Baby Shower

I went to a baby shower with Madison, Lisa, Tori and Ashley.  Well, actually, at the beginning, it was just Madison, Lisa, Tori and I.  Ashley is notoriously late for things, and although no one was particularly surprised, no one was terribly happy about it either. 
Since the party was around lunch time, they served us salad.  There were different types of salad, and at one point Madison and I decided to switch like an old married couple.  A woman we didn't know who was sitting at our table thought this was really funny, even though Madison and I have been friends for ages. 
Madison talked to us about going on a road trip with her boyfriend soon and Lisa talked about her new job.  Tori, who was helping out with the party, was mostly too busy doing stuff to really sit and talk to us. 
Ashley finally showed up after most of the food had disappeared.  She was an hour and forty minutes late.  Tori had even lied to her and told her the party was starting a half hour before it really was, and which means she thought she would be two hours late.  Tori went and got her a salad. 
I understand that everyone has off days.  And I get that sometimes life gets in the way, and sometimes traffic's bad.  But Ashley is always late.  I don't remember anything that she hasn't been late for.  And I think she's gotten to the point where it's just insensitive. 
When she was late to this party, she told us that there was someone at the house visiting her sister and she decided to "visit with them."  I can't believe Ashley was dumb enough to say this, because it sent the very clear message that the party and her friends weren't as important.  She would have been better off not offering an explanation at all. 
Also, she was dressed exactly as I was: green shirt and black slacks.  The only difference was that I had on scarf too. 
When it came time to open gifts, Tori helped move them to the new Mom and Dad.  Their nieces, who were both pretty young, were helping her with the small gifts.  They danced around and got in the way of the aunt who was taking pictures.  At one point, the younger niece had a ribbon stick to her shoe.  I got her to come over to my table. 
"Can I have your foot?" I asked.  She lifted her leg up and I tore the ribbon off. 
Tori watched all of this and commented "I can't believe you think you're bad with children." 
I don't think I'm always bad, but I do hate a lot of children.  I know that sounds really terrible, but I have low tolerance for adults who are mean or stupid; why should I like children who are the same way?  I realize some children grow out of these things, but less than you would think. 
I think I would with raising a child in certain circumstances.  I think I'd be okay adopting a quiet child who could keep themselves entertained.  I'd prefer a girl because I'd be mortified if I raised a son who treated women badly.  And if I was raising my child with a partner, especially a male partner, I would want to emulate genderless behavior.  So, I would want to be more like a father, in charge of things like punishment, and not always the nurturing parts given to moms and women. 
Obviously, this is all very specific.  And probably would never really work out in real life.  So thus, I don't really want children. 
At one point, the new Mom pulled out a baby outfit that was stripped with two types of green, and I commented that the baby would look like Steve from Blue's Clues, which made Madison laugh. 
After the party was over, we stayed around to help out.  I threw away trash and then took the tablecloths outside to beat out the little bits of things. 
There was a ton of left over ribbon, which I took.  I don't know why, but lately I've been thinking I want to tie my hair back with ribbon. 
Tori got these great frames decorated with Noah's Ark and all the animals on them, and put a picture in it for everyone.  This was a totally great idea.
After the party, Tori invited us back to her apartment for drinks.  The previous occupants had apparently left behind alcohol, and she wanted us to try it.  It was wine, which is not something I really drink, but I was fine with that.  Free alcohol is free.  
We sat around the kitchen table and drank.  Madison played some music and I sang along with her at parts of songs I knew.  

Muppet Doppelganger

Yeah, I'm bringing sexy back. 

A couple of years ago, Tori, Ashley and Lisa got into it over the show The Muppet Babies, which is one of those shows I remember watching as a kid but could not really tell you much about, other than they were baby versions of Muppet characters. 
After being asked what Muppet I resemble most, I have to say it: Animal. 
It's only a shocker to some of the people who know me.  If you've ever seen me get emotional (in good and bad ways), you know I can express a lot.  Also, as a kid, I had unceasing energy.  I might have been a regular old perpetual energy generator.  I am all bitter that I lack the kind of energy I had as a kid. 

The Cat Whisperer

Tori and I went to visit Jack.  We were there so that their two kittens could meet.  Tori needs someone to watch her cat now, and we were all hoping that Mocha and Feets would get along.
On the drive over, Tori told me that they have now secured all of her father's guns.  He had fifteen rifles and five handguns, which is a small arsenal.  Apparently it's normal for hunters to have about ten rifles.  I was just worried something walked off, which would be scary.   
We tried a lot of things to get the cats to like each other.  At one point, we just opened the carrier Mocha was in, and Feets tried several times to wander up to it.  And Mocha would hiss at him.  Jack tried to pet Mocha, and Mocha started hissing at him.  And then me after that, even though there was no way I was covered in cat fur.

