Dinner with Gary

I sort of left you there with my last story.  Again, every time I try to sit down and write, I get interrupted by life. 
Dinner with Gary was nice.  We went to this sushi place.  I've only been there a few times, but it was the first place that I was introduced to sushi about four years ago (with Stephanie and Lia.)  Last summer, when Nate and Dean and I went there. 
I had my usual and Gary had something adventurous.  We mostly ate and talked like old times. 
Gary's been doing well.  He has been having lots of career related successes lately, and I'm really proud.  He was invited to a political rally to speak and he's always getting invitations for fancy dinners and conventions.  I'm so proud of him.  I always knew he was smart and passionate, but I didn't guess he would be this ambitious.  Good for him. 
He also told me about one of his favorite hobbies, genealogy.  He's talked about researching his own family before, and it has lead him to learn lots of interesting facts about his family and even to finding lost family.  More recently, he's been working on a website version of a basic genealogy guide, written for people who are just getting started. 
"I've always wanted to do something like that," I said.  "But I don't really have the time and I wouldn't know what I was doing.  It sounds like a good project for you." 
He told me that he did research for other families, and I told him my family would probably do that.  "What do you charge?" I asked. 
"Oh, no, I wouldn't charge," he said.  "I would do it for free." 
So maybe one day I'll ask Gary formally.  One side of my family has been thoroughly researched, but the other side is fairly dark.  And I'm sort of curious as to what Gary would find. 
Gary was even sweet enough to pay for part of my dinner. 
The only bad thing, at the end of the evening, was that my computer fell off a chair.  I was worried it was going to be damaged, but so far there's been no problem. 

Women Have to Stick Together

I had dinner with Ruth.  She's been off on some socializing stuff, and she told me about how she was at a casino, and a stripper offered her a free lap dance. 
"Male or female?" I asked.  Devil's in the details. 
Lavvy was there, and she awkwardly gulped her food.  Claire started laughing.  "That was brilliant!"
"Female," Ruth asked, ignoring the whole Lavvy/Claire thing.  "There was this creepy man on the other side of the room."
"Oh," I see, I said.  "She was trying to get away from him, and you offered her temporary shelter?"
"Something like that," Ruth said.
Good for her. 

