of like, super flustered at work for a bit because I had just driven from BK and got to work and it was pretty busy. This was clothing store work, not coffee shop work. But eventually the night calmed down and it was okay.


WHAT A GREAT MINI-VACAY I HAD. Ohhhhh it was so, so, SO wonderful to see my friends. Like, so great. Mod 16 rules Brooklyn. To the max.

Hope you all are having wonderful, friend-filled times wherever you are as well. We'll talk again soon!




Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in
My hands they shake my head it spins
Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in...