Harrisburg, Philly, Jobs, Dalai Lama, Snoop Dog as a Zebra

So I arrived in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on January 10, 2012 at 10pm. I live with Athena and Jeffrey and their two beautiful kids Angel and The Marla. While Athena goes to school, I take care of the kiddies. I have never really interacted with kids this young for this amount of time... and I love it (but I think that is because I love THESE kids). The Marla is 9 months, actually 10 months now and she is learning to walk and talk. She recently started saying "Mama". She likes to climb up stairs, play with the water in the toilet, and eat. I have yet to meet anyone who enjoys eating as much as she does!

The Hughes Family (my family) on January 10, 2012

Angel is 6 years old and quite energetic. He has autism so I was initially worried that I would be a stressor for him. I was really worried about affecting him negatively. The first time we met in 2010, he pretty much ignored me (he was shell shocked with CA and the people at the time). But honestly, he is my boy. He likes to tease me and bring up his old babysitter Chio because I get "mad". Sometimes, it is hard for us to communicate but we do what we can. Everything comes down to trying to keep the same patterns and rhythms. He does test my patience at times but I think, mostly, it has to do with my general frustration with all kids...they do not think nor act like adults. And so, I am learning to be a better listener and a bit more patient. I am also learning to control my pirate mouth because Angel repeats words..."Shit Fuck" is actually not THAT cute when a 6 year old says it. Still don't know if in the future I want to have kids of my own but I will say that these kiddies have definitely set a high bar.

We took Angel to the Annual Pennsylvania Farm Show on January 13, 2012.  He loved the cows and was very gentle and respectful of them.

The Marla, aka The Insurgent, on 1/19/2012 and 2/12/2012

Since I arrived, I have also been in search of a job. At first, I was picky. But it has been dreadful. I have not gotten one single call back. So now, no pickiness. At this point, I have been applying at retail positions, but it looks like most of the hiring does not even occur until Spring. It looks like everything sort of goes into slow motion during the winter. Plus my resume isn't that great. Plus, blah blah blah. This has been freaking me out. Basically, I am a full on-shameless couch surfer. I do not contribute a dime. I am THAT friend. Mortifying. I was so inflated with my own skills I even took a trip out to Philadelphia at the beginning of February because I was so sure I would land something... but nope. Nothhingggg! Today I found an advertisement for an event decor business and one requirement is that I should have "excellent finger dexterity (for tying balloons)" AND BY GAWD, I WILL APPLY, AND THESE FINGERS SHALL BE DEXTEROUS DIGITS! P.S, It reassures me that they made sure to note what the finger dexterity will be used for.


Well since I brought up Philly... I found out that the Clippers were playing the 76ers on February 10th and I am only 2 hours away and so I brought it up to Justine, whom attends grad school in NYC, and whom I hadn't seen since 2008. The tickets were sold out but she found us some online and it was a done deal. Off to Philly we went! 


I had never visited before, but I took the bus there...found my way onto the correct subway and made it to the stadium on time. I loved Philly, I love Philly. I think I like it so much because I found that the subway reminded me of NYC and the actual city had so much character. We had seats right next to the stars! The ones in the sky, not on the floor, but it was all good! Ahem, I must say that the reason why I wanted to go to a Clipper game was because of Blake Griffin. Frankly, he looked damn good but CP3 stole the show, which was awesome. I would be very sad to see the two split up if they ever switch teams because CP3 is a lot of fun to watch... I would probably just switch to whatever team Griffy is on, not gonna lie. 

We cheered for the Clippers, ate nachos, had some beer and caught up on years of our wanderings

During half time, a band composed of ~high school kids came and jammed out. The conductor went bananas! He tore off his jacket and swung it over his head several times before throwing it into the crowd. Pretty damn awesome. You can't see it but I hope you feel the energy!

Poor Justine was sitting next to two douchebags...they were all talk...Clippers won!

We did not get carded. Hm. 

After the game, Justine and I went to a bar in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. We made it home around 3AM but not before we found that the 7-11 in Philly does not carry hot cheetos. Heinous. We spent our Saturday trying to find a decent place to eat breakfast, trying to find a used copy of 'Invisible Man', going to the Liberty Bell, being tricked into "seeing" the new Philly History Museum (two rooms and some questionnaires later...), trying to find Edgar Allan Poe's home, talking about the apocalyptic Philly skyline, mistaking a sex shop for a bookstore (I finally settled for buying "Invisible Man" at BN), and general sight seeing shenanigans. 

I love this picture of the Dalai Lama. I love any pictures of him, really...but this one especially.

Can't help it:

"There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness"

"We can reject everything else: religion, ideology, all received

wisdom. But we cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion....
This, then, is my true religion, my simple faith"

Zebras that remind us of Snoop Dog deserve our undivided attention. He was wearing a baseball cap. Haha, such depth after the Dalai Lama quotes!

That statue being placed up so high was alarming...in fact, there was a curse placed on Philly's sports teams because no one was supposed to build anything higher than Billy (William Penn) and they did. Curse has since been lifted after mini Billy was placed upon the current highest building.

When it was time to go, we went to our respective Megabuses...Just want to say that I think the Megabus is brilliant. It is inexpensive, 2 storied, there are outlets everywhere, and it was really clean. I highly recommend it! Before we left, we agreed that there are places that we still need to explore. I have a traveling buddy! Detroit, Chicago, Canada, Florida here we come (after I am employed of course!).

Hm, tomorrow, I will come and describe my trip to Baltimore (with the Hughes clan), King of Prussia, and the book club I joined... Good night!