Thank you everyone who's actually stuck around on this crazy, wild adventure. I've had this blog for my last two years of highschool (104 entries!), and figure that it's about time that I move on now that I'm in college. No, I'm not giving up blogging (what, are you crazy?) but I don't think this page or address is right for me anymore. I liked it for stuff around home, during highschool and I want it to stay as sort of a time capsule of my time there.

I'm moving on, but if you don't know where to by now, you probably shouldn't know at all.

If anything , come to my new blog for the photos, which will be just as crazy as before and updated far more often.

I love you all lots, and take care.

            ~+~ Manda

My last entry while still in town. I'm moving to college on Wednesday, and my computer's being dismantled today.

I also had my last day of work today. I'm am so happy that little bit of hell is over, although I'm really proud of myself for sticking to it. I thought for sure that I would quit or get fired, but nope, I've lived. I'm very happy about it, and very happy about the money I received. I will now be allowed to eat when I go to college, and actually buy my textbooks. It's quite trilling.

Went out with Daniel the other day. Lots of fun, there. He's a lot more confident and witty than I remember him. I can't help but wonder if that's Sarah's work or him just growing up. Either way, he's a great guy and I had alot of fun.

Well. In exactly a week, I will be in Illinois. This disturbs me somewhat. I'm really not ready to to back to school after frying my brain all summer.

Alex leaves tomorrow morning, and this brings me great sorrow. Alex has been one of my best friends for four years, and we've always been super-close, even when we wanted to rip out each other's throats. Granted, we almost never agree and I've always antagonized her, but really, we love each other. I just don't know what I'll do now that I won't have her around. I really, really want to hug her right now and say goodbye, but I'm an utter brat and I passed up the chance to do that properly. Sigh. I was really enjoying our friendship too; I think it was reaching optimum happiness levels. Like, we were finally at a place where our silly disagreements really didn't bother us anymore and we could read each other's minds with almost perfect accuracy.

I miss you, Alex.

So, I finished Life Teen back on July 25 and said goodbye to my fun times of llama kisses, Tony's hair, Astonishment, Bellringers, Zanthar, Haitian dirt, and other wacky times.

I miss it, yeah, but have found that simply not going to church helps the pain. I'm such a horrible Catholic.

Well. Hm. My job as lifeguard at Fiesta Texas has provided me with many interesting experiences. Sometimes I think, wow, I can't believe I did that--I can't believe I know how to do that.

For example, with all this CPR and AR stuff, I can literally be a lifesaver. It's so cool. Other times, I'm like "God, why did I ever take this job?!" Like when I had to pick up poop from the wave pool. I nearly quit over that. It had been a rough day and then all of a sudden it just gets worse. Poop, man. I did not sign up to pick up poop.

For that matter, I didn't sign up to pick up used pads, tapons, or loaded diapers, either. Nor did I have any wish to fish condoms out of the wavepool. My job is so disgusting sometimes.

Yesterday, I was at Mineshaft bottom when the tubes ran out. Everytime people hit the catchpool, everyone would crowd around the stairs and try to get the tube. I tried to do crowd control while fishing small drowning children out of the deep and and directing people where to go, but I just couldn't manage it all. It wasn't long before the crowd had begun to form into a small mob of thirty people who were pissed as hell at me. They just kept screaming at me and saying all sorts of horrible things to me. So I did the only thing I could--I retreated to my little corner of the pool to allow the guest to fend off each other and began to cry. It didn't work, though, because people kept coming by to yell at me, which just made me cry harder.

Eventually I just started double-whistling until a guard came out of the breakroom to find out what idiot was abusing their whistle privledges. I managed to sob out that I needed a supervisor because I couldn't handle the crowd any longer. No sooner than she had gone back in than 2 leads and a supervisor come running to my aid. I was so happy. It was like being rescued by Camelot's knights. Artie came by to make sure I was okay while Bo and Christian organized a line and dispersed the crowd. Christian kept coming by later to check up on me, but to be honest, the whole incident left me shaky the rest of the day.

That night was Mandi's party, which was fun. Granted, I was only there for like an hour and a half because of work, but I take what I can get when it comes to time with my friends. Mandi got some rather interesting gifts. I'd write about them, but they made me blush. (Not really--it takes quite a bit these days for me to blush)

Bianca was there, which surprised me, although it shouldn't have. I knew Mandi and Bianca were friends, but I guess since she hasn't been at the other parties, I assumed that she wouldn't be at this one. You know what they say about assuming things. In anycase, everyone at the party remained civil, and more importantly, I remained civil to everyone else.

