:: Venting Insanity ::

:: Friday, April 11, 2003 ::

wow
I was shocked to see this today while catching up on my blog reads. I mean, you see stuff on the news about journalists being captured and stuff, but this hit me kind of funny. Maybe because I've been reading his blog so much lately and was ticked off that CNN told him to stop blogging. Either way, I'm happy he's out of their hands and safe, as well as the rest of his team.

meeting night
The meeting was a bust. That seems to be the norm around here. The Mirabelli's came, Charsie, Sheryl, Lyn, Patty, and myself sat in the Temple's lobby and talked about a membership party for the Sunday after Mother's Day. Then, we all made plans to attend the next meeting. The rest of the conversation was all personal stuff, reflecting on Rainbow past and possible Majority members that may have daughters old enough to join now. {{shrugs}} Hopefully, Ardith and Megan will be feeling better that they can drive out and visit for next meeting. Then, we can have a Ritual meeting so Aly and Patty can get the practice in.

notary public
The Notary woman stopped by today to finish up the closing on the new mortgage my parents got. They're planning on using the money to redo the kitchen (including fixing the horrible stain on the ceiling from the bathroom incident), redo the upstairs bathroom (so we don't have anymore incidents that might stain the new ceiling), and possibly the downstairs the bathroom (or at least finish the downstairs bathroom). I think we're going the do-it-yourself route, so it might take a while. ^^;;;

weekend
Mom postponed her party. Donna got really sick, so we rescheduled for the 27th instead of tomorrow. She's also working overtime tomorrow. She wants to try to make at least four hours, but she's not sure if she wants to get the money or the sick credit. Because she hasn't been feeling great herself lately, she's used up a lot of her credit time to stay home. Dad and I both said that's for her to decide.

Sunday, Dad plans on picking up the 'new' truck. With ours so run down, Dad figured the cost of repairs outweighed the cost of replacement. We found another '89 Bronco XLT that's red with a tan stripe and tan roof. It's a pretty good looking truck. Dad's going to also pull some of the stuff off the old one and switch it over to the new one. New... it's the same age... it just has about 200,000 miles less on it. ^^;;; Plus, it's new to us, so that's what counts.

a major award!
I called the school today and told them I was going to the ceremony. Now, I have to tell my teachers Monday that I'm going, since I'm going to be missing both classes that night. Or, at least one of them. We get out at nine, so, depending on how fast we get back this way from Bethpage, I might be able to catch some of the second class. We'll see how that goes.

Llongyfarchiadau! You are Welsh. You are the
coolest, and you don't even know it.


Find your inner European Part Two
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You are Aeropostale! You like to look nice, but
dont want to apear to preppy. You like your
clothes loose fit and becoming. Chances are you
are very smart.


What clothing store are you?
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You are a Unicorn. Cautious by nature, you tend to
take fewer risks with your own welfare, and
manage, by doing so, to outlive most of your
comrades a goodly while by such a code of
behavior. You are the scholar of the fantasy
world. Unicorns tend to prefer to observe,
rather than participate in adventures, but
then, you are more likely to help someone in
need than others *ahem* dragons..


What Fantasy Creature Are You?
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updates
I tried updating my template, but Blogger had a brain fart or something and wouldn't let me. {{grumbles}}

On the otherhand, I finally went through all my archives and added all the recent quizzes to my quiz index. I had stopped adding them when I was debating publishing them at all outside the archives, but I didn't stop taking them. So, I had a lot of catching up to do with the new format I wanted to use. But, they're all there now! You're all welcome to take a peek. ^_^

when you can't sleep...
...read the news...

Apparently, a new bill has gone forth to introduce legislation against spammers. I say, "About damn time." If I get one more returned e-mail of a spam message I didn't send out because the spammer forged my address in the "Reply To:" line and one of the intended victims was a bad address, I'm going to scream.

{{screams}} There's another one!

"baghdad bob"
Thanks to A Small Victory for such a wonderful moniker.

Anyway, there's a report on Yahoo! from Reuters that says a group of people got together and set up WeLoveTheIraqiInformationMinister.com. The website was apparently extremely popular. Imagine my dismay and extreme disappointment when said website didn't work when I tried to view it. {{sigh}}

updates
I'm taking off broken links. Anyone that I had linked to that changed their address, please let me know at one of the e-mails in my navcolumn and I will put the link back up. Thanks.

You are Fred's Owner! Your only purpose is to serve
Fred.


Which Fred Basset Character are you?
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celebrate good times, come on!
I got a letter from the school today.

