Egg Salad Sandwich

First off, let me begin by saying that I almost mispelled 'sandwich'. That's not really important though. Actually, the title of this post has nothing to do with the fact that I'm eating an egg salad sandwich right now, and everything to do with why I'm eating one.

But before I go into that, you must first understand that my school is strange. For one, I have classes on Saturday. I guess it's okay...I mean what would I do? I'm at freaking boarding school so it's not like I'm free to go anywhere. Anyway, there was no class today so I had a "long weekend". Let me tell you, it sucked.

It's Parent's Weekend and since my mom is on the other side of the country she couldn't exactly fly out to say hi. This being the case, I was left alone, the two girls I hang out with went home. It's times like these I wish I had tried harder at making friends rather than just settling for the first people who didn't act like I was invisible.

Anyway, I spent the better part of the day in my room doing homework, only leaving for meals and to watch 21 at 7:00. I then went to the cafe and bought an egg salad sandwich and a bag of chips. I feel like crap. It was too hard for me to sit around and watch everyone else be buddy buddy, so I'm eating in my room.

Sigh...Is it so much to ask that when I try to make a friend out of an aqaintence that they reciprocate the effort? Really? Am I just so weird? I don't think I'm weird. But maybe I'm wrong. Oh well, it seems it can't be helped. Lonerdom isn't so bad, actually. At this point I kind of prefer it to human contact, for the simple reason that all human contact seems to be with creepers (i.e. Evan Linn-- i think that's how you spell his last name...).

This would be a lot easier if people who shared my likes and dislikes weren't seniors and juniors. They obviously don't care about a little frosh such as myself, but they also seem to be the only people who aren't completely shallow.

I miss my cool kids.

{BTW, Island? You guys is the cool kids.}

Trying To Save Piggy Sneed

Junior Studies.



Arguably one of the most frustrating classes here at Exeter. It's not so much academcially challenging as sometimes fun sometimes not. Example?



Well, the fiction excerpts are great, but the little blips about New Hampshire back in yesteryear? Yeah, not so fun. The discussions are wonderful...until Evan opens his mouth. But then again I may be biased. You don't know who Evan is, and I'm not going to tell you. At least not today. That's another post for another time.



No, today we talk about Trying to Save Piggy Sneed by John Irving. This itty bitty short story is easily one of the most depressing I have ever read. It made me cry.



Piggy Sneed is the beginning of a memoir by John Irving, who not-so-coincidently grew up in Exeter, NH and attened Phillips Exeter Academy. When he was a small boy, living with his grandmother on Front Street John tormented the mentally challenged garbage collector, Piggy Sneed. Piggy resembled a pig in many ways. One, he smelled. Bad. Apparently he lived in the barn with his pigs. There was no barnhouse, just the barn. Two, he couldn't talk. Instead he snorted and grunted and squealed. Not on pupose, of course. The mental retardation and lack of human companionship had something to do with it I imagine.

Anyway, so little John and his neighborhood buddies (the Front Street Kids) tormented Piggy every chance they got, frightening the living bejeezers out of him. However, John's ever polite grandmother was never anything but kind to Piggy, going so far as to compliment the pigs he brought with him on his trash run. That the was enough to make my heart bleed for Piggy.

But it didn't stop there. Oh no, it got worse.

John ends up at PEA (Phillips Exeter Academy) and volunteers for the Stratham volunteer fire department. Now, understand that Exeter itself is a pretty small town. But if Exeter is small, then Stratham is rustic beyond all hopes of redemption. This is also where Piggy Sneed lives.

One night, the Sneed barn goes up in flames. The smell of burning pig feces, roasting pig, and charred wood infiltrate the night. In that time, there wasn't much to do about the fire but let it burn out. Eventually the snow below it would put it out.

John spun a bit of fiction about how Piggy and his pigs must've hauled out of town and left the barn and the people of NH for good. That was all good and well...until they found Piggy and his only real friends charred to crips amid the wreckage of the barn. By this time I was bawling.

How on Earth can anyone be so cruel to the mentally retarded? Why did Piggy have to die? Why?

I don't know why it hurt so deep, maybe it has something to do with the fact that my grandmother had mental problems of her own. I'm used to these kinds of people and I can't understand when people put them down.

Even now, I must push down tears of both pain and anger. Piggy Sneed made my heart bleed and I don't know why. But God, I wish I could do something about it.

