Wednesday, May 11, 1994

May 11, 1994 - Wednesday - Bank of Melissa, Kristen

What!!!??? Good. I swore I heard the phone ring as I started
typing this. There was a good song on the radio and I'm really not in
the mood to listen to anybody blab right now. It could just be a
chord in the song that sounds like the phone. It's always a pain in
Gainesville when I'm playing the stereo really loud and a song comes
on that every few seconds sounds like our faint little phone is
ringing.

Ashley called me back this evening as she had promised. She had
actually called earlier and told Chrissy that she'd call back. They
wanted to know why she keeps calling me and figured that she was
calling me to tell me to leave her alone. Cute. She told me that she
had called the honors department up in Gainesville. They said that
the specific requirements about biology weren't mentioned in our
course guide which is the bible according to the year you entered.
That may turn out to be really cool, I'll have to see. We then
chatted for a little while and she told me how she almost got in an
accident today on the way home from work that scared her into about
twenty minutes of numbness afterwards.

I arrived early to work and waited for Shannon to show up and
she looked at me when I said hello but just walked right on by. I
waited a few minutes to follow her and found her sitting on a bench
on boardwalk. I just realized that perhaps the sun was in her eyes
and she didn't see me because she wouldn't have really been looking
for me. I wish. I sat down with her and commented on how horribly
tired she looks and she said that she actually got too much sleep
last night, for she went to bed at nine and got up at a quarter til
seven. We sat there and the sun felt damn good. I had just closed my
eyes and leant back as she was saying that and I full agreed and wish
I could have been naked on a beach with her somewhere.

Kristen and I got along well all day long today. We chatted
briefly early in the day and eventually Ronnie and I worked across
from her on the platform. Ronnie and I were being very sexist and
were joking that we had better be careful so we don't get charged
with sexual harassment. There was this one GORGEOUS girl with the
perfect tan and the nicest breasts who had an earring loop through
her eyelid. We were also making rather perverted remarks to and about
Kristen. One time Ronnie and I were laughing pretty hard and she
wanted to know what we were saying. He said that it's just guy talk
and that we don't need her so she smiled and pouted and walked back
up to her position. I called for her to come back saying that maybe
Ronnie doesn't need her but I sure as hell do. I then told him she'll
be back and he laughed and said that you have to treat them like shit
to get them to keep coming back. That was funny. He then wondered why
they think they're the smarter sex!

Kristen came back the very next ride and I told her that we knew
that she would. It was cute. Ronnie was wise to put out a disclaimer
that we were teasing her because she works with us and were flirting
with the guests, just so she wouldn't get upset and think we were
genuinely being mean towards her. He was talking about all of the
things she could go and use on her boyfriend this weekend, mainly
strawberry lotion. I found out that he lives in Starke where the
state prison is and I asked her how soon until he gets fried. Ronnie
was mentioning other tasty lubricants and finally said baby oil. I
quickly corrected him and said that one leaves a bad taste on your
tongue and he cracked up and she made a look of disgust. It was
pretty funny.

We also were talking about Busch Gardens dress code because she
only had the top button of her shirt undone. I told her it was
against the dress code to have her shirt buttoned up that high and
she must undo another one. I then said that it is illegal not to look
comfortable in front of the guests. Ronnie thought that was great but
we could never convince her to unbutton her shirt. Kristen threw a
guests's cap one time to Ronnie and the brim made a thunk as it hit
Ronnie in the head and she and I started cracking up. I told her that
rules out playing frisbee with her up in gainesville and she said
that she was aiming for his head so we still can.

Later on I was heading out to break and Kristen waited up for
me. She was relieving Jamey for his break and she laughed and pulled
my sleeve to get me closer and told me that this is payback for what
Ronnie and I were saying. Cute. I then had the upmost fortune of
listening to Jamey blab for fifteen minutes. I later took height
stick and Kristen kept coming up and talking to me for rather long
periods of time which was cool. We then had to do a final track run
for the night and she has never done one so she called out for me to
wait up and said that she was coming with me. We each found a little
bit of money. Part of the trip included hopping off of a four foot
wall and she told me to come back and put her hands on my shoulders
and I put my hands on her sides as I lifted her down. That was cute.
We then walked to our cars together and talked a little bit more
about Gainesville.

Ryan was being rather funny today as well. He came up to those
of us on platform in the morning and told us that there are some VIPs
in the park so if we see anybody in white shirts and ties, then we
need to look like were about ready to have an orgasm! He also came
out and pointed out a woman with huge "titties" to me on boardwalk
and told me to go check her out. I told him we had seen her before
and had been joking to Ronnie that each one was bigger than my head!

Shannon was kind enough to let me park patrol in the morning
even though she had wanted to. I told her I was kind of planning on
it because I forgot my breakfast money. I promised to buy her a drink
if I found enough change and she said not to worry about it because
she raided Dick's wallet this morning. Later on we were all up on
boardwalk talking and she told me to get the earring out of my ear
and I asked her if the park was open yet and Jimmy kind of laughed
and I had gotten my point across. She was then making fun of me and I
asked her what she had said since she has called every other guy with
an earring a faggot. She said she was just making fun of my hoopy
loop and does so because she doesn't really like earrings on guys,
and then said it is nothing personal. She also said that she doesn't
like long hair, she likes her guys plain. That really surprised me
and I suddenly realized that I had been stereotyping her against
Shar¡. But maybe she is like Shar¡, just older. I'll just have to
wait and see how Shar¡ turns out when she grows up.

Shannon made Jamey wait for me so we could all go on break and
she bragged that they had even waited for me and I thanked them
graciously. It was funny. I was in panel later on when Jimmy was
filling out the break schedule. He had Jamey's name under mine and I
asked if Shannon's shouldn't be before him. He laughed and said that
I am definitely right, since Jamey did come in late for work, thus he
scheduled it so Shannon and I could go together, however he thought
he was just fixing it so I wouldn't have to go with Jamey. Shannon
and I were talking earlier and she had hoped that she doesn't have to
eat with fat boy, and after I said I wanted to eat with Melissa, she
looked at me funny and I admitted that I'd much rather eat with her.

Well, Jimmy, not knowing his error, sent me with Melissa, which
worked out because I suddenly realized I had forgotten my wallet so
she drove us to Wendy's and spotted me, and then told me every detail
of her up and coming wedding.

