my car and such

I have some deep thoughts that I'm mulling over, but I am still too scatterbrained to type them out clearly.

My allergies have been terrible the past few days. 

Therefore, I have been high on benadryl. 

On a 1/4 dose of benadryl, people. A 1/4 dose!

What can I say? 

So, tomorrow, I am venturing out on an interesting endeavor. 

I'm taking a road trip.

I feel like a road trip is a rite-of-passage. I feel like this will be fun. 

Me. 3 1/2 hours. A long highway. My car. My camera at pit stops. My tunes. 

Not a crazy long road trip, but it will still be the longest trip that I've taken in one stretch in my beautiful stick-shift car: 

It's not bad for a first car, not bad at all. 

I positively love driving it. I'm about to the point where it feels like an extension of me. I'm still a wee bit jerky when I start from a dead stop, but I'm working on it...

Today, I realized that the summer was slipping on by. 

I realized that I wanted to visit my Mimi. 

I realized that I didn't have any solid plans for this week.

I remembered that I had a car...

and the thoughts came together in an instant. Faster than it took you to read all of that. 

Like, boom, boom. Two seconds and it all came together. 

It was on impulse that I asked my parents what they thought of my proposition. 

Happily, they agreed that it was a good idea. (of course they've made sure to go over some safety issues/procedures, and all of those things that loving parents do to make sure I'm cared for. Their worry makes me feel loved.) 

So as the idea hit me that I should go for a road trip, Dad told me I should make sure all was right with the car. 

Meaning, I needed to check fluid levels, tires, and other things that fall under "tune-up" (I really like that word, it sounds like I actually did some sort of tweaking of the engine). 

That first part wasn't hard, though it was a bit dirty under the hood. 

The part that was hard was when I decided to wash my car (the isuzu needs a name. I'm working on it. Suggestions? I'm thinking something crazy like Vendela or Esmé or...I think it's the benadryl talking...)

 Not only that, I was going to wax my car, too. 

I had a mental image of my gleaming car, ready to roll down the road in the morning, thanks to my waxing compound and nice buffing job.

Oh the insanity. 

Let's just say...I'm not going to try to be an overachiever anymore. 

Washing the car was easy, but waxing that thing took ages. 

This car is about 15 years old, so the paint isn't exactly glossy. In fact, I might go so far as to say that the paint is on the porous side of things.

I think that the car actually looks worse after my attempt at waxing. The wax got stuck in every nick (and this baby has its share of nicks) I buffed and buffed. 

My arms felt like they were going to fall off, but the wax/compound remained. IT WOULD NOT GO AWAY! I spent about three hours in total washing and waxing and tuning-up. The waxing took 75% of that time. 

Finally, I got most of the compound off, but every scratch is now blaring.

I feel like I have accomplished nothing. All of that blood (figurative, pumping through my body of course), sweat (literally, literally, for rizzle), and tears (of frustration held back for dignity's sake) for naught. 

Ah, c'est la vie. 

Wish me luck! Or better yet, pray for me. Pray that I don't die or kill anyone. Wow, that sounds morbid. Moving along. 

Posting in this state of mind is going to be interesting to look back on... 

A worthwhile trip

I let myself be a bum this morning,
because I'm celebrating the fact that I AM DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL FOREVER!! 
I think that's good reason to be a sloth.

After sleeping in until the luxurious hour of 9:40,
I made coffee
(a relationship/addiction that I might just have to break again...See this post or this post or even this post to see what a struggle I've had with that magic bean) and I did other fun/chillaxing stuff.

Enough about that.
Back to what I promised in the past post about local commercials.

So, this weekend I went to a pickle festival, which doesn't sound very appealing, I know. To me, it sounded like it would be an entertaining event.
While I wouldn't normally make a long trip for something so trivial as pickles, my parents were riding in the 'Tour de Pickle', and I wanted to show some support.
Plus, I like road trips.

It was a fun and a unique experience.
If you know me, you might know that I love to observe other cultures. Eastern NC is no exception.

While my parents were riding their bikes, I, armed with my nikon, strolled the festival grounds.
My professional-looking nikon automatically made people assume that I was a serious photographer.
I got the question "Are you a photographer?" many times.
How does one properly answer a question like that?
On one hand, I have a camera and I'm taking pictures. What else would I be other than a photographer?

But, I knew what they meant. Basically, "Hey lady with the camera, am I gonna be on the front page of the paper?"
To me a photographer is someone who takes photographs. Therefore, I am a photographer. Just not the famous/paid kind.

After my parents had finished their bike ride, we swung by McDonald's to get our unsweet tea fix. [sweet tea is just gross syrup. Seriously, ew. ...I'm like an counter-southerner who so happens to be a fifth-generation (at least) southerner]
While we were at the Mcdonald's, I looked around the shopping center.

There was a Yummy Orient:

There was a Super Mercado:

There was a coin laundry and a chinese take-out.

Then, I saw it.

Bobby Denning's.

The one from this clip.




Being the nerd that I am, I HAD to go take a picture in front of the building.

Then we decided to go inside, and check it out. How could we resist? I mean, they had SCOOTERS.

So, we walked in, and perused the inventory.
There were some nice things, but in the bargain center, there were some very unique things.
(In a good way unique.)
Like a room divider with colonial people painted on it, a tv from the 70's, and...

these plates that I bought. They were so groovy, I couldn't resist. I mean, they're made out of glass and leather. ...I'll find a good use for them.

Okay, so when I went to purchase the plates, I told the nice lady at the register that I had seen their youtube video, and I was a fan.

She told me that I could meet the Bobby Denning and Mrs. Denning if I liked. Of course I said yes.

They were really nice people, and after talking for a bit, we took a picture together.

This is the amazing part: Mr. Denning has muscular dystrophy.
He's been in a wheelchair since he was 12, and yet he is running his multifarious business. He can't move his arms or legs, but he's still trucking along.
Talk about inspiring!!

His wife was terribly sweet, and as I was leaving, she said that my visit had made her day. That visit made my day, too.

Before I left, they gave me a ball cap and a yardstick advertising Bobby Denning's. I was a very happy camper.

So, if you need a scooter, or a couch, or pretty much anything, and you happen to be in Mt. Olive, do go to Bobby Denning's.

Also, I saw this in a field, and I'm considering calling them up. I've always wanted to be on the radio...hehe

"WJDS RADIO
1430 AM SINCE 1960
START YOUR PROGRAM
LOW TIME PRICES
CALL ..."