30 Days (XIV)

A Picture of Someone You Could Never Live Without

My little sister Amanda. 
She's my best friend.
We tell each other everything.
She supports me, and I support her.
We laugh together, mourn together, celebrate together, hurt together.
My best days of the week are those when I get to see her, even if but for a moment.
Life without her? Impossible.

the dayton days [56]

Chowing Down at Kabuki

Monday. I worked a long-ass 12-9:30 shift, and after work I had a cup of calming tea and read "Suttree". During my shift Leah had a work meeting, and I saw her face-to-face for a few minutes. She was so cute, I wanted to kiss her so badly. "You were mighty cute, too, Buddy!" she said.

Tuesday. I worked 6-2:00 and then had a store meeting at Oakwood. Cars and I rode together, stopping by the Dorothy Lane Market in that neck of the woods to get snacks and sodas. The meeting was all about the new logo--launching March 8, my birthday--and some new products we're rolling out. Afterwards Carly, Jessica, Abby, Kyle and I went to Kabuki for some sushi. It was so good, and so great hanging out with everyone. Carly's becoming a shift, said, "I'll have to choose my friends carefully." Both she and Jess said I'm the one non-shift friend they'll hang out with on a regular basis. Kyle's trying to wiggle his way in, but they're not having it: he's tried to hook up with both of them AND both of their roommates, not to mention most girls at the store, including my girl. Yeah, it's territorial. "I would never ride in a car with him alone," Cars said. Leah and I are doing dinner with her parents Thursday.

Wednesday. I worked 6-11:00 and did my PDP with Carly till noon. I won a coin toss against Tony and got to go home early. I did laundry, cleaned my room, did some writing. Dylan, Tyler, and Pat D. came over for dinner, Wii, and a Starbucks run. Leah's been getting mad at me for no good reason. She's under a lot of stress, though: school, work, having to take care of Sammy 'cause he's sick with leukemia. Also, she's used to guys just using her, and so one misplaced touch or ill-spoken word triggers those memories and she begins questioning my intentions. So I must be damn good at showing her I'm not like all the rest. Apparently I failed to do that with Courtney.

Thursday. I worked 5:30-10:00 and went over to Leah's. We hit up the Mall and made dinner for her family: grilled chicken, potatoes, salad, and cheesecake shooters. The rest of the evening was spent helping her with homework. Now I'm in bed and it's flooding and the temp's dropping and they say there'll be snow in the morning. DAMN IT.

Friday. The rain did indeed turn to snow and my car was caked in ice this morning. I did a donut pulling into the work parking lot, and not on purpose. I spent the evening writing and went to 1/2 Price for some Hemingway. Leah met up with me for a bit and her friend Michelle came by. I was abandoned and once her friend left she went home. I was pissed. We hardly ever see each other. When we do, it's at my fucking borderline groveling. I feel like I'm the one putting all my weight into the relationship. And I don't know if I can trust her. One slipped word hints that she DID mess around with Kyle, but that she's trying to keep it secret. I'm tired of the games, her insecurities, but I'm also depressed, so I'm not thinking clearly. But she DID suggest that we not see each other for a couple weeks. WTF? You don't say that to someone you genuinely care about. All I know is that I'm glad to be home and was glad to leave 1/2 Price, with or without her.

Saturday. Dylan came over and we went down to Cincinnati: Rock Bottom for dinner, hanging out in Blake's room. I talked to Dylan about my reservations regarding Leah. He suggested that the big age difference may be a factor. I don't know. All I do know is that everything was going great, now they're not, and there's good reason to believe she messed around with Kyle and is hiding it from me (in other words, that she cheated on me and is covering it up). 