Meanwhile, one of Jack's roommates, David, stopped by.  He was just dropping some stuff off before heading out.  He has a degree in music and women's studies, and I thought that sounded suitably hot.  And then I met him and he was sort of adorable and nice.  He plays music at a church, and was planning on doing stuff from the most recent movie version of Pride and Prejudice.  I was definitely going to swoon, but Jack told me after he left that David was gay.  Of course he was, I thought.  This happens to me all the time. 
"We should have some music," Jack said.  Jack started showing us the stuff on his I-pod, and I picked out the Beatles.  That was something everyone could agree too. 
Then Tori held Mocha and Jack held Feets facing each other.  And they both freaked out, but at separate times.  Mocha would hiss, and then Feets would get all riled up and start clawing the air.  And then Mocha would start hissing again.
Jack was cool enough to make us some food.  As we waited in the living room, I began looking at Jack's books.  He had a lot of stuff I was interested in reading.  Lots of Ronald Dahl and other classics of young adult lit.  And books on Wicca.  I was thinking the day before of getting back into Wicca, but this would take a lot of work and time, and I really don't have much of that right now.  I sang along to Yellow Submarine.  I used to love that song and album as a kid. 

It occurred to me as we were waiting that the reason Tori asked me to come was because Tori didn't really know Jack all that well anymore.  Out of this particular group of friends, Jack is actually the one I stayed best in touch with.  And since I was the matchmaker on this one, maybe it was best I come along. 
Jack, like Jimmy, is a great cook.  (Are all of my friends amazing cooks?  When did this happen and why have I remained mostly ignorant of it?)  Jack made us pork chops, beans and rice.
Some of you will recall I don't eat pork.  This is still true, but I ate Jack's pork because it was good.  Seriously, I usually despise pork, but this was excellent.  He told Tori and I that he had added some cinnamon to it, which was surprising.
We waited for the two cats to sort of meet cute and get it over with.  No such thing.  We opened Mocha's carrier, and waited for her to come out, which she never did.  Finally, Tori pulled her out of there.  And then she sat up against the couch, trying to get under it.  The couch was too low, and this annoyed Mocha deeply.  Every time Jack got too close, Mocha would hiss.
One of Jack's other roommates, Kim, was apparently good with getting cats to like each other.  So we were waiting for her.  
Eventually, I suggested that we watch Friends.  I figured that this was a good way to pass the time.  As Jack was looking at the episodes, I was struck by how attractive Jack was going to be, even when he got older.  I kept imagining him with graying hair and wearing his glasses down his nose.  I could totally imagine him wearing sweater vests and working as a professor.
I was struck by a similar set of thoughts about Daniel months ago.  I was watching him walk, and I realized that when he looked older, he wasn't going to be all that different.  Like, more hunched over than he already is, and with white hair and maybe even a bigger beard, but basically himself.  And, like Jack, he would be cute.  He would be adorable as an old man. 
I realized a while ago that I've been nursing a little crush on Jack.  I'm not going to do anything about it because he has a girlfriend and he's been with her for four years, which I'm really impressed by.  There's no way I could compete with that, and I don't want to accidentally ruin Jack's life by telling him.  He's a sweetie and deserves better than that.   
We first watched "The One with All the Embryos" which had the Mom from That 70s Show and the episode that is an alternative reality of what their lives would have been like.  We had a good time giggling, while Mocha sat there and hissed every time Feets tried to come into the room.
I joked that Feets was like a thirteen-year-old emo boy who really wanted to get close to the girl, but kept getting scared off.  And then would inevitably have to go and write sad little songs about it. 
Kim finally came home.  She sat down on the floor next to Mocha and Mocha didn't hiss or anything.  Kim just petted her and that was that.  Mocha was definitely going to be able to stay.  Kim really was the Cat Whisperer.
Tori, Jack and I got some extra cat stuff (scratching post, bowls, toys) out of Tori's car.  Then we parted ways.  I was afraid Tori was going to have a hard time leaving Mocha, but she seemed relatively all right. 

