"Well then why can't I bring my pistol?"

One of many incredible quotes from an absolutely incredible weekend. Top to bottom, from Thursday night on, I had the best time I've had at home since the middle of senior year, I'd say. And having had that, I'm really looking forward to the rest of summer now. Time to recap:

Thursday held Holy Cross's prom. I got there and got to see my babies. They all looked fantastic. I was slightly jealous, I must say. Dress-up is my favorite pasttime. So yeah, I considered punching someone and stealing their dress, but the only options were shades of pink. I wasn't in the mood. So I contented myself with playing mom and taking a million pictures. I'm gonna be such a stage mom/photo whore with my own children. Something to look forward. Afterwards there was a quick trip to Panera and Starbucks, where I was caught up on the drama and gossip within my little Bookclub. My, my - not as angelic as we may seem to many back home, hmm? I worry. There still is the issue of the applied earmuffs by some of the girls when I'm around, but we're getting better. There is surely hope. Off to Vaughn's where I watched Team America. Horribly wonderful...or wonderfully horrible. Catchy lyrics..."America -- fuck yeah"...yeah.

On to Friday. Had a small heart attack when I could not for the life of me remember what I did on Friday. I always assume the craziest things are wrong with me when I can't remember. Maybe I've been rufied, have early-onset Alzheimer's - courtesy of my late grandmother - which has taken its hold, etc. A brief panic attack afflicts me every time I can't recall what I had for breakfast, only to subside momentarily when I remember that, in fact, I didn't have breakfast, and pick up steam again as I wonder why that didn't just occur to me in the first place. My fear of degenerative diseases of the mind is beginning to weigh in fairly heavily. Secret meaning behind my addicition to Sudoku - keeps the mind sharp. Too often it's as if I can feel it decaying physically. Morbid, I know. But I've seen what Alzheimer's can do first hand. I don't want that. Ever. Take everything from me, but leave me my memories, as untainted as is possible for memories to be. Though I acknowledge the fact that memories are so easily biased - truth is not what happens but how people remember its happening. But I digress from my digression. Let me have my mind. It's the one thing that is truly mine - "I think, therefore, I am." I am. Please let me be.

Anyway - Friday. Work concluded early and yet it was the longest half-day of my life. I wanted to put my head through a desk, wall, or electronic device. After talking myself down and recuperating at home for a bit, I went on a shopping excursion with the family. I got a new straightener just like Elise's as it occured to me that if she wasn't living with me next year, I wouldn't have 24 hour access to hers. And being as she once told me that "maybe if [I] used it, [I] would be pretty," I've developed a bit of a complex. $137.94 later, I was the proud owner of a Chi straightener. It's glorious. Money well spent. As if the temptations of Favorite Store A (Ulta) weren't enough, we headed to Favorite Store B (Barnes and Noble), where, Praise God, I had a gift certificate. A new Sudoku book was purchased along with A Wedding in December and Goodnight, Nobody - which was pointed out to be very ironic, considering me new comeback of choice: "I'm dying alone." I don't care - it was a good book.

Saturday was the beginning of Pam and George's Summer Extravaganza Part One. After arriving about 2 hours later than expected, but bearing manna from heaven in the form of New York Bagels, we began our fun-filled weekend with a trip to pick up my other half. Ms. Jenna Marie was not yet decent, however, so we had a slight delay before introductions. The two of them really seemed to hit it off. As Jen went shopping, Georgie and I made our way to Riverside to get the essential Boost Slushie. It's a Burlington County thing. We determined that since Georgie has a slushie machine and I have Boost, that will be our drink of choice next year. Yumm. Thoroughly refreshed and having recovered personally from a rather serious bout of brainfreeze,

