Wednesday

I have the day off work today!! My supervisor was going out of town so she figured it would be pretty pointless to have me come in. While this will make me somewhat poorer in the long run, it’s worth it. Since coming home I have been pretty tired, and it has been really nice to be able to sit around and relax today, especially after finally finishing inventory at 5:15 yesterday. The freezer is not a fun place to have to count how much of everything there is, let me tell you.

Yesterday was mine and D’s anniversary. I can’t believe we’ve been together one year … it’s funny, because when we started dating last summer it was just supposed to be a casual summer thing. We had been good friends for almost 2 years, though never in a flirtatious way (surprising, knowing me), but when we started hanging out more frequently last summer something changed. And it’s good that we both started feeling differently about each other at the same time, or things could have gone quickly from fun to very awkward. For the couple weeks where we liked each other but were both too scared to say anything, we watched a lot of scary movies (hehe, convenient for “accidentally” sitting too close …), so last night we went to see “Strangers” in theaters after having dinner out.

It was a really scary movie … we were aiming for silly-scary, but it had us on the edge of our seats throughout. Good thing we don’t have to be subtle about being close to each other anymore …

I made him promise not to get me anything … he didn’t, which I am fine with (there are too many damn holidays throughout the year, do we need to add more occasions for presents? Does this make me unsentimental? Haha.), but he did write me a really sweet note. I had gotten him a card right beforehand, which I didn’t even give to him because it really paled in comparison to the note. I had just scrawled a few lines on it … with his birthday and now this, I think I am really failing in the girlfriend gift-giving and card-writing departments. I know I shouldn’t make excuses, but it’s hard when you have to celebrate 5ish holidays a year, and I think we both know how much we value our relationship without presents and all that. But it is nice to hear it (or in this case, see it written) every once in awhile. Now I’m thinking about writing him a note, too, or would that just be copying what he did … I kind of feel like we are back in jr. high with all of this note-writing jazz, but I did appreciate it .

Today I read the new Glamour outside while attempting to work on my “tan” – only for awhile though because the sun was pounding down. And I want to avoid skin cancer.

I had lunch with D. and a brief scare that a sketchy-looking lawnmower guy across the street was going to try to break into the house. It’s ok now, though.

This summer I just miss friends. After reading “Chasing Harry Winston” (about 4 girlfriends) and watching the SATC movie (about 4 girlfriends), I really wish there were people who I had that bond with. I have high school friends in this town, but they are mostly either gone for the summer or not very close to me. My relationship with my high school friends (other than D.) is that which has long-since been outgrown. It is always nice to have people there who know your history and personality, of course, but they know me as I was in high school, and sometimes I feel that I have changed and grown more than them. Or maybe just differently. I think we all put each other into these little boxes of who we used to be or what role we play in the group, but it doesn’t necessarily apply anymore, and it’s grown stale.

Regardless of my relationship with my group of high school friends, most of them are not in town this summer anyway. And I am at a loss as to how to make more friends over the summer. Through work, I have the intern B., but she seems to already have a solid group of friends in town whose activities center around drinking, and I don’t like her much anyway. During work I mostly run across the 60+ set, with the exception of the grounds crew and some of the people in the pro shop. So I could try to talk to them more? But at work I am mostly working, not socializing, and that’s how it’s supposed to be I think … then I have tennis class, but they are mostly grad students in their mid-20s, it seems. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I don’t know how much interest they would have in hanging out with someone who can’t even go to the bars yet. Plus they just don’t look like that much fun, to be judgmental. Maybe I will meet more people if I volunteer? I don’t know what other things to get involved in to put me in communication with people my age ….

I miss my college friends, too, but even within those I can’t say there is a close-knit group of girls that count each other as best friends. And that’s what I want, but I don’t know how to get it. Advice?

I have tennis class tonight, even though my arm is still sore from last time. Hopefully it’s not super-warm out ….

Em

Monday (night)

I. Am. Exhausted.

After 2 weeks of constant family and site-seeing time, then a 9 hour plane ride, a 2 hour car ride, and staying up until one (yesterday), then 7 hours of work, 1.5 hours of tennis, an hour or so of phone calls to friends, and the SATC movie, I am officially ready for a vacation.

Which is funny because I just got home from a vacation …. but I mean a vacation with zero family and much beach, reading, and drinking. Mmm.

