We had a bridal shower to go to Sunday. Now, here's my thing with bridal showers: no one likes the games, for one, & on top of that I don't see the point in inviting extended family to these things that you never see. Thus, Meri & I decided that no bridal showers will be had for either of us when the time comes, though Regina sounds like she would want us to. I've also decided I'll have none of this extended family I don't even know nonsense. If I have a big wedding, it's going to be packed with friends & family I actually do see.

It was still a good time, though, & the bride was grateful & I actually knew who she was. Meri & I spent most of the time talking, of course, about what's been going on lately & her & AJ. She had a gift for me, too - a shirt she found in Gabe's on clearance for $3.50.

Other than that, Sunday was a lazy day. We did a little more shopping, but that was about it.

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10 songs that sum up your weekend...or were on your weekend playlist...and one picture that relates back. (oh, and if you feel like it, tell us why you picked the songs you did)

1. "Tuesday's Gone" by Lynyryd Skynyrd from Dazed & Confused because I listened to & consequently had to burn people several copies of the soundtrack.
2. "Drama" by Erasure because of secrets & things I have yet to be told.
3. "Make Me Smile (Come Up & See Me)" by Steve Harley because I wanted to spend time with my friends.
4. "Material Girl" by Madonna, just for my $55 Nina Ricci perfume.
5. "Did You Get My Message" by Jason Mraz again, because Meri & I found ourselves at a bridal shower with no reception. I thought she was going to die.
6. "When I'm Dead & Gone" by Def Leppard, because Meri was asking about quotes from the underwear party & I remembered a gem she said about hoping I don't die before her.
7. "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King because I found this little Lion King box in Lenox that I loved. I regret not buying it.
8. "If You C Jordan" by Something Corporate, because Terra knows a guy named Jordan who apparently called her & Gemma both cunts. Too bad he's one, not them.
9. "Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!" by Harry & the Potters. But Warner Brothers can stop, or at least postpone, the release of Half-Blood Prince.
10. "Wizard Chess" by Harry & the Potters, because Nemacolin has this large, plastic chess set out. We encountered it last weekend & took pictures, & I hit it again Saturday & recreated the Breaking Dawn cover.

The chess set!

Brandon's been wanting to go mini-golfing all summer, so the family headed up to Nemacolin to do it, since they only have the nicest mini-golf course in the area. And my dad let Brandon, who's only had his permit for two months, drive up the mountain. Mother didn't like it much & neither did I - I'm a licensed driver & have been driving for three years & they won't even let me drive on the mountain! I knew he'd have it way easier than me from the beginning. I'll bet he won't have to be in as early as I do, either, when he does get his license.

The golfing was fun. I took the camera along, just in case, & I'm glad I did. They have all sorts of little statues & things along the course that Brandon & I thought were fun to pose with.

I didn't lose, like I usually do. Brandon did. I only beat him by one point, but I don't care. I still beat him.

We walked around for a little bit, got some ice cream, that fun stuff. More or less what I did there with Nolan & Meri last weekend, only slightly less ridiculous.

And I got to drive home, since I pointed out Brandon was allowed to do things I wasn't & with far less experience. Driving down the mountain was kind of a pain, though. You pick up speed fast & I was stuck behind a guy riding his brakes, which isn't good on the car, & meant that I had to pump mine constantly to keep a good distance back from him. Then mother taught me the valuable lesson of shifting into second gear, which I loved from the start.

We made quick stops at Gabe's & Target & such for more dorm things, though all we successfully found was a rug. A TV stand seems harder to come by right now. Ugh.

My parents both took Friday off & we went out to do some back-to-school shopping. We went & got most of my books - all but a few that I know for a fact I can get online cheaper & don't need immediately. One of them is Watchmen for my Science Fiction class. How awesome is it that I have to read a graphic novel for homework?

