2003-08-24|12:13 a.m.
My schedule of responsibility has been relatively commitment free this summer. I only work at the drugstore once a week. I am not taking any summer classes. Gas costs more and more every week, so I don�t even drive anywhere anymore.
I stay home and read, go on the internet, run local errands for my mom, make crafts, cook, eat, and rest. It�s been really nice. I really needed it.
I picked up my best friend, MM, a week ago. It�s been awesome to have him around. So, we�ll probably make another episode of my sock puppet show.
Soon I will start working at Dress for Success every weekday. Though, I won�t find out about whether or not I will get paid through Ameri-Corps for my labor until November. I don�t mind the wait at all. It will feel great to get busy doing positive work even if it is for free. I just hope that by November Congress and Bush save the program from certain death, like they said they would.
So, I heard that Wesley Willis died. MM was the first to give me the bad news. I am grateful that I got to meet him once at least.
I worked twice this week on days that I don�t normally. I typically work at the drugstore only on Sundays because I get paid a dollar more an hour and I like going home at eight rather than ten at night. This week I worked a six hour shift on Friday for a girl who had finals to take and an eight hour shift on Saturday (today) because K is taking me to see Bright Eyes/Belle and Sebastian Sunday (tomorrow).
It�s really nice that he�s taking me, because he really likes B&S and it�s a lot of fun to see your friends have a good time. I am not particularly a fan of these groups, though. My opinion is neither positive nor negative and I could easily enjoy just listening to them once and never buying an album.
So, basically, I look forwards to getting a chance to hang out with K.
Today, my grandma and my uncle (from my mom�s side) came to take my mom to garage sales in the area. I was happy to see my grandma, even if only for fifteen minutes or so.
I think the parts I love most about being around her are the most tangible things. She likes to rub people�s backs and shoulders while she sits next to you. I don�t think I could ever mind it and I am normally someone who doesn�t like to be touched. I would even say that I am probably someone who is not particularly affectionate to most people. But with her I could never mind it. She relaxes me easily with her grandma magic.
My uncle also brought a puppy for my brother. It�s a Chihuahua and is shaped much like Holden, my dog, but it is tan colored and is a female. She and Holden hit it off pretty quickly.
She�s absolutely adorable and sweet. I�ll have to post pictures soon.
Plus, I think I might get to name her, which would be cool. I was thinking that since she and Holden were so close that I would give her a girl�s name from Catcher in the Rye like I did him or perhaps another Salinger name altogether.
Everyone should give me suggestions.
I saw this woman today in my store who was wearing one of those bracelets that people wore during the Vietnam War for soldiers who were missing. I think, if I remember what I was told about them correctly, you wore the bracelet until the guy was found dead or alive. Some were never found. So, in theory, you would continue your life wearing it.
This woman really did it.
The bracelet was dark blue and had the man�s name, a date, and some short thing that had the words �Vietnam War� inscribed.
I kept staring at the woman.
I wanted to tell her I thought it was noble that she still wore it even until this day, but the idea of some twenty-something kid telling her I had any feelings about something I had no experience of, made me keep my mouth shut.
It made me feel pretty emotional though. It was remarkable to me the way that one small item could link two people�s lives so inextricably that the bond would endure to this day. It struck me at how easily we are bonded. The simplest things make us friends. The chance of life makes us family. The tragedies of conflicts make us concerned.
It�s fair to think of this from time to time, I think.
I decided that most people who use the word �ergo� are most likely pompous jerks.
I dyed my hair back to black because the red was getting too brassy looking.
This is what my new hair color looks like:
