Showing posts with label Sunday night. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunday night. Show all posts

Anatomy of an End of Term Sunday

There's just something about the days at the end of the term that read like bad fiction.

Today wasn't bad, exactly, but it was filled with lots of little things. For example, while I got to lie in my bed with a bit of the sun on me and talk on the phone, at least one of the conversations was like watching someone else's root canal. The phone call was with one of the mothers, and true to form, roughly a half hour in, the grandchildren issue was raised in the best passive-aggressive way possible (I was informed that she'd had to resort to buying things for other people's children because none of her kids were doing their jobs). Because Mother's Day is coming, I refrained from telling any of the cruel "stop harping on this" sorts of tales that I might otherwise have.

And yet this evening, when I went to the post office to make sure my Mother's Day cards got in the mail, it wound up in an epic adventure because evidently working stamp machines are a thing of the past around here (and, incidentally, the ability to buy a single stamp must have been deemed outmoded). As if dealing with Mother's Day for two mothers who not only talk but compare notes wasn't bad enough, I need postal hassles as well.

At the grocery store, a whole list of items on my regular shopping list have vanished from the shelves: the cool, environmentally friendly laundry detergent, Peanut Lover's Chex Mix, and chorizo among them. But thank goodness I can purchase seven different kinds of Italian sausage. I'm so annoyed, I'd steal a line from Wednesday Addams about what those sausage are made from except for how it would make me sound.

This afternoon, I received an e-mail from one of the honor's students I'm working with - thankfully not the one I'm in charge of - telling me he'd have a draft of his thesis to me in the morning, and, oh, by the way, his defense is at 10 am. One of the great tragedies of e-mail is that typing out "Hahahahahaha! You're kidding, right? No? Get out." doesn't have the same effect as saying it in person.

Finally, tonight, joy of joys, the Ex Who Crushed Paris felt the need to again get in touch with me. This is a ongoing problem for me, and not just with this particular ex. I have enough ex-gf tales to fill a significant part of the book I'll one day seriously consider writing only to opt for a nap instead. And it isn't as though I'm particularly good at dating either. The only thing that's worked well in the past has been to fight fire with fire. My preferred message is one collect call at 3:30 or so in the morning for each unwanted communication (for best effect, let the operator choose the collect call carrier - ask them to pick one they've never had anyone request before).

Still, I've made it to the end of the day. The stars are out, the dog is sleeping, and the only thing left to be done is to send the e-mail promising to savage anyone who tries to get me into that defense. It'll be bloodier than a cannibal Thanksgiving.

(Isn't that the most disturbing .gif ever?)

Thank goodness summer will be here soon.

Fill in the Blanks

So it's Sunday night, and the snow has not vanished as I might've wished. It is a little too deep for the pup, who bounds off as best he can and then looks forlorn the minute he reaches his frisbee. I take back my comment about snow making things dull - someone turn off the sunshine off the bright white stuff first thing in the morning, okay?

But I've just completed my income taxes, and I cleaned the oven tonight, so I don't feel like doing anything even remotely brainy (check that: my roommate is watching "The Bourne Supremacy" and I'd like something a little branier than that. So I'm stealing a meme from Kermit's.

Enjoy.

1. I can’t believe I’ve never…

driven on the Autobahn. Also gone sky diving.

2. Every time I think about … I still cringe.

American Idol, the last two Presidential elections, high school prom, Ugg boots, Southern accents, the joke I played on that girl in sixth grade

3. I wish I’d …when I had the chance.

learned an instrument. or studied abroad.

4. I’ve never felt so out of place as when I…

was the only person who hadn't traveled overseas.

5. … is/are my guiltiest pleasure.

Um...sleeping late? Hot bathes with whiskey? Speeding?

There's only so much honesty that's going to happen here.


6. I hope … knows how grateful I am for …

my friends and family...for everything. or specifically T. and N...for the haiku summer. Or L... for comic books. Or my undergrad adviser...for Marx and Kerouac. Or my parents...for never once trying to talk the genie back into the bottle after they taught me to read and ask questions.

7. In my darkest hours, I secretly blame … for my dysfunction.

my inability to answer a multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank questions in any sort of direct manner. Also myself.

8. … changed my life forever.

Grad school (and in a good way). Or going to a Southern Baptist middle school (in a bad way). Or technically every choice of every day.

I won't actually tag anyone, particularly since my answers wound up with the sort of typical oddness that I often approach these sorts of things with. But by all means, take a stab at it (here or elsewhere).