A lot of things that I smell today are bringing back really old and weird memories. The air fresheners my housemate bought and strategically placed all around our house make it smell nice. Today, for the first time, I walked into my house and the smell instantly brought me back to my Aunt and Uncle's old house. I spent a lot of time there because my cousin, who is an only child, is exactly 1 year, 1 month, and 11 days older than me. Which means she's smack dab in the middle of Rob and I. We would spend hours and hours playing nintendo and making videos and drinking grape soda in the basement and accidentally spilling cans of it on the carpet but not telling our Aunt and mastering the art of carpet cleaner by the age of 6. They eventually found all of the stains when they ripped up the carpet to change it. And then, I was making eggo toaster waffles for myself and the smell brought me back to my parents' old log cabin we used to live in. Specifically, we used to have a Disney popcorn machine. You would put the kernals in and then when they popped you would hold a brown paper grocery bag, Usually A&P cause that's where mom worked and we shopped, and you let the popcorn fall into it. Then, you would add the melted butter. Followed by salt, lots of salt. And then mom folded the top part down so you could grab onto it. Our little hands holding on for dear life, shaking the popcorn bag with all of our might. You had to shake it up enough so that all of the popcorns got plenty of butter and salt coverage. That's what my waffles smelled like today. When you opened the freshly buttered and salted and shaken to shit popcorn bag, and stuck your face in it to smell its glory.
My cousins' college and high school graduation party was Saturday night. All of Sam's friends that I met on memorial day weekend were there. I was looking forward to seeing them again, partially because they're all crazy, and partially because they're all beautiful. The graduation party had my grandmother there, and my grandmother's fiance, and his entire family. That's how I know this family, and I spent enough time with them that I eventually became a part of it. If they ever get married, then I would actually be a member of the family. But I'm basically one now anyway. The party was on the bay beach, and we had a perfect view of the sunset. The bartender they hired was really clumsy. That's one of the worst traits for a bartender to have. Standing there for about twenty minutes, I watched her drop an entire bottle of wine on the ground and shatter it, drop a handle of vodka which (thank god) didn't shatter, and knock over a full water bottle onto the counter. It made me want to go to bartending school because, shit, I could do better than that. We played ping pong and drank until it was dark, and then it was time to clean up. If any of you have experienced this crazy family with me, you know full well that the party was brought back to their garage (which isn't really a garage, its more like a guest house) and the party continued. Becca kept asking when we were going to the bar, meanwhile, she is the youngest one there, not yet even 21. She got the ball rolling, and the next thing I knew I was being dragged into an Uber with becca, cam, and my brother. We didn't know if anybody was even following us, but we hoped they would catch on. sat at the outside bar, and becca bought drinks for her and I. After a few rounds, everybody from the garage started rolling up. I won't delve into the details of the night, but if I had to sum it up in a few words, I would say drinking, dancing, and kissing. Everybody was having fun. Cam flirted with a bouncer and then hopped the fence and ran off to get pizza. I dance with two people for a lot longer than I should have, and eventually, after far too many things happened that probably shouldn't have, my cousin took me by the arm and put me in a cab. The rest of the night was a blur from there, but the only thing that needs to be remembered is the Bolognese pasta. RIP Bolognese. the 20 of us got the extra food out from the party and went to town on it. Singing "Don't. Drop that Bo-lo-nese" to the beat of the song "don't drop that duhn duhn duhn". I really can't say much more, because what happens at club grieco, never happened.
Sunday was a perfect day. Sometimes I'm torn while I'm blogging to post as much detail as I can, which makes the posts super long, or just skim over major parts. But anyway, I woke up on the couch of the garage in different clothes than I remember wearing last. I got up and took a slow look around. People are scattered everywhere, strewn over couches and floors, like somebody yelled " stop!" and people dropped whatever they were doing and fell asleep. I mean, they were everywhere. My aunts laughed at me when they saw me. I must've looked as bad as I felt. I ate a bagel and went back to bed. I slept on the couch in the back room for hours. When I woke up, I felt slightly better. We eventually made it a beach day, like we always do. and we roasted like chickens in the sun, recapping the antics from the previous night. We surfed and played volleyball and kadima(paddle ball) and we slept and swam and had a day. The sun got low, and food was necessary. We left the beach, I was itching to shower. Everybody showered. I put on a sundress. I've been wearing more dresses lately. More dresses and less bras. #freethenipple. Dresses are easy because it's one piece of clothing. and I look presentable. It's all a facade. I put on a face a lot. But then I convince myself that I am that face. I act like the person that I think people think I am. Read it again if it doesn't make sense, because it will. I'm starting to wonder if that's actually who I am, or it's who I'm pretending to be. I believe in a thing called Underface. Depicted here:
We went to the boardwalk in my town for dinner at a bar. I used to hook up with the guy who was our waiter, small, painful world. Cam was wearing just a tank top, and oversized tank top. as a shirt, or a dress. I'm not sure. But I've never met a person like Campbell before in my life. She has three last names. Her first name, middle name, and last name are all last names. Unbelievable. Will and Becca split two Megaritas at dinner. Which is a 49oz margarita. $25 each. it was absurd. The Lobster Mac and Cheese was god awful, and then it started thunderstorming. Some of us went to the arcade afterwards and we played at the candy wheel for a while. We didn't win, but the girl who was working the stand was flawless. She had one nose piercing and a tattoo of a cool pattern on her left thigh and her name was morgan and I liked how she talked. She wasn't afraid to be funny.
Monday morning I went back to school, and picked up the midterms I needed to grade. This is why I get paid, right? Went to Alec's house to grade because mine is lonely. Watching three best guy friends try and coexist in a house together and do tasks such as grocery shop and put away groceries and cook dinner is a treat. Boys are dummer than fish, but I love these boys. They are one of my main sources of entertainment. I believe, in the words of John Green, that friendship is the business of mutual amusement. So I hope for their sake that I do enough stupid shit to amuse them. I think I do. We watched X-files with no lights on, and it was horrifying. I fell asleep on the couch and went home at 6am. Could I have slept in Alec's bed with him? yes. Should I have? probably not. Crossing lines with friends are things you can't un-cross. So I played it safe with couch, for now. Made it to the 10am class that I graded exams for. Got to hand them back and feel like teacher. I ran into this boy about three times today, and we texted a bunch last night. We were originally talking about the class I am grading. Then we just kept going. It was nice, it was friendly. I don't think it means anything. Not everything that happens is supposed to "mean something". So for now I will ride the wave.
I got to proctor my first ever exam today. I picked up the exams this morning, and when the students got there I waited right up until 2pm to hand them out, that's when it started. I sat around for the full hour and a half watching them take the test, being in their shoes so many times before. Sitting in a room watching people do something you've done more times than you can count is creepy. But I like being on this side way more than that side. Just watching, and grading. and answering questions. I like helping people understand things.
I found the song I am going to dance to at my wedding. Listen to it and picture a warm, June evening, when the sun is real low and you're on the dance floor outside with the love of your life, dancing and smiling and kissing and so in love. That's what I picture when I hear this song, and if I ever fall in love again and then get married, I am playing this song at my wedding for the first dance. It's the happiest song I have ever heard.





