Lunatics and Princesses

The trip to/from Jersey- kind of hellish, in a very low-key way, with a brief beach interlude in the middle. The beach- absolutely wonderful, but in no way relaxing. Which is definitely a good thing... I mean, who wants to go swimming in calm water where the waves aren't four feet taller than you are and will knock you out cold if you're not paying attention?

FINALLY was pressed into buying bikini bottoms. On the boardwalk, in fact, after going in for ten minutes in board shorts and a tank top. That turned out to be a dumb idea, so I took the plunge and bought some bottoms from a bunch of beautiful Russian people who called me Sweetie and looked very concerned for my health and possibly my sanity when I walked into their store, dripping wet, sandy, and with a sock on one hand like a mitten.

(The sock was there because I had gotten a spectacularly bad rope burn earlier in the morning while walking the dog. Dog 1 saw Dog 2 and took the fuck off, dragging a leash and twelve feet of thin rope through my hand before I could think. It was so bad that I got faint and queasy and my hand wouldn't stop shaking when Nana wrapped it for me. We decided to go to the beach anyway, and she put a sock over the bandages to keep the sand out.)

Swimming at the shore when it's rough is like really great sex. You get knocked over, your clothes get ripped off, it's wet, salty, and all parties involved end up with skinned knees. In between the really rough parts, there's nice pleasant swells to catch and just kind of ride, when the water kind of cradles you. It's thrilling, and you laugh and giggle just because you can. However, during sex Quinn never blows a whistle at me because I'm drifting too close to the end of the bed. Apparently life guards don't appreciate it when you get pushed in the direction of a giant pier.

Went home the next day. Chilled on SI for all of a half an hour, but Nana drove by my old house for me. I'm so glad I'm from the North Shore- I miss it so, so much. Then I took the ferry into the city and caught the subway to Port Authority, where I missed the bus by fifteen minutes. As a result, I caught the 6:35 and didn't get home until midnight.

That's about it, really. School starts tomorrow. Oh, and Dad acquired a Hammond Organ today. Mom is gonna be flippin pissed when she finds out that her china cabinet is being moved to accomodate it.

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It ended today with me and my father not speaking to each other. Again.

To recap: My cousin James calls me on Wednesday night. He tells me that he'll be here to pick me up the next day. After much discussion, we decide to take my sister with us, too. After he gets here on Thursday night, I drag him to go see War of the Worlds with Quinn and Olivier.

On Friday we drive down to Princeton, stopping in Pennsylvania for mass quantities of fireworks. MASS. QUANTITIES. OF. FIREWORKS. Holy hell, I have never seen so many explosive devices grouped together in one warehouse before. And none of you people give me condescending looks, either, because neither have you. This place was like half of Wegmans filled with fireworks, and there were more outside in eighteen-wheeler trucks lined up in the parking lot. James just about had a seizure, he was so excited.

Saturday was the day of James's 21st birthday party. I may have forgotten to mention this, but the entire point of this trip was to go to this party and get absolutely smashed. Observe a telephone conversation a week ago Friday:

James: I'm turning 21 next Saturday.
Me: I know. Awesome.
James: Come down and get drunk with me.
Me: Sounds like a plan.

Family Party:

The Big Thing/Great Experiment was James and Uncle Kevin deep frying a turkey in the backyard. Nana brought over a disposable video camera and most of the movie is of the turkey. The turkey being fried, the turkey being talked about, eaten, contemplated, looked at, whatever.

Everyone went in the pool. Lots of people went on the trampoline. There was cake and food in abundance, and it was great great great. Not suprisingly, James got lots of liquor for presents. He also got to set off a bunch of fireworks, which made him happy and wowed everyone else.

Big Kids Party:

James, Amanda, Laura, Dan, and I went over to Blair and Julia's apartment. We got fucked up. There were maragritas. There were kittens. There were other things. Dan, Amanda, James and I sat in an empty room, watching the moon set as we killed a bottle of wine. I remember thinking at the time that the whole scene was very Rumi. That's the only thing I remember thinking, except for something obscure that had to do with my sociology professor.

Then we went to a diner. I don't remember it. Apparently I was doing strange things with my hair.

Went back to the apartment and crashed until one in the afternoon. Then we went and saw Howl's Moving Castle.

Fourth of July:

Nana came over again on Monday. The weather was beautiful, so we sat by the pool and had margaritas and donuts, which, let me tell you, is an odd combination for breakfast. Then we decided to go canoeing, so we cleaned off the canoe, hijacked Laura's canoe, and we all trooped over to the park.

Canoeing on two margaritas and a donut is interesting at first. People make fun of you when you can't steer the damn boat, but you'll get the hang of it after a while.

After we got home, there was barbeque and more fireworks. Yay Fourth of July.

( And then there was today... cut for angsting )