I do not understand why my ex-boyfriend feels the need to text my phone at 2 o’clock in the morning. I won’t go into detail because I’ll end up writing a 900 word detailed blog entry on why I strongly dislike him and why he pisses me off. He’s simply not worth it.

Anyway, my life has been amazing lately. I’ve met someone that is a wonderful friend to me and who I feel like will be in my life for a very long time. He is six years older than me, but in all honesty the age factor doesn’t really contribute to how much fun we have while we’re talking on the phone. You could never tell that there was an age difference. Every night, we talk on the phone for at least 2-5 hours, mainly about the show we’re watching on TV and about things that have happened in our life. He is enjoyable to talk to and I look forward to our conversations every night.

Earlier, I had to call the Kanawha County Board of Education so they could send my transcripts to Kanawha Valley Community & Technical College. It wasn’t as complicated as I thought it would be.

Of course, when I tried to call Kanawha Valley Community & Technical College to retrieve my K#, there was no answer. No surprise there – sounds pretty typical! As much as college professors and counselors get paid by the amount of tuition we have to pay, I’m surprised they aren’t on call 24/7.

Granny and I went to Drug Emporium first to buy flowers for everyone’s grave. Then, we stopped at Tudor’s Biscuit World, went home, Papa ate his food, then we made our way to Tyler Mountain. It felt like it took forever for us to get there and find her stone, but eventually, we did. Someone had already put flowers there. Granny thought it was Shirley, who was Rita’s best friend.

We came home and I immediately went to bed because I had about three hours of sleep last night. I slept up until about an hour ago. The only reason I woke up was because my friend, Travis, called me because he had just gotten back from a camping trip and we hadn’t talked in a few days. Him and I are really good friends.

Speaking of friends, my friend, Jerry, is having surgery on his foot tomorrow. They are removing a small piece of bone to prevent the infection he had from coming back. I hope all goes well.

I officially have 6 days to buy Papa a birthday present. This year, he will be 71. That’s so hard to believe. Time is flying by. As far as what to buy him, I still don’t have a clue as to what I’m going to get. Out of everyone in our family, he is the hardest to shop for. What does a 71 year-old man want?

Today, Granny and I are going to Tyler Mountain to see Nancy Ann, my cousin who passed away of spina bifida when she was just a baby. I’ve never been to Tyler Mountain. Whenever they first mentioned it yesterday, my first reaction was that it would be somewhere miles and miles away from here. It turns out that it is only somewhere near Cross Lanes.

I’m assuming that while Granny and I are out, we will go out to eat like we always do, so I have my money ready. It’s not much, but I have money. I’ll have a lot more next week because I’m working 6 days.

The class of 2010 at Riverside High School graduated on Saturday. As you all know, I played with the high school’s band. I thought that this would be fun, but it honestly wasn’t as fun as I thought it would have been.

It was nice being able to see a few people that I haven’t seen in awhile, but it wasn’t the same without everyone there. Times have changed. People have changed. Life is totally different now. People who were once my friends are no longer in my life. It’s sad, but that’s the way life comes at you sometimes. I try to reconnect with them, but they act as if they don’t want to take any part in my life anymore. All I can say is that it is disheartening, but I’m not going to make someone a priority in my life if to them I am only an option.

After graduation, Papa, Granny and myself went out to eat at Shoney’s on the boulevard. I had a chicken basket and Granny and Papa had an all American hamburger. It was nice to go out to eat with both of them.

Yesterday, Granny and I went out together. We went to K-Mart, Go-Mart, Kohl’s, Target and Kroger. We always go “all out” every time we go out. We bought a couple outfits for my new cousin, Paisley, who is due sometime in July. We went grocery shopping and also had some nice conversation in the middle of all the shopping. The discussions were mainly about family.

I have a humongous family. When I say humongous, I mean REALLY humongous. Back in the day, our family was really close-knit. We always had family reunions. Everyone was close. Nothing kept any of us apart.

In my immediate family, I have Uncle Bob, Aunt Mary, Uncle Charles, Aunt Sharon, Ian, Taylor, Zach and Haley. I was very close with my immediate cousins when I was growing up. I have so many great memories with them that I’ll always remember, especially Haley. Being an only child, she was like a sister to me for a very long time. We had our little fights, but we were always very close.