The Night of Ring Day

Dinner tonight was quiet.  Ruth is gone and Elizabeth didn't show up, so it was sort of a smaller group than usual.  Jenny talked a bit about her first hangover and Claire and her struck up a conversation talking about Scottish slang. 
Preadad came over to sit with us again tonight.  I really don't like her, and I wish, honestly, she wouldn't talk to me, because I hate making the effort to be nice to her.  It sounds terrible, but I sort of like it when I and someone else decide we don't like each other, and since there aren't many circumstances in which we have to talk to one other, we simply avoid each other, and thus avoid confrontation.  I especially like this because it allows me to avoid trying to be better natured than I truly am. 
It was all big news that we were going out tonight to celebrate Rachel getting a new job.  I found myself wondering how much I should put into my appearance.  I really don't want to make an effort tonight, and honestly if this wasn't for Rachel, I wouldn't go out at all and just stay in and watch a movie. 
Nina asked me to buy toilet paper, and since I was running low on shampoo, in between dinner and going out I went to get some.  Pharmacies around here are shabby, and this one was no different, with the computer freezing up as I tried to check out. 
I finally got home, and put on the lightest bit of makeup, and then went downstairs.  On the way down, I ran into Mimi.  She gave me this strange speech about when one should press the button on the elevator.  "Wait five seconds before you press it." 
"Okay," I said.  I continued saying that, even though she didn't really wait for me to confirm I was listening, just talked about how you have to wait, counting it out for me in demonstration.  It's not as if it matters: the door closes when it is ready to; pressing the button at one second or another doesn't make a difference; you still end up at the same place at the same time.  But everyone sort of humors Mimi because she seems to be at least a little bit mad. 
Downstairs we had a ring day celebration.  This is some strange game Elizabeth made up to celebrate achievements of various kinds.  The last time was for Rebecca, and for whatever reason I missed it.  (Had I gone out that even with Mikey?  I can't recall.)  Anyway, this was my first ring day, so I didn't know exactly what to expect, though Elizabeth had explained it to me once. 
Basically, Elizabeth brought this giant hula hoop, covered with ribbons, and she told Rachel she had to walk through it.  Several people took pictures as Rachel crawled through in in slow motion.  (She even said the word "slow motion" as slowly as possible.) 
Then Elizabeth gave Rachel this ring, which I was really surprised to say looked really nice.  It was sort of knot set with green stones.  Then everyone had to twist the ring around Rachel's ring going towards the pinkie finger.  "Don't go the other way or she'll be a nun," Elizabeth insisted.  I honestly don't know if that's true or not, but I really don't know much about how nuns are made other than to say they are married to God and whatnot. 
There were other people sort of milling about and you could tell they thought we were barking mad, and they were sort of laughing at our escapades.  I hate to say it, but adults are always making up little games, even if they don't talk about it.  (Especially if they don't talk about.) 
Lola was there, and I was sort of surprised to see her.  I don't remember her being as pretty as she was today.  Maybe I am appreciating her now that I don't see her on a regular basis and she doesn't have a chance to annoy me twice a day. 
We went out to the bar then.  When we got there, we had a bit of trouble.  The woman wouldn't let us sit down at a table.  The girls prefer this bar because they let us sit down.  I realized if we were here an hour later it probably wouldn't be a problem. 
Amanda made the comment that "the customer is always right," and that service jobs are all about giving people what they want.  She's right, of course, but it is one of the things that I am not good at, even when I remind myself.  I am just naturally not inclined towards other people. 
I think what was sort of irritating was that Rachel had actually made reservations before hand, and they were giving her trouble now. 
After a bit of trouble, they let us sit down.  I tried to be super gracious.  I'd been to this bar before and I had never seen the young woman in question, which makes me wonder if she is new. 
We had the same waiter we had a couple of weeks ago when I went out with the girls.  A bunch of them ordered margaritas.  I noticed a listening for a spiked Arnold Palmer, so I ordered that. 
It was horrible.  Like, really rank.  I actually have not been impressed by this place in terms of drinks.  Long Island Ice Teas and Captain and Cokes are also really bad at this place.  And I'm not a fan of margaritas. 
Meanwhile, I chatted with the girls.  Lola sat on the other side of the table, so I didn't really mind her at all tonight.  I sat with Jenny and Claire.  Jenny and I complained a lot about various mutual enemies.  We sort of filled Claire in on how Jenny has become Mimi's friend, though Jenny really hates her.  Everyone enjoyed my story of the latest run-in with Mimi on the elevator.
Jenny also knew somethings about Mimi I didn't.  According to Jenny, Mimi has four sisters, and all of them are married and normal.  Mimi was apparently showing Jenny a family album and she had all these pictures of her nephews and nieces, and none of them were smiling in any of them. 
"That's because they were with Mimi," Jenny explained.   

Assorted Antics

I had dinner tonight with Rachel and later Jenny joined us.  We had a nice chat.  Rachel indulged in some complaining about a roommate she once had who smeared a open plastic packet of ham all over the bottom of a refrigerator and other assorted antics. 
Jenny talked about her officemate, who she really likes, even though she is a little nutty and entertaining. 
I spent the rest of my evening catching up on emails and other things.  Emily emailed me to say she might be coming up for a visit and would I like to hang out.  Of course I told her I'd love to see her again (I would.)  So maybe we'll visit.  And then Ashley emailed just for a general chat, catching up about what's going on. 
Elena didn't come home until 10:30 tonight, which is pretty late for her.  She came home while I was in the shower.  I admit it: I was singing.  I only sing a couple of times a week in the shower, and I try to limit it because I'm not good.  I heard her leave loudly. 
Also got a text message from someone saying that I was texting the wrong person.  I was totally shocked.  Was I doing the same thing as that woman who wouldn't stop calling me?  But I looked back in my file of sent texts, and I've only texted that number once in the past few months, and I suspect even less before then.  The text was kind of rude, and I have half the mind to text them back just out of spite.  But I got everything straightened out, so it's okay now.   

