I went into the office today, where it was somewhat deserted. People are taking this work-at-home-due-to-the-gas-price-situation seriously.
I met Sharon for lunch, as both Suzanne and Mary were working from home, and Janet is still out recovering from her back surgery. It’s always nice to have a lunch only with Sharon, as she actually gets a chance to talk when not surrounded by the extroverts.
I tried to reach the General Manager at the Crossroads Red Lobster to put in a good word for Latilda, but he wasn’t in today. “He’ll be back in tomorrow,” they said.
I received the most supportive and encouraging response from Dr. Swarts on my academic dilemma, which I had emailed him about on Monday. It was the impetus to scheduling an appointment with Dr. Dicks to talk about it, which I’ve done for tomorrow afternoon.
I spent 30-45 minutes next door at Kathryn’s. I always have a great time talking to her; she cracks me up talking about the “neighborhood drama.” My favorite references tonight were to “G.I. Joe,” “Party Central,” and “CSI Central.”
This was the first time I’d ever actually been in her house, too, and I got to meet the fat, black cat, whom I just adored rubbing. At one point, he lied down on the carpet on his back with his paws in the air like a dog, while I scratched his tummy. Reminded me of Myrna, Mattie, and Macie, who I hadn’t thought about in a long time.
Oh, and she has built-in bookcases in her stairwell that I really liked. I would love to put some in mine. I’m thinking that such an addition would make getting that huge bureau in my bedroom up and down those stairs even more of a bitch than it already is, though.
The Section Leader is contemplating becoming a Board Member, and I’m hoping she will. That has the potential of being a mother lode source of future neighborhood stories, at which she already excels.
I met Joe, av8rdude and innoman at Flex just after 10:30. Michael L. hung out with us a little bit, and Andre did, but just for about 10 minutes at the very beginning, because my body language and short responses to his endless drivel probably put him off. One can hope anyway.
Shortly after I arrived, that guy named Randy, with the most atrocious voice in the world, sang. Oh my god. It’s just so bad. I could (and should) forgive the bad singing, but while he’s singing, he does all these hand gestures, and jumps up and down while spinning around like he’s a rock star – that adds a certain je ne sais quoi (actually I do know what it adds, but it’s not nice to say it English) to the whole thing. Excruciating.
Joe and I left av8rdude and innoman there, with a marine drunkenly lusting after av8rdude. I don’t know if he was supposedly active duty or had gotten out or what. I had my doubts that he was a marine at all. He was so short, and young. Of course, there are no laws against short, young marines.
Joe and I stopped at Shanghai Express on the way home, and Dawn talked me into a dish whose name I can’t remember. Some kind of spicy chicken, which was delicious. However, for 1:00 in the morning, it was an incredible amount of food, though it should have been for the $11-and-something price tag that came with it. I ate maybe a fourth of it, and boxed up the rest.
At the end of our meal, one of the workers there started emptying the trash. He took about 15 minutes to do it, and was digging through the huge cans, piece-by-piece it seemed, which was pretty disgusting while we were eating. Perhaps a mother had called in offering a reward for a child’s retainer.