Pre-Trip Excitement and Action Plans

Most people get really excited about their vacations that they are about to take. I too, am excited but you know that feeling you get when you have like 18293890321 other things to worry about before the actual excitement sets in? Well, that's how I'm feeling now I guess. A lot of you are probably wondering what the hell "Action Plans" is in the title of today's entry. Well, as part of MLW we have this time that is called committees. This year Jose and I were in charge of the committee called "school teams". In this particular committee there were groups of about 4 kids from four different schools that came and met to plan something they could change or implement for their school. Anyway, the kids came up with some great ideas and at the end of the week, kept a copy for themselves and handed one to me.

Somehow, they were misplaced. We need them for a grant that is really important and now I have to somehow get them back. So far, I've gotten two of them and I called another school and hopefully the action plan will be emailed to me today. Anyway, this whole thing has generally stressed me out because I do not lose things nor am I irresponsible. So---that was annoying.

Once all that shenenigans gets reconciled, I'll be a lot more excited for Puerto Rico. I don't have as much work to do today so that's been a nice change. This entire week has been horrid and I've been working my ass off. Technically it's still summer, and summer is generally slow and so I was annoyed about that as well.

Today I have to finish packing, take care of some errands, and make sure everything is in order before I leave. I act like I'm going on vacation for a long time but really it's just for the weekend. I just don't want to forget anything. I think Jess and I are going to bring down some snacks/food---at least for the plane ride.

I think it's time for another list don't you think?

Things I am currently missing (physically, not mentally) right now:

1. MLW
2. my booooooooooooooooooooooots
3. the IC
4. my power drill
5. my family
6. NYC 008 crew
7. a pet
8. having a hard core tan
9. all the boys I have crushes on
10. cupcakes

Please don't forget to submit questions to Dr. Bora!!!!! We are running low on fuel.

He will resume when I get back from PR on Tuesday!

Happy Labor Day everyone! Enjoy the long weekend!

Love,

Lauren

SWAMPED

Look---I'm so busy at work. I don't have time for a really good post or anything, but I wanted to keep you in the loop for somethings at least!

Highlights from the weekend include:
1. the bus ride home with Jess-----"would YOU rather?"
2. laying at the pool on Saturday with Jess
3. IC hangout on Saturday night---great times
4. breakfast at the Stewarts
5. old school pool games with team love on Sunday
6. Geza potluck dinner at night

Sad Things about this weekend:
1. didn't get to see Carolyn :( it was awkward timing. I am sad. I'll call you when my work life calms down :)
2. waking up BUTT early for my flight home to NYC on Monday morning

I'll try and post tomorrow, if work lights up.

I love you all,

Lauren

Errands and Softball

Ah---I've felt like this week has just been crazy!! I thought it was going to be a slow week but everything about it has been nuts!

So---yesterday b/c I stayed out so late on Wednesday night (see previous entry) I didn't have time to do any of my really important errands that I had to do before I left for MD this weekend, and since I was leaving right from work on Friday----it was important that I do them before Thursday night. One was to pick up my prescription and the other was to pick up my laundry. I needed the laundry b/c I had no clothes to pack for my weekend in MD. Anyway---I took a long lunch, which really is like non-existant in my business b/c no one actually takes lunch, people just leave, get food and eat it at their desk---it's just what you do. So, I actually got my errands done, which was clutch b/c there would have been no way that I would have been able to do them after softball.

Yeah Softball----let's talk a little about that why don't we? Well---all I'm going to say is that we SHUT OUT the other team. 11-0. I played really well. It was a really fun game, we played in the rain. Then we went to brother jimmy's afterward and drank it up! It was a blast!

Today, something interesting happened. *Note: if you don't like hearing about girl problems, you should probably stop reading right now. And you can't judge me, it's like---happened to a lot of people, especially if you are a boy. Don't say I didn't warn you...*

So, I woke up in a rush this morning and packed for MD, of course I didn't do it last night like I promised myself I would. Instead I began throwing bathing suits and stuff into my suitcase praying that I didn't forget anything. I have my period and I was changing my tampon. This is so commonplace and normal, often I'm rushing and not paying attention to what I'm doing. I opened the package too quickly and the applicator separated from the actual tampon part and I was so annoyed at that. I tried to put them back together. The string was all bunched up at the bottom of the applicator and whatever, I put it in and thought nothing of it.

I had to go pee of course, since I'm working OKLH like nobody's business right? And, then I went to go take out my tampon....

I COULD NOT FIND IT....

I COULD NOT FIND THE STRING.

I was like, "What the fuck Charles?!"

It was horrible. SO I was like, look, its definitely in there somewhere and I will try again later to fish it out. I came down and had a mini panic attack about how I was going to get TSS and then it would be lost forever and everything...

But everything was ok, because I went and looked for it again, like 20 minutes later when I had to pee again (yes, a sad reality of being hydrated) and got it out---but it was NOT easy. To spare you, I will not go into detail.

***YOU CAN RESUME READING NOW***

Anyway, I'm excited for a fun filled weekend of chillin' at the pool, playing sharks and minnows, and also just all around getting a tan and having fun!

Talk to you Monday!

Love,
Lauren

Snakes and Life

I ended up seeing Snakes on a Plane---which I forgot to say. It was good. It was highly entertaining. The snakes were freaky and frightening at points. It was a suspense movie. I like Samuel L. Jackson. I think that the fact that Keenan is in it is also good. I'm not sure I recommend seeing it in NYC seeing as you have to pay like $11. But if you are in like MD or somewhere else, or where you can get a matinee discount or something, DEF go see it. You are a cooler person when you see it.

Work is work. It's going....

I'm all by myself today here at work at least on Mike's team. It's cool. I don't really mind at all. It's hard to write about really specific work stuff on here b/c I don't really know who reads this----so I apologize. I know that it's easy to search my blog if you know the name of it---so, whatever. :) The funny thing is that I really like my job and I like work. Of course, sometimes it's frustrating but whatever.

Someone stole my aviator glasses. I'm pissed about it. I was so cool----I'm not so cool anymore.

This weekend I'm going home to MD. Yes, not for MLW---not for working, not for any other reason than going to the pool and trying to get a tan before I leave for Puerto Rico. I am also going to Geza's memorial potluck. I'm actually thrilled to be able to go. I wasn't able to attend last year, but I am this weekend! I'm flying back to NYC really early on Monday morning so I can get to work on time. I did that once before and it wasn't so bad. I just made sure I had a big cup of coffee!

Tomorrow morning I'm going to try the workout thing. I am really going to try it. Tonight I might go for a run, but Jess and I are supposed to hang out, have dinner and then she's interviewing me for this case study paper that she has to do for her online psychology class. Should be good times. :)

Ok---back to work.