Dear Jessica:

Congratuations, Jessica! On behalf of Briarcliffe's Awards Committee, I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected to receive an award at Briarcliffe's Sixth Annual Awards Ceremony. The Awards Ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 24, 2003 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Bethpage Campus.

Please join us that evening to receive your honor and for light refreshments. You are welcome to bring two guests.

Please call the Director of Student Services by Thursday, April 11, 2003 to let us know if you are planning to attend.

Congratulations again!

Sincerely,
(signature)
Lynn D Salvage
President

Yes, they got the date wrong to RSVP. {{shrugs}} There was a handwritten note at the bottom...

Jessica,
Your 4.0 grade point average is outstanding!
Lynn Salvage

How cool is that!!! {{does the happy dance of joy}}

medical news
Well, apparently AJ passed out at work and ended up in the hospital. I just heard from Angie that he's okay now. Well, at least, not passed out anymore. Everyone is very much relieved.

midterms...
Well, it turns out I didn't have to hand in the one for C. I've been having trouble with the program Dad brought home from work, but another girl in the class that's doing the same project got a working emulator, so she burned some copies for all of us who were working on it. As for the Net Lab & Troubleshooting midterm, the teacher turned off the internet in class, so I wasn't able to finish it and hand it in to him tonight. {{grumbles}} Well, I've got spring break. If I finish it reasonably fast, I'll just scan it in and e-mail it to him.

other school things
We also got our take home final for Net Lab & Troubleshooting today. {{sigh}} I'll definitely be killing myself on this one. Apparently, I wasn't the only one that had a problem with the midterm. Someone said he spent two hours just trying to answer one question. {{sigh}}

{{dies}}
I'm so tired... {{sigh}} And Dad's about ready to kill his computer. I'm reminded of a particular commercial...

little girl: {{walking her bike down the street}}
little boy: How'd you get a new bike?
little girl: You see, we have this jar in the house that you have to put change in every time you lose your temper.
little boy: Yeah, so?
little girl: Well, my dad has this crummy old computer...
dad: {{in house, on computer}} C'mon... {{starts tapping his finger impatiently}} C'MON!!! {{bangs on the keyboard}}
little girl/boy: {{look in the window}}
dad: {{screams unintellible words and syllables at the computer, banging around the room in an infuriated rage}}
little girl: {{pumps her fist}} Cha-ching.
{{break for announcer selling new computers}}
dad: {{is standing at kitchen counter writing a check}}
little girl: {{walks in and looks at him}} Daddy.
dad: {{looks at little girl}}
little girl: {{points at extremely large jar of coins on counter}} Cash.

:: Thursday, April 10, 2003 ::

more news
Iraqis Jubilant as Saddam's Rule Collapses

Too bad we can't get Americans to be this happy about their own country...

as the stomach turns
If you want to declaw your cat, get it done fast... before it gets banned. I just love the suggested alternatives. Has that guy actually tried to trim a cat's claws by himself? {{falls over laughing}} Forget the vinyl coating! I think it's bad enough that people paint the claws on their dogs. Can you imagine trying to do that to a cat? Personally, I don't want my cat to be drugged that many times. And those of you who know my cats know what I'm talking about.

photographic record
I had to share these.


A liberated man thanks a coalition soldier, as seen on Fox News


A gift of thanks, AP Photo for Fox News


The dictator falls, CNN

freedom for even the youngest
I'm even more convinced that our leaders did the right thing. All because they wouldn't join a Ba'ath party youth group...

(found on A Small Victory, which has been asked by the Library of Congress to become part of the records for keeping track of this war in Iraq. Congratulations to Michele on a job well done!)

u r smart!


How much of an IDIOT are you?
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Probably the oddest quiz I ever took... _-_

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You are: Hamtaro


Which Hamtaro Character Are You?
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Hm.... dunno 'bout that one...

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What kind of band geek are you?

Wow... I wasn't in band, but I was involved in the marching band because of flagline and kickline... O.O;;; Weird.

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Revolutionary Girl Utena: Which Juri are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Well, that's me... I think I'd just understand it better if I actually watched Utena... ^^;; Though, I read some of the manga. I just haven't had the chance to really get into watching it. ;_;

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Juri/Shiori


Which Utena couple are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Again, I have no idea... See last quiz for reasons... _-_ I'm just bored, so I'm taking a lot of quizzes.

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Average Fan-You like Utena but you're not as smart
as the others in any. Sure you have SOME books
and SOME VHS/DVDs, maybe even the movie but
you've never even heard of the game or
soundtracks, you probably know them through the
internet. You don't really know what you like
about Utena, yet and you only know what's
happening in Ohtori now, but don't worry, you
might be a TRUE FAN someday...