we went on a tour of my little town. Edgewater Park has three parts - typical suburbia (my part), the old part (with the huge river houses from the 1700s), and the rich part (with the huge houses from the 1990s). It was a good waste of gas and time. Then we waited for J to arrive and it was off to Billy D.'s for ghost hunting...at 4 in the afternoon. After our group grew and then shrank (following the line quoted in my title), we ended up with 6 people - Georgie, J, and I, and Billy, Jim, and Mitch. We headed for the woods and found an awesome look-out tower. Not at all scary, but pretty cool. What in retrospect was probably a dumb move, we climbed it to the top and you could see all the way to the shore. Pretty awesome. And away from wild dogs. After a little walk in the woods, we waited until dusk to look for the asylum. We found what was left of it and took some pictures. Then as it got to be night, we followed a trail a little deeper than the mile and a half or so we already were into the woods. Now, I'm not all that worried about finding a ghost or whatever, because frankly, I'm skeptical. What I am worried about are pineys and animals - both of which are located in Warton State Forest. So when Jim, who knows the Pine Barrens best after hunting in them, says "Keep going at a steady pace, and don't freak out, but there is something following us," that's when I get scared. We made it back to the cars in one piece and started the drive back to the main road. On the way out, the last car containing Billy and J started flashing its brights and honking. Naturally, George and I stopped to see what was wrong. "There's something behind us - go go!!" Billy screamed. Lo and behold, I could see headlights in my review mirror. So Georgie picked up the pace, only to have an oblivious Jim and Mitch in front of us. Oh, to have had a camera in front of the line of cars to catch Jim and Mitch's bored looks and conversation, George and my's confusion as he tried to dodge potholes and I frantically dialed Jim and Jenna's numbers, and Billy and Jen in tears as they were doing their best to get away from this car that came out of no where. A little ways into the pursuit, I looked back only to see that the lights were gone. Thinking the car had turned off the road, but not remembering a place where that could happen, I let it go until we stopped at a ranger station. Here, Billy and Jen tumbled out of the car in hysterics saying the car had disappeared, not turned off the road. Eerie, probably easily explained away by most, but undoubtedly entertaining. We rounded out the night at the diner, as all true South Jersians would.

Sunday, post-Mass, Georgie and I watched Transamerica. Good movie, a bit graphic and morally creepy at times, but still well done and amazingly acted. Then it was BBQ time! Abbreviated family, but still nice. The surprise moment of the night occured when Elise and Dino decided to come join us. We tried to get Stacey up to have a whole Quadropod reunion, but she wasn't into it. Boo. So we settled for 3/4, Dino and Jen. Got to take a look at The Complete Works. I was pretty impressed, actually. I was a little mad that my dad missed a lot of the action on the sides of the stage, being as he taped the first time he saw the show, but it was our best night. But he missed my "Oob" =(. Oh well. A couple episodes of "Child Stars: Where Are They Now?" closed out the evening.

On Georgie's last day in the Garden State, we stopped by Coldstone so he could meet my Dimple and Dave. I realized how much I miss it there. Dave said he would give me the same hours I worked at La Salle if I would switch. So tempting in some ways. Since the store was empty, I did get to jump on the stone and make up some things. ::sigh::. Then it was off to Billy D.'s for a bit to see my loves. Mrs. Drummond is amazing - she and Chris made great food. Had a relatively okay conversation with Brian. Baby steps, I suppose. Took George back to my house and sent him on his way. Sadness. I then grabbed Jen from her BBQ after saying hi - or rather "hewwo" - to her new goddaughter, Mia, and we went back to to Bill's. There, the three of us watched the wonder that is Brokeback Mountain (not because it's some huge statement, but because it's cute - I just want them to be together!).

Driving home, Jen talked about how sometimes she is surprised we were still best friends. That we made it through high school. We would sometimes go months without talking because we were so busy. But I never doubted that we would make it. It was because whenever we did get to see each other we picked up right where we left off. But it was harder for her. Our high schools were so different. She was lucky when she had one close girl friend to talk to. I, on the other hand, had nine, each of whom I could go to for different things. J and I's rough points just came at different times. Mine was more conducive to she and I spending time together, being as it was summer. But having spent so much time with her already this summer, I'm really excited. And she said it, too. She claims that she'll be around a lot because she doesn't have any friends here now. Well that's fine by me - and many of my friends, actually. She's like me but cooler, more laid back - she fits with us. The prospect of us having this summer both single and neither upset over a guy is incredibly appealing. Reconnecting and just hanging out should be amazing. Plus we can bond over our office jobs.

So in all, it was an amazing weekend. Thanks to everyone who played a part.

In other news, I got my first mosquito bite of the summer. It itches.