Dorm Sweet Dorm

My bunk is the snazziest. They may not allow me to bring my own comforter, but they didn't say I couldn't bring a duvet cover. HA!


It's luggage! It's a handy storage unit! Two, two, two things in...well, you get the idea. If only it made hundreds of julienne fries...


I am, apparently, sharing a dorm room with Cinderella.



Outen? Must be a yankee thing.

Paradise or Prison? Yes.

Sometimes it's not so much where you are as where you're not...

Misplaced in Beantown, and Other Misadventures of the Summer Camp for Adults

Okay, so I finally got to Boston, which is a long story I don't want to go into here. Getting out of Boston was no picnic either. For starters, I don't think the guys at the rental car place gave me the most efficient route to the interstate. What really caused the problem, though, was the lack of signage and lane markings. Well, not so much the lane markings, but that was just weird. Apparently people in New England like to just pull out in front of you too. Oh wait - that's everywhere. It took me about an hour just to get out of the city, and I was stressed out the entire time. There were times when it was just one huge lane full of cars traveling in a blob together. There must be a paint shortage. Once I finally got on I-95, I had the chance to enjoy the spaciousness of my upgraded rental car. Certain that I would get stuck with the blue jelly bean on the lot, I was astounded when the guy instead took me to a Hyundai Sonata with sun roof and XM satellite radio. It has lots of buttons to push, which kept me entertained the entire way to New Hampshire. I found the school without too much trouble, and got settled in. Not as hippy-ish as I had expected, but definitely like summer camp. I did not get much sleep last night (after starting my day at 4:15 a.m.) due to the noises down the hall. I have never heard guys giggle so much in my life. I was really beginning to wonder if they might be having a pillow fight down there. I didn't go look. Not wanting to be the cranky old lady, I hung a blanket across my bunk, but on my eye mask and ear plugs, and did the best I could. I'm not sure I was ever fully asleep, but at least I got some rest of a sort. Tonight I'm hoping that people will be a little more tired and will also respect the quiet hours, but I'm getting out my iPod just incase. A little Sade or something ought to put me right out. I'm just hoping that I can stay awake long enough to do tonight's textbook reading. Not bloody likely, though. I nearly fell asleep on my feet at the local Wal-mart. Ah, camp. I will try to post some photos next time.

The Toxic Circus

As I prepare to head off to the "summer camp for adults", also known as SOLO, I find that I must also deal with the incredible frustrations of subtropical pest management. One of the joys of living in south Florida is having to share one's abode with all manner of creep-leggedy whatsits, one of the favorites being the ever-gnawing, ever-pooping termite. Our entire condo building is about to be tented, and as we were given no real choice in this matter, we have no option but to get on with all the cumbersome preparations associated with this deadly carnival coming to town. Why they make the tents in such cheerful, festive colors I will never understand. The truth is that the whole process is a royal pain in the hindquarters. The tents should be striped black and white, like old-fashioned prison garb. Before the exterminators arrive, we must remove all foods (except those in non-porous containers with factory seals), all living things, including plants, any moisture-proof mattress covers (???), all valuables, and basically anything we don't want to be stolen or destroyed. The company, naturally, has you sign the standard waiver stating that they are not responsible for theft/destruction/residential armageddon, and they suggest that you might think about hiring a security guard. Why? You have to leave all the windows open. Oh, but the house is required to be locked. Oh, except you have to give them a key, and then they'll leave it somewhere when they're done. Eh... There's also a bit about detaching any and all fencing from the house, which is going to be difficult considering ours is cinder block and basically part of the foundation. The outcome of this is that they have to tent over the fencing, which means they kill all the grass and other plants in the yard. I know this because the other building got done last week, and it looks like a targeted agent orange strike. Swell. Raid and D-con make my nose bleed, so I'm glad I'll be up in New Hampshire with the hippies for a few weeks. While the alleged "residue-free" treatment is going on, I will be happily crunching granola and listening to my classmates wax poetic about gnarly climbing routes. Then I'll come home and start the arduous process of washing every fricking thing in the house, because I might be poisoned by the "residue-free" treatment if I don't. I almost prefer the termites because at least they won't creep into my nervous system late at night. Wait 'til I tell the hippies about this...