What kind of Revolutionary Girl Utena Fan are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Yeah... that's pretty much it... Heh... ^^;;

:: Wednesday, April 09, 2003 ::

pre-registration
Nothing like standing in line all day. ^^;;

I went down to pre-reg today at school. I got all the classes I needed in one fell swoop. I'm taking the summer off (I'm getting a bit tired now) and I have all my classes in the Fall. Then... if all goes well... I get my AOS!!! {{does the happy graduation dance}}

That's right, folks! Today's a day of college celebration! Jess finally gets her two year degree! I've only been trying for {{cough}} years. I have five classes (though one only meets once for the semester, so it's not really a class). They're mostly on weeknights again. The first session puts me in this Career Services Workshop {{gag}} that I have to take, but it's only one meeting. I have it Sept 6 from 9 am to 5 pm at South Street.

• Session I:




• Object Oriented Programming and C++


• History of Graphic Design




• Session II:




• Introduction to Java Programming (meets only on Tuesdays, with two Saturday meetings during session)


• Spanish I

You'll notice I'm taking Spanish I. Well... my spanish credits didn't transfer from SCCC, and I need a bit of refresher anyway. I'm not as good in it as I would like to be. If all goes well, I'll even maintain my 4.0. That's a scary thought, graduating with a 4.0. If I was like some people I know, I'd wear one of those huge buttons with 4.0 in big numbers on it or something.

But, I'm not. I'll just hide, thanks. I don't want to make any speeches. ^^;;

I'm so excited about graduating though. I could have graduated in August instead of December if I had taken the summer courses. But, then that would have required reapplying for Fall in order to start my four year degree. I might take a semester off, though, after this. Then, I'll head back for my four year. I've been going nuts with school lately. As motivated as I am, I do need some time to reacquaint myself with the social and real worlds. That's why I'm taking the summer off. Plus, if I'm off, I can help Deidre out with the reception if she needs it. We have the first one of the year in September in our district.

other rainbow issues
Also, another thing going on over the summer is Grand Family Weekend. Aly gets to go this year as she's a Grand Officer. The best thing about it is that we can sleep in our own beds this year. Grand Family is going to be at the 4H Club in Riverhead! {{does the downstate dance of joy}}

Finally, an event that's close enough for me to go home over night instead of to a hotel! Less money for me to spend. *_*

wacky weather
It was still cold today. But... a lot of the snow got washed away by the rain. Yuck. I had thought about taking a picture of it, since it's really odd for us to have snow in April, but I didn't want to have a picture of yucky watered down snow. It doesn't look as pretty. Plus, patches of the ground underneath were showing through and it really ruined the effect of the picture.

taxes and midterms
Now... I have to go catch myself up some more. ^^;; I have to hand in both my midterms tomorrow (Monday's class was cancelled, thank goodness), and I have to rewrite my 1040A and then fill out my state forms to mail those in. Hopefully, I won't owe too much to state. I got a nice refund from Federal, though! YAY!!!! Money!!! $_$;;

today's the day
Today's Progressive Spirit

And I watch the photos and film clips on TV thinking, 'People actually didn't want us to go there.'

(found on War Blog - 2003, the Harry Timez/opedworldpress)

updates
I changed the order of my navcolumn, as well as moved all my quizzes and archives to their own index pages. I'll be adding the newer quizzes to the quiz page soon.

yawn
Today was pretty boring. I've just been working on my midterms.

I also called Lisa M about my parents' EZ-Pass. I forgot to get it from her before they left Saturday from Grand Assembly. We kind of need it back. ^^;; I already gave my parents back the one we used in my car. It's just easier to stick together as a group when you have everyone using EZ-Pass for the tolls.

Tomorrow, I have to go down to the school and do preregistration for Summer and Fall. I'm not completely sure if I want to take Summer classes, yet. If I do, that cuts down on the number of classes for me to take in the Fall and I really want to be full time then for Financial Aid reasons. There's one class I'd like to take over the summer, and two that I can. The second class I can also take in the Fall, which will put me at full time since there's only three other classes I can take for Fall. Maybe I'll do that... take the one over the summer and then the other four in the fall. That works.

It'll also give me more job search time for the summer. Speaking of which, I have a few e-mails to write.

:: Monday, April 07, 2003 ::

wave a flag
Become a flag waver! Show your support for the US Troops. I got flag number 525053. ^_^;; {{waves her little flag}}



support our troops
Speaking of supporting our troops, I tried calling Brian's cellphone yesterday after I got home. I got a Sprint PCS message saying the phone number was "temporarily disconnected". That means he's probably been deployed.

