The Perry Experience
No, no, and NO, for all you Amsterdamians who probably took one look at that and thought someone was giving an update on a strange encounter with AHS band teacher, Mr. Perry. This Perry I'm speaking of is the town called Perry... the village... ok, the double intersection with a 3 mile radius of farmland. Tiffany Jo, my roommate, is an extreme smalltown girl from Perry, and I went home with her this past weekend to see what it was all about and if all those stories she's told me are true.
They're true.
You know when you drive by a farm on the thruway or something and you catch that replenishing whiff of cow dung? That's kind of what it's like living in Perry... 24/7. But don't get me wrong, it's actually something you'd get used to after a while. Cows and horses galore. Everyone knows everyone. Tiffany's family lives next door to Tiffany's extended family. But if you ever wanna get away from your family, you can always take a nice peaceful drive into the heart of Perry, the "town." There are a few buildings there, actually. Let me see if I can remember all 5 of them... ummm... ok, there was the Perry Marketplace... Wal-Mart (no town would be equipped without one), Dollar General, Daryl's Pizzeria, and this is the big one... The Corral. When you think about it, Perry's got exactly the same things that would keep anyone in Amsterdam, if not more. See, this Corral is what makes Perry what it is. The entire town either works here or meets here usually more than once a week. It was like walking into one of those old fifties movies, where you'd expect to find the waitresses on roller-skates, and all the guys are wearing plaid and smiling. Everyone was so friendly and everyone knew everyone!!! "Hi, ever'body!" "Hi, Tiffany Jo!" Then I get those questioning stares, because by now it is apparent that I am the only face here nobody knows. "This is my roommate, Meghan!" Big welcoming smiles once again. "Hi, Meghan!!" This place is really awesome. There's an ice cream shop, a pizza part, a regular dining part, and an arcade. Outside there's mini golf (which I somehow miraculously won a free pass back to when I landed my ball--without looking--in the final hole at the end, which revolves), a fountain, and a drive-in movie theater. We went to the drive-in movies Saturday night. Saw Something Like Heaven and Red Eye. Both very, very good movies, although I laid on the grass on my blanket right next to the speaker, and Red Eye nearly shook me off my blankets during some of those intense suspense parts... Heather, I thought of you, love. It wasn't quite as intense as Finding Nemo, but just about lol. I got to start the movies. The owner, whom Tiffany knows... ok, everybody knows... called me over and let me give it a whirl, and he announced my name on the radio to everyone as a special guest from Amsterdam, NY. It was really welcoming, and it actually filled me with incentive to revisit this place sometime in the near future. I got 2 free bags of cotton candy for starting the movie. Cool.
Now, let's stop skipping around and try things the short version in chronological order:
Friday--I woke up and found a guy in my all-girls' dorm bathroom, peeing in the middle stall, door wide open, wearing nothing but his boxers... He was a reeeeally hot black guy, though, so I let it pass as he turned around, raised his eyebrows at me, and nodded, "Mornin'." I think I may have answered him back, my toothbrush working viciously all the while back and forth in my mouth. Since he was just so cute, I fear I'll have to let him off with a warning this time lol.
Oh, wait, this isn't Perry, is it... AHEM, ANYWAYYY.... We went to the corral for dinner Friday night, Tiff's parents paid. I reeeally didn't want them to do that, but Mrs. Myers bares a striking resemblance to Babe's Mom, so for some reason it made me feel content with the whole thing. Don't ask. Then Tiff, Doug (the bf) and I went to the homecoming football game... Oh, man. Compare and contrast of Amsterdam... ok, only contrast: Amsterdam--hundreds of people, Perry--50 or 60. Amsterdam--cheerleaders, majorettes, and a band, Perry--none of those things, but they do have a cd which plays patriotic music during the half-time. I think that's all that need be said about that game. God, I can't wait for AHS homecoming!!! But all things set aside, it was an engaging experience to see how towns with smaller populations hang out. Kinda the same as we do lol. Just less ppl. So after that, we went back home and watched Dodgeball with her little brother Matt. Very funny movie. I nearly peed my pants twice.
