Protect the Plants, Stay on the Path

Sunday July 28th, 2013:

Well I am exhausted. This past weekend has just been jam packed with parks, shows, parks, food, parks, walking, and parks. (You may be noticing a trend right about now...). Although I'd much rather curl up and drown myself in the incest and underhanded plots of Game of Thrones until my eyelids droop beyond saving and I snuggle up to get my much needed eight hours of rest before work in the morning, I have made a commitment to update this blog regularly. I will not flake on my duties. Just a warning, this is a long post. It is mostly pictures, though, so it shouldn't be too onerous for all you readers.

After work this Friday (and what an hectic and busy day it was) I donned my backpack and set off for the train station. Into the city once more! A short subway ride uptown and a brisk walk in the cool night air and I arrived at my sister's apartment in the city. I was crashing at her place for the weekend so that we could have a good old fashioned visit. I walked into the apartment to find dinner already cooked, ready for me to begin stuffing it in my mouth. Wonderful! I've been having an urge to bake lately, so naturally I stole a box of cookie mix from my mother's pantry (sorry mom) and made them at my sister's place. Although my sister and her roommates ate some cookies over the course of the weekend, suffice it to say that I did the most severe damage on the plate of cookies. I. Regret. Nothing.

Saturday was quite the grueling journey. We were out bright and early (and by early, I mean 11:00), and after a much needed Starbucks stop, we headed down to the strangely named Meat Packing District. While such nomenclature would suggest that this area was a slum of sorts with blood running down the streets, it's apparently quite the ritzy area. Our destination was Highline Park, an abandoned railroad track turned city park than spanned roughly fifteen blocks of the Big Apple. Being the environmentalist that I am, I could not have been more satisfied with the City's latest environmental rehabilitation project. Only a few years old, the park is a new and thrilling addition to the greatest city on Earth. You heard me correctly; Boston has nothing on the City that Never Sleeps.

I was in my element. With plants and flowers everywhere, I was snapping pics left and right. Here are just a select few of the park. I don't want to spoil this gem if you haven't been there yet, so I'll hold back on my pictures!

Modern. Chic. Environmentally friendly. It's easy to forget that you're in one of the busiest and most highly populated cities in the world when you're walking in this partially secluded haven of pure, unadulterated glory.

Following our adventure on the Highline, my sister (Lauren) and I headed off to the Little Schubert Theatre to grab tickets for the show we had planned on seeing later that night. Once the precious tickets were securely in our hands, we headed up to Central Park. Somehow I've lived a mere hour and a half from NYC for twenty years and yet I had never been to the famous park until yesterday. Better later than never....

Central Park is huge! It's also incredibly beautiful and serene once you get away from the hustle and bustle of the entrance way. There's a large rock formation that Lauren and I chose to sit on for a while. With my required geology course from last semester still fresh in my mind, I began trying to identify the rock upon which I was standing. Let's just say that there is a reason that I didn't get an A in that class. I did however notice a granitic intrusion (see below). Note the apparent banding (folliation?) of the rock. Oh rocks! They just get my heart racing....

I tell you what type of rock this is, and weave a story of how the formation came to be, but frankly I just don't care even a little bit.

Parting with my rocks was difficult, but upon prevailing Lauren and I headed farther into the mysterious world the locals call Central Park. We ended up at Strawberry Fields, a tribute to John Lennon. Everyone was lined up around a circular memorial to the legend. Being as impatient as I am, I just snapped a shot as quickly as I could without waiting in line to be in the photo myself.

Once we tired of Central Park, we traveled back to the apartment to change for the show. I should say that by this point I was essentially an expert in navigating the subway. A quick foot bath because my poor feet were the worse for the wear after two parks, and then we headed off. In case you're planning a similar trip anytime in the near future, keep in mind that flip flops are not the most desirable foot wear in Central Park-just trust me, you'll wind up with sooty feet.

Potted Potter was our show of choice for the evening and it was a fantastic addition to the weekend. An unauthorized parody of the seven Harry Potter books, it was quite hilarious. There were only two actors; one played Harry and the other played every other character in the books. There were some prime comedic moments due to the play in general, one overly excited child, and a quirky usher. If you're looking for something to do in city, you can't go wrong with this splendid show! Here's a sneaky shot of the set before the show started (I got this even though there was absolutely no photography allowed inside the theatre, even of yourself- that rule is 'just bananas' according to one quirky usher).

