[If You're Not Into the Whole Brevity Thing...] Five Things I Did This Weekend
1. I went to Einstein Bros. on Saturday morning and wrote. I like doing this every Saturday morning. I'm at the halfway point in the novel where I have to write a lot of "middle" that I didn't bother writing in the first draft. Fun times.
2. We got our taxes done. Because my default mode is "fearful and pessimistic," I figured we would owe money. Between the diminishing work load at my job and the eventual disintegration of the company, I haven't earned this little money since I was a teenager. I figured that less income = less taxes paid = more taxes owed. Because that's how math works.
As usual, I forgot to bring a list of my charitable donations, and all I could remember was the boxes of books I gave to The Book Thing last May. Why can I remember to meticulously record every donation, but not bring that information with me when it finally matters? At one point the woman smiled and asked us, "Is Lucas still with you?" which initially struck me as rhetorical and slightly amusing, because obviously we didn't get rid of our son. But then I started thinking about the people who HAVE lost children, and how awful it would have been if she asked a grieving mother that question. Now I feel like I should call her and offer alternate ways she could phrase that question in the future. Because I am crazy.
When it was all finished, we ended up getting a refund, and it was actually fairly close to the refund we received last year. So, per usual, I worried for nothing.
3. We hung out with Tom. Brian wanted to go out to Ellicott City on Saturday evening, so on our way there I called Tom to see what he was up to. I am always making these last minute calls to Tom and I'm sure it's really annoying. Brian told me during the week that I should see what he was doing this weekend, and of course I forgot. Tom was kind enough to hang out with us for a few hours. We went to All Time Toys and an antique store that inexplicably sells a great deal of LEGO. I think I'm the only one who didn't buy anything, which is odd. Most of the time, Brian doesn't end up finding what he was looking for, and I somehow spend $60. We had dinner at Applebee's where, for the first time ever, I had the most expensive meal. It was a CRAZY night.
4. I finally submitted the grant application. First, I panicked because I couldn't find the somewhat decent version of my biography I had finally settled on. It took me over a month to write a biography that didn't totally suck. I found another copy of the file and the biography wasn't there either, so I concluded that the whole thing must have been an elaborate dream and that I really hadn't written a biography that didn't suck. But then I found a THIRD copy of the file, and the biography was there. That was a riveting tale, I know.
5. Luke and I went to Storyville. The last time we were there, he wasn't walking yet. Now, he is too big for the baby garden. We had a good time. My favorite part was when Luke started dancing for some strangers, and they started dancing with him. A grown man looks pretty funny when he dances like a one-year-old. On the downside, I'm pretty sure that every little boy in Storyville under the age of two was also named Luke.
2. We got our taxes done. Because my default mode is "fearful and pessimistic," I figured we would owe money. Between the diminishing work load at my job and the eventual disintegration of the company, I haven't earned this little money since I was a teenager. I figured that less income = less taxes paid = more taxes owed. Because that's how math works.
As usual, I forgot to bring a list of my charitable donations, and all I could remember was the boxes of books I gave to The Book Thing last May. Why can I remember to meticulously record every donation, but not bring that information with me when it finally matters? At one point the woman smiled and asked us, "Is Lucas still with you?" which initially struck me as rhetorical and slightly amusing, because obviously we didn't get rid of our son. But then I started thinking about the people who HAVE lost children, and how awful it would have been if she asked a grieving mother that question. Now I feel like I should call her and offer alternate ways she could phrase that question in the future. Because I am crazy.
When it was all finished, we ended up getting a refund, and it was actually fairly close to the refund we received last year. So, per usual, I worried for nothing.
3. We hung out with Tom. Brian wanted to go out to Ellicott City on Saturday evening, so on our way there I called Tom to see what he was up to. I am always making these last minute calls to Tom and I'm sure it's really annoying. Brian told me during the week that I should see what he was doing this weekend, and of course I forgot. Tom was kind enough to hang out with us for a few hours. We went to All Time Toys and an antique store that inexplicably sells a great deal of LEGO. I think I'm the only one who didn't buy anything, which is odd. Most of the time, Brian doesn't end up finding what he was looking for, and I somehow spend $60. We had dinner at Applebee's where, for the first time ever, I had the most expensive meal. It was a CRAZY night.
4. I finally submitted the grant application. First, I panicked because I couldn't find the somewhat decent version of my biography I had finally settled on. It took me over a month to write a biography that didn't totally suck. I found another copy of the file and the biography wasn't there either, so I concluded that the whole thing must have been an elaborate dream and that I really hadn't written a biography that didn't suck. But then I found a THIRD copy of the file, and the biography was there. That was a riveting tale, I know.
5. Luke and I went to Storyville. The last time we were there, he wasn't walking yet. Now, he is too big for the baby garden. We had a good time. My favorite part was when Luke started dancing for some strangers, and they started dancing with him. A grown man looks pretty funny when he dances like a one-year-old. On the downside, I'm pretty sure that every little boy in Storyville under the age of two was also named Luke.