#I realize 'I have a free ticket to a cool event but I'm tired' is an extremely first world problem

[grassbreads]

Coworker gave me a free extra ticket to a local event today and I'm so conflicted. I do genuinely want to go, and I'm sure I'd have fun if I did, but also I've been so tired this week and I was actively looking forward to and counting on today as a chance to do nothing and recover. If I go I'll have to stay for like 6 hours to make it worth it and I can only use the ticket today. Ugh.

[chicagocryptid]

'I WATCHED YOU WIN AN EATING CONTEST THEN THROW UP' THAT'S SO HORRIBLE I'M LAUGHING

County Fair // Maple x Chug

Warnings: None!

Summer in Nockfell was hot, but Maple and Ash would have braved hot coals every year to make it to the county fair. The week it was in town was always the most exciting for the entire gang, who all spent their allowance on tickets and fried oreos, but especially for the girls, who could get a free ride or two by winking at the operators, and who loved the excuse to beat the boys at every game they encountered along the dusty path.

It was just them that afternoon. Sal and Larry had been especially sore losers about a game of Balloon Darts, and had declined their invitation for a rematch, so Ash and Maple were walking arm in arm through the crowd, sharing a lemonade shake up and a handspun cotton candy the size of Maple's head. They were both windblown from the tilt-a-whirl, sweaty and a little smelly, but both of their faces hurt from smiling, and if you had asked either one of them, there would have been nowhere else they'd've preferred to be.

Maple groaned and pulled Ash to the side of the path so she could rub a blister forming under the strap of her flip flop. "I feel like we've already done everything," she said when she straightened up again. "We've done all the rides once and I promised myself I would wait to have a funnel cake until after we get dinner."

Ash hummed and tore a piece of cotton candy from the stick, popping it into her mouth. "We could try to break Larry's record on Zero Gravity?"

Maple's stomach lurched at the idea, and she leaned back against one of the makeshift buildings to hide her disgust. "Nah, if we did break it he'd say it was invalid 'cause he wasn't here. We'd just have to do it all over again."

"You're right," Ash sighed, joining Maple against the building. They were quiet for a stretch, watching people from all the over County pass them by. It was another reason they liked fair time so much; It was the only time Nockfell felt like a real town.

"Isn't there a show or something?" Maple asked, soothing closer to lean her head on Ash's bare shoulder. She could feel the heat that meant Ash would be calling her later to complain about not putting sunscreen on, though Maple had reminded her twice before they left. Ash craned her neck to try to get a view of one of the various events signs staked in front of booths and on corners.

"Looks like the only thing going on is an eating contest. It started at 2."

"What time is it now?"

Ash pulled her pager from her pocket and squinted to see it in the light. "2:04. I bet we can catch the end of it at least."

Maple shrugged off the wall and twisted her pinky finger around Ash's, pulling them back into the path. "Great, that means we'll get to see if anyone throws up."

To both of the girls' surprise, the eating contest seemed to be a hot commodity. Still, they were small enough to slip through the throng of people, and somehow, Maple figured out a way to get the two of them pressed against the platform. The sickly sweet smell of pie wafted over them, crusty and warm, and even though she was stuffed to the seams on fried foods, Maple's mouth watered. Most of the contestants were older, some in their twenties, some her dad's age, but there was one young boy second from the left she thought looked familiar.

Maple tapped Ash on the shoulder and gestured towards the boy, a round faced, green haired cherub, with his hat on backwards to keep the strays out of his eyes. "Do we know him?"

Ash used her free hand to shield her eyes against the sun. "Oh! We go to school with him. I think his name is... Chip? No. Ch... Chuck..." She rolled a few names around on her tongue, and then her face lit up. "Chug! That's it . I'm pretty sure he lives in the Apartments with the guys."

"Huh." Maple watched as he dove hands first into another pie, his fingers stained purple with blueberry ink. The pile next to him was smaller than the others, and she felt a little spark at the thought that he might win. Even Ash appeared to be interested, if her wide eyed gaze was any indication. He finished that pie, and then another, and then the crowd around them started to cheer louder. Maple realized Chug only had two pies left, and so she started to cheer too.

