Tuesday, September 24, 2013

The Five Stages of Grieving When You're a Redskins Fan

This Sunday, I suffered a loss. Not directly, but it still hurt my heart. The Redskins lost to possibly one of the worst teams in the NFL-- The Detroit Lions. After this game, I went through the 5 stages of grieving every Skins fan goes through when we lose a game.

#1 Denial
We are not that bad of a team! We've got RG3, and Alfred Morris- two of the best Rookies last year. They are gonna kill it this year! And Santana Moss and Pierre Garçon are beast receivers. Not to mention other strong players like Fred Davis, Brian Orakapo, Ryan Kerrigan, London Fletcher, and DeAngelo Hall. We don't have a single weak player on the team. RG Knee my ass. We're totally fine. We're definitely still strong contenders in the Super Bowl this year.

#2 Anger
C'mon Skins! Get your act together and start playing like a real football team!!!! This is REAL LIFE! Who's calling these plays anyway?!? I bet someone is paying the Refs to make bad calls against the Redskins! I hate everything that's negative towards the Redskins! You're either with us, or you're against us...

#3 Bargaining
If only we could get 3 touchdowns, and a field goal to win in the next 2 minutes. Just. Get. 3. Touchdowns. Please! We just need a few more points. We're only down by 24. If only we had more time to make a comeback.

#4 Depression
Wow. I can't believe we lost to the Detroit Lions. The Lions for goodness sake. It hurts! I'm going to go curl up in a ball in the corner of my room now and rock back and forth while weeping about this situation. Please don't try to converse with me, or I will eat you.

#5 Acceptance
There is no such thing as acceptance when you're a true Skins fan. Repeat #1.

HTTR!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Waitressing 101

Well my job as a waitress has officially come to an end this summer, and it ended with a splash. Quite literally though. Like, I was thrown in a fountain on my last day. It was a fun job though and I will definitely miss some of the people! Looking back, I learned quite a few things about the restaurant business and just people in general. If you ever plan to be a waitress, be warned!

1) My tasks are like Sims. I have a mental list of stuff that I need to get done and a specific order. If something unexpected comes up, I usually forget what I was supposed to be doing before because, like Sims, all the other tasks were deleted. It's just like when the phone rings in Sims. You have to cancel everything you were doing before in order to answer the call just in case it's that mysterious person who gives you 100,000 Sim dollars

2) All of your tables will either want nothing or something at the same time. They'll all say they're fine right now and don't need anything, but the minute you go back to check on one, they'll all need something. "Can I get more water?" "Check please!" "Can I have some Tabasco sauce?" "Do you take Visa?"

3) Sometimes you have to get creative about how to weave through the busy bar in order to get your drinks






4) People pretend they know a lot about wine when they taste it, but most of them really don't. They know they're supposed to sniff it at some point, but they don't even know why. They just don't want to look stupid in front of you

5) Drunk people at the bar will either think A) "So... are you single?" is a good pick-up line or B) Fully and stubbornly believe that you are someone they met "that one time" and refuse to believe your name is anything other than "Emily". Just go with it, and have fun playing along. See how far you can get with the craziness of the story. "Yeah! I remember that! And then you ran around naked, punched that cop and drove his car into that pool! You don't remember that? Hahaha that's probably because you were so drunk, man!" If the guy's more sober friends like you, they'll play along with you and keep feeding the story

6) If nobody saw you spill it, it never happened

7) People don't understand the concept of "move" and it gets frustrating when you are in a hurry. You will get stuck behind some slow person who decides they want to stop in the middle of the path and just observe the flowers. It makes me want to scream every time




8) People will legitimately fight over who gets to cover the bill. Just take the first card that's handed to you and walk away quickly. Ignore the lady that almost cries because she wanted to pay

9) Sometimes, surprisingly, people forget what they order

10) When people ask you to recommend something to them on the menu, men will usually order what you recommend. Women on the other hand will ask if you prefer item A or B. 99% of the time they already have their mind made up and just want you to hopefully justify their choice. The other 1% of the time, they just want to pick the opposite of what you say. Psh.... Women....