Hungry after the show, we headed to Chevy's, a lovely Mexican restaurant in Times Square for dinner, after which somehow got stuck in the revolving door of Toys R Us. Long story short: my sister wanted a minion. Toys R Us being a total bust, she's going to have to give in and get a Happy Meal to get her much needed minion. Walking, shopping, walking, shopping. Unfortunately, the HBO store was closed, so any hope of getting sick Game of Thrones t-shirts will always remain a dream just out of reach. We then headed over to Bryant Park after our Times Square shenanigans and enjoyed a beautiful and clear night. It's funny that not one of the three parks we went to was like any of the others.

Sunday! Up and out early once again, we headed off to the Museum of Natural History! There is so much history and nature in the museum that it is just divine. I'm getting awfully tired so I'm just going to show you a bunch of pictures from today so that I don't have to think very much.

Incontrovertibly, the best find of the trip was the set of posters I discovered in the museum's gift shop. I'm not going put any pictures up because the posters will be making an appearance in my room at school next year. I'm sure you're all at the edge of your seats, but you'll just have to come visit me at some point in the coming year to see the bitchin posters.

That is all I can do for you right now. I'm completely wiped. You've been berated by photos for the entirety of this post, but a couple more couldn't hurt. Here's my garden as usual!

A Little Sunday Night Blogging

Sunday July 21st, 2013:

The sun has set outside my bedroom window, signaling the end of yet one more weekend and allowing for another week to start anew. With my trusty bowl of watermelon bits slowly (or not so slowly) being emptied beside me, I find myself beginning to write down my chaotic and relatively mundane thoughts for some strange reason. Although it really isn't that strange; I take my job as part-time blogger very seriously and I shudder to think about a day when I disappoint any of my thousand- no millions- of readers (note: I'm 101% sure I've already disappointed at least one of you).

I'll start with my plants, naturally (lolz). Today, I made a life saving discovery that has put my restless mind at ease. For the past week and a half or so, my tomato plants have begun to yellow, making me very nervous because they had been doing so well up until that point. I had suspected overwatering because I was giving them hearty drinks every morning and evening due to the vicious heat wave we experienced this week. After a pot transplant that was long overdue for one pepper plant, my mother so kindly reminded me that I hadn't been spraying my peppers with a mixture of Epsom Salt dissolved in water (this boosts the plants magnesium and sulfate levels, leading to increased productivity and yield). Without any time to waste, I bolted to my spray bottle and went crazy. Afterwards, I was compelled to do some research to determine how often I should be spraying my plants with this organic fertilizer. My research led me to a detailed website that informed me that tomato plants also could benefit from the mixture. Apparently, my tomato plants' jaundice was due to a magnesium deficiency that often occurs later in the growing season. AHA! Spray bottle in hand, I played the role of plant doctor and saved the day for my beautiful plants! (Pics and the end, I promise!)

This was the hottest week we've had all summer. Generally, people try to stay indoors rather than suffer in the humidity and heat that seems to envelope you and cause you to want to just die. I'm apparently not one of those people (well, not by choice). I spent all day in New York City yesterday and had an outdoor rehearsal (what even?!) on Thursday night. The rehearsal was ridiculous. It was in a park/preserve about forty minutes away from my house and began with a barbeque of sorts. Because I work like a fiend, I was unable to make the pre-rehearsal dinner and bonding session (rats!), although I don't think it was terribly successful because when I arrived for rehearsal, about 10 minutes late of course, I was one of the first fifteen people there. I was shocked; with my college mentality still very much in charge, the concept of not showing up to get free food is rather foreign to me. It would appear that the heat is one of the only things that can actually deter people from free stuff.

If I could use only one word to describe rehearsal, it would have to be "hot". I was a sweaty mess, in my flip flops and pink polo (how BC of me), straddling my cello. There wasn't even a breeze to relieve the masses in between pieces. Somehow we still prevailed and finished rehearsal. This was in no small part due rehearsal being greatly shortened in order to comply with the park's closing time (thank the gods for closing time). With inconsistent rehearsal schedules, people's general lack of effort, and the large scale talent deficiency I have no idea how we are going to pull off this music for our first concert, which is in two weeks. Good thing we're a pops orchestra and expectations are at an all time low.

