Cruising to Key West!

I have just gotten back from a day in Key West on my first cruise ever! My family and I have chosen to take a cruise vacation this February break and it has been such a great experience so far. We first arrived on our cruise yesterday, and spent the whole day exploring the enormous ship and meeting so many new people. Today, we spent time in our first destination, which was Key West, also known as the Conch Republic. We took a shuttle bus to Mallory Square, which is where all the shops are. The weather was sunny and bright, which was so refreshing after living in below freezing conditions for the past three months in New Jersey. Before we left the shuttle buses to explore the small city, the driver accosted a message over the loudspeaker, "If you are not back by 1:30, the buses will leave and you will not be seeing the cruise ship for the rest of your vacation." Even though he was not that nice, my family and I disregarded his attitude and were ready to shop like crazy!

The first gift shop that we came across was a big store that sold all sorts of ornaments, magnets, and other nick-knacks. What made this gift shop unique was the behemoth made of sea sponges that stood outside of the shop! Everyone was eager to take pictures with this "sponge monster" because it was so big and unlike anything they had ever seen! As we continued to walk about Mallory Square, there was a small little store that sold that best key lime pie that I had ever tasted! Everything they sold had a trace of key lime in it, including lotions, iced tea mixes, and frozen, chocolate dipped slices of key lime pie. The shop was very welcoming due to its bright and vibrant decor, and was one of my favorite places that we discovered. Next, my dad was craving something to eat, so we came across a little shack that sold an odd comestible, which were conch fritters. Conch is probably the most horrific tasting fish that I have ever tried, but of course my dad found them to be absolutely delicious! They were deep-fried, and the dipping sauce that they were accompanied by was a spicy Dijon mustard. This delicacy is popular among people living in Key West, and proved to win the taste buds of my dad as well!

My mom and I then began to search for a jewelry store, and soon came across a lady that was selling homemade jewelry along the sidewalk. She was selling ancient keys on different chains, which caught my eye right away. I wound up picking out one that was on a satin gray chain, and realized that she was making keys because we were in Key West! I thought that was a very cute concept and had her tie it around my neck so that I could wear it. Another store that sold very unique items was called Crazy Shirts. At this store, the shirts were dyed with all natural sources including lavender, hibiscus, wine, money, beer, coffee, and chiles. My mom bought my dad a key lime-dyed shirt as memorabilia of this amazing place we were exploring. As it began to get hotter, I was in desperate need of a drink to satiate my thirst, and of course there was Starbucks right around the corner! I ordered a iced tea lemonade, which definitely hit the spot! On the way back to the shuttle bus we saw many roosters running around, and one of the people informed us that drivers would be indicted and fined if they were to run over these animals. Key West was a very special place that was concerned with the well-being of their wildlife and environment which I found very interesting. Overall it was an enjoyable day in a place that I had never seen before!

SNOW DAY!

Today is a snow day!! I am a very credulous and gullible person, so when people tell me there is going to be a snow day I usually believe them without a doubt but this time they were right! When Mr. Demaio came on the loudspeaker yesterday and said that they were going to close the school for a snow day I was ECSTATIC! Pascack Valley High School almost never closes their school due to inclement weather, but today has been a true miracle. At first it was a great start, I got up at around 11:00 in the morning and had a chance to have an actual breakfast that was homemade. I was ready to watch a couple seasons of The Office, until my dad sat down at breakfast and altered my plans. He began cajoling me by saying that he was very proud of me for getting good grades this marking period, and saying that I was such a good daughter. Well I knew that my dad was trying to persuade me to do something strenuous and horrific, and I knew just the activity he needed help with----shoveling snow. I tried to make a quick escape to my room, but then my mom intercepted my avoidance my packing on the guilt because she told me, "Would you mind just spending a little of your time to help your father outside? I love you." Well we all know what I now had been forced into doing, so I had to go get my lovely snow gear on.

