There’s this guy who lives across the street from us. He lives with his grandmother, and he has a bunch of friends who come over. They mostly just loiter, occasionally they look at cars, sometimes they skateboard. Generally they smoke. We call them the hoodlums. They even have a hoodlette.
Anyway, last night I was taking out the garbage, and I realize that a) there’s a hoodlum leaning against the fire hydrant at the end of our driveway, b) another hoodlum is standing in the driveway across the street, and c) there’s a cop with a large flashlight interrogating the hoodlum on the fire hydrant. So I ran inside and told the roomies and we proceeded to watch as a woman from down the street came up and yelled at the hoodlums, another cop pulled up, and one of the hoodlums smoked a cigarette, then dropped the butt into our yard. Bastard. Anyway, we don’t know what happened except that one of the hoodlums got some stuff from across the street, then drove off with the woman, who had said that she would “take him to wherever he needed to go.” Add that to the cop asking him whether he had a place to stay tonight, and we assume that the hoodlum was staying across the street but something bad happened.
Yes, that was our entertainment for the evening. Now we know that they actually are hoodlums, in fact as well as in name!
Current song in my head:
“This Kiss” by Faith Hill
According to my position description, I “exercise moderate influence and/or frequent guidance upon the actions or operations of others and [have] a moderate impact on the work results” of my association. What does that mean? Anyway, I’m updating my description and incorporating the multiple things I do that aren’t specified. Then I’ll beg for a new job title. If I can’t get a decent raise, I want a new job description, because “Editorial Assistant” just isn’t cutting it.
La la la. This week has dragged on. I’m psyched for next week—short week! Plus, the 4th of July. I’m also looking forward to seeing Company this weekend. Plus, free baseball cap from the Orioles game Friday! Woo!
Current song in my head:
“Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds (?)
It was an enlightening weekend. I experienced driving a car after part of the tire has gone flying off into the middle of the road, followed immediately by watching my tire being changed (by my new hero, Steve). Then a very surreal meal at the Gingerbread Man (surreal in retrospect). A lovely morning wherein I got three new tires, and an afternoon of sleeping, followed by lying on a couch watching Aussie Rules Football, which is easily one of the strangest sports in the world. On Sunday I got to watch what happens when you mix soap, dry ice, and a LOT of water in a sink. Very entertaining.
Current song in my head:
"A Rumor in St. Petersburg" from Anastasia
When I was in college, every now and then I went into Washington, D.C. I would drive to Shady Grove and take the Red Line into the city. By senior year, when riding in, I would think, “This is where I want to live.” And I do. I don’t live in the apartment buildings that I had stared at through the Metro window, but I live a mere 2 miles from one of those stops. And I’m creating a life for myself. As I rode home last night, I was just very content—with where I was, with who I am, with where I’m going. And it was happy.
Current song in my head:
“You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me”
From my horoscope for today:
You're apt to be feeling more confident today than you usually do, and more committed to any enterprise you take on right now. Believe in yourself and move on.
That’s nice. Feeling confident is good. I’m trying to get back into a good routine, back into going to the gym more than twice a week. Work is going well, in the sense that I’m not stressing over it anymore. True, I no longer have a boss (Kim left for another job after a whole 7 weeks here), but I’ll deal. It’s kind of nice, to tell the truth. It will be good to get someone in, though. I can’t run AOTA Press all by myself, you know.
Oh, and I really don’t put much stock in horoscopes. I just find them entertaining. Particularly since they usually mention romance—and not in the sense of “a complete lack of.” Highly amusing.
Current song in my head:
“Soak Up the Sun” by Sheryl Crow
I really really like Washington, D.C. It’s a big city, but it isn’t too big. It’s not intimidating. The traffic totally sucks, but the Metro system is excellent. I love New York City, but it’s huge. Scary huge. D.C. is a very nice size. And it has all the culture I would want—museums, theatre. And if I want to go to NYC, it’s not too far away. D.C. has major sports teams, and my mom’s family is close. It has good restaurants and nice suburbs. I like it here a lot. And I just thought I’d share that.
Current song in my head:
"Brick" by Ben Folds Five
My horoscope for today:
"All your ducks are falling into line now, dear Scorpio, so make the best out of this day. People and situations are finally coming around to a point that makes sense to you. Act now while the energy is in your favor. People will recognize and appreciate you for the incredible passion, devotion and sensitivity you possess. Be careful not to overindulge in food or drink and beware that you might be apt to spend a little more money today than you might have budgeted for. Don't let this hold you back. Let the good times roll."
Excellent! Plus, ducks. Ducks are funny.
When I was young, like in the fourth grade or so, I was quite the insomniac. Sunday nights were always the worst. Tossing, turning, staring at the clock, watching it get later but being unable to fall asleep. Too many thoughts, too many worries…Of course, when I was eight, I didn’t have many personal worries, so I was very concerned with things like global warming. It probably didn’t help that I was at a new school where I didn’t know anyone.
But I slept better and better as I grew older, and those nights of tossing and turning came less and less frequently. But last night was one of those nights. Worried about work, then trying to stop myself from thinking about work. Thinking about various other things, and trying to stop myself from worrying. Because with everything I was thinking about, there wasn’t anything I could do—not at 1 a.m., at least. Then I had upsetting dreams. I don’t remember them, but I woke up very restless and upset.
So now I’m all cranky and sleepy and came in to work to find a priority project for this morning. Uck. The only thing keeping me going right now is the bag of cookies someone at work brought in for me.
Current song in my head:
“Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2
I saw that same candidate for Congress today that I saw last Thursday, only today he was at the Bethesda metro. I wonder if he’s working his way in. Bizarre.
The fingers on my left hand are peeling. I don’t know why. They certainly didn’t get sunburned, yet they’re peeling. Mostly the tips. I keep putting on lotion in hopes that’ll fix everything. I’m upset by this turn of events.
Work? Argh. Life in general? Okay. I’m just in a place right now where I don’t feel like thinking about anything—about work, about life outside of work, about people, about myself. I think that’s why I like driving. When I drive, my mind is blank. It’s nice.
Current song in my head:
“Back to Before” from Ragtime
I got to work today and just have no desire to do any of my assigned tasks. I guess a large part of it is because I need to send out three proposals for review, which I hate. I hate calling people and asking them to do something. I mean, they have no incentive to do this. Although, in the past when I’ve done this, most people have been very nice and helpful. But I still don’t like calling people up and being like, “Um, will you do this for me?”
Anyway, good weekend. I hung out with people that I didn’t meet in college, which was excellent. Ooh, new friends! New friends that I got drunk with. Yup, good times. It actually was a lot of fun; I just hope they call me when they go out and do other stuff. Whenever I do stuff with them, they’re like, “You’re coming? That’s awesome!” Yes, I feel loved. And yes, I really do need my self-esteem boosted like that.
Current song in my head:
“Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney