the 25th week

Chris. As Chris.

Monday. Pat D., Chris & Lee went with me 1/2 Price and Borders. I'm sensing that we go to those two stores far more than we should. I got the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Chris wanted to ply loner today, so we took him home and then went to my place. We watched the movie I'd bought, and then we went on a bike ride to North Park. We're talking about going on a road-trip next summer, and Lee & I have been talking about walking (part of) the Appalachian Trail. I started a new story, The Powder Factory Massacre, inspired by (a) the movie we watched today and (b) our recent visit to The Powder Factory a few weeks back.

Tuesday. I spent the evening working on that new short story. I'm thinking it'll run 50-70 pages. Chris walked over and Pat D. came by. We went to Deals and then stopped at Waldrew Park, one of the Dayton area's finest gay rendezvous spots. The sky was pink and there was a rainbow and Pat D. felt paranoid at that. Chris & I swung on the swings--"Dude, keep a swing between us."--and then we went and picked up Lee after his Driving Class. I somehow convinced Dad to let them spend the night, and so they did. Although I was in bed by 3 AM, Pat D. was up 'till 4:00 AM playing Battlefield Vietnam, and Chris & Lee were up 'till dawn playing pool in the basement. Next week Ashlie's going to be staying at the house for a week, and the week after that is C.I.Y. Summer's going great.

Wednesday. I took Chris & Pat D. to Ashlie's house for band practice, got them there 45 minutes late. Lee & I went to 1/2 Price Books and Lee got a book called Terrorists Among Us. I bought Dominion and The Book of Shadows. I took Lee home, went on a bike ride under the bright sun and blue sky, felt like I was biking along a beach somewhere. Forsake Me Not is having a show tomorrow night, so U-Turn is cancelled. I worked 4-8:00 and fell asleep listening to the crickets outside.

Thursday. Chris, Lee, Pat D., Bryon & I went to 1/2 Price Books and Borders, followed by the Salvation Army. It's a decent circuit. I got The Divine Comedy and the Star Wars trilogy. We saw Darrell, Rochelle, and Kristen at Borders. It was Rochelle's birthday. We had D-Group back at the house. Dylan came for it. Hank, Chris, Pat D., Bryon & Ash went to a Forsake Me Not show at The Attic. Lee, Dylan, Jimmy and I did U-Turn in my room. It was one of the best. Ams bailed. Lee and I went to his place. Chris, Pat D. and Bryon were there, in a sour mood: their show at The Attic sucked. Debbie took Bryon home. The rest of us went to Wal-Mart to get Reno 911 on DVD. It was around midnight. We spent the night at Chris & Lee's, and Pat D. and Chris snuck out to roam town in the dead of night, but Lee & I stayed in and listened to music in his room because we were too tired.

Friday. I picked up Ashlie on my way home: she's staying with us for a week, her family's out of town. We ate at China Village. I took Pat D. and Lee to the Towne Mall, Lee works at FYE. Pat D. and I milled around a bit, then met up with Dylan back at my place to shoot pool and watch Reno 911. Dylan and Pat D. left, and Chris and I met up with Lee at North Park and they paid me $5 to go all the way under the water at the creek's deepest end. 

Saturday. I got a whole new wardrobe of button-up shirts at Goodwill. I finished my Powder Factory Massacre short story. I spent the afternoon hanging out with Ash & Ams. Pat D. came over and we went to Chris & Lee's for a bit. I returned home, hung out with the girls, and passed out.

Sunday. We had an outside service at church followed by a picnic. I wore nice pants and a nice shirt, got lots of comments on my weight loss from Megan, Kristen, Jackie & Shelby. We were going to go horseback riding, but the place was booked. Ashlie was on the phone all night with Hank.