Glee Club and Barnacles

If you couldn't already tell by the title, I'm in somewhat of a good mood today. Why? Well, let me give you a run down on what's happened since the last post:

1)I made some friends. Katie and Ana are womderful. And I've met two other girls called Sam and Gina. I lurver them and am slightly depressed that none of the girls I've bonded with are in my dorm. Not that I don't like my dormies. No, not at all! They're all really great girls and I do my best to say hello ane be warm whenever I see them. The fact of the matter is that we have little to nothing in common and I feel that if we ever tried to go beyond a simple salutation the conversation would go south pretty quickly.

2) I now have Kurt Cobain's lovely voice saved to my computer and can listen to him should it strike my fancy.

3) CUTE BOYS. Yeah, this one's a bit shallow, but if you saw some of the boys in my school, you'd give them their own number as well.

4) Barnacles. Okay, so yesterday I had Bio and guess what we shoved under our sterescopes? That's right, barnacles! Did you know the little buggers are alive? Well, under a 'scope you can see them open and close their little shells and throw out their feathery appendages to catch food. The animal kingdom is glorious, no?

5) I'm learning French. Bien, oui?

6) GLEE CLUB! I have just joined Glee Club and could not be happier! Something about hearing all those voices come together...It just sooo inspiring. And though I've barely talked to him, I absolutely adore my director, Mr. Turner. He talked me into doing it even though I barely read notes and understand like zero muscial theory.

So, I imagine anyone who's reaading this might think "Glee Club? WTF you geek!" Well, those people don't understand the beauty and comraderie that comes from lifting your voice with a multitude. I felt like that was were I belonged...Not out of place one bit, which is odd since, again, I can't read music.

Some people get called to the clergy...some to humanitarianism...me?
I got called to Glee Club.

"It doesn't need to be right, it just needs to be beautiful."
-- Mr. Turner

New School

Hmm...so here I am, Phillips Exeter: Where the best of the best go to be better. I wanted it, I wanted it sooo bad. But now? Well, it's lovely and all but the friends thing is a little discouraging.

Day One (for me at least) I hung out with these two chicks in my dorm. We'll call them Laura and Ashley for anonymity's sake. It was cool, I guess...I mostly talked to Ashley. But something was off. Laura didn't quite seem to enjoy my presence and their was a tangible tensity in the air.

Today, I found better people. Today I met Katie in a seminar and in the next one met her roommate, Ana. I like these girls...as far as I can tell, they like me too.

Anyway, I went to this barbeque thing for dinner, but couldn't find my new friends. I spotted Laura with a group of people and decided to try my chances with her. When I asked her casually why I hadn't seen her all day, she calously replied, "Class and stuff" before dimissing me from her circle of social butterflies.

So, being extremely self-conscious, I grabbed some food and walked over to a wall where I sat in boredom as the happy people a few feet away hugged and joked and pretty much just spewed a fountain of bliss. I must admit, I was a bit jealous.

Luckily, just as I was about to leave I found Ana doing some sort of Bingo/Scavenger hunt thing and spent sometime with her. I also found out that where the bookstore is (crap...first day of class tomorrow...i need to get those...) and then proceeded to my dorm, where I seem to be bereft of a kindred spirit.

Anyway, while I'm psyched for school, the whole making friends bit is a little foreign to me. People back home seem to think I'll make friends easy squeezy lemon peezy, but that's not the case. Apparently I'm not nearly as magnetic as I thought I was. I can't help it if I don't like walking up to people and just saying "hi!!!" out of blue...sue me.

Also..haha, little side note: Facebook can ruin otherwise wonderful first meetings. For example: I know a whole bunch of people on FB and I figured I'd make friends faster that way...WRONG! It just made my first meeting with people that much more awkward. I even saw a few older kids I added, but decided against talking to them because 1) Um..the awkwardness of introducing yourself like this: Hey! I know you! You're on Facebook, right? Yeah...I added you but I don't we really talk. Me? Oh, yeah I'm India...you know me, right? 2) Because they were already talking to people they've been knowing for much longer than me and that would sufficiently awkward enough to last me lifetime.


The Hatter

Oh, and PS: There's a guy who's either a Prep or a Lower who looks like Tom Mcclean (frezned on youtube for those who don't know) and I've decided to tell him so tomorrow...if I can find him and don't lose my nerve, that is!