An Interesting Evening...

On Saturday evening, I had an unexpected visit from Crystal, my cousin who lives 12 miles north from here. She was visiting her former boyfriend who coincidently lives down the street from us here in Bellows Falls. Shane and I had plans to go to the movies to see "The Corpse Bride", and decided to extend an invitation to Crystal and Tristian.

So, we went to Claremont, which is about 35 miles away to see the movie (Claremont also has a Wal-mart!). Saw the movie, wasn't completely thrilled with it (weird ending, too much singing, etc). By this time, it was 10:30pm. Deciding not to take the long drive back quite yet, we went, where else, Walmart. After a half hour we decided we would head back to Tristian's apartment and hang out a little while. As we were standing in the checkout line, Shane and Tristian were acting really funny, twitching and their eyes were going all over, Crystal and I knew something had happened while we were looking at all the lovely rings in the jewelry dept. I kept asking what was wrong, and they weirdly said they'd tell us later. When we got into the parking lot, they starting talking to one another about a car that was parked near ours. It just so happened that they'd had a run-in with a few very drunk guys in the parking lot who then followed them around Walmart, and it seems they were threatening Shane and Tristian. I don't know, it was weird.

As soon as we arrived at Tristian's, he and Shane started talking about the cemetary across the street from his apartment and decided that at midnight, visiting a statue that reportedly has glowing eyes was a good idea. Crystal and I started the walk up there but quickly decided driving the car up there was a better idea. So we did. We got up to the statue (which was a headstone!), Shane and Tristian got out of the car and Crystal and I waited. Well, after seeing Shane make butterflies with his hands in the shadows, I started to roll down the window to ask if they wanted to head back. Unfortunately, because my car was broken into a year ago, it makes a funny noise when I roll down the window. Tristian, who was easily spooked, yelled "What was that?!" and took off running. Shane got in the car and we found Tristian waiting at the gate of the graveyard. So, we go back to Tristians and the boys decided at 1am, we should visit the most haunted graveyard in Vermont, the Saxton's River Cemetary (google it, it's there). There are reports of noises, green orbs of light, and if you turn on your car's high beams on a particular headstone, you see a face on there that isn't there in the daylight.

The girls are now in the backseat, as the boys are in the front and we drive slowly through the graveyard. Yeah, we saw the face on the headstone, and yeah, we saw weird green floating balls of light two feet above headstones. If it werent for the fact that we were driving through the graveyard, I might be able to attest to whatever noises there were. Anyhow, we were spooked and headed back to Tristian's apartment to talk a bit before heading to bed (at 4am).

Crystal and I have decided that when they decide to stay a night in the haunted Eagles (the band's old place) mansion, that we'll have a girls' night out.

Ciao.

Have You Lost Weight?

A couple days ago, I shed my many layers (a tank top, a tee-shirt and sweater paired with boxers and bulky athletic pants) in favor for jeans and a fitted tee-shirt. Shane looked at me in a very weird way and asked, "have you lost weight?"

My reaction? I was ecstatic. I am not overweight in any way, but not a toothpick either. I have an athletic figure with (as expected) my problem areas, so any compliment is more than welcome.

I'd been wearing sloppier clothes for a while, too tired from the move to unpack my luggage (that had remained in the suitcase since July 5th), so all he'd seen me in were clothes several times my real size. After realizing all of this, I've decided to go every other week in clothes meant for a blimp.

Ciao.

My Lil' Iraqi

Sona flew out to Parris Island, South Carolina today to begin bootcamp. I tried all weekend to get a hold of her, but she was probably busy. I'm saddened however, I wanted to speak to her a bit before she left. The last time I spoke with her, she was nervous, wondering if she'd make it through the three months and pass. She desperately wants me to see her graduate and I would love to, but plane tickets will be expensive.
I feel like a proud parent. Keep in mind, when she first arrived in the U.S., she spoke poor English and wrote even worse. I introduced her to non-assyrian food, including chocolate(!) and cheese. I took her camping for the first time, and I was her partner in crime throughout our high school years. We almost were suspended together, we had numerous interventions together, and we had fun times in her beat old car. I'm very excited for her! And Sona, if you can somehow check here: "lay yuntun, lay yuntun, lay yuntun ecka bahsun, lay yunton".