She hadn't been looking at anyone else's pile, but it must have been a close race, because as Chug took his last bite, a loud groan rippled through the audience. Chug had won, and although she hadn't meant to, Maple was screaming, jumping up and down on the hard dirt. Ash was right alongside her, caught up in the excitement. The judge came to Chug's side, lifted his hand above his head, and declared him the winner.

And then Chug's hair wasn't the only thing that was green. Maple must have been the only one who saw it, and it made her stop dead in her tracks. It flashed across his face for just a moment, and then Chug pushed back his chair, leaned over the side of the stage, and puked.

And puked.

And puked.

A rainbow of pie, every color imaginable. The crowd, in disgust, had begun to disappear, while the judge was standing behind Chug, looking horrified. A woman rushed on stage to rub the small of his back. When he regained his composure, only Ash and Maple remained.

"Should we go?" Ash asked, leaning close to Maple's ear and looking a little nauseous herself. But Maple's feet wouldn't let her move, although Chug was heading off the back of the stage into the other side of the fair.

"Uh..." His green head was threatening to disappear into the masses. "Why don't you grab us another lemonade and meet me at the Yo-yo?" She was already headed in Chug's direction, Ash calling after her.

"Okay, but you get the next one!"

She caught up with him a little ways away from the stage, in line for a shwarma stand. The woman, who Maple had assumed to be his mom, was no where in sight.

"Hey, Chug!" He turned, and looked rightfully surprised to see her moving in his direction. He had a chunk of thrown up pie on his t-shirt. She pretended not to notice.

"Maple, hi." He smiled when he saw her, kind of crooked and goofy. She liked it.

"I just uh... I just wanted to make sure you were..." The person in front of him stepped aside, and he moved into the window with two fingers up. "Are you really about to eat again?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." He laughed a little."I wait all year for this truck. I'm not missing out."

"You literally just threw up 15 pies."

Chug blanched a little as he took his order. "You saw that huh?"

Maple flushed. "Unfortunately. I was actually trying to make sure you were feeling alright but... Well." She gestured at the paper boat in his hand. "Curried meat speaks for itself."

Chug laughed again, longer this time, and picked up one of the skewers. He held the other one out to Maple, and after a moment, she took it. Chug touched the end of their sticks together and made a clunking sound, and then took a bite.

"I see you around at school a lot, you know. I noticed your paintings at the art show last spring." Maple blushed again, busied herself with finding a good angle to bite her shwarma.

"They're okay."

"What?! They're amazing. I know Mrs. Doyle hung that one in the art room. I go in there to look at it sometimes." The sun shifted overhead, and Chug turned his hat forward. "You know sometimes they show off local work at The Bean. You should submit something."

Maple was so surprised that she nearly choked, and spent a good thirty seconds trying to dislodge the food in her throat. When she felt she could breathe again, she tried to wave him off. "Oh no. I'd be so intimated and I wouldn't even know what to paint..." Chug frowned, and then took another bite and lit up again.

"Why don't you come with me the next time they have one? Then you can see what you'd be up against." Maple heard her name cut through the air like a knife, but from further away. Ash just have gotten tired of waiting and was on the move. Maybe it was a blessing though, because her face was so warm she thought she might be getting a sunburn too.

"Okay, sure." Chug smiled wide, even more crooked, and knocked their skewers together again.

"Cool. It's a date."

Maple heard her name again, closer.

"I gotta go." She turned slightly in the direction of Ash's voice, then paused. "Oh, and Chug?"

He lifted his gaze toward her, taking another bite.

"When you ask me on our second date, make sure you don't still have vomit on your shirt?"

[pbandjesse]

My stomach hurts really bad right now. So I am going to lay down soon. But today's been a pretty nice day. Did not feel like a day off though.

I hate that my stomach hurts again. My stomach hurt really bad last night and after James friends left it didn't really stop. I washed my face and that helped cool me down at least. But it took like 2 hours before I was comfortable enough to actually sleep. So that sucked. It actually hurts worse tonight but at least I'm in my own bed and can try to deal with pain alone and not bothering James with my whining. Not that he would think that it was annoying but still.

