Wow. Time Flies.

Holy crap. I logged on today, thinking I'd do a new post and that it had only been about a week and a half since my last one. And it's been almost two months. Well there is a lot of new stuff in my life. Sophomore year is fine, I guess. No fun classes, but no really hard ones either. It's almost the end of the marking period. I think that's a good thing... Anyway. I have now crowned myself one of the queen Onekama Superfans! GO ME! We got shirt and everything. It's totally legit. Movie night have been a rarity, but we are having one THIS WEEKEND! At mi casa! To watch ROCKY HORROR! [insert millions of exclamation points here] And tonight there is a volleyball game against Brethren, and I am hoping it will be superfun for the superfans! And Beauty and the Beast has started, and I am a Silly Girl, and I hopefully will be posting more often. Which I know all y'all are psyched about. Even though nobody reads this anyway. Oh well. Venting is good, as I was told by a good friend. Even if you're only venting to yourself. Not that I'm venting. Okay, I can shut up now. Later, gators!

iPod!

So, has anyone else noticed the beautiful new iPods on the market? I fell in love. And now I am cleaning my room so that I can take my heard-earned work dollars and buy a brand-spanking-new iPod Touch. YAY!

cleaning frenzy!

So my sister has taken it upon herself to clean the entire house before 4 o'clock this afternoon. She was up until 1:30am yesterday dancing with the vacuum cleaner; I had to take refuge in my room and frantically stick stickers on my school binders (which are now totally rad by the way). And now she is cleaning the kitchen. This friend of hers must be extremely judgmental or something... Thank heavens my friends aren't! (I hope...) OH! I almost forgot. The other night, I went to my friend Travis's house and watched a crazy scary movie. Okay, so it wasn't really that scary, it was just a jumpy movie. But I was very glad that boys are, for the most part, stable creatures. I still went home and had paralyzing nightmares. But it was fun. Again?

the parties I get dragged along to...

...can sometimes be kind of fun... I learned how to dance tonight, and also watched a guy hang from a hammock like a trapeze artist and start doing crunches. Yeah, we got that on video... Also, I used a composting toilet for the first time tonight (I would not recommend it; it was digusting). On the bright side, I am now wearing my new homecoming dress, that I bought today when I went shopping with my friends, and it was probably not the most sensible purchase I have ever made, but this dress seriously makes me feel like a b-e-a-utiful fairy princess and I lover it. YAY! So I guess you'll all have to wait until October 16 to see me in it... because that is the date of the HOMECOMING DANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bahaha. It really does not merit that many exclamation points. Oh well. It was fun to type. :DD

shrimp scampi on linguini

Om nom nom. I made dinner tonight, fue muy deliciosa. That's really all I have to say on the matter. I also spent the entire day sleeping, and digging a hole for a fire ring. Vati's birthday tomorrow night, be there or be square. And now I am, for shizzle, done talking. Adios, amigos.

Early night tonight.

I really don't have anything to say, but I needed to make a post to see what this code was for. And I just feel like going to bed. So I shall. Is that a problem?

People. Ugh.

So today at work, these people come in two and a half hours before check-in, and here is our conversation. Annoying Old Man: "Oh, is our room ready yet?"
Innocent Front Desk Worker (aka me): "Um, no... check-in's not till 5..."
AOM: "Well, she is one tired old lady and she needs to lay down. Do you know how far away the parking lot is from the lobby?!"
IFDW: "I'm really sorry." *tries to call every room that was on the housekeepers' list to see if I can reach them* "I'm unable to reach my housekeepers at this time. Let me run up the billion and one steps to go see if your room might have been at the top of their list today."
AOM: "Please hurry. All I want to do is get up to my room, and this is a little disconcerting, considering the rates on your hotel rooms were outrageous. I expect the employees to know more."
IFDW: "I'm sorry for the inconveniences."
AOM: [abridged to make it PG] "Just go check the darn room! I don't want to hear your crap anymore!"

