Out And In And In And Out

Let me tell you how my day went today - I started my morning at work by attending a town hall meeting, which took up a few hours, and then went to Monmouth Park for my job's annual picnic. It was great because I got to wear picnic attire (t-shirt, shorts/jeans, sandals/sneakers), eat catered BBQ, drink as much beer as I wanted, and bet on horses. The concept of drinking in a work environment was foreign to me, but I really enjoyed it. I was able to stand around, socialize, and drink with the other interns. It made me feel mature, and it's one of the parts of growing up that I look forward to happening more often. The gambling aspect of the company picnic was fun too. I didn't go crazy dropping tons of money on horses, but I did place a few bets. I placed the minimum bet on a horse for the first race and the horse I picked got in first place, so I actually ended up winning some money. And best of all - I got paid for working a full 8-hour day! Score.

After the picnic, I went to Red Bank with Steve and Nick to buy Warped Tour tickets, which, interestingly enough, will be at Monmouth Park this year. Then Steve and I met up with Kara and her boyfriend, Bruno, so we could spend the rest of the day at Six Flags (it would be my second visit this season). Both Steve and Bruno used discounted coupons to get into the park, while Kara and I had season passes. We decided that we wanted to go on El Toro first, but I stopped off to pick up a souvenir bottle before hand because I was thirsty. The souvenir bottle was a good deal because I paid about $13 to get a big bottle that I could get refilled all season long for just a buck each time. Even better, I got a wristband that allowed me to get unlimited free refills all day! Score.

As usual, I brought my camera with me. Although we rented a locker before we got in line for El Toro, I held on to my camera so we could use it entertain ourselves during the wait. When we finally got on the ride, I whipped the camera out (as I've done before during previous visits) and snapped a few "action" photos. Score.

When we got off the ride and walked towards the exit, I was stopped by a security officer. "Hi. Could I talk to you for a minute, sir?" I agreed, and the security officer pulled out a picture of me, holding my camera on the ride. He informed me how it was against the park policy and then stated that I had to be escorted from the park immediately. Oh, and I was also told that I was banned from the park for the rest of the season. They took my season pass and all. Did I mention that I was the one who drove to the park? Yeah. So we were all forced to leave. Initially, the whole incident made me feel juvenile. So much for maturity.

It was pretty hysterical though, being, you know, banned. Kara got some great pictures of the whole process. As I walked along the security officer, I waved to people as if I was in a parade too. When I finally reached the parking lot, I was told that if I ever set foot on the premises again for the remainder of the year, I'd be arrested for trespassing; then he proceeded to thank me for being one of the most cooperative escorts he's ever had. How kind. On my way to the car, I ran into two girls about my age who were also thrown out for the same reason (one of them had just purchased a season pass that day). We exchanged our stories with each other and had a good laugh (we joked how the park was going bankrupt too). Oh, and before I was escorted out of the park, I asked the security officer if I could fill up my souvenir bottle with soda one last time. He reluctantly agreed. It figures a free refill of Coke would be my final request.

lol banned.

I'm Into Something Good

What a summer it's been so far! Although I pretty much spend every weekday working at my job at Fort Monmouth, I've been making my weekends count and I've even managed to squeeze some fun into my weekday nights as much as possible. After all, this is the last summer of my college career, so I have to make it count.

I spent the first weekend of my summer break in Maryland, visiting my older brother, Brad, with my parents so we could attend the "Wine in the Woods" festival. I've never really been a fan of wine, but after trying all the flavors from a handful of wineries, I really grew to appreciate the taste. It was a great experience hanging out with family in a forest full of people who were sitting back, drinking, and just livin' easy.  My second weekend was spent in a theme park called "Knoebels" in Pennsylvania, which is a free admission park in the middle of a forest (that you've never heard of before) that's not too crowded and hosted a wide variety of quality rides and food, as well as a huge swimming pool with diving boards and water slides. Spending the weekend in a creekside cottage that's in walking distance from the theme park with Alan and Christine and company was pretty much a magical little getaway.

My third weekend was quite an interesting one. I spent friday night celebrating Ali's best friend's 21st birthday, at Club Deko in Sayerville. I usually don't go clubbing. I also usually don't go gay-clubbing (as in "attending a gay club", not "clubbing gay people with blunt objects"... that's just cruel). But it actually ended up being a good drunk time, and gave me some hilarious stories to tell later. As for saturday, here's an abridged version of the antics: I met up at Chelsea's house in Toms River so I could hang out with Mark (that doesn't really make sense, right?) and we drove down Route 9 to make some random stops along the way; then we met up with Chelsea, stole a couch cushion from a blind child, picked up Mike, and went to Manahawkin to celebrate Jess's graduation at her beach house. Oh, what a night.

I also went down to Toms River again one evening to chill with friends, eat pizza, relax in front of a fire pit, and just be a kid again. I've hung out out with a bunch of my long-time friends from Tinton Falls and we've eaten our share of half-price appetizers and diner meals. I spent last friday night drinking with friends and last Saturday driving around Monmouth county with Andrew during the day, followed by a random visit from Mark, Chelsea, Tehila, and Emily (which involved completing puzzles intended for 3-year olds and late night walks on the beach). And I finally used my Six Flags season pass today for the first time this summer! Kara and I spend a few hours there and I had such an amazing time.

Life is good. 

And it's only going to get better from here.

Tomorrow I'm heading down to Medford (land of the super people... it's true) to meet up with Mark (and Jason) so we can spend the day in Ocean City, NJ. I've actually never been there before, and it's one of Mark's favorite beaches, so I'm pretty psyched about going. There's also a BBQ with friends that I'm attending right around the corner, and I'm also going to Warped Tour with some friends from home in July. 

I've also made plans to go to Wildwood for a weekend, Atlantic City with Andrew, Steve, Bryan, Nick, and Nelson for another weekend, and Washington D.C. during July 4th weekend with Brian! And I'll be spending two weeks in August at the beach - one week in Outer Banks with family and friends, and one week in Viriginia Beach. Add plenty of random hangouts, Six Flags trips, beach excursions, and maybe a camping trip in there, and you've (hopefully) got my summer.

I've got big plans this summer. Join me?

Learning How To Smile

Everyone is so fucking hard on themselves.

But I suppose it's in human nature to act this way. It's in human nature to anaylze ourselves and only look for the negatives. It's in human nature to get caught up in trivial happenings. It's in human nature to blame ourselves when it's not our fault. It's in human nature to think you're the only one who's going through this. It's in human nature to feel hopelessness and sadness.

"Sadness is nothing more than the cost of being able to smile every once in a while." - Shane Koyzcan

Why is it that we convince ourselves we're exclusively inadequate? Why do we beat ourselves up if certain societal roles, such as being in a relationship, are not fulfilled? There are too many people I care about that really get themselves down about this. I mean, who's to say that a relationship actually cures loneliness? Can't one be single and not be lonely? And why is it that we ignore how thankful we should be for what we do have? We have so much to live for, and so much to love for. Between family, friends, and ourselves, the capacity for love is limitless.

It's all about perception, really. And the way I see it, we're all wonderful.