Weekend Fun

FRIDAY

I tried to take my sisters swimming and their friends swimming, but suddenly a huge storm broke out as we were leaving. We came back to the house and played Mexican train (a domino game) and had popcorn and kool-aid. That night, Ezinne, my mom, and I watched Hide and Seek, a scary movie. We also watched all the alternate endings; I think the original ending is the best.

SATURDAY

I went to the creek with Jolene and her boyfriend and his friends and family. It was really good to see Jolene. We mostly laid out on this raft thing and talked. I stayed for dinner and we had yummy fajitas. The mom and her friend also made 3 delicious dips--salsa, pico, and guacamole. And we topped it off with banana pudding for dessert. The girls were getting bored and their boyfriends were getting on their nerves, so I suggested we play this card came called SPOONS. It's such a fun game, and it was super funny to watch the older women play with us. When it got dark we went out on the boat looking for alligators. You shine a bright light and when you see one their eyes reflect the light and sometimes they glow red. We almost got really close to one, but then it disappeared :(

I got home around 11:30pm, but I went out again at 12:30pm to some house party to meet up with a new boy interest.

SUNDAY

I took Chinyere to a soccer game that Paul plays on and Aimer coaches. She had an awful time because no one scored and she was tired. It was kind of boring, but because I know most of the boys on the team, it's fun for me.

Later I played sand volleyball with some new people I met. I was super excited because I haven't played in a while, and I played well.

Job Search

The job search here in Huntsville has been f***ing frustrating. Currently, I'm working for my old boss, but I wanted to find something different. At church, there's this man who owns a real estate company, and when he found out I was looking for a job, he suggested I come by his office because a position was opening up. So I did; I applied for the full-time receptionist position. The person who I was talking to said there would be 2 interviews--one in late June and one in early July. Well the end of June came around and I called to check-up. She informed me that they decided to do only one interview in July, so we scheduled a tentative date for July 8. On July 7, I called to confirm the interview only to find out that they decided to no longer consider me as a candidate. They knew about my Peace Corps plans, and the woman said they wanted someone more permant. Of course, I was surprised not to mention pissed because she had told me I was their top candidate because I had been recommended by the boss. At this point, I was ready to find another job away from Texas and make no mention of my future plans. Then the next day, the woman called back saying they were willing to make the receptionist position part-time from 8am-Noon. I was mad about it still, but I set up an interview for July 18. The interview went well minus the fact that they kept saying I was over qualified. This is true, but it made me feel bad about myself as if I can't get anything better. One of the interviewers was a girl I graduated high school with and who was my best friend from 5th-8th grade. They said, I should be hearing back from them by Thursday. Well, Thursday came and went and I figured I didn't get hired. Now, it's Monday and I called them this morning just to check. And to no surprise the position has been filled.

When my current boss found out I was interviewing with this other company, he called to try to convince me to stay with him. He technically wasn't really losing me because after the summer, what he has to offer is a job in the afternoon and sometimes nights, which would not have interfered with the receptionist job. I know that I have a part-time job with him if I need it, but I've been really turned off by my Huntsville situation. Therefore, I've been looking at transitional programs that are a year-long. For example, I applied for an Event Coordinator with the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. This would actually be an ideal job form me because I have experience with international relations, event planning, and communications (they want someone to maintain and update their website).

To sum it all up--this sucks.

A hella good movie

Friday night Paul and I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Soptless Mind with Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. It was fabulous. It's actually very, very strang, but in the best way possible. Also, the fact that it's about memory is intriguing to me since my 17 page Italian Capstone paper was about a movie and the director's display of memory.

Afterwards, we watched Full Metal Jacket; rather, I watched it while Paul fell asleep. I DIDN'T like this movie at all. It's a Vietnam war movie and all it has is a bunch of cussing and degrading material of all sorts, not to metion the random music played throughout.

Film Festival

There was a film festival going on in Huntsville this weekend at the Old Town Theater. Friday, I went with my high school friend, Andrew, to see the French film, The Chorus. It was suppose to start at 8pm, but it actually didn’t start until 9pm. There was a French dinner before hand that ran late and then they had a horrible time trying to get the movie started because the DVD remote wasn’t working. Finally when they got the movie on, the subtitles weren’t working. Needless to say it was a long and grueling 20 minutes before the movie was underway. Despite the rocky start, the movie was great and worth the wait. It was about a school teacher who goes to an all boys reform school where a lot to the boys are trouble makers. The teacher keeps them in line and finds talent when he starts a choir. After the movie, they had champagne and crepes at this little, Italian restaurant across the street. The crepe was not good at all and barely a mouthful of substance. I had a good time anyway.

The next day, I took my sisters to see Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original) at the same place. They had a chocolate breakfast beforehand, which consisted of chocolate chip cookies, brownies, chocolate donuts, and chocolate milk. They did have some orange juice for (I guess) any non-chocolate lovers. We enjoyed ourselves.

Atypical Run

On Friday, I went to Pritchet's Field to run after I dropped my mother off at work. I'm really proud of myself because I've been running for 20 minutes, which equates to about 2 miles. Usually I run around my neighborhood because I don't have a ton of time in the mornings. A couple of times since I've been home this summer, I've seen this grandpa. He's friendly--always smiling and saying hello even though I've never met him. This particular Friday, I was finishing my run just as he was arriving. He was in his car putting on shoes, and as I passed by we exchanged pleasantries. I got into the van and as I was about to drive off, I see this old man with his shoulders shrugged and his hands up in a kind of where are you going type of thing. I stopped to see what he had to say.

"Where are you going? You just got here."
"I've been here for a while. I'm done."
"Oh, well I just wanted to talk to you about Christ. You have such a happy smile; I just wanted to make sure your soul was in the same place. I don't mean any harm; I have kids your age. I don't mean to preach. I just wanted to talk about Jesus."
All the while I'm nodding my head to show that I'm listening. Then he asked me,
"Are you married?"
"No."
"Did you move here with your boyfriend?"
"No."
"Well, I hope I get a chance to talk to you."
"Yeah, maybe next time."

Now, I'm a little scared to go back. It's strange the people I come into contact with. I was kind of irritated by the whole thing. I think he was implying that because I'm young and vulnerable and easily influenced by devilish things. And he wants to be the one to make sure I am saved from the depths of evil.

Update

I haven't written in a while and a lot of random things have happened in the meantime, so I'll just give some highlights.

I've been hanging out a lot with Aimer going to the Fox and hanging out at his house. I spent the 4th of July with him and his work friends. Oh yeah, a random story about one of our nights out. I went to a quincinera with Aimer and his friends. We were there for about 20 minutes before 3 fights broke out, and the cops made everyone leave. Apparently the party was ill planned because it was open to the public without adequate security. But don't worry, I learned a few Mexican dances and I got a piece of cake.

I realized I need some girlfriends because all the high school people I've talked to are guys. For example, I just talked to Andrew and Juan the other day. I want to hang out with someone who I don't have to worry about "feelings."

The gym has gotten busier. Yesterday, there were almost 40 guys. I can't decide if I like boredom or having to deal with annoying adult men and the females who try to come and watch them.