Tuesday, May 10, 1994

May 10, 1994 - Tuesday - Poetic trip, Tiger needs

from "Meeting" by Marie C. Stopes

At last!
We meet!
Hands touch and cling
Hearts vibrant sing
But silently, for lips are pressed.
I feel your breast
Throb on my beating heart,
I feel your knees
Tremble like aspens in a summer breeze.

by Anon

I find my love fishing
His feet in the shallows
We have breakfast together,
And drink beer.

I offer him the magic of my thighs
He is caught in the spell.

"Love remembered" by Mary-Jo Wilson

I remember love,
how could one quite forget
a twilight walk in misty rain
to laugh and come home wet.

I remember love,
hard we fought the reaper,
you smiled acceptance when he came,
still the cheerful dreamer.

I remember love,
it sits upon my lap
purring contentedly with life,
she knows you won't be back.

I remember love,
was you who taught me how,
make lasting memories, share a dream,
how much I'm grateful now.


"Perpetuum" by Danny Rowden

I dream of you each night:
I don't know why.
You'd think your haunting
Of my every waking moment
Would be sufficient.

by John Laws

I remember most
the times
when love was short
and memories were long.

And thus I have created a poetic compilation representative of
my emotional transgression through Shar¡. Rather interesting I must
say and completely sincere.

Abigail called me again last night at about nine thirty. She was
supposed to pick some guy up at work at eleven thirty because he
doesn't have a car and wanted something to do until then. I had just
finished eating and was ready to go to sleep so that I'd be well
rested for today at work so I declined. We started bullshitting and I
was complimenting her quite a bit and that progressed to some serious
conversation. I even thanked her for calling and she seemed so much
more happy with me when we parted than when she returned my call on
Saturday evening.

I still can't help but think how smart I am when I finally put
my mind to something. My excuse for core biology was that it is a lot
of memorization. Well I just made it through one of the greatest
memorization challenges that exist, art history under Dr. Stanley,
and that has made me realize that I can and will do well this fall in
all of my science classes including those with tremendous
memorization requirements. If I can start proving my worth to other
people now, it is sure to get me far.

Off to work I go... in a far more optimistic mood than
yesterday.

Work went pretty cool, I decided to just be talkative and mess
around all day. Shannon came in about the same time that I did and
got sent to platform despite a request for boardwalk. We didn't
really have a boardwalk position yet but Ryan had asked me to cover
the area once to make sure it was in good shape and then to go and
get Jamey from the wall so we could start on lunches. I went out
there and found the oaf answering the questions of two very tall and
very good looking girls both probably around twenty-two. I figured he
was sending them to Kumba so I hurried over to him and told him to
come with me so that we could walk with these girls and so I could
get in on the action. I figured they'd much rather talk to gorgeous
me than Elvis.

It turns out that the cuter girl was afraid of riding the ride
and so I was doing my best to subtly convince her that it would be
worth her trying the thing at least once. We talked all of the way up
to the entrance before heading up the exit to the platform. I noticed
that she was coming through the line but she ended up walking across
the coaster like I had told her she could. She said that she wanted
to see her friend do it once first. I told her that I could
understand a little kid being afraid to ride, but her? She laughed
and told me to shut up and then told me that she's just an old
married woman who's afraid of such things. Shit!!! But I knew that
she figured I'd probably go away once I found out but I proved that I
was being genuinely nice but continuing to talk with her and she
quickly regained her flirtatious attitude.

She ended up going and told me that it really was great fun but
she was really dizzy as she stumbled off. They reappeared at the end
of the day as I looked into the crowd to see her waving at me with a
big smile on her face. They rode twice, the second time in the front.
I joked that I swore she was once afraid to ride on the ride and we
laughed and she said that she really likes it now. That was their
last ride and they then took off.

I had the uneventful pleasure of working with Shannon on the
platform in the morning. We talked periodically, and I did nice
things like get her water and take the guests' articles to the box
for her, but neither of our attitudes were very exciting. I was
standing with her one time when I saw this gorgeous tan girl who was
tall and had what seemed like a perfect body. She was in tan shorts
and a hot pink tight nylon sport midriff top that showed off a
beautiful stomach. I said that she is cute and started the entire
time. Shannon laughed and said that I was drooling and then told
Melissa across at button what I was doing. I reasoned that I have
full rights to look at someone that good looking when they are so few
and far between. We chatted a little bit more before I got sent on
lunch.

I traveled to Crown Colony and got a couple of cheese pizzas and
headed back to the breakroom because Shannon was supposed to get her
lunch soon, too. She was there so I sat with her and we ate and
talked. I showed her my report card like I had wanted to the day
before and bragged. She's the only one I cared to show. I was on
platform later and was talking with Ronnie who wanted to know who the
women of choice are for me lately. I told him I like Kristen and
Briana because they are UF girls, but he said they both have
boyfriends. Shit... I'll have to work on Kristen a little bit
differently now. Fuck. I then said that if Shannon's circumstance was
only a little bit different referring to her boyfriend and he agreed,
talking about her kid. He also said she is too old which I strongly
protested. He said that she would wear me out because she likes sex
at least once a day. That was funny, so I told him about Leigh Anne
and he pieced that together with what I had already told him about
Shar¡, with her getting pregnant and all.

It was cool to get to talk to Ronnie for a change. Even better,
Paul has gone off to Timbuktu for good!!!!! That fucker sucked. I
joked around with Mike a lot today as well as we looked for potential
in almost every girl that walked by. He looks but quite scarcely
talks to them despite his decent looks. Of course I had to secretly
gloat as he saw me talking to various girls. The one in pink came
back with her friend and I saw them laugh and go out of their way
once to read my nametag. I then heard her friend tell her what my
name was. The friend then talked at me the next time they came around
which was pretty cool.

I got to work across from Melissa after my turn in the panel and
we ended up having a pretty cool time. We were joking around a lot
just like we used to and were touching each other to emphasize things
and were laughing a lot. I was glad. I had sent Shannon on her break
first because she was thirsty without her really asking me. I then
went and came back to be alongside her. We were playing around a lot
then and kept talking the entire time. That was really cool. She told
me how fat boy had slammed her hand with a harness and how she almost
(or did?) start screaming at him. When he got off, he came up into
booth with Mike and I and was getting all worried about how next
Saturday's night function would be staffed and we started making fun
of him and then were saying stuff like we should shut down the ride
because he was leaving and all. I joked so that he would laugh as
well, but we both instantly looked at each other when he left and
said that he is psychotic.