Dave Barry wrote an interesting article five years ago.

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The Ultimate Weapon

BY DAVE BARRY
Miami Herald, April 19, 1998

Pay attention, because I am going to explain our foreign policy.

At the current time (11:21 a.m.) our biggest foreign-policy problem is Saddam Hussein, the evil and amoral dictator of Iran or Iraq, which may actually be the same foreign country.

You may recall that, way back when George Bush was President and most of the White House sex rumors concerned Millie the dog, we beat Saddam in a war. I mean, we kicked his butt. We dropped bombs all over Iraq (or possibly Iran), thereby insuring that Saddam would never, ever, ever again be a threat to the peoples of the world until maybe seven months later, when suddenly, BAM, there he was again! Despite clearly losing the war! That is how amoral he is.

The word was that Saddam was making chemical and biological weapons, which are a clear violation of international rules, because they kill people. So the Clinton administration (motto: ``No We Are NOT Obsessed With Monica Lewinsky Monica Lewinsky Monica Lewinsky!'') was threatening to send Air Force planes over there to drop MORE bombs (which are allowed under international rules, although they also kill people, but in a legal way) on Iran (or possibly Iraq) again.

Perhaps you are wondering: ``What's the point of dropping more bombs, since that is exactly what did not work the first time? Why not just quietly, without making a big public deal of it, send a couple of experienced guys named Victor over there to quietly arrange for Saddam to have an unfortunate shaving accident that results in the loss of the upper two-thirds of his head?''

I am frankly shocked that you would even suggest such a thing. What you're talking about is assassination, which is a serious violation of international rules. On the other hand, it is perfectly OK to drop large quantities of bombs on a foreign country, as long as you are not specifically trying to drop one on the foreign leader, which of course under the rules would be assassination. (These rules are made by lawyers.)

The rules also state that, when you drop your bombs, you are supposed to try to gain a Consensus of World Opinion, which is legally defined as ``at least four nations that know how to make a decent car, plus, if he is not off somewhere building a house, Jimmy Carter.''

This is where we've been running into trouble. America is currently very unpopular in the world. For example, our allies hate us. Especially the French. They have always hated us, of course, for stealing the concept of french fries, but now they REALLY hate us, because our culture has become so dominant that they're having trouble completing so much as a single sentence without using American words. They're always blurting out statements like: ``Le software de la hardware est un humdinger!'' And then they get so mad that they could spit.

Pretty much the entire membership of the United Nations also hates us, because we haven't been paying our dues, which the member nations desperately need so that they can continue carrying out the vital U.N. mission of parking illegally all over New York. In fact our lone international ally at the moment is a man named ``Tony,'' who has been visiting the White House and who claims to be the prime minister of Great Britain, which I for one do not believe for a second. I don't know much, but I know there is nobody in Great Britain named ``Tony.''

So as I said, the world pretty much hates us, and it's getting worse, because every day more nations are being exposed, via international TV syndication, to Jerry Springer. It is only a matter of time before one of these small irate goat-oriented nations decides to launch a chemical or biological attack on us. That's certainly what I want to do when I watch Jerry Springer, and I live here.

My point is that we are not going to get any international help in dealing with Saddam Hussein. It's totally up to us, and I say it's time we stop pussyfooting around and use the ultimate weapon -- the one weapon that will guarantee that Saddam never bothers us again. Yes, as shocking and heartless as it may sound, I'm proposing that we send an Air Force bomber directly over Baghdad, and drop the most damaging, the most horrible, the most morally repugnant weapon that this nation has ever produced: lawyers. (We could even, if necessary, put parachutes on them.)

Within a matter of hours, all of Iraq (or possibly Iran) would be paralyzed by lawsuits; once word got around of the potential size of the damage awards, everybody living within a 50-mile radius of a suspected chemical or biological weapons facility would be complaining of whiplash. Saddam would be ruined for good, and the whole world would thank us. Even the French. Their exact words would be: ``Merci a bunch!''

Gentle


What Kind Of Anime Kisser Are You?
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Cross-Dressing... Do I need to say anymore?


Which Utena taboo are you?
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Snow White!
Your a sweetie pie. Being rude is just not you! You want to appease every soul on the planet. You have plenty of friends. You have jealousy in your path though. You have a young soul, sweetie!!

What Disney damsel are you?
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Well, never considered myself to be Snow White... ^^;;

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You are Spring. You're a happy little thing, huh?
You tend to be the most positive person in your
little friend group, and people like you for
your outgoing and friendly nature. Your faults
are naivie-ness, and the fact you trust
EVERYONE just a bit much. Sometimes you get a
little hyper, and tend to take things too
personally. You're okay, though. When I say
"Aeris", do you leap for joy?