Now That's Talent

At dinner tonight I was sitting with Bethany and Olivia.  Crazy woman from a few posts ago was sitting at a table nearby.  At one point she burped (exploded, really) loudly and all three of us whipped our heads around, not realizing it was her. 
"Now that's a talent," I said.  Bethany and Olivia both smiled.  The talent show was tonight, and Bethany was performing. 
I asked Elena if she wanted to go to the talent show we were having, and she said no, because she had to study.  Then she sat down and started watching a tv show online.  Okay, I thought.  Elena isn't very social.  She'll sit with me in the caf if I'm alone, but if I'm with anyone else, she'll sit alone.   
But I went anyway, sitting down next to Lavina.  We chatted a bit, and then Jenny came in to sit behind me.  She was exicted for this talent show because she thinks everyone here is talentless.  Considering who I knew was performing, I had to agree, but I was here mostly for the treats and the laugh. 
It was worse than I thought.  First, they had Portia come up and read a poem.  Portia strikes me as really stupid, but I had no idea she was a writer.  The announcer said she had even been published and then I thought "maybe she really is good."
But she wasn't.  Poetry is so hard, I know, but her poem was about the language of love, and about the soul, and at one point the "pencil of justice" was involved.  When she said this it was really funny, just because she said it like a mother scolds a child.  Jenny started cracking up behind me.  I was trying really hard to ignore her because if I started giggling I might not stop. 
Then a solo by Mary Kay.  She has a low voice, which might have been fine, but she was totally off-key the entire time.  She was good enough to dance through her song though. 
Then a couple of artists showed off their paintings.  The announcer kept saying they were watercolor, but I'm pretty sure watercolors don't really manage black (I know because I tried during my Gothy art days).  I'm almost certain they were oil paintings.  Also, someone took responsibility for this creepy painting of a man that eyes follow me every time I'm in the room.  So I guess now I know who to blame.
Then Bethany's dance.  It was by far the best performance of the night, but I didn't think it was that good.  As terrible as this is to say, I've seen such better dancing, though there were parts where she was really fluid or did something bendable and impressive. 
Next, a duet featuring Mary Kay and Mimi.  This is what I really wanted to see.  Mimi is one of the most overbearing people I've ever met.  A group of girls had gotten together last night to watch Glee while Mimi and Mary Kay were practicing, and apparently it was wretched. 
And it was.  They did the Beatles "Eight Days a Week."  Both were low singers, and again, off key.  Mimi was trying to concentrate, but Mary Kay kept making devil horns behind her head.  She wanted us to clap, so we started clapping, then she tried to get us to do a little double clap thing, and it took the audience three choruses to get it.  And then Mary Kay started doing this thing where she would lean in really close to the mic every odd line so it would be "eight days a week I LOOOOVVE you.  Eight days a week IS NOT enough to show I CARE."  And awkward like that.  This went on the last two thirds of the song. 
Mimi was kind of mean to Jenny yesterday, so I quietly enjoyed the making a fool of herself bit. 
Then a few girls came up and showed off these handbags one of them made.  One was actually really beautiful and, depending on price, I would totally buy. 
And then an older woman got up and sang "Second Hand Rose."  She wasn't great, but she was wearing black sequined hot shorts.  She had great legs for her age, but I was totally shocked by this, because my Grandma would complain about age appropriate clothing.  And because this woman is part of the group that complains about certain people wearing pajama bottoms at dinner, even though they cover the entire leg. 
I asked, since Thanksgiving is coming up, if I could help with a particular dinner service they're doing for the homeless.  They said they had too many volunteers, but thanked me.  I'm sort of bummed out about it because I was planning on it. 
Then we had treats.  I had apple cider (the only stuff of it I've had all year) and pumpkin pie.  It was a bit rich, but I sat with Jenny and Elizabeth and Clare and later Ruth came over and we had a good chat.  Elizabeth wants to get Clare and Jenny to do a play with her next talent show (yes, there's another one next month...)  Clare's busy that night, so I suspect it won't happen.  And Ruth, who I haven't seen for ages, seems to be pretty tired these days. 
I was pretty entertained, I must admit. 

