the 50th week

A statue at the Eden Park duck pond.
Cincinnati has something for everyone!

Monday. I woke and went to The Anchor to do some writing before closing 600 with Amos. USFoods didn't get our order in 'til 1:15, 'bout seven hours late, and we had to shut down salad bar because we ran out of salads. Brandon was furious, and I don't blame him: we're all getting pretty tired of all the headaches they cause us. Amos and I got out right at 5:30, and he went to John's place for the night, and Andy, Isaac, Ams and I spent the evening watching "Game of Thrones". I did some reading before bed and went on a late-night Wendy's run for dinner (Andy and Ams got pizza).

Tuesday. Another visit to The Anchor was followed by a swift & sure close with Amos. Some tourists snapped photos of my latte art: I'm deceptively cool. The evening was spent hanging out with Amos, playing video games with Amos, and reading Gods & Generals. I watched a few episodes of "Lie to Me" and ate a vegetable wrap for dinner (along with a soft Bonbonnarie molasses cookie). I saw on Facebook that Jessica C. is dating someone now. I felt nothing, just that twinge in my gut, the knot of knowing all along that she'd find someone before me, that's how it works. "We're going to be alone forever," Ams mused. Maybe so, and I can't help but wonder if our standards are too high. I don't know what's worse: being alone or settling for someone who's less than you want, less than you need? The other person's always got it best, so I'll never know. But I do know that settling is hard, especially when you've met someone who's not just met your "ingloriously high" standards but who also exceeded them. 

Wednesday. My morning Anchor trip involved writing blog posts to be unveiled (below). Amos and I closed, and then we packed into Andy's car and went to Kro-Ghetto, and back at the house we had quite the buoyant dinner: grilled pound steaks, homemade mashed potatoes, sweet corn, baked beans and cornbread. We polished it off with some Guinness and pipes. Cat came over for a couple hours, and we sat on the back porch and enjoyed the mild sunset and smoked hookah long past dark. It was good seeing her again.

Thursday. Brandon and I opened, a skeleton crew: it was crazy, but we got through it all right (much praise to Andy for jumping in & helping out during the lunch rush). I left at 3:00 and took a nap and then went to The anchor, and Amos and I played video games when he got home from closing. We got Chipotle for dinner, and the burrito-artisans loved his Anchor Grill t-shirt (as they should) and so they gave him his burrito on the house. I cleaned my room which had been rendered a mess during a strange night terror Monday night (I reorganized my room, so-to-speak, putting stuff in the weirdest places to try and avoid a spider infestation). I rolled the evening out watching some "Lie to Me."

Friday. I went to The Anchor and then closed with Sarah, the new girl. She's pretty cool, worked at Taza (from its birth to its death), so she already knows how to do most of our drunks, and she's a quick study. We got out right on time, and then Amos and I played Call of Duty for a bit before Andrew & Megan Hartman came over. I went to Eden Park to do some reading by the duck pond--Gods & Generals, I'm loving it--and on my way back I ran through Wendy's for a late-night dinner. The rest of the evening was spent smoking hookah with the Hartmans, Blake, Andy & Ams.

Saturday. I spent 1/2 an hour under the back porch, rifling through rot and rubbish to find my car key, which had slipped through the porch's crooked and bowed wooden boards late last night 'round 2 AM. I went to The Anchor but they were having a garage sale in the lot so the place was packed. Thus I vetoed the idea, ran some errands, went to the bank, and then Amos and I got Dusmesh Indian buffet for lunch. I ate so much I felt sick afterwards, but it went away after a cat-nap. I grabbed some coffee from the gas station and headed south to Lexington, and Aunt Teri gave me a tour of both Jared and Jesse's new houses. Jared lives two doors down from Jesse's ex-girlfriend (who just donated a bunch of baby accessories to Jesse for Kennedy), and Jesse's got a mansion-esque stone house with wood flooring in the Kentucky countryside, complete with a horse paddock used by the previous owners. I met Kennedy, Jesse & Mandy's one-month baby, and I held her and fed her and she rooted into my neck and fell asleep on my shoulder. Jesse & Jared and Uncle Bill went to Cincinnati for the Red's Game, so unfortunately I didn't get to see much of them. Aunt Teri and I ran some errands with Ashley (Jared's wife), and we got Starbucks before meeting up with Grandma, Great Aunt Ethel, Barb, Tim & Sonya for dinner at some candlelit Italian restaurant. I went home right after, rolling into Cincinnati around midnight. I was delighted to see Jake and Tony at the house, but I was worn out and could barely stand so I crawled up to my bedroom and promptly passed out.

Sunday. I went to The Anchor for a bit, and Amos, Andy and I got Dusmesh for lunch yet again. I went to the park to read but it was so hot I didn't stay long. Mom & Dad came down to deliver a recliner--"It's only got six bed bugs, so you should be good," Dad quipped--and then we had a family venture down to Newport on the Levee, where we saw the new Snow White movie and got an early dinner at Dewey's Pizza. "You seem quiet," Mom said. "Is everything okay?" I'm tired, worn out, stretched thin, empty, and still recovering from the stress of the last month. Par for the course at this point, but all I need, I think, is a good vacation. They headed back to Dayton, and Amos and I smoked pipes on the front porch and watched "Arrested Development" with Blake, and we played video games with Andy and I went to The Anchor 'round 9:00 and that's where I'm writing this post now (with my handy journal beside me). My netbook's dying, the battery light flashing, and the coffee's cold and the urging for a cigarette is becoming too much to bear, so I'm going to publish this post, close shop, and head back home for a quiet night of anticipated (a) reading: Gods & Generals; and (b) hanging out with the roomies.