Reunited and It Feels So Good.

Well hello again! After a long hiatus, I've decided to give this whole blogging thing another try. The blogging world-well, the four members of it that actually read this-could use a little bit more Brooke right? Well, maybe not, but I'm back to rant and rave and share my ridiculous opinions regardless.

A lot has happened in my world since my last post (a long and angry address towards the male sex and their selfish ways) and I think I'll take a few moments to share it all with you :)

After school got out in early May I jumped right in to my job as the Aquatics Manager for Arden Manor Recreation and Park District. For those of you who don't know where that is, well, it's in the ghetto. My mom tells me I should refer to the surrounding neighborhood as "lower income" or "a bit run down." That Tami Bond, always the optimist. I myself, see it like it is. It's in the ghetto. Every day while walking through the park to get to the pool I would hear "ohhh hey girlll, how you doin?" or "dammmmn girl, you lookin good in dat swimsuit" or "you wanna come save my life? I'm down with dat mouth to mouth." And then there's my all time favorite "AYYYYY MA! you come back to my house and be my personal lifeguard and I'll pay you double what you make a dat pool. You feelin' me?" Ayy ma? Really? What does that even mean? Needless to say, I got really good at ignoring large groups of rude and crude street vermin. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED my job and spent more hours than I care to admit at that pool where I was word-raped everyday. By August I had mastered the "stink eye" and could literally stop a kid from running on the pool deck with one look. My staff was fantastic and despite the fact that several of them admitted towards the end of the season that I scared them to death at the beginning, we all became extremely close by the end. The pool was only invaded by the "Brown Trout", otherwise known as poop, three times this summer. Considering the fact that last summer it happened at least eight times, we were incredibly happy with the improvement. Just in case you were wondering, getting poop out of a 10-foot deep pool is not an easy or enjoyable task. Not only does it involve having to handle someone else's fecal matter, but whoever is "lucky" enough to have to get it gets the nickname "Poo Diver" for at least 2 weeks after the ordeal. Poor soul.

On top of working at the pool 40+ hours a week I was lucky enough to watch my cousins Lilly and Quinn a few days a week while their mom was at work. Call me a loser, but spending time with them is probably one of my favorite things to do. The fact that I get paid to do it is the icing on the cake. I still can't believe how big they have gotten. I remember the day Lilly was born and now she's almost 10! I see so much of my self in little miss Lilly. She is a budding fashionista with an absolutely wicked sense of humor and a strong personality that is all her own, which could not make me any happier. Quinn is the nicest and most loving kid EVER and the fact that he still snuggles with me thrills me to death. He is hysterical and outgoing and wonderful. They are the loves of my life and my days with them are always fantastic.

My social life over the past few months has been nonexistent. I'm really not exaggerating. You know those girls that always say "Oh my gosh I am such a LOSER. I never go out, I never get asked on dates and I don't have any friends!" but who actually just want attention and actually do go out and be social? Well, I am not one of those girls. I literally spend my evenings at home, alone, in my room watching Nick at Night while eating ice cream out of the carton. My own mother asked me not too long ago if I have any friends. Yes, I do have friends. We all just happen to be ridiculously busy and when we're not we are all just too tired to do anything. I have learned to look at the situation as a chance to learn more about myself and reflect on who I am becoming as a person. In reality, I've just gained 5 pounds from eating ice cream and have seen every episode of Roseanne ever made.

I also turned 20 this summer. Madness. I'm still not sure how I feel about this transition out of the teens and into real adult life. Part of me loves the fact that I am getting to the point in my life where I will meet my future husband and start a career and actually do something with my life. But another part of me is absolutely terrified by the whole thing. I mean, there is a chance that I will never find someone to share the rest of my life with and that my life will not turn out exactly like it is written in my "life plan" (yes, I actually have one of those and yes, I realize that having a specific plan for my life written in extreme detail, including but not limited to: dates, places, the color of my bridesmaids dresses and my husbands salary down to the penny is extremely OCD and and a recipe for disappointment). I suppose all I can do is go about living my life as best as I know how and just hope for the best.

I started school at American River College again a few weeks ago and just when I though good ol' ARC couldn't get any better, it does. Not only could I not get all the classes I wanted due to the freaking budget cuts, there are at least 15 more students in every one of my classes than there were last semester. Great. I am now surrounded by even more people who don't even take the time to shower or change out of their pajamas before they come to class. I really don't understand how people can go out in public knowing full well that they look like crap. Yes, I realize how shallow and judgmental that sounds, but come on! Take 5 minutes to brush your hair and to find a shirt that actually matches your pants. It's not hard. Oh, and if one more person blows smoke in my face while I'm walking through campus I will lose it. GAHHH! On top of a campus full of students that closely resemble the creatures you would find at Wal Mart after 10 o'clock PM, one of my teachers speaks very broken English and another is 75 years old and in a wheel chair and talks about how much he hates Obama every. single. day. The cherry on the sundae is the conversation I heard while I was eavesdropping in the quad last wednesday. It went something like: "When I get stressed I do Meth. You should try it." "I don't know man, meth messes you up. Coke is way safer." Golly, it's a good thing I learned that!

And that my friends, brings us up to date. If you actually read all of that, I applaud you. Despite any pessimistic tones you may have picked up while reading The Biography of Brooke, I am actually very happy and content with how things are looking for me at this moment in time. Like I said earlier, I am just living my life as best as I know how and doing my best to stay positive no matter how big of a train wreck my life seems to be at times.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, I'm still a man hater, but am becoming less and less bitter everyday.

One last thing, if you are reading this and go to ARC, please don't be offended. Obviously not everyone who goes to school there looks like they live under a bridge and/or comes out of a swamp after the sun goes down. I just tend to take the negative extremes and run with them. It's just part of my sparkling personality that makes me such a hit with people :)