Happiness Vs Sadness In A Day

I am sitting here in my landlady's dining room and it smells like durian. I like the smell of durian but this smell is probably what durian smells like to white people; annoyingly smelling. Yes, it smells like durian with a hint of annoyance. I haven't seen any durian in Vermont but I did see a skunk on the way home tonight...

I was cycling on the pedestrian pathway (eekk!) just round the corner from home. I was pretty happy to be close to home as it was already dark and I didn't think I'd make it at first. So, I paddled happy happy until I saw this animal super scurry past onto the main road and it lift its tail. I recognized it as Pepe Le Pew and I breaked, paddled quicker but tried not to be too quick in case I startled it further and it sprayed me!! I hear its spray makes people blind. Smell, fine, I can live with and probably I'd be conveniently unpopular at work.. but blind, NO! I was screaming whilst cycling. That's probably quite a sight for Vermonters (me, not the skunk) but good thing it was dark.

So, I didn't get sprayed. Why does it smell? Cos, the dog got sprayed. Silly thing. It was probably the same skunk I saw that sprayed the dog. And, so, he stinks... But not only did I get to see a skunk for the first time in my life, I get to smell it without being sprayed!

And, before I got home, I got lost.. in the darkness of Vermontian country. I was trying to get to a BBQ party but got lost. I did eventually find my way out of sheer determination with a sense of independence which was probably born out of stupidity. I was probably like a 10 minute cycle to my destination but when I decided to turn around because 1) I was already five hours late (read: work, bus, no car) and; 2) I skidded and fell off my bike. The latter made me realize that the last stretch was the most dangerous cos I literally could not see and the gravel gave no grip to my bike's tyres. The last thing I wanted was to like on a pitch black dirt road with long bone fractures and to be run over by a car T_T It would be such a tragic way to die although I'd have gotten to enjoy the stars and fireflies before dying that theoretical death...

So, yes. I did see stars again and I still love it. I still want to lie in a field in the middle of the night (much preferable with friends in the picture). And, I saw fireflies lighting up here and there too! They were kinda blue-ish like the colour of bluetooth but a little less intense. Wow, who would have thought. Fireflies in Vermont! Even in Malaysia they say the fireflies are less common now.. I so wouldn't be surprised if there were anymore fireflies. I have been telling my landlady how amazing it is that there are so many bugs here and she remains unimpressed with all the bugs.. I guess one learns to appreciate only when things are gone? You get the drift.

I saw a skunk and fireflies today! Plus stars. What a day.

Of course, I did feel a little scared, sad.. I dun actually know what I felt being in the dark. I thought I was probably more scared of bumping into some American psycho who'd kidnap me and kill me in the fields and nobody would know. I thought I was probably more scared of that than seeing some crazy reptile coming out from the grass. I mean, I freaked when I saw the skunk but I also was so impressed and was laughing and happy. I can't imagine myself laughing if I met an American psycho. And, of course I wish I bought a lamp for my bicycle...

Riding in the dark and failing to get to my destination wasn't the first transportation issue of the day. Earlier in the morning, I rode my bike to catch the shuttle. My heart dropped when the stop looked kinda deserted indicating that the shuttle probably wasn't running. I called switchboard and they were like, "Yes! There is no shuttle on the weekend". I was like OMG LATE 4 WORK! I asked for a cab company but the lady was so nice and said she will put me in touch with someone to gimme a ride. In London, the operator would have been like, "Serves u right" except maybe for the male operator who'd call me by my name as soon as he heard my voice! I got the work bang on schedule but seriously, my heart was like crying.

Transport made me cry x2 today.

Fireflies and skunk with a bonus of stars made me happy today!

Work was a different matter althogether so let's discount that.


I'll end with an insightful IDK what: If one wants it to rain, wash one's car. It is the mother of all Rain Dances.

Fourth of July

My first 4th of July in the United States! I am making a lot of firsts here. Like first time to a drive-in theater. First time seeing a chipmunk, it lives underneath our proch! First time hiking this Saturday. First time seeing a Mustand in real life. First time seeing certain flora and fauna I have only seen in movies and cartoons. First time riding a bike on the road. First!!!!!!!

So, here are some pictures from what I did for the 4th of July celebrations.

In Vermont, they celebrate beginning on the night of the 3rd with a 30 minute firework show at the Burlington waterfront. The party kinds starts at 6pm with food stalls and mobile shops around. The crowd slowly builds. We picked a spot away from the main action; North Beach. There were lots of people in North Beach and it was good cos we didn't have to crane our necks or get the build-up of smoke blown towards us after 30 minuts of works.

Multiple works in one big one :-)

Romantic but no one to hold hands and snuggle with. Well, more space for me on the sand blanket!! Lol.

So, the next day, there was a parade at the neighbouring 'village'. I was gonna ride my bike, JC there but the landlandy caught me and said she'd go with me. It was a good thing because it was further than I thought and Williston is bigger than I thought! I would have never found the parade in time. We arrived just as it begun at 10am!

The Front Line
This was followed by the Williston Town Band and they played the national anthem under the American flag and everyone stood silent. My landlady says she usually puts her right hand over her heart; she's so sweet and funny.

Marines! :-)

This was probably the funniest 'club' but yes, Vermonters do love their lawn chairs which they laze on in the evenings after dinner.

Probably my most favourite float. Jazzercise (sp?) group. The dancers were all girls and they were super fit and co-ordinated but the guy behind the truck video-recording them was so funny. He totally maintained this 'Like A Boss' stance all the time!!

Pauquette Full of Poises were giving out free plants! I got one for my landlady.

 The parade lasted about 1.5 hours and we walked back to my landlady's relative's house and enjoyed a session of Wiffle Ball. It is like baseball I guess but the bat is made of plastic and the ball is hollow and also made of plastic. They tried to teach me to bat and my hit rate was between 0 and 25%. Lol.

After that, it was a long afternoon nap before I rode JC for 1.5-2 hours :-)

I love JC

And I went to a BBQ party later that night after a drive in a crazy Vermont summer storm. The landlady's son called to warn me about it; they're such a nice family! We went a bit late and I needed a ride. It was OK but I really hope I can get a car soon.

Then the day ended. I hadn't quite got what I wanted until this morning in my inbox... And me was happy, I guess.