So I go and try to check the room and the master key doesn't work. I come back to the front desk, grab the other key, and turn to find five hundred people waiting for various items, such as bags of ice (a pain in the arse to get), postage stamps (also a pain), and receipts for their purchases of tacky-looking sweatshirts. So I help all of them, and the AOM comes up and asks about the status of his room. I tell him what happened, aka the whole saga about the master key not working. And I go back and check again. Guess what?! The key works, but someone appears to have pushed a table in front of the door. What the helm!?

I return to the front desk, where my desk buddy has returned from her mysterious journey into the Valley of the Unknown. I tell her what happened, and she gets frustrated and grabs the keys out of my hand (leaving me with a big scratch, may I add) and stomps off. And she comes back and glares at me and tells them that their room is perfect. Great. Maybe this hotel really is haunted, cause I could swear there was something in front of that door. I slammed my back into it and such, and thought someone was going to come arrest me for trying to break in... Anyway. That was my exciting day at work. YAY!... not. kbye.

friends :)

So I spent the entire weekend at Mariah's. And in the lake. And having bonfires. I never realized how fun it is to meet people!! I really, really like it. A lot. Plus I like my old friends. :D 'Cause they're totally boss. So, I pretty much just posted this in case anyone I know ever reads it. And because I probably still smell like campfire! Yay? :) So I hope we can party it up this week, before everyone leaves. That's the only problem with meeting summer vacationers: they only stay for, like, a week. Ah well, I shall make the most if it. Tomorrow night? Sounds good to me.

Let the Hunger Games begin!

Oh. My. Gosh. Last book in the trilogy (unless she pulls a Scott Westerfeld and redefines the word "trilogy", which I hope she does). I have gotten the code for a countdown clock. YAY!

I got a job!

So now I am working the front desk at the local inn. I still don't foresee myself on the Blue Lake International Exchange Choir Tour 2011, but... it'll be nice to have some pocket money. And I get to work with all my friends. YAY! So that is my exciting story for today. Hope you all enjoyed.

P.S. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I haven't really had anything too interesting to write about.

lucky

I never really realized until today how lucky I am to live right by Lake Michigan. 'Cause back in May, a friend who had just gotten back from Hawaii was telling me this story about how that flight attendant had been raving about the sunset over the ocean and how pretty it was when there wasn't anything in the way. No trees, no grass, just cool, clean water. And he replied, "Why is it so cool? It's the same as it is over Lake Michigan..." Then he realized that not everyone gets to live on a lake this pretty. So, that was kind of an anticlimactic story. But that's not the point. The point is, I think people are taking it for granted. How about we don't bottle all the water in the lake and sell it to people from Arizona? How about we just enjoy it? They can move here if they want the water so bad. That's my topic of the day... I think that I can stop saying rant or rave, because I should hope that it's not that hard to tell. And you all are pretty smart. I think.

MLIA

So I am really sorry I haven't posted anything in a long time. Not that I have any faithful readers anyway... :) BUT I have been at camp. And that is my excuse. And it actually is pretty good, considering there is no Internet (let alone permitted laptop usage) at Blue Lake. But I am not going to apologize again.

Anyway, I really didn't know what to write about, but I felt like I should at least write something. I have been surfing MLIA and have found some really good ones lately. So I will post them on here. Because I have no talent of my own for writing. Here you go. Enjoy!

"Today I made peanut butter cookies with a recipe that said it would make 36 cookies. I made 37. MLIA."

"Today, I thought it would be fun to wear my Hydrogen shirt to science class. Much to my surprise, the science teacher was wearing the same thing. We bonded. MLIA."

"Today, in Science class my teacher asked us what we thought of when we heard the word "evolution". I thought of Pokemon, but I didn't say anything. MLIA."

"Today, I renamed my iPod "This ship" just for the pleasure of seeing the phrase "This ship is syncing"... MLIA."

"Today I ate a Tootsie Pop. It took 473 licks to get to the Tootsie Roll center. You're welcome, world. MLIA."

"Today, I was proposed to through MLIA. I said yes. MLIA."

"Today, my boss passed me in the hall at work and asked me "Do you have a sec?". I was trying to be flippant and replied "I have tons of secs". We both pretended I didn't say that. MLIA."

