So, my 21st birthday was some weeks ago, and lots of great things have been happening because of it. Here's the run down of the shenanigans:
The day before my birthday was harsh as hell. Master was having me clean when all I wanted to do was take a nap; I was exhausted and frustrated. I was yelling at him constantly to cut me some slack, but he just kept saying I'd thank him later. I didn't quite understand why, but either way he was getting on my very last nerves. Night rolls around and I take a shower; one, because I needed to, and two because I just wanted some quiet time away from the constant barrage of chores I needed to do. I get out, and I barely get my PJs on before my mom calls me upstairs. Great, something else I have to do that I don't want to. She says my birthday presents had arrived early. Hurrah. /feign excitement. They're very large furniture boxes, and I move to open them. Next thing I know, they are being thrown off and I'm screaming for my life. Turns out? SHE FLEW DOWN MY FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE!!! HOLY FUCK BALLS, I hadn't seen them in months since I withdrew due to depression! I was on the verge of tears from seeing them; I was so fucking happy. It was quite a feat to bring them all the way down here because K is from Oregon, and N is from New Hampshire. So, here they are, in my house, all thanks to my fantastic woman of a mother! I later find out they will be staying with us for about a week. I had no idea and everyone was in on it: Alpha, my brother, my mom, and even my friends' parents. I don't think I could have thought of a better gift than that.
So, we make the plan to have the Atlanta tourist experience: the Aquarium, the Zoo, World of Coke, and the Fernbank Museum. First though was Ah Shavasana, a sort of sleeping yoga. It is meditation and breathing and relaxation. I'd done it once before and absolutely loved it, despite the fact that Master makes fun of me for not doing "real" yoga (IT TOTALLY IS REAL YOGA, BUT I'VE ALSO DONE THE HARD STRETCHY STUFF). But this was the first time for my friends and my mom, so we go. My friends kinda thought it was funny in the beginning, though they said they enjoyed it. My mom said she absolutely loved it. For me though, it was a little uncomfortable. It was different (and shorter) from the one I did before. Last time, it was chakras; this time, it was more energy and essence of the self. It was uncomfortable because I would lose my body. I enjoyed the energy acknowledgement part because I could feel myself get filled with this aura and spirit? Hard to find a word for it, but it was quite eye-opening. However, my body felt constricting at the same time. It got too heavy, too cumbersome, while I was just laying there. My hands no longer felt right, like they were facing a different way then they were and that they had switched sides - right on the left and left on the right. It was very disorienting and slightly anxiety-inducing. So, as per the instructions of the coach, I rolled onto my side for the fetal position until I came back. So, it was a so-so experience, with some ups and downs. But I'd still go to another class of it.
The first day was the Aquarium and World of Coke. I'd only been to each place once, and it was before the Dolphin show at the Aquarium and the renovations at WoC. They of course had never been to either. Master drove us, since I lack a license and they didn't have cars down here. Both K and N are studying the same major I had: Captive Wildlife Care & Education, so we were all very excited about seeing swimmy stuff. The dolphin was decent enough. But it was like this cheesy musical production as opposed to seeing dolphins do cool shit. There were dolphins, but it was all about story and singing. I was hoping for a similar dolphin show to the one that was in the National Aquarium. Or even some explanation of the dolphin behaviors and training that went behind it. I was hoping it was a show about dolphins, not a show with dolphins... But they had this big tank before you got to the seating area, and it was underwater so you got to see them swimmin' and being fun. That was cool. We each were looking forward to different things: N liked the touch pools and the beluga whales, I loved the otters and albino gators, and K liked the information for each of the animals. Master seemed bored? But even when I ask him now, he says he enjoyed himself, so who knows. But as far as I know, we all had tons of fun. Except for the 4-D movie... It was very much a children's thing, with music and silly little lessons. A bit of a waste of time for a group of 20+ year olds. Then it was snack time in the parking garage and onto World of Coke.
