Boyfriend Chronicles, Honorable Mentions

I sound like a terrible person right off the bat by prefacing my story with labeling it "honorable mentions." But that's what they were. There were two guys in high school that I didn't exactly date, but I learned something from the "relationship" all the same.

1. Honorable Mention #1 aka HM1

I met this guy in my C++ programming class. Yes, I am a geek to the core. The class was taught my the band director, so I knew it'd be informative as well as entertaining. Originally, some of my girl friends were in the class, but dropped out because they thought it was boring, or something. (Maybe I can get some clarification on this?) So that left me as the only girl in the class, which was fine by me. I ran with the boys anyway.

So there was this one guy who was in a grade older than me that I had noticed in class only because I didn't know him from band or was in my grade. I didn't think anything of him until he one day appeared at our lunch table. HM1 struck up a conversation with me, which was totally out of the ordinary since I was not the girl that got picked out of a crowd. Well, for anything positive. Maybe for noticing my singing/dancing in public or interesting fashion sense. (I wore a lot of pajama pants in public in high school.) Anyway, he continued to talk to me as the days went on and eventually, somehow, we became a pseudo "item." At least, that's what I thought we were. Things took a strange turn after he had spent all this time flirting with me, then asked advice on how to get one of his ex's back that he still cared for. Being the person that I am, I gave him sound advice which appalled him thoroughly. Especially considering the game he was playing with me that I had yet to figure out. He wasn't after that or anything. I think we only kissed once. Turns out, he was using me to get a better grade in C++. He knew I was in with the teacher and enjoyed programming so my grades were good. HM1 was a special kind of individual. I'll also point out that he had a bad habit of running his mouth and told some colorful stories about when he tried to "enjoy" a car's tailpipe. *ahem* And around the fire station (I used to hang out with he, B2, and HM2 at the station being a junior explorer firefighter. Random, yes.), his nickname was "Sweet Cheeks." I'll just let that one hang in the air.

2. Honorable Mention #2 aka HM2

I knew HM2 from band. He was in the same grade as HM1 and B2, a grade ahead. HM2 was in the drumline, like me, but only marched my freshman year. He played in the concert band afterwards, so we knew each other pretty well. Eventually, he and I ended up hanging out a few times and had begun to flirt innocently back and forth. One day in his truck, he had that look like he was going to kiss me, but chickened out. You'd think this would be a sign, right? I took it to be that. But after that, he just sorta disappeared. Since we were sorta friends first, I was curious and made sure things were alright, but he was evasive. Once I finally got ahold of him, he told me had cancer and was freaking out. I was completely shocked! I mean, we're only in high school! He said he was going to the doctor the next day and was pretty scared about it, so I said I'd come over afterwards to see how he was doing.

I was true to my word and showed up the next day at his house. He was very strange and didn't want to talk to me, so I thought things had gone pretty bad. I left and we didn't speak again. Then I get some more news about him later that was even more shocking that his potentially having cancer. He lied. He didn't have cancer. He only said he had cancer just to not have to go out with me. There are no words, to this day, that I can find to properly convey my feelings towards an act like that. You'd think I'd have a complex at this point.

Lessons learned: 1.) Guys can have extreme tunnel vision for what they want (i.e. good grade); 2.) People can totally lose their spine when confronted with an uncomfortable situation; and 3.) I can hold my own in a fight. See, after our "fling," HM1 made the mistake of saying I was a prissy girl and, to make it worse, in front of all the firemen at the station. So I laid him out flat on his back on the concrete behind the fire truck in front of all those guys. Guess I stayed in his mind after all this because just last week, I got a friend request from him on Facebook. Still not sure about that one.

Projects, Projects, Projects

As I mentioned earlier, I had started a few sewing projects last week, and I finally made some progress. My mom came in over the weekend and helped with Project #1: Curtains. She had made curtains a really easy way, so I had to rely on her to convey the pattern in her head. You can imagine there were times where I had a blank stare. Okay, that was most of the weekend. But, I did manage to get a panel mostly done. All it needs is the tabs. Now, only 5 more to go...


Project #2 was a hobo bag sew-along on Threadbanger that I wanted to participate in. I love that style of bag and wanted something else to take all my junk to work in rather than the blue Kroger bag I normally tote. And to make things even better, this bag is reversible depending on my mood. Do I feel black paisley swirlies or pink stripes? More than likely, it'll turn into a year-round bag with the black paisley for fall/winter, and the pink stripe for spring/summer.

Only problem with this project was the pocket. The directions said to sew interfacing to the pocket, turn right side out, and then sew it the already-sewn lining piece. In this case, it was the pink stripe. Next time I make one, I'll be sewing the pocket on before I sew the seams of the lining because trying to stuff an interfaced piece of fabric under the arm of your sewing machine is no fun. Oh yeah, and I'd trim the seams on the pocket to make it less bulky when sewing the corners. Gah that was a pain. Overall though, it turned out pretty nice. The paisley almost makes it look like there's no seam since the pattern is all swirly.