I know I sound ungrateful for the trip, but I’m not. I enjoyed seeing all the sites and exploring new places. (We’ll get to what I didn’t like later. Like exorbitant prices and being charged to pee.) It was definitely a vacation from work and the everyday routine, for sure, but not really a relaxing time overall. Which is important in my definition of a bona fide “vacation”.

+ I just saw the SATC movie, wheee! And I am supposed to be sleeping off all my tiredness right now instead of being awake, but I just needed to sit out here in the rain. And write. And maybe just feel a little like Carrie Bradshaw by using a Mac …. hehe.

The movie was good but expected. I won’t ruin it in case you haven’t seen it. It definitely doesn’t feel like 2.5 hours, at all. It flies by and is really entertaining, and contains everything that made the series so fun. I just wish she hadn’t ended up with Big. Really? Honestly, I feel like Carrie is an enabler by allowing him to treat her like that for so many years. I have friends like this, and honey, while you think right now that everything will be great forever, as your experience should tell you, this isn’t likely. *Breathes*. Ok, I am going to try to stop overanalyzing now and just take the movie for what it is. I really wish I could have Carrie’s job … and money … and closet …. and apartment … and friends ….

+ Today was my first day back at work. I got my first paycheck, yay!! Even though I am making more per hour than last summer, I still wonder sometimes what those people who work in the bar and make tips get. Is it greedy that I hope it’s less than me? Because they get tips and I don’t …

We started inventory on all the booze today. I still don’t like the other intern very much – she’s fake (I’m like a fakeness bloodhound, honestly – I can always sense it way before anyone else) and a know-it-all. But sometimes she acts just nice enough that I might fall for the act, too, only to be snapped back when she gets wound up about something super-stupid. Is the world going to fall apart if the little buffet line is not in (your idea of) the perfect order? Just because you worked in Florida for a semester doesn’t make you the be-all and end-all of the kitchen.

Not that I am a force in the kitchen. Whenever I help out, my supervisor never fails to ask me who does the cooking in my house. To which I respond, “My mom.” How does someone who hates cooking so much get sucked into food-service jobs so often? I don’t get it …. this was supposed to be a marketing and sales opportunity, mostly. I should talk to my supervisor, I know, but she is just so busy and I like her a lot. And I am a chicken who doesn’t care enough to do it. I would rather be somewhat unhappy for the whole summer than face one awkward conversation. Story of my life.

+ D.’s and my one year anniversary is tomorrow. We are not at all the sort of people who are big on these sorts of things – like how we never celebrated a month anniversary, even our 6 month, haha – but a year is kind of a big deal. It’s longer than either of us has been in a relationship before, and we have been through a lot. Him starting college, me going to Philadelphia, me saying really stupid things while drunk-dialing him, my jealousy issues … to name a few ….

But in all seriousness, it is a big deal. I will maybe write something more reflective later? He promised me he didn’t get me anything, though, which is good because I didn’t get him anything. Well, I guess I could give him the t-shirt I got him from the French Open, but I don’t think that’s a very good anniversary present. He’s a good liar though, so he could just be saying that. I really hope he didn’t because then I will feel guilty. I’d feel ok about a nice dinner out or something, though.

+ It’s raining tonight! Have I mentioned how much I like the rain? It always makes me feel so insignificant, even more so than usual. Just to look up and absorb how vast the sky is and how tiny humans are in comparison.

+ I started tennis today. It was actually pretty fun. I’m glad I got the first class over with so now I won’t be so nervous about going. I didn’t meet many people, but it was only my first one, so I’ll give it time.

Ok, well I have another long day of (freezer) inventory ahead of me tomorrow. And then some unknown date-like activity. Laters!

Em

Monday

It was fun but wayyy too much family time … we saw all of the major sites in Paris and then spent a few days in Munich and a couple in another town in Germany.  We visited some family friends in Germany, too, which was nice.

I got back around 8 yesterday and immediately hung out with D. until 1 … that’s one way to cure jet-lag …

Hopefully tonight I will see the Sex & the City Movie … I can’t wait … there were advertisements all over Paris and I got soo excited, haha.

I took about a billion pictures on my trip (ok, more like 500ish, but still), so maybe I will post some of those later.  I will talk more about the trip in a bit, but I have work in less than an hour and then I have my first tennis class tonight.  I am inspired to play tennis after watching a few days of the French Open … I can’t believe Nadal won AGAIN … poor Federer.  I got to see both of them play (not each other, though) which was super-cool.

… But seriously, I have to go get ready for work!

Em