Shannon was telling me how much she wants a stuffed tiger and
how she and her boyfriend spent fifty dollars trying to win one. I
saw an airbrushed tag on the front of her car with her name and
Richard's. I thus dub Shannon's man Dick. So Dick didn't win her a
tiger. Somebody kept coming through and she kept eyeing their medium
tiger a lot. I would have asked them how much they'd sell it for if
they would have only come through one last time. She then told me
that someone had given her a stuffed animal once in the park and her
Dick bitched so she through it out the car window. I asked her if I
went and beat up those little kids and stole her a tiger, if she
would throw it away, too. She said no.

I've also remembered my gleam that I can make my eyes do and the
wonders it works with a little smile. I was flirting a lot and even
got an unexpected number of girls in opposing gondolas on the Skyride
to wave and say hi as I passed. It was cute. I'm getting into the
swing of things far earlier than I did last year.
Ashley just called and told me the horrible news of the
requirement that liberal arts and science majors must have a B or
better in the biology sequence classes. I only had a C+. Shit!!!
Ryan and Shannon were in the booth at closing and I went up
there to get my glasses and hang out in the air conditioning for a
few minutes. At closing Ryan said, "Go home assholes!" referring to
us. I told him about the British guy with an earring in both ears who
was waiting for us to find his hat. Shannon looked down and then at
me and told me to tell the guy to take his earring off and then we'll
get the faggot his hat!!! That was quite funny.

Monday, May 9, 1994

May 9, 1994 - Monday - Smile, Sarah & mom visit

Today sucked. It didn't really suck, I just wasn't really in the
mood to deal with the people I had to deal with, and wasn't on the
break schedule to deal with those that I wanted so badly to talk to.
I was rather upset when Shannon arrived and barely said hi and gave
me a peace sign and then disappeared into nowhere. I was then
replaced on height stick and later saw her talking to the guy out
there. My horrible mind thus thinks she avoided me out there so she
wouldn't have to talk to me. The problem was compounded later when
she unpleasantly talked to me out on boardwalk and so I left. I was
later sitting out at the wall daydreaming about Kristen lying on top
of me naked this fall in Gainesville when suddenly Shannon walked by
with a big smile and waved. I couldn't believe how a simple smile
could cheer me up so much, and also realized how horrible it would
have been had I seen her just walking by. I did get to talk to her up
at booth later on with Ronnie there as well.

So I concentrated a little bit more on Kristen. We joke around
whenever I see her but can still talk seriously which is a problem
Laura and I never solved. Chris and I were unloading and talking
about the women when I told him there's someone I'd do and pointed
into the line. Shannon was in there sweeping and he laughed and said
to get in line. He then pointed at Kristen in the booth and said that
there is someone he'd like to see more of. I agreed and said it'll be
cool together up in Gainesville. He said that if he could reserve
her, he'd be up in Gainesville all of the time and I laughed.

I wandered around boardwalk for a while later on and noticed
some really nice looking chicks in both the photo shop (Angie but I
don't know that yet) who looks like Marcella and in the gift shop.
They kept looking at me every time I walked by so I hope to meet them
soon. I also had the extreme pleasure of finishing up the day at the
river rapids with Kelly and some guy who talked to me the entire
time. That wasn't too bad and was a change of pace.

Continuing yesterday's thoughts: I was working across from
Briana and kept talking to her for a long time. Every once in a while
something funny would happen and we'd have a good laugh. Once she got
sick because this older hispanic was wearing a tight body suit half
way up her ass. It was great! There were this black woman who was
having trouble sitting in the seat correctly, since it designed for
the ease of a two year old, and we were desperately trying to get the
idiot to hold her arms up long enough to get the harness down. Jamey
(Elvis) was on button and he started making dramatic hand gestures to
make us hurry up. Since his is one of the slowest people there, I
looked right at him and yelled all the way across to the back of the
coaster for him not to start getting an attitude. I thought it was
hilarious.

That was right up when I noticed father and Chrissy in line for
they had come and finally bought season passes. I chatted with them
for a little while and Chrissy gave me a big hug right on the
platform.

Later on, as I was returning from the wall, I looked into the
crowd at all of the girls as I usually do and I saw these two eyes
that my mind instantly recognized as Sarah's! The rest of her looked
different until she looked up at me and yelled my name and then we
hugged each other long and hard and she was saying some bullshit
about it being so long since she's seen me. Her hair is a lot shorter
now which is why I didn't notice her right away. She then introduced
me to her mother!, her brother's girlfriend, and her little brother.
That was cool to meet some of her family and all. She told me that he
had gone up to Kumba to look for me and will find out Friday if she
gets to work there. She then said to give her a call sometime this
week and we all parted. That was quite interesting.

Kristen told me today that she'll be living in a triple this
year in Broward. Three people in a box!!! I told her that sucks and
there won't be any privacy whatsoever. She agreed and even said that
she can't stand one of the girls very much. I almost told her that
it'll be cool as everybody finds a boyfriend and starts staying at
their rooms, but I didn't want to imply anything that I could soon
suggest that she do with me.

Sunday, May 8, 1994

May 8, 1994 - Sunday - UF girls Briana & Kristen

I tell her to give me a call sometime, she knows where I am. She
tells me to do the same and gives me her beeper number. She asks if
I'd be home today and I say no, I work. Shar¡ called at five. Cute.

I got ready to head up to Kumba this morning just as Chris and
Mike pull up. We all walked together up to Kumba and talked about
Ryan's party last night. A lot of people were there, and a lot went
on, but it was the same old shit. I made up a pretty good excuse
which got me off the hook as to why I didn't ever show up. Chris said
that none of the girls we hit on ever showed up. Ron Jones, although
he was totally whipped by Krissie, seemed to be ready to split when
Kevin and I ate lunch with him on Friday. It turns out that he
screwed (tore up!) Jacqueline's old friend and I instantly remembered
Melissa, the gorgeous one. Chris agreed that she was the one and I'd
congratulate Ron in a heartbeat for nailing someone so awesome. Chris
said not to spread the word, though, and of course I wouldn't.

