Blog from NY (July 14)

I'm writing my blogg off the internet so by the time I get this up, it may be outdated.

So I came into New York and my mother and sibs came the next day. We went to the Wolber Open, which was pretty fun... although I mostly played fooseball with my brother, sister, and my mom's cousin Craig, who bummed us out a bit by telling us about his life. But there was some glorious food. And my mom got recipes for pepper jam (??) and pickled watermelon rines (???!!).

Then I spent the night worrying about my 1000 pieces of identification and continuing to look over the permit stuff. Got up early in the morning the next day, went to the DMV where they didn't really question my pieces of identification at all, got 100% on the quiz, etc. etc. Permit acquired. BUUUUUUT they told me that in order to sign up for a road test for my license, I have to take the required 5 hour class (it's in a classroom) which costs $45. And they said that they are booked until mid-August. Buuh. So we decided NOT to take the 5 hour class and ... I'm going to figure out some way to get my license in MA or PA, which was really the original plan anyway. I'm honestly not worried about it... although maybe I should be.

Right after I got my permit, my mom, the sibs, and I went to Syracuse (where I was born) to hang out with our old friends Kim, her son Cassidy (who's my age), and her two other children Cyrus and Maggie. That was pretty fun. They are Korean and have the BEST food!! I'm sure I'll have some sort of picture to show eventually. Also, Maggie is two and SUUUUPER cute... and Matt was REALLY cute with her. I shot a really terrible video with my cell phone of them. Some other highlights were hiking around a lake, playing gin with Cassidy, and enjoying some wiffle ball. Some un-highlights .... well the ONE un-highlight was the terrible sleep I had on the floor competing over a small blanket with my brother. I woke up on the complete opposite side of the room from where I started. Matt seemed surprisingly unfazed about it in the morning whereas my whole body ached.

We came home the next afternoon and grandpa and I immediately went to the cemetery to start driving. WAY scarier than I though it would be. Certainly makes me more nervous about people texting while driving... and I was ALREADY nervous about that. We went out of a little more than an hour and a half and I got (obviously) better over time. Then we came home, ate a little, and then went out again for an hour. It was better the second time. Nevertheless, I've decreed that I'm not a natural. Buuuuut... I also don't think I would have been any better or worse starting at 16. At some point when I was driving past these two people walking, I heard them laugh and say matter-of-factly to each other that I was clearly learning how to drive. I'm not fooling anyone. Also whenever I was driving past people, I kept trying to smile at them-- a kind of "hee hee I'm learning"-- but I kept remember, as I saw their faces, that they were likely not in the smiliest of moods, being in a cemetery and all...

Tomorrow we're going back out at 7am and then again tomorrow afternoon. The only thing I'm a LITTLE worried about is that my grandpa keeps bringing up things we can do at times when I don't really intend on still being here. Not that it's difficult so far, but I haven't regularly been with them for that long... so I don't really know how it's going to be. But then grandpa suggests taking me to PA on July 27th or something.. seeing my friends while they take my brother and sister somewhere (Valley Forge maybe?) but... that's kind of when I was hoping to head back to Boston. It was worse when we were still considering trying to get my license here... waiting until mid-August. Although I AM getting free food... and a pretty relaxed and relatively anxiety-free company. Nevertheless I'm already exhausted from being around people constantly.... But it was GREEEEAAATT seeing my mom and brother and sister without being the home environment.

Or maybe I'll be here forever and it'll be great. I just miss my friends already. AAAND I would really like to not walk on eggshells anymore. It's funny because my grandpa wants me to be amused and happy and have everything I want, which is AMAZING. BUUT I feel so indebted to him and I don't want tot get in the way or put him out more than I inevitably am that I just can't do anything BUT walk on eggshells.