an exercise on positive thinking

things that make me little-kid happy:

1. the sight/sound of marching band drums approaching
2. when young “hippie” couples bring their little “hippie” babies to outdoor music  (i.e. Woodstock or the Reggae one at school)
3. riding my bike through autumn leaves while wearing a skirt
4. being less than half-way through with an amazing book, esp. when part of a series (because there is much more to read)
5. the tense cool-down that comes right before a huge summer storm
6. Muppet Family Christmas, as well as pre-Christmas music, decorations, excitement

(taken from my journal)

Reggae night was awesome on Saturday… actually all of Saturday was really good. D. and I woke up, watched some Arrested Development season 2 and then he wanted to eat out so we went to Buffalo Wild Wings. It was gorgeous outside and afterward we decided to go to Benton for some antique shopping. He bought some books (one was a first-edition of a T.S. Eliot book) and I got a new smaller suitcase, a cute tiny metal tray, and another trinket box for my collection. After that, we went to the used bookstore and the library and eventually went over to a couple of friends’ for some pre-reggae partying. As usual it was slightly awkward at first because there weren’t many of us, but mojitos were made and eventually more people came. They had an ice cream cake for the occasion, which was pretty funny, and we danced some before going to the bar. There weren’t too many people at reggae night when we showed up at about 11 but we went and danced anyway; more people came and joined us eventually. It was really fun because we could all be stupid together and I got to dance by myself somewhat too, which I like to do. D. even danced a lot… I was really glad about that since he isn’t usually one to just dance with a bunch of people. The best part is that no creepy guys came up to me or tried to get me to dance with them for once. The crowd was a lot smaller than the last time since it is summer, but that was fine with me. There was this one girl who is in my soc class who was majorly grinding on some guys there. She was wearing a short skirt and would jump up on the guys and throw her hair around; it was ridiculous… I didn’t know that people did that outside of stupid college movies. It’s no wonder she always comes to class looking hung over and falls asleep so often. Part of me feels sorry for her, but the other part thinks she might just be having fun. Anyway, there’s my re-cap for the weekend.

a photo

(entitled, love in infant monkeys, with beer)

[end quote]

dooce in her latest response to all the “hateorade” (as L.A. calls it):

Does making fun of skinny people make you feel better about being an asshole? I’ve often wondered, because apparently I can go out and cure my inherited metabolism with a cheeseburger. But you? How are you going to fix that personality?

my best friend Jenn:

I just farted and it sounded like a howling wolf.

Dylan Thomas on useless presents at Christmas (thanks D.):

…and a celluloid duck that made, when you pressed it, a most unducklike sound, a mewing moo that an ambitious cat might make who wished to be a cow…

Augusten Burroughs:

I like flaws and feel more comfortable around people who have them. I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions.

Alice on Minty Bear:

…but then again he was also smitten with the ceiling fan, and would spend hours chuckling at it. There you go again, ceiling fan. Whirling and whirling. Oh, ceiling fan, you are a minx.

quittin’ time

[First of all, L.A. is doing better. The antibiotics are starting to work and she's finally able to drink a little. She'll probably be in the hospital for a couple more days while they keep an eye on her.]

Yesterday morning I went into work planning to quit my job at the student center. I’ve been there for a year and it’s been boring the hell out of me for the past few months. Plus, the girl I used to be best friends with works there and she is no longer speaking to me (hi, long story) so it’s been… awkward. So I got there and of course find out that Sr.Boss was taking the day off. Just my luck – the one time I actually want my boss to be there. So, this morning I go in again and he’s there. I tell him that I’m sorry but I want to put in my two weeks’ notice and, surprisingly, he is shocked and sad. Apparently he liked working with me and hadn’t really noticed that my work quality has been far less than stellar lately. Immediately I feel the oh so familiar sense of guilt and obligation and almost agree to stay around, but then I realize that it would be a dumb move. I decide in the end to stay an extra week until the end of July and just work a few days each week. To be honest, I need the money… but I also do feel bad for leaving.

It all felt very familiar; two years ago before going to college, I tried to quit my job at the computer store where I’d worked for a few years so that I could get things ready for school. I’m unemployed for a week and they call asking if I could come back to fill in and train another person. Of course I go and end up cutting my pre-college vacation down to a few days rather than a few weeks.

Anyone else feel like they were born with an enlarged sense of obligation? It’s like a disease where my heart/guilt completely overrides my (already limited) common sense. It’s a damn good thing minimum wage in Illinois just went up… softens the blow a bit.

Burst

My dad just called from the hospital in St. Louis. My sister had been complaining of stomach pain and running a fever all weekend but we thought it was a virus and a pulled abdomen (from rough rides at Six Flags last week.) Instead it was a ruptured appendix that is infected fairly badly. They have her on antibiotics and pain medication and she’s been resting a lot since they went to the hospital last night. Apparently the rupture wasn’t too severe because there’s no fluids around it, so they’ll just be watching her after the infection goes away.

Dad said they’ll probably schedule surgery in a few weeks after the monitor everything.. I still don’t understand why they’re waiting that long after the infection goes away, but that’s not my call. He said the worst part about the whole thing is that the medicine is administered through an I.V. and my sister is terrified of needles. I can definitely relate – when I had surgery to remove kidney stones, the I.V. was the scariest part. She will be fine after they get everything cleared up, but I feel terrible for her.

I don’t know what it is with our family. In 2004, I had kidney stones for the first time which resulted in surgery. Then almost a year later, my mom had major gall stones and had her gallbladder removed. Then last November, I passed another (smaller) kidney stone. Now poor L.A.’s appendix gets a shot at the emergency room.

red, white, etcetera

Happy (late) fourth everyone, I hope that you all had a good day off work/school and could shoot off some ridiculously dangerous fireworks. I’ll be in St. Louis visiting my family until Sunday and will try to update while I’m here.