A Reader’s Story

Last Thursday Mom, Dad, and I left for New York to go to Inviso, the official visit day for the King’s College. On the bus ride down, I caught a cold. Unfortunately, that cold stuck with me throughout Inviso, and I still have it. But, I still had a pretty good time, considering.

Our hostel room was tiny. There were two bunkbeds in opposite corners, and they were about two feet away from each other, and maybe three feet from the “empty” corners. There was also a TV and a nightstand in there. The bathroom was cute in its miniature qualities, but I didn’t enjoy the shower. It worked fine, plenty of hot water, but I found it difficult to breathe.

On Friday, we got to hear Mike Huckabee speak, in an interview with Marvin Olasky! I was still fogged up from the cold, so it didn’t seem all that real to me. It didn’t feel any different from watching Mike Huckabee on TV. I think it started to click once the students and parents that I had met started asking questions of Mike Huckabee, that this was just a bit of a special event.

When that was over, we had short break and then we visited Professor Jackson’s College Writing II class. I was rather overwhelmed at this point. I was feeling pretty shoddy from my dratted cold, and everyone was telling me over and over again that this was a very academically challenging college. I was getting nervous, because I didn’t feel like I was up for it. The class was very interesting, but it seemed a couple of notches over my head in the second half.

After the class we headed back to the student lounge for another couple of speakers. Before it started, Mom semi-jokingly asked me if I still wanted to go. I said that I wasn’t sure, and I explained how overwhelmed I felt. Mom gave me hug and told me that I was going to do fine, but that it was going to be hard work, and I would need to adjust to not automatically succeeding.

We split into groups and followed our leaders to the restaurant. Supper was delicious. Once we finished we walked around Times Square until it was time to watch Mary Poppins. The play was lovely. I got a nosebleed just before it started, but I staunched it before the play actually began. I really do love theater. I hope I’ll be able to participate in a lot of theater productions while I am at King’s.

The next day was better that Friday, in some ways. We were provided breakfast by the college, and then we went on an apartment tour. I’d seen the apartments before, but this time as Dad and I were talking to one of our student guides, she mentioned that a lot of girls get baby-sitting jobs. I thought that this was great. The idea of baby-sitting in New York hadn’t even occurred to me, but I think it would be a great, flexible way of earning a little cash while I’m away, as an alternative to getting a more regulated job.

Mom, Dad and I split up for lunch. I ate with students and they ate with parents. That was great, cause it made sure that I had to interact with other people instead of letting Dad talking for me. One girl I sat with had a lot in common with me. She was homeschooled, went to an OPC church, was named Gabby (get it? Abbey? Gabby?), and had a pug named Lucy! I went a little crazy once I found out she had a pug. Pug owners have an instant bond to anyone else who has a pug.

After lunch I went for my interview with Adam, my admissions officer. I had technically already had my interview last visit, but Adam said he just wanted to make sure he got a chance to chat with me while I was here. Adam gave me a talk about how he only accepts students that he thinks will thrive at King’s, and how I would gradually adjust to city life. I left feeling quite a bit better. My admissions officer is a really, really good confidence booster.

Finally we had the ice cream social. I grabbed my ice cream and sat down, and a succession of King’s students sat down and got up, only to be replaced by another student ready for all the questions a high school senior and her parents could ask. Around four, we decided to leave. We headed off to see Central Park, and went to TGI Fridays for supper. Then we went back to our tiny hostel room, watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding on TV, and nodded off, one by one.

The next day we had a leisurely brunch and caught our bus back home. We spent the rest of the day either on the bus or waiting in Boston, so there isn’t much to tell there. We were picked up in Lewiston by Tim, and then went home, chatted a bit, and went to bed.

More may come, if I am inspired.

Cupcake,
You are so delicious, and are gone in one bite.

Oh, doll,
Your painted eyes and immobile body fascinate me.

Ah, my honey,
You are thick and syrupy, and I cannot remove you from my hands.

Oh, my pearl,
You are beautiful, and you perfectly match every other one.

Cherub,
You are young, so young, and in such a state of dress!

My perfect diamond,
You shine as brilliant as a star, and are the hardest rock to cut.

My angel,
Every time I see you, your shining face must cry out “Do not be afraid!”

My rose,
I long to touch you, but dare not, for fear of your eleven jealous twins.

My lambkin,
Ah, how to taste you? I do not know how to begin.

My muffin,
You are warm and supple, but do you have chocolate or fruit?

My peach,
Your brilliance outshines any excess hairs you have, my dear.

My shining star,
My love reaches out to you over the uncrossable void.

My treasure,
You are so precious. I’ll bury you in the sand, and do murder for you.

Adorable little button,
Your constancy holds me together, and I never want to replace you.

Cookie,
I could munch on you always, until you go stale.

My princess,
We were meant for each other- after all, our marriage was arranged.

