Mother's Day

Greetings.

I hope all you mamas out there had a wonderful day today.
Okay, I got my mom two presents: GORGEOUS earrings and a white vest in a style that Bev REALLY wanted. I thought I was going to win this year. See, Dad and I (Bentley never actually shops for Bev's present) always compete for who gets the best present(s). And this year I thought I had won. I mean, those are AWESOME gifts.
But then Dad comes in out of nowhere and swoops this awesome gift for her: one of those digital picture frames that can hold 6400 pics. I even fell for it. Nana, Aunt Gertie, Uncle Sam, Josie, Jeremy, Bentley, and I just sat there looking at the pictures for, like, twenty minutes. (Man, I was CUTE when I was younger!)
As I mentioned before, Aunt Gertie, Uncle Sam, Josie, and Jeremy came for Mother's Day. Josie, Jeremy, and I had a lot of fun. They always love playing my games on my Nintendo DS, especially my vintage GameBoy game with Risk, Battleship, and Clue on it. Jeremy, age 9, is probably one of my favorite distant relatives. (Well, not like DISTANT distant, he's my cousin on Bev's side. But he's not my IMMEDIATE family. Plus, he lives two hours from me.) He's a cute little boy with a bad case of ADD, but he's adorable. And he's more talkative than Josie, age 5, at least he is where I'm concerned. But Josie came around later during Brunch when she saw her brother beat Battleship on my GameBoy in, like, seven minutes. She then went on to beat his record by two minutes. (Of course she had a little help. But, since she didn't want the help, she and Jeremy had a tug-of-war over my DS which caused part of it to break.)
Then we went back to Gramps and Nana's and opened presents, yadda yadda yadda. Then Bev and Bentley dropped me off home so they could go see IRON MAN 2 (which I am going to see next Saturday as part of Joseph's birthday celebration because his birthday's on a Sunday this year) and Dad went to his school to work on a few things. I stayed home and... did nothing. Hm. Perhaps I should have gone to the gym.
Nah, I was TIRED. I mean, I was so tired yesterday that I fell asleep at Joseph's. Sheesh. THAT'S tired.

Hugz
HM

Nap Time

Greetings.

My most exciting instance today was a nap. Seriously.
Okay, I was sleeping this morning. As I have continuously lamented over the past week, I have not been getting a lot of sleep. Well, my dad called me from the other side of town, where he was organizing a barbecue for his seniors (he teaches Journalism), so that I could be errand girl and get him (I kid you not) cheese. (I swear, ever since I got my license and Kermit, I have been demoted to errand girl/slave/chauffeur.) I was ticked. I was in the middle of a REM cycle and he calls me to bring him cheese. It turns out I brought the wrong cheese so then I had to drive approximately five minutes from where the barbecue was to get him cheese. WHY HE DIDN'T GO OUT AND GET CHEESE HIMSELF IS BEYOND ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See? Slave girl.
So that meant I was late to my day with Joseph. I had bought Mrs. Morton a Mother's Day present 'cause she's like a second mom to me and I brought it over. (She loved it; it was a coconut and pineapple scented candle, because they just got back from Hawaii.) Anyways, so I am lying on Joseph's bed (get your mind out of the gutter) while he was leaning against it, playing ASSASSIN'S CREED 2. He was having fun, I was super tired, and I just... fell asleep on his bed. I was so exhausted. Joseph said his dad came in an chuckled when he saw me asleep on his bed. And he said he tried to wake me up, poking my head, shoulders, (knees and toes, ha ha not really) cheeks, and nose (hey that rhymes with the real ones!). But I woke up because I felt something on my foot. I have very sensitive feet. He thought it was kind of funny. I was supposed to go somewhere with them, but I just wanted to lie down so I went home.
So, yup. A nap. Whee...

Hugz
HM

Sigh...

Greetings.

