No need to cry over Wilco; Schroon Lake!

It was funny that Laura posted about being crazy emotional last week. Because yesterday I did that too. And although the level of crying was pretty exceptional, now that I think about it, I have been prone to crying spells, even after I thought I had adjusted to the bc pills. They all feel pretty justified, though, so I'm not sure if it's me or the hormones, or just specific situations I've been in lately. I tend to cry not when something sad happens or if I get hurt, but when I am frustrated or feel helpless or in sympathy to some injustice.

Anyway, one of my pet peeves is lateness. I have gotten in fights with people over being late, because I think it's rude and disrespectful and I also really worry about missing things if I am not somewhere on time, and I hate waiting awkwardly alone by myself. Waiting sucks. So I don't even feel like re-hashing the whole situation, but it involved me waiting for someone, her being significantly late, which made us in turn miss the three other people we were supposed to meet underground in the subway where there was no cell phone access. When we finally got in cell phone touch, my boyfriend started yelling at me (before I handed it off to my friend) and made me think they had in fact waited for us, and we had left without them.

And then, I was sobbing on the subway. I couldn't stop, and then I felt so embarrassed I was crying more. I had actually been trying to be more patient for people lately, and cutting them some slack before I started to get angry, and this had utterly backfired. And I had waited pointlessly, since she was in the bleacher section and I was on the floor, so it didn't even matter if we met up. I think part of the reason I cried so much was because I really needed some kind of expulsion of emotion, and the only other alternative was to yell at my friend, and I just couldn't do that.

So the actual concert (yes, that's where I was going) was fun. Eric & I ended up being by ourselves for the opening set of Yo Lo Tengo, and he really cheered me up, and then two other people showed up and my other friend and all was well. Wilco put on a good show. I like their more lyrical songs, of which they only played a few (maybe there only are a few). Feist and Grizzly Bear showed up towards the end to sing and do maracas, etc. (more indie bands that I actually like a bit more...). The show was at Coney Island, where I'd never been, so we went down to the water after the concert which was fun, and went for a second round of Nathan's, getting a fish platter and a softshell crab sandwich. When I arrived before the show I had part of a cold chili dog (the casing is very firm and you have to punch your teeth through it) and this huge super-size beer that Eric bought. I was surprised that I wasn't hungry after the show (though of course I nibbled on our food), until I saw the posted calorie counts for the beer. The one I had before the show was over 600 calories!! Most chain New York City restaurants are required to do that now, but since I don't frequently eat in chains I haven't seen the damage. Lordy. I can't believe beer is so caloric.

I had a big breakfast today but no lunch...still recovering from a long weekend of overeating.

But, before it becomes too late: Fourth of July at Schroon Lake!!
Eric and I made some last-minute plans for the Fourth last weekend, and came up with an amazing rate for a one-bedroom cottage ($240 for three nights, when normally it goes for at least double). His family friend let us borrow their car, so we took the NJ Transit out to pick it up and made the four-ish hour drive up. We got there at 1am, and almost went into the wrong cabin.

The cottage was decorated the way all cottages should: lots of wildlife references, hand-me-down style furniture and glasses, and wood paneling. It was awesome. We went to some random diner (Black Bear) in the morning, and picked up groceries and alcohol for the trip.

Friday and Saturday (the 4th) were both iffy, weather-wise. The skies would be blue, but every time a huge cumulus cloud would come over, the temperature would drop noticeably. It also rained on and off. Friday night Eric made ribs on the grill, we had some drinks, and went out in a rowboat. There was some kind of Christian Rodeo going on that we could hear from the lake, and we got quite a giggle out of that. And did a little making out, etc., on the lake, in the rowboat, which was wonderful and romantic.

Saturday and Sunday morning we ate breakfast on the deck by the water (bagels one day, eggs the other). On the Fourth of July, Eric made burgers that were the BEST EVER. They were soooo good. We had to use our neighbor's grill because ours wasn't getting hot enough, but in the process they complimented our idea to grill the onions (so necessary) and invited us out on their boat the next day. Fabulous. The night of the fourth it was FREEZING outside. No longer raining so much, but so incredibly cold. I bundled up in front of the fire Eric made for awhile as it got dark, and then he was all childlike and anxious over the fireworks so we went to this park area where we had seen some fireworks the night before. Unfortunately, we couldn't see the town's fireworks from that vantage point, but luckily some pyro teenagers and perhaps their parents had their own fireworks show. I love fireworks shows done homestyle, because people are generally more appreciative, you're RIGHT THERE, and there's always pyro people laughing and saying "dude, that was awesome."