Love,

Lauren

P.S Shout Out to Jessie and Georgie!!

Working Out and My Business Atmosphere

I know, I have been horrible. I have two entries that are almost done sitting in the saved file and haven't gotten around to finishing them for publication. I will get today's entry out and then we can focus on the ones that I left in the dust last week. :( I hope that everyone had a good weekend. I did.

So---my new thing is that I'd like to be able to wake up early to run or go to the gym, just so that I actually use my gym membership and also get the most time out of my day, since often I have afternoon activities that prevent me from being able to go to the gym or do anything actually, other than said activity. This idea of me waking up early has been a source of constant struggle for---well, since as long as I've had a real job and everything. Very annoying.... So----I am trying this again. I asked advice from Aliza b/c I know that when she's at school she wakes up early to do working out things and I asked her how she motivates herself to do it. I tried this on Friday and I also tried it this morning. The thing was that it wasn't even that I was too tired to get up and do it, I just didn't want to. I'd rathey lay in bed, even though I hadn't been sleeping well both nights and totally just should have woken up to do the damn workout. I opted to just continue to lay there for another hour or so. I attribute this to the fact that I hadn't had a good sleep. Last night I slept horribly. I would wake up like every hour hoping it was time to get up b/c I was so NOT sleeping well. Anyway....I really tried to rationalize why I should get up, but to no avail.

Maybe tomorrow---

This weekend was cool. Very relaxing and chill. I hung out with Jaxx and her cousins on Friday night. We went to the Guggenheim and then out to dinner on the east side. Never go to "Bella Cucina" on 87th and Lex. It was really not that good. Or at the very least, don't ask for extra cheese on your pizza or you will ONLY get cheese.

Saturday, I slept in, then I went to lunch with Junette---always a good time! We went to Serafina and I had gnocchi, delish. Then she walked me downtown a bit to like 73rd or something and we had gelato that was yummy and not like out of control expensive! It was so quality!

Saturday night I hung out with LB, Katie and the rest of the crew at that house, JC, Derek and Kate. We drank and hung out and eventually went out in Murray Hill somewhere. Katie and I stayed later at the bar while others went to another place instead and caught up. We randomly saw Jacob Friedman and then I called Daniel Lichterman and left him a message when I was drunk about how I saw Jacob. This was a bad story/reinactment and I apologize.

Sunday, Scott was up from Philly with his wife, who was going to a bridal shower. We had brunch, and hung out for a while. It was quality Lauren and Scott time. :) I had a great time! Then I had Lauren day---where I took a nap, cleaned, organized, and ate.

Something else I've learned in this industry: Guys really never mature that much and most of the girls are bitches. For the most part, the dudes, are totally immature and not funny. They think their jokes are funny and that they are so cool cause of their jobs and their money. I hate most of them. Also, many of the girls are like wanna-be/or actually are rich snobs. They aren't "real" or "cool" they just try to hard and aren't friendly or nice. Why aren't people nice? I think I'm in the wrong profession. I mean, I really try and be nice to everyone but there are just some girls that like AREN'T!!!! Even when I've been nothing but nice to them and stuff, it's so strange. I can't handle it. Then I end up hating them b/c they suck so much.

One thing that I just saw go down---ok, let's keep a few things in mind:

1. this person works with a woman who was moved from one office to another b/c of sexual harrassment stuff
2. this person just went though a mandatory seminar about behavior in the workplace

then god....why would you look at pictures of naked women in the office in front of people who could see your screen?!?!?!

I could clearly see his screen. I am actually really furious about this and I'll tell you why.

1. I was moved from the philly office b/c of sexual harrassment and it SUCKS being a woman/girl and having to deal with that shit at work, trust me.
2. I'm not a fem-bot or anything, but there is a time and a place for porn, and it is NOT at work
3. No one will tell on him b/c everyone loves him and anyway management has favorites, although if it was reported to HR, he would be canned. I think I saw him email a picture too---which means he'll totally be canned if he's caught.
4. Can't people control their urges? Grow up mother fucker! Get a life!
5. These people succeed in their jobs and like eveyone loves them even though most of these people are scum bags, including this guy who I liked up until this moment.


Tonight I'm going to see Rocky with Jess in Bryant Park, it's the last night of their film festival. We are going to get take-out and I baked cookies. I can't wait! Hopefully it's nice out!

Have a great day!

Love,
Lauren

Isle of Coney*

The main purpose of this entry is to write about my trip to Coney Island last night with Beth and China. It was totally awesome. I know, you've heard a lot of disgusting and horrible things about Coney Island. How the beaches are gross and nasty and how there are like ghetto and WT people there. Yes, you are right. But, the thing you have to realize is---those are not the reasons to go to Coney Island. There is so much other stuff that makes the trip worthwhile. Let me elaborate.

1. The Time Warp: Yes, going to Coney Island is much like a time machine. But Beth put it right, it's not necessarily to a particular point in time or anything but it's just really strange

2. The Cyclone: This roller coaster was built in 1927---and has been open ever since. It is the best roller coaster I've ever been on. It doesn't go upside down, there are no fancy twists and turnes, nothing of that nature. The main reason it's so scary is that it is so old. When you are in the cars, it feels like the bolts are going to come loose and you are going to die. The hills are incredible. They are pretty much vertical and you feel like you are going to fly out of the car. The entire time you are going at the speed of light, with the track crackling underneath you. Hill after hill and you are screaming and want to die. I got off and was shaking. Of course, I went on it again. It was great.

3. The WonderWheel: This is the tallest ferris wheel in the world---I am scared of heights. I didn't really want to go on it. I had never been on a ferris wheel and most height situations make me hyperventilate. Especially those involving a swinging car like 100 feet in the air going around in a circle. I wasn't too keen on the idea. I got persuaded, since I give into peer pressure so easily and went on it. I pretty much had a panic attack on the top. Not because it was high---but it was. But because the particular car we were on was on these special tracks that the car would like swing back and forth on. Imagine complete terror---and that is what I was experiencing. I lived through it, though I am never going on it again.

4. Original Nathans: We stopped for Nathan's hotdogs and fries and sat on a bench at ate them (read: pigged out of them). It was delicious. Also----cheap and that was an added bonus. :)

5. One sketchy (read: disgusting) thing was that when we were eating dinner on the bench, I saw a rat on the beach. Now that is gross right? Well, yeah, that's why any decent person doesn't go to Coney Island for the actual beach part.

Ok, I have to go back to my favorite hobby: reading about infectuous diseases and people with horrible deformities on the internet!

Ciao!

Lauren

*a bit of this entry was written retroactively :)

New Blog: Confection Commentary

I started a new blog----it's great! Check it out!