As I was going home, I passed by Bethany and some other girls watching Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. 
"When are we going to see less of Stabler's clothes?" I asked.  Some of the girls laughed. 
"He just got shot, you know."
I immediately left.  I can't take hearing that. 
When I got back, Elena was still watching tv. 

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.

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.

Shway Fu

Matt and I had dinner tonight.  It was a really good time. 
We had this whole long conversation where we made fun of Twilight.  Matt's sisters are really into it, so he complained to me that he can't even escape it.  This is one of the few times I'm grateful that my sister hates reading, so my family is Twilight free.  Except for my merciless teasing on it. 
I told him all about my whole Mom being dramatic thing.  I also went on a rant about how I don't understand what New Age types are talking about when they say that you need to flow with the energy in shway fu.  This got him to laugh at me and said I had created a spoonerism of the right word, feng shui.  And, at one point, I told him that me and math went together like oil and the Gulf of Mexico: it's a disaster.  That last one made him laugh really hard.  
Matt thinks I'm really funny, and I would say that I have my moments of wit, but I'm not that impressive.  He had this idea to video tape our conversations and then put clips of them up on YouTube.  I'm wondering if anyone would actually be interested in that.  I think it's a lot of giggling between us, mostly.  And if you've ever listened in on other conversations (which I never do...) than you know that they tend to be fairly boring, if not downright stupid. 
We ended up getting kicked out of the restaurant we were in because it was so late.  There was this moment when I realized that we were the only people there anymore.  So we sat in his car and talked.  Man, I'm sometimes so embarrassed by my Podunk town sometimes.  There's not much to do.  Just sit around in the dark night talking. 
My sister texted me, asking if I wanted to go get some stuff for Father's Day, and I said yes, thinking we'd be back soon, but it was like the time just disappeared, and poof! she had left without me after giving up.  Matt and I spent hours hanging out.  Oh well.  I also need to get a certain someone a birthday gift, so I was going to that with my sister, but I guess I'll have to try tomorrow.
When I got home, my Mom was all "What do we need to know about Matt?"  It made me miss MSU, where I could go out with a boy, and no one would give me a hard time.  Any time I hang out with a guy, my Mom has to make it into such a big deal. 

Dinner with Dad

Last night I went out to dinner with my Dad at this bistro down the road from where we live. It was mostly nice. It's a fairly new place, but there were a fair amount of people there, and there was even a man playing covers of classic rock songs. ("You can't always get what you want...")
I had fish, even though what I really wanted is steak. We have very little meat in our house. The caf spoiled me terribly, and I often find myself craving something higher in protein. This is especially ironic, since my Mom believes my lack of protein is why I have such terrible hair.
Mostly, my Dad talked to me about plans for the future. That's all anyone can talk to me about these days. It's sort of frustrating, since I'm already bored with my future.
He wants me to retake the GRE, since he thinks it's the best way I can guarantee getting into grad school. Maybe. I suspect it has less to do with me and more to do with money.
I noticed that one of the waiters was watching me from his seat at the bar. Seriously, boys, I can tell when someone is watching me and trying for me to not notice. Don't bother hiding it.

What's My Age Again?

I'm feeling like a bit of a moron today, since I managed to throw my back out at dinner time. I hate taking pain medication, but I did tonight, lying down for spaces of time.
Mostly, I've been doing research on a project I want to get started on, and I've been spending a lot of time in front of the computer. I'm wondering if the lack of exercise is the problem here.
Here's hoping tomorrow I will be feeling better.