We woke up this morning at 7 and I made him stay in bed until 7:30 because I was exhausted and I didn't want him to get up yet. I actually slept pretty well. And once I was dress I basically just left. I wanted to keep my momentum going because I really wanted to clean the apartment and finish my heart. It was cool out. But I was fine I had a sweater. And biking back to my house is easier because it's a one way that direction.

I got back to my place and unpacked. Laid out my dress for tonight. And then I cleaned. I vacuumed and I Swiffered. I cleaned out the fridge. I Cloroxed the inside of the fridge. I try to just get rid of all the Crows Nest that I've been feeling in the apartment. That took a while and then I worked on my diorama. I hadn't finished something and I didn't realize it. I went to photograph it and realized I had forgotten to make the whole Lantern section. So I quickly did that. I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out even though I made in about 2 minutes. The rest of it took me a really long time so I'm glad I'm happy with it.

At noon I was ready for my interview. And then 1215 came. And I was like oh maybe she forgot. Which is fine it happens. I sent an email asking if she wanted to reschedule for later this week or meet in person since I live in the neighborhood. And then I actually headed over to the Walters. I wanted to drop off my ID card since I'm not volunteering anymore. And while I was getting ready for that I checked my email and I actually had an email from the teaching position. It looks like they're going to offer me the job but they can't actually do that until they have funding from the city approved. And they're not going to know about that until mid this week. But if all goes well I can be starting on the 22nd. Terrifying but I'm very excited. I am trying not to be too excited because funding could not come through but we got to stay positive.

When I was at the Walter's I left a note for the woman who I was having interview with there as well. And I got complimented on the embroidery I done on my volunteer bag. It was nice talkin to Laurel and then I headed down to Fleet Week.

It was wickedly busy down there. Like not as bad as I guess like City from what I saw but still very bad. I had wanted to go on some of the larger ships that the lines were incredibly long. So I just ended up walking around the outside. I whenever to the city of bismuth which is the Pontoon ship. Honestly the only one I care about. But the line was like 2 hours long. So I decided to just go up to the fence and talk to the guy with big gun. I asked him what the crew size was and we ended up talking for 10 minutes. He kept adjusting his gun and getting the same goofy smile on his face that James does when I talk and get too excited about something. All smiling and blushing. That was my one big flirting moment of the day but I like to tell people that I was flirting with all the sailors. But really I mostly just walked around and people watched. I ran into Chris and said hi. But the girls are just too crazy down there so I headed over to Fell's point.

Still crowded but much less lines. I got to see the Coast Guard Eagle tall ship. And that was cool because I didn't even know that the coaster had a tall ship. I did flirt with the sailors there as well. But mostly I was just fascinated cuz I had no idea that the Coast Guard had sale powered ships still. I mean that has an engine but that's really cool that the Coast Guard has a sail ship. And it was nice to walk around the back. I decided after I saw that one that I didn't even see any of the other ships. I'll probably try to see the godspeed tomorrow since it's right next to Constellation but not ships are letting us go below deck to my knowledge. And really all I care about is what the living spaces look like anyway. So I'm not that torn up about it.

Since I was down at fellas I walked around a little bit. Wanting a couple of the stores. I found a new store that just open today that is all Baltimore theme stuff that I think James would love. It's all novelty shirts and stuff. I like the aesthetic though. And I walked around the Goodwill for a bit too. I didn't have any luck there finding stuff for James apartment or the things I needed. I decided that I really should just go get lunch.

I went down to the harbor again and I had pizza. Listen to a podcast. And then I went to Marshalls to get winter lotion. I decided I want to switch over from Citra sense since its fall now. And had really good luck. I got a philosophy brand in the clearance section that's cream and mint. And I love it. And that's a really expensive Brands usually so it was nice to get it for under $10.

It stopped at constellation and talk to Frank for a while. Dropped off the half of my pizza to have lunch for tomorrow. And after a little bit of wandering around. I went and Build-A-Bear and found a life jacket that I return to the dragon boats. I had it home. I had seen some of the Thunderbirds going over. And that was interesting. But really I was tired. And I need to be in the house for a while just by myself.

I got back here and I took a very long shower. That made me feel a lot better. I basically spent the next two hours lounging in a robe watching TV. Playing with sweet pea. I wasn't exactly sure what time James was coming so I wasn't sure when to start getting ready. But ended up all working out just fine.