Over the years, she changed. This started in middle school. In middle school, I was somewhat of an outcast. I was bullied and picked on every single day of my life. It was absolute hell. I had hardly no friends at all. People laughed at me in the hallway and there were times that I actually dreaded going to school. I was not good enough for her friends.

How do I know? She had two separate birthday parties – one for friends, one for family. At the time, I didn’t understand why everyone was so mad at her, however, not that I have gotten older I can totally understand why. Why would she need to have to separate parties? Why would she be ashamed of her own family? I still do not know the answer to that question.

After this incident, the yearly Christmas parties ceased. I no longer spoke to anyone in that family and neither did Mom, Granny and Papa. This was really depressing for me, because family was everything to me when I was younger.

About a year or two ago, Haley called Granny apologizing and crying on the phone. I was at band camp when this happened. “Things are finally changing,” was the thought that went through my mind. There was such a huge relief lifted off of my shoulders.

My mom still didn’t like her, but I was willing to give things a chance. That’s just the type of person I am. For awhile, things were fine. We were talking and civil with each other. She was visiting Granny and Papa.

Now, things are starting to go back to the old fighting ways. Haley graduated this year. Right before she was getting ready to graduate, she visited Granny and Papa. The only time she visits or calls is when she wants something. I may be wrong, but this is the message she is sending TO ME. This is the way I SEE HER. She did not speak to Granny and Papa at graduation. She hasn’t came to visit since she has gotten her money for graduation. I plan on having a talk with her very soon about how I feel.

When she’s around friends, she acts like a completely different person. I just cannot believe how much she has changed. I do miss her and the way she used to be, but the thing that upsets me the most is that I know she is hurting Granny and Papa by acting like a self-centered bitch. And I know that if something would happen to Granny and Papa right now, that she would feel regret. And I do not want her to feel regret and to be haunted with that thought for the rest of her life. Why? I still care about her, even though she treats me terribly and the rest of her family as well.

Her brother, Zach, is a completely different story. Every time Zach sees me, he will hug me and speak to me. He is not ashamed, but I know that it is only a matter of time before his mother and sister turn him evil.

I do not understand my uncle Charles. I do not understand how he puts up with the bull shit of his wife and I never will understand it. I wish he would stick up for himself, his mother, his father and his own niece. I guess that won’t ever happen.

When it comes to my family in Poca, I’m neutral. I honestly can’t say how I feel about them.  There are times when I feel like they care, and then there are times where I feel like they don’t at all. They never come to visit me. Ian and Taylor don’t speak to me. Eh, I don’t know.

To sum this up, it hurts. It’s stressful. It’s on my mind every second, every minute and every hour of the day. I’ll never understand my family. They have all taken a turn for the worst.

Anyway, I worked today from 1:00-8:00 PM. It was a fun shift. I mainly talked to Lauren, Larry and Tim the entire time. It rained/stormed all day long. The weather was so crazy. There was actually a point where the sun was shining as bright as ever and pouring down the rain at the same time. It was one of the most beautiful sights ever. Tim and I walked to the back of the store and saw a full rainbow. It was amazing.

Yesterday, my friend Erica Hendricks and I went walking around town. We had some nice conversations and I found out that I worked with her Dad. We went to Wendy’s, ate Frosty’s, walked around some more, then eventually went back to Granny and Papa’s house because we were roasted. The weather was very hot outside yesterday.

Riverside’s graduation is on Saturday and wow – that came fast! I didn’t even get the chance to request the day off because I’ve been so caught up in life lately. I was originally going to miss graduation and work 1:30-9:00 PM, but thankfully I called yesterday and my friend, Josh Kinsel, is going to let me exchange shifts with him. The only downfall is that tomorrow I have to work 2:30-11:00 PM. I’m ready to take that shift head on and get it over with!

The reason why I am going to Riverside’s graduation is because a lot of my previous friends will be graduating and because Mr. Chiles, the band director, asked me to play. Needless to say, I am VERY excited! I am dying to see everyone. Once you graduate, you start to truly realize how your high school years were the best years of your life. They were definitely the best years of mine so far, without a doubt. I had no worries back then.

