the 61st week

Monday. I didn't open (surprisingly), so I treated myself to breakfast at The Anchor before closing with Jake & Amos. Brandon told me today that he believes many of 600's advances in sales and operations over the last few months are largely due to me taking over select roles and running mornings. Again: it feels good to be appreciated. Amos & I went to his place after work to play MW3. John & Brandy returned from a wedding and visiting Rob & Mandy in Portland, and Brandy lamented being back in the dregs of Cincinnati and John fired up the grill to make chicken but ran out of propane. So we drank beers in the kitchen and cooked the chicken on the stove. Amos came home with me, and we rounded out the night with Andy, Ams & Blake. 

Tuesday. Jake & I opened. It was Ana's birthday so Brandon brought in a cake from Servatii's. It made her cry: "I miss my family in Brazil, but you guys, here, are like my family." So precious! The evening was spent in Dayton with Mom, Dad & Ams for a family cookout. I accidentally napped through a lot of it, but I also found time to clean out my car and rustle through the crawlspace looking for some old college books from my C.C.U. days. A little mouse died in one of the boxes. Dad grilled pork chops, steaks, and hot dogs, and Mom made mac-&-cheese and corn-on-the-cob. We made a fire out back and roasted marshmallows and I was attacked by a praying mantis. The drive home was dark and rainy, and Andy & I went to the Hilltop for chocolate milkshakes and sat on the front porch where Andy--pretty drunk off vodka and Mountain Dew, dubbed the "Emergency Cocktail" for obvious reasons--was likewise attacked by a praying mantis. The mantises are afire this summer, apparently.

Wednesday. The salad bar circuit breaker went out overnight so we had to toss most of our stuff and thus lunch ran on fumes. I went over to Amos' after my F.P. shift (he opened), and we played MW3 and hung out with John and Sabrina. I returned home to hang out with Andy but he was asleep. So I read The Glorious Cause on the front porch till he woke up, and then when he woke up we got Dusmesh for dinner and watched "Wilfred". It's got Frodo from The Lord of the Rings, and he's a manic-depressive who hallucinates a dog as a man in a dog costume. Brandon came by for a little bit, and we shared Front Porch Timez (again, with a Z) and talked T.M. 

Thursday. Two catering orders and a massive USFoods delivery made for a hectic morning. After work I went to the Elite Smoke Shop in Clifton, and when I got home Andy & I sat on the front porch and smoked cigarettes. He's not with T.M. anymore, has expanding horizons, I'm kinda excited for him. A change of pace would be nice, I'll have to make sure he lets me know what it's like. I went to The Anchor and drank coffee and rounded out my 2-week study on election & predestination; I think the idea of corporate election, rather than the traditional Calvinist/Arminian positions, makes the most sense. Andy & I joined Ams & Josh at the Cronin's house down Glenway, where Ams is moving soon. She hasn't been around lately, has been working and house-sitting since Chris is doing Black Ops for a week and Sarah's in Hawaii, so it was good to see her. She grilled kabobs on the grill and made mac-&-cheese, and I brought roasted red potatoes, Andy provided cupcakes, and Gabe & Emily delivered the drinks: Woodchuck Hard Cider. Haven't had that in a long while. We watched "Wilfred" after the meal, and Andy & I headed home to get ready for bed. We watched some more "Wilfred" and I played NBA Jam with Blake, who didn't work today.

Friday. Tiffany & I opened, had a really solid morning. I went to Family Christian in Florence after work to pick up an N.T. Wright bible study on Romans. As much as I find the atmosphere of Family Christian suffocating with its tacky and secular knock-off cultured Christianity, the fact that N.T. Wright's lesser known works are readily available makes it a pretty decent place. God is patient, or at least I'm banking on it (though not in the antinomian way). I spent the afternoon hanging out with Blake and reading The Glorious Cause on the front porch in the sweltering heat; it's felt like autumn recently, but summer's still in full-swing, despite a tree changing colors outside Chiquita, and we've still got a few weeks to go before things start cooling off. I just hate the humidity, the pollen, the heat, I can't stop sneezing, damned allergies. I got Dusmesh for dinner--chicken curry, aloo bhatura, and some beef samosas--and went to a park on Ludlow. I forget the name, it's got a few benches and some trees and a brightly colored playground flanked by polished yet tilting gravestones. I went over to Amos' and we played MW3 and hung out with John, his brother William, and his brother's pregnant wife Ali. She went to C.C.U. when I did, but I never really got to know her at all. 

Saturday. Amos, Andy & I got Dusmesh buffet for lunch (Indian three times this week, four if you include Sunday? Yes, please!). It was baby machete squad meets double rainbow enthusiasm. I ruined Blake's life by parking behind him in the driveway, so after exploring Ludlow and running by the Clifton smoke shop, we dropped Amos off and scurried home so I could move my car. Andy made a French press of Mexican chiapis, and I did some much-needed laundry and cleaning before hitting up The Anchor to begin the N.T. Wright bible study on Romans. It was a good pairing with stale diner coffee, and I can pretty much anticipate Wright's take throughout the study since I've read so many of his books. I went over to Amos' for a bit, and we played MW3 like we usually do till late in the evening, and I picked up some food on my way home and did a loop through Eden Park, thinking about things, clearing my head, reorienting my thoughts.

Sunday. I went by Carew Tower for some coffee, to study Romans, and to visit Isaac & Amos who were running the show. They were slammed when I got in so I hopped on and helped them through the rush. I hiked up to Dayton and went to Southwest with Mom. Emily M. gave a devotional on repentance from Acts 3.19, I was so impressed and proud of her. Last time I saw her she was half her height; goes to show how time just passes like sand through a sieve. We parted ways and I stopped by the house to see Dad and hash out a camping trip for the middle of September: we're going to go hiking and rock climbing at Red River Gorge. Lunch was Subway with Tyler, and we watched The Office and played MW3 and I stopped by Amos' house on my way home to do the very same thing. Isaac and I went to The Anchor for coffee and dinner (fish filet with a side of onion rings, treating myself well!), and I rounded out the night reading The Glorious Cause and chatting with the Wisconsinite.