Saturday was also a hot mess as I made my way to the train station for the fourth time in two weeks. This time I slithered my way into NYC to grab lunch with my friend, Anisha, who is spending the summer in the city. Upon meeting at Penn Station, I coerced her into walking slightly out of the way so that I could stumble into an Earth Awareness Fair that was rumored to be happening that day. Unfortunately for my enviro-soul, we found no such fair. Despite that minor speed bump, our day plowed on without any other significant problems. Well, that is after we made a pit stop in H&M and Forever 21 to find Anisha some spandex shorts so that she could appear semi decent in her sun dress (that wind, man.....). We had lunch at the famous Ellen's Stardust Dinner, which is rather overpriced, but for dinner and a show, you can't really go wrong. Being the major celebrity that I am, I knew one of the employees (we had graduated from high school together) so I of course put my head down and ignored him.

Having a very large meal, complete with a delicious milkshake in our tummies, Anisha and I took the only logical course of action: go and get enormous cupcakes from Crumbs bakery. *Mouth. Watering.* Barely able to stand because I had basically reached my capacity for food, I had to do some walking to make room for more food. Back to H&M and other stores, but no purchases; we're college students, not millionaires. Parched from the city heat and all that walking, a Jamba Juice appeared like an oasis in the desert of our lives. I've never had Jamba Juice before, and frankly I thought it a mythical corporation only real in Hollywood sets, but let me say that it is very real and very good. I had berry-orange juice that was essentially just fruit that had been chewed and regurgitated for my convenience. And what a convenience it was. Not having to chew is definitely one of life's greatest luxuries.

At this point in time, Anisha and I had to part ways, seeing as I was headed to meet Shayna who just recently got back from studying abroad. Just as I began to walk down Lexington Avenue to meet up with her, the heavens opened up and I was basically underwater. Grand Central Station was a surprising safe haven, keeping me dry while I waited out the minor storm. From the time that we reunited until the time we said goodbye (a solid three hours later), Shayna and I did not stop talking. We had so much to catch up on: her life in Switzerland, my life in New York/Boston, my blog (obvi), our impending Texas adventure. Even though we kept saying how we wanted to sit in a nice little air conditioned café and catch up (I needed a drink like a fat man needs a couch) we never stopped talking/walking nor were we vigilant enough to take note of New York City's abundance of coffee shops. Our walk took us to the fancy Penn Station (since both of us needed to catch a train) and we found solace in the form of one small food court with surplus seating. But don't tell anyone about that minor detail because neither of us were patrons of the food court and there was no shortage of signs telling us that we were not allowed to sit. Just call us hooligans as we continue to plague the streets.

Seeing my wonderful friends was so enjoyable (yes, even spending half the day with Anisha was worth it, although I may have been delirious from heat stroke all afternoon)! I'd keep talking about the beauty of the day, but I'm currently reading Game of Thrones and am at a pivotal point in the story so I must be off.

Take in all the glory of my garden in the following pictures! Try not to be too jealous of my veggies!

The Morning After

Sunday July 14th, 2013:

It's quiet. I wake up in bed, completely covered in blankets and sheets galore. Where am I? Who am I? What is going on?......okay, so maybe I didn't think many of those thoughts when I woke up this morning (or any for that matter), but I'm sure somewhere, someone did. Regardless, this weekend has been quiet fascinating and warrants an elongated blog post.

Yesterday was my block's annual block party. Keeping with last's year's tradition, it rained most of the day, forcing us to construct three (3!) tents so that our special guests would not find themselves sopping wet. Because my mother was at an all day PTA convention until almost 4:00 and because my sister now lives in NYC, my dad and I found ourselves setting everything up Saturday morning. Thankfully my mom (and I, to an certain extent) had been cooking up a storm the night before (you know this if you get my snapchats) so my father and I were only left with the brutish, manly work (lolz). This was a very good thing because my dad and I are somewhat lacking in the kitchen skills department and many disasters would have presented themselves had we had to cook.