We went up to Kumba and everybody packed in around Nilsa in the
little room. This pretty good looking girl named Erin was in there
and still had a hangover. I went and sat next to her. Landry was
there and gave me a huge welcome back yell, and then explained to
Erin that he always welcomes Dan that way. I think his acceptance won
her over quickly for me because she was joking around with me a lot
later on while we were on platform. She was telling me everything
interesting that would happen to her as she worked. Somebody left a
medium stuffed white tiger in the box and I told her it is mine now.
She laughed and said go ahead until I told her that I took home quite
a few animals last year. It suddenly disappeared soon thereafter and
I looked all of the way across the platform and asked her why she let
somebody take my tiger. She smiled and said she didn't do it and I
made puppy eyes and frowned and said that it is her fault. She
laughed a lot about that.

I also remembered another thing the wonderful Shannon did as we
were walking to our cars on Friday. Right after she said she doesn't
smoke pot any more, a little bunny went hopping across the sidewalk
and she got very excited and pointed it out to me. It was really cute
the way she did it and I figured that she must love animals since she
is a country girl. I then told her about the bunny nest that got run
over by the lawnmowers last summer.

I had seen this new girl named Briana yesterday morning when
Chris and I rode the Kumba and Nilsa had introduced us to the new
girl Kristen. I had gone on break and bought a drink and Kristen came
in about five minutes alter and sat across from me. I decided to
start asking all kinds of questions when she suddenly asked me if I
went to UF. She's been there a year already and swears that she
remembers me from somewhere. She lived in Broward and is in the
marching band that travels to all of the football games. She wants to
be an elementary school teacher and is pretty smart. I asked her how
her grades went and she got a 3.6, and so did I! We then realized and
she was rather over excited about the fact that we both essentially
got the same grades, a bunch of A's, a B, and a B plus. It was pretty
cool.

We then started naming all of our classes trying to figure out
where she might have recognized me from and finally narrowed it down
to Grigg's psychology class last fall. Chris and I were rating the
girl yesterday and he liked her because she had some back to her. I
just kept thinking for the rest of the day about whether or not she
has a boyfriend and what it would be like to have a normal smart
girlfriend for a change! She is decent enough to show off and is very
friendly and I like that a lot.

I quickly convinced Ronnie to let me have a lunch and break
together since it was my sacrifice of the later break. I told him I
wanted to head up to Crown Colony which I did and had two super fresh
pizzas covered with cheese the only way I love them and they were
delicious! They also had free cake from a banquet which I ate some
of. I even joked with the archipelago group about the cake. [snip]

I then went back to Vivis via the Skyride and found Briana and
Kristen sitting together on break. Kristen said have a seat as I was
sitting down and I thanked her. She then told me that Briana is going
to Gainesville, too. She goes to Armwood high school and was
surprised that we both know where that is. Kristen went to King so
that's not how we know one another. Briana and I then talked across
the coaster track on the platform for a while and I found out quite a
bit about her from both her and Chris. She's wants to major in
Chemistry and I found out that she is seventeen and graduates this
year which is really cool. I just realized what a good and early
start I am getting with all of the girls. I really hope these two
Gainesville chicks will pay off as well as Laura did and would have.

I asked Chris about Briana and he says that he has a boyfriend
for quit a long time but her parents only let her see him once a week
but she sneaks over there although he lives pretty far away. He says
they have sex and although she is quiet, which scares him, he says
she is wild! I suddenly looked at her in an entirely different light
because although she is a a hick, she looked like a Catholic hick
virgin. It makes the fantasy of imagining her have sex when I look at
her so much more real and believable and the goal more seemingly
achievable. Cool!!!

We three walked out together because Chris had called me from
the height stick and told her to wait for me as well. He then was
babbling to her and saying that I wanted her phone number and then
started asking her if she was getting rid of her boyfriend soon. She
actually was flirting as she said yes because he has been a constant
asshole lately and so forth and Chris was joking with her about
sexually starving him. He and I made some pretty truthful remarks
about her needing someone better which I'd be more than happy to
provide!

Saturday, May 7, 1994

May 7, 1994 - Saturday - Shari was home!, Ashley

I know now that Shar¡ truly is a thing of the past. Could it be
because I talked to her for the first time since spring break a
little while ago, and had a decent friendly conversation, and the
excitement of meeting Shannon and relaying such a event to my journal
far outshone any thoughts about my old slut. I could have used the
word cunt as well, but both words are used as completely meaningless
in my attitude towards her now. I called her and she was finally
home, or at least she answered the phone because she was on the phone
with her dad. She quickly called me back but we didn't talk for too
long. She has Cord for the weekend and she put him on for a few
minutes and was then bragging about how well he is talking and doing,
despite him living with two deafs. She said that she got a job at the
Firestation as a waitress for a couple of weeks but quit.

I quickly told her I got her message a couple of weeks ago but
knew I was coming home and thus waited so I wouldn't have to pay to
talk to her. She was surprised that I am already working at Busch
Gardens and bitched when she realized I had been home for a week and
was only now calling her. She was glad to find out that Christina was
fired or "laid off" because everybody hates her rather than an
abundance of people existed. Christina got kicked out of her house by
her mom because she found a joint in her room and is now under pretty
strict quarantine by her dad which erases her from the picture.

She remembered that I had exams and seemed happy that I had done
so well. She gave me her beeper number: 226-9477, since I always
bitch that she is never home, and won't leave a message on her
machine. I told her to call me sometime because she knows where I am
and we said see ya.

I called Ashley on Wednesday night like I was supposed to and we
caught up kind of quick. She ended up never going out that Friday
night after her exams because she was entirely exhausted. That after
she had been saying all week how she was going to get trashed. She
said that she ended up just staring at the walls forever before
finally just passing out. She kind of likes her work and all and was
glad to hear that I got Kumba like I so dearly wanted. She was
babysitting five kids because her parents were throwing a dinner
party so she said she'd call me back on Thursday, or if she didn't it
meant she lost my number and to call her on Friday.

