I didn't have to be here.
No, really I didn't. I had a trip at the end of July and a trip at the beginning of August that overlapped, so I had my August 4 day trip from the thirty first through the third, and then today I have a stupid Vermont out and back left over from the August trip so I came to work for a fifth day, and I will now have one less day off.
I was so tired from being up late, working on a friend's house that I spent $27 on a cab to get here, (half of what I will earn today), and then I learn I didn't have to be here. The pilots told me the woman who worked my August trip had requested to work this flight and scheduling said they would call me and check if I was willing to give it up. Not only did they not call me, they told her I had called in sick, and that is why she was working it! LIARS!
But I'm here. Its been quite a week. I had my first tour, went to a party, tried to set up some friends, Emma moved, I made a big money faux-pas, helped my sweet-stay-at-home-mommy friend and her husband work on their house, and of course worked 5 consecutive days. The thing that makes me happy is I am still here. I am a little drained, but "little" is the key word. I usually am drained by having more than one appointment a day- yet here I am, after a busy week for anyone, and I am doing okay. That's big.
Hmmmm, where to start? Biggest of all I guess is Emma's move. I can't imagine a "roommate breakup" going nicer. I went out of my way to keep her from feeling guilty for moving, I helped her here and there, and I did it all in a way that didn't feel like I was pushing her out (I hope so anyway.) She moved most of her stuff on the 31st. I helped her pack some, sorted through mutually owned items to split them, and got the bills transferred to my name. I was rewarded for it, not just from her warmth, but she split the spices, even though I said to forget it, because it was too much work. One person might see a box of newspaper wrapped plates or a shelf of spices, but I see gestures, by two often over-proud women, saying "I want good things for you"
My "profound" gesture of packing a box of dishes left me without any, so I made plans to go with Tera to a secondhand store (she had never been to one.) Tera arrived at my house wearing Chanel sunglasses. It's not that you don;t see people in Chanel in secondhand stores, it was just a taste of what was to come.
I am a regular shopper and donator to places like the Goodwill and ARC, but I did not no how to get there by car (I am so accustomed to the bus) that we went to Savers. What a way to introduce her to the type of person I am. I had told her how much I adore secondhand stores, and we show up to a smelly depressing dirty store in the ghetto.
The used, unmatched, plates were a dollar a piece, the items for sale were dirty, and we were panhandled in the store! "Marked" might be a better word, a smelly guy in effeminate clothes gave us some comp tickets for a show that "Prince's band" was putting on, and all we have to do is donate as much as we can afford to "Prince's foundation." Her year in India and my adolescence in the ghetto prepared us for this. I said "Great! Is there a web site?" of course he said "No you can just give it to me." We laughed about it later, but again, I had told her that secondhand stores are my favorite places to shop. I couldn't imagine what sort of image she was forming of my decorating style.
Shortly before we left the store, we saw a fur covered ottoman, with the seams burst, wrapped in duct tape. I begged her come to my favorite Goodwill in the city so I could defend my consumer honor, she did and said said secondhand stores still weren't for her. Her reasoning for why had a few holes in it, I think she just prefers new stuff, but didn't want to admit to me that that is why (no accounting for taste.) ;)
I found a nice dish dryer, a Faberware pan set, and one of those really powerful fans, but there we found no plates that were pretty enough for us, so we went to Ikea- where she came alive! She kept saying "I like this place, it's more 'me', It's cheap but still fashionable" or something like that. I wanted to laugh at her, in a condescending "you silly rich girl" way, but fresh from my Emma experience, where I felt I was often unfairly judged, I was faced with the opportunity to practice what I preach. At Ikea I bought some beautiful clear glass plates and bowls and other things I needed (of course the BEAUTIFUL set of "Data" flatware was a necessity.)
Saturday night I went to Carrie and her fiance's house to a dinner party. I brought my old roommate Shane with the intention of setting him up with one of Carrie's friends. It was very respectful to both of them, we didn't tell them, we just hoped they would find each other and hit it off. Instead they didn't say a single word to eachother except "hi" but I think that's a sign of interest. Her fiance is so fancy-pants, he loves to cook gourmet foods so I stuffed myself with hors d'oeuvres and left a little room for dinner. After dinner and desserts we went out to the back yard and sat in front of a fire pit and drinking beer. It was paradise.
Sunday afternoon I went to work. My trip was nice. Work is still annoying at times, but I can handle it better. This medication is doing great things for me, I even told my dad about it, and he wants to know the name of it so he can put some in my grandpa's cereal :)
I was so excited yesterday when my last flight was done. I rushed off the plane to the cash machine to withdraw $40, I had big plans- the temple next store was having a bag sale! As I was smiling with excitement on the train home I realized something...the balance in my bank account was less than the checks I had written against it! One of the checks was the first rent check I had written to the landlord, and the other check was to Emma for part of the damage deposit, If either of those bounced I would be humiliated!
After hours of agony I realized I had some uncashed checks, one from a credit card company I had overpaid (it would have expired in a week! had I not had this predicament I would have been out $60!) I also canceled my Blockbuster membership. Not just to prevent the automatic money deduction, but because I had grown too embarrassed about going in there 2-3 times a day on my days off, all of those cute movie nerd boys would know I am a total hermit. I am going to sign up for netflix so I can be a hermit without anyone knowing [she published on the worldwide web]
Yesterday night I went to sweet-stay-at-home-mommy's to help her and her husband work on the house they are building. Her friend just died. Her friend had 3 kids she homeschooled and a husband who works for American Airlines, at risk of lay-offs. As usual, she and her husband were fighting, but without the anxiety I don't feel (as much) that I have to fix any of it, I feel like I can just be there to support her.
And now here I am, writing on a 1991 powerbook 140 as the plane begins it's decent. I am so happy the trip is half over, and I cant wait to get home.
mood: tired but content
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