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| The Claypole housemates. Not friends. Housemates. |
Monday. Sarah & I opened, and after a hefty nap back home, Emily came over and we made a kick-ass Mediterranean pizza using ingredients from the T.M. salad bar. We were floored at how good it was. She headed home and Amos & Brandy took her spot, and the rest of my evening was spent hanging out with them and Blake and Andy. I was scheduled to close but Isaac has to go to court tomorrow because he gave a serial murderer some bottled water, so Amos is covering his shift at Carew and I'm covering Amos' opening shift at 600.
Tuesday. The day turned out being rather chaotic: superbly understaffed, ridiculously busy, and baristas switching between different stores to accommodate the flow of traffic. Emily was off work, too, tending to things with her husband, Gabe; and thus two of our strongest baristas were unavailable. I made another pizza tonight with my friend Mo out in Hyde Park, and I accidentally locked my keys in my car and Andy & Ams drove out with my spare to rescue me.
Wednesday. Sarah & I opened with our new hire Jake in training. After work I took a nap and hit up The Anchor for a bit, and then Andy & I ran out to Dusmesh to try their dinner entrees. I had chicken tikka masala with some vegetable samosas and bhatura. Phenomenal. Simply phenomenal. And so much food: I couldn't finish it, and that's saying somethin'. Emily came over and we played with a BB gun we found in the basement, and Isaac came over and we joined Andy watching nature documentaries and "Drunk History." Emily left and Isaac, Andy & I took a late-night drive east out of Cincinnati, through the quaint and Gilmore Girl-esque towns of Mariemont and Milford, and beyond there were McDonalds and CVS Pharmacies and Kroger stores. "Everything's the same everywhere," Isaac mused, noting how the temperature drops five degrees when you get outside the smog-laden city limits. We took 275 into Kentucky and then jumped onto 471N back into Cincinnati, and the dark clouds above the skyline were flickering with pulsing bursts of lightning.
Thursday. Tiffany & I opened, and I was thankful we had to deal with less chaos than usual. "Ever since you started running mornings, our days are smoother and our sales are up," Brandon told me. "It's been noted." I went to The Anchor to perk up with coffee, foregoing my nap. I'm reading through 2 Corinthians, and it's been eye-opening, to say the least. The highlight of my evening: playing MW3 with Amos back at his place in Over the Rhine.
Friday. Emily & I opened; it's fun working with her, I hardly ever get the opportunity since she's been Isaac's slave over at Carew for the last couple months. The morning was chaotic, but we were a grade-A team. Brandon always notes how we're kick-ass working together, we flow really well. I took a long nap and got Chipotle for dinner. I went on a drive through Eden Park, the storm-clouds pierced by the sun, and then I went to Dayton to pick up my ESV study bible and to see Dad. We caught up on the front porch, watching the cold front's storms recede, Tanner & Sky curled up at our feet. Sky doesn't really like Tanner, but she tolerates him; it's clear that she's the alpha between them. On my way back home I ran by the Speedway on Yankee and saw Mom & Grandma there refueling after their trip home from up north. I headed back home, swinging by Brandon's loft on Vine, and we hung out for a while and then I returned to the Claypole House to hang out with the roommates till 3 AM, listening to music and playing NBA JAM. Andy & I were on the front porch enjoying this frigid autumn-esque night and takin' pictures, and Andy said, "Did you hear about that actress who got stabbed? Her name was Reese something." "Liam Neeson?" I asked.
Saturday. Quite the busy day. It started off with pastries and a pale horse bourbon latte at 1215 with Brandon & Cat, and then Brandon & I went to Fountain Square to see Luke and his band (Phatty and the Mojos) play for Rock Bottom's 16th Anniversary Party. Luke's phenomenal on guitar, I must say. Brandon & I went by Carew down the street to see Emily & Sheffy (a new hire who's absolutely ballin'). Brandon & I went back to the square and won free Rock Bottom t-shirts, and when Emily got off work she joined us over at Brandon's to hang out for a couple hours. She left and we met up with Blake at The Anchor. It was Brandon's first time, he loved it: "This place is so epic!" The night ended seeing Gabe & Sarah's band, They Had Voices, playing at Mainstays Bar. Brandon, Emily & I clung to the far right corner in the back (I was enclosed on three sides, it was awesome), and we had a few beers and then everyone headed their separate ways. I rounded out the night playing NBA JAM with Blake and then went to bed.