I wish I could say the same about my job. I mean, I had done a good job of remaining nice to all the guards before today, even though there are quite a few bitches that I have to work with. Despite all their sarcasm, flat out rude behavior, and insults, I have held my tongue the entire season because I didn't want to cause trouble. (It's different when you have to work with people)

Today, though, Brandy got all pissed at me because I wasn't doing her job properly. I was watching West 3's beach because she was at the bathroom, when we quite suddenly closed down because of rain. She just left me there on that beach while she went to talk to her friends, leaving me to deal with guests. Damn it, I hate dealing with guests. So when they cleared away from the beach when it really started pouring, I bailed out to go hang with Nicole and this other girl I've made friends with. Then it started to lighten up and the people moved back to the beach---but I didn't. So Brandy starts yelling at me to move the hell back there. I was like, "It's not my beach, it's not my responsiblity. You can stop chatting with your friends and go watch it yourself." So she started bitching about how I was watching it first, so I had to finish watching it, and I was like, "Hello, bitch, I was doing you a favor. Now back off and shut up, because I'm not listening," to which she started screaming at my back about how she wasn't going to put with my attitude. Whatever. I just wish I'd been ruder to her. She deserved it.

I learned how to change a flat tire recently. I'm very proud of myself and eternally thankful that I have such a cool, jack-of-all-trades grandpa who can swoop down and save me.

I can't find the thing I typed up for the journalism class. I have no clue what I did with the disks me and Esa handled that last Wednesday. I need to find them before I pop off to 203 on Tuesday, and damnit, I remember they were in my room, but then I cleaned it and I don't know where I hid them.

I really like my new roommate. She so cool. Likes the same music as me, reads the same books, is the same major. We should get along great. Even better, she's from Indiana, so she understand cold. And of course, she at least has visited the campus, so she can help me out when I get horrible lost and confused. Her name's Kate. 

I miss 203 and everything to do with it. It breaks my heart to know it's all gone forever and that I'll never have those kinds of carefree days again. I'm happy that I'm moving on to bright future and don't need highschool anymore, even supposing...

(Yeah, they're wearing our uniform. Mr. Seay is "dressed in the heighth of fashion" in tights, a skirt, and ponytail.)

A bunch of fun stuff has been going on, and I'm thankful that I've finally gotten into some semblence of a schedule, even though I'm the only one that recognizes it as such.

The Senior breakfast was way cool. I totally didn't know what was going on, because I'd never been a part of that before. I was asleep in bed, thinking that I was going to sleep in until my afternoon shift. It's all very fuzzy, but I know someone came into my room and was messing with my head (literally) and then I was being dragged out of bed and walked to the stairs. That's about when I realized I was blindfolded. Mom came and put a robe on me, and Eric tried to push me down the stairs while I was blindfolded. It turns out Leslie was the one who was kidnapping me, and Jimmy was assisting her. Then it was off to the Church for breakfast...

All in all, I enjoyed it. Didn't even care that I looked like a fool. And since I had been crying the week before because I felt forgotten by Life Teen, it was nice to realize that I'm still loved. Of course, that love is starting to come into serious doubt from this past Sunday. I invited Alex by since LT was only watching Finding Nemo, and after the movie we all played dodgeball with mini beachballs. I was everyone's favorite target--payback, I suppose, for picking on them for 4 years. It still felt unfair though, since I'm slow, clumsy, and have terrible aim.

Next LT is the Depression talk. Looking forward to that one. Serious issues are always really interesting. Also, I've a bit bummed that I can't make it to hear Maroon 5, since Senior Nite is that Sunday. I really wanted to go to the concert with Esa and Alex, but I've been waiting for Senior Nite for so long, I can't miss it. Conflicting interests once again--but it's all good, God will take care of it.

My party on the 23rd went reasonably well, I think. It was along the theme of Midsummer Night's Dream, and we all dressed up for it. It was fun to see my friends again, although a little disappointing that some great people couldn't make it. Food was good, I think, and we all laughed. Next time I throw a party it should be in July sometime and it'll be a sleepover. I'm looking forward to it.

As for work, it's getting better and better. Yes, there are still days when I want to impale myself on a sharp object rather than clock in, but once I get to work I'm learning how to have fun there. I don't think my problem is exactly with lifeguarding, but instead is with my aversion to labor. I despise doing work, and this is making my summer job difficult. Go fig.

I do nothing but complain on this blog, but you know what? I don't give a damn.

I hate my job. No, really, I hate it. Or rather, maybe I don't hate lifeguarding in particular, but instead just hate the idea that I *have* to have a job. I detest required work. Everyday I wake up and think, "Oh God, let a sudden freak lighting storm blow over the wave pool" because if that happened, the water park would close.

...was written on the picnic table that's in the Life Guard's breakroom.

Well, aside from being seriously pissed that my parents said I couldn't go to A-kon, even though I rearranged my schedule. But nooo--they want me to work. Right now, it's only about 40 hrs a week, but they're hoping to move me up to 60 hrs. Yeah right, like I'm going to inflict that upon myself. And then I checked my email and saw all those costume ideas Sin sent me. Damn, I really wanted to go.

Mostly, I spend my free time writing and at the bookstore. Mostly, I read manga at the bookstore and literature at home. It's nice that there's such a wide selection these days. I remember when manga could only be bought at comic book stores.

Going out to the movies with Alex has been the bright spot to this mess. These days, I forget I'm in a real world. Everything has that dream-like feel to it. I think it's the heat.