I had the pleasure of driving out to the train station mid afternoon to pick up my sister and some of her friends who were coming to the party and then spending the night. I was completely free to do this because basically none of my friends are here this summer and those who are were busy. My sister has some pretty cool friends, and I embraced the quintessential younger sibling role, trailing my older sister around trying to look cool (and succeeding, obviously). There are plenty of stories that I could tell about yesterday's festivities, but I've decided to spin an intriguing narrative by highlighting just a few events, accompanied by tell-all pictures because a picture does say a thousand words.

We had some sidewalk chalk specifically to entertain my almost three year old cousin, Kelli, during the day, but it turned out that the older kids were more captivated with the chalk. I'm sure it was a very nostalgic moment for them. Somehow, my sister wound up laying down on the driveway while her friend outlined her. And for some reason, I'm still not sure how, she ending up becoming a figure skater. Classic. My driveway is still covered in random outlines making it look like it belongs in an episode of Law and Order.

It is definitely not a family function without my sister's famous cupcakes. For this special occasion raspberry buttercream and oreo cupcakes were featured on the menu. However, I am an honest man and I must give credit where credit is due. Two of my sister's friends (Liz and Colgan) made both types of frosting while she went to pick up a few other friends who missed the initial train (oops). I stayed behind and purported to be an expert in my kitchen, informing them where the necessary utensils where located. Therefore I'd like to think that I deserve the credit for the frosting, and by extension the cupcakes. I guess I can give some credit to my sister and her friends. I guess. 

Since I have been home for the summer, I have had a craving for a fire to sit by and make s'mores. I even bought the supplies when my friends came over one night (and we would have had s'more if I wasn't concerned about the family of raccoons living in my neighbor's yard). Well, additional s'mores rations were purchased in the hopes of making them at the block party, although that dream never came to fruition. The pyromaniac in me had to settle for the tiki torches that we had in my yard. 

My family isn't terribly fancy. We're pretty much average-Joes, but one arena in which we do excel is dessert (well, really food at large). There never has been, nor will there ever be a food-shortage at a gathering. Last night was a prime example of just how extraordinary our sweet tooth is. In addition to the communal Ice Cream Sundae station for the block, my individual house-guests had the pleasure of sinking their teeth into a smorgasbord of cupcakes (see above), brownies, cookies, Rice Crispy Treats, fruit salad, doughnuts, and chocolate pudding pie. And this came after having tons of hors d'oeuvres and a whole barbeque.

Five of my sister's friends stayed the night which meant that my house turned was into a hostel of sorts for the past twelve hours or so. Luckily we have two trundle beds, an extra room, and an air mattress so everyone got a bed (of sorts). My room specifically housed my sister and me for the night (slumberparty!!)

The only way to finish off the weekend was with a dozen New York bagels for breakfast. I don't care what anyone says, the best bagels come from Long Island. There is no other way. And these bagels were especially delicious. Accompanied by conversation ranging from the intricacies and nuances of the Royal Family to the definitions and examples of the various types of murder, breakfast was absolutely lovely.

As I knelt on my couch and peered out our bay window this morning after everyone had left, I thought back fondly on the previous day's activities. If you drove down my block today, you wouldn't even know that we had a raging fiesta yesterday. Of course, you might glimpse the dunk tank if you made it here before the rental company picked it up, or you might notice the broken bits of a million water balloons scattered on our lawn and near the curb, or see the chalk crime scene on my driveway. Other than that, you'd have to have been here to know just what happened. One of my friends at school compulsively takes pictures whenever we're together and for that reason the phrase "pictures or it didn't happen!" has been coined. And even though I give her a bunch of shit for that, I can't help but understand where she's coming from. Pictures capture the moment, and serve to always remind you of the good and the bad times you've had. There are plenty of pictures from yesterday, and even when the memories go fuzzy, we'll always have them to remind of the fabulous shindig that was BLOCK PARTY 2K13.


Enjoy these shots of my blossoming basil plant and my "Big-Boy" tomato plant until my next post!

The Best Date I've Ever Had

Thursday July 11th, 2013:

Daaaah duuuuh daaaaah duuuuh daa daa daa dee daaaah daaaaaaaah!!