Whenever I called Alice yesterday to talk to her about exchanging shifts, she asked if I wanted more hours since school was out. I told her yes, which I know I am going to regret later on. I need money, though…desperately.

I wanted to go to TRG to apply for a job today, but that did not happen. I talked to a friend of mine last night and discussed with him everything that was needed in order to apply for the job. You have to present your social security card, ID, high school diploma, etc.

I still do not have an ID. I really need to check into that. In order for me to retrieve an ID from the Department of Motor Vehicles, I have to have two proofs of residence, which is HELL for me to get because I have a post office box. Surprisingly, I did receive a letter in the mail a couple weeks ago that was addressed to my house, so all I need is one more in order to try to get my learner’s permit…once again!

I really want to start driving, even though it scares the living shit out of me. I already have road rage and I don’t even drive. But…it gets old sitting at the house all the time and having to ask people to rides. I’d like to be able to go to places whenever I feel like it, such as visiting my friends, shopping, etc.

Today, I played with Cracker for awhile. She is still just as rowdy as she was when she was a baby puppy. I fed the cats. I tried to play The Sims 3 on my mom’s computer, but the screen turned black. I’m going to try to play it again in a few minutes. I haven’t played it in such a long time and I am dying to play it. It’s one of the most addicting games I’ve ever played.

I have never became involved in any type of drama on the social networking site, facebook, until tonight.

My friend, Travis, posted the following status update:

“You can tell you are in Marmet when a stranger walks up to you and asks, “Do you do Loratabs?” What is this world coming to?”

A woman, who was supposedly his granddaughter, replied and had a fit, which caused myself, Travis, Jason, Jerry and Brad to reply in complete disagreement with everything  she had said about her grandpa being a good mayor.

Let me get on my soapbox.

I have lived in the town of Marmet for almost twenty years, which is my whole life. Within these twenty years, we have had the same mayor, Bill Pauley.

Growing up, Marmet was not a bad place to live. There were things to do, but not very many. We had a yearly summer event that took place at the park across the street from my house, an annual Easter egg hunt sponsored by Marmet Nursing Home, tee-ball, etc.

As I approached my teenage years, I started to see the town of Marmet in a new light. Many of my days as a teenager were spent either sitting at home or walking around town with my friends. I classified Marmet as a boring place t live.

Needless to say, as my friends and I walked through the town during our teenage years, we weren’t up to any good. We probably committed acts we should have not committed. Why did we do these things? Because there was NOTHING ELSE TO DO.

All of these older people I know are saying, “What is this world coming to?” “Why are people doing drugs?” “Why are sixteen year-olds becoming pregnant?”

As dumb as this may sound to some people, lack of recreation is the root of the problem, especially in the town of Marmet. And no, I am not a stupid 19 year-old who doesn’t know what they are talking about.

As sad as this sounds, a majority of the kids I grew up with in the town of Marmet have started smoking weed, doing pills and getting involved in things they shouldn’t have became involved in. A lot of times I wonder, “What if?” What if we had recreation during the teenage years of these now grown adults? Would their lives be different? I feel confident whenever I say, “Yes, they would be different,”

I attended a council meeting when I was about sixteen years old. My papa was with me. The night before, I told myself that I would speak about how I felt. I wrote about a three-page long paper and prepared myself the night before.

At the council meeting, I went up to the front and spoke to all of those people. I was even congratulated after the meeting. I went with my gut and spoke. I also presented pictures of the vandalism on the park equipment across the street. Of course, the vandalism was taken care of immediately because I’m sure  I made the whole council look bad.

What I am trying to say is that the vandalism should had already been taken care of. It’s sad that I as a sixteen year-old teenager at the time had to take the initiative.

A few years have passed, and things are finally starting to look up. We have a few members on the council team and a few citizens of Marmet that have the same concerns as I do. We are slowly, but surely making progress. We now have zumba that takes place at the recreation center, dances, etc.