Well, she didn't but I decided to wait until Sunday because I
was exhausted. I worked this morning for a couple of hours moving
super heavy tables after a night function last night. I worked with
Chris, and Brian and Ryan took the other half. Puny Ronnie did the
chairs. We worked our asses off but finished pretty quick. Chris and
I then flirted with girls and rode the Kumba once after I shook hands
with Jennifer, met a couple of new girls, and said hi to Nilsa whom I
had talked to for quite a while yesterday about school and all which
was cool. We then headed out.

I had wanted to go trade my shorts in for a smaller pair, and go
to Adventure Island, but I was exhausted and just wanted to come home
and sleep and finish these journals before everything gets lost. What
was cool was when the phone rang, and Ashley was the voice who
answered back. She was surprised because I picked up the phone before
she even heard it ring because I was right there. We talked about
work and she said that Laura loves me for not telling Ronnie she
really was home for a few days. We then talked about grades and she
ended up with a B+ in religion that she was so worried about and I
congratulated her. She called me names because she only made a 3.56
but she has fifteen credits and thus made Dean's List.

I had to eat and I laughed because she always calls when I'm
getting ready to eat, so she concluded that I must eat all of the
time. I soon called her back but we didn't talk too long because she
was going to work out with her mother. she told me that sometime when
I have a weekend off we really have to go to the Dali museum which is
cool. She also said that she got a letter and card from Daniel and he
said some really sweet things in it that made her cry. I'm really
happy for her (but I can't explain why)! She did tell me how she had
gone to Daniel's house on Thursday because his dad had bitched at her
for not visiting them all week since she had been home. she then had
to bring Tisha to her house to work on scholarship applications
because her typewriter had broken. At 10:30 she remembered me and
said shit, she was supposed to call Dan, but didn't want to call so
late. I did tell her that she can call here any time until midnight
if she'd like because the phone's on my end of the house. We soon
said goodbye. She's such a sweetheart!!!

I've seen a lot of people I know at Busch in the past few days.
It's cool when I'm with somebody and everybody keeps saying hi to me.
It happened when I was with Shannon. Dave in food service, Karen from
the gift shops, and so forth. There were a ton of them and I felt
really special. It was a cool way for her to see right off that I am
accepted pretty much and well known which might have influenced her
opening up to me, at least subconsciously. It also happened when I
was walking around with Brian which was cool. I saw Sue Conefry and
her family the other day and said hi and she recognized me even
without hair. It's cool that we finally get along after all of these
years. I also was at control panel and heard someone screaming my
name and it was Amanda, Sarah's friend, but she was with her
boyfriend and another girl, but she looked much better now that she's
"developing."

Friday, May 6, 1994

May 6, 1994 - Friday - Shannon tells all, 3.67!

I told Shannon that I love her today. That was an awesome
feeling. If she knew how much I am truly fascinated by her. I'm also
a genius. Thank God, for I had almost forgotten so.

It's been a while. I finished my rigorous studying routine which
I really didn't feel like talking about because I had no idea how I
did on my exams and when I could only miss a very tiny percent to get
an A, that's kind of stressful. I did call Busch Gardens that Tuesday
and asked if I could verify their receipt of my summer letter. The
fellow explained that they haven't sent out the post cards yet as
they usually do because of an ordering mix up, but he'd be glad to
find out for me and call me back. He then asked for my name and when
I told him, he repeated it with a hint of surprise and saId that he
remembered me from Christmas. It was Conor. I smiled and felt pretty
damn special as he remembered that I go to the University of Florida
and so forth. That was something to brag about later. He said that he
isn't doing the letters this time, but asked me when I would be home
and then asked if I'd like to go ahead and interview on Monday!!!
That was fucking awesome and really made my week. He said that we'd
work something out when I came in for my position.

I suddenly was very eager to come home. Before that I wasn't
quite ready to because I had finally gotten into an awesome routine
after spring break where I was getting all kinds of shit done yet I
wasn't really ever tired that much. I was actually having fun for a
while and had been enjoying the pool and all that. It was like I was
finally free from Leigh Anne and was making up for all of the lost
time. Once I did find out that work would be immediate like I was so
strongly hoping for, but not expecting, my excitement for leaving
took hold. I kind of wore myself out during my exams but not any more
than is to be expected.

I spent the last night packing and joked that father was already
driving up and was ready for a new day when I finally gave in to my
severe fatigue and slept for an hour before he arrived. I had gone
down and visited Ashley for quite a while a couple of times at her
request mainly, but I did pop in unexpected for the first time ever
when Ed had to go down and sign up for a check out time on Nick';s
door. I helped her study and everything for her test Friday morning
and she really seemed to enjoy the company, and of course I did with
her. Father and I then essentially carried everything down the stairs
and that wore out the last of the physical strength I had. I was
shaking once on the way down, it got so bad. I made him buy me a
Pepsi for the caffeine which helped me out, though. We then went and
had a big lunch at Burger King before heading to Granny's for a
little while. Father would probably be pissed at such a short mention
of our visit to Granny's, but it was long ago, and I'm worn out right
now so it can't be helped.

I was ready to travel to Busch on Monday for my appointment at
two. The phone rang at nine and I ran out to get it just in case it
was for me. It was this fellow form Busch named John and he had my
summer letter and told me that I could come in that day if I'd like.
I told him that I was already supposed to for I had talked to Conor.
He said that was great and said that Conor had referred me to him
which is cool. He then said that I would have a position as ride
operator on the Kumba, my first choice as he emphasized!!! that as
awesome and I was extremely happy. I figured I might have to settle
for less because of my early start but no such luck. Cool!!! I then
went through my interview, was recognized by the girls in the
operations department, and even started talking to a lifeguard from
Adventure Island who was hired at the same time as I.

I started Wednesday only to discover that Ronnie was supervising
for the morning. He was excited at my arrival though because a bunch
of people had called in and he didn't know that I was coming. I
immediately got to go and park patrol and later did both the button
and control panel with no additional training whatsoever!!!!! That
amazed me quite a bit but I was glad that it worked out that way.

I had noticed this pretty cute girl on the first day but since I
was new and all, and it didn't seem like she liked the third person
on platform, we didn't at all. I ate lunch with Chris, the big black
guy, and Andre from Flume, and caught up on all of the latest girls.
I found out that there isn't much up for grabs at the Kumba right
now. He said that this one girl Lisa is engaged and Shannon has a
boyfriend and a baby, but she will flirt with you. Of course that
caught my eye right away. I said that she seems like a bitch and he
said that she'll be pretty cool once she gets to know me.

