SUMMARY:

• I ordered my Macbook.
• I went out to dinner with Dan.
• The internet stopped working but it’s better now.
• My brother did something crazy.

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Less than two weeks after graduating, I have found myself falling into the typical sluggishness of summer. I have failed to get out of bed before 9 AM, which I suppose may be obnoxiously early to some teens on summer vacation, but it is usually ideal for me. Instead, I have been climbing out of bed and down the stairs for breakfast around 10:30, which feels almost unacceptably late to me. However, it’s okay. I don’t have too many obligations, and certainly not in the early morning hours. There are a few things I do need to do, though, and I ought to do them before July:

• Do the AlcoholEdu thing that Syracuse is asking me to do
• Write thank-you letters to Mrs. Farrow and Mr. Anderson for my two scholarships ($1250 total)
• Write thank-you cards to those who gave me gifts for graduation
• Order my laptop, software, and accessories that I will need for college

So, how have I spent my summer vacation so far? Well, I asked my parents for a Nintendo DS as a graduation present since there are some games I would like for it, so I have been playing that almost nonstop. I haven’t played video games obsessively for some time now. But I wanted the new Final Fantasy Tactics (my secret obsession), so my boyfriend bought me that as a present. I also bought Pokemon Pearl (Is this considered a guilty pleasure?), and I can’t stop playing. This is because Dan has Pokemon Diamond, and we are going to challenge each other, and I don’t like to lose. I’m not the best loser, especially when it involves losing to Dan, because for some reason I take it way too personally when Dan beats me at something. Of course I wouldn’t want him to let me win at things (air hockey, Super Smash Brothers, etc.), but you know, perhaps if he could do so without it seeming like he’s losing on purpose… lol. I also plan on eventually getting Final Fantasy III and Mario Kart. If you have any game or Pokemon suggestions, please share them.

So yeah, that’s pretty much it. I have been sitting around playing Pokemon all day, lol. I haven’t gotten a Pokemon game since fourth or fifth grade (Yellow), but it honestly is a fun game, even if it seems juvenile. It’s nice to see the graphics have greatly improved and the colors are richer and more vibrant. I have also done some things online, not that much, but I have been on Splash MB, blog-hopped and commented, and added a new hostee, Alex, and a new affiliate, Jay. Please check out their sites if you’ve got a moment!

I’m also trying to think of some pages to add to the About Me section. At my old subdomain (Slant Rhyme, erin.letters-to-you.com), I had a ton of stuff in my About Me section, but now what I have is limited. I didn’t want to keep everything I had on my old site, but I suppose some of it was good, and I don’t remember everything that I liked in the section. So, if you have any suggestions of what I can add, or if there’s something you’d like to see in that section, please share, and I will look into adding it. Thank you!

I have been rather busy since Tuesday, the night of my high school graduation ceremony. That afternoon, shortly after blogging, I was invited to lunch with my boyfriend Dan and his family, and we went to a diner that they like very much. I had been there once before with Dan, and what I like about it is not only the good food, but the amount of food is just right. I had a nice cup of vegetable soup and stuffed shells, which were quite good, although it did seem like there was more food in the dish, but it was mainly cheese and sauce. Anyway, after that, Dan and I went back to my house and we relaxed a little bit by watching some TV. I’ve become somewhat addicted to a show on the Discovery Channel, A Haunting, which basically reenacts paranormal experiences that people claim to have had. In one episode, a lady got posessed by a demon, and she drove her car while staring at her son the whole time. She ran some red lights and was up on the curb at one point; it was kind of entertaining to watch, lol. I only started watching it because my brother had it on one day, and it airs at the time when I would normally get home from school. Now my other brother and I, as well as Dan, watch it pretty much every day.