The World of Coca Cola is literally right across the "street" (more like grassy yard) from the Georgia Aquarium. So we just trot ourselves along to there, and get a little confused by the entrance. Once we're in, I'm already stunned by how different it is. I went a looooong time ago for a field trip, but even the little bit that I do remember was different from what's there now. There's a small guided tour in the beginning, but after the intro, Q&A, and self-promoting mini-movie, you're on your own. They have many different sections for each aspect: secret formula, manufacturing, history, influence on culture, even a 4-D movie. The 4-D movie was slightly better than the Aquarium one. Still childish, but relatively enjoyable with the rollercoaster seats. The water squirting made me squeal every time though.. There was a mascot who was a little clingy. It was funny at the time, but I would not suggest you do it if you have triggers: the bear hugs for too long, clings to your face, etc. Can be fun, but I can see it going wrong as well. Then there was the tasting place. Pretty awesome. They have over 60 flavors of different coke products from all over the world. Each little kiosk is separated by country. The favorite seemed to be Asia while Europe had the worst. NEVER DRINK BEVERLY FROM ITALY. It tastes like carbonated cough syrup, or an oral benzodiazepine called Versed. It literally made me gag. Asia had the overall best selection, but my favorite drink was Manzana from South America. Apple is yummy~ And then of course the complimentary coke in a glass bottle. I was getting heckled by my friends because I was taking too long to pick the right one. JOKES ON THEM BECAUSE I GOT THE BEST ONE, HA! Haha. Heh. The gift shop was nifty, but quite pricey. Still though, N got me a plush of those little kissy cottonball dog things. Master is creeped out by it, so I make it kiss his face on occasion. What? I have my sadistic side too~
Next day was Zoo day. My mom was coming back from a short business trip, so she joined us. However, it was bad timing because we went later in the day and most of the animals were either already put away or were pacing near the doors. But we still saw creatures and still caught the petting zoo before it closed. FUNNY STORY THERE! In the petting zoo there were only goats (sometimes they let out pigs, but not this time), so we're hanging out with them. One gets all cozy with N, which she loves because she has a pygmy goat at home - though these guys were bigger. It's obviously a male, and he starts peeing. While leaning on N, he turns his head and begins drinking his pee/fellating himself. N doesn't really care because she knows animals do gross things; however, after having fun with himself, the goat because to cough like an old woman RIGHT NEXT TO N'S FACE! There was phlegm and everything!!! It was so disgusting, but we're all cracking up. She moves on the the goat that K was getting acquainted with, but we're still laughing our asses OFF! We tell her she HAS to wash her face because ~shudder~ it was disgusting. We move on from there to the pandas. Now again, it was close to time for all the animals to go back inside because it was an hour from closing time. But the pandas were ready right then! There was a keeper in one of the enclosures, and the pandas kept looking at her from outside to in. One was even pawing at the window and the other was sitting next to and leaning ON the door. It was kinda cute. But mostly pathetic because they were SO ready to go back in. There were some animals who weren't available due to the colder season: tortoises. But there were also animals I hadn't seen before (last time Master and I went was two or three years ago): tanukis and bush dogs. I dunno what my favorite animal was from the visit. I really liked the komodo dragon, but the tanukis were pretty cute too. The big snakes were fucking awesome. I didn't see lions, even though I was looking forward to seeing them. The binturong was fucking nifty as hell; they are also called bearcats which makes sense. But they smell like popcorn!! I just think that is so cool; though I couldn't tell myself due to my anosmia, but everyone else confirmed for me. N was excited about seeing elephants, though there was only one out and he was eating. K likes rhinos, but they were already put away. My mom really loved the golden lion tamarins. Master seemed to enjoy the reptile house a lot, he took his sweet time in there. And of course, everyone thought the otters were adorable as hell~ So, other than the stereotypic behaviors that troubled us a bit, it was a nice visit. And in the gift shop, I did my first photo booth stuff with my friends. Pretty flippin' sweet! After the zoo, it was dindin time. We went to RuSan's (my favorite restaurant~), where everyone was surprised by my bottomless pit of a stomach when it came to sushi. But since it's RuSan's, 45 pieces of sushi only cost $15! Awesome, yeah? I could have had drinks, but I of course forgot my ID at home... Gotta get into the habit of taking it with me since now it actually serves a purpose!
Our final day of fun was at the Fernbank Museum. I thought it was gonna be like the Planetarium where I did this smart kid summer camp/school type thing, but it was a completely different location - a place where I had never been before. It was pretty cool there, though a little old and dusty. They had some temporary exhibits that were awfully cool: Genghis Khan and Cultures. The Genghis Khan exhibit was cool, but they had a mummified body on display and it was a little discomforting... Okay, a lot discomforting, but I'm tough! Grrrrrr! I liked the little house/hut thing. Looked warm and cozy~ The gift shop for that exhibit was awesome, so many peace flags and bells and little horse plushes and all sorts of cool things. There were also permanent displays, but they'd been around for so long they were a little abused and dusty. A little hard to breathe in the ones that had taxidermy in them because of the dust, not the deadness of the animals. The IMAX was pretty fuckin' sweet. Though, there were two different shows: Alaska and Butterflies. I - fearing butterflies - was vehemently against going into the Butterfly show, so we signed up for Alaska. However, we get into the show and the first thing on the screen is this swarm of winged horrors! I was almost out of my seat ten seconds in. Of course, my little group was giggling and watching for my reaction. Had I gotten the times wrong?? Were we sitting in the Butterfly show by accident or did they do this on purpose!? But no, it was a little preview for the other show. Probably the worst three minutes of my life. Master had to hold me by the arm to keep me from running out of there. It was a decent show, but I didn't learn anything new. It was very pretty to look at and very informative, but again nothing new for me. The gift shop there was awesome as balls. They have these little rubber animals figures for very cheap, and K got a handful of them for each of the three of us. A rhino for K, a hippo for me, and an elephant for N. We each got three of them to remind ourselves of the three of us. There were awesome plushes and cool jewelry things and just cool everything. They had a coin press there, again a first for me. And another photo booth that we took advantage of. Pretty sweet trip overall.
