the 56th week

this is what we're losing

Monday. James and I opened; he's back to help this week since we're super understaffed. President Obama ate at the Skyline across the street, there was much ado about it all downtown. I spent the evening after work eating sunflower seeds and watching the third Transformers movie. "This is a 2 1/2 hour commercial for Optimus Prime Jet-pack," Andy said. Everyone at the house went over to Brandy's for the night, but I had a nasty headache so I stayed back home. I felt restless so I went to The Anchor, and then I ended up meeting up with Emily and Isaac at Roh's Street Cafe. She and Gabe just returned from vacation in Austin, where they got married. They had a pretty exciting honeymoon, and not in the way you like. Indiana is filled with its trickeries.

Tuesday. I went to The Anchor before closing with Stephanie. Amos, Emily, Brandon & Isaac are doing their Serv-Safe certifications this week. "Why the two people who work with food the most weren't part of the first batch beats me," Tiffany said. She has a point. With our store at a skeleton crew, and with Sarah on vacation in Florida, Tiffany & I had been "left behind" so-to-speak to make sure things aren't run into the ground. I went back to The Anchor after work, then met up with a friend at Rock Bottom and had a couple Summer Honey Ales. Good times.

Wednesday. I woke late and missed The Anchor, so I went by McDonald's for some breakfast burritos before going in early to try and take care of some things before I had to jump behind the counter. It was pretty much chaos when I got in, so I leapt in and we had it under control in 'bout forty-five minutes. The rest of the evening was smooth, despite a catering order delivery at 4:00 (don't even get me started about T.M. catering...), and I finished the last delivery just as the sky turned black and a storm broke. I rushed outside in awe at how the storm's advance could be seen in the sleek skyscraper windows, and I went across the street to join Luke who was taking a break from brewing beer to do the same thing. Once the rain hammered down, I clung to the bay windows watching it all. Power outages, wrecks everyone, flooding... It was a nice summer storm. I went over to Brandon's apartment right after work, and he cooked an amazing Thai dish (he's quite the chef) while Emily and I tried to figure out her new IPAD. "The biggest plate is for you, thanks for keeping me sane at work." After work I drove up to Dayton to see Joe. "The lymph nodes are definitely smaller, they're normal-sized now." That was quite the relief, like a weight off my shoulders; and some of my other concerns were addressed, but they weren't as concerning as I thought. I've just been paying so much attention to my body, it seems, that I've been noticing things I haven't before. 

Thursday. I woke thinking, "It's only Thursday?" Work's been ravaging my soul and strength these last couple weeks. Sometimes it's like I assume to be going in early or staying late, knowing the whole time we'll be trying to get the job done and done well without enough people and lacking in basic needs, and at the end of the day you hope you did a good enough job so that tomorrow won't be as crazy as you assume it'll be. That's T.M. right now, and we're losing Stephanie who's a bad-ass barista, and Andy's virtually put in his two weeks. But we're hiring a few new people, and if they're good hires, that could be good. I went to The Anchor after work--"Your zen," Brandon said--and then drove out east to explore uncharted territories and to uncover hidden vistas. And I did a damned good job, too.

Friday. I opened with Stephanie, her last day. At the close of my shift I went across the street to Rock Bottom and got a growler of their K-9 English Session beer off Luke. Andy & I crossed paths, and we walked to our cars together, talking about the War of the Roses. "English history is like Game of Thrones, except it's real," Andy quipped. Amos & Blake joined us for coffee and breakfast dinner at the Anchor, with Damien Jurado playing on the jukebox (our tradition). We rounded out the night hanging out upstairs in Blake's room playing NBA Jam. It's phenomenal. A good highlight: got to talk to Mandy out in Portland! She's constantly putting pictures of the area on facebook, the landscape taunting me. "We have rain forests, out here!" she exclaimed. Yes, Mandy, I know they have rain-forests: I zip-lined through them! The Pacific Northwest has always held a certain place in my heart, and I'm so jealous that she gets to live in it.

Saturday. I went to The Anchor and then got lunch at Dusmesh with Amos & Andy. I spent the afternoon napping and writing, and Amos moved most of his things over to Brandy's. I honestly didn't realize he was moving out so soon. Around 8:00 people started showing up for our ill-advertised Big Lebowski Party. We drank white russians, at egg rolls and spinach dip (unrelated), and watch the movie. Jessie & Tony came, and it was nice catching up with her. Encouraging and refreshing. The party lasted till 'bout dawn, ending with Andy territorially pissing on the maple tree out front and Isaac puking his guts out in the basement with only a few hours to spare before opening at Carew. Blake & I were up until 3:30 AM playing NBA Jam. Ams missed the party, went up north to be in Anna H.'s wedding.

Sunday. I got McDonald's for breakfast and ate it while watching 10 Items or Less. "This is so 600 Vine," Tiffany remarked. I went down to Carew to get a drink and to visit Isaac & Emily before running to the bank in Delhi (it feels like Appalachia out there). I spent the afternoon cleaning, doing laundry, and journaling--much has been on my mind. Isaac & Emily came over after closing Carew, and we hung out for a while and then Blake and I went to The Anchor. He got chocolate pie and I got an omelette with home fries and wheat toast. Both of us got coffee, of course. We had some good talks, some serious and some not-so-serious, and it was a pretty good time. I spent the rest of my evening reading The Last Full Measure and watching Ken Burns' The Civil War mini-series. Only one more episode to go and I've watched them all! Then on to something new.