Orioles and NYC

Keep submitting to Dr. Bora! He calls me everyday with questions! I don't have one for today! Submit please! Thanks to all of you that have already submitted questions! xo

Last night I went to the Orioles game against the Yankees. Oh----Orioles-----you disappoint me. YOU WERE IN THE LEAD!!!! And you blew it! It was really fun though. I have to say. I hate Jason Giambi. He is a piece of shit. I can't believe that people actually like him and like "respect" him a quote from my boss this morning. I went on a rampage for five minutes about how I hated him and how he was a scummy low life. One of my bosses' arguments in his defense was actually that, "look at how hard it was for him to come back. He took his medicine and then he could barely hit." Awwww....poor Giambi, the juice sucking asshole who got no punishment.

Jess and I also hated how all the Yankees fans were like "MOooooooooooseeeeee!" I'm like---Mikey---you know your roots!!!! So, there is a little "soft spot" as Jess would say, for him in my heart. A true Oriole.

OK---for those of you that know me, you know how dramatic I can be about EVERYTHING. And how I make everything into a huge deal when normally, it's just something really mundane right? Well...anyway I think that my boss beats me. Everything is huge deal for him. Like, he talked for 20 minutes about how he had to take his cat to the vet last night. I mean, if the cat had died or something, that would have been horrible and I would have felt really badly, but it was fine. Anyway, that was a dumb anecdote---Ii'm sorry I shared it with you.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE living here, but, as in every city one lives in, there are some really annoying and obnoxious things about it. Read on for the full effect...

Things that annoy me about New York, these are in no particular order:

1. How when it's really humid out---or really hot in general, the whole city smells like urine
2. When they "wash" the streets with water and it gets me all wet in the morning---ever single morning the sidewalks are wet and disgusting
3. When people steal my cab, which happens almost every time I try and take a cab, which isn't even that often.
4. How expensive some lunch places are by my work. I hate that I work in midtown---it is a blowed b/c so many people work there and lunch lines area always long and the places I really like are really effing expensive. Stupid.

That's about it. I got nothing really. Have a great day!

Love,

Lauren

Loser and Updates

I am a loser because last night I went to be at 10pm. That may not be inherently a characteristic of a loser but I'll tell you what is: when you take a nap from 7-8:30, wake up for an hour or so, realize you don't feel like doing anything except like watch Harry Potter and mess around on the computer and then go back to sleep. Who does that? Me, that's who.

I had a bunch of errands to run yesterday evening and I had planned to go to the gym, but of course, after dinner and like half of Harry Potter I fell asleep on the couch. Again, loser status.

Absolutely nothing interesting happened to me yesterday and I don't even know why I'm writing this blog entry. I don't even have a funny joke or ANYTHING.

In Other News: OKLH is going really well. I am drinking a TON of water each day and urinating on a hyper-regular basis. Am I allowed to say hyper-regular? Is that even a phrase? Well, I just invented it anyway.

The gym thing though, is not working out as nicely. I have to get in shape for Puerto Rico---which is fast approaching. Speaking of PR---I got my bikini top delivered yesterday. So I now have a complete bikini set, instead of just the bottoms and an ugly top that I bought for $10 at J-Crew at this ghetto sale they were having. I realize now that often "sale" means, "crap no one wants and that's why we can reduce the price so damn much". I hope that the designers get shit when their stuff goes on sale. Like---if a TON of crap didn't sell, then they get fired or something.

What should I have for lunch today---it's about that time.

Love,
Lauren

SHOUT OUTS:
Jaxx and Dustin: Thanks for the present. :) It was a nice surprise.
MSEL: I miss and love you all!
Kimmy: Thanks for submitting to Dr. Bora. Have fun with Mark when he comes! xo
Susannah: Do you still read this? We should talk soon. I miss you.
Beth and LB: HH soon? We have to make this a tradition
Leah: Good luck with Edu's thing today. I'll be thinking about you.
Alp: for being the most awesome 10 year old ever!

Wonderful and Crazy Weekend

So as most of you know, I spent this past weekend with my oldest nephew Alp----Dr. Bora's older brother. He is making a blog debut in this entry. He actually isn't but I wanted to write the word "debut" because it is a cool word. I'm sure I've mentioned him several previous times on here.

Friday:
I left work early to go pick him up at the airport. My sister had really threatened my life if I wasn't at the gate to meet the little guy when he came off the plane. It was relatively uneventful until I actually get to the airport and realize that his plane was going to land early and that I had no idea where to go to get a gate pass to go back and get him. Lauren panic mode began. Luckily, I used my charm (read: freaking out) skills and got to the gate with no problem. He was just getting off as I ran up, perfect timing.

We took a car back to my apartment, which he thought was really cool b/c he thought it was a limo, which really it was just a Lincoln Town Car. Then, we went to the grocery store and I let him pick out snacks and food he wanted for the rest of the weekend. Luckily we have similar tastes and he got like goldfish, ritz, oreos, and cinnimon toast crunch. We also obviously bought milk. He didn't understand why I didn't have any food in my apartment. He also wanted propel water. I HATE (times a million) Propel water, but I let him get it anyway and then I sent him home with the rest b/c I hate it so much. He thought my bathroom was small, but I told him that everything is New York was expensive and small. He agreed. Then, we ate "dinner" which consisted of Ritz crackers and Propel and we headed off to see Pirates of the Caribbean. He of course, LOVED it. Oh, at the movie we got popcorn and candy and soda, so that was also sort of our dinner.

Came back home, watched more movies, I think Goonies. I told him I was tired, and that he could stay up as late as he wanted, but to just turn the light off.

Saturday:
We both woke up at about 8:30. He of course, didn't need an alarm clock. I did. I showered, we ate cereal and then headed out. We walked down to F.A.O Schwarz because I promised him he could see the piano from BIG and that he could buy a toy. The whole time we were in the store, he kept repeating "wow, this is so cool" over an over. the piano was awesome, there were these two guys that were professional life sized piano players and they were really good. Alp and I tried the piano too----it is MUCH harder than it looks.

We left and then were starving and tired so we went to Wendy's for lunch. Yum. Then, we headed downtown to South Street Seaport for the Bodies exhibit. We chilled for a bit because it was a really nice day out. The actual exhibit was so friggin cool. The bodies were actually out on display, all cut up. Each room had a different bodily system in it. Started with skeletal, then muscular, circulatory---which was awesome, then nervous, then--endocrine. My favorite parts were when they showed like slices of the body, and also when they showed diseased parts of organs, like the smokers lung (also see chuilacoche), the ulcerous stomach, or colon with polyps. It was great. My least favorite part was trying to skirt through the reproductory system room as quickly as possible. It was sort of embarrassing. The fetus room was also weird, but cool.

