HI ANITRA, SORRY THAT YOU FEEL THAT WAY. I GUESS SOME PEOLE NEVER GET OVER HIGH SCHOOL. WE WERE KIDS, KIDS ARE STUPID, YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT. ANYWAY, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU.

Note the typo, ALL CAPS, and non-apology. I guess kids who were stupid become adults who are stupid that completely miss the boat. Now that jab is out of the way here’s how I honestly feel.

Of course I’m not “over” high school. That, in my mind, means choosing to forget or ignore the hurtful experiences from that time that shaped the person that I would eventually become. I’m proud of my honesty, compassion, loyalty, humor, intelligence and sense of self. I suppose I threw the compassion part out the window with this whole thing, but one thing my Kiwi taught me is how to stand my ground. All these characteristics in me blossomed during high school, and continue to evolve. Not always having the exterior beauty helped me pay a little more attention to the inside, which is so important to me.

The second thing that I must point out with her reply is that there’s a difference between kids who are stupid and kids who are cruel. If she knew the difference her tone would’ve been sincerely apologetic at the very least, and completely different.

I guess after venting here, I sorta feel like I won. ]]>http://www.iloveakiwi.com/journal/2008/8/10/tale-of-the-facebook-encounter.htmlAnitra2008-08-10T21:39:11Z2008-08-10T21:39:11ZLong, long ago in a land called Upstate New York there lived a shy girl who would enjoy Facebook. The shy girl was teased incessantly by big ugly girls, both inside and out during high school. They wore big 90's bangs using aqua net, and wore red, orange, yellow, green, blue or purple colored Cross Color jeans while listening to Salt 'n Peppa. Between the ages of 14-17 the shy girl would cry when the ugly girls called her hairy and awkward, made fun of her for never kissing a boy, and other matters pertaining to her woogie* stage. After many years the shy girl evolved into a brave no-nonsense woman. After marrying her prince charming she moved to the Kingdom of the Bluegrass and made a wonderful life for her family, but she missed her dear Upstate New York and all the people still living there. With that she decided to join Facebook. Facebook allowed her to send all her long-lost friends a Piece of Flare, or SuperPoke. One day while adding new photos of her boxer puppy she received a friend request. To her surprise the request was from one of the ugliest girls from her past!... The leader of the nasty pack who called the once shy girl, now a confident woman, awkward and hairy and other extremely hurtful things. When she explained this to her prince he said in so many words, "Tell her to take a long walk off a short bridge." Wow, she thought to herself. Could she be so brave? Rarely does one get the opportunity to be so brutally honest. After some deliberation with her pals back home she wrote the following to the crazy biatch:

Message: Really? You were NASTY to me in high school. Keeping in touch with you would just remind me of your bull shit.

With that the now confident woman felt such a sense of relief. Like all that pent up frustration from her past was released with one click on the "send" button. She didn't feel guilty, or one ounce of remorse.

The End.

Last week I had a routine visit to the doctor's. To make a long story longer, I have a scar smack dab in the middle of my chest (evidence at left). It developed after I had a mole removed 3 years ago and now I need steroid injections every two months to control it's nipple-like appearance. Needing to go to the doctor for this is already annoying, so any little thing could send me spinning into a fire-breating dragon. After dealing with the doctor's accounting procedures and the fact that these simple injections will cost me $65 a pop, settling myself into their waiting room far far away from old people was going to prove impossible. Within earshot of my corner was an old man that was coughing up a massive booger. Seconds away from telling the old man he was gross and should go to the bathroom, two old ladies decide to sit to my immediate right. Really, ladies? There is an ocean of chairs in this vast waiting area and you have to sit on my lap? "Who are you going to vote for?" They yelled to eachother while listening to a clip on CNN of McCain saying that he would rather win the war in Iraq than win an election. "Oh I'm voting for McCain, Ethel. That Obama, he has a lot to learn." REALLY? I was screaming inside. Is someone slowly running their fingernails on a chalkboard in my ear? Exactly what could these 80 year old women possibly know about running a country?! Then, a mother said to her son in another corner of the room, "Have you ever had sushi?" To which he quickly replied with, No. Isn't it a parent's responsibility to introduce their children to everything and anything that will make them a well rounded, cultured, human being?!!

GET ME OUT OF HERE! Don't take my temperature or blood pressure or weigh me for this stupid injection. For heaven's sake, 80 year old blue hairs think they know what sort of training courses a presidential candidate should take, and 19 year old people have never had sushi. Old men don't have enough manners to cough up cat-like hair balls in privacy, and doctor's appointments that should only take 20 minutes are 90 minutes in the south. Sure these examples could happen anywhere but in that moment I felt as though iPods with noise reducing earbuds is a New Yorkers resolution. I don't care if I live here for 30 years. I will never be a southerner.

Bottom photo says: The Carnegie Center is...Fun! For Reading and Math, For Teaching and Games