~Monday~ I parked along Gorman near Avent Ferry, where both the Wolfline #9 and #9a buses were heading inbound, and then another (outbound) #9 pulled by, so I crossed Avent Ferry Road assuming the #1 Avent Ferry would come next. It did.
An older guy—and by older I mean older than your average student, not older than me, which is my usual criteria for older—sat across from me. I’d guestimate he was in his early to mid-40s. He had a nicely-graying beard, with more gray around the chin than the rest of it. He had on a long-sleeved NC State Wolfpack white t-shirt, blue jeans, white New Balance athletic shoes and a big fat wedding band. Not that I noticed. He was studying from a three-ring bindered book, which looked to be for some kind of science lab.
Instead of pulling the stop cord, which is the norm, he reached around the nearby pole and pressed the red button marked “STOP.” For 2 years and 8 months now (Who’s counting?), I’ve thought that was an emergency-only stop button.
I had a most delightful lunch with Jen. We ate at Jasmine’s Bistro on Hillsborough Street and sat out front in the most perfect weather. Well, to be completely accurate, Jen ate the restaurant’s food and I ate the lunch I’d brought with me to work today, which consisted of a ham and cheese sandwich, a small bag of baked Doritos, and a can of Diet Coke. While there, a few of the kids from my 2010 Spring Break trip showed up, and it was nice to see Jackie, Mark, and Casey.
Jen and I walked back to our office “the long way,” taking a stroll around The Raleigh Rose Garden. And by “around,” I don’t mean “through,” as you usually use the term in this case; I mean we walked on the sidewalk that is along the street that winds around the rose garden. I know you’re glad I clarified that. I just didn’t want you to get the impression that we stopped to smell the roses, because we didn’t.
I had one work meeting today, and it was from 3:00 – 4:30, and across campus in the McKimmon Center. It’s the first time in a long time that I came away from this meeting without being totally frustrated or outright disgusted. It could be because there’s a new person in charge.
Jen was kind enough to give me a ride up the street to my car when the meeting was over, which I totally appreciated.
I read this blog entry by “Large Tony of Mayberry,” whose writing I absolutely adore. It’s called Five One (referring to May 1st), and it’s such a sweet story about his boyfriend, who he calls “The Attorney” in his writing and about the death of his mother. Be sure to follow the link in the story about “introducing” The Attorney to his mother.
I searched on Facebook to see if my cousin had an account so I could ask her a question about her parents, and although I didn’t find her on there, I did find a pointer to this article about her: Tiverton High School Senior Starts School’s First Gay-Straight Alliance.
I spoke about learning that she was a Lesbian back in January from her parents, my aunt and uncle, and of course, I had a few things to say about it at the time. This is the comment I posted to the article, which of course has a whole string of comments on it from “good” and “religious” people:
| Cynda,
This is your cousin, John Martin, and I am immensely proud of you! I can only imagine what might life might have been if I’d’ve come out at your age instead of living unauthentically for 35 of my years here. You hold on to the fact that this is your time here, you only get one chance at it, and in the end you will have to answer to none of the haters. I’m proud of you for stepping “out” into your authentic life so young! Carry on, my friend. John |
It’s not every day you get a check in the mail for almost 40 grand, but today was one of those days. This is mostly significant because it severs my final tie to IBM as an employer.
I stayed in tonight, and I actually got to bed by 10:00, which is pretty much unheard of for me.