Music.

I don't know where to begin. I don't think there is even a word to describe that night. I left that concert with my voice raspy from singing along, my legs tired from dancing, my ears pounding from the loud music. My hair and clothes smelled like smoke. My feet hurt. But none of that mattered because I had just spent 3 hours with the people I love the most at an amazing concert. I felt like I had just gone through some kind of rite of passage: my first "real" concert. At the very beginning of the show, the lead singer drawled into his microphone, "I feel like gettin' drunk tonight. I hope there aren't any children in the audience." As he and the other band members toasted each other (it was the last show of their tour), I thought, "I'm not a kid anymore! I'm at a concert where I'm considered an adult!" It was the perfect way to end my summer.

Agua.

Nature.

Bushkill Falls is like a different world. After walking through the taxidermy museum's exit, we suddenly found ourselves in a place like something you associate with Peter Pan and Never, Never Land. The wooden stairs and walkways make the whole place seem like a giant treehouse inhabited by the Lost Boys. When you're in a forest that thick, everything is calmer, cooler, and greener. The air was so fresh and clean. The Falls themselves created this relaxing white noise (that also made it very difficult to carry on a conversation), which pushed all other thoughts from my mind. If I could build a house in those woods, I would. Without a doubt. The picture above is from the Delaware Valley Lookout that we hiked up to. The view was worth the 300 stairs we had to climb.

After eating lunch, we drove over to the Delaware Water Gap, specifically Turtle Beach. We shared a short stretch of sand (or sandy dirt) with 6 other people. The sun was out. The water was cold. My friends and I laughed. It was perfection.

P.S. GO SEE INCEPTION. RIGHT NOW.

Plans.

Finally, finally, finally, I have some fun things to do, rather than work, work, work. Don't get me wrong; I love where I work. I was basically raised in that jewelry store, and I have known everyone I work with for as long as I can remember. So I love work, but I would like to do something else before going away to school.

Monday, I'm going to Bushkill Falls with my friend Julie. We're going to get up early, pick up some food at the store, and drive out to Bushkill, PA. We'll trek around the Falls and then head over to the Delaware Water Gap to go swimming. I'm looking forward to just spending a whole day outdoors. That night, I'm going to see Inception, which according to all of my other friends, will "blow my mind" and "change my life."

Next Sunday, I'm going to see the Kings of Leon in Scranton. I think my head will just explode from the awesomeness of the concert (if it hasn't already exploded after seeing Inception). The Kings of Leon...I don't think I can even verbalize how amazing they are. If you've never listened to them, you are definitely missing out. It will be my first "real, grown-up" concert, and it's free! My friend won TEN FREE TICKETS through a FACEBOOK CONTEST! Whoever said Facebook was a waste of time was sadly mistaken. Ten free tickets. I screamed when she called me with the news. I'll probably be on such a high after the show that I won't sleep for three weeks.

Speaking of three weeks, that is exactly how long I have until I leave for college. GAHHHHHHH!

Time.

Last night, I was thinking about all the things I want to do before I leave. Then I realized...I only have three weekends left in Nazareth. Three Saturday's to visit the Amish Bake Sale and buy some whoopie pies. Three Sunday's to sleep in and spend a day with my mom. Where has the time gone? Yes, I am EXTREMELY excited to go away to college, but at the same time, I've done very few things on my summer to-do list. That needs to be fixed. Bushkill Falls, here I come!

In other news, I am all ready for college. Roommate? Check. Comforter and pillows? Check and check. Coffeemaker? Check. Placement tests? Done.

So, in four weeks, I'll be on campus. At this time on the 22nd, according to my orientation schedule, I'll be listening to a lecture by Dr. Cullen (TWILIGHT SHOUT-OUT) called "Toto, We're Not in Kansas Anymore!" Then, I'll go to the Study Abroad meeting and Physical Education Testing (Dear Hamilton, just fail me right now.)

I know that the next four weeks will fly by. Before I know it, I'll be shoving all of my stuff in the back of my mom's car and embarking on the next adventure.

Celebration.

Sorry it's been a while since my last post.

Today, in the great town of Nazareth, we celebrated NAZARETH DAY! Everyone cheer! In the four years that I have lived here, I have never been exposed to this "three-day festival of fun and entertainment." After meeting a friend for breakfast, we decided to venture into town and see for ourselves what it was all about.

We started in the town circle. There was a moon-bounce and a sno-cone machine. There was a man playing the accordion while singing about the stars that shine in his lover's eyes, his lover who lived in Texas. There was a tent set up in front of a church where two little old ladies sold shoo fly pies. We walked down another street where tables were set up in front of all of the shops. Items that obviously sat on the shelf for too long and needed to be sold were set out with little signs saying "Pay with the Honor System." The Army-Navy store sold flourescent hunting gear, socks, and hats. We saw graffiti, if "Jesus is coming...soon" counts as graffiti.