[For those of you who aren't as cultured as I am, that was my personal rendition of Music of the Night from the Phantom of the Opera.]

Before I go into great detail about the past two days, I first should talk about the rehearsal that I just came back from. Whatever fool decided that having a summer pops orchestra rehearsal in a high school without any air conditioning needs to be vanquished immediately. The amount of sweat I dripped while playing tonight was atrocious. It also doesn't help that Long Island summers are a mess of humid, and tonight serves as a prime example of that fact.

More on my summer music gig. Theoretically, pops music should be laughably easy and require little to no effort and still sounding good (if not cheesy). Well if that is true then my conductor missed the memo. The overly ambitious young gentleman leading all of us programmed a few pieces that may be above the capabilities of certain members of this orchestra (namely me). Call me crazy, but B minor is slightly excessive for a SUMMER POPS ORCHESTRA (thanks Wagner for writing Ride of the Valkyries). The heat and humidity only makes things worse. My playing and my willingness to make new friends, among other things, substantially decrease with the increasing amount of bodily fluids I drip (this also goes for runny noses, but that's more relevant in the winter). As of tonight, I have officially committed to this organization, so it looks like I'm stuck in a sweaty and valkyrie filled hell for the next few weeks.

I'm sure that I will have plenty to say about my future rehearsals throughout the next month, so I'd like to take this opportunity to begin the saga I like to call NYC 2K13. Tuesday night, after a semi-rushed dinner, I bolted off to the train station and headed into the city to see some lovely BC friends. Starbucks in hand and book in lap, I enjoyed the not-so-short ride into New York City. Naturally, when I got to Penn Station it was raining, so my friends and I got a little wet. But rain never stopped anyone from having fun! It was so fantastic seeing them (even if someone's early bedtime got in the way...)! I especially loved the quality time that I got with someone's mother and sister (they are my absolute favs!)!

The real story starts on Wednesday. First and foremost, I got to leave work an hour and a half early, which was truly a gift from the gods. Again, it was off to the train station, however this ride found me carrying some Dunkin' along. Though hot, there was no rain, which was super lucky since a decent amount of time was spent waiting in line outside the theatre. My dear Marissa forced her poor sister and mother to accompany us to the Phantom theatre early so that she and I could snap some pictures together with all the signs and billboards. Then, we dropped her perfect family off at their show (the clearly inferior Newsies) and headed off to find some dinner because Steve is not pleasant when he is hungry. You'd think Times Square would offer some easily found, quick dinner. This is New York City afterall, and life is supposed to move much faster here. Well, that is undoubtably a lie. Having walked five or six blocks without finding any places that could satisfy my growing appetite, and with clock rapidly ticking away making both of us more than a little bit anxious, we settled on McDonalds.

Mickey D's in NYC is slow. People are slow. People are annoying. People are stupid. All I wanted were my nuggets and some fries so that I could hate myself later that night, and I just wanted that immediately. This is not an unreasonable request. So much time was wasted in line that by the time I had nuggets in hand, I had to wolf them down in a frenzied rush to the Majestic Theatre.

Upon reaching the Majestic Theatre, Marissa's and my "date" officially began. After a surprisingly long line, which thankfully moved rapidly, the theatre's threshold was breached by yours truly. And what a threshold it was. The theatre was beautiful and our seats were amazing (long story, ask me about it in person!). Here's the view I had last night!

That's right, my seats for Phantom of the Opera were in the orchestra. Be jealous. I was so close that I could have thrown the not-so-legally-brought-in Sour Patch Kids we had with us into the pit and hit the conductor square in the head. Speaking of candy, here's my program surrounded by our illegal candy!

I absolutely cannot progress any further in my story without telling you about how perfectly matched for one another Marissa and I are. She only likes the red and orange Sour Patch Kids (what a freak!) and I obviously love the green and yellow ones. The majority of Act II was spent grabbing a handful of SPKs and then scrutinizing them in the dim light to determine which ones should be eaten and which should be tossed into the hands of the other. How. Cute. 

I cannot say that Phantom is the best musical that I have ever seen. I am too strongly bound to Les Mis to utter those words. However if there ever was any musical to beat out Les Mis for the number one spot in my heart, it would be Phantom. The music is heart-wrenchingly gorgeous and the story is so tragically beautiful. 