Today was not good. The only thing that was good about it was cake. (Wheeee, cake!!! <3) But I'll get to cake later.
As I wrote yesterday, Joseph ditched me at his band concert. Today (I am so proud of Robo-Boy!) he actually confronted me and apologized. Then again, I did glare at him on my way out of the cafeteria, but it's progress nonetheless. I was very impressed.
Dad borrowed my Kermit today. Fine. I took Fozzie, our gold-colored Honda Odyssey, to school. Fine. The bad part? Dad came by later in the school day to drop off Kermit WITH ALMOST NO GAS IN IT. I drove to Costco to fill up, right? Except the machine wouldn't take my payment card. I waited half an hour in line to fill up my tank and IT WON'T ACCEPT MY FREAKING PAYMENT CARD! I was pissed. I seem to be pissed a lot lately... Hmmm...
The cake... Oh, my gosh, so amazing. There's this place in the city I live in, Jackson's Tex-Mex Café, that makes the. Best. Chocolate. Cake. The frosting, the texture, the taste... mmm, I get tingles just thinking about it. It's pure bliss. I had two pieces. (Don't tell Bev. I told her I'd only eat one.)
I'm just so tired... I haven't talked to Ally in days. Claire either. Bennie, Joss, and I have a choir concert on Monday with Mary June Laramie and Louisa Tyler singing my solos. I still feel sick-ish.
I need more sleep than I am going to get tonight.

Hugz
HM

Band Concert

Greetings.

You have absolutely NO idea how PISSED OFF I am right now.
I told you yesterday (and Monday too, I think) that I was going to Joseph's band concert, right? Well, I went. It started off fine. I ate with Joseph, Jasper, and their other relatives, we talked, we had fun. Fine. Then Joseph left to set up for his first performance. We soon followed so we could get good seats. As soon as Jasper sees Mickie Phineas (oh, the manslayer she is. Very nice girl though.) he ditches me and goes to ogle her. He knows I have xenophobia (fear of strangers) and there I was, in a sea of xenos with Joseph nowhere to be found. I finally found refuge near Joseph and Jasper's relatives. Jasper didn't come back until the performance started.
Then the performance moved outside. It was beautiful, out in the amphitheater. Horizon High has a spectacular amphitheater. And again, Joseph performed. Yay! He did well. He played his bass for the jazz band and he even got a highlighted solo. I was so proud of him! But, even though I had told him we would be waiting for him and that I would appreciate it if he and Jasper sat near me to prevent my xenophobia from setting in, he never showed. Jasper ditched me again to go socialize with Mickie again. And, even when I didn't see him over there, he never returned. I sat in the amphitheater, alone, in the cold (it gets really chilly at night here and I was wearing a thin T-shirt), and with people I didn't know everywhere. I almost had a panic attack. I was hurt. They left me all alone. Even when Joseph knew that he was the only reason I came to the concert. I sat like that for two sets, one set of three normal length medleys and the other with two LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG medleys, until I just got so mad and hurt and upset that I picked up my stuff, gave my leftover raffle tickets to Mrs. Morton, and headed for the bathrooms. On my way there, I found Joseph and Jasper goofing off. Jasper, I kind of understand, he doesn't see these people because he's homeschooled. But Joseph sees them every day for several hours at a time when I only get 40 minutes with him. He didn't say hi, didn't tell me where he was, didn't even acknowledge that I came to see him after he was done performing. He said hi on my way to the bathroom. Then when I came out of the bathroom I went up to him and said, "Tell Emma, Lucky, and Pete they did a good job. And tell Pete I loved his solo." Then out of nowhere as I was walking away, he grabbed my sleeve (which made my collar dig into my throat), and slammed me and Joseph together! For no reason! AND NOW I HAVE A FREAKING BRUISE ON MY LEFT SHOULDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joseph asked, "Why'd you do that?"
"So that you'd be mad at me and not at each other," Jasper said. I frowned harder than I had been.
"Why was Joseph mad at me?" I snarled. I was PISSED. I hate being ditched at a place where I don't know anyone and then sit like that for an hour in the cold with no one to talk to.
"I wasn't mad at her," Joseph told Jasper. He didn't tell me, he told JASPER. I had had enough. I stalked off and when I rounded the corner of the building, I burst into tears.
I know I'm probably being irrational, but they hurt my feelings, they left me alone in the cold and among strangers, and didn't even bother to tell me where they were or acknowledge that I paid $10 to sit in the cold all alone. I know Joseph has other friends. I do too. I have four sisters, hello! But I'd NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER ditch them someplace full of strangers, ESPECIALLY if they have xenophobia. I expect the same of my friends. But no. Robo-Boy never considers my feelings or my welfare, especially when he's involved with video games or his band buddies. And, I know he's not my property, ACKNOWLEDGMENT is not too much to ask.

