the 39th week

from the "Goodbye Cat Party".
She will be missed.

This is the first post in a solid week, and for that I apologize. What's my excuse? Has life been hectic? You'll shortly find out. Andy's playing "Murder Me Rachel" by The National.  Amanda's on her computer next to me. And we're all squatted on her bed. Here's the next scheduled weekly update.

THE LAST DAY OF WINTER. The work week began with a trip to The Anchor with a pirate tagging along. We drank coffee and walked out with two Anchor t-shirts, which are pretty rare because (a) not many people want to buy them and (b) they're nothing more than extra employee t-shirts; there's no real marketing happening. Nevertheless, I'm proud to have one, and Amos and I stripped in the parking garage on 7th and changed into our shirts, and our shorts were already matching (khakis) so when we walked in wearing matching outfits Cat exclaimed, "You guys are sooooo cute together!" Ha. Work was slow--thanks to the eighty degree weather--and we got out a decent time. Dad came by the house to tinker with Ams' car, and then we housemates plus Brandy, John and Isaac thronged in Blake's room and watched The Walking Dead season finale: it was pretty incredible. People headed out and we housemates rocked it out with roast beef and macaroni & cheese, courtesy of Blake. Not a bad end to winter: spring begins tomorrow! Not a bad weather at all: only about 15 wintry days, and we only had snow on the ground once, and only for an hour or two at that. Quite the opposite of last year, when we had snow on the ground (at least up north) from December to March.

THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING. I kicked off spring with my ritualistic trip to The Anchor, enjoying the dogwood flowers peppering the Kentucky hills on my drive across the Brent-Spence. I'm halfway through Hitchens' God is Not Great: much better written than Dawkins' book with a better portrait of some of Dawkins' key points. We were slammed at work, didn't get out till 6:30. Amos and I went up to Clifton for a bit, walked around downtown Correyville and chatted up some cute college chicks (or attempted to), and we ducked into Mac's Pizza Pub for a hot minute. We walked around an entire block in less than three minutes flat, while walking at our natural paces (we're both super fast walkers, for some reason; everyone's constantly yelling at us to "Slow down!"), and while smoking cigarettes. We tried to take a shortcut back to my car but ended up going way out of our way, into the seedy underbelly of Clifton, and when we finally made it back to the car on Roh's Street we went down Vine to see Brandy and Aaron for a hot minute. We got home rather late and parted ways till the 'morrow.

Wednesday. I covered Anna's Food Prep shift (since I'm back to doing all closes, full-time barista FTW) and Cat covered my close, since Anna couldn't come in. I got home early, and Isaac came over and later in the evening Amos joined in the fun. It was hot and humid, 86 degrees, and it gave me a helluva headache, so I retired upstairs to my room early, cranking the A.C. and listenin' to Zeppelin's "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" and remembering those salty, musty nights in Hilton Head this past June. Funny how we forget things: I had a hard time really enjoying vacation thanks to some personal drama going on in my life, but memories change, and this can be good: I miss Hilton Head, and I'm saddened that I couldn't enjoy it as fully as I wanted when it happened. But at least I can say I'll always be thankful for the memories with my family.

Thursday. I went to The Anchor before work and did some more reading. Work was a decent hop, and I went over to Brandy's later in the evening and we hung out on the patio with Aaron and then went up to her room and ate the last of John's sun chips--"I'd blame the hip-hop," I told him; classic blame-shifting--and played Call of Duty. Back home Call of Duty turned into a marathon in the basement with Amos & Ams. Yes, tonight I spent more than a couple hours with my eyes boring into a TV screen, and yes it gave me one helluva headache. (I've gotten lots of headaches lately; maybe it's a tumor... "I know a good cancer doctor.") 

Friday. At The Anchor I chatted up some Russian folk and smoked cigarettes before a swift close where we announced to our customers Cat's coming departure (Tuesday) after being with Tazza Mia a hot-&-heavy four tears. Brandy, Miss, and John came over for beers and the U.K Game. I played Weatherman and tracked the tornado-laced storms on their northeastern trek (a solid, stiff wind will send our upstairs into the neighbor's yard). "Oh, look at that, there's a third storm cell that's going to hit us. Little guy sneaked up on me." That's when we agreed I should be a weather forecaster. We ordered pizza and devoured an entire bag of leftover pastries from the store--at least twelve  giant cookies, two muffins, and some other mix-matched goodies--in a time span of two hours. Yes, we're gluttonous Americans.

Saturday. I don't take time off from The Anchor over the weekend (though I probably should), so when I rolled out of bed I trekked down into Kentucky to drink coffee, eat breakfast, and read. The overnight storms brought in cooler air, so it actually feels like spring rather than summer (this week has redefined some weather records), and I like it. (Although I'm still certain that the groundhog is full of shit.) I spent most of the afternoon "writin' zombies," and I'm almost done with Book One. So friggin' close. And yet at the same time, I'm unsure there will be a second. Quite honestly, this self-proclaimed "Quest" regarding the justifiability of the Judeo-Christian worldview is far more compelling. Andy, Amos and I went to (you guessed it) The Anchor for dinner, and back at the house we spent the evening playing video games with Ams. Blake and I had a 2 A.M. snack party in the kitchen, and I went on a walk around C.C.U. in the dead of night, reflecting on life as I tend to do.

Sunday. I woke early and went to The Anchor (I may as well stop adding this; it should be noteworthy only if I don't go) and continued reading Hitchens' God is Not Great. After a fanciful defecation at the house, I cruised downtown and visited Ashley and Ashley at Carew and drank an iced soy latte and did some writing. Before heading home I swung into Northside to see Gabe and Emily for a bit. At 6:00 Isaac, Andy, Amos and I drove downtown to meet up with some co-workers for the official "Goodbye Cat" party courtesy of Bob and hosted by Rock Bottom. I was in a pensive mood the whole time, but I enjoyed the food, the company, and the beer. We stragglers smoked out by the fountain before going our separate ways, harassed half the time by a cracked-out shambler on the left and an ex-con trying to finagle his way into our "posse" (his words, now mine): just another night in the heart of The Beautiful City of the Vine. I spent the rest of the evening hanging out with Amos and Ams, and Blake and I hung out for a while, and I was in bed by 3 A.M.

So, yes, I've been busy. Working. Hanging out with people.

And playing video games and going to The Anchor.

So that's why I haven't updated as of late. 

More posts coming soon! Place guaranteed, time vague.