Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

I really need to make more of an effort to write on nights Chris is here. In any event, I suppose it's okay I just continue to catch myself up, so long as I just take a picture every day. Anyway, recap:

Thursday (3rd of July): I lost my Wiiginirty. First, though, I went to school for two hours. Interestingly enough, I get a phone call 15 minutes after class was supposed to start...from the teacher...who just woke up. It was cute. I announced that class would start an hour late, and went off on an unexpected (but pleasurable) bike ride. Where did I go? Past the hospital, to the Chapin Apartments. Why? Because they're pretty and they make me miss having an apartment. Wanna see? Here ya go!

I also mourned the loss of a good machine that morning. The (Coke product) Dasani machine moved out, and the new Pepsi machine moved in. I mourn not because I am an avid Coca-Cola fan, but because I am a coke points fan. Chris & I began collecting coke product caps (and boxes for the 12-packs). Days later, Pepsi moved into SBU. Murphy, get back in your cage.

Oh and also, to the three or four people that read this, if you could either save your coke codes or email them to me (with product type -- i.e. diet coke, orange fanta, etc.), that'd be fan-freakin'-tastic.

(P.S. this picture is inside the Javits Lecture Center).

After class and a brief convo with new Ryan (there's emo Ryan, CA Ryan and new Ryan, for those of you keeping score at home), wherein he let me borrow I Am America and So Can You, I headed to the ENT/Audiologist's office to see if I could find out more about my flaccid eardrum and see if it was linked to the excruciating pain I suffer through when flying on an airplane. First, I get "rejected" at registration. Then the insurance CSR I call can't find the office I'm at in their system. After all was said & done, the visit will very likely not get paid for. Yes, I am eligible and yes, the doctor is in network. But without a real complaint (read: ICD-9 or diagnosis (Dx) code), Aetna "screw 'em if you can find a way to" will likely deny me. The good news, however, was that I did not need to see the ENT. I never made it past my audiology portion; Kristi says I'm just fine. I even have a printout of some lines to prove it.

Oh, and as I left the office, this was just outside the parking lot -- a lake and a fountain. Just...mid-industrial park. Freakin' north shore east end long islanders.

I ran around doing errands the remainder of Thursday afternoon. Did some homework, ran to the supermarket and bank, stuff like that. 'Round 7 or so Rob came over and the losing of the Wiiginirty took place, which was fucking awesome. We drank rum & cokes, made fun of each other and played every Wii Sport (and then some Mario Kart). In order to avoid any potential awkward, he left a decent portion of time before Chris came over. And why I didn't mention that Rob was there, I don't know. I don't wish I were still with Rob; I don't even see him as potential to ever be with again (not that I have any plans on being in any other relationships, like, ever). And it's not even like I think Chris would be upset that we hung out. I don't know, the fact that there's even a hesitation there means it needs to be further explored in my head and dealt with accordingly. The next time we get together, I will make sure to revise how I handle it.

So yeah, ultimately Chris came over and we had coffee and sat and talked and it was really nice. Like, really really nice. Maybe I'm making a big thing out of nothing, but I enjoyed that portion of my evening more than I did the four hours of Wii-ing. The morning was fast approaching though, so we turned in shortly thereafter.

Friday (4th of July): I made some pancakes for breakfast. We putzed around for a little while, then watched a romantic comedy (barf!) that I rented mostly for the music portion (Music & Lyrics). Immediately following we gathered our sleepover stuffs, contributions to the cook out (as Anne Cooper would call it; not BBQ), and headed to Owen's. Great food was served. Good drinks. Tons of people that didn't know one another. Some drizzling of rain. I eventually whined and complained enough that a car of us drove over to N. Ocean/495 to catch some of the Bald Hill fireworks from afar. They were pretty. Invaded some by traffic and just...stuff, so next year I would really like to go to a show of some kind, but we'll see how life goes. There was a bit of an argument in the car on the way there though that merited some internet searching the next day on Chris & my behalf (mostly Chris's; I was there for moral support and to take a picture of it). The argument was open-window drag vs. air conditioning in cars. I will discuss the outcome in the Saturday portion.

So when we returned I went antisocial on everyone who remained. I guess it was a combination of the car ride and the sobriety and the long day(s) (or maybe those are just excuses), but I opted not to hang out outside with the "group" around the fire pit. Instead, I responded to a few texts, had a peanut butter brownie (yum, by the way!) and tried to re-hydrate. When I did go outside for a (very) short while, I was eaten alive by bugs, and in the ten minutes I was out there, I wound up with a very swollen thumb. Bug bite of sorts. I retreated to the house, and Anne Cooper eventually joined me and kept me company. I iced the finger and went back to drinking wine, at a pace I should have probably started with. The girl talk was nice though.

