Broken thought process...uhh...Saturday

Hi, my name is Bridgete, do you want to live with me?

I swear I'm about to become some crazy person walking up to strangers saying that.  I've managed to relax a bit after hearing that the French girl decided it's "too far" for her...I BARELY live in a suburb.  And you can actually walk to the T, which is an improvement on most suburbs.  Anyway...I have had some other messages and contacts since then and I think I was mostly just frustrated that I didn't have it lined up before coming to Portland.  But, now I'm here, Amanda has my key to let people in that want to look at the place, and I trust her to determine whether they seem normal (and, of course, I can always Google them and run a Facebook check and whatnot).  I don't know how they'll feel about not getting to meet me, and I'm pretty well-hidden on all the social networking sites...but I guess I'll just hope that they feel like a weird person wouldn't be friends with someone normal like Amanda, and let them see how I am on Facebook and such.  So...we'll see.  If I don't find someone by September 1st, then...maybe within the first week or so it will get worked out.  So, I'm just doing all the same stuff, and sending out the roommate vibes to the universe to bring me the right person, and soon.

So, like I said, I'm in Portland.  Flew out yesterday.  Had several random conversations with people in the airport, that was interesting.  The best one was probably the woman who broke her ankle while rock climbing...which didn't make me want to go any less, it's possible she made me want to go more just by talking with me about it.  That is the adventurous thing I REALLY want to try.  Ever since I did one of those climbing walls at summer camp.  I know it's not anywhere near the same thing, it's just that I got such a rush.  I also once decided that, instead of wading through the river at the bottom of this gorge to get to the waterfall at the end (the standard way), I would sort of go along the rock wall.  No training.  And I did it.  And I loved it.  So anyway, she told me about the best climbing gym in the Boston area, I'll have to look into the classes and stuff there.

I made art with cement today at my mom's artists' group.  We put a leaf on a pile of sand then put cement around the leaf.  It should look really cool because it will pick up the veins in the leaf.  Then I ended up being the only person who didn't actually TOUCH the wet cement with my hands, and my mom told them a funny story about me and my opposition to getting "messy" even when I was little.  One day we were fingerpainting in preschool, and we got our pieces of paper and our blobs of paint, and apparently I took my index finger, smeared through it once, and then held up my finger and said "I'm done!" and wanted my finger cleaned.

The "not getting messy" thing is where my opposition to "messy" food comes from.  I've only recently become willing to eat things like sloppy joes and pulled pork sandwiches...and even now I make a great deal of effort to not make a mess.  I still don't like donuts with any sort of goo in the middle, partly because they're messy and partly because they're too sweet for me.  As a kid I rarely wanted my ice cream in a cone because it would drip everywhere...yuck.  I must have been the one child who never ran up to an adult smearing sticky fingers all over them, because if my fingers ever actually GOT sticky, the only one I was running to was my mom so we could clean them.

We're going to a play of Pride and Prejudice at U of P tonight.  I'm excited, it should be fun.  =)

I apparently forgot to tell basically everyone I was coming to Portland.  It's been that kind of summer.  =P

Severus is having his own version of a vacation in Amanda's boyfriend's house.  We decided it was easier to just load him in the carrier and send him off to someone's house instead of someone going out to my place every day.  Especially since he gets lonely and wants love and pets and to be around people.  Amanda said he's doing well and that a couple of her BF's housemates already adore him.  Naturally, since he's the best cat ever.  ;)

Ha.  My laptop clock still says Boston time.  It's 7:13 there (4:13 here).  It threw me off when I glanced at it because we're supposed to go eat before going to the theatre and if it were really after 7 that would not be happening...

Speaking of time zones, I have a love/hate relationship with flying west.  I love it because I feel like I've been given a gift of 3 hours when I can board a plane at 5:30, fly for 6 hours, and land at 8:30.  But I hate it because then when I'm here I wake up at some ridiculous hour for the first few mornings, which then makes me tired when I'm trying to do stuff in the evening.  Today I was up at 6:30.  And that was after forcing myself to go back to sleep when I first woke up sometime when it was still dark...I'm guessing about 4.  I didn't feel like reaching for my phone to look at it...I just decided "still dark" meant go back to sleep.

