It was indeed a happy turkey day, for me, at least. and today was a happy day-after-thanksgiving day, too...i finally got a chance to try out the four wheel drive on my car, and i wasn't really impressed with it besides the control it gives you for turning. and, as sara and i were slowly rounding a turn near my house, we managed to glide ever so gently into a snowbank. we both laughed, cause it was amusing, but i guess you had to be there. and i got my contacts, so no more annoying glasses, but my eyes haven't quite adjusted yet. if i look around quickly i get dizzy, and i sort of feel disconnected. it's probably a good thing i'm not going out tonight, since i don't think i'm in too great a state to drive.
The brand new Muppet Christmas movie comes on in half an hour! yipee!

It's after one am right now, so it's a happy turkey day to all! I really do have so many things to be thankful for this year. it seems as the years go by, the number of "thankfuls' seems to multiply exponentially. i mean, when we were kids, we said "an' im thankful for mommy and daddy an' my house an' my kitties..." and that was basically it. and now there's just so much more to be grateful for in this life.

The List
i'm thankful for my friends, for their differences and their personalities and their idiosyncracies. they're what supports me in my life.

...for greg, and for the chance to love him and be loved by him. i hope i never forget how lucky i have been to find someone so amazing.

...for my my mom. she drives me crazy, i don't understand her, and sometimes i don't even feel close to her, yet it was she "who made my hands and my feet."

...for jen. she is the hardest to be thankful for, yet she too is family, and a part of me that i need.

...for my dad, for his example and for what his life and death have taught me these past two years. wherever you are, i miss you, and i love you.

...for the life that i have, the extraordinary privileges and opportunities that await me every day. may i never take them for granted.

...for my pets, because sometimes in their furry fury they remind me of God.

...for my memories, which are my most prized possessions. i treasure them every day, just in case i wake up one morning to find that they are no longer there.

...for everything i have been given, every gift, every chance, every dream. it all means something; it's all worth something. there is nothing in this world that i would throw away.

I went over heather's house to watch gilmore girls tonight. it might seem strange. driving across town just to watch a tv show when i have perfectly good tvs in my house, but it's so much more emotionally satisfying to watch with someone else! then the two of you can squeal and giggle and do other girly things at the same time, and discuss plot points and comment on the hottest actors and, during commercials, have extremely meaningful conversations. three minutes' worth of them ,anyway. twas fun!

life is good....and greg is really, really really hot. like, wicked hot. mmm. pumpkins.

I had the opportunity this weekend, while spending four and a half hours in the car, to reread one of my favorite books, In Pursuit of the Green Lion, by my very favorite author, Judith Merkle Riley. I think I've read this book all the way through about seven or eight times now; it's one of a trilogy about a woman, Margaret, in thirteenth-century england. It's an awesome read--there's medival customs, battles, crochety relatives, ghosts of mothers-in-laws and ex-husbands, a demon-summoning Count, alchemy, the Inquisition, all told by a former midwife-turned welathy widow-turned newly married knight's wife who can talk to god and see spirits. and it's not just the storyline that's good. it's margaret herself. the thing i love most about jm riley is she creates such lively personalities for her female protagonists, and sets them in such interesting surroundings. genevive in the oracle glass, which is set in France under the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV, was sarcastic, observant, cool and extremely intelligent. sibille, in the master of all desires--set in an earlier France under King Henry IV--, always tries to be poetic and delicate, even though she's really nothing of the sort. susanna, in the serpent garden, which is set in England and France in medival times, tries to be a perfect little wife and be pious and make soup and all that, but she lets herself go when she's painting her miniatures. And Margaret is such a good and nice person, but she's got spirit too. I've read all these books so many times that i can just open to any page and start reading, and i know exactly what's happened before. with the oracle glass, which is perhaps my favorite book of all, i can quote entire scenes. it's like sitting down to a conversation with an old friend; you already know so much, and it's warm and comfortable, yet there's always something new to discover.
I love the guys in her books too; they never get center stage, and even when the women are in love with them--which they always are--they don't act like idiots. well actually, margaret leaves her two children behind and travels across europe and defeats this gross satan worshipper lord guy to get her husband back--but naturally it's all worth it. and anyway, she had Mother Hilde, an herbal healer/midwife; Brother Malachi, a seller of religious indulgences and alchemist (the Green Lion in the title is the last part of Transmutation, turning metal into gold);Sim, this weird little street kid; Madame Belle Mere, Margaret's dead and snobby mother-in-law; Hugo, her vain and unbearable brother-in-law, and God, who pops in here and there to offer advice. It's so wonderful.
Oh, and did I mention that the name (or one of the names) of the man Margaret is so hopelessly in love with is none other than Gregory? :-)

"The path of true love never did run smooth." ~The Bard

why this quote qould be applicable to the current friend situation, i don't know. it's definitely not true love, and it's not even true like between them! unfortunately, i just discovered that the young man in question is indeed enamored of my friend. she initially had intended to convey to him, by means of his best friend, the idea that she only wants to be friends. unfortunately, the best friend told me in math class that he will tell his buddy no such message, since guys don't do things like that when its likely the messenger will be shot. he thinks my friend should be telling him this herself. it's still possible that he only thinks he likes her because he thinks she likes him back, a case of that old "look-like" syndrome that we defined a few years ago.
and in case anyone's wondering, yes, writing without using proper nouns is a pain in the ass. even though anyone who has access to this page most likely knows all the details of this situation already, i still don't feel comfortable throwing everything out there onto the great wide web. but wait, this is a private page, so only the people who know my address can read it....anyway, i will continue with my small attempt at secrecy. i am a secret agent hahaha.