Out and About

Lisa was backing her car up. 
"There's a cop there," I noted, watching him walk past and then in back of the car.  We hadn't even gotten in the door yet, and there were police officers.  Was this foreshadowing? 
Once we got in, it definitely felt like we were early.  There was a ton of noise from the music, but almost no one around.  Two people came out and yelled at us, clearly both having a good time. 
I got a Long Island, because I have decided they are how I am going to judge a place.  Madison and Lisa both got the same thing, something fruity.  (I do not like coconut, which is why I do not drink things with coconut flavored rum.)  Madison said she wanted something that would get her really drunk, which is why a Long Island was really a good choice, but Madison likes fruit drinks. 
We found a place to sit near a billiard table.  It was this tiny little table, but the three of us squeezed in.  Madison had wanted to come here, but Dan had also suggested this place.  It was actually hard to imagine Dan hanging out here, but only because he likes to drink in the privacy of his own home. 
We caught up with each other.  I had already talked about what was up with me in the car, so there wasn't much for my to say.  Lisa talked about how her and Michael have started looking at engagement rings.  Even though Michael hasn't proposed yet, they've looked at rings, which really surprised me.  They've been together for years, and I figured they had thought about it, but I feel like you've kind of ruined the surprise of getting married if your partner knows you've been looking at rings. 
Madison talked about her crappy week at work.  She's been really stressed out.  She got reprimanded for a mistake.  Poor thing. 
As I was drinking the Long Island, I was struck by how hard it was hitting me.  I should have had something better to eat before we went out.  Like a hamburger. 
Tori joined us after about forty minutes.  She had a family dinner so she couldn't come earlier.  She got her hair cut, and it's one of those super adult short cuts that makes her look very momish. 
Tori complained about how her aunt harassed her at this family reunion over her hair.  And then she talked about her cousin, who doesn't speak any English. 
We were sitting near a window, so we enjoyed watching various people on the street.  There were a lot of bachelor and bachelorette parties wandering by and in and out of the bar.  One young woman was carrying a huge blow up penis.  She put it up against the window near where Lisa was sitting. 
In the meantime, I got a shot of whiskey and a Fuzzy Navel.  As I did the shot of whiskey, the man standing next to me at the bar was really impressed.  When I do whiskey, girls are totally ambivalent, but guys are always both scared and impressed.  
Madison wanted to check out the club next door, so we wandered over.  I decided not to order a drink right away, and I was really glad I didn't, because they were ten dollars.  (Who has that kind of money?)  All three of them got martinis of various kinds.  Tori's was bright neon blue and Madison's tasted like a thin mint liquidized. 
The only good thing about this club was that they played Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." 

Gamer Girl

Today I was on the phone with this woman I met last week when I was out with Tori and Ashley.  She wanted to know if I would be available for an interview for a job.  Would I ever!
So everyone pray for me, because I'm going to need it.  I'm going to interview for a job at a game store.  (They mostly sell board games, though they also have puzzles and a few stuffed animals.)  It's on Monday, so in the meantime, I'm going to try to think of some good answers to common interview questions. 
Wish me luck!

Monte Cassino

Tori, Ashley and I went out to dinner.  We went to a little restaurant near home.  The last time I had been here, I had gone with Jennifer when I desperately needed to talk to her.  I had the mac and cheese and it had been terrible.  I wasn't going to do that again.  I ordered saganaki and a veggie burger instead.
I love a good veggie burger.  I know a lot of people complain that they are not that good because they do not taste like meat, I do not notice much of a difference.  I'm actually pretty impressed with their ability to get a bunch of semi-mashed vegetables to taste like meat.
And then there's saganaki.  It's delicious.  It's a simple thing, but I have it infrequently enough that when I do have it, it makes me really happy.  Tori and Ashley had never had it before, so I let them try some.
Ashley talked to us about her father and traveling.  She was complaining that her Dad only likes to go to the beach when they go on vacation, and that she would like to go to museums and monuments and shop a little and do all the other things that normal people do I vacation.  I suggested Rome to her, because it's close enough to beaches that might satisfy her Dad and lots of museums and things she would like.
What I should have said, now that I'm thinking about it, is about the area between Rome and Naples.  That whole area is supposed to be covered with beautiful beaches and lots of history.  Ostia is an important ancient Roman city.

And between Rome and Naples is Monte Cassino.  It's one of those places I've always wanted to go to.  As someone who is interested in monasticism, Monte Cassino is important because it is the birthplace of Western monasticism, where St. Benedict of Nursia, the founder of the Benedictines and inspiration behind so many other orders, began his community.  In addition to that, it is also the former site of a pagan temple to Apollo and the site of the Battle of Monte Cassino.  A Polish cemetery is located there, where over a thousand Polish soldiers who died during that battle are buried.  Also buried there are St. Benedict (for obvious reasons) and St. Scholastica, his sister and a nun.  The monastery also once held the archives of the Keats-Shelley House in Rome.
I want to go, want to take a tour, want to take in mass, want to look through their archive, and want to put red poppies on the graves of those Polish soldiers.  (It's part of a song, "The Red Poppies of Monte Cassino.")  
Never mind, I don't think Ashley would like to do this as much as me.  Talking about traveling got me daydreaming again.  One of the many problems with traveling is that it seems to be a never-ending desire.  Going a little does not really satisfy it. 
After we finished eating, and paid our bills, we went home.