Later on that night, hours before the girls have to fly back home, we made K into a goth. Now, K is a super prep/athletic type. She's adorable and loves pink and purple and cowboy boots and guys in uniforms. Just the ultimate girly-girl. And I, of course, am the darker one of the group, so I've got the clothes for the transformation. It was some bet she had lost, or something. I don't know the specifics, but I was happy to do it all the same~ Lemme just say, K pulls off the gothic look better than most! She was super attractive and I was totally jelly. She Skyped her boyfriend to show him and he was gaga for her new (though temporary) look as well! Unfortunately, though, the fun had to end. The next morning, Master and I had to take them back to the airport. There would have been tears (and there may have been once they were on the planes), but they were so anxious about flying and getting to their planes because the airport here is so ginormous. But they confirmed that they enjoyed themselves and that they loved seeing me. And of course, I feel the same way. It was very good to see them, and I love the household for surprising me in such a way. And yeeeeees, I even thank Master for making me clean, even though I was a bitch the whole time.
For presents, K gave me a wolf plush with a cheetah keychain picture. And N's gifts came in the mail the day they left back for home. It had a calendar, chocolates, a very cool abracadabra triangle to help bad things go away, and a variety pack of hot sauces (because I looooove spicy things). For their Christmas presents, I got N a handmade unicorn plush (I did not make it), and K got handmade animal finger puppets (again, I did not make them). They seemed happy with the gifts, so I did well~ It was overall a very wonderful experience, and one of the best gifts I think I could have ever gotten.
The pictures from the adventures can be found here.
Videos: Whale Shark Feeding, Sea Otters, River Otters, Belugas, Dolphins, Fizzy Thing @ WoC.
This past weekend, I celebrated birthday things with other friends. The plan was to do it earlier, but things just didn't work out so it was postponed. They brought gifts and balloons and alcohol~ From T, I got a Wiccan rede candle, the Sextrology book, and a little wolf plush. From Ky, I got a beautiful watercolor painting of fish. And from Bunny and her Sir, I got two squishy light up animals (a canine and bunny personifying her and I) and glow in the dark stars! My old friend Kenji also came by, though her present was her presence; we haven't seen each other for a couple years, so it was just good to reconnect. And I liked her gift because I'd much rather have her than something shipped to me.
Ky brought board games at the suggestion from T, which was a good plan because I had nothing else for entertainment. We played a few games of comparison type things, which was hilarious. There was one question that came up with my Master as the subject. Something along the lines of, "if [insert subject] was a condiment, what would he be?" There were mundane answers like ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, etc. But the last option was an aphrodisiac made from rhinoceros horns! The people playing were Kenji, T, Bunny, Ky, and myself, and we ALL picked the aphrodisiac! It was quite hilarious. I did it because I know him, but I think everyone else did it for the lulz. Either way, he was surprised because he thought we'd pick Tabasco sauce. My brother and Bunny's Sir played pirate chess; I think her Sir won. And then my brother brought down the vidya gaemz.
While that commenced, a few of the group and I were worrying about the pizza because we'd ordered two hours earlier and it still hadn't gotten to us. So, we call and call and no answer. So, we decide to go out to the place (though it was near midnight) and find out what was going on. They were closed, but there were people still there. So, we knock and the guy has a total douchbag attitude about the whole thing. We just wanna know what happened. We weren't asking him to fuckin' make a pizza right there for us. But we had already paid and were just concerned. He yelled at us that they cancelled all the orders and were just closed. What!? We got no cancellation e-mail or call. No notice whatsoever. And then the jerk service just pissed us off more. Terrible customer service there. Again, I can understand, it was after hours and he might not have been able to do anything. But he could have handled it sooooo much better. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. You can come back tomorrow and try again, or we will refund your money immediately." As opposed to constantly yelling at us and throwing your arms up in the air and storming away in a huff. We weren't rude, so you shouldn't have been either. Fuckin' asshole. So, we tried Wendy's right next door. Posters on the windows clearly say they are open until 1 am, we are in the drive through at 12:20. But there is no answer!? No one at the window (though the lights are on and there is a purse on the counter inside), and no one answering the intercom. So, we drive to the next one. We get there at 12:30 and same fucking thing. What is wrong with fast food places here!? I just don't understand it... So, we settle for Walmart pizzas and go back home.