Today is Junior Investiture....another crop of disaffected teenagers will assume a "leadership" position in the school. Yipee.

Sucks the way teen relationships go...one of my close friends is in a tight spot when it comes to boys. there was this boy, and he's sort of cute and nice--although very shy and quet, especially around girls he doesnt know--and he was suggested as a possible date to the school semi for her. long story short, through the various machinations of our friends jeff and sandy, it was discovered that yes, he would like to go with her, and that he thought she was very cute. however, they didn't actually talk to each other. at all, becauase they're both so shy--despite all the urgings of certain well-intentioned people. finally, this guy walked up to her in the hallway and informed her that they were going to semi together. "You will join me for dinner! That is not a request!!" -->that's not what he actually said, but it's a relevant quote. anyway, he knew he'd get a yes thanks to the unstoppable NWC grapevine, which moves quicker than the speed of light. it's like we're all eerily connected. so now she's going to the semi with this person--and still not really talking to him--when she finally realizes that she's not actually inteered in him at all. so naturally she feels awful, since she has no idea whether he actually really likes her, or if this was something that jeff and sandy orchestrated. she still feels obligated to go with him to the semi, but she doesnt want to date him and doesnt even want to see him in the hallway! a pretty telling indication of her lack of romantic sentiment for the young man. of course there's also the fact that this seems to be sandy and jeff's pet project, so she feels guilty about that, too. personally, i support her, since she should go with what makes her happy and comfortable. i don't think the current situation is doing either.

Ahem. I am truly a slacker when it comes to this blog, and for that I am heartily sorry. Well, no I'm not, but who cares.

There's been a lot of news in my world recently, and I guess i should update here. i don't think it's been noted on my blog before that sara broke up with steve like a month ago or so because of various reasons, the most pressing of which appears to have been a long-concealed discontent with the relationship. it was afterward revealed that steve had partaken in some indiscretions while he was in berklee, adding more fuel for dissatisfaction. i guess he ended up with the incorrect idea that she dumped him because of that, and he was wildly apologetic. anyway, post-dumping we were all finally free to reveal our true feelings, similarly concealed--though not very well--concerning young steven. although sara may find him attractive, i don't, and i would therefore be less inclined to put up with his boorish behavior. his monkeyish antics are amusing in small doses, but he is quick to offend those around him. and very foul-mouthed. i was personally amazed that sara was able to stand him for so long, but in the end it turned out a lot of her supposed rejoicing wasn't really rejoicing at all--how much? i have no idea. the depths remain unplumbed. anyway long story short, it was good riddance to steve, until recently, when it seems now that we are witnessing a possible return to that era. personally i don't think sara should make the same mistake twice--she is having trouble remembering her reasons for dumping him in the first place--but if she ends up going out with him again, there's nothing any of us can do about it. i haven't talked to greg about this yet. he knows that i dislike steve, so i wonder what he will think. there's also the issue of sara and pete, and how young steven will react to such news. tune in nest time for more soap opera updates.

now on to a different storyline. i'm worried about one of my friends. she recently underwent some changes that have made her more attractive to the members of the opposite sex....basically, the girl got hot. so ofcourse she's getting lots of attention. and she started sleeping with a guy three years older than us, who kind of doesn't treat her well since he doesn't want to go out with her and has stood her up a few times. but she really likes him, and likes having sex with him, although i recently found out she had sex with another coworker too! this girl only lost her virginity a month and a half ago! she's using protection, but she's not on the pill and this kid hasn't been tested for any nasty diseases. she told her someone related to her has contracted an STD, HPV, and she's worried about getting it fromher. i think she should be more worried about getting it from the guy she's sleeping with. i don't trust the entire idea. she's my friend, and i don't disapprove of what she's doing cause it's what she wants to do, but i worry about her and i want her to be safe.

let's see.....in meghan news, she may be soon getting a date for the semi,and possibly somethign more, but i can neither confirm nor deny any reports. heehee. i'm excited for her! speaking of which, guess who needs a dress? moi. oh and the sandy-jeff situaiton hangs in the balance! tonight may be the night sandy breaks it off, once and for-- wait, it's not going to be final, what am i saying? tonight may mark the beginning of another short, rocky separation culminating in a joyful reunion sometime within the month. ah, the allure of men who own goats.

the HILL boy-girl situation has not been resolved and will never be resolved! we are officially the class that didn;t make it. oh well. so we'll never all be best buddies? i can hang with almost everyone in that class and be perfectly comfortable, their seating preferences nonwithstanding. i see no reason to get depressed over personal choice.

I'm wondering what this respect me campaign is doing for the school. raising awareness? i don't think so, since everything discussed thus far has been touched upon more than once in the past. increasing respect? perhaps, but it would hard to find evidence of such an increase, and then connect it tangibly to this assortment of presentations and workshops. i like the thought behind the project, and i appreciate its goal, but change must come from within. you can't really force awareness on others, and if you can make themchange briefly in accordance with a school-sponsored program or event, you can't make that stick. any changes that occurred in the student body after last year-s investiture--and there were changes, from my point of view--came about because the people decided to change. it was not forced upon them. i know the respect me campaign is trying to encourage such an internal decision, but for some reason it seems incapable of finding the right wavelength along which to transmit the message. i dont doubt the world can be changed, but i believe it iwll be a grassroots change, not an organized, orderly, spear-headed reforrm movement. i will be the best agent of change, in the way i see fit, that i can be. a tshirt will not cause me to alter my thought, behavior or actions. only i can do that.