Hugz
HM

Cinco de Mayo

Greetings.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, peoplez! I learned today why Cinco de Mayo is such a big deal to Mexicans. Apparently, they won an impossible battle against the best army in the world at that point, the French, in only a few hours. Seriously, the battle started at, like, seven in the morning and ended around four. Amazing! Suck it, France.
Today is also Bennie's anniversary. But not with Stan. No, she was fake married by the Spanish teacher for Cinco de Mayo, a popular booth at our food sale day. And guess who stopped by today? Her "husband", Roland Glibb. Roland used to go to our school, Horizon High School, home of the Argonauts, until he transferred. He considers me his little sister and, despite his little sisters wishes, he's going into the armed forces as a Marine. (Semper Fi. Candidly, I don't really support the war, mainly because I have never been sure what it is about, but I support the men fighting in it. They are just doing their duty.) He now works for a carpet cleaning company and I hardly ever get to see him. So when he stopped by, we sat out on my front lawn (because no one else was home) and talked for about half an hour. It was nice to talk to him.
I also talked to my cousin today. Ginger Overstreet is my dad's sister's son's daughter. The irony: she's a year and six days older than I am. Yet I'm like her second aunt twice removed or something. We just say cousin because that is SOOO much easier. Anyways, she comes to visit us almost every summer and ever since last summer, when she met Roland at my birthday party, we haven't spoken much. She talks to him more than she does to me. She doesn't text, email, Facebook, MySpace... nothing. It's not easy, and she's my cousin, and I love her very dearly, but she taught me a lot. I was always the more sheltered of the two of us; private school, strict self-discipline, very rigid morals. She's not loose like, I don't know, a stirpper or anything, but she had a lot more worldly experience than I did. (But, then again, so did Mother Teresa.) I miss talking to her...
Okay, I'm done moaning about my familial problems with Ginger. (Love you, cousin!) Now I shall moan about choir. We're performing "Don't Stop Believing" from GLEE. Fine. Kudos to Mr. Privett. But he gave the solo to a girl, Louisa Tyler, who, although she is a very nice girl and a good singer, can't sing this particular song. She puts the sound "ee" on the end of each word and she doesn't open her mouth enough to enunciate properly for this song. I am still pissed about Mary June getting the TWO solos and with Louisa getting a solo that I performed better than she, I am just not happy. I am seriously considering not doing choir next year. I am tired of being second best, tired of NEVER getting the parts in plays or solos that I want/deserve. There has only been ONE time that I received the part that I wanted and that was after working eight years with the same theater company. I am SICK of not getting what I deserve fairly. It's always the director's favorites who get the good parts (don't you even TRY to contradict me, Claire) and I get the supporting roles. I SAVE everyone else in the show and it always, except once, has gone unnoticed. I don't get leads. If it's because of my weight, then they are basing their decisions on appearances and not by the quality of the work I produce. And, though everyone does it, it doesn't make it any less wrong.
Ugh, I am just so frustrated, I want to punch something!

Punchez,
HM

Really Old Yeller

Greetings.

