accomplishment

i'm pretty sure accomplishment is one of the best feelings in the world. i also think that it's why i like to do well in school. my parents want me to do well of course, but they don't really push me. i'm glad i have good work ethic. i like crossing things off of lists.

things that i don't understand

tidal waves.

brain surgery.

daylight savings time.

internet.

radiation. 

the stock market.

artificial insemination. 

cancer.

sound. 

my super sweet sixteen

every person on that show makes me sick. and even worse then the people who are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a party are the people who attend these parties and are completely infatuated with the party thrower. i guess popularity by association is worth it? back to the party thrower. how selfish and naive does one have to be to cry about getting a new bmw on their actual birthday instead of on the day of their party. it makes me sick just thinking about it. here is a picture of ava. she's bawling at dinner because her parents threatened to not give her a new range rover for her 16th birthday. end of the world.

let's continue watching the episode and oh! she does get the car. i guess all that bitching and being disrespectful to your parents really does get you far. thank goodness we've all learned something new.

caravans

they might be good for the army but not for driving around at night. i hate not being able to drive places with my friends especially when we have three cars in a row going the exact same place. fuck richmond for not having a good enough public transportation system. narcs don't even allow us to be environmentally friendly but giving us 1-2 people in the car rules and curfew. fuck that. worry about shit that actually matters please.

lobes

our evenings are very interesting.

presents

this morning i walked downstairs to the smell of pancakes and bacon. i love my mom. she says good morning and tells me to go and see what's on the stairs in front of our door. i go out and look and it's a huge basket filled with goodies. i bring it inside and take a closer look. my mom says she already looked for a tag or a card and that there isn't one. no one left their name on it. i unwrap the gift and look at what is in the basket. inside there are four bottles of wine, french cheese, m&ms, hot cocoa of various varieties, and about $300 worth of gift cards for various stores. everything we love. as i'm taking things out i look over at my mom and she starts to tear up. "i guess someone knew we were having a small christmas this year," she says. i was so incredibly touched by the fact that someone would do this for us. it had to be someone who knew us well because the things inside of it were so specific to what my family loves. even more touching was the fact that no one took credit for it. you know it's a heartfelt gift when there isn't even a name on it. it really restored my faith in the season. 

as much as i love being at the beach being at the mountains is incredible. i love richmond, but getting out of the city is really nice sometimes. i think i love it a lot more when i'm not here all the time. its nice to have somewhere to come back to. the first time i went snowboarding must've been four years ago. i took a lesson and thomas helped me, but i stopped and sat down in the middle of the slope and started crying. my body was exhausted and i was incredibly frustrated. thankfully i've gotten a lot better. philip is amazing at park. i really think he should be on the park team at wintergreen and compete cause he could be so good. there's something about being younger when you learn how to do something. i think younger people are a lot more fearless. i suppose i still am pretty fearless, but not as much when it involves getting physically hurt. yesterday thomas, philip and i went up to wintergreen and it was snowing for a while in the morning. it was so beautiful and it made a fresh layer of powder on the mountain. so beautiful.