Saturday--went to Doug's house and got the grand tour of the country home from his mother... I gotta just say she reminds me of Mrs. Bowman. I coulda talked to her for hours. But I really started missing the REAL Mrs. Bowman, and so I can't wait to go visit her this upcoming weekend!! Anyway, if I could just get past Amsterdam for a little while, I might finish this entry and pull my clothes outta the dryer. So after that we went to see the "lake" (I'd call it a pond) that Doug's grampa owns. It was so quiet and calm, I really would like to live that way. But we took a few pics and left (I will be posting some pics of Perry you'll never believe later). Then we went to see Letchworth State Park, which was like... wow. I never even knew this kinda nature was in NYS! Miles and miles of cliffs with EXCELLENT views of mountains, leaves beginning to change for the fall season, and WATERFALLS!! Not just little things, either! It was totally awesome. I can't believe these people live here all year-round! They should be charging for admission to see this stuff! Young couples srolling hand in hand, getting their pictures taken by the falls. I've got pics of that, too. And then when we had finally seen that, they took me to the pizza place, to play mini golf, and to the drive-in. I've already talked about that so I'll just say it was fun lol.
Sunday--(today) was a looong day. We made the rounds, seeing both her grandparents on both sides, an aunt, cousins, and then a trip to Wal-Mart to get some dorm room must-haves. Like a pink chair for guests and a scale so I can be sure I'm not gainging the Freshman 15 lol. You laugh. Just wait. Then Doug and Tiffany had the goodbye from Hell, but I am glad they talked about things that really needed to be said. Tiffany's really growing up, and the darnest thing is that I'm the observer of her life that is noticing this. Anyway, on the way home we realized we really had to eat to save our lives and stopped at a convenient roadside Taco Bell. It was much later than I'd planned when we got home, and carrying all our crap back up to our room was hell on my muscles. If anyone cares enough to offer up their hands for the good of a back massage this homecoming weekend... it would be much appreciated... lol.
Well, folks, that was the Perry Experience in a nutshell. Any questions, call the toll-free number (not really, tho) 518-461-8626. Or just gimme a "bleep" and IM me. I gotta go pull my clothes from the dryer now, though, before somebody else does. Ya'll keep in touch now, ya hear! Bye-bye, now!
They're true.
You know when you drive by a farm on the thruway or something and you catch that replenishing whiff of cow dung? That's kind of what it's like living in Perry... 24/7. But don't get me wrong, it's actually something you'd get used to after a while. Cows and horses galore. Everyone knows everyone. Tiffany's family lives next door to Tiffany's extended family. But if you ever wanna get away from your family, you can always take a nice peaceful drive into the heart of Perry, the "town." There are a few buildings there, actually. Let me see if I can remember all 5 of them... ummm... ok, there was the Perry Marketplace... Wal-Mart (no town would be equipped without one), Dollar General, Daryl's Pizzeria, and this is the big one... The Corral. When you think about it, Perry's got exactly the same things that would keep anyone in Amsterdam, if not more. See, this Corral is what makes Perry what it is. The entire town either works here or meets here usually more than once a week. It was like walking into one of those old fifties movies, where you'd expect to find the waitresses on roller-skates, and all the guys are wearing plaid and smiling. Everyone was so friendly and everyone knew everyone!!! "Hi, ever'body!" "Hi, Tiffany Jo!" Then I get those questioning stares, because by now it is apparent that I am the only face here nobody knows. "This is my roommate, Meghan!" Big welcoming smiles once again. "Hi, Meghan!!" This place is really awesome. There's an ice cream shop, a pizza part, a regular dining part, and an arcade. Outside there's mini golf (which I somehow miraculously won a free pass back to when I landed my ball--without looking--in the final hole at the end, which revolves), a fountain, and a drive-in movie theater. We went to the drive-in movies Saturday night. Saw Something Like Heaven and Red Eye. Both very, very good movies, although I laid on the grass on my blanket right next to the speaker, and Red Eye nearly shook me off my blankets during some of those intense suspense parts... Heather, I thought of you, love. It wasn't quite as intense as Finding Nemo, but just about lol. I got to start the movies. The owner, whom Tiffany knows... ok, everybody knows... called me over and let me give it a whirl, and he announced my name on the radio to everyone as a special guest from Amsterdam, NY. It was really welcoming, and it actually filled me with incentive to revisit this place sometime in the near future. I got 2 free bags of cotton candy for starting the movie. Cool.