What Season are You?
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snow???!!!
We've got about two or three inches now, and it's still snowing. Briarcliffe-Bethpage is listed as "Evening Classes Canceled" by News 12 now. My campus is still listed at "No PM Classes".

home again
Well, I am back home now. And it's snowing. O.O;; Yeah... Long Island is getting snow in April. I think the Apocalypse is on its way or something. >P

WARNING: I have a whole weekend to catch you guys up on, so this post will be long.

grand assembly
We got on the road seriously by about a quarter to eight on Thursday morning. Before that, I had picked up Aly at her house, and Lisa M and Missy M picked up Charsie at her house. We met at the coffee truck on the LIE service road. Traffic wasn't too horrendous on the LIE, even with Lisa forgetting to get into the HOV lane. ^^;; It was normal weekday morning rush with the usual slow downs in all the usual places, but we made pretty good time the whole trip up to the Friar Tuck. And it wasn't a bad drive, despite what looked like might be nasty weather. The fog made it hard to see anything when we crossed the bridges, but it wasn't bad driving. My main issue was that Lisa M apparently doesn't use cruise control. We ranged in speed from 60 mph to 80 mph. My legs were already stiff and achy by the time we walked into the hotel, and I was seriously wishing I had led the way on the ride up.

Is it me or is getting your picture taken the last thing you want to have happen right after you walk in the door after a four or five hour drive? Well, that's what they did to us at the Registration table in the lobby. We signed in, got our pictures taken, received passports, and were given our program schedules for the weekend. The passports were our ID badges for the weekend since the weekend theme this year was "It's a Small World". We had to get them stamped at everything we went to. The person with the most stamps at the end of the weekend was the winner.

We were on the first floor for the weekend, which wasn't too bad. The major problem with that was the hotel had redone all their flooring on the first floor. Now, the entire hotel except the dining room, the main lobby, and the guest rooms were stone tile. Ouch. My feet started hurting, then my knees, then it worked its way to my ankles, hips, and lower back. And the beds were way too firm for me, so I was in pain the whole weekend. Mom didn't go this year and I forgot to bring my ibuprophen with me, so I was not happy camper in that department.

The entire hotel was drafty and freezing. So, we put the heat on in our room. The room turned into an oven. We finally figured out that you had to turn the heat on and off at certain times to maintain a comfortable temperature because the thermostat was apparently broken and didn't maintain it for us. We had a nice bowed down ceiling tile in our bathroom, right over the shower (that suggested some water damage) which freaked Aly out early in the morning one day. We weren't the only room with it, too.

Rehearsals went on pretty much all Thursday afternoon. I had choir rehearsal right after lunch. We practiced the walk-in with them, which they only had to walk in for the opening during Thursday night's session. Then, we moved to another room to practice the songs they would be singing for the weekend. The choir was extremely well-behaved this year, as opposed to the little monsters we ended up with last year. I was properly impressed by the way they stayed quiet and sat nicely in the Grand East all during sessions. None of them crossed their legs or sat with their knees wide open in their gowns. They didn't slouch or anything. They didn't chat or whisper to whole time (which would have been bad since there's a microphone right in front of them). They did really well for a group of young girls. I was very happy with them. They also did very well for their walk-in.

Thursday night's "It's a Small World" dinner was when we had to wear our Bolivia costumes. We weren't the only District that did a quick and easy costume this year. Nothing overly elaborate, thank goodness. We had our bowler hats with the scarves. Kings-Queens had the Phillipines, so they used umbrellas that they attatched silver curling ribbing and blue construction paper rain drops to. Nassau had Canada, so they all had red felt maple leaves pinned to their outfits and Amanda H had a Canadian flag jacket on over her gown. Rockland-Westchester had one of the Australian jurisdictions, so they added 'pouches' to their aprons and walked around with little plush kangaroos in the 'pouches'. Orange had the US, so they wore Uncle Sam hats, and they all put on red/white/blue outfits for dinner. Erie-Genessee had Brazil, so they made little bowls of fake fruit that they tied ribbons on and wore as hats like the Chiquita Banana girl. I don't remember what other Districts had what. ^^;;

Opening night came. I stood at the door beforehand and caught people as they were coming in, stamping their passports. Aly was sitting on the South side of the Assembly room as a floor Page. She had met with "Mom" Brannan at dinner earlier. Aly was personal Page to her. Missy M and Lisa M participated in the Flag ceremony this year by carrying in flags. Virginia's speech really touched everyone, too. Her section on the American flag really hit home for a lot of us this year because of the war. She even had to make an effort to stop herself from crying while she was giving it. I found out that Cheryl A's husband had been called up to active duty. I don't know if he's been deployed, yet, though. Lisa M then took her seat as the microphone helper for Grand Hope and the other officers on the South side of the Assembly room that needed microphones.