11) You develop a sixth sense for when there is clean silverware that needs rolling. It's like you can smell it and are naturally drawn to it even though you don't want to be





12) Sometimes people give you bad tips for no reason (most likely because they don't understand the world of food service. Either that or they can't do math very well). Sometimes people give you awesome tips for something as small as being a fan of the Redskins

13) Sometimes you will get a vegan that comes into your Italian restaurant wanting to eat something other than a salad. They will never understand that all of the entrees have meat, all of the appetizers are cooked with milk or eggs, all of the pizzas and pastas have egg in them and usually a meat or cream sauce, and so that only leaves the salads. It is an "Italian" restaurant after-all....

14) .... And sometimes you will get a family coming into your Italian restaurant wanting burgers, hot dogs, and fries. They will be more out of place than a family going into an Italian restaurant wanting burgers, hot dogs, and fries

15) If the restaurant Clyde's across the street does it, we do it. If we do it, Cylde's does it. If they set up they're patio, we set up our patio. If we take down our patio, they take down their patio. If they lose power, we laugh at them and put up a huge sign that says, "Come in! We have power, food, and AC! Suck it Clyde's!"

16) People will always make the same cheesy jokes about the food

17) Some people are so rich that they can blow a 300 dollar tab and not even look at the bill. Get over it. They're rich. And they probably always will be

18) When a guy looks you in the eyes and says, "Do you have Buttery Nipples?" don't be offended. He's asking for a speciality drink

19) And going along with that, there are many strange and sexually named drinks. Yes, 'Sex on the Beach' is "easy" and 'Naked Girl Scout' is tasty

20) Restaurant drama is the best

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Never Turn Your Back To The Ocean

When I was little, I spent 90% of my beach time in the water. When I was in elementary school and middle school I used to write most of my short stories about something that happened to me while I was on a beach vacation. I thought I was a budding Virginia Woolf when I used phrases like, "The cool blue ocean's waves lapped at the curved side of the bright green inner-tube", but really I was just a grade schooler overusing adjectives and the synonym button in Microsoft Word.

There is a foggy memory that comes to mind as I think about these stories I wrote about going to the beach as a youngin'. We went down to the Outer Banks with my Uncle Ken's family. He and my Dad took my cousins (Tim and Melissa), brother (Matt), and I in an inner-tube out to the "deep part". I remember being terrified because I knew I wouldn't be able to touch the bottom should I fall off the tube. What my cousins and brother probably remember to be a fun time bobbing over the waves, I remember as a terrifying journey out to where you could no longer see the shore, and to where the waves crashed against the tube on all sides. It had begun to storm just as we were trying to get back into shore. My Uncle and Dad fought the strong current but were growing tired. Suddenly, my cousin Tim was pulled under. My Uncle Ken dove in after what appeared to be a shark fin, but he and my cousin never resurfaced. As I looked around for my Dad, the sinking realization that he had also drowned in the deep water hit me. Then, out of no where, a huge wave smacked the side of the tube, knocking Matt and Melissa off the tube and into the dark watery abyss below. My cousin and brother were lost to Davy Jones' locker. I was the only one left clinging to the tube for dear life until, hours later, I washed up on shore miles away from our beach site, sobbing and out of breath. I knew the proceeding weeks I would spend trying to survive the wilderness while searching for the rest of my family and coping with the loss of the others.

Seeing that my Dad, Uncle, brother, and cousins are all still alive, none of this probably happened. Like I said, my memory of the actual part where we took an inner-tube out to sea is very foggy. Like, the whole thing was probably just a dream. Yeah. Definitely a dream. But to make my point from before, that is how I wrote my short stories in 7th grade english class.

The OBX trip I just returned from was actually very peaceful and much needed. I think as you get older, the point of vacation is just to relax. When you're young, vacation is more of cram-as-much-fun-as-you-can-into-the-short-amount-of-time-that-you're-out-of-that-jail-they-call-school. But this vacation was nice. I got to see my Uncle Tom's family on the last few days we were there and that was nice because we usually only see them once or twice a year since they live in Michigan. We spent the last beach day together out bobbing the waves. My cousin, Sam, brought his beer can out with him, but just has he came out, a big wave was about to cap on us. We all looked at Sam and his open beer can and felt sorry that it was about to be filled with salt water, then dove under the wave. When we resurfaced Sam had told us, "No worries! I put my hand over top of it and went under. Whatever works, you know?" So typical of someone in my engineer-wired-brain dominated family. I love hanging out with them.

The rest of the week was filled with eating delicious crabs, paddle boarding, sun tanning (although I think I may have actually just gotten whiter- if that's possible), puzzling, snow cones, and other family fun. It was definitely much needed.

My title is something one of my Uncles once told me. It's one of my earliest memories about going to the beach so I must've been pretty young. I was digging for sand fleas and mussels in the sand in that wet area the waves reach after they crash on shore. My Uncle chuckled and told me "Don't you know never to turn your back to the ocean?" I scoffed and ignored him and continued to dig. That only lasted for 5 minutes because sure enough a larger than average wave broke a little too close to where I was digging and knocked me right off my feet. I tumbled around in the surf and washed up on shore with sand everywhere on my body.... you would be surprised all the places sand can reach. I cried and ran to mommy. I never saw that wave coming because I turned my back to the ocean.

I don't really have a good way to end this post because my mind is still in vacation mode. I'm surprised I was even able to sit down and blog. I guess I'll leave you with this: Never turn your back to the ocean.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Bennett

Some of you may have heard, or seen it in the news. Just another tragic story about a young kid losing his life in a terrible accident. What many of you don't know is that that "kid" wasn't just any kid. He was Bennett Rill, and Bennett Rill isn't just some kid.

This isn't going to be a usual blog post for me. No jokes or funny stories. In fact, this blog is more for me, so keep reading if you really want. I have a problem with internalizing some of my sadness so I figured I'd help myself by blogging about what I'm feeling.

This past week has been a blur of sadness and confusion. How could this happen? And why, out of all people, did this have to happen to Bennett?

The words from the funeral still echo in my mind over and over again. "Bennett had so much life ahead of him. He was going to do great things". What makes this whole tragedy harder is that I couldn't agree more. Bennett was only 14 and just about to enter high school. He had tons of opportunities ahead of him, and even more lives to touch.

What has been ripping me apart is the question "Why did this happen to Bennett?". They were just being teenagers. They were just friends, harmlessly celebrating the end of middle school. I don't know what the news has said, but they weren't drinking, or trying to break into the school. They were just being innocent good kids. My neighbor told me a story that both broke my heart and somehow filled it at the same time. My brother, my neighbor's son, Bennett, and his Dad were riding in a golf cart. My neighbor's son reached out to try to grab an apple and fell off the moving golf cart. Bennett's first reaction was to jump off the cart saying, "I'll help you, Buddy!"

And that's just how he died years later. When his friend fell and broke his arm, whether Bennett said it out loud or not, he was climbing down that ladder with the idea in mind, "I'll help you, Buddy!"

So why then? Why did this happen to a kid who was just trying to help? Many people think, "It's God's plan", but it's not. A pastor told us (and I also believe this) God may know your entire life before you do, and he may know when and how you will die, but he doesn't control whether your foot steps on a live wire or not. He doesn't move a foot two inches to the left so it will come in contact with an electric wire. God may have known when Bennett would die, but he certainly didn't "kill" him.

How does something like this happen then? My mom told me God leaves it up to free will. But I say, it wasn't Bennett's "will" to step on a live wire. So if it wasn't God's will and it wasn't Bennett's will, then how? How did this happen? The more I think about it, the more I realize, its something bigger. It's something that I as a human could never understand. I just have to learn that many things are beyond my understanding, and hold firmly to the idea that good things can arise from tragedies.

Yesterday I attended his funeral, and I'll admit, I sobbed like a baby. I could use this time to tell countless stories I've heard about just how wonderful a kid Bennett was, but I fear tears may come back and I'm not strong enough for that right now. If you get a chance in the future, come ask me about Bennett. Ask me about the kid who touched my life in such a brief but powerful way. Ask me about the kid who touched thousands of lives in only 14 years.

If there is any way to end my thoughts, it's this. I only knew Bennett through my brother's birthday parties and sports practices. I drove him to practices, dropped him off from play-dates, and led his scavenger hunt group at birthdays. But every single time I looked back in my rearview mirror and saw his smiling face, I thought to myself, "If I had a son, I would want him to be exactly like Bennett".

