Siblings

I don't know how many of you know this, but I have four younger siblings. Yes, four, but some are half siblings and some are whole. Divorced parents. Whatever they are - half, whole, or whatever people call them these days - they are related to me. And I only have one that is close to me in age - Andreas who is 16. All the others are at least 7 years younger than me (the other two are both 9 years younger than me) and this can pose a problem. First off, I barely see two of my siblings at all, and then 3/4 of my siblings are almost half my age. I look around at my friends and their relationships with their siblings, and I see how close they are with each other, and I envy them. When I look at the way me and my siblings interact, half the time we're yelling at each other and the other half is spent pestering each other. Not exactly sibling love. And as I get older, I realize I don't want to become an adult and have my siblings not feel close to me.

When I left for college, Andreas and I weren't the closest of friends. I spent almost all my time in high school criticizing him for not saying something right, or butchering his German, or not being able to do an algebra problem, and looking back, I HATE myself for it. Maybe it's because I wanted him to be like me or maybe I wanted him to be perfect, but I was so blind to the fact that we are complete opposite people. How I wish I could change the way I acted towards Andreas. And now when I try and talk to him, I feel like it's so hard to connect to him because I feel like he resents me. Now that may seem a little harsh, but if you knew our dynamic, I wasn't the most loving older sister. I feel like I brought this unnecessary competition to everything we did just because that was my nature. I felt like I had to assert power over Andreas; maybe it was because since he was a guy he should be better at certain things than me and I couldn't have it. I don't know. And when people started leaving for college last fall, a lot of them said that they became close to their younger siblings. As the day of my departure got close, I somehow thought that maybe, somehow, Andreas and I could instantly become closer. Well, it didn't really happen, and I guess I could have put more effort into talking to him throughout the year. Maybe things will change this summer. One can hope.

It's funny because the sibling I feel "closest" to most of the time, I don't think I can say the same in return. But I mean how close can one be to a 10 year old? I don't know what to do to connect to siblings. I'm such a fucking perfectionist and competitive person that it's hindered me in my relationships with them. And the worst part is that I recognize this but I do little to change. I have very few regrets in my life (I shouldn't have too many, I mean I'm only 19), but one big regret I've recently realized is that I haven't been the best older sister known to man kind. I really want to improve, I really do. I don't want to become the sibling that everyone hates or just doesn't talk to because I wasn't very loving growing up.

So I apologize to you - Andreas, Christopher, Mason, and Emma - for not being the best older sister out there. I hope that one day you can forgive me.

Waste.

Airports

Airports. It’s a love/hate relationship, really. They’re convenient if you want to go somewhere far away, such as Europe. It sure as hell beats taking a boat. But at the same time, they are equally annoying. Lots of people, delayed flights, overpriced food, and kitschy items out the wazoo. We go to airports because we need to, not because we want to hang out there. (Well, maybe you do, but that’s just not right). Right now I’m sitting in the Columbus airport* waiting to hop on my flight to Newark, but the plane is delayed (surprise, surprise). Sitting at the gate, I soon realize that I have a low tolerance for people at the airport – the staff, the passengers, even sometimes my own family. Everyone is just there, sitting, waiting, watching, talking really loudly. I can’t escape it (for the time being at least), so I’ll just have to cope.

*The name of the airport is Port Columbus International Airport and I’m pretty sure the only international flight is to Toronto. And maybe a second Canadian city… that’s about it. Columbus probably just wants to feel like a big city with that “International” tacked on there.

I’ve come to realize that I would much rather prefer dealing with bigger airports than small. And when I say deal with bigger airports, I mean deal with the people there. At larger airports (O’Hare for example), I feel like people tend to just want to get on the plane, not dealing with what people have to say; they just want to fly away. People in larger airports have an agenda the need to and they wont waste the energy bringing up irrelevant conversations. Yes, larger airports are busier and more crowded, but I can handle that. I mean, I do go to a school with 55,000+ people. I can handle crowds.

But smaller airports, I don’t know, passengers are so much… friendlier. Maybe it’s because I’m flying out of the Midwest and people here are nice in general, but I’m standing in the damn security line for 5 minutes and someone starts to talk to me.

Man: “So, where are you flying to?”

Me: “Newark.”

Man: “Me too. I hope this line doesn’t take to long.”

Me: “Yeah.”

Okay, that conversation was fine. It was the conversation that was going on behind me that really irked me. This guy, who wasn’t even in line for security, he was waiting to see his party through, was talking to the man behind me about how long the line was and the logic between picking lines. 15 solid minutes about this. That kind of set me over. Why do you have to be so friendly, random man? Why? I just want to board the plane as relaxed as possible (Ha! I’m going through airport security). It was one long and obnoxious conversation I hope not to repeat.

I guess annoying people annoy me, but I feel like they are more prominent in smaller airports because they just stand out more. Hopefully I will make it to Newark only slightly annoyed. Eh, the chances are slim.