If you've seen Phantom (like me), you'll appreciate this. 

If you don't understand, go see Phantom. 

All these things I have described made for the perfect night! Marissa and I are a definitely a match made in heaven and I see a joy-filled future ahead of us, except for one minor detail: she is team-Phantom and I am team-Raoul. Maybe I'm not enough of a bad boy, but I'll take me a handsome, young vicomte who sings to me any day. Even though that tiny problem presented itself, I think I'll see Marissa again. In fact, we've already begun planning our next Broadway date when we'll see Les Mis (on BROADWAY). I'm literally dying. Dead. Gone. 

Although I'd love to keep writing, I am completely wiped and desperately need my beauty sleep. I'd also like to show you some pictures of my garden from today, but I never got around to taking any....for that reason, I've decided to embrace #TBT and give you a couple shots from the early days of my garden. Tune in soon to see just how far my planties have gone! 

Memory Board! And a little NPH

Saturday July 6th, 2013:

Another day, another post. I'd like to start by dedicating this post to a certain someone who shall remain nameless for the remainder of this entry. Suffice it to say that he is a little RAY of sunshine in my life. This fellow has been harassing me for what seems like years to watch Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. After many, many months of snide remarks, I finally sat down a few days ago and watched it. There are very few things that I can say to do this splendid video justice. Youngish Neil Patrick Harris (*swoons*), great music, a fairly interesting plot. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to sing along. Go watch it right now!

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Now that that's out of the way, we can get to the meat and potatoes of this post: my newly constructed memory board. For a couple of years I have been collecting random photos, scraps, tickets, etc. that remind me of amazing times with friends and family. Since the inception of this idea, the memory items have been hanging on a cork board that was attached to my desk. Recently, my sister moved into New York City leaving me her much larger, and now empty, room. Not all of my stuff needed to be moved into the new room, the desk being one of the items left behind. With the desk was left the bulletin board (remember, they're attached). My new abode appeared incomplete without the ridiculous items I had saved to remind me of perfectly wonderful times. As of yesterday, normalcy has returned. Here's my so-called memory board (it's not finished, I know, but I am still collecting wonderful memories!).

Although I could tell a story about every post on that board, I'm only going to go through three: one high school post, one college post, and one current post. I hope this adequately gives an overview of the past three years of my life. Fair warning, I may get sappy in the next few paragraphs of text, but don't worry, my usual sarcastic self will return soon enough.

1. High School

Circa June, 2011. The last day of high school was a roller coaster of emotion. It was one of the happiest days of my life (seriously) and also one of the saddest. It is incredibly difficult for something that you have become accustomed to and are very comfortable with to end, especially when the future is both so gut-wrenching and invigorating (the prospects of college life seemed so limitless). After a bittersweet day in school, my friends and I decided to celebrate our newfound freedom, and also eat away our feelings, at Red Mango. Hilarity and general chaos ensued following a phone call from Mitchell, who informed us that he was not in our caravan and had indeed been left at school. Oops. Sometimes we're a bit forgetful. After some lovely frozen yogurt with all of the necessary toppings, we planned on meeting up at  the beach later that night for continued fun. And fun it was! As seen in the picture above, only six of us made it to the beach, but this was an instance in which quality definitely counted more than quantity. And these are some of the most quality people I know! Running around, watching the sunset, eating (of course), and general happiness made this one of my favorite memories from all of high school. 

2. Freshman Year

It's almost impossible to pick one memory to sum up the monster that was freshman year, but Tea Time in Hardey-Cush most definitely comes close. Tuesday night was the most important of night of the week because of its regular attendees: snacks, feels, great people, and obviously delicious tea. Run by the fabulous Gisella (words cannot describe how much I love that little Peruvian lady), every week was an astounding success! One never had any plans that might conflict with Tea Time, and one would always find that as 11:00 drew closer, his will to study/do homework steadily declined ("I can't start anything right now, I have tea time in half an hour" was a common phrase among us). You felt safe and relaxed at Tea Time. It fostered an environment that every freshman (no matter how strong and independent you may think you are) needs. Warm mug in hand, you could easily talk about your life and its problems without feeling judged or uncomfortable. Yes, even I felt that way despite Gisella constantly yelling at me to get more water. 