Why is it that whenever Ally's email is over quota, I have a crisis that I need to talk to her about? (Neither of us are phone people.) Dad yelled at me again about me getting a job. Now, I had had a TERRIBLE, AWFUL, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY. And him yelling at me just sent me over the edge. I almost, ALMOST, hit him or threw what I was holding (my heavy history and Spanish books, keys, sunglasses, Joseph's gift card to Game Stop) at him, but I didn't. I threw them into the dining room; I knocked over two chairs, 'cause I threw my backpack too. Then I shouted, "I'm going to my room!" and stalked there. I'm proud of myself. I didn't slam the door. Immediately I called Bev and asked if I could stay with Nana and Gramps.
So that's where I am now.
Nana, Gramps, and I went to dinner and they told me all sorts of stories about Bev and Uncle Sam. Bev was married to this guy before she met dad; his name was Raphael. Let's just say they didn't part on amicable terms. Anyways, she went to live in Uncle Sam's apartment building, which was, like, 100 years old and had three million cockroaches in it. Nana said that when you opened the cupboard, they fell onto your head. Bev confirmed it. I thought that Nana was exaggerating... Anyways, Nana was dying laughing when she remembered that, when that big earthquake hit Chico, where Bev and Uncle Sam had lived for a while, all the new buildings fell down around that old one. Gramps said (this was what made Nana laugh) that all the cockroaches had linked their arms together and made the building stand. He reasoned that there were enough of them to do it. Nana just laughed.
I like staying at Gramps and Nana's house. I'm really tired of Dad yelling. Bev yells too, but not as often. This is the third month in a row that I have sought shelter at Nana and Gramps's house. Maybe I should just stay here. Bev and Dad have Bentley.
I called Joseph on the way to their house. I cried most of the time. He was really quiet. When I told him that I wanted to move to Gramps and Nana's house, he said, "HM, please don't move." I think that's the closest he's ever come to saying that he really cares about me a whole lot. The second place one was during freshman year. Bev got offered this big promotion in another city and we almost had to move. When I told my friends we might be moving (this was before Joss, mind you), Bennie almost started to cry and Freddy and Joseph got really quiet. Freddy said, "Please, HM, don't go."
Joseph said, "Yeah, HM. We'd miss you."
I feel better. I still haven't talked to my dad. Nor do I care to right now. He doesn't seem to be able to get this through his head: THERE. ARE. NO. JOBS. But leave it to Dad to be ignorant of this one key point.
I'm tired of being second best. I can't get anything I'm qualified for. I never get the leads in my plays (except one, but after eight years, pfft, might as well be forever), I can't get a solo while the choir's rich snobby president, Mary June Laramie, (I know it doesn't sound snobby, but she is) gets two that I wanted and probably more since our choir teacher, Mr. Privett, hasn't announced all of the solos yet, and I get straight A's yet I still get yelled at. Bentley messes up more than I do; he doesn't do his homework, he slacks off, and he's rude to me. Yet he has not been yelled at in weeks and he has NEVER been yelled at bad enough to call Nana and Gramps. I'm seriously sick and tired of coming in second, of not being good enough. And you know what the cruel part is?
I can't do a thing to change it. Mr. Privett chooses the solos, there's always someone less talented yet yet prettier than me for the leads, and Dad will always yell at me because Bentley has taken over my role as "the good one". I can't find a job. I'm only sixteen! I get straight A's, I care for my friends, I do my homework, I cook, I take care of Bentley, I drive him EVERYWHERE, and what do I get? A FREAKING "YOU NEED A JOB, HARMONY MARGARET WALKER!"
Here's a thought, Dad: If I'm working my butt off at a job, who's going to do the driving, cooking, and slaving that I so conveniently do?
Eat that, Dad.

Hugz (and a chokehold for Dad)
HM

My... Freaking... Busy... Week...!!!!!!!!!!

Greetings.

I. Hate. Being. Sick. I cannot stand it. I mean, making up homework, missing school, not seeing my friends (and those miscellaneous three that hang at our lunch table), none of it is really all that fun. This is how I went to school today:
1) Three (THREE) hours of sleep
2) embarrassingly drippy runny nose and scratchy sore throat
3) couldn't keep my head up from lunch on
And the worst part is that I have a math test tomorrow and my teacher, Mrs. Benz, doesn't let you make up tests you miss. Plus, I have to clear an absence with my physics teacher, Mr. Reuben, because I wasn't there for the elections (I lost, btw, to Joaquin Valdez) and there was a sub and I thought I had checked in with him... aaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuggggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!! Anyways, I have a lot of crap to do tomorrow.
To top it all off, I promised Bennie's boyfriend, Stanley, that I'd tutor him Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday right before Joseph asked me specifically to come to his band performance. He asked me out (kinda-sorta. Help me, Ally and Claire!) and now I have to drive Bentley to rehearsal on Thursday too. SO, here's the rest of my week:
Tomorrow: Math test, clear absence with Mr. Reuben, fight off sickness, homework, clear Thursday with Stan, talk to Dad about tutoring Stan in the first place...
Wednesday: Tutor Stan (if Dad will let me...), fight off sickness, maybe drive Bentley to rehearsal, DO MOUNTAIN OF HOMEWORK THAT I PUT OFF TODAY.
Thursday: drive Bentley to rehearsal, go to Joseph's band concert, homework, fight off sickness
Friday: possible Gamer's Club meeting, tutor Stan (we'll have to coordinate...), DO MORE HOMEWORK, disconnect my brain for the weekend.
I can't wait for Saturday. And even then I may have to go shopping for Joseph's second birthday gift (his first is the complete series of "Invader Zim") and then go over to his house to watch IRON MAN. But that's not even confirmed...
(á la Chipmunks) Please, Saturday, don't be late!!!!!!!

