hey there

Since a while now, I've been reading nothing but Agatha Christie and assorted non-fiction works, and strangely enough, it's been quite fun. My current favorites in the two genres are probably What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! and The Tipping Point. Charles, I did read Freakonomics, and thought that it was as enlightening as you said it would be. You should check out The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell as well. It's about epidemics and how little things can change the face of the world. I really liked this one line in the introduction, not quoted verbatim -- "like the proverbial hummingbird whose flutter in one continent causes a hurricane in an another." Aaaah, for some reason, that image is SO inspiring.

And now for a short summary of my life in the past few weeks:

Prom was amazing. I'd bought two dresses from different boutiques as June 9 grew closer, but finally decided that I wanted to make my own dress. So I took a gold-colored Indian skirt that I had, removed the excess frills and embroidery strips that gave it the ethnic feel, and lengthened the bottom so that it would reach down to my ankles. Then I began my marathon shopping quest to find a pretty top to go with it, and after a few DAYS, I found the perfect gold colored blouse at Macy's. But the thing had these translucent sleeves which I removed, and I also stitched in lace at the bottom to attain the desired length... Are you still awake? hahhaa, I just wanted to say that the experience of actually putting together a dress of my own invention trumped the night itself. It's a lot fun when you're being creative.
For after-prom, we went to this slightly shady, grimy nightclub called Avalon in Manhattan. Honestly, this was an experience I will never forget. I've been clubbing before, but never in a place like this. The whole atmostphere was charged, and the lights were dizzying, the crowds pressed against your body, and random guys would try to grind against you. It was fun dancing in a group with my friends - I would never never do this on my own. Around 2 though, this one random Indian 20ish freak started following me around the dance floor. Seriously, it was sooo scary. And it wasn't even easy to get away from him considering that the floor was so packed you could at most, dance in place. At one point, he tried to turn me around and kiss me, but I elbowed him in the chest and my friends, who had witnessed this, sort of punched and kicked him away. In retrospect, that was amusing. All in all, a very memorable night.

By the way, did I tell you guys that I'm a real estate agent now? For the last month of school, seniors have the option of not going to class and instead, participating in an educational internship. So I decided to venture into real estate. I completed the 45 hour course at an institute in Manhattan, and passed their final exam. Now as soon as I turn 18 in November, I'll take the state test, and actually obtain a realtor's license. It'll be so cool. Anyway, seeing as I'm trying to gather a clientele, if any of you need to sell or buy property in New York or later, Georgia, go through me, okay? ok.

Graduation was amazing too. The speakers were funny, the teacher-elect speech (my favorite English teacher) talked a lot about Uncle Rico of Napolean Dynamite - that was nice. About how Uncle Rico has this obsession with football because he always believed that if his coach had let him play 4th quarter of the final game, his whole life would have been different. About how Rico purchases a time machine online and how that injures him in a delicate area. About how we all have our own time machines already in the understanding that many years from now we will want to have lived each moment fully, and in this understanding itself, we can come back to that time - now. Am I just rambling? Probably. But graduation was poignant and I even teared up a bit. High school was great. It taught me soo much, not just subject-wise, but about people and their dynamics. Though I'm sure college will surpass any expectations that I may have.

Stay merry,
Sanjukta