So it turns out my flight is on time! Yay! Well, kind of. I would consider 30 minutes delayed on time (for flying to Newark that is). But some girl just walked by in an OP shirt and bag and it just made me think of when I played for this way back in the 5^th and 6^th grade. Oh the memories. And also, there are flights from Columbus to Cleveland? That seems a little unnecessary.

Okay, I'm boarding. Goodbye Columbus (for the weekend, that is.)

Modern Family and Other Random Musings

Last Wednesday three of the actors from ABC's Modern Family came to Ohio State to have an informal talk (is that what you would call it?) with the students. When I found this out, I freaked out because MF quickly became one of my favorite shows this year. Granted I only started watching with season 2, but it was still funny nonetheless.

ANYWAY.

So Ty Burrell (Phil), Eric Stonestreet (Cam), and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Mitchell) came to campus last week for a about a hour and a half Q&A session and to tell stories from the set, the experiences, etc. and stayed about an extra hour or so to take pictures and meet the fans. Boy, were these men hilarious! Each of the guys were very similar to their characters, but there were some differences I noticed. I would say that Ty is a little more reserved than his character and Eric didn't now have Cam's flamboyant ways ("he's gay for pay" as Jesse put it) and Jesse was nowhere near as uptight as Mitchell is. They took turns saying how they got started, how they got the part, and throughout the whole time they were speaking, it felt so surreal to me that they were actually sitting in front of me. (As I watched the episode on Hulu next day, I could not believe that Phil, Cam, and Mitchell were in the same room as me the day before!).

When the student Q&A session started, Andy went up to ask Eric a question. But let me not that before the show, OUAB was handing out fanny packs to some people, and my group was lucky enough snag some and Andy naturally put the fanny pack on. Let me also clarify that during this whole thing, Jesse and Ty were drinking water out of water bottles, but Eric was drinking a mysterious liquid out of a red party cup. So Andy goes walking up, and asks Eric "what's in the cup?" and then Jesse was like "what's in the fanny pack?!" It was funny. But Andy had a legitimate question about winning an Emmy, not any of the frat crap some guy asked Eric. Ugh, some of the questions people asked. Oh well. I did end up asking Jesse when I met him later what it was like to be a famous ginger. Seriously. That's what I asked him that. Dear lord, why am I so embarrassing.

Here are some pictures from that night, but I shoudl warn you that I was sick, so my hair is a mess, I look like death, and have no makeup on. But it's not like that matters or anything!

Ty!

Please ignore me. This is just awkward of everyone.

My ginger :)

 

 

 

It was so great meeting all of them! And the episode that premiered that night was really funny. It was super hard to contain my laughter as I watched it in The Union.

Other musings:

• Today we finally start soccer playoffs. Seriously. It's week 9. How are we supposed to crown a champion by the end of next week? Damn rain.
• The Gold Cup roster was released yesterday. Dear lord. More on that this weekend.
• So I only have one more German 367 class left and I'm kind of sad. I really enjoyed the class; we've had some random/awesome conversations.
• It's rained too much.
• I'm going to Princeton this weekend to visit my mother. It should be fun. It's been a while since I've been out there... 

 Alright, time to get ready for soccer!

New My Morning Jacket.

Whitewater Rafting

Two-ish weekends ago, a few of my fellow ENR scholars and I went to West Virginia for a little bit of whitewater rafting. While a few of us have been, a majority, including me, have never gone. There were seven of us ENR scholars (well, six, since T-Spice isn't in ENR), and then two trip leaders. We went through the Rivermen program and rafted on the New River, and man, was it fun.

We were set to leave around 4:30, but we all didn't leave Blackburn for the OAC until that time so we were a little late getting on the road which meant we ran into a little bit of traffic. (When I say a little, it is a little in comparison to Chicago. So all in all, the traffic wasn't really that bad). But when we signed up for this trip we were told we were going to sleep in tent cabins, but at the informational meeting they were like, no, we're sleeping in tents. I personally have nothing wrong with tents, but I don't think too many people like setting up tents in the dark. Just saying... But then when we were getting our gear ready, the trip leaders said that they had misinformed us and we were getting tent cabins! Cheers all around.

So I don't know how many of you all have driven through Ohio before, but it really isn't all that exciting. Lots and lots and lots of farmland. But all of that changes as soon as you go towards southeast Ohio and hit the Hocking Hills area. It's hilly and foresty (that's not a word, I know, but it rhymes with hilly. Just go with it.) and very aesthetically pleasing. But holy poop, there is nothing to do down there! Driving by Ohio University, we all were thinking the same thing: no way we could go to school down here. Yes, it's pretty, but there would be nothing to do outside of the OU campus! But once we got down to WV, the view was just as pretty. It was a very nice change of pace from the flat land of Columbus.

New River Gorge - So pretty!

