Sometimes a drag

Tomorrow I'm going to need to find a way to go get my prescription. My parents don't know I'm on it and my car is in the shop at the moment, so I need to come up with a decent reason to borrow a car. When I want to go somewhere, especially in one of their cars, my parents aren't big on the answer to the question "Where are you going?" being "Out." Being home can be a drag sometimes-- I want to show respect for my parents, their rules, their feelings, but a lot of the time doing that makes me feel like a teenager.

Good Kincaid

Today is Epiphany, as well as Carmen's birthday. She would have been fifteen today; this is the first birthday she's not been around for. My dad put a picture on her on the refrigerator of when she was in her prime. She really was a beautiful dog.

Had a riding lesson today. Went better than I expected it to, given how long it's been. But I'm pleased with how well I rode, and though Kincaid may have been totally unable to go round, at least he wasn't as stiff as he sometimes is. I hear they've been jumping him again, which I hate since it makes him get all strung out and go really heavy on his forehand, and I could definately feel the effect. He just doesn't carry himself well enough to maintain it with that intensity of work. But I managed to keep him in a good frame. Unfortunately, even though I've been working out, my muscles just weren't used to that particular kind of punishment-- seems like the only place the muscles in riding ever get used are in riding. So I'm parked out with sore hips and thighs for a while. Ah, well, hard work is good for 'em.

Thanks to having to kind of stay in one place due to the soreness, perhaps I can use the remainder of the evening to get some writing done. I made a little progress on Oz since I've been home, but not nearly as much as I'd like to. A little focus of some kind is in order. I get back to Waltham on the 11th, and school starts up again the 13th, so I should try to use my free time while I can.

Bye, zeby shoes

Got new shoes today, as my old zebra-striped shoes no longer supported my arches. It's a shame, I'd really grown to like them. I checked my journal for when I wrote about the last time I got new ones-- April 21st of last year. Geez, it really doesn't take long to wear out a pair of athletic shoes. I had to go to about eight different stores until I found what I wanted. My tastes in everyday shoes are very specific-- I like little black Pumas I can walk and run in, so I always get a variation on that theme. I would have just gotten another pair of my zebra shoes if I could, but this year's version of that shoe has leopard spots instead. I have, you see, a moral opposition to leopard print. I like the ones I got, though. They're sleek suede and very comfy, and I couldn't decide whether I liked the black or the brown better, so I ended up getting both. It'll be good to have more than one everyday pair, so neither of them will wear out as fast.

Nicely done, Dad

My dad fixed my iPod for me today. I'd been having problems with it because its damn battery wasn't lasting more than fifteen minutes no matter how long I charged it. My dad took the bad battery out of mine and in its place he soldered a battery he got out of my brother's old one with the broken screen. I'm impressed, it was a pretty delicate job. He says he thinks the battery from the one with the broken screen is of an older generation, so it may not be as high quality, but it seems to be actually holding charge for a while. Thanks, Dad. Unfortunately it wiped the iPod's memory, so yet again I have to rebuild my traveling music collection. That'll be a pain, and I don't have any of it here. Maybe I can find all my stuff on Dad's many external hard drives totally devoted to songs.

I always treasure getting notes...

Jared wrote me to me from Costa Rica today. A really loving and lovely sweet message.

I suddenly feel a lot less lonely.

Godfather Trilogy

I just completed the Godfather trilogy with my family.

Tom Hagen should have been Don. I don't care if he wasn't blood, I don't care that he wasn't Italian. He was more like the Godfather than any of the Godfather's own blood, and better at the game than any of the Italians. If he had become the don, he would have made that Family run right, and it wouldn't have become as sick and twisted as it became. Whenever Tom told somebody to do something and they didn't, they failed. He was the smartest of all of them. Sonny was a bad don, Michael was a monstrous don, Fredo would have been a weak don, and only Tom could have been like the old don. Vito should have adopted him formally, named him Tom Corleone, and passed his Family down to a man who could do the same things he could with it.

Jared in Costa Rica

Jared left for his family vacation to Costa Rica today. He called me from the airport but I missed it, and now he's already gone. I always hate missing his calls, but I'm disproportionally upset because that would have been the last time I could talk to him until he gets back in a week. He was kind of holding me together these past few days what with the other stuff going on. I feel like a jerk for missing his last call. It's going to be lonely without him.

Missing Carmen

It's still strange being home without Carmen around. She's been gone since the beginning of June, but this is only the second time I've been home since then, so I'm still not used to being in this house without her in it. I still expect for her to come greet us when we come in the door, and several times I've started cutting up table scraps to give to her after dinner. Boy, do I miss that girl. She was such a good girl. The best girl anyone could have.

I wonder when my parents will get a new dog. My mom went through a phase where she never wanted another dog ever again, but as I figured she's come around and would like to have a new one around. I think she wants a big one, like a German shepherd or a retriever. I'm not sure if they'll be sticking around the area for much longer or what, so they may be waiting to get one until they know.

All I know is I miss having a dog.

Corle-owned

"Take that, gangster! You got Corle-OWNED!"

I am such a dork. :-D

A hard start to 2009

The last couple of days have been kind of difficult for me. I have been asked not to give details, but I recieved some bad news about someone very important to me, and I've been extremely upset. This past year has not been easy for some of my loved ones, and it seems things are going to get harder. I'm praying and trying to be hopeful that everything is going to be okay. From now on, I'm going to focus on what is truly important to me. The people I love-- Jared, my family, my dear friends. My art-- writing, theater, larping. A lot of this stuff has highlighted the hollowness and wrongness of a lot of things I've been clinging to. And it's made it all the more clear that I need to let go of them.