He got here about 6. And I had finished putting on my makeup and my dress a few minutes before that. I felt like I look really good tonight. My makeup was just on point and the dress look great and it was pink for the event was perfect. So I felt really good. And James looks super cute too. He always does. He let me do his hair.

We went and grabbed the bus to go to his parents house. I didn't have my charm card because I didn't know that we are going to be taking a paid bus. So he paid for me which was nice of him. We got up to his parents house and his mom had some of her friends there. And she had put out snacks. So we had snacks and talked. I got to talk about art for a while. And his mom had gotten the catalogs are ready for the show so I read through them which was good because I was not going to have a lot of time to read tonight while we were there. It was nice being able to talk about my art for a little bit too. I feel no more confident than when I'm talking about my art.

Me and James walked over to the BMA first. Because the adults were going to be driving. But just down the street we found a box of free stuff and there was a gold-framed mirror. Which if you know anything about me that is one of my favorite things. So he carried it back to his parents house for me. The adults all got a big kick out of that when we walk back in the door. But then we were back to the museum. We sat outside on the bench while we waited for them since they were the ones with the tickets. Or at least the information on how to get in. We watched a bunch of old people coming in and just talk. It was nice. I like to watching all the different people dressed up. A lot of people with John Waters mustaches drawn on or styled. So much pink so much gaudy. It was a blast. My dress was very very low cut so knowing that I was not going to be sticking out because of that was a little bit of a comfort.

They don't got there and we went inside. The line to get into the actual exam it was wicked long. So we all decided since it would have been wait anyway to just go up to the reception part and have snacks. Which worked out really well for me because I was starving and my stomach hurt. We had a bunch of snacks. And then me and James went and got a photo booth photo. He was so awkward looking in the top two photos it basically looked like a high school prom picture. So when the third one I made him dance a second just to get him to smile bigger. And in the last one I kissed him. It was just very sweet. After that we decided to go to the actual exhibit. It was a little bit of wait in line but not a big deal. We ended up being the first ones in in our group going up to the actual line. And then the last ones in when the door is opened. At least for our group. I asked the guy at the front and he said over 700 people to come in already that night. That's wild.

The show itself was fabulous. I would have probably changed the wall color. From the white Cube. But honestly I think for the commentary he was trying to make it worked well. There was one piece that is just a black curtain with sound coming out. It's a fake video installation. And I fucking love that piece. It was probably my favorite piece of the night. But honestly some of the pieces were so good and so instagrammable. I am glad that we're going to be able to go back. And spend more time. And read everything. Because there was just a lot of stuff that I would have liked to spend more time with. I am really glad that we got a picture in front of the have sex in the voting booth button. I apparently caught James off-guard when I kissed him. He was nervous enough about asking someone else. But it was very cute. And honestly the show is great and I can't wait to go back.

We headed out and went and found his parents again. And while we were standing there with his mom John Waters walked right past us. And I kicked my PO up and looked over my shoulder and told him great show. And he said hi to me. And it was just such a surreal moment. He's much shorter than I imagined. I don't know why but I always imagined to be 8 feet tall. And just lanky as all hell. Definitely a highlight of my night.

My stomach still hurt pretty bad though and we had seen the show and had the snacks. I wasn't really interested in choosing too much more than that. So we went to go get the bus. It was a nice ride back even though I was still feeling like complaining. We got back to my apartment and James made me a drink. I mean it's just Crystal Light. But there's something comforting about that because that's something I always drink when I don't feel very good. I jokingly told him I was going to make a handbook for the care and keeping of Jesse. And he said yes please make that. So I might jokingly make that. We'll see.

Sweet P just came over and wormed his way onto my lap. So he is all curled up on me now. Which is nice but I also would really like to go lay down. So I'll give him a couple minutes and then get to bed. I'm working all day tomorrow with Frank. I think I'm going to be doing the firing again and Frank said that he would spot me if I need help. I think it's going to be a fairly busy day. But we'll see what happens. I don't know if consolation itself is being busy or just the pier. We're still caustic money so I don't know if people are actually coming in that much. We'll see. I think it'll still be a pretty good day. Sleep well everyone.