Hugz
HM

My Love Life Part Six: Joseph Morton

Greetings.

Here we are at the final installation of the "My Love Life" series of posts. (Well, at least SO far...)
I met Joseph Morton when I was about eleven. He played Schroeder in A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS at our local community theater for kids. I laughed until I cried when he and the girl who was playing Lucy did the "Jingle Bells" bit. I met him once or twice and I was intrigued by him, especially this scarf he wore. It had the piano keys on it and I loved it. We talked, but I had no clue how big a part of my life he would become.
A year later, we met again doing PETER PAN. He played John and I played two minor roles. But he had my one weakness: a hat. And not just any hat. He had the epitome of hats: the top hat. I had to have it. So every chance I got I would sneak up behind him and grab his hat and run away. Sometimes he didn't notice until the end of rehearsal (one time I managed to take it home because he didn't notice I had it) but most often he chased me around and tried to make me give his hat back. I was twelve, in seventh grade (shudder), but I didn't really consider him my good friend. We were friends. And I liked him as a friend.
Eighth grade, we were in another show together, but I don't remember what it was... or maybe that was the year we were in all the plays that the other was not in. YEAH, that was SECRET GARDEN. (Which is where I met his cousin, Jasper.) Anyways, we entered high school. He didn't have anywhere else to go so Bennie and I kind of adopted him. Then we included Freddy and the Fantastic Four was born. We've had some staffing changes (Joss replaced Freddy and now we have added, hopefully temporarily in some cases, Emma Weiss, Lucky Stevenson, and Pete Sanders) but the three of us, Bennie, Joseph, and I have always been together.
Last summer, something went off in my head: Joseph is perfect. I was kind of in a bad place because of Nate and I turned to Joseph. And I figured out that I had feelings for him of the non-platonic variety. It was ground-breaking. Joseph is one of those guys that stays inside all day, collects Batman comics, and quotes STAR WARS. In fact, he does all that stuff AND he can speak Mandelorian. (By the way, that's a totally made up language from STAR WARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) But it didn't matter. I liked him. And, given his robotic status, he had a) no clue, b) no intent to return those feelings, and c) absolutely no idea that there was anything different about me.
When I went out with Wayne, I realized it. Joseph was the only one for me. So I stopped seeing Wayne. And... it's been unrequited and unspoken love ever since. I have hinted, but there's a reason his parents sometimes refer to him as "Mr. Oblivious". And those are his PARENTS, whom, by the way, I adore with all of my heart. Joseph Nathaniel Morton and Taylor Morton are two of the sweetest and most wonderful people in the world. And somehow, by some stroke of God-given fortune, they have a son who is the most socially awkward person I have ever met. But whom I am unrequitedly in love with. (Sigh...)
I hate my love life.

Hugz
HM

My Love Life Part Five: Wayne Harvey

Greetings.

