A good week
For all the moping I did on Sunday, this really turned out to be an amazing week.
I went and saw the Sex & The City movie with Ali on Tuesday night. And JJ and I made blueberry-guinness pork chops out of a recipe we found in the newspaper.
Yesterday, while I was waiting for my laundry to finish drying at the laundromat, I cleaned my car. That was actually kind of a big deal for me, because I hadn't cleaned my car for about 2 or 3 years. (Really.) I know because there was garbage from Bonnaroo '06 in it. In the process I found a really fancy corkscrew, still in the package. And a lot of pens, and a book about how to identify trees in the winter, and a package of gum with only one stick missing, and about $10 in change, and a ladybug... the native red kind. Still alive and living inside my tape deck. A couple gawked at me while I beat dust out of my car mats for a good 10 minutes, but they had mullets so I felt we were even. Now I don't have to feel bad about having friends in my car anymore because it no longer smells like hot garbage. And in the evening, JJ and I were going to walk to Graham's to sit out on the patio while he graded papers and I read some more of Black Boy. But as we passed one of the bars, we found his old college professor sitting in the window, so we said hello and ended up hanging out with her and her husband for 3 hours. She is one of the warmest, most honest and interesting people I know, so it was such a lucky surprise. And it sure made JJ happy to see her, and recall his forgotten wish to someday go back to school. He was extra smiley and playful that as a result, so I chased him most of the way home trying to kiss him with inappropriate vigor for downtown Geneva.
At work today, I invented a new drink, and made some waffle cones, and then went outside to sketch my design onto the rain barrel I'm painting for the festival next weekend. It's a candy land made out of all the treats we have at the coffee shop: a chocolate waterfall erupting out of a bundt cake volcano, pouring out over ice cream foothills into a fondue lake with a banana split boat and strawberry pirates. The teacups make lilies all along the shoreline. There's whipped cream clouds and all the flavor syrups turn into a rainbow. And hot air balloons made out of ice cream, and cookie butterflies.
After work I went to a mental health center out in DeKalb to give help a sixth try. The lady seemed to like me, even though she didn't know how to help me immediately. She took a copy of my book and sounded like she really planned to read it. She thought I would maybe benefit from seeing a psychiatrist, and arranged the appointment after I consented. I've always believed in handling things myself, considering drugs to be a cop-out. But I don't know. Maybe there's wisdom in knowing when to admit you're out of your league.
Tonight we learned how to kayak at a big lake out west of town. Some guy fell in and lost his glasses, and I felt bad for him. But it was the most magical and serene thing ever. I felt like I was floating on the water. Some nearby hippies were smoking marijuana and jumping off the cliff into the lake. And a big thunderstorm was rolling in. And the sun was setting over the trees. And it was easier than I thought it was, and I raced JJ and turned and stopped and even tipped myself over to see if I could climb back in all by myself. (I could.) And when the lesson was over, we stayed and just played in our boats until it grew dark and the park rangers made us leave. I'm definitely kayaking again. I feel so good right now. I've got some energy back, that I've been missing.
I went and saw the Sex & The City movie with Ali on Tuesday night. And JJ and I made blueberry-guinness pork chops out of a recipe we found in the newspaper.
Yesterday, while I was waiting for my laundry to finish drying at the laundromat, I cleaned my car. That was actually kind of a big deal for me, because I hadn't cleaned my car for about 2 or 3 years. (Really.) I know because there was garbage from Bonnaroo '06 in it. In the process I found a really fancy corkscrew, still in the package. And a lot of pens, and a book about how to identify trees in the winter, and a package of gum with only one stick missing, and about $10 in change, and a ladybug... the native red kind. Still alive and living inside my tape deck. A couple gawked at me while I beat dust out of my car mats for a good 10 minutes, but they had mullets so I felt we were even. Now I don't have to feel bad about having friends in my car anymore because it no longer smells like hot garbage. And in the evening, JJ and I were going to walk to Graham's to sit out on the patio while he graded papers and I read some more of Black Boy. But as we passed one of the bars, we found his old college professor sitting in the window, so we said hello and ended up hanging out with her and her husband for 3 hours. She is one of the warmest, most honest and interesting people I know, so it was such a lucky surprise. And it sure made JJ happy to see her, and recall his forgotten wish to someday go back to school. He was extra smiley and playful that as a result, so I chased him most of the way home trying to kiss him with inappropriate vigor for downtown Geneva.
At work today, I invented a new drink, and made some waffle cones, and then went outside to sketch my design onto the rain barrel I'm painting for the festival next weekend. It's a candy land made out of all the treats we have at the coffee shop: a chocolate waterfall erupting out of a bundt cake volcano, pouring out over ice cream foothills into a fondue lake with a banana split boat and strawberry pirates. The teacups make lilies all along the shoreline. There's whipped cream clouds and all the flavor syrups turn into a rainbow. And hot air balloons made out of ice cream, and cookie butterflies.
After work I went to a mental health center out in DeKalb to give help a sixth try. The lady seemed to like me, even though she didn't know how to help me immediately. She took a copy of my book and sounded like she really planned to read it. She thought I would maybe benefit from seeing a psychiatrist, and arranged the appointment after I consented. I've always believed in handling things myself, considering drugs to be a cop-out. But I don't know. Maybe there's wisdom in knowing when to admit you're out of your league.
Tonight we learned how to kayak at a big lake out west of town. Some guy fell in and lost his glasses, and I felt bad for him. But it was the most magical and serene thing ever. I felt like I was floating on the water. Some nearby hippies were smoking marijuana and jumping off the cliff into the lake. And a big thunderstorm was rolling in. And the sun was setting over the trees. And it was easier than I thought it was, and I raced JJ and turned and stopped and even tipped myself over to see if I could climb back in all by myself. (I could.) And when the lesson was over, we stayed and just played in our boats until it grew dark and the park rangers made us leave. I'm definitely kayaking again. I feel so good right now. I've got some energy back, that I've been missing.