3. Summer 2K13

Roadtripping to see college friends, spending all day and night with high school friends, having everyone come visit me on Long Island. That's how these few months between semesters were supposed to go. My summer, however, can be summed up in one simple word: work. Eights hours a day, five days a week, every week. That previous sentence is only made worse when I remember that I work in a dental office, which (hopefully) will in no way impact my future career. Upon starting this summer job I was only interested in making bank, and working full time one should be able to do that. However, as the weeks have gone by, I've come to love work and the characters with whom I work. The star above was given to me by the wonderful Ronnie after I found a chart that no one had been able to find in weeks. I guess that's why they call me the file clerk. Hah. To see the other lovely drawings Ronnie has given me, check out my Instagram (yes, I am shamelessly trying to get new followers)! I so genuinely love chatting with my coworkers, from the dentists to assistants to the front desk staff. Everyone is so multifaceted and brings a special something to the table. Yesterday was a slow day; we only had one dentist, one hygienist, and one specialist because of the holiday. As calm and relaxing as the day was, I found myself missing the regular players in our game. Telling one assistant for the thousandth time that I don't (and never will) play candy crush; repeatedly asking one dentist to move out of the way so that I can file some charts; listening to one front desk worker tell me how she is allergic to pineapple, and then getting a pumpernickel pretzel from her (try them, they are delicious!). I've come to care for everyone in the office. Although my summer so far hasn't turned out like I originally anticipated, I think I'm happy with it. Here's to long summer nights, and longer summer work days! 

That's all for now. As always, here are the latest shots my plants. The first is my eggplant (the flower is supposed to be upside down) and the second is of the lovely daisies that I have been growing!

GO AMERICA...or something else patriotic....

Thursday July 4th, 2013:


Ahh here goes my second post; I genuinely never thought I would wait this long to post again, but whatever. Today is a beautiful for so many reasons. First of all, it is literally beautiful. Clear, blue skies and 84º of pure heaven make it seems as if we are living in one of Bob Ross's paintings (let it happen!). Aside from the aesthetic magnificence of the day, I am loving the fact that I do not have work until tomorrow! My ridiculous coworkers have been complaining about how having Thursday off is screwing with their heads and how they're excited that next year the fourth will fall on a Friday. I think they are all fools. I only had to work three days, then got a whole day off, then have one more day of work, then weekend! I honestly couldn't envision a more perfect week, or at least one in which I still make a lump sum of cash while not having to work very much. I suppose that if you possess a thriving and blossoming social life (I do not), you would prefer the three day weekend for shenanigans and what-have-you. Thankfully, I am just here with my family and plants, so I can relish in the glory of this wondrous week!

By far, the most momentous event of the day has to be that my lovely garden has yielded me ripe cherry tomatoes! They're so cute and tiny and perfect! I may not be a parent (thank god), but I assume that this is what having children feels like. Of course, most parents don't intend to eat their progeny in a salad later that evening, but those are just details......Everything is growing perfectly and I just can't wait for the rest of my plants to supply me with more delicious noms!

As of right now, I only have to wait another 5 days, 6 hours, and 32 minutes before I have the pleasure of being reunited with my southern belle, Marissa. For those of you who are unaware, Marissa is one of the few people with a social life as boring and uneventful as mine. For that reason, we have formed a symbiotic relationship in which each of us makes the other feel better about his or her monotonous life. I am basically overflowing with joy because in addition to seeing my favorite Texan, the two of us are going to see the Phantom of the Opera! I've never seen this show yet (what?!), but because I'm a normal human, I am familiar with the soundtrack. I don't know how I'll make it through to next week! [On a side note, whenever I say POTO in my head, I do it in the style of an old British lady (like how she says it in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZDcSrODALQ. I'm not sure why, but it just makes everything better.]

I think I'm going to stop writing because I wouldn't want to bore you, even though I always have more to say. Enjoy the latest snaps of my gaahhhden! I've included never-before-seen footage of my eggplant! SO EXCITING and a little droopy! Have a glorious and American Fourth of July!