We took the subway back home, I took a nap and he watched Hook. Then, around 6, we headed down to Astor place for our Blue Man Group show. I can't really in words describe how awesome it was and how cool it was for Alp. It was a SWEET show and they are the coolest guys ever! The things they do on stage are so creative and everything and I enjoyed every minute of it! We had to wear poncho's and stuff to protect from stuff that might "fly off the stage" I got banana on me and also some jello. Super super cool though. :) He was like elated the whole time! Then, I wanted to take him to Times Square when it was night time. He loved the lights. We were also both starving. We went to TGI Friday's and had a REALLY late dinner. It was horribly crowded in TS, so we headed back, he watched Napoleon until really late and I went to bed. It was such a FUN FUN FUN day!

Sunday:
Woke up later, because we had both stayed up "late". But later meant 9---don't get too excited. We ate breakfast again, I showered, etc...Then we walked through Central Park to the American Museum of Natural History. They have a new planetarium show out called "Cosmic Colissions" that looked AMAZING, so we went to that. It was really friggin' awesome. He's really into space so it was extra cool for him also. Then, we were going to see this IMAX movie about caves, but instead we went to the "Lizards and Snakes ALIVE" exhibit, with real live lizards and snakes. There was this one HUMONGO python, that could have killed me in one cage, and all these other vipers and stuff. It was really cool.

We were both hungry and tired and needed to head home to leave for the airport. And where did we go for a healthy lunch? Yep----7-11 for hot-dogs. It was quality. I ate like shit the whole weekend, but it didn't matter, it was all worth it. Plus our combined lunch was about $3. Then we left for the airport.

Basically all my experiences at the airport were pretty much the same: shitty. We left my house at like 1:20pm to get on the subway, get to 125th street and then catch the M60 right to LaGuardia. As we are walking up the stairs to ge to 125th street, I see the M60 bus pull away. My hope was not lost b/c they come a lot and I wasn't really worried. at this time it was about 1:40.

THE BUS DID NOT COME FOR ANOTHER 20 minutes. We were waiting for so long. I was starting to get nervous, but I knew that once we got on the bus that it would be ok. There wasn't a lot of traffic, thankfully. We roll up to the airport at like 2:50. We get inside and talk to like 8 people about where to check in an unaccompanied minor. They say that we have to wait in the INTERNATIONAL check in line, which is about 81301829302 times longer than ANY other line. I realize that we are going to miss the flight, if we indeed have to wait on this line. I snag another worker, an older guy, and do my best, damsel in distress with 10 year old boy about to miss flight act. It worked like a charm. We got shoved to the front of the line and sailed through. Then we just waited at the gate. There was a 1 minute scare where he couldn't find his wallet, but it was in one the 17239281903 "secret" pockets in his backpack. All was well. he boarded, with a hug and a kiss and then---I had to wait until the flight took off. Then I flew home in a cab, immediately thereafter taking a nap for two hours. Much needed.

Sorry to real funny jokes of wittiness, the weekend was what it was==fun, kid loving awesomeness.

Happy Monday!
Love,

Lauren

Death and Puerto Rico

You may think that is a weird title but I have much to report since last night. So after work I went over to Kate's to have a drink with Lindsay. The hot bartender that we usually see was there. We just chilled and then played photo hunt. It was good times. I'm really excited that she lives so close to my office b/c I seriously have seen her more in the past two weeks than in like the past two months. That is sort of a lie I guess, but seriously, it's kind of how I feel. So I'm VERY excited about it. We have to get Beth down on this stuff!

Then I took the bus home and talked with Jose for a while. I came home and made dinner cause Jess was soon coming over and we were going to talk about our vacation that we wanted to plan for Labor Day weekend. We had decided that we wanted to go away for a little bit and take a REAL vacation. We are GOING TO PUERTO RICO!!!!!! After many a hours deliberating about what is the best deal and everything---we finally narrowed it down to there---So for 3.5 days, we are going to be relaxing and maxin' all cool. :) Finally I'll be getting a tan! I am so excited about that fact at the very least!

The week before I think I'm going down with Jess to MD for pool time and also for Geza's potluck dinner. I hope that my dad is willing to drive me to the airport really early on the Monday morning. He had to do it once before after this BBQ I hosted for MLW earlier in the summer. Maybe he'll do it again, if not---I could always take a cab or something. So, that part of the plan is still up in the air.

OK---anyway, after I was done eating/making dinner I walked over to my coat closet and noticed that....

THERE WAS A DEAD MOUSE IN MY MOUSETRAP!

It was amazing. It was sort of sad to see the little guy with his broken neck in the trap, but I'm glad that those traps FINALLY caught something. I had to dispose of it, which was my least favorite part for sure. I put on rubber gloves and then got like 3 plastic bags and sort of scopped it up into them, dumped them in my trash and immediately threw it out int he trash heap. So---R.I.P Miles. I decided to name him. My uncle's name is Miles but it has nothing to do with him. I think that Miles is a good dead mouse name. :0

One gross thing was that there was mouse blood from his head on my carpet and so I had to spray resolve and get that shit out---that was my least favorite part.

Funny Conversation:
J: So something happened to me the other night when I was hooking up with Seamus that put me in the same category as Kip from Napoleon Dynamite.
L: (Pause) A mole on your neck got ripped off?
J: Hahahaha! You got it!! I was inspecting myself in the mirror the next morning to check for hickeys and I was like "What is that bloody hickey?"
J & L: (uncontrollable laughter)
L: How did that even happen?!
J: I don't know! But it's disconcerting, I always played with that mole when I was nervous and now it's gone!

Back to work maties!

Love,
Lauren

"WTFC!!!!!"

MMW and The Resevoir

Happy 41st Anniversary Mom and Papa! Keep it up!

So last night was a bit off. I walked halfway home, was really really starving and so I took the bus the rest of the way. All I could think about was eating some sort of dinner. I got home and my stomach was growling. I popped in a frozen pizza and then meanwhile ate tortillas and hummus. It was delish.

I sat down to watch the movie that Mike recommended for me: Malibu's Most Wanted. This movie was crazy. There is a joke at work and he calls me Maryland's Most Wanted (MMW) cause he thinks I'm ghetto and like too gangsta' for my own good. Anyway---the movie is totally whack. Jamie Kennedy is in it and so is Taye Diggs. I can't even do this movie justice. You should just watch it yourself. I bought it on Amazon for about 90 cents. Or you can just borrow it from me!!

I went running at the resevoir last night for the first time in a while. It was pretty disgusting outside, like very muggy and hot despite the fact that it was about 8pm when I went out for the run, I was still already really hot by the time I got to the water. There were a lot of people out so I thought I could stick it out pretty easy.

Here are some strange things I saw while running:

1. two mice, the first going into an apt. building on my way to the resevoir, the second scurried into some bushes along the path

2. a raccoon: yes, this is probably the most disturbing thing I saw. The raccoon was just straight chillin' by this tree. I was like wtf?!?!? No one else seemed to notice or care. Isn't it true that if you see a raccoon in the daytime, they are like for sure rabid or something? Anyway, right after I ran past it with my mouth open it ran across the path into where the water was.