Project #3 (which was actually the first project I started): Mending Victoria's dresses. One of them I had to get done before she went to the beach (in a few weeks) and the other two I had more time. However, the straps were the only things that needed fixing, so I did all three in about 15 minutes. I had been hesitant to start with them because I was still learning the ins and outs of my new machine, so by the time I had an understanding of it, I already the right color thread loaded and ready to go for both the curtains and hobo bag.

For her dresses, I used transparent thread so I could use it on all three dresses without having to match all the colors. However, transparent thread turned out to be nylon thread, and I hope to never work with it again. Imagine very thin fishing line. It's all unruly, doesn't stay on the bobbin, and is so thin I had to hand-crank the machine because once you pushed the pedal to make it go fast, the bobbin thread broke. I sewed the straps 3+ times each to make sure they weren't going anywhere. So Victoria, you should be secure in your new dresses. A tropical storm at the beach will be no match for this stitchery.

Project: T-Shirt Recon 2

Over my birthday weekend, Mom gave me a sewing machine she had acquired that was different than the little Singer I normally use. This new one could zigzag! I have a lot of projects I need to finish, so I needed to test out the machine to make sure I didn't ruin the future projects.

I dug out my trash bag of clothes going to Goodwill and found 2 shirts. One was a Pirates of the Caribbean shirt Mom had saved cheese UPCs in order to score a free shirt. I love Pirates, but I already had an umpteen amount of T-shirts in my closet.


I also had a rugby shirt I got on sale at Goody's a few years ago. I like rugby shirts, but orange is not my best color and horizontal stripes are not my friend. The colors complement one another and stripes are very piratey.


I cut off the sleeves of the rugby shirt (thinking I might use the body of it for something else later on) and the Pirates shirt making the Pirate sleeves more like cap sleeves. I also cut off the neckline to make it scoopier and the bottom hem of the T-shirt. Next, I cut one sleeve into strips and sewed them together. Finally, I sewed the sleeve around the bottom of the Pirates shirt to tie in a knot on the side like a sash.


I'm really happy with how the shirt turned out. I think I need to add a dart to the underarms because since the T-shirt is big, the sleeve holes were big and is trying to look like a muscle tee. I think I may also alter the shoulders by cutting out the seam and using leftover rugby sleeve to make criss-crosses up the shoulder like a shoelace to eliminate that linebacker shoulder effect. I already have manish shoulders and don't need any more bulk. Thanks for the shoulders, Dad.

My 25th Birthday Party

Every year for my birthday, I spend it with my mom and dad at home. Mom asks what I'd like for my birthday meal, then all day at random times I ask what was happening X amount of years ago, and then I get the story of how I was brought into this world. It involves Dad going over 100 mph, Mom going down a drug-induced "rainbow-colored slide," and Dad being half-naked in the waiting room. The story never gets old because it's so funny.

Also, there's a theme every year that used to be left up to me. I've come up with Rescue Rangers, Snoopy, 1950s, Catwoman, etc. For the past few years, Mom has done all the planning and surprises me with a well-thought-out theme. Two years ago it was Pirates of the Caribbean complete with treasure chest cake. Last year it was the 24th Annual Bessie Awards that was basically Hollywood-esque with my name in lights and a cake that was like my star on Hollywood Boulevard, including me getting to put my handprints in the cake. This year, it was my favorite Disney movie, Robin Hood.

Wanted posters were all over the house.

On the morning of my party, Mom came into my room reading a proclamation on parchment announcing that the "fair maiden Bess" was to celebrate her 25th birthday. This proclamation was also featured on the front door attached to the wall with an arrow. Next to that was another "tree" with Prince John looking sneaky.

"Prince John" with his crown as well as money bag party favors.

Mom bought a little cat purse to go with the table centerpiece that could have gone for Prince John, but the real reason was because it looks like my cat, Butters, which happens to be her favorite. Can't wait to see if she shows favoritism to real children one day.

Robin Hood in the trees in Sherwood Forest and Sir Hiss in his balloon at the archery tournament.

Edited to add: It's been requested that I tell why my dad was half-naked in the waiting room. I was born several weeks premature so when my mom went into labor, she thought it was just false labor "because the book said so." So Mom and Dad weren't in go mode. Hence the 100+ mph car ride. Anyway, they rush into the hospital and whisk Mom away so she could go do her thing. Dad had to change and went behind a screen that was nearby. Well, in the middle of changing, his screen starts moving. As in being carried away by a couple of guys. Finally, he gets to Mom and gets to hear her scream away, which she doesn't remember. Only the rainbow slide. After I was born, I had to be transferred to another hospital because I was so frail. Dad was a trucker, so he had to make a run that evening right after I was born. He drove from Louisiana to Tennessee without stops and had guys basically throwing stuff to go quicker so he could get back to check on me. Turns out when a 6'7" guy tells you to hurry up so he can get back to his baby girl, you listen.