Eel had to go to a softball game (he's in a league here... I find that hilarious. You would, too, if you saw him running around in his Sox cap and getting all anxious that his teammates won't show up to practice!), so I decided to go back to his apartment and type up my research for the day. When I tried the keys in the front door, however, they didn't work. I called Eel, and he guessed that he must have given me the wrong keys.
Hm.
I wandered around the side of the building, and saw that the french doors leading from the balcony into Eel's bedroom on the second floor were open. But how to climb up there? After rummaging around in the garage, I found a ladder, and dragged it over to the balcony. It was not high enough. Another trip to the garage yielded a very dusty folding table, on which I propped the ladder and prepared to die by falling and breaking my neck. As I was attempting to stabilize the ladder (which was disconcertingly rickety), one of Eel's neighbors came out of her apartment. Instead of freaking out and calling the police, she offered to help me by holding the base of the ladder. That made me feel much safer, and I proceeded to slowly climb up to the top of the ladder, leap to the balcony, and, gripping the wrought-iron railing for dear life, swing my legs over to the other side. My fear of heights was not helped by the neighbor's incessant warnings of, "Oops! You're going to fall." I did not fall, and soon I was standing on the balcony, covered in dust and sweat, and very triumphant. Here's a picture of the table-ladder:
Yesterday morning I had to get up super early to take the CBEST. That's the test all teachers in California have to take and pass. I was a little bit nervous that it would have difficult-ish math questions... even SAT math would be tricky for me now, since I haven't used more than basic math skills in about three years. But I have been so busy that I had no time to prepare! It was such a familiar feeling of nervousness as I waited to be handed a test booklet and listened to the unnecessary directions read by the proctor. But then I opened the test... and was insulted, literally. And saddened. Insulted because the hardest math question on the test was something along the lines of: "If Sally received these 5 test scores: 90, 75, 83, 92, 100, what is her average?" I kid you not. I almost laughed at the idea that I would have studied for this thing. But I was saddened because was this really the standard to which teachers are held in California? Are they so desperate for teachers that they devise a test to merely screen for those applicants who never finished grade school? It strengthened my will to become a teacher, at least for a little bit. Apparently, they need me! Unless I score below a 100% on that test, in which case I will jump off a cliff and sadly never become a teacher.
I decided to take the rest of yesterday off and hang out with my friends in the area. They all had the day off work (obvi, it was Saturday) and it would be lonely and silly to take my designated day off, Monday, and just sit in Eel's apartment by myself. Moody Moon was having a barbeque, so Eel and I went over there in the afternoon. Klondike was there! I was so excited to see her because we had a lot of catching up to do. The barbeque was fun, aside from there being no food. Everyone was supposed to bring their own, so Eel and I stopped to buy some sausages. I don't like sausages, but I assumed there would be some sharing going on... I was wrong. So I just stuffed my face with potato salad (surprise!) and the cupcakes that Klondike had brought. Delicious! I even got to practice my Italian, since one of Moody Moon's roommates is from southern Italy. He tried to seduce me in Italian, but it didn't work because I was too focused on drinking margaritas. Just had to ask Eel how to spell "margaritas," and he thought it had a "u" in it. Sheesh. Here are some pictures from the barbeque:
Klondike is especially attractive right after I accidentally spit on her.
Tonight I have to go out again and research some nightlife, which should be awesome but tiring. I'm especially looking forward to the fabulous gay bars in West Hollywood, which I've noticed are hopping even during the day.
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