Ciao.

9/11

I was a new freshman in high school and the only thing on my mind was Homecoming, still two weeks away. I woke up that morning and turned on the radio as I got ready for school. The deejay announced an uncomfirmed brief that one of the twin towers had been blown up. I was extremely ignorant and thought nothing of some building. I assumed it happened in Colorado and cause no injury, just a mistake.
When I arrived at school, the first words out of everyone's mouth were, "Did you watch the news this morning?" I didn't understand what the commotion was about, and in all seven of my classes, the teachers started off the day asking students for whatever updates they had.
By the time lunch rolled around, I had pushed it out my mind, still not knowing any details of what had happened. My friend (at the time), Brittany, guided me over to a friend of hers, wanting me to gain some interest in him so I'd have a date for Homecoming. I should've recognized it as a bad sign, but I didn't and went to Homecoming with him weeks later(and ended up seeing him cheat on me).
After lunch, four classes gathered into the Library and watched on two televisions, FOXNews as video and picture were replayed over and over. I sat, stunned. I felt stupid for being as ignorant as I was, not knowing what the WTC were and for pushing aside the fact that thousands of people had been killed in the last few hours.
Numbed, I went home later and on every channel of the television(55, including the Spanish channel) was coverage. Channels that normally showcased chefs were showing clip after clip. Channels that covered weather, sports, or fashion only were now showing September 11th in New York, Pennsylvania and D.C. I still remember picking up the phone and calling my mom, only to break down as soon as I heard her crying.
I tried to find the number to my uncle William, then a congressman from Pennsylvania (William Coyne), and was lost when I couldn't.
My father came home from work (at Rocky Flats, the nuclear power plant) and told me how he was standing outside, in the parking lot when he saw a small commuter plane fly past above. He remembered being afraid, as all aircraft except military was forbidden to be in the sky. Seconds later, he saw an Air Force jet shoot right after it. He learned later that the former plane had been lost.
We watched news til midnight, hearing the security measures being taken at supposed "targets" including, NORAD, Rocky Flats, The US Air Force Base and several missle facilities.
After September 11th, I became so engrossed in American Affairs, policies, etc, that I shocked everyone close to me. I developed a love for politics that I have never known before. Today, four years later, it saddens me that it took a tragedy like this to turn me into the person I am today; more thoughtful, certainly less ignorant and more intelligent.
One of the pictures displayed is a powerful one for me. Seeing this woman, a woman, a woman I don't even know, crying so openly, sends me into tears. I couldn't very well understand her grief then, but I definitely do now. The top picture is a sign of hope.
But I don't want to focus the attention away from this day, and I don't want this post to turn into a debate. I just want everyone else's reflections from September 11th, 2001.
Thanks.

Ciao.

Our New/Old Apartment

Who likes moving in? Certainly not me. It just so happens we moved into a historic house, built in the early 1800's, and the walls are made of plaster. For those of you who have never had plaster walls, try to hang something and watch the wall spider crack. I want to try it just for fun.

We were relaxing in our still unfinished living room (including one child-sized bean bag chair and one chair in serious need of reuhpostering.) and Shane decided putting an ice cube down the back of my shirt was a good idea. Me, deciding that it'd be especially amusing if I did it back, put it down his shirt when he was unsuspecting. The result? A wrestle leading to my mom's $100 chinese screen falling over only to be punctured twice, and having my mom scold us (which is pretty funny seeing as we are both taller than her and she can't keep a straight face).