Everyone is grateful, but Kenji has a headache and has to go home. She lives in the next neighborhood over, so T and Ky walk with us back to her place. We drop her off, and come back to more vidya gaemz and still-hungry people. So, we make pasta and proceed to get drunk.
I'm a featherweight, so wine works for me. I have a light mix of vodka and apple soda, and finish off a bottle of chardonnay. I'm well and truly plastered an hour later. At that point, half of the group is in the living room watching Ky play L4D2, and the other half is in my bedroom (where Master's and my computers are) because my mother who lives upstairs yelled that we were too loud. On his computer, he's having people play scary games like Haunted and SCP: Containment Breach. I make myself another drink of very little whiskey and apple soda. It tastes fine, but that was just too much at that point. I find myself in the bathroom, blurry-visioned and stomach roiling. I call Alpha in with me because I don't want to be alone while feeling like utter shit. He's laughing at how ridiculous I am while shit-faced, but he's also putting cold water on my forehead and neck, getting me water to drink and crackers to eat, and holding me after my stomach has voided itself of all its contents. I'm still wobbly after I've vomited and cried and cleaned myself back up, but I'm feeling better. By the time I come back out, Bunny and her Sir are sleeping, Alpha is back on his computer playing Planetside 2, and Ky and T are talking about the paranormal. I join in the conversation, still quite tipsy but thinking clearly enough to make some sense. Hours later, it's bright outside and we're exhausted, so we go to bed. Friends are on a futon pallet I made in the livingroom, and I head to the bedroom.
I'm laying in bed, trying to read the second book of Game of Thrones, and Master is clearly horny. He does a little bit of body worship at first and then goes back to playing his vidya gaem, but that clearly wasn't enough. Ten minutes later, and we're drunk fucking. Gotta be quiet though because people are sleeping in the other room~ It was a nice quickie, though I couldn't tell if it was because he's a bit of an exhibitionist, or I was just super attractive (unlikely), but either way he didn't last long~ Which I am a fan of because it makes me feel good that I can make him feel so good. Either way, I'm a happy subbie going off into drunk dreamland~
Next evening (not morning because I woke up at 5pm), Alpha wakes me up because people are packing. Turns out, Ky's parents are going nutso because they don't trust us, and they want him home. So, T has to drive him back but will be returning just as soon as he's done. Bunny and her Sir stick around because they didn't have to go with, so Master has them play some gaemz. At first, he shows them Facade, but Bunny thinks it is a scary game and is hesitant to play. Once she figures out that she is supposed to coax a couple through their marriage issues, she is still hesitant because she doesn't know what to say. Bunny is a sweetheart to the point that she doesn't even wanna upset pre-programmed pixels. So, her Sir starts to mess around, being a massive butthole. It was funny to hear her grievances about it. Then, since her Sir is a major Magic fan, Master has him play the PC version. Bunny and I assign ourselves to our own laptops and proceed to send reddit links to each other.
Soon, food is brought up again, and we decide to get delivery from a DIFFERENT pizza place. T finally returns, and orders are made. While we wait, I give T the Sextrology book to read about himself. We did readings the night before, but eventually people got distracted so we never got to finish. T is an Aries but he says Aquarius suits him better. So he reads through and finds that with sex that is no longer true. So, he begins to flip through and find out which one suits him better. Turn outs, most of the Turn-Ons in the book are either too generic or too weirdly specific. Either way, not many fit him at all. He then reminds me that I didn't get to read all of mine, and then I remember that it is now MY book. So, I set to highlighting all of the things that resonate with me. I'm a Capricorn, but not all of the goatfish attributes fit me. So, I make little notes about things, with the intention of having T read them or I read them aloud. But it's getting late and Bunny's Sir has work in the morning. So, time rolls around that they have to leave, and I never got to finish my highlighting in time. But next time, I will be ready~ T seems to have this fascination with learning more about me; I swear I'm not that interesting, but I'll still oblige.
So, even though I threw up for the first time while intoxicated, and even the next day felt like utter shit for a good couple hours after waking up, I still had a fantastic time. I got to reconnect with a best friend I thought I'd lost to distance, and had a blast with other friends. Master is even excited about my legality because now he doesn't have to drink alone~
