cold walks and a dying phone
Today I got up before noon and went with Viola for a belated birthday trip around. We took the Red Line as far as its wobbling wheels would take us then took shuttle buses. In Davis we got Anna's Taqueria (they have a corned beef and cabbage burrito this month) and stopped by two little shops to look at the notebooks and candles and trinkets. The man running the second shop didn't smile but he played Help Me exactly as loudly as you ought to. We walked to Porter (Viola told me she likes Pan's Labyrinth and Chocolat and Final Destination) where we stopped at a natural store and talked about Divacups and periods. At Porter Books a poetry reading was happening in the cafe. We took the bus and the train back to Central for ice cream and the young kids behind the counter were having a lot of fun with the shift switchover. We ended at Rodney's books which was cozy in the cold night.
My phone was pretty much dead from the get-go which got me concerned until I realized I could get trains and buses until I got to my parents' house and didn't need my phone. The day feels like a vitamin I took because I should. How did I manage all that walking in below-freezing weather? I did a good thing being social and being outside. Those things are hard for me sometimes. I was dreading it a little until last night. Sometimes I need to remind me that my friends are caring and aren't forcing me to do anything, and I know how to sit on a train and the city isn't foreign to me.
I got to my parents' and sorted old clothes of mine that had gotten shunted into Shayla's closet. I wasn't aware my stuff was taking up her space and I felt bad. "You don't have to take everything, did mommy tell you you had to?" Shayla said as she got ready for bed. I left one drama club sweatshirt I'm not sure what to do with.