Bennett, you will be missed more than you could ever imagine! I will be praying for you and your family. It was a blessing to even get the smallest moment with you. Rest in Peace Bennett Rill! You are so loved.

Bennett Rill
July 8th, 1998 - June 18th, 2013

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

It's the Little Things

10 Little Things I Enjoy

The karate stance my bird does when you make a sudden movement near him. I call it the Dane Cook bad breath karate stance

How my dog runs diagonal

The man who always waves to me when he's walking in our neighborhood even though I have no idea who he is or of he even lives in my neighborhood

When my dog does "the creep"

When my dad sings and or talks to himself while he cooks

The way NOVA drivers anticipate a green light so much that they end up halfway in the intersection before the light actually changes. You think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not

The way people genuinely greet eachother at the Dulles airport

When I find this in the refrigerator....

How my dog practically pisses herself in excitement anytime someone walks in the front door

The way NOVA light pollination kind of looks like a sunset....

Again, it's the little things :)

Friday, May 17, 2013

How Time Works

When you're trying to hit a qualifying time, break a personal record, or shave off a few seconds from your time

*run 3 more steps then look at clock again




How time works in school

*Finish writing paper, ask teacher a question, browse Facebook, text friend back, read a few pages in assigned book, look at clock again


Can someone please explain this phenomenon to me when they figure it out?

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Passing Conversations

I didn't really have time at the end of the semester to write a real blog post, so instead I'm posting a list I've complied of the strangest snippets of conversations I've heard this past semester. Yes, I've been creepily taking note of the weird things I've heard people say throughout the semester, but I think it's rather funny. Sometimes I wish I could've heard more of their conversation because some of these things seem really out there. Enjoy! (Note: I added my commentary in black, pink represents something that was said by a girl and blue, a boy.... I think it adds a little something to a few of them if you know the gender of who said it... *cough* the one about Twilight)


Shit People Say In Passing Conversations

"And now her room is infested with them. They are literally crawling everywhere" I don't even want to know

"Momentum is like that awkward stepchild" Wait, you're talking about physics, right?

"That's not really something I want to put in my mouth, you know?"

"I was like 'Shit, I should probably put some pants on'"

"I prefer tender chicken thighs"
"No man. Chicken breasts are the best!"

"Wait, wait. Why don't we just cut his breaks? HAHAHAHA!!!" Should I be concerned for the safety of one of your friends?

"Yeah, I think putting it next to the peanuts will be more aesthetically pleasing" 

"But is it the same consistency as Nutella?"

"Yeah, if Snookie shows me hers first" Shows you her what exactly?

"The point of my story is that I have no pants now" And then you found 5 dollars

"I haven't taken notes in that class since last week"
"Are you kidding? I've never taken notes in that class" A+ students!

"If there's a grizzly bear, you probably need to hurry up" Umm, I'm pretty sure if you're close enough to see a grizzly bear while camping, you're already screwed

"People don't laugh with me, they laugh at me." Not something you want to be telling the world

"If you enjoy real meteorites we have one you can touch!"

"Unicorns and toads are real.... or at least unicorns are" Toads are definitely mythical, just like the tooth fairy and the Queen of England

"Oh my gosh! She's gonna be 20? That’s really old!"

"It was a total Twilight moment"
"You mean Twilight Zone moment?"
"No. I meant Twilight. Like the book about the vampires."

"The naughty things I would do to his sexy face"

"Elephant"
"Dude. Shut up"
"Elephant"
"Seriously man. Shut up"

"People have to earn my laugh"

"Let's go to her ceremony hammered!"

"That's why stalking is bad" Probably talking about Facebook... we all do it

"The fact that I ran around naked is extremely out of context" *probably my favorite. I don't even want to know what exactly they were talking about

"Make up a bunch of shit. Like say you're honest and trustworthy and stuff" That sounds like a good idea

"If I just do push-ups for the interview they'll definitely give me the job"

"Do you think Jesus recycled?" Umm probably not because I don't think they had plastic back then... but I'm not a scholar

"It's annoying how you can only reserve study rooms for two hours. You should be able to reserve that room for as long as you want your soul to waste away" Amen!

"I'm scratching the bridge of my nose, you know, because it's itchy"

"One time they injected morphine straight into my head. It was great"

Oh, college conversations.... always so intellectual:)