Sessions were surprisingly quick this year. I was pleasantly surprised. Deidre read her Charity report during the session. There were several reports that were read before we informally closed for the night. After closing, they did the Rainbow Memorial Service instead of Majority Recognition this year. It was an interesting change. Thursday night left us with very few dry eyes in the Assembly room with everything we were doing.

Afterwards, we had "Rainopoly". They made a large board that they double-stick taped to the floor. We had two spots for each color, a "stop" and a road/drive/circle/lane/etc, that were all named after the lesson for that color. We also had a white section called "Prospect". Instead of railroads, we used the Line Officer positions, and we had a spot for "New Ideas". Jail was Rehearsal, and Just Visiting was Just Studying. It was fun. I got a couple of pictures of Aly being the Suffolk District's 'token'. ~_^ Deidre handled our money, which were Petitions.

Friday morning brought us our Grand Rep session. We heard the reports from around the Rainbow world from our various Grand Representatives. We also heard more speeches, this time from our out-of-state guests. After informal closing, we had the Majority Recognition. They did a lovely degree this year, and I got quite a few really good pictures from my spot in the Grand East. Once I get the film developed, I'll be scanning them in and e-mailing them to the three girls that got Majority this year. I'm friends with all of them.

We usually had our Worthy Advisor/Mother Advisor Luncheon on Fridays, but they stopped doing that last year. Mom was glad last year. She hated having to bring her white gown to wear to lunch. I think Patty was pretty happy she didn't have to bring hers this year, too. LOL...

Friday afternoon was Initiation. We initiated three new girls. The ceremony was great. Everyone knew their parts and did an excellent job. One of the Initiates was Mindy's little sister. Between getting Initiated at Grand Assembly, by her sister as Grand Worthy Advisor, and finally getting Initiated after waiting for so long, the girl couldn't stop crying the whole time. She wasn't outright sobbing, but she was so overwhelmed, she just started crying during the Obligation. It was actually kind of cute. We also had quite a few speeches again, this time from guests representing other organizations. Sheryl M was presented with her Temple Pin, which is an honor given to those who have done a great service for Rainbow, and Kerri was introduced as the new Ritual Committee Representative for Suffolk District. We then had retiring for the presiding Grand Officers. It went well, no huge sobbing or anything. It was really nice.

I feel sorry for anyone that drove up specifically for that session and then planned on leaving. We got snow and ice! I took a few pictures of the snow in one of the courtyards. There was about an inch, maybe a little less. Plus, it was mostly ice. It's been quite a few years since we've had snow at Grand Assembly. The last time was when we were still staying at the Granit in Kerhonkson.

I helped out as one of the Advisors and 'stampers' for the arts and crafts session down near the pool. I forgot my camera bag down there (which had all my meal tickets, my check for Grand Cross dues, my camera, all my film, and my room key) and went back to get it, but everyone had cleaned up and left by then. I was pretty upset. I hurried about for most of the day, trying to track it down. I finally got it back before dinner that night, minus my room key. Needless to say, Deidre, Aly, and I spent the rest of the weekend wondering if anyone was going to try to trash our room. ^^;;

Friday's dinner was in honor of the outgoing Grand Officers. They were all introduced and given their Grand Officer certificates, along with a small gift. Then Mindy was introduced as Grand Worthy Advisor for the last time. I also managed to get in some time to decorate our door for the door decorating contest. That night there was a reception down by the pool for the adults with the Supreme Worthy Advisor, Supreme Faith, and "Mom" Betsy. The girls were in another room down there having karaoke. In the lobby outside the pool, they had Make Your Own Sundaes with ice cream and all sorts of toppings. I didn't stay very long for the little reception. The room was cold and they weren't doing anything really special, just talking about all sorts of things that were more personal than Rainbow oriented. Instead, I went back upstairs and finished decorating our door with the girls. Aly and Deidre had stayed in the room finishing up homework that their teachers had given them before they left, so I was able to get in.

Saturday, we had a second arts and crafts session in morning, which I was at again to sit for Kathy K. She had a meeting with Betsy that morning and needed someone to sit in there for her. No one really came to that one, just two people from Connecticut, and Aly stopped by with our swaps after her rehearsal. So, we just sat and chatted for a while.