Just now! I was trying to find a gosh darn outlet for my THREE-pronged battery adapter (i got my notebook back today) and what do you know? This place is so old it only has TWO-pronged outlets! After briefly debating whether it would be worth it to rip off the bottom prong I unplugged some electronic across the room and stretched the cord. It was an aggravating two minutes.

Parts of the house are on a tilt. I walk in my room and notice it sliding to the left. Imagine trying to shower, slippery wet and sliding all around because it's on a tilt.

Our land lady's dog peed all over our mudroom. (So this has nothing to do with the structure of the home but it's still annoying).

The lock on our front door is so iffy that it requires a propped up chair under the knob when we're home.

There are two closests in our room. One is about four feet deep and wide, about 7 feet high. That's the normal one. The other one is at least 12 feet high, 1 foot in width and 10 feet deep. It's insane.

Plus, my cat randomly squatted and tried to leave a nasty surprise last night in our bedroom. He is getting to be a real old-timer.

All in all, it sounds like a loathe this place, but I don't. For one, I'm incredibly blessed to have a roof over my head, and in a town with amazing history. I'm paying very little rent, and I have a job I am in love with. I'm actually living with my mom, the first time since I was seven years old. Not to mention she cooks every night, and it's been amazing food (Italian!). And I get to be a part of my little sister Sarah's life, as does Shane, who she looks up to as a big brother. Great blessings.

Ciao.

Cheeseburgers in Paradise

Hello, hello lovelies.

I've been away for a bit, my dell notebook decided that it didn't want to charge it's battery anymore so it's been sent in. The customer representative said it had something to do with my mousepad sticking to the screen. What does one have to do with the other? Who knows.

We've spent the past five days moving in to our new apartment. We've relocated across the river, in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Nice place, fun times. Our apartment is rather large, three bedrooms, big living room, bigger kitchen, two porches (we're on the second floor) and a mudroom! We made a total of 14 round trips involving my car and my mom's boss's truck. It was interesting as we had no family to help us move out (not wanting to get inbetween my stepfather and my mom) so it was Shane, my mom and I. Thankfully, some neighbors down the street came down to help us out, that was a HUGE help. We're no longer on a highway which means we can actually go for walks now, so that's wonderful. Unfortunately, I managed to twist both of my already-junky ankles and two days later, they're still swollen. Wonderful. We've also learned that someone committed suicide in this apartment which is rather disturbing. But, the best part is that our bedrooms has painted green wood floors and bright purple walls. The previous tenants happened to be homosexual and our land-lady repeatedly tells them they can't be gay as their lack of matching, horrible taste and sloppiness are not typical of gay men. Either way, they are all nice people.

As far as work goes, I really love it. I am working less than I did at Tuesday Morning and making three times more. Shane is also working at the Primary School but we hardly see one another throughout the day. I get to help out the little kids, run errands, and learn so much about the way schools run. The people are WONDERFUL. I couldn't have asked for a better faculty to work with. I just found out that I will be leading a reading group for second grades in a week, and I'm very excited.

Last Sunday, Shane, Crystal and I tried a church near her home. The pastors and youth group had visited her and encouraged her to go. We did....
To be honest, I was completely disappointed. The pastor spent the entire time, screaming from his podium about the "little whores who tempt good men by wearing knee-length skirts". He proceeded to exclaim that southern gospel music (which praises God) was "hell music", as was any type of rock music. He called television the one-eyed monster and absolutely NOTHING good could come from viewing it. He screamed and ranted on and on, so much that we were all completely turned off. It made me uncomfortable because at one point he said women who wore fitted clothing knew what they wanted men to see (in a very derogatory way) and I was wearing a long-sleeved fitted sweater, while all the other women were wearing clothes three sizes too large. It was very sad, and made me feel horrible for people who see that as the typical Christian and turn away from anything involving God.

We've had some severe weather up here, from Katrina, so I can only imagine what the people are going through in the southern states. I think it's time for me to start praying hard.

I only hope that all of you who are so very dear to me are safe and happy.

Ciao.