Excuses, Excuses

There are many reasons why I love my job-- the kids are fabulous, the parents are great to work for, I get to spend my summers having water balloon fights... and have a really unbeatable excuse to buy fun treats like this:

It's two cupcakes dressed up like a Maltese! Remarkable, right? I can't wait to show the kids-- Clover especially will be as amused as I am!

One of the many reasons I love my job

Blythe: ...and we went camping, and ate tofu dogs and vegetarian marshmallows! It was great.
Neptune: Were you happy?
Blythe: I was very happy.
Neptune: But were you completely happy?
Blythe: You know, I think I was pretty nearly completely happy.
Neptune: But you couldn't have been completely happy.
Blythe: Why not?
Neptune: We weren't there.

Home Again, Home Again, Riggidy Jig

Summer is officially here! I have splashed in a river, eaten several popsicles, slept in, and applied sunscreen with a desperation normally associated with the terminally ill seeking a cure. It's pretty great.

I spent my first non-senior-week days of summer in Sacramento, with my friend Okapi. (I love having code names. They crack me up.) Her family lives in a fabulous area right by a large park, and we spent a couple of happy hours wandering around there, making flower crowns, frolicking in the river, and becoming acquainted with Grandfather Oak. Okapi's dog, Tio, joined us. He had a lovely time, but was a bit of a drama king whenever he got some stickers in his fur. He has such a cute face, though, that we forgave him.

Back at the homestead, there were chickens.I held a chicken! I scattered feed! I collected eggs in my skirt! Many childhood dreams (largely brought about by Little House on the Prairie) were fulfilled. In addition to chickens, there were films (I finally saw Casablanca), board games (Clue is not so challenging with only two people), unpacking Okapi's room, and an impressively large batch of flan, made my Okapi's mother. I'd never had flan before. What a treat!

All in all, my time in Sacramento was utterly joyous.





Thursday rolled around quickly, and soon I found myself in the car for a 13 1/2 hour drive north. I arrived in my driveway at 9pm, and have since settled in to being back in the PNW. The weather is cooler, the air is clearer, and I'm back in the same geographic area as my family and the kids' family. It's a pretty good deal.

On Friday, I went to see Clover's soccer game, and discuss the schedule for the rest of the school year with her mother. It was a lot of fun to see her play again, and man can she run! Fleur is on the same soccer team, and though she is not as much of a runner, she is a very good goalie. I also got to play with Neptune and Penguin, bouncing around a mini beach ball and just hanging out.

I start work tomorrow, and could not be looking forward to it more.

Senior Week: My Week in Pictures

Last final on Thursday, various adventures Thursday-Saturday, and then Senior Week started in earnest on Sunday. My friends and I met for brunch, and chatted about what we were going to do that day. Joanna was picking her boyfriend up from the airport, Leel had about 15 more pages of a paper to write by the following day, and Hammer had some studying to do. Jill and I were fairly aimless.

A couple of hours later, I sent a text to Jill:
"Want to go to Disneyland?"
About a half hour later, I got a response.
"Yes."

So off we went!

Once we got there, we took the traditional "excited and waiting for the tram" photograph.

Then we went on Space Mountain. As you can see, Jill was very brave. She was ready for adventure!
Everything is Mickey Mouse shaped. And delicious.
Notice the castle and the Matterhorn in the background.
Then we high-tailed it over to the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We thundered along the tracks, and squealed with great enthusiasm.
Then it was time for the Toy Story ride, which provided us with super 3D glasses. Cute, huh?

And that, more or less, was Disneyland. We went on many more rides, of course, but I leave you to your imagination for the rest of that.

MONDAY: Another SoCal adventure, but this one to the beach.
Don't we look wholesome?
We were all pretty excited to be there.
But then it got cloudy. And cold. That was NOT ok, but we managed to salvage the day, and still had fun hanging out together. And we did get some ocean-frolicking time in before we nearly froze to death.

TUESDAY:
Jill: Hey Blythe, want to go to Disneyland again?
Blythe: Yes.