Book shopping always makes me excited to start class, especially with my English classes because I have to read so much awesome stuff. My Ancient Civilizations looks like it could be kind of a drag, depending on how the professor approaches it. For Science Fiction, I'm also looking forward to Brave New World, but a lot of the reading for that class looks like stuff I'm really going to enjoy. I'm not familiar with most of the stuff for my Topics in 20th Century Literature, but I have to read Into the Wild for Intro to Journalism, & Meri loved the movie. My Natural Science class has no book. I also looked at the syllabus & it doesn't look like it's going to be as horrible as I once thought, so yay for that.

We also had to stop by the registrar's office, & then it was off to the mall. Macy's sucked me in with a stellar sale, though I restrained myself & only walked out with a pair of shorts & a skirt. Mother did buy my the Nina Ricci perfume I've been looking for for ages, though, which seemed to offend my dad. She argued that he buys Brandon expensive video game things for no reason. I swear my parents play favorites.

We did a little dorm shopping, but there's not much I need. I did get a nifty little cooling thing for my laptop, mostly because Mother's paranoid that it will overheat, & so far I love it. I could care less about having a cool computer, really, but it's just nifty. The computer sits on top of it so it's raised a bit, which is easier on typing & such, especially when at home I'm confined to a tiny card table for my computer between the dining room & kitchen. The dorm desks are far more spacious.

Speaking of school & dorms, I should probably get packing soon.

Top 5 songs and/or albums from 2004

Oh Lord. I had to dig through my CD collection for this. The real gems all came in 2005 - nearly every album that made me stop & think of how awesome it was came out in 2005. 2003 had a lot of winners, too. What was also fun was realizing that some of the albums I own are way older than I thought, & have been with me since middle school. In 2004, I was 15. Pap Pap died that year. I was a sophomore in high school. A few of these were in heavy rotation then & still are, some were discovered later. Oh, the memories.

Albums, in no particular order:
1. Green Day - American Idiot
2. Morrissey - You Are the Quarry
3. Cherry Monroe self-titled
4. Head Automatica - Decadence
5. My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

And songs. The best from each album:
1. Jesus of Suburbia - Green Day
2. First of the Gang to Die - Morrissey
3. Satellites - Cherry Monroe
4. Beating Hearts Baby - Head Automatica
5. I'm Not Okay (I Promise) - My Chemical Romance

Also, a few notes:
- Morrissey beat out The Cure on this one, but only because my Moz collection is just getting started & because with earlier material, The Cure can kick Moz's ass.
- Cherry Monroe is one of the most underrated bands ever, in my book. They broke up a few years ago & never achieved big success, but they were good.
- "Beating Hearts Baby" isn't just one of my favorites of 2004 - it's one of my favorites of all time.

Back to business.

Nolan was bored Sunday. No surprise there. I seem to always be able to entertain myself, Nolan doesn't. But it means that we hang out & go on adventures, so bring on the boredom, I say!

Me, him, & Meri went to the Woodland Zoo up in the mountains, where the famous white buffalo resides. It's a really neat place. It's not as big as the one in Pittsburgh, but this one's a bit less commercial - you're out in the woods, essentially, on a little path, & all the times I've been there it's not horribly busy.

First, we were amazed by a bear. He was playing in his little pool with this rock. We could've watched him for hours with no problem, I'm sure. Nolan, meanwhile, also had a good time feeding donkeys grass. We were entertained in some form by nearly all the animals, really, & spent significant time in the petting zoo with goats, mostly taking pictures. Every time I go to a petting zoo I end up just wanting to take all the baby goats home; this time was no different. They're so cute!

Now, Meri & Nolan said they saw no white buffalo, but I swear I saw a white buffalo amidst all the brown ones. Not pure white, mind you, but I believe they get darker as they get older anyway. Either I saw him, or I'm an ass. The zoo - the buffalo, especially - became quite the attraction in the area when he was first born, & there are still tons of little Native American trinkets tied to the fence in front of the pens. Plus a tee pee set up in the grass, where the path splits into two and loops. I found it all fascinating.

When we'd finished at the zoo, we stopped at Nemacolin for ice cream & ridiculous pictures. A good time, as usual. Nolan noted, once, that every time we go out we always end up talking about what good times we always have. It's funny, but true & a sentiment to just how much fun we really have. We also think we have the best pictures on all of Facebook.

