I know, I know! I'm doing it again; leaving you all out of the loop. And yes, I apologize for that. I tend to have a consistent habit of doing just that sometimes along with procrastinating and putting tasks off to the last minute. Actually, even though my status has said "Invisible" for the past... I don't know.. week or two, I've had a long-term withdrawal from my LapTop for quite some time. In fact, the only reason I'm able to talk to you guys now is because I'm using an old computer at an Internet Cafe somewhere in the U.S. at the moment. Which leads to what I wanted to inform you all.

For the past 7-9 days I've been on vacation in New York! The first 4 days meh Dad, meh Gramma, and I got to spend in the Big Apple! The entire trip was a blast! Although, I had to agree with my Dad on this: the only way to get a quality, in-depth experience of New York City would be to stay for at least two weeks, maybe three. Of course, for the very fortunate me, this was not my first venture to the Big Apple, but my 3rd. We took the double-decker tour buses across most, if not all of Manhattan and into Brooklyn; all three of us went to see the Broadway musical: Jersey Boys (The actor who substituted in for the normal guy who plays Frankie Valli: it was his first time playing that particular role and he was phenomenal, not to mention incredibly cute! )!

I also went to M.o.M.A while my Dad and my Gramma were off smoewhere else in the city (Don't give me that look! I'm not some innocent little girl; I'm responsible and can handle some time by myself!)*cough*streetsmarts*cough* Anyway, going to the Museum of Modern Art really helped to broaden my horizons with different shading techniques, stances/poses, etc. Oh! I even got a chance to see "Starry Starry Night" in one of the halls by, yes, the one and only, Vincent van Gogh! I got the feeling that they got his original copy on loan from another museum. As to where meh Dad and meh Gramma were at the time, my Dad actually succeeded in acquired tickets to the DAVID LETTERMAN SHOW!!!! My Dad said that he originally had plans to take yours truly other than meh sweet Gramma, but get this: the rules state you must be at least 18 years of age or older to attend. That is such a load of bull! They air the show on live T.V. and everything! Ugh! Despite that, I had a fabulous time keeping busy with the Museum and grabbing a New York hot dog, fresh on a street stand while I had some spare time before I had to return to our hotel.

We also managed to stop by Little Italy again this time to dine at a REAL, CLASSY, old-fashioned, Italian restaurant while we were there on Mulberry Street. We managed to grab some lip-lickin' sweet Italian cannoli on the way out, as well. Courtesy of Ferrara's. ^_^ All in all, it was truly heart-warming getting to see my Gramma again. Since my parents, my brother, and I live so far away from practically everyone else in our family, we have to wait till we take vacation time to see them. My Gramma and I got to play some serious Gin Rummy as soon as we got back to her place too. I think I've gotten pretty good at shuffling cards really neat and REALLY fast now, it's like a blue blur goes by when you watch my hands shuffle, haha!

As for the changes, this is mostly for my appearance. I've only showed and told one person about it before now but I cut my long mane of blonde hair off and it falls a half an inch of so below my shoulders, at the moment. I also got a chance to restock my entire wardrobe, as well, so I'll be walking back through those school doors in a few days as a somewhat different person than I was. Well, I'd better go. I get the feeling I've lingered too long on this rented computer and I might miss my plane home! I actually feel a lot happier now than I was over the course of this entire summer. It's debatable whether the vacation had a major effect on this or not just yet. Talk to you all later!

DappyCat