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Rochester, New York USA
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REPORTS:
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Well, it starts like this...I was born after a short labor in a cold month. My family would consist of two older sisters and one brother, a mom and a dad. I don't remember when I was a baby, but supposedly I was a "good" baby and didn't cry a lot. I slept through the night on my first night home, which scared the crap out of my mom cos she thought something was wrong with me. I must have known that I love to sleep. I don't remember a whole lot from my childhood and a lot of it is probably influenced by what people tell me. My sister loved to hold me and take care of me but she was also a little crazy as this episode might indicate: she brought me out to our backyard when I was a baby and was curious to see if after she ran to the house and back, I would still be there. Apparently I was, cos I'm still around. I think. I remember getting up for breakfast with my mom and siblings, then watching them get on the school bus. I had a bunch of cousins my age to play with. I started kindergarten when I was five and I wet my pants on the playground on account of I was too shy to ask the teacher if I could use the bathroom. The nurse gave me red corduroys to wear. I started taking piano lessons the following year and would grow to both hate it and rarely enjoy it. Especially when I was forced to perform in front of people. (Only hating this, never enjoying.) I grew up going to church and to various church-related functions. I felt famous there cos my grandpa had been the pastor and everyone knew who I was and a good portion of the congregation was related to me in some way. My dad had a German accent which made me even cooler. In first grade, my teacher dumped my desk over because it was messy, causing all my stuff to spill onto the floor. And I suppose she thought she could embarrass me enough about that so I would never make the mistake of allowing my desk to become such a pit sty again. Sorry, I guess I was only seven. In second grade, I shared the role of Snoopy with two fellow classmates in our class play. I got to twirl my green umbrella and sing "Singin' in the rain" for our final number. I had friends in school, but they tended to be replaced every few years by others. My church friends remained the same for the most part. The summer before second grade, my family went to Germany for a month to visit my dad's extended family. I remember hiking a lot and people smelled, I saw a kid pee behind a tree, I saw a dog on a gondola. I got dehydrated after having gone down this long green slide on a big hill and running back up to the top numerous times. I watched as a horse neighed and farted simultaneously. This trip made so many impressions on me. I picked up the clarinet in fourth grade and like it for about the first minute. Then it got boring cos I had to practice all the time. It doesn't always sound like anything when you don't have the rest of the band to play with. In fifth grade I got to be a safety which meant I could wear a fluorescent orange strap, leave class early at the end of the day, and tell other kids what to do. "Off the grass!" "Slow down!" I could also get kids written up but I was too afraid to rat anybody out. I heard The Cure for the first time and found music I could identify with. Sixth grade was the start of middle school and I could finally go to the big three-story school that my siblings went to and keep my things in a locker instead of an elementary school desk. This would be my school until I graduated. What happened between then and graduation? I went to camp in the summers, went on family vacations, did my homework, went to church. I played volleyball when I was in eighth grade and I wasn't very good until the very last game when I finally learned to relax and have some fun. I ran track in ninth grade but I hated track meets. I preferred running with friends during practice and watching the boys we had crushes on. I walked with my friend to her house after school a lot and we watched One Life to Live and General Hospital. I got my driver's license when I was sixteen. I went to prom. I saw The Cure in Chicago. Senior year I slacked off and mostly hung out with friends. Then came college and I would be leaving for Philadelphia. The first time I came home for a break, my home didn't feel like home anymore. I made some really good friends and had a lot of fun for a while, then I dropped out after sophomore year. I acquired a boyfriend. I lived in Washington, D.C. for a summer with my friend and her parents, got my first full time job at a sandwich/coffee bar. This summer was my Elliott Smith summer. He was all I ever listened to and I saw him perform at the 9:30 club. Then I bounced from Philly to my hometown, bought my first car, worked, drowned in feelings of indecision and lack of direction. Then I finally made a decision to move back to Philly where I spent two of my years. I hung out with Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross. No I didn't. But that's where I learned how to take care of myself. I also learned that Wawa has really good hoagies, and that they're especially tasty with pickles. Well, then I decided I wanted to finish college so I moved back home and majored in psychology. Very interesting stuff. I married a boy, finished my degree, and now I work at a movie theater and a book store, and I'm feeling like I want to move again.
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