I had to put on about three pairs of pants, two sweatshirts, and five pairs of socks so that I would be warm enough to traverse the twelve inches of snow outside. I was ready to be done getting all the snow off the cars as quickly as possible, but it began taking longer than I had anticipated. My arms were starting to hurt from shoveling the snow, and my sister was becoming laconic which was a sign that she was ready to go inside, since she is always a chatterbox. Then, the snowblower was unable to get rid of all the snow because the snow was practically turning into ice since it was so cold. My dad was determined to clear the entire driveway, but I could not take it anymore. My fingers were turning blue, (even though I had gloves on) and my attitude was becoming aloof because my patience was running thin. My dad was finally fed up with the cold himself, and we all decided to go inside to warm up. The rest of the day turned out to be very relaxing though, and I even made red velvet cupcakes with my sister!

Working Girl.

I have recently started working for my cousin's personal trainer to earn some extra cash because I want to eradicate the option of asking my parents for money all the time. I have always been very ambitious about working, but I have always found it very difficult to balance having a job and managing schoolwork simultaneously. I was working at Blimpie (Subway's biggest competitor) for about a year almost every Saturday, but the remuneration that I was receiving was not substantial enough for all the work that I was doing there. So, I decided to move on and not work for a few months so that I could acclimate myself to the new workload that junior year was about to offer. Then, since I decided not to participate in the fall drama and spring musical this year, I needed to participate in some kind of activity after school that would stimulate myself.

Over winter break, I had gone to my cousin Nicole's apartment, and went with her to her personal trainer, Elena. Elena was a vivacious person who was full of energy and thrilled to meet me. She was certified in holistic medicines and had an array of all-natural pills that were bound to heal any ailment. I was in awe at all the information she knew about staying healthy and I got to ask many questions about how different herbs possessed different characteristics in order to heal and rejuvenate people. She was flattered by my interest, and told me to leave her a dossier of my personal information in case she needed someone to work for her in the future. After a couple of weeks, Elena called me and asked me if I wanted to do secretarial work for her during the week. I knew this would be a perfect job for me because I am very organized and she was extremely flexible about the amount of hours I would put in every week.

I was ebullient for my first day of work since I love working with computers and managing files. When I had come in, she instructed my on how to organize her calendar by using Microsoft Outlook, and other things I was to organize for her. Also, she said I had complete freedom to brainstorm ways that she could promote her business by designing flyers, brochures, and even making a Facebook fan page. I was eager to put my knowledge of technology to use and absolutely love my new job!

2010...this is going to be a big year.

This is my first blog post of the year 2010. I have a feeling that this year is going to be a big year overall. Other years have provoked unbearable ennui, but this year I am excited for the many big things that are ahead. For example, Winter Ball is on Friday, which is the first formal dance that the class of 2011 is able to attend. Majority of the student body is ecstatic for the Ball, especially the girls who like to get dressed up, like me. On Facebook, one of the girls in the junior class even created a group that all the girls could use to post the dresses that they were going to wear so that no one would wind up having the same dress. So, within about three weeks, whenever I went on Facebook, pictures of all sorts of dresses would be burgeoning by the minute! Also, many of the upperclassmen that I have talked to have communicated an imprimatur that the Winter Ball is guaranteed to be enjoyable.

Also, this year is going to be an intense year because I have to take the SAT's and apply to the colleges of my choice. My anxiety will never allay due to the fact that I have to put in so much preparation for the standardized tests that I have to take and the application forms that I will be filling out. But, I need to try to keep my cool and keep on trying to stay positive because I have to enjoy my life, and not only worry about school. I do not want to go to a college that is too far from my home because I know that I am going to be very homesick that first couple of months since I am very close to my family.

Lastly, I am ecstatic to turn 18 this November! I think that this will be the most salient part of this entire year. I am going to be ecstatic since I will finally earn my right to vote! That may sound a little nerdy, but I will finally feel like an adult once I am given the power to exercise this right. Also, I will finally be able to order stuff from television, because the advertisements always have a disclaimer that says, "You must be eighteen or older to call", well I will finally be 18! Overall, I have a feeling that this is going to be a phenomenal year, and I am ready to make the best of it!

jersey shore controversy.

