Come on, Irene too loo-rye-ay

At this moment, I'm in my bed waiting for the apocalypse. I mean Hurricane Irene. But all the news stations are making this look like the end of days.

Northern Westchester isn't in any of the evacuation zones, but we've filled the bathtub with water and stocked up on canned food anyway. I have so many books for when the power goes out. But it's hard to imagine anything now. It's eerily calm and quiet. Kind of like that scene in Carrie right before the hand shoots out of the grave. No one likes a tease, Irene. Give us some rain and gusts of wind so we can all stop waiting around.

All I want is for the storm to pass so I can get focusing on my next thing to wait for. I'm flying out to London on September 23rd. I'm a little nervous because I'm going on a red eye and I can't sleep on planes. Also because I'm worried I won't make any friends. I feel like a kid on her first day of middle school when I type that. At least I don't have a Trapper Keeper and haven't been to an orthodontist in years. But my hair still frizzes out a lot. Who am I kidding, I'll always be somewhat of an awkward middle schooler.

What I do know that is that I would be very unhappy and bored going back to Hampshire for this semester. It's time for a break. I'll miss all my friends dearly, as well as the cider donuts and packed mod dance parties and even the smell of cow farts wafting onto campus, but it's time for another adventure.

Bucket Lists

Before I came to New York for the summer, I made a bucket list of what I wanted to do here this summer. I have nine days left and I've only crossed off two of those things. Somehow, I'm okay with that.

Those two things, in case you were wondering, were seeing the McQueen exhibit at The Met (kind of like a rush hour subway but with couture and the Schindler's List theme playing on loop in one part) and doing karaoke. They were really great, but honestly not the highlights of my summer. I've realized that when you're so focused on crossing things off a list, you miss out on other things that are happening around you, like ordering pizza at 11:45 pm on a weeknight in the park with your friends, as surprise Bastille Day fireworks go off on the river. Or swing dancing in Lincoln Center. Or making friends on fire escapes.

I think I'm abandoning bucket lists forever, starting now. They're stressful and keep you on a straight path, when you could be looking around and taking detours. I would burn the one that I made, but I don't want to set off the smoke alarm and I'm not one for theatrics anyway. But I will rip it up and throw it away. Because while I only crossed two things off of it, it's still been a great summer.