3. a really really hot guy: I ran behind him for a while, but he was way faster than me so I had to watch his shirtless self run off into the sunset without me. It was a sad sad day.

4. an old guy wearing medals in a walker: who apparently is the mayor of Central Park and is like totally famous. Random, but I saw him. I've seen him before and alwasy wondered what his deal was. Now I know.

So I've started a new mission: Operation Keep Lauren Hydrated. (OK-LH)

This mission consists of several tactics, of which I monitor daily. The first thing is obviously how much liquid I consume on a daily basis. I typically start off the morning with a large cup of coffee, either iced or regular. Then, sometimes I drink Orange Juice because often in the morning I crave OJ for no apparent reason. Then I start on my water. My daily goal is to drink 1.5 Liters daily. That is how big my Poland Spring bottles are that are by my desk. So---if I finish one of those daily, I'm good to go.

I also keep track of how often I use the bathroom, just to make sure it's more than before. It is. It's actually a bit annoying having to get up constantly to pee. I am up to six a day, pretty consistently. Before, I could really go the whole day without peeing, well, maybe going like once.

Also---all the websites say that your pee should be light colored, almost clear, unless you take certain types of vitamins. I take vitamins too but my pee is pretty much clear. (Aren't you loving the detail I'm putting into this?)

Additionally, I went to some other websites that tell you how much water you should be consuming and the results are quite disturbing. Right now, I consume apprx. 50 fluid ounces a day of water at work. I often drink water at home, but I'm getting to that. For my body weight and amount of exercise I do, which is steadily increasing, I should be drinking twice that!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I would be stuck in the bathroom. I think I'm going to aim for a number in between 50 and 100. Cause 100 is just ridiculous!!

Because I run/workout and then sweat a lot, I'm supposed to be replenishing those fluids. I need to do a better job of doing that I think. I really like Gatorade and I think I'm going to start eating light meals, like eggs and stuff---and then drinking gatorade after I run or go to the gym. This will make my taste buds happy, get me some more calories and also re-hydrate me. :)

I'll keep you updated on this mission!!!

Happy Tuesday!

Love,
Lauren

Dr. Bora

Good afternoon---

The first installation of Dr. Bora is now available for viewing on the link to the side or by clicking here. Please submit questions for him to help you with! He's great and willing to answer any appropriate questions!

Sincerely,
His Agent and Aunt SimplyLauren

Lazy Weekend and Movies

This weekend was a much needed respite from the craziness that has been my life for the entireity of the summer. I did nothing. And when I say I did nothing, I clearly did SOME things, but really on the whole I did nothing. I slept a lot, cleaned, ran errands (well, I didn't actually "run" but you get the point), and organized. It was awesome. I honestly feel like I'm in control o fmy life again: something I haven't felt in a long time. It was the first weekend in aprx. 8 weekends that I was in New York. That number is out of control. Oh, I also went to the Met on Sunday for a bit since it was so nice out. I walked around some. I also caught up on my correspondence. So if you have been writing to me and I haven't been responding---you will be getting a letter soon enough.

Ugh, about an hour ago, Brittany called me on my cell phone and I forgot to turn down the volume on it AGAIN so it was seriously blasting "What you Know" and I was so embarrassed. I was also even more embarrassed when I couldn't turn it off. I had to like pick up the phone and then hang up on Brit to make the noise stop. I wish that I could find some way to remind myself about having the phone on vibrate while I'm at work. I technically could keep it on vibrate all the time, but that wouldn't be as fun as having that sweet ring now would it?

Since nothing really exciting happened this weekend, there isn't much to write about in the blog. Again, I apologize for this. OK, so let me talk about things that I'm really looking forward to that are coming up soon.

1. I know I've talked about this before but this weekend Alp is coming up to NYC to visit me all by himself!! I have such an exciting weekend planned. We are going to the bodies exhibit and also to the new planetarium show at the Natural History Museum. Also we have tickets to the Blue Man group on Saturday night in the 3rd row!!!! I seriously am excited to do all those things independently from the fact that it will be with Alp, though it will make it even more fun!

2. My softball game on Thursday: my awesome undefeated team will strike again. Our main rivals are out of the competition, practically securing our win of the championship.

3. When today is over. I already want to be home and away from work. :)

Movies that I saw this weekend and mini-reviews:

Pirates of the Caribeean: Dead Man's Chest
This movie was highly entertaining. I really enjoyed it. I think that Orlando Bloom is really cute but a horrible actor. Johnny Depp is the highlight of this movie by far. I really really enjoyed it. Will it win an Oscar? Hell no, but honestly I don't care.

The Night Listener
Don't go and see this. It pretty much creeped me out. Not like, "The Ring" creeped me out, but enough for me to tell you not to go and see it. Toni Colette is creepy and Robin Williams is also as usual. It was a scary "based on a true story" type plot. You should NOT see it. It creeps me out just to talk about it on here.

Anyway, hope everyone has a good week. Especially those who are returning from a two-week stint at MLW. My thoughts are with all of you!

Keep in touch!

Love,
Lauren

A/C and Blair HS

Yesterday was eventful. If by eventful, I mean just extremely interesting. A few things happened that were strange but noteworthy. It all started in the morning when I tried to wake up. I had the alarm set for 6 like I usually do---and then press snooze for a bunch of times. But actually what happened was that that around 5:30 i woke up drenched in sweat because I don't have an a/c thing in my bedroom and since it was the sahara outside, consquentially--couldn't sleep. So---I moved outside to the living room, where is was apprx. 20 degress cooler. Then I immediately passed out and then woke up late. I came in all frazzled. Shocking right? I told my boss about the whole no sleeping situation and how I had not been getting a good sleep all week. He then began his mission to help me sleep: facilitate Lauren getting a new air conditioner for her bedroom. He "made a few calls" and then all of a sudden, I had picked out an a/c from P.C. Richards and paid a wholesale price for it. And was in a cab uptown to go pick it up and bring it to my house. This plan was going very smoothly. Keep in mind, this is DURING the work day. He mandated me to go uptown, buy the a/c and then go to my house to install it and then come back to work. Only part of his plan actually worked. Let me explain.

So, the lady from PC Richards calls me and is like, "You need to come to the store RIGHT NOW or all the A/Cs are going to be sold out." So---I hop in a cab and race to the 86th street store, the one closest to my apartment. Like clockwork, I go in, tell them my name and why I'm there and everything has already been taken care of---yeah what?! I got connections!