After the show, it was time to get ready for graduation, so I changed into my white skirt and top and put on my graduation garb. My mom pinned this red thing that hangs down the back to my gown so it wouldn’t fly all over the place and get crooked, and she also pinned my gold summa cum laude stole so that it wouldn’t move either. We also bobby pinned my hat to my head because all the girls are supposed to, but later I took it off because it got in the way of getting in the car and sitting in it comfortably. But before I left, my mom took pictures of me all decked out in my cap and gown. At Dan’s house, Dan’s parents and grandparents took pictures of us after Dan got dressed in his cap and gown, and then we left for the school. All of the graduates had to be in their alphabetical homerooms by 5:30 so that we could get down the performing arts center and sit in our assigned seats, listen to Mr. Bollendorf, the executive assistant principal of the 11/12 wing, speak, and process out in our lines of boys and girls to the football stadium. Before this, I had to turn in my book of names so that I wouldn’t be processing out with it, but I left all my bobby pins inside. This wasn’t a huge problem, but it was a windy evening, so I had to hold on to my hat at some points, as did other girls - even those who had pinned their hats, so I guess the pins didn’t help too much, unless you used a lot.

Finally, around 7:00, we started the procession line. When I got to the stage, I found the seats were not arranged how they were on the seating chart they gave us at practice the day before, so we (the top 1% and the Senior Class Council) were all very confused. We even needed another chair on our side to accommodate everyone who was supposed to sit there. And then I sat down for a moment when I got my chair, even though I was supposed to stand until everyone got to their seats and we received the nod that told us to sit. I couldn’t actually see any of the nods that meant stand or sit because a board member’s head was in the way, so I just had to look when everyone else was moving. Other than that, the whole ceremony went pretty well. It was a cool night, so the only weather problem was the wind. I didn’t skip anybody’s name when doing roll call for diplomas (I called the boys), although I did accidentally say “Michael” when someone’s middle name was “Matthew.” I think I pulled it off as if this person had two middle names - “Michael Matthew” - as some people thought I didn’t make any errors at all. Then again, others thought I was calling the girls’ names, because to some, Danielle and I sounded almost the same. In fact, my homeroom teacher, Mr. Anderson, commented that I was “so dignified” in fixing an error, when it was actually Danielle who said “excuse me” and corrected herself. Out of all 758 names, I think we only made those two errors, so I suppose we did a pretty good job. A few people told me that we did, including Mrs. Farrow, the school principal, who commented that we were clear and read the names at a good pace - it wasn’t our fault there was a backup of people. It was just that we had never actually practiced the longer pause for the camera and then the shaking of hands; therefore, they didn’t know when to stay or go.

After graduation, I met up with Dan behind the stage, and his and my families came to meet us to talk and take pictures. Then my brother Patrick and I went to go get my actual diploma in the cafeteria - they just give us the cases onstage, and not the actual piece of paper inside. I was pleasantly surprised to see my old guidance counselor Wiz in there, who had retired at the end of last year. She was standing next to the sister of my current guidance counselor, who had a baby and from then on, her younger sister substituted for her. I received my envelope of important goodies, returned my gold stole (we can’t keep them), and gave Patrick the envelope, my cap, and my gown to take home. I went out to Dan’s car, and we changed our clothes for Project Graduation, much to my relief, as my feet were killing me from standing and walking in them for so long. Then we just chilled in the school and talked to some friends before boarding the buses to go to Dave & Buster’s for Project Graduation.

Project Graduation was a lot of fun. We were there from about 11:30 until 4 AM, and we got to eat, drink, and play all the games we wanted. First Dan and I ate (there was a buffet of nachos and cheese, veggies, mini pizzas, mini burgers, and chicken fingers), and then we played air hockey, House of the Dead 2 and 4, Skeeball, and Time Crisis. We wanted to bowl, but the lanes were always full. Surprisingly, I didn’t get tired until about 3:30, when normally I would have gone to bed before we even got on the buses to go there, lol.

Since then, my life as a high school graduate has consisted of relaxing and attending graduation parties. On Saturday, Dan and I went to three parties - my best friend’s and two others - and yesterday was my own party. I didn’t invite that many friends, but I was happy that only two couldn’t come, and I had a nice time. Dan was there most of the time before stopping at another, and my chemistry teacher and his family stopped by for about an hour, too. I got to meet his two-month old daughter Riley, who is pretty cute. We chatted for a while, ate some dessert (my parents made soo much food, including desserts), and then the party was over shortly after Dan and the Holmeses had to leave.