When we got back we made s'mores. Yum. And no mommy telling me how many s'mores to have.

Sunday the weather was fabulous. Eric had been wanting me to play hooky from work on Monday, but I am against using sick days unless you are actually sick (guilt/superstition), and we were closing a big issue and I had stories due. I am actually happy we ended there on such a fabulous, sunny (and for me, sunburned note).

The man next door and his family had been coming to the lake their whole lives, so they took us on a tour and explained all about the area, pointed out places they had stayed, and all the awesome lake houses. One had a water trampoline and one of those air-filled pillow launchers, multiple jet-skis and other boat toys, and a fleet of white SUVs in their driveway. There was something about the white SUVs that really pushed everything over-the-top. Did their family coordinate or something?

I took off my cast and swam that afternoon, which was great, until we asked our neighbors if we could use the water trampoline and I accidentally did a butt jump and supported weight with my hand. It HURT so badly, and I was so upset with injuring myself more. I had to get out of the water a bit after that.

I had such an amazing time with Eric. We got along well the whole time (I think we might have had like a thirty-minute period of disagreement--oh, and did I mention we handled a flat tire (our second) successfully?). The lake was so quiet and romantic and it got me excited for my upcoming trip to Chicago and Michigan, where my grandparents have a cottage on a lake. I didn't think I really needed to get away, but I am so glad that we went. It was just so much fun!

Sad face :(

I've been kind of depressed the past couple of days. Normally I relish solitude and alone time, but if I suddenly have a lot of free time after being crazy busy, I just feel lost and depressed.

Added to that: I have been in physical pain all week after a rollerblading accident, unable to do things that would have distracted me, and Eric is gone at Bonaroo for a week, making me even more lonely.

The accident: I adore Hudson River Park, and was rollerblading on my new, fast rollerblades. It was extremely crowded. There are all these sewer grates you need to swerve around, and at every pedestrian crossing there are bricks, some of which you can glide right over, and others that are basically 19th century cobblestones due to wear. I approached a crosswalk (at 34th st) going too fast, which I knew, because I saw a rollerblader on my right who had totally stopped and was going around it. In retrospect, I would have tried to do a U-ie stop even if I had to cut off bikers, etc., going in the other direction. But I didn't. I decided to brace myself and plow right through. But the next thing I knew I flew forward, banana-peel style, landing on my butt and tailbone, and had broken my fall with my right (a bit) and my left (a lot) wrist. I lay there in shock for a minute or so, dumbly nodding when people asked if I was okay, then went over to a park bench for another few minutes before the pain and a vague stress/shock related queasiness passed.

I iced and was super careful (though I forgot about my tailbone, and thus had a hard time walking the next few days--I have huge bruises on my ass, including a big purple one that's half-hidden and my boyfriend at first thought was poo (haha)). I was going to just deal, based on what my Dad told me, however, on the advice of my co-workers and gchatters, who regaled me with horror stories about permanent loss of function, I went in. I actually had an incredible health care experience (all the doctors I see make me wait forever, and my GP just gives me referrals, and I am still mad at my gyno for totally ignoring my requests for generic b.c., so now I am on a pill that costs me three times as much but works so now I don't want to switch).

I found the Beth Israel orthopedists, called the hand/wrist line, they said they could squeeze me in THAT MORNING, I waited less than fifteen minutes, had a really professional doctor. The walls were like The Palm, covered with autographs of famous hockey players, actors, and politicians. Crazy. I found out I broke a small bone in my left hand, my palm really, and I needed to wear an immobilizer for 5-6 weeks. Yesterday I went in for a CT scan (again, very professional and quick) which confirmed. In a way, my Dad was right, because if I had done nothing and used the immobilizer I also would have gotten better, but I might have ended up going in anyway when it didn't get better right away. I have trouble pressing the shift and control button with my pinky and then hitting another button to capitalize or whatever, but I've been adapting. Already the pain has gone down a lot, and I'm hoping next week I can run without killing my tailbone area. I tried to put my gym membership on hold but that has been so much phone tag, etc., so I'm frustrated about that.

And I miss Eric. We hung out Monday before he left, but we've only texted a few times, and I had to be like "call me, I want to hear about the trip," which he did almost immediately after I asked. But what I really want is someone to take care of me :( :(