On Thursday I hoped that would happen as my horoscope said that
it would be a good day to interview and be interviewed. I arrived a
little early for work and watched ad Melissa walked by. I could have
hurried and caught up with her, or asked her to wait, but something
told me not to. I then started to get out as I heard a car pull up
behind me. I wasn't sure who it was but I knew not to look as I
finished putting on my shirt and name tag. It was Shannon and she
asked me if I am a Gator fan. She kept walking as I told her I am a
Gator student and she said, "Really!?," with quite a bit of surprise
and she stopped as I grabbed my stuff and caught up with her.
Perfect!!!

We started talking about ourselves. She's going to HCC part time
and wants to eventually go to Florida State to become a paralegal. I
asked her if that as why she seemed to hate my Gator tag and she said
that she likes them because they are a Florida team, but she just
hates Steve Spurrier. She also hates the Hurricanes. She led me into
the service area to take the stairs up to Kumba. By then I was
wondering if she was thinking that I am trying to befriend her, or
hit on her. she of course didn't know how much I already knew, that
she has a boyfriend and a baby, so I was careful not to let myself
look too bad.

When we found Ryan he said that we were it and had to prep along
with this short blonde from Monorail. Her name was Jenn. He sent
Shannon out to help Jenn clean the coasters while I went and park
patrolled. I walked with her out to the maintenance shed and we
chatted along the way. I found $1.20 and a Swiss army knife, and also
had to cut down a bunch of huge bamboo "trees" that had been hitting
people when the wind blew. Ryan was glad that I had accomplished that
and I joked with Jenn later that I'm not used to such physical labor
yet as cutting down trees!

We three went on break together later and I was hoping she'd
come sit with me. I chose the seat but I knew that she has been there
quite a while and might have a different pattern. It felt so
different to be the leader and felt awesome when she came and sat
with me. Jenn then came and sat to my side and we all talked and got
to know each other kind of quickly.

Shannon worked at a Winn Dixie for eight years and had made it
all of the way up to assistant manager and maxed out on pay at
fourteen dollars an hour. She said that she's getting tired of Kumba
and wants to go maybe to this new Publix that's opening in Valrico.
My eyes opened and I took over the conversation. I asked her where in
Valrico is there room for a super Publix as she called it. She told
me and then I said that I am more familiar with the Bloomingdale side
of Valrico. She said that Winn Dixie is the one where she worked
which is awesome because that's where Shar¡ bought my card today and
we ran around in there once during the time when Shannon would have
been working there. What a small world when four of the girls you
know come from what seems like a square mile of land although you
meet them everywhere but there.

She said that she dated this guy for four years before marrying
him and they ended up getting a divorce. She then emphasized that it
was her one and only short little marriage, and that he threw her out
one day. Jenn acted surprised and Shannon said that she just came
home one day to find her shit all thrown out of the house. She's
cute, tan, not refined (says "shit" a lot), is a hick and everything.
I was liking everything so far. I found out on the walk in that
morning that she loves country music because the mechanics were
playing it over the speaker system. I told her how everyone used to
hate it and how I always wanted to freak everybody out by sticking in
a Garth Brooks CD.

We were talking about her living in the boonies and I quickly
told her about Shar¡. She said that she used to be from some Fort
something place near Wimaumau which is really small with one grocery
store and a convenience store with "the coldest beer in town."
However, she didn't know this because she was little but their Cokes
were freezing. She's cute. She also later said that s
he lives on 92? out by 540? on Faukenburg Road which is on the border
of Tampa and Brandon. I laughed and told her not to give me detailed
directions to her house. She also told me that it only takes her
about fifteen minutes for her to get to work.

We then went back and Shannon worked button so I talked to Jenn
a lot. Ryan even told me to train her, freak. I later went on lunch
with Shannon which proved even more exciting. I had mentioned wanting
to take the Skyride up to Crown Colony and getting Pizza sometime
soon and would have gone if she had expressed any interest in doing
so. But she had already brought her own lunch. What sucked was the
employee line in our breakroom wouldn't be opening for twenty
minutes. I sat down catty corner from her and she said that he was
going to wait to eat lunch until the line opened and she could buy a
drink. That was cool that she wasn't going to eat in front of me.

We then started talking about her again and I asked her if she
has a child. I think she quickly blurted out something about her kid
in the morning but I know Jenn didn't catch it. This was my chance to
let her know what I already knew. She said that she does and said
that her baby is a little girl!!! (awesome!!!) who's fourteen months
old. And she's twenty-four!!! That's amazing because I feared she
would say the baby is three or four or maybe even older since she IS
a hick and an older one at that.

I then asked her the ever pressing question of whether or not
the guy she married was the father. She had already mentioned that
she has everything at home now that she wants when she was talking
about why she hadn't done her hair or put on makeup. She said that
there's nobody at Busch Gardens worth a shit anyway and I smiled on
the inside and thanked her to myself. She said that it wasn't his, it
was the guy who was in between him and her current.

She told me the father is a real asshole and left her when she
was two months pregnant. He is Italian which got us talking about our
bloodlines. She said that her daughter is going to have a real
attitude because she is half Italian, part Irish, and part Cherokee
Indian!!! I smiled. So is Shar¡, so am I. She said that her
grandmother was a full blooded indian. That's awesome and I told her
of my Cherokee blood as well. That's a trait that I really love. She
told me that she and this guy were fighting over child support and
how he had signed a paper saying he didn't think the baby was his. He
then wanted to see her on weekends and Shannon said no, because he
claimed she wasn't his. I joked that a simple blood test will tell
and she said that they had just gone through one. She said that it
made her feel weird to see the nurse take the blood out of her baby
because she couldn't find a vein and had to keep jabbing her. Plus it
is a tube that sucks the blood out for little kids but she said her
baby only yelped (not her choice of words, she actually made the
sound) once and was fine the rest of the time.

She told me that she did get pregnant during her marriage to the
first guy and didn't tell him until she was four months pregnant
because she knew he would want her to get an abortion. Somehow he
forced her into getting one anyway and it cost her $2500 because it
was after the first trimester. She said that the guy didn't even go
with her to the hospital, he sent his best friend. She said that it's
one of the most awful feelings in the world to go through an abortion
because she really didn't want to. This is where my superb sympathy
paid off because I was able to use my experiences to let her
understand that I know how she feels. She said that she would have
rather given the baby up for adoption but I told her that she
wouldn't have wanted to because she would have gotten really attached
carrying one for nine months. She said that she was really attached
after only four months and felt so bad when she had it done. She kept
saying what an awful feeling it was.

