Silver Linings In A Busy Day

Today at the Boys and Girls Club we had a tornado warning which meant we had to herd all the girls in the locker room.  And since we were limited on resources, I suggested a game called "go-in-the-bathroom-stall-and-change-something-about-your-appearance-and-then-we'll-guess-the-difference."

Seems harmless right?  I expected them to like, take their headband off or roll up a pant leg or something.

So Maddy goes first.  And she comes out looking the exact same as before.  Even my keen observation skills couldn't detect a slight difference.

So the girls guess and try to figure it out.  And then when we finally give up she yells, "I MADE MY UNDERWEAR INTO A THONG!"

Kids do the darndest things. 

Oh and then I met someone named Forrest Gilmore.  WHAT AN EFFING AWESOME NAME! 

Forrest Gump and Happy Gilmore are quite possibly the greatest feel good movies of all time.  Of all time! 

11:11 on 11/11/11!!!!!!!!!!!

To celebrate 11:11, Kelly and I made an enormous fort in the living room.

And pretended that our fort was a carnival tent and we were just really big people on display at the miniature people circus.

Then we went down memory lane by sharing hilarious stories of our childhood. 

Some generations remember where they were when President Kennedy was assassinated, or when NASA put a man on the moon, or the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

For Kelly and me, we both seem to have a vivid and explicit memories of where and when we first learned the Macarena. 

Kelly learned from her brother's friend whom she had a crush on because he jumped out of the emergency exit of the school bus on the last day of 8th grade.  

I learned from my Aunt Sherry at my grandpa's house on the 4th of July.  I can even remember the scent of Off Deep Woods bug spray around the campfire. 

We also came to the conclusion that, if done right, the Macarena dance sequence can fit any song.

Try it!

Then today we had a little incident at the house I call "dump and dash."

I was taking an afternoon nap, minding my own business, when Alex barges into my room with something like: "Jill! Get up! Hurry! Like, it's an emergency! Come out in the living room. Oh my gosh.  Crisis! I don't know what to do. There's!.. I just!.. ohmygosh just come out here!!"

The thoughts going through my head at this point were beyond terrifying.  I was literally trying to process where my running shoes were in case I had to run away from a Cyclops with a small child in his mouth standing in the living room.

Instead I was greeted by a dripping ceiling..

.. with piss water.

So Alex continues to explain that the toilet was leaking really bad. 

In my sleepiness I suggest "Hey maybe you should just call Reza (our landlord)." [Mistake #1]

And she does. Then she tells me she has to leave for work.

In the mean time, I put some Brussels sprouts in the microwave for lunch. [Mistake #2]

Reza shows up within minutes of Alex's frantic call,  you know, now that our house officially smells like stinky feet and I'm the only one home. Awesome.

So I was left to answer the door and try to explain this dripping mess.

I gave Reza a short explanation that there seems to have been a malfunction with the toilet upstairs, but I didn't really know what was going on (mind you, I had not even gone upstairs to see the source yet), and I go to my room to try to avoid this awkward encounter. 

Then I hear Reza call me upstairs "Jilliannnnnnnnn"

So I go up there, and Reza, his wife, and I all crowd around a pee and poo filled toilet as he ask me questions about what happened.

Again, I reminded him that I do not share that bathroom and am unsure of the premise of the situation (however, if I had to guess, somebody probably took a poop and tried to flush too much toilet paper hence the overflowing toilet water on the floor and through the ceiling).

Then Reza and his wife starting talking in Indian or Hindu or Urdu or whatever code language they speak.

I decided this embarrassing encounter was going nowhere fast, so I apologized for the mess and returned to my bedroom.

Awkward and uncomfortable situation of the year... check.

Why Must They Make Flintstones Gummy Vitamins So Good?!

Today I've defined the cliché: "too much of a good thing can be bad."  Last night (or rather, very early this morning) in my studying rampage, I took a break to seek a tasty snack to revitalize my late night enthusiasm to finish a paper.  I opened my somewhat sparsely stocked cabinet, and all it it’s glory was a translucent red bottle of Flintstones Gummy Vitamins—next to a box of uncooked pasta and a cinnamon-sugar shaker. 

So obviously I opted for the gummies.

I guess I can’t say I hadn’t been warned.  About a week and a half ago my good friend Kelly fell into a similar vitamin trap, far exceeding the recommend daily amount, which resulted in funny colored poo.  

But it’s a bit of a dilemma. Flintstone’s Vitmans are so friggin’ good I can’t eat just one. Or two.

..Or five.  Yes I had close to ten of those tasty little Bedrock bastards.

