Field Trip City

Today I wrote a poem about my mother.

I went through some of the boxes I had stowed away in my parents' basement. They were already well on their way to being impossible to get to amid the stuff my dad is clearing out of the garage; forty years of history adds up. I did rescue a few choice texts. More than I had anticipated, in fact, so I'll have to pack them in a separate suitcase for the return trip. It was hard to narrow down under the orders echoing through my head. "You should have a copy of The Canterbury Tales, just in case." Right. Well, whatever helps me sleep better (the inflatable mattress is barely covering it).

My brother-in-law Mike celebrated his birthday with a party at my sister's place. It was good to see Sarah again. She's stressed about her job as an education assistant looking after up to 15 kids a day during her week. My other sister Holly, the one who just got engaged, works as a receptionist in a methadone clinic, so both of my sisters are experiencing pretty high stress environments. Sarah is having panic attacks and she's just started back after the summer. One of the kids she looks after even made her a card telling her she hoped everything would be under "controll" for her. "It's pretty bad when even the kids can pick up on it," my sister says. They won't give her an assistant unless she's looking after at least 16 kids. Needless to say she's fighting just to get to the weekend. The party was fine, but I need to be more folksy with the people in Mike's family (I'm shy).

I picked up a Conair shaving kit so that I can keep my facial hair under "controll." It has 30 pieces to it including a how-to DVD. I can't WAIT to see that. Imagine being asked to compose the music for the Conair shaving kit how-to DVD. Imagine being asked to ACT in it. You'd be feeling as if you had the most perfect beard on the planet afterward. The best example of appropriately-shaven Conair can find. I'm going to screencap it and post it later.

The night wrapped up with watching The Man Who Never Was with my parents, a great flick about Operation Mincemeat from WWII. Gloria Grahame from It's A Wonderful Life co-starred in the melodramatic bits, and the thriller elements were crisply directed, exciting without too much bravado.

Today I went with Holly and Steve to Wendy's, and promptly left when Holly noticed someone in the restaurant she didn't want to talk to. It's a shame when your appetite is spoiled like that.