"You Kids and Your Social Life"

Tori and Ashley and I spent the afternoon out together.  We ran into Erik, one of the boys we went to school with.  Erik and I had been in a gym class together my senior year.  I knew him because, at the time, he was dating one of my friends.  We had bonded over a mutual love of metal music.  Erik is now at MSU with so many of my other friends, though I don't know what he's studying.  We run into each other sometimes at MSU, but today we ran into each other at my hometown.  It was nice.  He is lucky enough to have a job this summer. 
I came home.  As I was taking off my shoes, my Dad came in.  "You want to get dinner?"
"Can't.  I have to shower and then I am going to see a show with Madison and some other people."
"You kids and your social life."
I've been thinking a lot about my Dad and his social life, or his lack of it.  Everyone else in our house has got stuff to do.  My Mom is running a business, taking care of my Grandma, and getting ready for a convention.  My sister is taking a class and has a job.  I'm working on and off, writing, applying for jobs and internships and catching up with old friends.  My Dad isn't doing any of that.  He mostly just gets up early and watches tv and go out for drives.  I think it's why he balks so much at everyone else being gone.  He has nothing else to really think about, which is why I get such frantic calls from him about what I'm doing.
Because of the time, I had to hurry to get ready.  I showered, ate some dinner (Lemon Rice soup, a favorite of mine), and got dressed.  I had texted Madison to ask what I should wear.  She said just a t-shirt and some jeans.  I was going to go for slightly fancier, since it is always better to be more dressed up than not.  For the first time since my steampunk convention, I used makeup.  I almost never wear makeup, and I'm proud of myself for only using it occasionally. 
Tori came and got me and we went over to Madison's.  When we got there, we found Lisa and Michael sitting in Michael's car outside Madison's house.  We chatted a bit.  Tori felt my arm and was like "Oh!  So soft."  She took my arm and stuck it into the car.  "Feel."  Both Lisa and Michael felt my arm and agreed.  With other people, this might have been a weird thing, but we've been around each other for so long that it didn't really faze me.  It was like when I spent time with Paul.  Paul and I lay all over each other, and neither the two of us or anyone else gets worked up about it.  And, to be fair, Tori, Lisa and Michael are not the first people to comment on my soft arms. 
We went inside and found Madison and her boyfriend Ted hanging out.  I haven't seen Ted since New Years' Eve.  He seems like a pretty cool dude.  Michael wanted to play some piano pieces he's learning, and he did.  He's an amazing piano player.
As we sat around waiting for Ashley, Tori told us that we should have told Ashley a half an hour before we meant her to show.  Ashley is notoriously late, and we almost always run late when we get together because of her.  I once showed up to something a half an hour late myself, and Tori was like "No worries.  You still beat Ashley here."
We sat around and chatted about things.  We talked about Michael's Dad, who drives Michael a little crazy.  I mentioned to everyone that I had met Michael's Dad, but that his Dad didn't acknowledge me, so maybe he doesn't remember me.  Michael laughed and said it was true.

Dinner with Tori and Lisa

I went out to dinner with Tori and Lisa last night.  We had a nice time. 
We've been thinking of seeing some movies.  I already explained last month how I feel about Marmaduke, which is out right now.  I told Tori that I didn't want to see The Last Airbender the first weekend it came out because there's a boycott against it for casting white actors in Asian roles.  I do want to see Despicable Me, which Lisa, in her never ending hunt for cute things, is totally game for. 
Lisa updated us on all the drama going on in her life.  I feel bad for her, because most of it sounds like stuff she can't control.  Of course, I have, on occasion, way more drama, and most of the time I can't control it either. 
Lisa is such a sweet, well intentioned girl.  She has the sunniest outlook on life.  (For example, Lisa has stuffed animals in the backseat of her car, all buckled into an actually seat.  It's pretty adorable and hilarious.)  Her brother is going to be shipped off to the army soon.  I guess I'll just have to pray for him too, as part of my long list of people I'm praying for (certain family member, Josie, Nick's little brother, Nathan, etc...).
Tori, Lisa and I talked a little out in the parking lot last night.  I don't know what it is about our town, but because there's so little to do, it seems like we always end up in a parking lot somewhere.
We might see each other this weekend.  If not, we've already seen so much of each other.  Ashley's off on vacation right now, so we'll see her again once she comes back.