Sunday. Brunch was a crepe from It's Just Crepes downtown, and Blake and I visited Andy & Emily at Carew. I spent my afternoon reading on the front porch and writing at The Anchor, and then Andy & I went to the Grand China Buffet on Glenway for dinner. It really messed with my stomach, I knew it would. If memory serves me correctly the last time I went there was back in, say, September or October of last year. Those were simpler times, I often find myself looking back on them. Things have changed since then, some changes being good, others being bad. I know those days weren't as perfect as I imagine them to be, but memories change and hindsight's nothing more than forgetting some things and enhancing others, reinterpreting things through a different sort of lens. I'm working on contentment where I'm at now, but I still long for those days like a freezing beggar longs for a winter coat.
Friday. Emily & I opened; it's fun working with her, I hardly ever get the opportunity since she's been Isaac's slave over at Carew for the last couple months. The morning was chaotic, but we were a grade-A team. Brandon always notes how we're kick-ass working together, we flow really well. I took a long nap and got Chipotle for dinner. I went on a drive through Eden Park, the storm-clouds pierced by the sun, and then I went to Dayton to pick up my ESV study bible and to see Dad. We caught up on the front porch, watching the cold front's storms recede, Tanner & Sky curled up at our feet. Sky doesn't really like Tanner, but she tolerates him; it's clear that she's the alpha between them. On my way back home I ran by the Speedway on Yankee and saw Mom & Grandma there refueling after their trip home from up north. I headed back home, swinging by Brandon's loft on Vine, and we hung out for a while and then I returned to the Claypole House to hang out with the roommates till 3 AM, listening to music and playing NBA JAM. Andy & I were on the front porch enjoying this frigid autumn-esque night and takin' pictures, and Andy said, "Did you hear about that actress who got stabbed? Her name was Reese something." "Liam Neeson?" I asked.
Saturday. Quite the busy day. It started off with pastries and a pale horse bourbon latte at 1215 with Brandon & Cat, and then Brandon & I went to Fountain Square to see Luke and his band (Phatty and the Mojos) play for Rock Bottom's 16th Anniversary Party. Luke's phenomenal on guitar, I must say. Brandon & I went by Carew down the street to see Emily & Sheffy (a new hire who's absolutely ballin'). Brandon & I went back to the square and won free Rock Bottom t-shirts, and when Emily got off work she joined us over at Brandon's to hang out for a couple hours. She left and we met up with Blake at The Anchor. It was Brandon's first time, he loved it: "This place is so epic!" The night ended seeing Gabe & Sarah's band, They Had Voices, playing at Mainstays Bar. Brandon, Emily & I clung to the far right corner in the back (I was enclosed on three sides, it was awesome), and we had a few beers and then everyone headed their separate ways. I rounded out the night playing NBA JAM with Blake and then went to bed.
Sunday. Brunch was a crepe from It's Just Crepes downtown, and Blake and I visited Andy & Emily at Carew. I spent my afternoon reading on the front porch and writing at The Anchor, and then Andy & I went to the Grand China Buffet on Glenway for dinner. It really messed with my stomach, I knew it would. If memory serves me correctly the last time I went there was back in, say, September or October of last year. Those were simpler times, I often find myself looking back on them. Things have changed since then, some changes being good, others being bad. I know those days weren't as perfect as I imagine them to be, but memories change and hindsight's nothing more than forgetting some things and enhancing others, reinterpreting things through a different sort of lens. I'm working on contentment where I'm at now, but I still long for those days like a freezing beggar longs for a winter coat.
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