"Today, I filled a Windex bottle with blue Gatorade. I then sprayed it into my mouth in front of my mother. She began to panic and scream and get hysterical. I thought it was funny. She didn't. MLIA."

"Today, I was in a store pretending to be a mannequin. I saw a little girl running around as her mom tried to leave, yelling, "I haven't said goodbye to everyone!" She proceeded to run down the line of mannequins, hugging them all. When she got to me, I hugged her back. I've never heard anyone scream so hard. MLIA."

Well, that was fun. Rave, maybe?

Blue Lake I

So. I leave for Blue Lake in eight days. For the sixth time. Because I am addicted. I don't know what draws me there, like a moth to a flame, but the pull is apparent. Is it the egg water, or the dust that invades every item of your clothing? Is it the ridiculous uniform rules, or the cold showers? I'll check it out, and let you know when I get back. In the meantime, though, you should write me a letter. My address (at camp) is below. And this is a rave. I think.

Emily Barnard

c/o Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp

Central Camp - Novella - Lawrence

300 E. Crystal Lake Rd.

Twin Lake, MI 49457

"relationships"

Okay, so I have recently been bombarded with many sixth graders (and younger!) changing their Facebook relationship statuses to "in a relationship". Okay, so that's not even a relationship. In sixth grade, "will you go out with me" translates to "let's eat lunch together every day and maybe I'll kiss you on the cheek at recess and it will be totally scandalous and then afterwards we can see if my mom will drive us to the movies this weekend, which totally counts as 'going out', of course." Nope. No way. And I mean, why do all these little kids want to grow up so fast? I mean, honestly? Nobody takes stuff like that seriously. Maybe there should be a new Facebook relationship status, designed especially for those kids, called, "in what I think is a relationship but nobody over the age of 13 considers it to be legit." I'd go for that! Rant.

Bonnaroooo!

No, I didn't actually go, sadly. I wish I could have. But. I watched the majority of it on YouTube, and plan on watching the Dave Matthews Band in about... a half an hour... So, The National was amazing, the Avett Brothers were amazing, and Regina Spektor was especially amazing with knobs on. I guess I was a little glad that I was not actually in Manchester, considering it was swelteringly hot. I probably would have been miserable, considering the fact that us Michiganders are hardwired for those subzero days... So I got to watch from the relatively sane temperature of my basement. With haters saying how much she sucked, and perverts saying how they wanted to screw her to one of her songs... Not as exciting. But still, thank you, YouTube, for the live stream!! Plus, it got me pumped for Wheatland in the fall! Rave.

Frisbee.

So whoever invented the Frisbee, my heart and soul goes out to you. Because, you just made our night. And whoever invented the lake... well, let's just say Frisbee + Lake Michigan = utter brilliance. :D We stayed out in the lake throwing this plastic disc at each other until we thought we heard thunder, but it was actually an airplane or a person banging on the walls of a Port-A-Potty. So. Next bonfire. We are definitely bringing this magical toy. Because it is amazing. And helps you forget about getting rained on. Oh, and also, the princess's crown turned out brilliantly as well... although it was a recycled First Night hat made out of a paper grocery bag with loads of crap glued on... But anyway, it was totally recognizable as a crown. I think. So, all in all, a repeatable success, although we could probably do without getting locked out of a truck and trying to break in with a marshmallow roaster. Wait, who am I kidding? That was one of the highlights! Does that make us pathetic? Wait, don't answer that. Rave.

Thank goodness!

So there will be no need for fist-shaking. Hopefully. Our plans are, at the moment, working out. I'm praying it will stay that way, since I am really excited for tonight and really, really, really, want it to work out. Plus, we have crowns to make! I'll bring the supplies, you all bring your creativity and crown-making skills. See you at 7! Rave.

problematic weather and scheduling issues.

How come weather always has to get in the way? And, if weather doesn't, certain people that are necessary for the function of the event either have to be late or miss it altogether. Because of their stupid busy schedules. AARGH! I would say it's karma, but I don't think I ever did anything to deserve this agony! And now I am laughing. Ha. Ha. Ha. Wow. Well, this weather better work out or I am going to be extremely upset and shake my fist at the sky. Rant.

