Hello to Everyone

It is very weird living here. There are people around who not only will do things for you, but they seem to feel insulted if you don't LET them do things for you. None of the three of us have cooked dinner since we've gotten here. Josh's mom talked Alex into throwing out all her catalogs and it was so nice that for once, I didn't have to be the bad guy.

My sisters and I are not good at being rich. Not only is there the whole problem where when we are hungry we just go to take food and make it instead of letting the housekeeper know so she can get us something, it turns out we talk to the wrong people. There are guys downstairs. One of them is a doorman. His entire job is to open the door for you, whether you're coming in or out. He'll get you a cab, help if you're carrying heavy bags, and I bet if it were raining he would hold an umbrella over your head so you wouldn't get wet too. Then, there's the security guy. Or maybe that's not what he's called, I don't know. But he signs for packages and calls upstairs if someone is in the lobby for you. Somebody will press the elevator button for you too. They also have bandaids for when you cut your finger like I did.

Danielle and Alex and I say hello each time we see them, because they're like people. On Saturday, the doorman told Danielle that we are the friendliest group of kids they've had in the building in a long, long time. Alex was with her and said to him, "Maybe that's because we're new." I don't think so though. I think it's because we're us.

Going wild and crazy

Don't worry, I'm not getting a tattoo. Or do worry, because I got my belly button pierced ages ago. I had three finals today. Told the diner I couldn't work yesterday so I could study. As long as I passed, I am officially done with school and I'm pretty sure I passed. Well I have to hand in a paper tomorrow but I finished that today. Teachers are trying to tell people to not cut classes but it's not going to happen.

The assistant principal walked by me in the hall yesterday and asked if he'd see me at graduation. "No, I'm working," I told him. He got a very weird look on his face and then told me if I stopped by the main office and wrote down my address he will personally drop off my diploma. I gave Josh's address.

Hector came up to me and asked if I would blow him. I was not paying attention and instead of saying no I asked why, and he said to relieve finals tension. I laughed and said no and he said "You wouldn't respect me if I didn't go for it, right?" and I was like, "I can't imagine any circumstances where I'd respect you." I am sure he found someone else.

Ages ago, like before Christmas I paid the $10 sitting fee to get my picture taken for the yearbook. This entire year the only thing I spent diner money on that was just for myself and not my sisters was for the yearbook. I am so happy to have this. I didn't go on the senior trip, I didn't go to after parties on prom night (I had to work the next morning), and I'm not going to graduation. Even though it was a lot of money I feel like this was totally worth it.

This weekend Josh's parents are throwing him a graduation party on a boat that goes around NY Harbor. You know what I'm giving Josh as a graduation present? A present somebody gave me, because I got a giftcard to a fancy restaurant. I am going to wear a dress and everything.

Moving review

A girl in my math class is going to college in Scotland. This really nice guy she's dating is going to Northwestern. It is embarrassing to say where I'm going when people ask. Nobody I know is going there and a few people even said "Oh, that was my safe school" when I told them. Everyone is discussing which Ed Hardy bedding package thing they're getting for college. What is everyone doing with all their old comforters though?

Yesterday morning, very early, Josh and his dad came over before Aunt Elaine was awake. Josh's dad wanted to see how much stuff we have to move. He said we are not taking our mattresses or any of Aunt Elaine's furniture in our room (the dresser). I looked at Josh like "what the fuck?!" because I do not want to make my sisters sleep on the floor. He shook his head and pulled me into the hallway. Josh's parents are getting a trundle bed for Danielle and Alex.

It was kind of embarrassing when Josh's dad asked if he could see how much was in the closet and when Alex opened it we realized there was a box of tampons right there on the top shelf. Ugh. We worked so hard Friday to clean up our room and make everything really neat, throwing out stuff and organizing I forgot to make sure there wouldn't be anything embarrassing laying around.

Josh's father said everything will fit in their SUV, and didn't get angry when we asked a total of about five times if we can bring our mom's stuff. He said we may have to make two trips but assured us everything will fit. Josh told me there is storage in the basement of his building - that's where people keep bikes and skiis and Christmas decorations. So my mom's stuff can go there for July and half of August. I can not WAIT until we move after Josh's house and we can open up the boxes and put my mom's things all over to look at and touch every day.

Thursday food

Breakfast: half a toasted bagel with peanut butter and bananas
Lunch: orange juice
Snack: almonds on the way to work, half a bottle of water
Dinner: baked chicken and spinach, more water
Snack: a handful of popcorn

Food

Breakfast: half cup of Grape Nuts, milk and blueberries, then peach on the way to school
Lunch: two whites of hard boiled eggs, celery sticks with peanut butter, a strawberry from a friend, handful of pretzels
Snack at work: half a cantaloupe, cup of matzoh ball soup, a cookie
Dinner at home: steamed cauliflower and broccoli, salmon and brown rice
Dessert: handful of cherries

Charge it

Being sick sucks. Not just because I'm sick but also because normally I am either at school, at work or at Other Work or rushing from one place to the other. Now I am just laying around for the first time in decades but I barely feel well enough to take advantage of it.

In an effort to avoid squandering the day away I spent like two hours (with a three-hour nap between those two hours) catching up on calls and emails from friends. Basically I am really outgoing and social at school and show up at a party or two but other than that never have time to sit around talking to people.

It turns out all my friends already have credit cards! I thought you had to be 18. Some of them are, but a lot of us are still 17. I want a credit card too!

