Monday, July 12, 2004

12 Days to the Big Event

This weekend was pretty interesting, so it is a good thing you signed on to read about it. Friday night I went to bed early, but the mail man called as I was climbing into bed. He was bored and wanted to hang out. I told him I was going to bed early because I was getting up to go work on a farm at 5 am the next morning. I was pretty excited that he called me to see what was going on. We decided that we would hang out Saturday night after he got back from a mission homecoming party of this girl he used to date.

Saturday morning I woke up before the sun, and made my way down to the church to meet up with the rest of the fools who thought hard manual labor on a Saturday morning sounded like a good idea. I got an Einstein bagel with strawberry cream cheese (my fave) and was only there a couple of minutes late. The original plan was to meet there at 5 and leave, but the night before someone called me and said we were meeting at 6. I was really relieved. I guess not everyone got the call informing of the changed meeting time, because some people were there at 5. I would have been a little ticked off, if that were me. Anyway, we all piled in the cars and took off. I rode with Kirsten, Colin and Kevin. Kevin is the guy who left a CD on my cara month ago. Another interesting fact that I don't think has been mentioned here is that about 2 months ago Kevin backed into my friend (and Colin's girlfriend) Sarah's car and caused about $200 worth of damage. He has yet to really apologize or offer to help pay her back for what was obviously his mistake. Kevin makes CD of parodies of songs and his latest one is about to go into "mass production" or so he told us on the ride up. Colin turned to him and said, "I have an idea. Why don't you sell your CDs for $4 each, and then you can pay Sarah back the money you owe her." The car went silent and I had to bite my lip to avoid laughing out loud.

We got up to the farm and it was pretty anticlimactic. All we did was walk along one row of lima beans and pick the weeks in that row. There were hardly any weeds at all and it took us about 20 minutes. I was a little let down because I came ready to work.

While we were working our rows, the kid next to me said he was really surprised to see me out working at the farm. He said that working at the farm didn't really seem like something I would do. This really surprised me because I really like doing stuff like that, but I must come across to him like some kind of really feminine girl who can't do an honest days work or something. This is compounded by my friend Jamie saying last week that I didn't seem like the kind of girl who liked to camp. What kind of image am I portraying to these people?!?! Does everyone think this?!?!

After the farm I came back home and took a nap all afternoon. At 5 I went over to the park across the street from my house and we played Ultimate Frisbee. I did fairly well, and it was really fun. None of my usual circle of friends was there and it felt really good to be with new people. I'm really making an effort to branch out and not be so confined to my group of friends (AKA cliquey). It was REALLY hot and we were all SWEATY, so I invited everyone to come over and swim in my pool. We played 500 for an hour or two until the sun went down. It was really fun. The mail man called while I was in the pool. I jumped out, ran over to my phone and called him back. Turns out he was going to the party later than he thought, and he wouldn't be back to hang out until later. Fine with me because I was having a really good time playing in the pool. One of the guys that was there was my roommate’s ex-boyfriend. Everyone started talking about how she is now engaged and I could tell that he was kind of upset about the whole thing. I felt really bad because I've been in that situation before. Even if you don't want to be the one that is getting married to your ex, it still kind of hurts to see them in love with and engaged to someone else, especially if you aren't dating anyone.

After swimming at the pool we were all starving, so we went to chick-fil-a. I was about done with hanging out with this large group of people and I was getting pretty excited to spend the evening with the mail man. We were all standing around in the parking lot and everyone asked what we were doing next, and looked at me like I was some kind of events planner on a cruise ship. I said I'd already planned most of the day’s events, so I didn't want to plan something. Then, they all decided that the best idea would be to just come back to my house and watch a movie.

So the mail man came over and we only got to spend 15 minutes alone talking and stuff when they all came over. It wouldn’t be so bad if it had been people I really liked to hang out with, but Kevin came over and he just drives me NUTS. The mail man and I sat on the same couch and toward the end of the movie I was getting really tired, so he moved down to the floor so I could lay down on the couch. It was a really nice thing for him to do. The movie ended, and everyone left. I was really disappointed because I didn't get a chance to really talk to the mail man, so as I climbed into bed I called him and invited him to go to a BBQ with me Sunday afternoon.

After church on Sunday we had a dinner, so everyone stayed and hung out and talked. The mail man sat directly across from me, which I thought was a good sign. His ex-girlfriend who just got back from her mission was also there and sat at our table. She was this perfect blonde who was really nice, so of course I was a little intimidated. We talked for a while about BYU and Provo in general. She didn't come off a bit territorial, like some girls can, so that was GREAT. After we ate, he and I went out to the foyer. I asked him what he was doing until the BBQ, and he said he had to take that other girl back home. He also kind of apologized for her being there and said something about it being awkward or something. I took that as a good thing. If he thought we were just going to be "friend" and had no interest in me I don't think he would worry about things being awkward.

Anyway, I came home from church and read/slept for a while. He called and woke me up at 4. He came over and we went to play Frisbee in the park. I wasn't throwing well at all, but he didn't make me feel bad. Major points for him. I am always so nervous about doing anything even slightly athletic around someone that I like because I'm really not good at anything like that. It was REALLY hot, so we stopped early. Then, we went over to Colin's BBQ. I wanted to see if he would fit in with my best friends, and he totally did. They're all going climbing tomorrow, which I think is cool. I could never date anybody, even for a month, that didn't like to hang out with my friends. That would be a nightmare.

After the BBQ we went back to my house. He stayed over until midnight and I taught him how to play Texas (a different version of the card game speed). He was pretty good at it, and it was fun to play with someone who didn't mind loosing. Then, we played real speed and he beat me. I tried to be a good loser, but I'm just not. Next time we play I am going to beat him so bad he won't know what hit him. Anyway, while we played we talked and he asked questions about my family and where I'm from and my high school experience. They seemed like more personal questions than you ask someone you're just being friends with. I'm optimistic that he likes me back, but still not sure. I'm still not really sure I want him to like me, but it is distracting and fun to think about, so I'm letting it take over.

Tonight we're going ice blocking for FHE, which should be fun. I wish my friends would come, but they probably won't. I remember last time I went ice blocking I had a crush on Ben Newson. That was almost a year ago. Marking time by my crushes is an interesting way to tell time. I don't think I've ever thought about it like that before.

My co-worker and I are going out waterskiing tomorrow for a long lunch. I am STOKED! It will be my first time out this season and it will be a perfect day! Hooray!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, you are like, Oh I looove Nordstrom, and make fun of Wal-Mart, so you can't be that surprised when people don't expect you to like camping or getting dirty. Those things are more Wal-Mart than Nordstrom. It's not so much about femininity.
And Mail Man likes you, just so you know.
-- Anth

Katie said...

Good point. I do love Nordstroms and I will never admit to even being able to stand WalMart.

I don't know about mail man though, he is never physical with me at all really. That makes me uncertain as to his affections. I mean, he hasn't touched my elbow once.

Anonymous said...

Rotfl!!! Shout-out to Chelsea!
-- Anth

Maggie said...

Yeah, I don't know about camping. I really need to be in the mood for it. REALLY. I think it may just be the persona that you grew up with. A lot of people don't think of mom as being all that into the outdoors stuff, but she is. Perhaps it's a family thing?