Now, let's stop skipping around and try things the short version in chronological order:
Friday--I woke up and found a guy in my all-girls' dorm bathroom, peeing in the middle stall, door wide open, wearing nothing but his boxers... He was a reeeeally hot black guy, though, so I let it pass as he turned around, raised his eyebrows at me, and nodded, "Mornin'." I think I may have answered him back, my toothbrush working viciously all the while back and forth in my mouth. Since he was just so cute, I fear I'll have to let him off with a warning this time lol.
Oh, wait, this isn't Perry, is it... AHEM, ANYWAYYY.... We went to the corral for dinner Friday night, Tiff's parents paid. I reeeally didn't want them to do that, but Mrs. Myers bares a striking resemblance to Babe's Mom, so for some reason it made me feel content with the whole thing. Don't ask. Then Tiff, Doug (the bf) and I went to the homecoming football game... Oh, man. Compare and contrast of Amsterdam... ok, only contrast: Amsterdam--hundreds of people, Perry--50 or 60. Amsterdam--cheerleaders, majorettes, and a band, Perry--none of those things, but they do have a cd which plays patriotic music during the half-time. I think that's all that need be said about that game. God, I can't wait for AHS homecoming!!! But all things set aside, it was an engaging experience to see how towns with smaller populations hang out. Kinda the same as we do lol. Just less ppl. So after that, we went back home and watched Dodgeball with her little brother Matt. Very funny movie. I nearly peed my pants twice.
Saturday--went to Doug's house and got the grand tour of the country home from his mother... I gotta just say she reminds me of Mrs. Bowman. I coulda talked to her for hours. But I really started missing the REAL Mrs. Bowman, and so I can't wait to go visit her this upcoming weekend!! Anyway, if I could just get past Amsterdam for a little while, I might finish this entry and pull my clothes outta the dryer. So after that we went to see the "lake" (I'd call it a pond) that Doug's grampa owns. It was so quiet and calm, I really would like to live that way. But we took a few pics and left (I will be posting some pics of Perry you'll never believe later). Then we went to see Letchworth State Park, which was like... wow. I never even knew this kinda nature was in NYS! Miles and miles of cliffs with EXCELLENT views of mountains, leaves beginning to change for the fall season, and WATERFALLS!! Not just little things, either! It was totally awesome. I can't believe these people live here all year-round! They should be charging for admission to see this stuff! Young couples srolling hand in hand, getting their pictures taken by the falls. I've got pics of that, too. And then when we had finally seen that, they took me to the pizza place, to play mini golf, and to the drive-in. I've already talked about that so I'll just say it was fun lol.
Sunday--(today) was a looong day. We made the rounds, seeing both her grandparents on both sides, an aunt, cousins, and then a trip to Wal-Mart to get some dorm room must-haves. Like a pink chair for guests and a scale so I can be sure I'm not gainging the Freshman 15 lol. You laugh. Just wait. Then Doug and Tiffany had the goodbye from Hell, but I am glad they talked about things that really needed to be said. Tiffany's really growing up, and the darnest thing is that I'm the observer of her life that is noticing this. Anyway, on the way home we realized we really had to eat to save our lives and stopped at a convenient roadside Taco Bell. It was much later than I'd planned when we got home, and carrying all our crap back up to our room was hell on my muscles. If anyone cares enough to offer up their hands for the good of a back massage this homecoming weekend... it would be much appreciated... lol.
Well, folks, that was the Perry Experience in a nutshell. Any questions, call the toll-free number (not really, tho) 518-461-8626. Or just gimme a "bleep" and IM me. I gotta go pull my clothes from the dryer now, though, before somebody else does. Ya'll keep in touch now, ya hear! Bye-bye, now!