Power Outages and Other Shenanigans

So as I write this, I am actually in Microsoft Word, beginning at 10:55 pm on Friday, June 29. I am currently without power at home, with my parents. No Internet, no TV, no lights, sketchy cell phone service. It’s weird and a bit creepy. Around 9 tonight, our house’s lights flickered, and then all the power was gone. Trees outside were swaying so much, I was convinced they were going to snap and fall on so many houses, including our own. Oddly enough, there was hardly any rain in the midst of all this, and thunder and lightning have not been too prevalent, either. The most damage our block seems to have gotten is a few tree limbs down here and there. However, I’ve seen four or five rescue vehicles going up and down our street since this epic weather began almost two hours ago. For now, things seem calm.

In light of the lack of light and power, I thought that this would be a good time to make a new blog post to upload whenever the Internet graces my Mac with its presence again.

The past two weeks have kept me really busy. Sunday night, the 24th, I was finally able to begin giving John the birthday presents that I had literally been waiting weeks to unveil! That evening, I put a homemade lottery ticket on the front of my apartment door that greeted him when he got there around 7. Upon scratching it off, he learned that he had won a cake! Then, I opened up the microwave door to reveal a cake in there, made actually 3 weeks earlier! There is a long story behind this cake, and I will let the pictures below tell it. Basically, I followed a recipe online that led my mom and me compleeeetely astray.. So the first one was a total bust. The next one, though, turned out perfectly and stayed frozen at my home for about a week before I took it to Charlottesville and left it in the freezer there for a week before John got it. I am so happy with the final result, despite the inordinate amount of time it took to make it happen!

Cake Catastrophe of 2012


 



Cake of Champions 2012!

The following day, he got the rest of his gifts, which included a crayon melt I’d made of the rotunda, a new friendship bracelet, and a homemade birthday card. All in all, it was a successful day. That night, we watched one of the greatest movies ever, How to Train Your Dragon, which John had never seen. If you have avoided watching it because it has a strange title, stop right this minute and go rent it or find some way to see it. No spoilers, but I promise you won’t be disappointed.

 

Also, lots went on with UVA while I was there… I picked quite an eventful and dramatic week in the history of my school to be in Charlottesville. During much of my free time, I read both short and long articles about the ousting of President Sullivan and what should happen to Helen Dragas as Rector of Board of Visitors. Although I was disappointed that this situation happened at all, the way the UVA community reacted made me so proud of my school. There is no perfect institution, and the same can be said of the people who make it run, but I am still reeling over the way so many people spoke up for President Sullivan and got involved in some way or another. I felt really good attending two of the rallies/vigils while there. The problem at my school felt so large and impossible, but simply showing support on the Lawn was my way of doing something. I hope that the unity that has developed over this difficult time will continue into the fall and ultimately make my school a stronger and better place for future generations of students.

 

 

After spending almost a week and a half in Charlottesville, my parents drove through there on Wednesday to get me and continue driving to Richmond to visit my grandpa in his new residence and my grandma, too. The place isn’t exactly a nursing home, hospital, or senior center, but it’s kind of a combination of those three places. It’s a great facility that is only a few years old, meaning it lacks that smell that makes me never want to set foot inside similar places. Also, all the nurses, doctors, and workers there were so friendly and seemed really invested in their job.

Sadly, though, we didn’t really get to talk to my grandpa much, even though we were there for almost 4 hours. When we arrived, he was completely asleep from medicine he’d earlier taken. We did get to talk with my grandma a lot, which made me happy because I could tell she has been so stressed and worried lately. One of my favorite things about that day is the conversation we had with this awesome older man who kinda just showed up. My parents, grandma, and I were sitting around a table near drink machines when a man in a wheelchair rolled up to get a Diet Pepsi. We made pleasant conversation with him, and before long, he was cracking jokes and sharing stories with us. He was 88, but you wouldn’t have known based on how he talks and acts. The reason he’d ended up in the wheelchair is that he works at a childcare place, and recently, two little boys asked him to come outside and play soccer with them. So he did, and when he went to kick the ball, he lost balance and broke his hip. Despite that, though, he had one of the best attitudes I have ever seen. He wasn’t negative about his injury, and he was taking it day by day. And even though he was cooped up in the chair, he was as active as possible: he told us he had no idea who was playing at a ball game the following day, but he was going with other people in the facility  “just because!” He was such an inspiring and fun person to spend time with.

Grandparents and me, May 2011 

We did talk to my grandpa briefly before we left because he was somewhat awake. He kept going in and out of sleep, though, so he may not even remember that we were ever there… It was hard seeing him that way, but I wrote him a note so that there was some kind of “proof” we’d visited him and were thinking of him.

Since getting home that night, I’ve been shooting the breeze, I guess you could say. I watched Wednesday’s episode of So You Think You Can Dance, and I LOVED it (Shocker, I know.)! Thursday, I went to Jordan’s Point with Kristen to enjoy the perfect weather and water. That night, I saw Milk with Kelly, and that is another movie I would recommend to any and everyone. Harvey Milk was the first gay person elected to a public office, and the movie chronicles his life and dedicated fight for gay rights. The movie revolves around activism and hope; Milk said, “Life without hope is not worth living.”

Today, I’ve worked on more art projects for my room! I’ll post pictures later once they’re finished, but I’ve had a lot of fun with them. :)

Okay, this post… So long! I’m done for now and will try to make the next one sooner so it is more brief and has fewer topics to cover. This post only took about 45 minutes…! :O

Love,

Susan