We then made our way over to the park where about 50 tents were set up to shelter everything from marionets to honey from the sweltering sun. It was all fine and nice until...we hit the Tea Party tent. You know what "Tea Party" I mean (not the tea party with cups and saucers and teddy bears and pink cookies). My friend and I, being the challenging individuals that we are, went right up to the table. In .2 seconds, we were lectured by a woman whose first words were:

"We are not racists, and we don't lynch nobody."

.......................................wait. WHAT? That is not even remotely what I thought as I approached the table, but by telling me that, the woman put a completely negative spin on the whole situation. She handed us copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the "Nine Principles" that all of the Tea Party members closely follow. I could barely hear her; I was still stuck on her introductory sentence. The way she said it...so defensive, like I had marched up to her and said, "YOU are a racist! How dare you?!"

And that is how I spent my Nazareth Day. Being berated by a woman with a teapot pendant around her neck.

Negativity.

It's amazing to me that one person can hold such extreme and seemingly endless negativity inside himself. I don't like to name names, but there is one person in my life who makes it really hard to be upbeat and cheerful. Anything I say sparks a whole tirade about the injustice of this or that. For example:
The person in question: "So they say they'll have the oil well completely capped by Monday."
Me: "Great!"
Him: "Yeah. I'm sure Obama will take all the credit for it."
OH MY GOODNESS. REALLY?! REALLY?!?!?! You can't look at this with just a shred of optimism?! Like, "Hey! They're saying they'll have the oil well capped by Monday! Isn't that great?" Nope. Nooooo. By commenting on his negativity, I'm being negative myself. Consider this another reason why I can't wait to get out of here.

I apologize for my rant. It's just hard to handle him sometimes.

I find out who my college roommate is in TEN DAYS!!! I can't wait. The rest of the summer is going to go by so quickly. Before I know it, we'll be driving through Clinton, NY, where I'll probably remark, for the 100th time, "It looks just like Gilmore Girls." Mom will cry, Dad will give me an awkward hug, and I'll be off. Off to bigger and better things.

Vuvuzelas.

Today was the first day of my new nannying job. I've babysat the kids before, but usually at night, when all I have to do is pop in a movie and carry them to bed when they fall asleep. This morning, I woke up at 6:00, promptly fell back to sleep, and woke up to my mom poking her head in my room telling me to get up. At 7:26, I pulled into their driveway. How any person can have so much energy 5 minutes after waking up is beyond me. These kids (two girls, 3 and 20 months) were all over the place as soon as they came downstairs. My saving grace was the baby pool in the backyard. By 10 am, I had that thing filled with water and the kids happily splashing away. Meanwhile, I sat on the deck with the hot, muggy breeze blowing on my face. At least I got a good tan.

You may be wondering why the title of the post is "Vuvuzelas." After playing outside for an hour, I brought the girls inside, and while I got a snack for them, they started playing with the vuvuzelas their dad got them. (Their dad works for the Red Bull soccer team.) While I don't mind the sound of the South African horns buzzing in the background as my favorite soccer teams dash around at the World Cup, hearing them indoors is a completely different story. Thankfully, 3 and 1 year olds have amazingly short attention spans, and 10 minutes later, the horns were thrown to the side in favor of a different, quieter toy.

I love babysitting, I really do, but I doubt that I will ever be a decent parent. I have a 5 minute tolerance for whining. After that, I usually give in to whatever the kid wants because I just don't want to hear it anymore: "I want the PRINCESS cup...I WANT the princess cup...I want THE princess cup...I want the princess CUP...I WANT THE PRINCESS CUP." I just can't take it. "Fine. Have the cup." This is probably the secret to my success as a babysitter. I let the kids have pretty much whatever they want, as long as it isn't dangerous, sugar-high-inducing, or loud.

In other news, I'm writing this post from my brand new Dell Studio laptop. If marrying inanimate objects wasn't so frowned upon, I would totally wed this lovely piece of technology. It's purple. It makes cute noises. It seems to know what I am thinking. I love it.

Well, I have to go to work. I like to pretend I'm driving somewhere really exciting on the way to the mall. Somewhere like Utah, where the grass really is greener.

Return.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig. Home to what? Home to the cement factories that surround this town like some kind of creepy post-apocalyptic Stonehenge. Home to a town where the majority of the citizens can't spell "diversity," let alone tell you what it means. Home to Nazareth, whose most popular joke is: "Yes! I'm from Nazareth and yes that's near Bethlehem and yes I know Jesus!" Clever, huh? Don't get me wrong, Nazareth is a wonderful place to live...if you're old (we have two nursing homes!), a child (carnivals! parades! playgrounds!) or a parent (an accredited school system!). Seeing as how I am no longer a student at NAHS, I am most definitely not a parent, and I just recently turned 18, putting me far from nursing home age, my future has outgrown everything this town has to offer.

This blog will be the place where I will document the next few months and my impending entrance into the "real world." Nothing thrills me more than the prospect of becoming a citizen of the world rather than a citizen of a town so small, we need to refer to it with qualifiers: "It's near Allentown." "It's 20 minutes from New Jersey." etc.

So. Read and enjoy. Let the games begin :)