Right after lunch, there was a Membership Taskforce meeting in the dining room. We hung out and listened to what they had to say. The girls were in a different section and did some other things. I found out that we got our grant from the Shriners, I think, for a NY Rainbow website. Apparently, Claire and Jen had no idea about it either. At least now I know I can start working on it and maybe send out a letter to the Assemblies requesting ideas for what they want on it. I figure, if the website is supposed to represent NY Rainbow, then all of NY Rainbow should have a say as to what goes on it.

Saturday afternoon was Installation. Aly was installed as Grand Rep to MA and KS. Arkansas, Kansas, they're close enough. I got it wrong a few posts ago and said Arkansas instead of Kansas. {{shrugs}} Oh well. Deidre was installed as Grand Hope. We were joking that she's going down the line instead of up. She had Grand Worthy Associate Advisor, then Grand Charity, now she's Grand Hope. We found it amusing. She's probably getting her Majority soon, so I don't think she'll ever be Grand Faith. Plus, she doesn't sound like she ever wants to do Grand Faith. I still think it would be funny.

Valerie is our new Grand Worthy Advisor. Her theme is "Let Rainbow Light Up Your Life" and her colors are yellow and white. Her symbol is the candle. She had a very short address after her Installation. Everyone was a bit surprised, but I think we were all secretly relieved. Then, we had speeches from anyone who hadn't spoken yet all weekend. It was fairly quick, which was nice, and we all headed back to our rooms to prepare for pictures and the banquet.

Patty had scheduled us for our Assembly picture at 6, but the photographer finished everyone earlier than that. He then decided he didn't want to wait for us and the woman said she'd take our picture at dinner. {{grumbles}} Go figure. We all then had to order the picture to be blown up since the only camera she had left was the one that makes the keychains with the viewer. Oh well.

Like the rest of the weekend, the food was typical, mass produced, convention food. They presented a few awards at the banquet, the girls sang and did all their meal games (which they'd been doing all weekend at all meals, including making people walk around the table for having their elbows on it). Then, we all headed downstairs to line up for the march. We came into the Assembly room in groups of four. All the stations and chairs and things had been put away right after Installation (which I had helped with also, some of those things are heavy!!!), and the room was completely cleared out for us to come in. We all sat down and they handed out awards to everyone for different things. Aly won the scavenger hunt. Harmony-Pilgrim won second place in the poster contest. Pearl River got Assembly of the Year. Middletown got the membership award. Not surprisingly, we didn't get much for our Assembly. I was hoping we'd get the poster award, or something for our door. I had a feeling we'd get something for the scavenger hunt. We had a lot of stuff that we all gave to Aly.

While it was a group effort, we let her get the credit. Missy M had brought back a lot of the paint brushes we had to find. Apparently, their timing had worked out, and she, Kristin, and Kerri were following the people placing the paintbrushes. They didn't even realize it until they saw one of the people leaving one behind. They grabbed like eight of them. The Grand Assembly Committee used paper cut-outs of paintbrushes that they colored the bristles in different colors and then wrote different destinations that Mindy visited during her year on the handles. We had to find as many as possible without any duplicates. You were allowed to swap locations with others who had found paintbrushes in order to get more to win. I think Aly ended up with 18 total (not counting duplicates) between all of us looking.

After the awards, they had a dance, which actually turned out pretty good. We didn't think it was going to be all that great, since the DJ admitted to the girls that he usually catered to older people and didn't have a lot of new music. He had been walking around the hotel earlier that day and was asking the girls to bring their own CDs to play. The music wasn't bad, and he also set up the karaoke machine again, so the girls had fun.

Sunday morning brought Grand Cross and the display table with the finished professional pictures. I picked up the Grand Choir/Go-Fer picture that I was in, and I bought one of the keychains for our Assembly picture. I also ordered to have the picture blown up into a full size. Then, I got Aly her Grand Page group picture and a keychain as well. I had posted before I left that Grand Cross was on Friday. We had done that last year, but they put it back to Sunday morning this year. I had to wake up early anyway, but this was the last day of the convention, and I was exhausted! So, I watched the degree. Kerri did Keeper of the Door. Amanda H was one of the new designates. After Grand Cross was Church Service. It wasn't as bad as some of the ones I've been to in the past. I've been skipping them in favor of packing up and getting on the road early the last few years with Mom. This year, we stayed and went since I was at Grand Cross that morning anyway. Plus, Aly had to go because she's a Grand Rep now. I gave her the pictures I had gotten for her earlier as a "Happy Grand Assembly and Installation" present. We packed up the car (which I had to clean snow off of) and were back on the Thruway south by noon.