I remember having to eat those chalky artificially flavored orange and grape Flintsontes vitamins as a kid; however the upgrade to gummies is simply monumental.  They are downright delicious.  It’s like eating candy that you don’t feel guilty about overindulging because, after all, they ARE vitamins.

        

But those little disguised gummy bears are now sitting in my colon making me hate my life.  The term “shit a brick” has never felt so close to home.

For today I guess I will continue to pee green, poo red, and toot in the wind.  My apologies innocent walkers to and fro on the Bloomington campus. 

Blogging is like bicycling...I can just hop back on. Right?

Blogging for me has become this ebb and flow of compulsive blogging rants followed by long periods of absence. I've been a busy bee, but I'm trying to get back onto the blogging train....SOOOOooOOOOoOo

Here's whats up:

I officially became an IU Campus Compact AmeriCorps volunteer.  Between now and August I will complete 300 hours of volunteer service primarily at the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington, Gloabl Gifts, and the Interfaith Winter Shelter.  All of which are important causes-- kids, fair trade, homelessness and poverty.  

I am also an IU Tour Guide!

I saw HAIRat the IU Theater with Cassi.  

There was even a nude scene!

I went to Brown County with Shea and Kristen. 

I bought a wind chime and had the best pumpkin ice cream.

I was too distracted to take pictures, but Brown County is beautiful at this time of year.

Oh, and today I came home and noticed this... 

This seems like a totally normal view of my neighbor's house from my front porch

Pretty mundane right?

Notice anything out of the ordinary yet?

Uhp!

Yes this is a black pig just casually chained to their front porch. 

These neighbors never cease to surprise me. Last weekend for instance, they returned our initial neighborly gesture (delivering a homemade bunt cake) by putting a ceramic finger wrapped in aluminum foil in our mailbox as a thank you gift. 

Recently I've:

Visited the Potawatomi Zoo with the campers.  If you've never visited this animal jail that prides itself on holding "400 animals on 23 acres!" captive, be thankful (that's a lot of animals on not a lot of acres).  Besides the tasty (yet overpriced) concession stand popcorn, it's really nothing to write home about.

I did however have an awesome time with Rosa, Ashton, and Gwinny on the bus ride.

I also went on a 20 mile storm chasing bike adventure with Daniel.

And a dunes hike up Trail 8 with mi Madre

July

Here's what I'd been up to:

Went to County Line Orchard's BBQ & Blues fest

...with my special friend, Andre.

Saw a sunset on a hay ride

Shared an artichoke/mushroom flatbread (olive oil, roasted garlic, artichoke hearts, Crimini mushrooms,  Ricotta cheese, & 5 cheese blend) a from Rolling Stonebaker Wood Fired Pizza Truck 

Went to the TJMS firework show 

Saw a beautiful double rainbow

Heard the talented Ray Lamontagne preform (in addition to: Amos Lee, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, O.A.R., Moe, Umphrey's McGee, The Wailers, Gomez, David Gray, and Dave Matthews Band)

 AND HAD MY MIND BLOWN BY THE FLAMING LIPS (DARK SIDE OF THE MOON) SHOW! ^^Yes, that is Wayne Coyne in the space bubble! :D 

Just when you thought I gave up blogging...

I'm back!  

In the meantime I've:

Started my job as camp counselor:

^One of the many reasons I have the best summer job! The kids are so dang cute!

Painted a birdhouse: 

BEFORE

AFTER 

And hiked the highest peak at the Dunes with Johnny:

Blog Ketchup

Since I've been so consumed by a full schedule of not attending class or having a job and oodles of time on my hands, I haven't had the desire to blog (for some reason I blog most frequently in chaotic, stressful points).  Anywho, here's a recap of highlighted outings and occurrences in the past few weeks to catch up:

I went plant shopping with mi Madre:

And saw this strange siamese flower 

Then we went to Iowa to see Meg.  We mostly sat outside in the cold rain, but we stopped at the site of the History Channel series of American Pickers- Antique Archaeology. 

This weekend Johnny and I went to visit Soma at University of Chicago. 

Childhood best friends all grown up. Bittersweet. 

I kicked off my 20th birthday celebration with a sprinkle milkshake! 

I also saw Bridesmaids with Andre, Cassi, and Natalie 

Personally I would rate this movie a solid 7.  It's a raunchy chick flick that is accurately described as a girl version of "The Hangover"

 

The trailer gives away all the funny parts so if you just watched it, don't bother watching the movie.

Why Hello Summertime!

Mid Week Crisis

Oh yeah, hey finals,

On a lighter note, HAPPY STAR WARS DAY!