Off to The Cape

Isn't there some quote about how children always tell the truth? Well whoever said it was full of shit. Or maybe children just have more moral standing in his neck of the woods. But in any case, some of the kids at the tennis program are just filthy liars. It is impossible to play any game that involves any kind of "honor system." They blatantly cheat, and then when we call them out, they blatantly lie about blatantly cheating.

An example from Simon Says:

"Simon says put your hand on your head"

A boy that vaguely  resembles a black version of Benjamin Button (at the beginning of the movie) fails to put his hand on his head.

"Suba, you're out, sit down."

"BUT I DIDN'T PUT MY HAND ON MY HEAD!"

"I know, and I said 'Simon says'

"I MEAN I DID PUT MY HAND ON MY HEAD!" *screaming with indignation*

"Suba, sit down"

Rock-Paper-Scissors, basic games of tag, whether the ball was in or out, they lie about EVERYTHING. 

Alright, I'm exaggerating. They're good-hearted kids, they just have a problem with REALLY wanting to win everything. People like that are so obnoxious. Self-deprecating irony LOL.

I was just more bitter than usual about it today because I got a whopping 4ish hours of sleep. And it was whopping. Whop whop whop. What a weird word. Whop. 

But seriously, my exhaustion was like a freight train chasing me all day. As long as I stayed moving, I was fine. But as soon as I relaxed for reading time, I was wrecked. 

And right after I finish this blog post (as my eyelids are drooping), I have to drive 2 hours the the Cape. SWEET! 

Quote of the day (a few days ago actually) comes from, surprise, the kids at camp. We're playing a game where, basically, you have to run across the court if you're wearing a certain color. The color is pink, and wearing none, I stay put. The kids yell at me, "Steve, you have to run, you're wearing pink. Your ACNE!" 

I LOL'ed at this, but have been washing my face more regularly ever since. 

Byebye.

Chicago

The Chicago River (not the Charles, I can't stop calling it that) runs right through the city, and smells like chocolate. Seriously, there was a delicious smell wafting through the air, always strongest directly in the middle of the crossing bridges. My cousin Chris and I tried in vain to find the source.

Quote of the day comes from a belligerent man we saw in downtown Chicago. He was walking down the street, telling anyone that would listen something along the lines of:

"Motherfuckers I'll kill you. What you looking at, BITCH? Fuck you. I'll knock you the fuck out."

Chris and I are pretty sure he never was speaking directly to us, but we still felt uncomfortable after about 10 minutes of his rant.

I should note that, aside from this insane man, everyone I've met in the area has been quite friendly. Chris was confident enough to attempt hitchhiking. 

Boston

Today I went to Boston to visit Loren Marshall at Harvard, with an assortment of fun people. Superb weather, we watched a great sunset from a bridge over the Charles. And a random man took a picture with us, and we promised to tag him on Facebook.

ANYWAYS. Roaring crescendo of the night: We found a rave in Harvard Square. I have never danced like that. We circled random strangers, and danced around them until they were free from the chains of their insecurity, and danced crazy with us. 

By the time we left (screaming and laughing, pretending to be running from something awful), we were pretty popular. People had cameras out.

Effing blasty blast.

Thunderstorm

Whenever I see lightning, I hope the thunder comes immediately. I actually want the storm to be directly over my house.  

My dog Misty is freaking out, and will probably pee on my carpet.

Tenacity Tennis Program

Work as a tennis instructor:

First, I need to mention Diego. I think he's the smartest 11-year-old I've ever encountered.  He's bilingual (English and Spanish). When we sat in a circle and introduced ourselves, he said he liked chemistry and astronomy (which sharply contrasted with the other campers' vague, boring answers). I asked him where he wanted to go to college, and he replied "Yale or MIT."  

Second, there's Carlos, an unruly child that speaks almost no English (Diego is his translator). I say almost no English because the other day, he came over to me, gave me a big grin, and said in my ear: "Steve, you're ugly."

That is the quote of the day, obviously.

Last summer:

I literally biked 400 miles from the center of Montreal to my front lawn. And then lived alone in New York City for a month, for an awesome internship. I ended the summer with a trip to Switzerland with Lanny.

 

This summer:

Except for a canoe trip, my only activities have been working and spending time with my friends. And this is exactly how it should be; we're going to college next year. They're all such great people. I am going to miss them.

So, this summer >/= last summer. That's greaterthanorequalto.