Eating

I meant to write this out last week but forgot - Craig wants me to keep track of what I eat throughout a day at least three times a week. Twice during the week plus one weekend day. I guess Dani's shrink talked to him about concerns about our health in relation to eating.

Whatever. We are doing the best we can.

Today (which is yesterday really, Monday) I ate two vitamins, a peach, a string cheese and then before Danielle went to sleep she brought me a measuring cup full of cherries.

Maybe I'm dying

My sister and I both got food poisoning a few days ago and she is all better but I am not. I am almost positive that I've thrown up part of my stomach at this point. Dragged myself to work this weekend but a lot of people told me I looked terrible and I couldn't stop sweating. Even once I got home and laid down I still kept sweating. I think the food poisoning is trying to get out of my body through my pores. My sisters went to fire family dinner tonight and I slept. I am tired and sweaty all the time. This is kind of a bad time to miss school but I am thinking about staying home tomorrow.

You know what's fun?

Food poisoning! Danielle and I both got it which means it isn't from school food. She got it in the middle of the night and I got it in the morning. This is horrible of me, but I wish Alex had gotten sick instead of one of us because we both had to call in sick to work.

Danielle sent Alex to go get us soup and more paper towels and the fancy water with electrolytes. Al set out and I meant to wait for her but it seemed like five minutes later she was back when really it was an hour. We got pretzels too even though I haven't felt like eating any.

I don't have a scale but am positive I lost a lot of weight over the last two days. If I get through the night without getting sick then tomorrow I will wear a dress to school because jeans would slide right off my hips for sure.

I wonder if a person's head can really explode

Now it's less than a month before Aunt Elaine wants us out. I kind of suck because I have been dealing by not dealing with the house thing at all. Josh asked if the three of us could come over this morning and said his parents wanted to talk to us. For sure I thought we were in trouble and I was trying to figure out what I'd done wrong that involved my sisters too but Josh said it wasn't anything bad. When I asked why he wouldn't tell me.

Danielle and I were both working this morning but we went over afterwards and brought day-old bagels (except Danielle put the day-olds aside for us and took fresh ones to Josh's). I was so nervous I told Alex to dress extra nice and re-did my ponytail.

When we got there Josh's dad was the first person we saw and Alex hugged him. Actually she hugged all of them. It was a little surprising. I was so nervous. We sat down at the dining room table and they were asking us how studying for finals is going and making all this small talk but I just wanted them to get to the point.

Finally they said they understand through Josh that because of their plans for his summer it puts us in a hard situation so they will make us an offer. They will store our stuff and if we will follow their rules me and my sisters can live at their house until they are ready to start paying rent on an apartment.

I asked what the rules are. They sound kind of reasonable. No parties, no sleepovers without asking first, no shoes in the house, be respectful of the neighbors, clean up after ourselves. Since Josh will be traveling they said we can use his bedroom while he's gone and also their guest room. This is totally scary. Really good, but also scary.

Fun Friday

Aunt Elaine had a few seizures yesterday. Not big ones, but enough that I stayed home from school today because she had a hard time taking her anti-epilepsy pills on time last night and this morning. It was an incredibly boring day of watching a lot of judge shows and talk shows. I do not like Martha Stewart at all.

Danielle came home straight from school and then I went to work but she was supposed to go to a party so I have been home all night with Alex and Aunt Elaine watching Wife Swap and the Mentalist and playing war with Alex.

Skipping

It turns out the schools don't own caps and those ugly shapeless gowns you wear for graduation. You have to rent them for the three hours you're wearing them. How nuts is that? What a shitty way to leave a lasting memory of high school. There's no way I'm wasting money renting that stuff for just a morning.

Risking being late for work I asked at the main office today and they sent me to the guidance office. The guidance office promised that I will still get a diploma even without attending the graduation ceremony, so I'm skipping it for sure. I asked already if the diner will write me in to work that day. The office said they will mail my diploma but I am nervous about it going in the mail so maybe I can pick it up.

Preppy preppy princesses!

It wasn't just Ralph Lauren stuff in the bags. There was JCrew stuff too, and three pairs of barely worn Chucks in Dani's and my size (black, light blue and olive green). There was baby JCrew stuff for Alex - she has an entire new wardrobe now. She got six short-sleeve plain t-shirts, four tank tops, two pairs of leggings, a denim skirt, a dressy skirt, two new bathing suits, four pairs of shorts, a pair of flip flops, and a bunch of ponytail holders.

This is not at ALL our style. Almost all my shirts are black. I have one white tank top. Only my nice clothes have colors. This is a huge departure from our regular clothes. Nothing we got was black. There's some navy blue flip flops, but no black. There were some abercrombie tanks that are awesome.

Our style has had to completely changed now. Alex went to school today in camo capri pants with a hot pink polo shirt. Danielle wore a demin skirt and layered two tank tops. Tomorrow we are taking some of the stuff to Brooklyn, to a seamstress my mother used to know to have clothes altered. Some things are perfect in length but way too wide. I can hem things just fine, but this is fancy sewing that's out of my league. While we are out there we will drop off our thank you notes and return the containers the leftovers were in. Danielle was kind of bummed at first that this stuff is so preppy but as Alex told her, "We're poor and it's free so LIKE IT!" plus my thing is that it's all mostly NEW. It even smells new.

Alex put a fan outside our bedroom facing out, away from us. The goal is to blow the smoke away from our bedroom so our preppy new clothes won't smell like smoke. (I don't think it'll work.) This morning Danielle was getting dressed and said to me, "I can't remember what I was wearing every day before Sunday."