March is indeed the month of madness. This week is somebody’s *cough*Shannon*cough* sweet sixteenth birthday, and also the week we discover the sex of Tim and Angie’s baby. This weekend Shannon and Colleen are going to a softball clinic, next weekend we are all going to the Homeschoolers of Maine convention, the next weekend us girls are going to a SMASH girl sleepover at the Richard’s house, and the NEXT weekend Mom, Dad and I are going to New York to visit The King’s College, while EVERYONE ELSE in my family goes to Fawnwander. I wish I could go to both Fawnwander and New York, but it’s not happening. :’-( I’m half-hoping that I’ll be able to go visit Meghan, Jon, Carly and all the other Deerwander people some weekend in April, but I haven’t asked any of them yet, so I shouldn’t count on it.

Oh yes, and I need to tell Jane at the library the days that I will be unavailable to work. Must remember that!

I finally got my debit card! I got it just before we left for Uncle David and Sue’s wedding, and I validated it the other day.

The trip to Virginia for the wedding was great. The car drive was long and boring, so we sang songs and played iShoot. In Virginia, there was some awesome weather for the first few days we were there. We went to church at Uncle David’s church, had the rehearsal, ate the rehearsal dinner, and watched the Superbowl on Uncle David’s 13″ TV.

The next day was the wedding. The wedding party had Erin and Ryan on Sue’s side (They are both her children. Erin is in college and Ryan is out of it.), and Shannon, Billy, and Colleen on Uncle David’s side. Since the wedding was in the afternoon, Mom, Shannon, Colleen, Sue and I went shopping the morning of the wedding for dresses for Shannon and Colleen. We found dresses with an interesting color pattern that had (among other colors) the right shade of green to go with Erin’s dress. I found some white shawls to complete their outfits, Mom found a dress shirt for Billy, and we were good to go.

The service was very simple, small, and beautiful. The reception was the same, except that it was not quite as beautiful. There was music playing almost the whole time, but mostly just the Clarke’s, their Breininger cousin Katie, and the newlyweds danced. Some other people danced a little, but we were the only ones doing it consistently.

After that, we stayed another night at Uncle David’s house (without Uncle David) and went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History the next day. We only had enough time to explore a few small portions of the museum. That place is huge!

We left for Maine that night. We spent the night in a motel somewhere that had a wimpy continental breakfast. Then we soldiered on. Once we were in New Hampshire, Colleen reminded us that we had an open invitation to stop by the Leifheits. So, we did, after calling ahead. We had supper there, and talked for a while before we had to leave, because Dougie was honking the horn.

Last Saturday was eventful. Marissa (from SMASH) was going to have a surprise birthday thrown for her that day, and Mom decided that our excuse would be that we were in the area, using our Target gift cards, and on our way back we decided to stop by Marissa’s house. However, that didn’t happen.

We were driving along, and when we were nearly in Augusta, Mom called my attention to the dial on the dashboard that signaled the temperature of the engine. The needle on the dial was not only on, but past the red zone, and it had been like that for a good bit of the ride. So, we pulled off right when we got into Augusta, at a nearby Sears. Right as Mom parked, the engine died, irrevocably.

So, we went inside the Sears, and Mom called AAA. We wandered around, looked at the fish in the next-door Petco, and after Mom finished talking to the AAA people, she called Mrs. Heikkinen (Marissa’s mom), explained the situation, and wondered if we could be picked up so we could visit with them. Mrs. Heikkinen put on a big show over the phone, for Marissa’s sake, and then came to Sears to pick us up. Fortunately, they only lived a few minutes away.

Once we arrived, there was a couple of moments when we explained to Marissa why we just happened to be bringing the Apples to Apples and Imaginiff games with us when out car broke down, and then we settled down to play. We were the first ones to arrive for the surprise party, and we managed to not reveal the secret until the next batch of guests came, a few hours later. Then we each gave Marissa coupons instead of gifts (we were told that she would prefer that) and played some more games until it was time to leave.

After the weekend was over, we heard the sad, sad news; the tan van, which broke down in Augusta, was well and truly dead, and would be with us no more. So, we are now adjusting to becoming, however temporarily, a one-car family.

Apparently minors can’t get checking accounts online. We have to go to a bank location and apply in person.

Darn. It’s not that much of an inconvenience, I just wish that the information had been displayed on their website before I began my online application. I’ll have to mention that to them when go to the bank.

I’m thinking about getting a debit card for online purchases. It seems kind of silly to give Mom money, have her deposit it, and then use her card. It would be much more straightforward to just use my own card, especially since I have all of the money I need for those kinds of purchases.

I went to my bank’s website and did some poking around. Mom thought that I might have to be eighteen to get a debit card, but I didn’t see that restriction anywhere. I did see that when I start a checking account online, there is no monthly fee, which is cool. I kept on looking for snags and hidden fees or loopholes, but I didn’t see any. It all seems almost too easy. Hopefully the only catch is that they are hoping I’ll overdraw or something, so I’ll incur a fee and they’ll make money, whoop-di-do for them. Well, I don’t intend to. I doubt I’ll even use it that much. I am not a big spender, thank goodness.