There are people who are crazy in a good way, crazy in a bad way, insane in a good way, insane in a bad way, and sane people. My favorite people are the good crazies and the good insanies. But Wayne Harvey was one of those bad crazies.
I met him in December through my gay guy friend Cody Holden. Wayne and Cody are like brothers and Wayne messed with Cody's phone while I was texting Cody. (Hmmm... sounds familiar...) Anyways, he called himself "Sexy Wayne" and I always laughed at that. He said that he wanted to go on a date with me. I said yes. A week after we started talking, we went to see that new CHRISTMAS CAROL movie starring Jim Carrey (omg I love him!) and we had fun. But already I had lost most of my feelings for him. He just... wasn't right for me. The thing that turned me off most was the fact that he wasn't a virgin. Yeah, big no-no.
So a few days after our date, I told him I didn't want to see him anymore because of that. And he flipped out. Called me every foul name in the book, cursed me out via text (cause that's how we talked) and got really mad. But, see, the virgin thing was a cover up for my real reason. I told him the real reason a day or two later: I was in love with my best friend Joseph. Yes, the same Joseph who went to Hawaii earlier on in these blog posts.
Surprisingly, Wayne took that better than the other excuse/lie. He said he could accept that.
Two weeks later he had a new girlfriend. Two weeks after that, they were "engaged". A week after that, he confessed that he physically cheated on his girlfriend (who lived in Maine) with the girl he had lost his virginity to, a girl I shall henceforth refer to as "Slutbag Hoe". I chewed him out for his stupid choices and he got all mad at me (ME) for dumping him for a guy who had no feelings for me whatsoever. He even insulted Joseph. That I couldn't take. I cut him down to size and then told him I was done with him.
Three days later his "brother" texted me and said that Wayne had committed suicide. At first I didn't believe him. I checked the death announcements on the newspaper, nothing. I told him he was lying. But he told me that what I said had hit him really hard and that he had jumped off a cliff. I questioned his story, like why would he, both Wayne and his "brother", be near a cliff when they both lived in the city. But the guy gave me a valid explanation. So then I felt bad. I mean, I didn't like the guy, but I didn't want him DEAD.
And what do you know. My gut had been right. Three days after this, Wayne confessed that he had been his "brother" and did that to get back at me for chewing him out (for something that he DID do, for never listening to the advice that he asks for) and being right. What's his deal? I didn't do anything wrong to him and he just made me freak out! I would kill him if I could remember his address.
Anyways, he apologized. And I don't give a flying piece of crap what he does anymore.
(Part six in a second post.)

Hugz
HM

My Love Life Part Four: Nate Peck

Greetings.

Part Four begins:
It was about three months after I broke up with Victor. I was doing okay. Claire, however, wasn't doing as well as I was concerning her break up with Kenny. She was coping, which is pretty much all you can do. We coped together. Anyways, around the middle of April, Claire went to a wedding and I was texting her. She said she was with her friend Nathan "Nate" Peck. I texted, "Ooh, who's he? If you're trying to fix me up, I accept!" And then we started talking about him. Turns out, Claire had been out on the dance floor while Nate had been texting me since the "I accept" text. He had picked up her phone, even though she had told him not to.
Eventually, they came back from the wedding to go to a dance at her church. They invited me. We went to get pizza beforehand and Nate and I hung out. Then the three of us went to the dance. He danced all the slow dances with me. He was very charming. At the end of the dance, he asked me to be his girlfriend. I said. And he kissed me.
For the next month, it went well. He IM'd me on Facebook when he could, called, and texted given that he lived almost forty-five minutes away by car. We only saw each other a handful of times. During the second month, though, he started telling me things that were too outrageous to be true. Like "My dad's the kind of this country and I'm next in line. I can't remember the name of the country though." And "I can get your books published. I know a publisher. I saved her daughter from drowning a few years ago." I mean, at first I believed them. But then they got like that; way too extreme. And then he kept calling and calling and calling and driving me crazy! He didn't even call me by my name. It was always "Harmony". I only accept two versions of my name: HM and Harmony Margaret. He called me "Harmzie" and "Harmies" which, since he knew I loved Greek mythology he thought I would think it was cute, but it sounded like "herpes" and that's SO not cute. He just was clingy, annoying, he walked to my house when neither Bev nor Dad was home so he got me in trouble, he called non-stop, he just all out bugged me. So exactly three days before my birthday, I dumped him.
I prefer to say that I dumped him because I did it less tactfully than I did when I broke up with Victor. Truthfully, Victor was MUCH more desirable. I missed Victor after I dumped Nate. In fact, I told Victor that I was dumping Nate even before I told Claire. I even asked him for help. Victor was more than happy to help. It was comforting to know he didn't hate me. He was always kind and considerate and it felt good to know that he didn't despise me. =)
"Part Five and Six-ish: Wayne Harvey and Joseph Michael Morton" tomorrow.

Hugz
HM (NOT "Harmzie", "Harmies", or "Harmony". Got it?)