So then...I take the box with the box holding the a/c and try to carry it back to my apartment. At this point, I'd like to mention that I'm not a weak person. In fact, I have a lot of upper body strength and I pride myself on being somewhat in shape. When I picked up the box, I felt like I was going to die. It had handles on the side and everything but you know when you have handles on the side you need to be able to firmly grasp the handle part going inside the box for a firm and solid grip. Well, one problem was that the a/c was in the way of me having a firm grasp. So, my fingers were getting smushed and it was also possibly the heaviest thing I've ever tried to lift. I got out the door and took about 5 steps. And I had to put it down. I mustered up the strength to cross the street with the behemouth b/c that was the way that I needed to go to get in a cab to my apartment. One "funny" thing was that no cabs were coming. Like, seriously, no cabs were coming. This was highly irritating to me. I then had to somehow get the fucking air conditioner across the street yet again, wasting energy. Did I mention that it was aprx. 105 degrees out yesterday and I'm my work clothes, drenched in sweat and quite ticked off. It's hard to see the end result when you are in the state I was in.

So, I began to wait for a cab that would be "coming" in the other direction. I waited for aprx. 15 minutes. (Guys, it actually was 15 minutes, not like Lauren making up long times for purposes of exaggerating the story) I walked over to the guy that was outside of PCR and asked him what he thought I should do. I clearly explained that I needed to get a cab, and that none were coming and the ones that were had people in them. I mean, it is ridiculous, this is New York City!!! By the way, there was this REALLY HUGE fat woman with the biggest boobs I've ever seen also trying to hustle a cab. I'm sure the cab driver felt bad for her and that's why he pulled over. She was also a bitch. So now, I had a big boobed bitch to deal with and also still no way to get home with my damn a/c. I was really getting pissed.

Then all of a sudden, the really nice guy with cornrows at PCR told me he was going to call his "friend that sells umbrellas up the street" because "he has a van and sometimes he does this kind of stuff." I was a bit skeptical at first, and then I glanced down at the huge box of death and said "ok". I told the cornrow guy I only had eight bucks and that's all he would be able to get out of me. A cab ride would have cost apx. 4.50 since I lived about 2.2 miliseconds from the store. Do you now get the picture on how heavy the box must have been? Yeah, seriously.

Five seconds later the guy comes with his van. He's totally cool, has a gold tooth and he introduced himself and everything, although his name now escapes me. He was super nice and we chatted in the car about random things----and then he put it right on my doorstep. I gave him the $8 and he was on his way. I had to get this thing up a flight of stairs.

I changed really quickly and then went back downstairs to get the box. I heaved it up the stairs slowly and finally got it back into my bedroom. Sweat was pouring down my whole body. I had no interest in installing it. Also, the last time I installed an A/C, the one in my kitchen, was when Emily was visiting. It took us like an hour to figure everything out---I was hot, uncomforable and really just wanted to get back to work in the A/C. I left it on the floor of my bedroom, showered, and then returned to work.

The rest of the day at work was uneventful.

**post traumatic injuries: I am experiencing massive pain in my biceps and arms and also where my radius and ulna connect to my humerus---my inside elbow area. Cool air has a big price to pay.

After work, Lindsay and I decided to hang out. Happy Hour it was. We were going to this place on 50th---Kate's something...anyway, they had good specials and the bar tender was really cute and gave us a free round. It was fantastic to hand out with her after the accident/wedding/etc.** Derek showed up and we chilled with him for a while. Then, we were starving and went in search of a place along 2nd to eat like American food and stuff. It was this like tavern place I think, I can barely remember, b/c I was relatively drunk. More drunk than I ever thought b/c I only had like 2-3 beers. It was a sad story. So---I pigged out on a burger and fries and then I was going to go home and then go out with Jess. When we left I was fully planning on doing all of that. But then, I got way more tired and felt like sick and still sort of drunk.

Ok---Lindsay dragged me back to her apartment withere Derek and this kid he's friends with from college, Josh. We had found out during dinner that Josh grew up in like "Sligo Creek" area. Which was random and of course we are all OBSESSED that he was from SS. So----we walked in and the following conversation transpired:

Me and LB: Hey, where did you go to high school?
Josh: Blair
Me and LB: NO WAY!~ No you didn't! Stop lying!
Josh: No, seriously I did. I graduated in 1997.
Me and LB: Nuh-uh! You didn't!
*LB goes and fetches the yearbook*
Lauren: Tell me your last name now!
*looks in yearbook*
Lauren: OMG!!!! THERE YOU ARE!!!! Holy crap!!!!
Lindsay: *laughing" Oh my god! How did I not know this before!
Lauren and Lindsay: like staring at the picture and then immediately becoming obsessed with the people he knew for about 25 minutes.

Then, I couldn't participate in the conversation anymore b/c I was too out of it. The adrenalyn had worn off from the initial excitement of him attending Blair. I then realized there was no way I could go out much less install and A/C.

I walked to the subway with Josh, and we talked about math and how he hates law school.

Then I had a barely awake conversation with Jaxx (I'm sorry about that), got home, passed out on the couch and then woke up very rested.
---------------------
I'm playing touch football with my company this fall. I'm really into organized sports, especially ones that involve running and then going to a bar afterwards. It's just fantastic. I think our team is going to be insane. Don't be jealous. Seriously.

I also decided to quit gymnastics. It's too hard and it makes me way too sore the day after. I know I haven't gone in a while and I'm generally not a quitter----but there are just some things I have to say "no" to. Get my drift. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll find some other passion that I'll attempt to pursue and

In Other News----my blog entry got posted on the NWB pool site. You should take a peek if you care. It's sort of lame, I'll admit, but it gets the job done.

Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugs Gotcha!!!

Love,
Lauren


**I also want to mention that on Wednesday night I hung out with Beth and it too, was really fun and awesome and we eat Flor and stuffed our faces and it really was quality time together. I love you Bethy!

Cell Phone and Shout outs

So recently, my cell phone has started to act strange. It no longer tells me who left a message. Sometimes when people call me----it rings and I answer it and it becomes connected to the person I'm talking to and then it just keeps ringing. Also, sometimes I shut it to make it stop ringing and is still totally keeps ringing, I have to hit it really hard in order for it to stop ringing "Big Poppa". So---I looked on VerizonWireless.com for some of my options. I really am not in a position to buy a new phone right now. It is actually the last thing that I want to spend money on at this point. But---I was coming to no other conclusion. It turns out that I had that thing called "new every two". Anyway, they give you 100 dollars off a cell phone every two years. My time was up. So I bought a Razr phone, the silver one----for $154.00 which ended up being only $4. b/c I also on top of the $100 off, I got a $50 rebate. Talk about GOOD DEAL right?! Anyway, I was pleased with my purchase. I am frustrated at its complexity though. There are so many features and things that I am a bit overwhelmed. I am usually pretty good at figuring out things but this thing---it took me like an hour to figure out how to get a ring tone. Anyway, currently my ring is "What you Know" by T.I. This seemed like a good idea when I was downloading it---but when it rang this morning at work, I was REALLy embarrassed, so I put it on vibrate for now.