1. What did you last replace batteries for? The digital camera. I'm constantly replacing those batteries, even if I've barely used the camera. It's shit anyway.
2. What have you thrown away that you probably could have had repaired? I don't know. I have this way of holding on to things if they can be fixed.
3. Among items in your line of sight right now, what should probably be put in the trash? This little crumpled piece of paper.
4. When did you last use disposable cutlery while dining in your house? There's no such thing - my dad washes & reuses it. It gets used usually when all the good silverware is in the dishwasher because my dad couldn't be bothered to empty it & just ran everything through again. Be warned, any significant other that has any of my dad's bad habits gets kicked to the curb.
5. Whose actions cause you to waste time you otherwise wouldn’t waste? Probably my dad, & all the dumb habits he has. I discovered a few days ago that I'm totally mentally ready to be self-sufficient, I just can't afford it.

Nolan & I hit the pool Saturday. It wasn't even all that hot. And I was still cranking my Titanic soundtrack from the trip to the movies.

We stopped to use a CoinStar first. Who would've thought that my change purse held $7? Dumping its entire contents into the coin tray was fun. It was a $7 much-needed & well-used, too.

We decided to make a pit stop at Dairy Queen, too. On our way through the 'Ville, we were driving up a hill & saw that torrents of water were gushing downward. We were determined to find the source, which ended up being a fire hydrant at the top of the hill, across from Geibel. What was the logical thing to do? Park at Geibel, run across the street, & snap some ridiculous pictures in the hydrant. We win for being the most random but fun people ever.

When we finally did make it to the pool, we mostly laid out. I never thought I'd become a fan of just laying out, but the water is really cold & it was a chilly day. I did jump in quickly before we left, though. I have a feeling it was the last pool trip, too, unless we can squeeze one in this weekend. We have pretty much two or three days to squeeze last minute adventures in when Marion gets back from the beach & before Meri & Sarah move it. From then on, Marion moves in, then Nolan, then finally me next Sunday.

I expect Marion & I to take full advantage of the fact that neither of us has class on Fridays. I want at least one surprise weekend visit to Duquesne to wreak havoc & keep Meri, Nolan, Sarah, & Diana from their studies. And other nice people that are there.

The funny part about Thursday was that the passenger side door on Marion's Jeep was pretty much falling off, so she had to let me in & out of the car. It truly could've fallen off at any moment, I have no doubt.

I was greeted at Bianca's by Tessa announcing that the last time she saw me, I was in my underwear. True enough, as if all of Facebook hadn't seen the pictures by then anyway. Any Underwear Party references made throughout the day often lead to someone saying, "Yeah, I saw those pictures on Facebook!" & a few "I'm upset I missed it!" Bianca, especially, since she thinks Nolan is gorgeous & would've loved a night of him in his underwear.

It was good to see everyone. Terra & I joked that it was a record & a miracle that we'd seen each other two days in a row. I like that we never see each other & can joke about it, rather than make it a big deal or a problem. We realize that it's tough to get everyone together, with distance and schedules and Terra's lack of a driver's license and my lack of my own car. We have our ways of keeping in touch, so for the most part, we do just fine. Even with the ones I don't talk to on a daily or weekly basis, when we are together we're able to just pick up where we left off, for the most part. Katelyn & I seem to have drifted hardcore, but Marion & I had a nice conversation about that - there are people you drift from in college, but somehow, it's okay.

We went on the swing set, sat in the grass, and talked. Some catching up, mostly gossip. Bianca banned us from talking about our night out with Mr. Mac out of jealousy. She'll have to join next time. Had she texted Leah earlier that night, I could've picked her up, too.

People filtered in & out all day. Kind of like the Underwear Party, except they were fully dressed. A lot of people couldn't stay too long. Katelyn & Bianca's friend Brian were in for a few minutes, & Bobby stopped by before he had to go to work. Terra & I saw him walk in, mid-conversation, and we both just froze and ran to him like little puppies. Sometimes, I really, truly miss that boy.