Sunday. I spent the afternoon writing and ran by Barnes & Noble and 1/2 Price. Mom, Dad, Ams and I went to Florence to celebrate Grandma M.'s birthday with Uncle Bill and Aunt Teri. Dinner was great: Sam Adams beer with steak, salad, and a baked potato. I drove home in a torrential downpour. 

intermission: the week(end)

It's been a pretty good week, albeit busy. Monday through Tuesday was hell, with a 12:30-8:00 shift Monday followed by a 6-2:30 shift Tuesday, then a store meeting at Oakwood from 3-5:00. After the meeting several co-workers and I grabbed sushi from Kabuki: I had an asparagus roll and a spicy scallop roll, and Carly and I split some shrimp tempura. I definitely prefer raw sushi to fried sushi. Wednesday evening Dylan, Tyler, and Patrick came over for a little while, and Thursday I went up to Elle's and we fixed dinner for her family: baked red potatoes, marinated Italian chicken, salads, and some butterscotch cheesecake shooters. Afterwards we did some of her homework and then I headed home. Snow fell Thursday (so sick of it); my car was caked in ice and I did a donut rushing into work on the slick roads. Salt trucks never made an appearance. Ridiculous. Friday evening I went to 1/2 Price Books, didn't find anything interesting, but got to see Elle for a bit.

Yesterday Dylan and I went down to Cincinnati. We had an amazing lunch at the Rock Bottom Brewery, where I sampled some espresso beer my friend Rob, the head roaster at Taza Mia (sp?) is helping to create. Quite a unique porter. Dylan didn't like it, but I did. I got the nachos (truly amazing) and he had the rustic barbecue pizza smeared with ranch. We spent the evening at the Claypole House with Mandy, Rob, Amos, and Tony. Today I plan on getting a lot of writing done--at least two more chapters in the DOTN:2 revision--and then my family is heading down to Florence to celebrate my grandma's birthday with dinner. I'm looking forward to it, and on the ride down (with my snazzy netbook) I can continue working on the story. Not sure how this upcoming week looks (haven't really seen the schedule, except that I work mostly mornings, and early ones), but I hope to see Elle at some point. She's reaching the end of the quarter and is swamped in assignments and research projects, so our hang-out times are becoming sparse. Not sure if I like it.

30 Days (XIII)

A Picture of Your Favorite Band

My music tastes are eclectic and depend on my mood and activities. When I'm writing, I prefer music which conveys the sense of the story. When I'm heading to work, I prefer 94.5 (Dayton) and 101.9 (Cincinnati) for the upbeat songs, most of which are club or house music (we're talking Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Bruno Mars, etc.). But the music I have listened to, and enjoyed, since high school is the music I grew up on, the music my dad played while in the shoppe beside my room. That is, obviously, Led Zeppelin. I still listen to them (and thoroughly enjoy them) to this day. Top favorites: Kashmir, Communication Breakdown, Black Dog. 

30 Days (XII)

A Picture of Something You Love

Sushi is one of those things you're convinced you'll hate--"Raw fish?! WTF?!"--but, when you try it, you absolutely love it. I don't remember the first time I had sushi, though I'm positive it was sometime in 2008 or 2009. Mandy and I used to get sushi all the time, and she worked at a sushi restaurant in downtown Cincinnati for a while. Whether it's sushi or sushi rolls (raw fish or raw fish coupled with rice, seaweed, vegetables and other odds and ends), I love it. I don't like cooked salmon but I adore raw salmon (how strange). There's a restaurant five minutes from my house that has a plate filled with sushi as it is: just raw meats. Yellowtail, snapper, lobster, crab, tuna, salmon, scallops... All sorts of delicious raw fish. If I haven't eaten sushi in a while, I start to crave it; then I have sushi, and I crave it even more. It's like an addiction. I think I'll have sushi for lunch.

30 Days (XI)

A Picture of Something You Hate

My hatred for winter creeps in before the first snowfall. This has been the coldest and most stormy winter we've had in years, and I was sick of it before the first snowflake fell. I'm so damned tired of it and just want it to be spring. I almost deleted this post because it has a picture of snow in it. Tacky, but this is what I hate the most right now.

30 Days (X)

A Picture of The Person You Do
The Strangest Things With

On Mandy's own "30 Day" thing, she put me up as the person she does the strangest things with. I'll reciprocate and do the same. While recently we haven't done too many strange things together, the history of our friendship is peppered with awkward public moments and hilarious little enterprises. She's the one who has seen me at my best (or worst). So many memories come to mind, none of which can be translated by words in such a way that they reveal the hilarity, awkwardness, and strangeness of those times. Most take place in the year 2009 and 2010, when she'd come over to the house once or twice a week to do laundry. She and I with all our friends would go to parties, restaurants, bars and clubs, coffee houses and parks, and we've shared so much laughter and awkward situations that the inside jokes are too numerous to count. She's definitely someone I do strange things with.