The only thing that concerns me is that there is still not a lot to do for the older kids in town. Then again, it’s hard to think of ideas for stuff to do for children in the age range. Here are some ideas I have:

1. A movie night outside at the park.
2. A place to skateboard. (You would not believe how many people go to the pawn shop in Chesapeake to skateboard, when Marmet is perfectly capable to have a place, even financially.)

I’m going to try to brainstorm more ideas.

To sum up and complete these post – bottom line:

This woman, who is supposedly the mayor’s granddaughter, needs to keep her nose in Utah and out of Marmet’s business. Does she live here? No. Does she realize what’s going on? No, and neither does her grandpa half of the time.

The last thing I have to say is:

STOP MIXING FAMILY IN WITH POLITICS!

So far, summer has been boring, and I fully plan to change that starting this week.

Tomorrow, I’m hoping someone in my family will give me a ride to the TRG place in Corridor G so I can apply for a job. Dealing with endless bull shit at Kroger and only getting paid $7.35 an hour is starting to get old, especially on payday. I would pick up more hours, but I want to do something that is actually worth my time. TRG would be worth my time, because their pay starts any where from $10.00-$14.00 an hour depending on what shift you work. On the bright side, I also know three people that work there, and they all said they would put a good word in for me. Another bright note – they don’t wear uniforms! That’s a plus, for sure.

While we we are on the subject of work, I worked 1:00-9:30 today. It was mainly slow today, but we still had the typical daily 5:00 PM and 10:00 PM rushes. There were no managers present for a majority of the day, which eased everyone’s moods.

Yesterday, I was told by Alice (one of the big shots at Kroger – she has been there forever) that I scored #3 for the fastest ringer upper “in the zone.” She made a big deal out of it, and I’m sure my face was blood red when she presented to me a $10 gift card for Kroger.

Anyway, the 1:00 PM to 9:30 PM shift took over my day. I have done nothing meaningful since I have came home, and I don’t plan on it.

Finals are finally over and I have never felt so much relief in my life. I’m almost positive that I did fine in all of my classes except math. I can almost definitely tell you that I received a failing grade in math. That was expected, though.

Yesterday, Mom, Granny and myself went to the Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College building, where I was hoping I could register for classes. I have been trying to register for at least three weeks, but West Virginia State University decided to take forever to fax my transcripts.

The reason why my mom went with me is because my family thinks I have no balls, which is probably a true statement, but I don’t see the point in making a big scene about everything.

Anyway, I got scheduled. I am taking classes that will count toward my major, which is exciting. My major is paralegal studies, which seems like an interesting field to go into. Many people have told me that they also make a lot of money, which is a wonderful thing. As much money as I like to spend, I will definitely need it in the future.

Speaking of money, I still haven’t changed my schedule at work, and I don’t plan to. I can’t think of one single thing that I need money for. I want to enjoy summer, not work. Sorry, Kroger! You are simply not worth every ounce of my time.

Last night, I cleaned my room because the heating and cooling people were coming today. My room looks very nice and I want to keep it that way. The heating and cooling people did come and it turned out that there was nothing wrong with our air conditioner. The air conditioning guy, Chris, was amazingly cute.

I straightened my hair tonight for the first time in a long time and it turned out disastrous. I’m assuming it was because of the rain. I also tested out my new eyeliner and mascara I bought a couple days ago, and they worked out just fine.

Tomorrow, I don’t know what’s happening. I’ll let you know when it comes!

As soon as I was getting ready to head back to my house from Granny and Papa’s, the doorbell rang. I was thinking, “Who the hell is that?” I peeked out the window, thinking it would be my cousin, John Riley. It was Calvin, a guy I work with at Kroger. This was when I remembered our conversation last night on MySpace IM. It went somewhat like this:

Calvin: Yeah, I’m gonna stop by tomorrow!
Me: I’m sure you are Calvin…lol.
Calvin: You’ll see.

Obviously, I didn’t believe him. We stood out in the rain and talked for about thirty minutes. I told him next time to stop by earlier so we could go walking around town…anything but standing in the rain in the middle of the night!

As far as I know, I STILL don’t have computer programming class tomorrow, so I’m almost positive that Trevor is going to stop by and keep me company from 2:15-5:30. It’ll be nice!