The Rantings & Ravings of A Man With Special Needs

03 September 2005:

Life has been... busy! August was very good to me, and I have had very little time lately to post much of anything besides a few witty remarks that I happen to recall at the end of the day or the occasional Full Metal Panic! - The Second Raid review! I figured I'd just wait until I had it all together before compiling an After Action Report that would allow me to reflect on it all a bit.

I guess we'll begin with the Sexy Summer Hair. So Otis & I were lifeguarding one day... actually, come to think of it, I think that I was lifeguarding and he was just kinda hanging out and bugging me! Anyway, we're at the beach, and we get a hold of Jess's hair gel stuff that's supposed to give you blond highlights if you put it in your hair and wear it in the sun. It was supposed to give you, as the container put it, "Sexy Summer Hair." So Otis and I both decided, "We want Sexy Summer Hair!"

Later the next day, I went to Brooks on the way to dinner. But I couldn't find any of the gunk that Jess had out the day before. So I decided to screw it and go for broke. Instead of the hair gel, I picked up two bleaching kits - one for me and one for Otis. We talked it over at dinner and decided we'd do it the next day at my place.

And the rest is history! I was happy with the way it turned out and besides, it's the last time that I'll get to do anything funky with my hair before I have to keep it in regs permanently!

Lifeguarding this season was a wicked blast! I think this was probably the best staff we've ever had in my experience. We all got along great and had a lotta fun at work and off! I hadn't seen Gary since he went of St John's, but when we got back together this summer it was we were two halves of the same twisted mind! Anime, Family Guy, Kevin Smith, a strange liking to Digimon... it was really freakin' cool! Otis and I ended up becoming pals - Hell, we both bleached our hair together! Tina and I worked really well together in our managerial positions and I loved hanging out with her. Amanda and I had long talks about all kinds of deep stuff. Eric is just too much fun to be around! Not only that, but he plays a wicked drum solo. Jess is always good for when you need someone to laugh hysterically at your obscene jokes! Or if your digital camera breaks and you need someone else to capture those Kodak moments for you!

We didn't have any drownings this season. I only had to perform one rescue - and for the first time the parents were actually grateful to me! Uh, Kevin & Meredith almost let my mom drown - but we don't need to go into that. I also worked Park Maintenance with Gary & Eric. We planted all this new grass that got killed by this group of people that called and complained 'cuz "their spot" was roped off. I also did camp counseling at the Summer Program, like most of the other life guards. The weather was pretty good this summer, we hardly had any rain days at all. There were none of the major incidents that usually characterize each season, which was very cool. My official title was Facilities Manager, which was really a made-up title, but that's okay!

So, when we weren't working hard and goofing off at the beach, we had some fun times that didn't involve difficult patrons and irritating little children. Friday mornings at the Country Restaurant before work were always fun! Belgian Waffles and Three-Egg Omelettes rule all! As you can tell from the accompanying photograph, for some of us, going out for breakfast at seven o'clock in the morning could be just a tad bit exhausting! Tina's smorgasborg of empty Half & Half containers were the source of many creative endeavors - some pretty, some structurally unstable.

We went out to dinner at Illiano's one night! I think I was only one of two people who actually knew where the restaurant is! Tina & I had beers while everyone else had sodas or milks or something. Gary and I had lengthy conversations about various anime series and just stuff that made everyone else wonder just what the Hell we were talking about. Well, everyone except for Otis. "Are you guys talking about Digimon? I LOVE DIGIMON!!!" That night, I fell in love... with those little blue lights attached to the undercarrige of Gary's truck. So beautiful!

And then towards the end of the month we had a get-together at my place for pizza, popcorn, basketball, and Fight Club! Thanks to that night, my comforter smells like Boston Lager. Mmmmmm...

And then there was Eric's birthday party. After making an announcement from the beach and across the lake on the megaphone wishing him a happy birthday, I made my grand appearance. Apparently, Eric lives in one of those summer homes by the lake that was converted into a year-round home but the earth is so shallow that there isn't enough room for a viable septic system so it all runs off into the lake and everyone blames the geese for the high bacteria content of the water. Yeah, it's a REALLY nice place they've got there. I gave him a Happy Fun Ball and his dad gave me a beer that was chilled in this device called a Jet Freezer that was built into their refrigerator. What it does is frost your drinks in about five minutes - wicked cool!

So, when I wasn't hanging with my life guard crew I pretty much hung out with my family - going to various beaches and generally being a summer bum! My step mother's uncle is this really rich doctor who belongs to a very exclusive beach club in Narraganssett called the Dune's Club. Well, he lets us in every once in a while and let me tell you, this place is so money! "Sara! Come out of the pool, dear! It's time for your violin lessons!" Oh yeah, I fit right in... Nah! I never really ever talked to anyone there - not even the guy who cut me off at the ketchup pump. I just gave him an evil look. But I did get along well with the lifeguards. Some of them were in the Nat'l Guard so we had a lot of common ground upon which to build some lengthy conversations.

When I wasn't frequenting the private beaches of Rhode island, I was boating out to the public beaches of... well... Rhode Island. But this time with my family from Connecticut. And, occasionally, my family from New Hampshire! Watch Hill was always a good weekend getaway to just grab some waves, or some Del's Frozen Lemonade, or for walking through town barefoot with my blonde hair all mused up and looking like a scullywag!

I also found the time to get my bartending license this past August. It meant sacrificing the 100-mile wilderness trek with my step father and the Jolies. But there's only so many weeks in the summer and I needed to work this semester! I went to CT School of Bartending for two weeks and basically learned absolutely nothing, except perhaps an improved recipe for Sex on the Beach. Charlie, our instructor, was a character and so were the other students. I didn't really do anything with any of them 'cuz after a nine-hour day of work, three hours behind a bar, and two point five hours of transit time, I was pretty tired come ten o'clock.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, pretty much sums up the last chapter of my final summer vacation! It was awesome! Recently, I'm back in classes for Semester #10 of my Electrical Engineering Degree. I just finished my first week of class and everything is looking pretty good. All of my classes appear to be pretty easy and my labs all appear to be pretty fun! AFROTC has started up again with are extremely rearranged wing structure. I think there might be twice as many leadership positions now than there have been in the past, which means that Julie and I have both been roped into being Squadron Commanders again! She's in charge of training the freshmen, while I'm in commanding the Communication Squadron - basically, I'm in charge of everything information related: the website, photos, the computers, etc. I'm also starting my Senior Design Project - stay tuned for more details on that!

12 September:

You know those little ketchup packets that they distribute at fast food restaurants and burger stands? Well, I don't know if you knew this or not, but it turns out that you don't really have to tear them at the point where it's labeled "Open Here". Apparently, you can open them at any point on either of the spiky sides of the packet. This revelation has resulted in a significant reduction of stress in my daily life.