Okay, it's true, I have to admit that I am a complete reality television junkie. I love the corny reality TV shows that nobody likes to watch because everyone knows they aren't even "real". But, the latest reality show that I have been tuning in for is Jersey Shore. This show is about a group of eight Italian strangers who are living in a shore house together in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. Many viewers have described this show as a social stigma since it gives Italian people a bad image. The truth about these young adults that are in their twenties are that they are not just ordinary Italians, they are "guidos". Guidos are the tawdry Italians that constantly have to wear gaudy jewelry, get spray tans, and tend to wear inappropriate clothing. But, what makes this show so addicting is all of the drama that goes on among the roommates, which has caused me to succumb to watching every episode of this new television series.

Many of the people on the show have different nicknames, such as Michael, who calls himself "The Situation". He is always very invidious in every episode since he likes to provoke his other friends just to make trouble and get them angry. Mike's best friend on the show is Pauly D., who always goes out at night with Mike so that they can meet new girls every night of the summer. As the season progresses, Mike and Pauly D have become sycophants since they flatter girls in order to get their number in return. One of the funniest girls on the show is Nicole, whose nickname is "Snookie". Her skin appears to be orange because she gets spray tanned so much, and always makes funny comments and gets herself into unfortunate situations because she is so outgoing. My favorite guy out of all the guys in the house is Vinny because he is very sweet and is the least obnoxious out of all of them. I watch new episodes of this show every Thursday night and cannot wait for tomorrow's episode!

so this is christmas.

This year I feel as though Christmas flew by. Ever since I entered high school, the holidays seem to go by and I am not able to enjoy them as much as I did when I was younger. My family always coalesces for Christmas, but I cannot enjoy the anticipation for when Christmas comes because I am always busy doing homework, and then all of a sudden Christmas seems to creep up behind me and I am not prepared for it to come yet. I like when my "Christmas anxiety" builds up inside of me because it fills my soul with holiday spirit. But, since it comes so fast, I lose that effect inside of me. But, Christmas will always be my favorite holiday because it is ethereal to me since it creates such a beautiful and timeless season for everyone. School always tends to make the time before the holidays saturnine due to the fact that sometimes I won't even have time to decorate the tree because of all the homework I have, which gets me very depressed sometimes.

But, school cannot put a damper on the fun that I have with my family during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. My family is the loudest and funniest group of people that you will even meet in your life! My entire family means the world to me even though all of my uncles (my dad's brothers) hector me every single time we get together. I am an easy target since I find what they joke about hysterically funny and they are like brothers to me. Also, every time we are all together, my dad and his brothers will always perform ruses on their sister's kids, which we all get a good laugh at. My family is 100% Italian, and they won't every let you forget it if you ever meet or talk to them. My grandma makes incredible homemade Italian food that makes my mouth water at every holiday...especially Christmas!

REMI! <3

Puppies are the most adorable animals a person could ever own. They are known as a man's best friend, and over winter break I became very attached to my cousin's new puppy. The minute I entered my cousin's apartment I was beguiled by the cute little eyes and face of the tiny animal. My cousin, Nicole, and her husband, Matt, had come to me for advice on what they should name their puppy, and I had suggested the name Nico simply because I love the guy from the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding whose name is Nico. But, when they told me that they were now getting a female puppy, I was a little insulted since I was so excited to christen this new puppy with the name I had chosen! So, while I was staying with Nicole and Matt, I excoriated their choice of choosing the name Remi because I thought it was a horrible name! Honestly, I have never met anyone that was named Remi, and did not think it was an exotic or creative idea. But, besides that, I fell in love with Remi because she had such a sweet demeanor and was so well-behaved for being only ten weeks old.

So, once Remi had fallen asleep by about 1:00 in the morning, and stopped barking, my cousin and I would stay up even later so that we could watch reruns of Sex and The City. During the commercials, Nicole was very garrulous and would ask me millions of questions about my friends and other unimportant matters. But, every night when it reached around 2:30 in the morning, we would hear barking and that's when I started to dislike Remi. She was practically implacable and would not stop barking until we played with her for another 30 minutes. But, even though my "sleepover" at my cousin's apartment was quite ephemeral since I was only there for four days, I still did not want to go home and especially did not want to go back to school. Nicole is like my older sister and I love her so much because we are able to talk about our lives for hours and she is always there for me.