Again, traffic was fairly clear. We stopped about an hour after being on the road (Meridan rest area) because we were starved. Just south/east the Tappanzee, there's all sorts of construction. It got a bit confusing and I got off too soon. I ended up on the Sawmill instead of the Sprain Brook and had to deal with a lot of cars and some traffic lights. I don't like the Sawmill. But, I got myself back to the Hutchinson quite nicely anyway. The construction again on 287 made it hard to figure out which lane I had to be in to get to the Throgs Neck Bridge. I missed the correct turn and had to wind my way around. I ended up on the Whitestone instead. It was slow going, but moving. We had a great view of the city as we crossed the bridge, though. It was so clear on the trip home yesterday, unlike Friday's trip up which was hazy. It looked like the Hudson river just disappeared into the fog. The Cross Island wasn't bad until we hit the LIE ramp. The cars were crawling up the ramp, so I skipped the LIE and headed for Southern State instead. There was some traffic near Eagle Rd as usual, but we got past that okay. I took the Meadowbrook down to Ocean and took the scenic route home. With such a nice day, it was worth it.

summary
All in all, it wasn't a bad trip. There were a few points of contention I had, like Kerri getting picked as the District's Ritual Committee Rep. It's awfully hard to decide on what to do about things when half the people keep saying they want me around and they ask me to help out while the other half puts on a fake smile and politely tells me they don't need me. If it wasn't such a long drive on a weeknight, I'd go help out at Harmony-Pilgrim or Bellmore instead of Suwassett. I feel more welcome in those Assemblies than my own.

I'm glad I got asked to help out with some stuff, tho'. I've been feeling a bit pushed away lately with things in Rainbow. Also, there was a lot I couldn't do with my Net Lab & Troubleshooting midterm anyway, so I would have been bored. Luckily, it's not due until Thursday. I seriously have to work on my C midterm before I leave tonight... if I leave tonight. Depends on the weather. According to News 12, Briarcliffe-Patchogue is listed as "No PM Classes". I don't know if that applies to me, but I kind of hope it does. ^^;;;

Anyway, I'm glad I got to see people, though. Kelly H and Geraldine both got Majority with Missy M this year, and I would have felt bad if I had missed that. Plus, Amanda H getting Grand Cross was important, too. There's so many girls that I'm friends with that there's still a few good reasons for me to go to Grand Assembly.

tit-for-tat
As usual, you can't stay with the same people for four days straight like that without some arguments. It wouldn't be Grand Assembly with the Mirabelli's if they weren't at each other's throats. They were arguing by Thursday night. Plus, Deidre and Patty had a bit of a fall-out at the dance on Saturday night, but they seemed like they had everything sorted out by the time Aly and I came into Patty's and Lyn's room (where Deidre was talking with them) Sunday morning to say good-bye. Then there were the issues that Bellmore seems to keep having with the current state leadership. I naturally heard all about that from the Hulse girls.

There were also the usual room trashings, though some got a bit mean over the weekend. It's one thing to toilet paper someone's room, or put clear cling wrap on the toilet seat, or whatever, but don't mess with their personal belongings. That's just plain mean, especially if you're not from the same Assembly. Bellmore had their gowns wrapped up the shower curtain and left crumpled in the tub, as well as having something left in front of their door, making it hard to get back into their room. Harmony-Pilgrim had their stuff pulled out of the drawers and thrown all over the room... three times. People had their mirrors written on with soap and lipstick, which is hard to clean off. It's just plain mean to do all that. While Amanda H and her mom teamed up to get the younger Bellmore girls by flipping their mattresses onto their sides instead of just short-sheeting them, that's within the same Assembly. Plus, the younger girls thought it was pretty cool that Amanda H had done it to them. And she didn't do it so it was hard for them to fix. They left the mattress so it was easy to put back.

After hearing about these room trashings, Deidre, Aly, and I walked around in fear for almost the whole weekend because we found out who had kept my key during the camera bag fiasco. Pearl River girls are known for going a bit overboard with everything, especially room trashing. I found out later that Cheryl A had kept my key after she found my camera bag. She's a Majority girl from Pearl River who was active around the same time as me, so we were just a bit worried.

sigh
Anyway, time to go look outside and see how the snow is doing. Plus, I want to get all the laundry I didn't pack out of the basement. Mom said she wanted to do Dad's laundry tonight. I have stuff I want to do tomorrow. I was too tired to do anything at all yesterday. ^^;;;