Lunch Outside

I decided to take lunch outside because it was a nice day.  I sat on a park bench, swinging my legs like a little kid, and just marveling at how beautiful it was. 
And then Jimmy happened to come up behind me.  He was dressed in a fancy suit because he had to give a presentation for a class.  He had mentioned how much time this presentation and the project was taking and now it was finally over for him.  He seemed relieved, and also tired, since he was up at six. 
And then Jane walked by and she excitedly told me about how she was at this Indian restaurant and how one of the waiters had admired her yellow pants, which lead to a conversation, which lead to a job. 
I could almost hear my Mom in the background, yelling "Ask her if she could get you a job!"  I might ask her eventually, but maybe I should wait until she has some actual pull at this place.  And you know, to make sure she likes it.  Might be a miserable job for all I know. 

Vicki's Plans

Vicki has gotten an interview for a possible job, but she's not happy about it, since she thinks she's going to be leaving soon.  Ruth and I tried this morning to tell her to go for the interview anyway, since she has no idea how it's going to turn out.
Vicki says she doesn't want to change the plans she's made for the near future, but there's a selfish part of me that wishes she would, because that means she might be around here for a little while longer.

Procrastination

I swear to God I actually had a reason for walking past.  But Ruth is leaving soon for a couple of weeks, so I sat down with her.  She was watching the news, and we talked about the weather and how hilariously awful local news is.  (So, so bad.)  She ranted to me a little about how bad the food is here and about what proper biscuits are.  And then a little about a new book she got, Assassination Vacation, about a road trip to see where various Presidents were murdered.  We ended with watching some of The Simpsons, and we gently telling her that she looked just like a particular character.  
I'm so good at wasting time I really wish someone would offer me a job doing it. 

Nervous Nellie

So, I got the job that I was interviewing for a while back.  It's been an alright gig at this point. 
I'm working with Ashley right now, which I was a little wary about, but again, it's been okay.  We did stock the other day, and the two of us got super fast at getting stuff done.  She would open the box, and I would pull out all the packing stuff (in this case, mostly that brown paper they wad up).  Then she would go through the inventory checklist and I would move the stuff onto the storage shelves.  If there was extra still, she'd move those products too.  And then whoever had their hands free next went to get the next box, and we moved all over again.  We were very efficient, and I was happy as a clam.
Out on the floor, things were not so simple.  I'm struggling to learn the cash register.  Certain things were never taught to me and other things are just confusing.  My superior told me not to be nervous, and that made me feel bad, because I honestly don't feel particularly nervous.
Interacting with the customers went very well.  A young woman who worked at the caf at school came in, and I jokingly said that I visited her at her workplace, so she could visit me at mine.  And then my Mom and sister came in. 
Later on, a woman with four young girls came in looking for a game.  I sold them a game by American Girl called I Wish.  One of them cried a little at not getting something else, but there are occasionally tears around here.  Parents usually handle it, and it's okay.  

Coupling Us Of

Jennifer and I had a nice drive over here to East Lansing.  Jennifer complained to me about her job.  I don't mind because I know everyone needs a little space to complain about their job.  Sometimes, even if you love your job, you need some room to say what you don't like.  You need to feel listened to.  I love listening to Jennifer.
Finding Nate and Megan's place was not tough.  I was afraid it might be, but it was this really nice section of apartments.  Jennifer was kind enough to take my bags up one set of stairs and then a second set, since we went up the wrong one.
And then we found their apartment.  The door opened, and there Nate was.  He looked exactly the same.  I almost felt like the Grinch, like my heart was expanding three sizes in my chest.  I felt I was going to burst.  We hugged, we talked.  I said hi to the other two roommates, Valerian and Dorian.  We chatted a little.  (Megan was at work and would return soon.)
We sat around and talked.  I called and texted various people, telling them I was in town.  Now that I was forced to consider it, there were a ton of people here this summer who I wanted to see.
Justin called asking me for ice cream.  Sure, I thought.  I'd love ice cream.  Sadly, Justin's work schedule was a little screwed up, so I would have to wait for his call.  But I was already happy to see even some people.
I laid down for a little in Nate's bed while he worked on his homework (he's taking an online class.)  We had earlier teased people who weren't doing so well with what were pretty easy questions.
I had another bout of not sleeping last night (I think from so much of the excitement surrounding this trip) that I was really tired.  I felt terrible.  Even though I don't think I slept, just giving my body a little downtime was good.
Dorian offered me some cheesecake, which I had.  It occurred to me that maybe I would spend this entire trip eating junk food.  This is a vacation, so I'm okay with that.
Megan came home, and it was so good to hug and see her.  She changed into this really cute outfit and we sat around and talked and took care of some business.  It felt like no time had passed at all, like I just graduated from school yesterday, and the next day I was seeing my friends.
We decided to go out for dinner, since Nate and I got invited to a dinner party tomorrow and Nate is going to be working Saturday night.    
Megan, Nate, Dorian, Valerian and I piled into Dorian's car.  I texted Dan to tell him that he was welcome to join us.
Driving through the town was weird.  I have all these memories here, but I've already been able to put so many of them in the past.  Feels strange to deal with them now.
We went past my old church.  I had accidentally left one of my favorite blue hoodies there right before graduation.  We went in to try to find it.  No such luck.
The church was eerily quiet.  No one appeared to be around.  All I could think of is how people at home are afraid to leave a church like that because people come in and vandalize so often.
We walked over to the restaurant and ordered our food.  The guy at the counter did that thing were he couples people off.  He assumed that Nate and I were a couple, which was awkward.  Nate had already walked away when he mentioned that we were a couple.
I laughed.  "We're not," I said.
"I don't believe you," he said.
People in this town are both crazy and fascinating.

"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.

The Puzzle Lady

Went to visit my Grandma today to babysit. My Mom has been spending all her free time with her, which means that I'm on duty when my Mom is working.
My Grandma is often referred to at her nursing home as "The Puzzle Lady." Like most nursing homes, there is a puzzle always sitting out on a particular table. My Grandma likes to sit there and, in addition to putting the puzzle together, people watch.
My Grandma's people watching is one of the many ways that I find myself thinking about how similiar the two of us are. I love people watching. Never feel bad about leaving me alone in a public place with lots of people, like say, the caf at school. I like watching people. They're fascinating.
So, for part of today, my Grandma, sister and I worked on the puzzle. Right now, it's a picture of eggs elaborately decorated. Possibly they are suppose to be those fancy Russian eggs that the Romanovs were into as serfs starved. Anyway, I had a decent puzzle day. I put together a fair amount of pieces. Sweet.
There's really not much to do when hanging with my Grandma, but I try to keep myself entertained. I played some solitare. Read a little. Texted with my friends Philip and Ashley. Talked to my Uncle on the phone. Watched Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Laid down for a little. Like I said, not much to do.
In a little while, I'm going to walk my Grandma down to dinner. I was hoping to have an exciting Friday night planned, but it looks like I've got to be an adult and get some stuff together for a possible job. Bah.