Bonfires!!!

So. The bonfire last night was ah-mazing. I (hopefully we) had a blast! I love trying to start a fire with hairspray, a lighter, and beach grass; creeping on someone's house to get newspaper and leaving with a fire-starter stick; driving to the end of the road to get cell reception and finding out that the phone has died; walking everywhere barefoot; and showing up for the party completely unprepared. Repeat on Thursday to give the princess a proper sendoff! (I swear, I really am going to make her a crown if it's not illegal according to the uniform code...) Rave.

dancing in the rain.

Oh, I just love rain. I actually like pretty much all weather, except for super hot, humid days, and the evils of snow, but rain might be one of my favorite kinds. Has anyone else noticed that rain just makes everything smell good? I went to a party last night that was supposed to be a bonfire, but it got rained out so we watched Transformers 2 instead, and then afterwards we talked about weird things such as how to commit suicide in an insane asylum. And then danced in the downpour. It was brilliant. Need I say more? Rave.

Reality? Yeah, okay.

So, here is my official first post on reality television. Why on earth is it called "reality"? I'm about 99.9% sure that all the breakups and makeups were written into a script by a sick old man who likes to see teenage girls gouging each other's eyes out with their clawlike acrylic fingernails. I mean, I can see why people want to be on American Idol and stuff, because there is a slim chance that you could get signed, but it realy seems like there's more chance to get hurt than helped. And you would have to walk around afterwards and be asked on the streets, "Oh, you're that girl from America's Next Top Model, right? Cycle 15. But you didn't win." It really seems like that crap would teach people that reality tv is just stupid. And shows like Survivor? "Yeah, I don't want him to win because he talks with a lisp and that's annoying." Okay, let's all be totally prejudiced and narrow-minded. And let's teach our kids to be exactly the same way! Rant.

Swings!

I love them. It seriously feels like you're flying. I spent at least three hours on them, of the last twenty-four... I want a swingset in my backyard. Really bad. And swings on the beach? A thousand times better. Especially at sunset... with the sand between your toes... ahhhh, a small slice of heaven. So I foresee a lot of time at me park this summer, maybe... I also think that I just realized that I am better at writing rants than raves. Does that make me an angry person? Hmmm, I might go ponder that for a while. Rave.

Some people...

...are really starting to get on my nerves. Especially when they see you as their single tangible link to the guy they apparently "love," just because he looks like a famous popstar, or rather, franchise. "Punch me, [insert friend's name here]," she says every day in the hallway as I pass by. "Punch me now." And just as I get close, "Oh, Emily, see how I'm so abused all the time?" Yeah, okay. Oh, and drawing me weird pictures when you have free time? Not really going to do you that much good, hate to break it to you. No, I won't sign your summer shirt. Oh, you caught me when I wasn't doing anything... Crap in a drawer. *scribble scribble* "I don't think this pen works..." Thank the Lord that school is finally out and next year, maybe she'll be over the Jonas brothers and me. Rant.

conceited?

"I am going to ask you what you think on this matter, and then I am going to tell you what to think about this matter." I mean, seriously? Should a teacher be saying this? Especially when they are current events teachers? "You should hate the new health care bill. It's going to screw up your life." I think not. And, I have heard from quite a few eyewitnesses that he checks himself out in the glass trophy cases on the way to gym class. Hmmm... whatever happened to looking like a pig in gym class? I mean, even if you are the teacher, that doesn't mean you have to smooth your mullet back with a load of spit that you just coughed up into your hand, between every goal in hockey... And while I'm on the topic of gym class, I'd just like to point out how ridiculous it is to slide on base in the gym, just so that you're safe. Really, guys? Really? Gosh, I guess this was just my first rant! Well, I feel very accomplished now. You should all be proud of me. Rant.

summer is finally here!

Summer. Mmmm... I love that word. The summer leaves so many ends to tie up, just in time for school to start so they can all unravel again... A perfect opportunity to start a blog, right? The beach was lovely today, a fabulous kickoff to either the best or worst summer of my life. I guess we'll just have to wait and see, won't we? Rave.