But...I just have a hate/hate relationship with flying east again...losing 3 hours AND feeling like I'm being jolted awake at some god-awful hour when my alarm goes off again is just not pleasant in any way, shape, or form.

Well, I should start getting ready to go.  Until next time!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

A Thursday of broken thoughts

I had the most perfect driving moment on my way home today.  Traffic cleared, the sun was out, and my CD switched to "I'm Yours" (which I think of as the ultimate summer song) right as I hit about 70 on the suddenly open freeway.  Windows were down, the only thing that would have made it better is if I had a convertible.  But I at least have a sunroof.

It ended abruptly when I hit more traffic.  But for that moment...I was reminded of why I love driving.

I had the most random week.  Saturday I went out to dinner with Amanda and her new boy, and ended up at a party where I met my "twin."  No resemblance, but personality-wise, we're right there.  And the party was with some of the most fun people I've ever met.

Monday I was IMing with a certain boy and complaining about the whole roommate search.  I jokingly said something about him moving out here so he can be my roommate.  We had some back and forth with that, a few minutes passed, and suddenly he said, "I applied for a job in Westwood, is that near you?"  Until that moment, I thought we were still joking.  I nearly fell out of my chair.  So for that day and the next, we had a few "if I come to Boston" conversations.

Meanwhile, I'd been contacted on one of the roommate finding sites I signed up for recently by someone who is looking for an apartment for 6 months while she does an exchange program from France.  All the roommate things tell you to be wary of people trying to come from foreign countries because there's this rather elaborate scam involving sending a "security deposit" but then saying that now they don't have money for plane fare so can you cover them?  It's sad that people fall for that...anyway.  I did at least reply, it wasn't presented QUITE like the other attempts at a scam that I've received so I thought she deserved some kind of response.  I responded to her questions about the place and then not-so-subtly said, "So, you said you're coming on the 6th?  Have you made arrangements for somewhere to stay while you look for a place?  I'd like to meet with you and ask some questions..."  Wednesday, lo and behold, she replied that she's coming on the 6th (so, today, at this point) and has arranged for a stay in a hostel for 6 days, and would love to get together and meet with me and see the apartment.  I'm meeting her tomorrow.  So, we'll see how that goes.

The only other person that has contacted me in any seriousness was someone who is going to be doing the Ph.D. program at my school.  He contacted me through the off-campus housing website.  But even just through email, he seemed a little odd, so I'm glad this French girl came along.

Oh, this is one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes.  They all sign up for that senior citizen companionship thing, and Elaine gets the woman with the goiter who had the affair with Gandhi.

Anyway, so, current roommate plan is to hope that French girl works out, then formulate a much better roommate searching plan for when she goes back to France in 6 months.  Part of that plan includes advertising all over school, knowing how many poor 1Ls end up having some reason they really need to move halfway through the year (like I said to Jenn, a lot of them break up with their significant other, who they're living with...because 1L year ends relationships...sadly).  And, meanwhile, I'll be encouraging said boy to keep applying to jobs in Boston because even if he gets one while French girl is still here, this apartment is huge, we'll find a place for him and at least his clothes and other necessities until she goes home.

Ah yes.  Kitty in the lap again.  Yes, Severus, I love you too.

Actually, now he's staring at me with an odd look on his face.  Please don't eat me, kitty.

I need to see a chiropractor.  Or get a massage.  Or both.  Ugh.

I'm sleepy.  I'm wrapping up the internship and then I'm off to Portland next Friday before classes start up again.  Anyway, all this tying up loose ends is exhausting.

Speaking of wrapping up...time for me to wind down from my day, watch the season finale of SYTYCD, and go to bed.

Blogged with the Flock Browser