Last night I hung out with Jessica. It was good times, lots of fun things to catch up on. We got manicures and pedicures, something I desperately needed after MLW and how all my nails were all jacked up. It was cool and I got a really cute pink color---shocking choice huh?!

We went to Noodles 28 for dinner and it of course was AMAZING. I have leftovers that I'm going to have for dinner and I'm totally 100% excited about it too!

I made Court and Tommy G Mix CDs last night of good rap music. Hopefully they'll appreciate my efforts and listen to it. They are both stuck in the Bruce Springsteen era and can't get out. I'm trying to help them along their music knowledge journey.

Why is it SO FLIPPING HOT in NYC?!?! It's like the days from hell. Literally, the fires of Satan. I can't hang! Thank god I'm inside in the A/C. Going out feels good for like 5 seconds and then I immediately want to go back inside and/or take a shower.

I really want the new Nike Shocks, or however you spell it----the ones that you can design on your own. They are so amazing. I would get pink and black ones, I made the tightest combination. Too bad they are $120 and I can't really afford them right now. I just bought a $4 phone for chrissake!!! Sike, I mean, I need new running shoes, but I rally don't have the money for those shoes. I'll probably stick to aasics or something that is a bit cheaper.

Shout OutS:
Kim: I wrote you an email this morning---sorry I'm a bad correspondent
Emily: I know you don't read this but it makes me feel better to confess here---I'll call you back soon.
Nick: I'll call you today and we'll catch up before you leave me forever.
Jared: sup?
Derryck, AB, Aliza, Jaxx, and Dustin: I'm the JUGGERNAUT BITCH! I miss you all so much! Hope you are having great weeks at Senior High!
Jason: Will you marry me?
Sagar: My Boooooooooooooooooots...............

Love,
Lauren

Car Accident and MLW

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNABELLE!!!! I Miss and Love you!!!

This entry is long overdue. I've been wondering when I'd have the energy to muster up a good entry after everything that has happened. The past week/week and a half have provided me with an opportunity to self-reflect and sort of get everything back on track. Let's start out with right before MLW----

So, I was stressing out to the max everyday practically. I would wake up with stomach pains about how much I had to do for MLW and just generally freak out. I had no time to do anything except MLW things and also get ready for Carolyn's wedding. It was Thursday afternoon, on the 20th. I was running all over Manhattan and Queens trying to get materials for camp and still get to bed by a reasonable hour. Of course, the reasonable hour thing did not go as planned. I stayed up late and spray painted shirts for the rest of my FIFA team. I ended up going to bed around 3. My original plan was to then wake up and get to work early, print out all the remaining stuff for Mix and group and then around 10, leave, pick up the rental car, swing over to the west side and see Beth and then drive to DC---to get ready for MLW and then pick up my parent's truck to drive on-site. I sleep through my alarm and wake up at 9:30---half an hour before I wanted to leave work. Needless to say, I call in, say that I'm NOT coming in and then manage to stop freaking out enough to pack up the rest of my stuff and go get the rental car. Because I'm a total idiot, I go to the WRONG rental car company and am there for like 25 minutes convincing them I have a reservation. I'm such a tool. Then I basically RUN 15 blocks to the correct rental car place and pick up the right car. Finally, I am in the car and on my way to pick up Beth. I have to say that the 4 hour drive down to Silver Spring was the highlight of my day. You will continue to see why as I go on.

I drive to Beth's mom's house---we pick up her Explorer, only to also find that there is a HUGE bees nest in the door of her car, forcing me to sit in the back like a passenger in a cab. Then, we drop off the car at the rental place and Beth drives me home. I immediately throw in a laundry and start the whole packing process. Nothing is in my parents house that I need. My little shower caddy is MIA, my sheets I always bring to camp, everything. It totally sucks! I then had to figure out how I was going to get all the crap copied that I needed to all while trying to get to Westminster by 8pm for the "mandatory meeting". After a few hours of me trying to get everything accomplished, I realized that the 8pm ETA was not happening. So I essentially gave up on it. I drove over to Kinkos in Silver Spring and started working on the mix plans that I had to print out. We still have other information left and I needed to finalize the player profiles. But, when I went to print out the things I needed to----the printers were down. ALL THE PRINTERS WERE DOWN IN THE ENTIRE KINKOS. Are you serious? Why is my luck so bad?! So at that point I had a breakdown. I called Jose and started to cry. In the traditional Lauren freak out mode. I told him I wanted to quit. He said that I shouldn't and so then I stopped crying and went back home. He also said that there was a Kinko's in Germantown that I could do to that was on the way to site. I decided to adopt his plan. I packed up the truck, and was off. It was an easy drive to 270 to the Kinkos. I was extra proud of myself b/c I didn't even really need directions, I sort of found it on my own. A rarity on my part. I was in Kinko's for about 20 minutes and dropped 50 bucks there before I decided that it was time for me to be on my way. I pulled into a gas station and found the road that would take me to the college----27 North, right through Damascus. It seemed like a straight shot and that I would actually be at the college shortly. I was excited to get there and see everyone. It was about 9:45 when the accident happened. It sort of came out of nowhere---as most of them do. I was driving along on the road. The car speakers had just blown out like a month ago. It was totally annoying but I was actually at peace trying to calm myself down on the road. Then all of a sudden, I notice that one of the cars in the lane next to me is like REALLY close to being in my lane. But for a second I thought I was just over reacting and that it was no big deal. I often think that cars are closer than they actually are---especially at night. But, it turns out that my intuition was right b/c right at that moment---this car came swerving right into my lane, head on about to hit me. With my quick reflexes, I swerved out of the way only causing him to hit the left side of the front, breaking my wheel and axel and thus causing me to lose control of the car.

I flew across the other side of the road and hit an embankment of grass which stopped my momentum. I was glad to have slammed into something finally. I got out of the car and immediately, this wonderful woman came rushing out to see if I was ok. The police and ambulance were there within minutes. They all took care of me. My face was bleeding and I felt all banged up. My arm was scraped and bruised. My face and arms and back hurt the most. Jose and Charlie came to pick me up. They were lifesavers. Especially Jose, who stayed with me the entire night at the hospital. He is an incredible friend and I love him very much. I had to get a tetanus shot, which ended up hurting more than any part of the car accident in the following days. I think it was b/c I got all cut up from the glass that shattered from the rear view mirror into the car. It sucked. But, I'm alive and very thankful for my second chance at life. Haha.

