Spring Fever

The early ruffling of bags. The shaking of legs. The heads that glance at the clocks. Oh...It's Spring Break. And we are ready to leave. Even I am ready to go.

Yesterday I had a pretty quiet birthday. Seeing that my birthday a) falls on Spring Break b) is 2 days before my moms birthday(tomorrow March 3rd), we usually celebrate in on the weekend when we are all together. It also doesn't really help when your only friend has so much drama going on that she can't devote time to remembering your birthday, or when your other friend is two hours or away, or when you don't have enough friends at your school who know that's it your birthday. If only all of you were present in my "real world" I would have felt the love.

It was still an awesome day. It was my special day. It was as if nothing could go wrong. Marathon of Outerlimits. Awesome screenplay writing book at the bookstore, almost getting run over by newly short haired South African boy( he was on a bike, couldn't really say hi). I got some wickedly awesome birthday email, and I'm anticipating the more celebrating I will get done in NYC. We will be leaving Saturday at 12pm.

I've only been home during the summer season. I've never been home during March, and I'm a little nervous about it actually. It's like there's something in the air, like this trip will be different. Like I'm not seeing home as a child anymore, I'm going back with wiser eyes. The last time we went, it was before the college fiasco. I couldn't get in touch with my old best friend, my brother was being a pain, we had only visited my father once, my mom spent the majority of the time with James, and the three of us; my brother, cousin, and I spent the whole week watching various mobster movies.

But now my brother isn't going, my grandma has sensed passed, my aunt has a new baby, James and Mom really aren't on speaking terms, me and old best friend aren't on speaking terms, and my baby cousin is now a 6ft tenth grader. Oh...It's a little scary.But I feel like this trip is going to be an eye opener. Not in a negative sense. But I feel like I'm going to take back from it so much more than just the prospect of being home for 5 days.

It's like I will be standing in the place that made me who I am, but am looking forward to the person I am and who I will become.

Traveling though is not my strong point. I hate traveling. If there was like a magical warp that would get us there in like 5 minutes I would rather take that then car, train, or plane. I haven't taken a plane since I was like 7 and my apprehension of them have only increased with time. When it comes to driving it wouldn't be so bad, if my mom wasn't a horrible driver. We went to Philly for like 3 days, and some how ended up in New Jersey, and then Washington, and then got lost on the way back to New York. Me and my brother were pissed the whole way there and back, because she was driving like 40 on the beltway(?) and there was a concession of cars honking and yelling out the window as the passed. YEAH.

And the train. Don't get me started. I LOVE TRAINS. I think they are magnificent. I mean you see so much along the way. It's fast enough, but still slow enough that you can see the sights. Virginia had to be the prettiest place I have seen riding in a train. But the last time were on a train it was a nightmare. Most of the train rides I remember have been a nightmare.

There was one time, where I had to go to the bathroom, and like the doors are these sliding weirdness, and they never latch, and the door swings open all the time. And don't get me started on all the fluids sloppy around in that place as one is struggles to stand or sit. I never use the bathroom on the train and the one time I did, I open the door to some lady sitting on the bowl. I was so shocked that I just stared for like five minutes. Then she was all "You can close the door now" and for some reason I thought that meant she was finished, so I stepped inside before I realized that she was still sitting on the John "Well I have to finish first" she screamed kind of. I ran back to my sit and slept the rest of the way. I'm surprised I don't have urinary problems.

Next incident: When you get on the train, the assign you a seat. They usually just point and then you take the seat. So there was this older heavy set woman ahead of us, and I knew she was take our seat. Of course she sat down right in out seats, messing up the whole seating arrangement. Wouldn't have been bad, if not for the next hours having to listen to her talk about her feet and fungus, and then asking everyone who passed if they would go buy her food. I ignored her.

But the worst came with the man and his balls. Literally. We were just approaching our stop and were waiting in that little area they allow you to wait, until the train comes to a full stop. Now that trip had been the worst on the train. There was a Skinhead who wouldn't let anyone sit next to him, a man who became enraged that two women in front of him were talking about the evils of homosexuality( I felt bad for him and wanted to give him a hug) and the two ladies behind me who kept complaining about everything. So we were pretty happy to get off the train at this point. When the train was just making it's stop a new problem had arisen. A lady comes running to the attendant and starts yelling "you need to come back here because the man's balls are hanging out of his shorts". The attendant was confused as I was.
"His what"
"His Balls. He removed his pants last night to sleep in, but his balls are hanging out"
" I told him about that" as she goes to the back and orders the man to put on his pants.

Thank God we are not taking a train.

I'm still pretty nervous, mixed with excitement, mixed with...That other feeling I just can't explain. As if all of this is the beginning of something. I had that feeling yesterday. I was in my room, enjoying quiet birthday, and I kept glancing outside the window, and wanting to be apart of the world. I was sick of being the observer, and kind of ready to be an active participant.

We will be in NYC this Saturday. Wish you were all there to enjoy it with me. I'll be writing from Karen's house, hopefully my cousin will let me borrow the digital camera or I will have my own. I will also will have my iPod Tomorrow. THANK GOD.

I have to pack, clean my room, finish making my mom's present(a scrapbook), and finish volume I of Great Expectations before I go to sleep. I have a lot to do.