All I could think to myself was how much this girl had opened up
to me and I assume that I had gained her trust by then because how
often will a girl talk about such emotional subjects with a guy she
has just met?

Mark came in and was surprised to see me and we caught up on
school really quick and I told him about all of my hard classes in
front of her and how well I did and found that a cool way to maybe
impress her without seeming like I was bragging to her. She had
already told me earlier that she had failed and dropped out of her
sociology class because the teacher was really bad. The food line
then opened and we rushed over to get in line. I only got fries and a
Cherry Coke because I hate their chicken. Shannon kept offering me
her food and was telling me how she always eats. She tried to give me
her chips, and then kept offering me pieces of her Philadelphia
pretzel, which was really from Philadelphia because her mom brought
it back from there. She had been telling me about it before we got
our food and had offered me some then. After her asking me
repeatedly, I finally took a little bite just to taste it. She ripped
off a huge piece and I told her so she quickly cut it down to size.
She really seemed intent on making me happy, or she has a hell of a
lot of nice country hospitality.

We soon headed back and were talking about her baby again. She
told me that childbirth is awesome and she loved that experience.
Shannon, as Chris warned me, is truly an awesome girl. She does seem
a little shy however and talks kind of quietly, but that's fine with
me. We went on break again later and she was telling me about where
she lives now. She told me that her boyfriend had an 89 Mustang that
he had just installed a nice stereo system in at Christmas, only to
have the car get stolen. She said that really pissed her off, but I
found it kind of funny. We were talking about cars a little bit and
she has a newer and pretty nice Buick something.

I worked across from her later up on the platform and I couldn't
help but think about how she resembles Shar¡ quite a bit. However,
the physical similarities are much more refined and look so much
better on this girl. I loved it when she let down her hair once and
had this very sensuous appeal to her. She took off and practically
ran as we left for the night although I hoped she would wait up for
me. I think now that was a situation where I should have caught up.

Today she came in looking very nice with her hair all done and
it looked really good. I said hi to her and chatted briefly every
once in a while when I'd see her throughout the day. I even asked
this new guy Brian about her, and he says she's pretty cool.

I worked half of my shift in the booth early in the day right
after lunch. Shannon came in from boardwalk and mentioned the heat
and we talked then for a little while. she ate a lifesaver and then
asked if I wanted the last lemon one. I said no, and then asked if I
could have it because I remembered my pizza breath. She told me that
she has peppermints too and asked if I'd like one of those instead.
She pulled one out and I asked her to sit it on the control panel
because I was dispatching a coaster and then thanked her. How nice
she is!

She bitches a lot about the people she doesn't like there,
especially Melissa who she thinks is two faced as hell. She says that
Melissa likes you if you are a guy, if you're a female, then fuck
you. She also thinks this guy named Jamey, or Elvis, is the rudest
piece of shit to the guests and is slow as hell. She was in the booth
and got tired of him and actually traded places with me early. Lisa
asked me to tell Shannon to bring her a pan and broom at the height
stick. I told Shannon and she immediately lashed out about Elvis and
said that he is the biggest faggot she's ever seen. It was hilarious
and I then sent her on her way.

I worked the button in the morning for three hours and she was
the one to finally relieve me. That's when I told her that I love
her, and went on break. As the day finished up, Melissa and I were on
opposite sides of the coaster waiting to be released and Shannon came
over to my side and we started talking. I then followed her as we
left and started talking to her and she waited and walked with me. We
had a pretty cool conversation then which pretty much sealed things
up as far as I'm concerned. I think she liked me enough, because
she's the kind of person that would completely avoid me if she
didn't.

She was bragging that she has the weekend off and would be
partying to celebrate Mother's Day on Sunday and was going to get
wasted. She said that they were going to have a cookout and grill
some food. She then changed her mind and said that they were going to
smoke it, and then said, "not pot, we don't do that anymore!!!" I
though that was hilarious because I almost asked her earlier if she
smoked or not. I should have continued that conversation but I was
surprised she had said it and didn't. She was complaining about her
car and I told her to stop because I have to pray that mine will
crank each time and her problems are minor. She watched me go up to
mine and then laughed and said it is because I have a Ford. Cute. I
was blasting country as I took off and headed right to see if she'd
come up behind me. She did and then sped off North down 34th street
but she didn't fail to give me a little honk goodbye as she passed.

I talked to this guy named Brian who was my break and lunch
partner for the day. I asked Paul if we could take our lunch and
break together and he said yes so I told him I was going to try th e
pizza at Crown Colony. He came along and we caught the Skyride up to
the front. As we walked in, Ron Jones was doing a trash run and we
three talked for a while and he said he'd come down and eat with us
if we stayed so we did. Kelly Bo Peep walked in and soon remembered
me and we hugged and I felt pretty damn special. We then chatted
about who was still there and who had left and all of that good
stuff.

Of course I flirted with the girls in the good old fashion way
of last summer even though they are still kind of young since it is
early May. On Thursday I had a girl who kept coming back and thought
it was funny that I kept seeing her so I started flirting with her
and that was cute. There was a young one whose camera I had to take
and she ended up having to take off her entire belt and fanny pack to
get it off. I told her that she doesn't have to strip just to give me
her camera and she laughed and said but she wants to and asked if she
could! I then begged her to and acted disappointed when she came back
with her clothes still on. It was really funny.

Why am I a genius? Well, I came home to find my report card
sitting on the table already. I wasn't expecting the stupid thing for
a long time but they surprised me. I opened it and covered the grades
so I could hurt my ego one step at a time. I first uncovered art
history and had a tinge of optimism because I swore I saw the point
of an A as I was covering them up. There it was!!! I screamed and
danced for joy through the kitchen. I then looked at my chemistry
grade, another A!!!!!!!!!!!! I ended up making the highest grades I
could make in those classes despite only being able to presumably
miss only four out of thirty in chemistry, and two out of forty-five
in art history. Both were cumulative and seemed extra hard but I
pulled it off because of my newly introduced study habits. Damn I'm
good!!!