So the car accident, has caused a lot of life reflection and stuff. It's been weird but cool. I'm glad I have the people I have in my life and my family and everything. I'm also really thankful for all the experiences I've had that have shaped me into who I've become.

The accident caused me to miss Carolyn's wedding---which totally SUCKED!!! I had been looking forward to it all summer. I'm sorry again Carolyn. I blame the asshole that hit me and ruined my truck.

Annie----
Many people think that Annie is a really cute name. I mean, when I first saw her name on my delegate list, I was pretty sure she was going to be cute and awesome. Cute and awesome were the last two words I would use to describe Annie. Actually, maybe sane and literate would be the last two words I'd use, but still, you get my point. I knew that something was wrong with her on the very first day. We were playing a get to know name game. A game where one delegate would say someones name, kick a soccerball to them and then then everyone would do the same. it required no talking except for the name of the person you were kicking it to. Plus, everyone had a name tag (button) on. Annie, just like pointed and then kicked the ball. It was totally weird. Then, I noticed that she didn't talk at all. Yeah, at ALL. Our team started to think she was mute. Then right before the "What is Leadership?" slideshow I went down to the office and pulled her file. It said that she was severly learning disabled. It also said that she might need a scribe sometimes. She was also taking Zoloft. Wow----what a combination of things. I decided to call her mom and ask what sorts of things we needed to do to make sure that Annie got the most out of camp. For all of you that read this blog that AREN'T from MLW---you should know that we pride oursleves on teaching in alternative ways and that not everything is read or written. However, there is a significant amount of things that are in the guidebook that delegates need to read. Most importantly, the schedule. The mom said that she reads at a third grade level AT BEST and pretty much can't write b/c she's dyslexic and gets everything confused. My team started to think about how everything was going to affect Annie.

She really seemed to be enjoying herself on Monday----engaged in classes and participating. She wasn't talking, but she was smiling and having fun. On Monday, Annie approached Kelsey and asked her if she knew "Johnny". Kelsey said no, that she didn't know Johnny. But Annie then went on to say that she knows they know each other b/c Kelsey was huggin Johnny in Walmart. Johnny Ward with a black mohawk. That totally freaked out Kelsey. Annie also asked Emily if she remembered Johnny from soccer camp. Emily actually was trying hard to remember any Johnny she ever went to camp with. Annie now is mute and has a made up freaky imaginary friend.

Annie also gets lost a lot. She couldn't go anywhere by herself. She would get confused and disoriented and have no idea where she was going. Someone had to walk her everywhere. SHe would lie about having taken her medicine. Then two seconds later, like re-tract the lie when I caught her in the lie.

On Monday night during our team meeting. Everyone kept hearing screaming coming from upstairs. I immediately run up to the bathroom on the 2nd floor, where my girls are sleeping. I hear the most disturbing types of screams that you will ever remember. It was Annie, hysterically screaming and wailing. Like someone had just died in her family. I managed to coax her out of the stall and into my room so that she would stop that incessant screaming.

I got her to start breathing deeply and to stop crying. She kept repeating that her arm and back hurt. I took her downstairs and gave her some motrin or something hoping that it would feel better. Then she sort of looked like she could pass out at any moment, I took her back upstairs, gave her a flavo and then like----prayed that she could sleep. She didn't. She kept whining and everything about hurting and everything. It was horrible. I had no idea what to do. I kept making up stories about times I went to Mexico and ate ice cream and how fun it was. All lies. Total lies, just to get her to sleep. Then, I asked her if she wanted to go downstairs to call her mom. I mean, she should totally know about all of this. BTW---it was appx. 2am. We went downstairs and called her mom, Annie didn't want to talk to her mom at first, but it appeared that her mom was asking her all kinds of questions about where she hurt and then subsequently wanted her to go to the ER. Guess who had to go to the hospital with her? You guessed it! Me!!!! Into the ambulance I went, with psycho Annie. The minute she found out she was going to the hospital she seemed really happy and elated. It weirded me out and I knew that something was wrong. I came out into Whiteford lobby and was like---"Jaxx, I think she's lying. Something's not right". That didn't get me out of going to the hospital with her though. So---we get there, Annie is fooling around on the gurney and being overall annoying. I hated her at this point. She wasn't talking just like messing around. She refused to answer a lot of the doctors questions until I mandated and yelled at her until she did. Then, here is the kicker. He's asking her where it hurts and like legitimately checking her out to see what is wrong. Then he touches her face and asks if it hurts there. At this point, she takes her two index fingers and starts digging them into her like cheeks/temples really hard. Then she says, "yes, it hurts." The doctor looks at her and then slowly pulls her hands away from her face, and re-asks her the question. Then, he sort of gives her a little smile and asks, "Annie, is this a game to you?" and she says, "Yes." and nods her head.

At that moment. I wanted to punch her in the face. And, don't get me wrong people, I don't often have the urge to hurt kids. But I did at that moment. The doctor immediatly ordered her discharge and I was so happy. Right before the doctor came in to check on her, I told Annie that her mom was going to pick her up the next morning and that she wouldn't be staying at camp anymore. She got all agitated and then sort of half-yelled, "I don't want to go. Why do I have to do?!" I calmly explained that it was because she was sick and needed to go home.

After Jackie signed the paper, Annie had the nerve to ask whether she was getting an xray. Are you effing serious?!

The rest of MLW was sort of blur. There were hard moments, when I just wanted to be home in bed. The exhaustion was indescribable. The delegates were great, but my team was having some communication issues that really continued to stress me out. I tried to put all my personal emotion aside while I was with the kids b/c I didn't think it was fair for them to have to deal with it. I also did this somewhat with my team, not allowing my sadness/fear project onto them. Whether this was a good idea or not, is still questionable. I ended up having nice closure to the week and I feel happy about how things progressed. It was a good but tough experience for me to have.

On Saturday night, my mom and dad came and picked me up from McDaniel. We had dinner at Baughers and then, for the entire car ride home to Silver Spring, I was sleeping and passed out. I then, woke up, changed into PJs and then slept until Sunday at 1pm when I woke up, ate a sandwich and then fell asleep again until 4pm. Pretty much just in time for me to pack up and hop on a flight back to NYC.

So---I'm back at work, in a daze a bit. Still depressed about MLW being over, thinking about my life and also, thinking about how exhausted I am. I'm wondering about my future role in this organization and to what capacity of things I can actually handle next summer.

I'll be back on track with this blog soon enough. I'm not sleeping well at night at all. I toss and turn and have bad dreams. It's quite frustrating. I can't wait for a good nights sleep. Maybe it'll be tonight.

Happy Tuesday!

Love,

Lauren

Final Thoughts: COMB YOUR BEARD!!!

UPDATES:

1. the girl I hate at work that always wears polo dresses got fired

2. four delegates have emailed me since camp ended. I love them.