happy birthday, america!

so i don't get any days off for the 4th of july this year. actually, i won't be getting any days off for this holiday as long as i have this job because we will always be leaving the next week for this month-long trip.

let me back up...i just took a new job in may for this race relations program that takes kids around the south and to new york city on a civil rights journey. so, i will be on a bus trip with 24 12th graders for 25 days. doesn't that sound like the most fun you could have? in particular i think the whole being on a bus with smelly teenagers is gonna be a yee-haw good time. secretly, i'm very excited about it. if only i could learn 2 decades of history like the back of my hand in the next 8 days...the problem with this plan is that the 4th of july is thrown into the mix and everyone expects me to socialize...i mean, don't get me wrong, i want to socialize but i am gonna be so stressed about the trip. so, in order to not be stressed about the trip i am going to have to drink a lot, which will then make it harder for me to get my work done the day after and therefore increase my stress 10-fold. an amazing plan, i know.

so there's drama within my extended group of really good friends about whose town everyone should visit this weekend for the festivities and whose significant others can or cannot come due to who has slept with whom on a sofa in my living room once before and who will be uncomfortable and not talk if who is there, etc, etc, etc. it's so brain-numbing that it's hard to even process. i just wanna sit back, get a tan, eat some barbecue, and have a blended drink. is that too much to ask? apparently so. i think this pseudo-drama is a really great way for a group of people to pay tribute to our founding fathers. a holiday that commemorates strife should include some in its observance. i think this is why most holidays include angry family fights. people who don't fight on christmas and thanksgiving are anti-america.

i'm gonna go take a long lunch break now to reward myself for already having about 45 minutes of productivity today. 45 minutes is a pretty good amount of work to do before lunch, wouldn't you agree?