We crashed there, slightly cramped but managed on a twin mattress they dragged into the basement living room after hanging out with Owen and Anne Cooper for a little while after the party dissipated. More good conversation. I think I really like those. I knocked myself out with a little Benedryl so my finger wouldn't bother me all night, so the getting to sleep part was quite simple.

Saturday (5th of July): when we awoke pancakes & bacon were awaiting us. We cleaned up the bed, ate for a bit, then when the conversation turned to programming language, I opted to hit the shower. I cleaned up our things after cleaning myself, mostly because I was groggy and not much of a conversationalist. I think I also get uncomfortable with strangers after a certain period of time. I should look into that. In any event, Chris showered, Anne Cooper left, we chatted with the remaining housemates for a few, but then headed off, for party/cook out number two of the long weekend.

Sometime just before 1pm-ish we got to my job, in the same town as Owen's, where my bike was being stored for the weekend (so that we could bring another and ride together). We geared up and headed out to Miller Place from Stony Brook, a 10-mile ride. We went by way of Rt 347, which was either genius or completely retarded. It took a few intersections to get the hang of it, but we managed and made it in one piece. My father made his typical "you rode bikes here?" negative comment, which we politely ignored and offered out his Father's Day present(s) and Kellen's birthday gifts. Snacks, more barbecuing, mojitios (oh yeah!) and playing with my brother = good time. Chris took his turn at semi-antisocial, but it was only fair and completely understandable. He played ball with Kellen & myself for a few minutes as well, and made it super-fun, as lame as that sounds. I forgot to take pictures.

We rode back after dessert, which was good because I felt like a whale by that point. I was also having some cheese-related stomach pain which was lovely to ride with. But it was a fairly quick trip and we were home by dark. I continued to ice the finger as it was still swollen (I have a picture of this, but it's on my phone, and I have absolutely no idea how to get the phone pictures onto the computer--it's that bad). We decided to run to Blockbuster and grab my July free rental. I got heated when some guy screamed out of his window because I almost made the wrong turn but then caught it and stayed on the road. He was so busy trying to race past me, it annoyed him when I decided to go straight again. This was cause to generalize that I am, in fact, a horrible driver and worse: a cunt. He'll likely wrap his gas-guzzling truck around a pole someday, though, so with a little help from the Chris-calming-department and my belief in karma, I was only upset for 5 minutes. We picked out Juno for the watching. I ... can't say I recommend it, but it was certainly an interesting and entertaining flick. And, as Chris mentioned, it sparked thought and (yet more awesome) conversation, so it couldn't have been bad.

Then, onto the drag vs. A/C question. It was time to look it up.

The result? Under 45 mph: windows open. 45-60 mph: gray area. 60+: windows up, A/C on.

And also: it doesn't matter the level the fan is on, A/C is A/C no matter. However, it's best to use the cabin air recirculated than it is to continue to pull air in from outside of the car.

That, my friends, is the verdict. I will not say who is right and who is wrong, because no one predicted that speed made the difference.

(And no, Mac isn't paying me to put a MacBook Pro on my blog site. But they should.)

Sunday (6th of July): Lazy start to the day, but up & out before noon nonetheless. We walked to the bagel store/deli for bacon/1egg/cheese on wheat with a shared side of hashbrowns, then around Lindenhurst for the next two hours. Good walk. Seriously. After we got home, we showered, took a nap, then ran out for corn & pasta. We came back, chopped a ton of veggies, fired up the grill and cooked out yet again. We made garlic & pepper chicken, sausage, mixed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, red peppers) and corn cobs on the grill. We also heated up another red pepper and made some pasta for which to add most of the sausage to. Our timing was kinda crappy, but everything was delicious, and I now have an abundance of veggies as well as a blend of sausage, peppers and pasta for lunch(es) this week. Following that, my mom & I roasted marshmallows (Chris had one or two, but then went in to clean up the dishes--ain't he grand????) and I then cleaned up the little that was left and we went upstairs to spend our quality together-but-apart time. [What that means: Chris plays WoW and I do homework--it's a Sunday night routine unless we have something else going on.]

He left 'round midnight and I have spent a majority of the past two hours writing this. I also took a few Scrabble turns and imported my pictures. Oh! Speaking of -- since I don't have any from today, per se, I am going to use one that's technically from 7/6, but only because it was taken after 12am last night.

And Chris, if & when you read this, if you hate that I posted this, tell me & I will exchange it for a blurrier/blocked photo.

The quick story: I was complaining how much my thumb hurt (by the way, the swelling has gone down immensely and I can finally bend it at the knuckle again), so Chris...how do I put this? Well, he sucked my thumb. Only for a minute, but it was adorable and weird but adorable (though weird), but really adorable, and he really wouldn't let me get a picture of it. However, somehow I managed blur.

My favorite, best, adorable, most loved, most loving boyfriend:




I love him so much.