The picture above if of the river we rafted down. Boy was it so pretty! If there weren't dangerous rapids, I probably would have just stared at the scenery all day. While the scenery was nice and pretty, the rafting itself was AWESOME! Holy shit. So. Much. Fun. Words simply cannot describe the experience we had. Well, we first thought we were going on the Upper Gauley, which is extrememly hard, but we ended uprafting down the Lower New, which I think was just right for us. The first 6 miles or so was pretty tame, only one or two major rapids, but after we ate lunch (which was very delicious), we finally started hitting the bigger stuff. So there was 9 of us in the raft, in a 2-2-2-2-1 formation (1 being the back) and I don't know if you know this, but when you whitewater raft, you sit on the EDGE of the raft. Seems a little unsafe, no? But we were all approaching a rapid with two sets of waves, and you essentially had to paddle your heart out for the first wave if you want a chance to even make it over the second. Well we paddled and paddled and paddled, but we did not make it over the second wave. We were so close in fact that we were basically sitting on top of the second wave. But as we started to fall backwards, a wave hit the front left of the raft, causing almost everyone to fall out. Our raft was about to tip, but our guide Seth was screaming"GET LEFT! GET LEFT!" Somehow Stephanie and I managed to get left and stay on the raft. So once we got the raft settled, Stephanie, Seth and I look down the river to see everyone floating on down. There were no really close calls the rest of the day, just lots of fun!

We all got very lucky: it was supposed to rain and thunder ALL day, but it held off until late Saturday night. And since we had our nifty little tent cabins, we did not have to worry about water leaking into the tent or have to worry about putting down the tent in the rain. But the tent cabins had a tin roof, which made the rain REALLY loud at night. A small con compared to all the pros.

That weekend was so much fun, and I know we would all go back in a heartbeat. I can't wait to go back next year. Who knows, maybe I'll try the Upper Gauley!

Blast from the not too far past.

Note: I ended up writing this entry on 3 separate occasions, so if parts of it don't really flow, that is why.

Week 8

Why hello there. I'm sorry I've been neglecting this little guy for a while, but I've been lazy busy. Yeah, I mean I really have had quite the amount of free time to get sun burned, eat, and just sit at my desk, but yet I didn't have the time to write in here. I guess it felt more like a chore than something that should be fun, and we do not want this to be a chore.

MOVING ON!

It's week 8 and it blows. Everyone is finishing up their last midterms, and everyone is starting to get sick and tired of their classes. Finals don't seem close at all, but once next week hits everyone will be freaking out that they need to start studying. All my friends from home are done with school and I won't be back until the 20th of June (I get done the 8th but I'm going to Hilton Head after I get done with finals). To top off this excruciatingly long week, the weather went from awesome back to crappy and it seems like everyone's attitude is affected by this. Everyone is either sick, grumpy, or both (like me!). Once week 9 gets here, the end will seems more reasonable.

On Monday Alex stopped by OSU to take a bin of stuff from my dorm to store at her house over the summer. I filled up a 20 gallon storage container, and I feel like I haven't really dented anything! The only obvious place where things are gone is my wall. Where posters, a white board, and rally rags once hung is now just bare wall. Kind of sad. Also I got rid of all the mugs on my desk; they honestly just took up space. Once the end of the quarter gets closer, the more stuff I will move (thank you so much Blair family!!!!). I hope to only take home clothes home with me.

Oh, I scheduled today. Another solid quarter - 20 credit hours. Art 300.02 (digital photography), CSE 200, Econ 201 (macro), and German 201. When I was trying to make my schedule Disha said I really needed to cater it to her lunch schedule. That seems wise...

That doesn't seem TOO bad

I went whitewater rafting last weekend. I would elaborate more but I think that deserves it's own blog entry. Maybe I'll write that by the end of the quarter!

I could also write about meeting Jesse, Ty, and Eric of Modern Family as well, but a, I'm tired and b, I also think that might get it's own post.

Rant time: The use of hash tags on Facebook.
No, simply no. I understand that if you have a twitter that it might be tempting to end a status with a good ol' #hashtag, but there really is no point. I've been in that position before: either sending a picture to Facebook or writing a status and I want to add one last thought in the form of a has tag, but I stop myself because I realize there IS NO POINT TO A HASH TAG ON FACEBOOK. For those non-twitter users, a # is used to make anything attached to that a link so people can see what others are saying who have the same exact hash tag. Examples: #itshardwhen, #myfavoriteartist, #bookofmormon. You get the point. But on Facebook the # sign does not have the same effect. And if you are guilty of this, I am, by no means, trying to single you out. So, please, people of Facebook or any other form of social media, leave the hash tags where they belong: twitter. I will admit, it is fun to make up superfluous hash tags and I can see why people would want to do so anywhere.

Soccer plug: Have you donated to Rise and Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story yet? No, well then I suggest you watch the trailer and simply donate a single dollar.

I'll also update my top five songs tomorrow... or on Friday. Which ever day I don't feel like death! But first: Foster The People remix.