We did get even more Geibel dirt. Apparently, when word got out that Mr. Mac left, a lot of the seniors called to change their schedules & drop Faith & Justice/World Religions. Bianca also found out who the two new teachers are, & already hates the new religion teacher. She joked that she's going to walk in the first day & tell her she's no Mr. Mac & never will be, but the sad yet funny part is, Bianca probably really would. We alumni just laugh & say we're glad we got out when we did.

We Twilighters got together - all three of us. Two, really, considering Terra didn't finish the book until Sunday, so it was just Bianca & I discussing our thoughts. Unfortunately, fellow Twilighter & last summer's crush Brett was in Nashville, so I couldn't use the book as a ruse. He was disappointed in it, anyway, Bianca said. And Marion, of course, couldn't handle the chat, as always.

Meri & AJ rolled up after a few hours. They're only my favorite couple (aside from fictional ones...). I tease AJ that he has to be nice to me & stay on my good side, so I can put in a good word for him with Uncle Richard. Terra seemed to like him, despite giving him "the talk" that all new boy toys get. Becca & TJ, who I haven't seen in ages, witnessed this, & TJ just sat & said, "Oh yeah, I remember getting that." They're all so used to it. It's such a rite of passage with the men, plus she changes it a little each time to keep it interesting & particularly threatening.

Ashley went on a Dairy Queen run for us, & Meri got offended when Ric called her to tell her to be home by 9:30, deciding that she'd been there long enough. She figured it was just because he knew she was with AJ, & we started scheming & coming up with silly little things she could say to him to break it to him that they're together. My favorites all involved Meri being pregnant. The fact that we call AJ "manbearpig" lead to jokes about them having half-breed babies. Oh, Breaking Dawn.

Leah called to say she saw Ms. Hunchuck (who we now just call by her first name) working in Staples. We don't like her one bit, & have our very good reasons for this. Given all the Geibel gossip that had been going down, it was a funny run-in.

Nolan stopped by, too, though for a very short while. Boooo. I didn't tell Bianca he was going to come as a surprise, & she loved it.

A few of us were there most of the night. It was a really good time, & Bianca was really enjoying herself, getting to see everyone again, especially all together. I told her to keep in touch - she only lives a few minutes away, & nearly tackles me when I show up unexpectedly somewhere, usually the halls of Geibel.

Rachael kindly took me home, & that was that. Plus, I successfully avoided my parents for about a full 24 hours, meaning I had a good chance of escaping punishment for being out till two the previous night. Score!

Marion's never interested when we go out with Mr. Mac. People think it's odd. Mother gave me a hard time about it last time, so I didn't even bother saying he'd be there until after the fact - plus Brandon let it slip while I was gone. It was really kind of funny. I came home & he was like, "Were they not supposed to know you were going with Mr. Mac?"

Lunch with Mrs. Yankovich, however, is just fine. She brought her son Andrew, & we went back to that generic diner where Marion & I had lunch after the Holocaust survivors spoke. I spend half my time staring at the walls, because they're covered in records & it's fun to see what they have up & comment accordingly ("Oh, look, Barry Manilow. Are you a Fanilow, Marion?").

Andrew & Marion played some Nintendo DS, which is high tech for us. We're used to old school GameBoy color. I still have mine. I won't part with it, because I know one day I'm gonna stumble upon more old games & want to play them.

It was fun to catch up. Julie Y, as we call her, joked & asked about the latest gossip, because it seems that as alumni, we're more in the loop than people actually still in the building. There's not much to say, really, although Brandon did just get stuff in the mail about the start of the school year & it's pretty ridiculous. I'm glad we graduated when we did, & I'm glad Mr. Mac's out. In fact, Julie's so out of the loop that she'd only found out that piece of information two weeks prior, while many alumni & probably most of the student body already know.

Bianca's annual end-of-summer party was immediately after lunch, but I'll save that for my next post, as it was full of awesome people, good times, & juicy gossip. What can I say? You stick a bunch of girls at a party when Geibel is slowly going to hell (though faster & faster, these days) & it's unavoidable.