And we did.
We went on the teacups...
...in part because the photographic opportunities were so great.
We made funny faces on Space Mountain: Here we are saying "GUILTY," like the judge on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
Also, we pretended to pout, like angsty teenagers. We're too cool for Disneyland!

WEDNEDAY-THURSDAY: Off we go, to go camping at Joshua Tree National Forest. If you haven't been, go. It's gorgeous-- and the trees make you feel like you live in a Dr. Seuss book.


See, Joanna and Antonio think it's great!
I kid you not, this girl was prepared for EVERY eventuality. That is why her code name on this blog will be Poppy (like Mary Poppins). We saw a group of other campers tossing around a frisbee, and I asked her, "So where is OUR frisbee?" and she pulled one out. Also, a tambourine.
One of the infamous Joshua trees. See what I mean about Dr. Seuss?
This particular piece of rock had lots of little shelves in it-- we called it our kitchen. Joanna and I spent a minute feeling domestic.

FRIDAY
The whole huge group of us outside of the Haunted Mansion. Great picture of some, terrible picture of others. Oh well. We definitely had fun-- for Jill and me, that was our THIRD Disneyland trip that week! We are experts.

SATURDAY: Graduation!
Joanna was very grown up.
So was Jill. Don't they look cute in their caps and gowns?
Four happy, educated college grads!
Just hanging out. Taking pictures. We photographed EVERYTHING on Saturday.
See what I mean? Just another picture of us!
Jill got quite the graduation gift from her padre. To quote her: "Dolla dolla bills, ya'll!" We were both pretty impressed. New computer, here she comes!
And finally, that night, we went to PF Chang's (my very favourite restaurant in the world) for dinner. Jill had a drink that matched her dress. I had a pear mojito, which was very, very tasty.


And that, my friends, has been what I've been up to for the past week. Makes sense why I haven't posted anything, eh?

Finals, Sunshine, Sprinklers and the Great, Upcoming Popsicle

Roughly 15 minutes ago I finished my research methods final. That class was the bane of my existence this semester, and now it is O-V-E-R! That is not the really big news, though. The really big news is that, because I finished this final...

SUMMER HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN!

It's true. I'm still at school, still have a few other fun commitments (going to see an improv show tonight, have a meeting on Saturday) but clearly nothing that is Hard Work. Nothing with Due Dates. Nope, now it's all fun and games and things I CHOOSE to do because I Want To. It's a very liberating feeling.

Until the 26th, my time is mine to decide what to do with, with very few requirements. Then, on the 26th, I dive headfirst back into The Very Best Job in the Whole Wide World. So even when my time is a bit more in demand, I still struggle to complain. It'll be playtime with Clover and Neptune once again!

And for now? Well. This afternoon a couple of my friends and I are going to the Victoria Gardens mall, and this evening I'm going to the Without a Box show. Tomorrow is an awards ceremony with the theatre kids, and on Saturday I'm taking my mentee to the Rainforest Cafe. Next week brings SeaWorld, Disneyland, and the beach. (Not to mention boxes and packing. But whatever. That's not the point.)

Anyway.

It's summer. And how did I celebrate, the very second I got out of my final? I dashed through the sprinklers on campus, fully clothed. I ran into a girl (Maddie?), who addressed me as "Girl," and was doing the exact thing I was, though she was pants-less and wearing a sombrero. Naturally.

Have I mentioned that I love college?

The Countdown Continues

Tomorrow I have an exam for Energy and the Environment, and on Thursday I have a Research Methods final. Then, well, that's it.

After that I throw myself entirely into non-academic pursuits: getting BLT/Druids all positioned to be fantastic next year, going to see various end of year performances, beginning the packing and storage process, and--not at all to be overlooked-- hanging out at the beach, going to Disneyland, possibly venturing to SeaWorld, and camping at Joshua Tree with tofu dogs in the week prior to graduation. It will be amazing.

However, in between 9:30 Monday morning and noon-ish on Thursday (not to mention the days that follow, which are still busy, though not academic) there is a lot to accomplish. How do I achieve this without going crazy?

Like this:And yes, that's money attached to Thursday-- I need $3 for the improv show, and this way I'm sure to be prepared.

Are you impressed?