Monday, June 14, 2004

the 23rd week

Monday. Mom works 7-11:00 every morning, doing janitorial duty at the high school. It was a nice, sunny day, and I started it off by relaxing on the swing under the grove of trees in the backyard. I washed my Jeep, got some groceries, vacuumed downstairs. I worked 3-8:00 and Chris & Bryon came over. We found a mattress on our way to North Park, put it on top of the Jeep and drove really fast so that the mattress flew off. Bryon tried to hold it down from the backseat but failed. Bryon wanted to steal a Road Work Ahead sign, but I talked him out of it. We hung out on the porch, and then Bryon & Chris left. 

Tuesday. Grandma came down to pick up Amanda and ferry her out to New Carlisle for a few days. I picked up Pat D. and we went to the Williams'. Lee had to go to work and Chris was sleeping, so we went home, met Mom at Shell Gas Station, filled up, and then went to the Dayton Mall, visited FYE ("For Your Entertainment"). We went to Jack's Aquarium, Deals, and then home to eat. Lee came over once he got off work, and we tried to get into Amco Park but couldn't, so we went to North Park instead and fished for crayfish in the creek. I took Lee home; he has to start on his driving classes. Chris, Pat D. and I put about sixteen crayfish in a 10-gallon tank to keep them as pets. We had D-Group at the house with Lee, Zach and Jeff. Everyone left; Chris, Pat D. and Lee had a party for Luke, but afterwards they came back over. We played pool, joked around, went streaking outside. I put the crayfish in Amanda's room, afraid Chris might try putting them on me while I slept.

Wednesday. I spent the morning sitting on the back deck reading James. My crayfish experiment failed: apparently they don't have gills, and the majority of them drowned overnight. The tank was heavy so I tried dumping it out Amanda's window (since I put the tank in there last night), and in the process I soaked Amanda's bed-sheets and also dropped the glass tank out the window. It shattered into a thousand pieces, and when Lee & I went down to collect it, we saw that some of the crayfish were still alive, albeit now torn and hewn by the glass shards. Pat D. exclaimed, "It's a catastrophe!" and Lee shouted, "You're the crayfish Hitler!" Chris looked on from the window, pointed at me and shrieked, "You murderer!" Lee helped me clean up the mess, and then I took everyone home. Dad & I went to Sear's and then I worked 3-8:00.

Thursday. Lunch was Applebee's right off the exit with Grandma & Grandpa B., Ams, Matthew and Hannah. Matthew & Megan loved 12 Hours. Chris, Lee, Dylan and Ashlie came over, and it was good having Amanda back. I told her all about the crayfish incident and she flipped out, but at least now she knows why her room smells like fish. We watched Memento and then grabbed dinner at China Garden. Pat D. tagged alone. Small Group was at the Southard's: nine people, great message, one of the best U-turns yet. Seven of the nine may just goof off the entire time, but even if only two care, it's worth it. After Small Group we had Mom's surprise birthday party, and she loved it: Grandma M. and Aunt Teri came up, and we all went to Kentucky. 

Friday. Optional yellow lines, red lights and stop signs: welcome to Kentucky (or at least to driving around with Aunt Teri). We were supposed to clean Aunt Teri's house, but it's so filled with junk we don't know where to start! We started on the upstairs, cleaning out Jesse & Jared's old rooms. They live in Richmond now, so their rooms have been retrofitted as storage. The carpet needs to be stripped. We ate at Jalapenos for dinner, an authentic Mexican restaurant Grandma & Grandpa M. love. It was packed, and the waitress was my age, Latino, and beautiful. Jesse & Jared showed up late, and we went to Captain D's with them and Uncle Bill. We watched Ransom back at Grandma & Grandpa M.'s house and then went back to Aunt Teri & Uncle Bill's.

Saturday. Ams got scared last night, creaking noises in the house, and she called Mom & Aunt Teri in the middle of the night. We met Grandpa & Grandma at a country-style breakfast joint called Linda's. The service was terrible but the food was good. Grandpa's best friend Cotton came and went long before Grandma & I even received our food. It was a rainy downpour all day, and Mom & I spent it in Aunt Teri's garage trying to sort through all her junk. We watched Lethal Weapon 4 and Jesse & Jared came over, and we played Scattergories with Ams. Aunt Teri had a bunch of errands to run for her upstart company, so I joined her for a while, and we had dinner at this nice pizza buffet. I spent the night at Grandpa & Grandma's, falling asleep on the fold-out couch.

Sunday. Grandma & I got breakfast at Hardee's. Aunt Teri came by to visit us, and then we went to Uncle Bill's landscaping shop to borrow a truck to move some furniture. We spent the day moving furniture from their garage onto the truck, and Mom broke the brakes and we had to get Uncle Bill to fix it. At Wal-Mart we grabbed food and I got five dinosaur figurines for $5. Dinner was a nice rib joint, and then me, Mom and Ams drove home. Mom drove with a beautiful, awe-inspiring storm raging all around us. Aunt Teri gave me $200 for all the hard work I did this weekend, and she gave Ams $125 because she didn't work as hard.

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