I ended up with a 3.67 for the semester which pulled my overall
up to a 3.47. Most important was the A in chemistry since I am a
science major. Cool!!!!!!

So now all of the memories of exam week come flooding back
because I obviously did something right this time. Before now I had
completely blocked that week out of my mind in case things came out
worse enough so that I didn't even write any journals about it all
until now...

Saturday, April 23, 1994

April 23, 1994 - Saturday - Ashley up a tree, ESP

It's been another fun filled Saturday night cracking the books, and yet another night of imperviously searching for a place where we ARE allowed to study on campus for the upcoming final exams. It seems quite ridiculous that we get kicked out of the buildings before midnight and the libraries at one. Why not have the two security guards that stand outside of Turlington's elevator making sure that nobody gets in do something constructive, like watch over the rooms while students are studying in them if all they're worried about is us vandalizing the building. However, if their concern is the concentration of students late at night to prevent lonely wanderers from becoming easy targets for crime, then I respect that. That aspect finally became apparent to me last night as for the first time, the guard asked Ashley and I if we would like for him to call an escort for us to get home. That's a good policy they've taken in that regard.

I called Ashley this evening after I talked to my mommy and after eating dinner. I was cooking while I was on the phone and heard all about how Chrissy has been eagerly driving my Mustang and that she really likes it. They kept thinking it might upset me but seemed happy that I am open minded and realistic enough to know that the best way to keep my car running is to keep it running! Kostas and Marty then came home and he was yelling and getting in my way and I ended up burning my fried eggs for my sandwich. My mother felt guilty because she said I burned them because I was talking to her. It was funny. Marty felt bad for me and both she and Chris offered me more eggs after I told my mom I was going to starve. I laughed and got off the phone with my mom to eat everything else. I thanked them and said that I just didn't want to take the time to cook anything else because my other food would get cold. The whole ordeal was quite a funny mess.

Anyway, I called Ashley and she told me that she had also just finished eating dinner. I then asked her if she was enjoying winter, for it had rained and turned unseasonably cold and miserable today. She agreed and said that she slept until noon and went outside for the first time just a little while ago. She then said that she had been putting all of next season's football games into her planner. She said that she had noticed my birthday and had just thought about me and realized that she needed to call me, but I called. I could have easily turned it into that conversation where you try to pick up someone by saying that your minds are working and thinking alike. I think that's worked out in every relationship I've ever had, most rememberable was Shar¡'s, and I think it has a lot to do with my extremely good perception that allows me to correctly guess what someone will do or say and then do it myself at the same time.

But since Ashley is falling for Daniel again, I left her alone. There was a little hesitation in our conversation at that point as I think we both realized talking about us was a little awkward. It seemed like after she first told me that she and Daniel were on good terms again, she was not sure how I would react. It was like she had hesitated because she had picked up on my subtle advances when she would talk of possibly moving on with her life. Now that she has seen that I still want to do things with her and we can continue to have fun regardless, things quickly got much better. I'm a little paranoid right now because I left my history of medicine notes with Jessica last night and Ashley said the two of them were busy deciphering them today as Jessica hand copied them. I have a bad habit of writing my true feelings down sometimes in my notes, or doodling someone's name for nor real reason, and I hoped I didn't write anything truly offensive.

Ashley called me yesterday and asked what I was doing for the evening. She then said she decided to study and wanted to know if I wanted to come along, otherwise she'd just go to the house. I said of course, and I soon headed down to her room. Jessica answered. We are always polite to each other but rarely talk, including in class. We did however on Thursday morning even though it was only about the exam, but we did walk out together. I brought up the class last night and we started talking about it in her room while Ashley was quickly cleaning up and getting ready. I was completely oblivious to Ashley as I became more and more amazed at the length of Jessica and my conversation. She ended up letting me borrow her Freud book for the night that I had yet to obtain or read. That was cool so I gave her my notes. I just loved seeing her tell me a story with a big smile on her face and a bit of excitement in her voice. I love that more than anything. I'll call it a social high from listening.

Ashley and I stopped by the fine arts building first to drop off some books at the library and there were a lot of freaks out there doing some strange presentations with multimedia and art. I wondered where Timothy Leary was hiding! It was really scary and we walked around looking at it. We also looked a a big display case of art reprints and I recognized a lot of them and felt special. She really likes Salvidor Dali and I really want to go to the museum in St. Pete now. I was talking to Jana today in art class about him because our teacher showed us one of his works. Some gorgeous chick named Ashley sat next to me in class and we both made sarcastic remarks every once in a while and we were crossing our legs way into each others' space. We also kept looking at each other while the other was looking partially away, but we knew. It really seemed like she was flirting back quite a bit. I looked at her name as she signed the roll, and she watched me sign mine as well. It was quite funny.

Ashley and I then went to Turlington and the conference room was open. We talked for a long time and joked around quite a bit. I even treated us to a soft drink for the caffeine during our study session. four hours later we were kicked out. We had a lot of energy at the time so we decided to head over to one of the two buildings where socialized late night studying existed. We talked a lot on the way over. We then wandered around Matherly looking at all of the full classrooms. She didn't want to go to the auditorium because we can't talk in there. We then broke into Bryan Hall which is very nice but all of the interior doors were locked. We joked that we were taking the middle of the night campus tour.

We finally went to the plaza in front of Criser Hall because even though it is outside, and it was midnight, it seemed brighter than day because of the intense white lights. We each sat on the wide brick railing that lines these big outdoor stairs and studied. I thought it was the funnies thing in the world and wondered out loud how few people have ever done this. I finished outlining an eight hundred page book in one night and then decided we could leave sometime before two.

We stopped to read the base of the statue because we had wondered who it was. It is Albert McCarthy, whom we think is the first president of UF. It was put up in 1946! We both thought it was neat that Albert the Alligator, our mascot, was named after the first president. There was white paint on his crotch where somebody had defaced him and she stood up on the base and touched it to see what it was. I laughed and said that would be a perfect picture! We then walked home and were talking and laughing about all of the weird things we kept seeing. We came to a giant oak tree in the middle of a field on the way home (we were no longer using sidewalks or roads). We were talking about how easy it would be to climb it, so she tried and we had a good laugh. I like Ashley. Smile.