The Day We Laughed To Remember

As expected, continuing employment past the two week notice is difficult to swallow. Not that I don't want the chance to say goodbye to a lot of neat people, but the main reason I'm leaving is to have free time to focus on school and studying. So being scheduled for three opening shifts this week is just another reminder of why it's time for me to leave. 

Today marks 10 years since 9/11. 

I was 14, a freshman in high school, getting ready for class and not all that interested in whatever my mom was watching on TV until she told me to come in and watch with her. One plane had already struck and the first tower was breathing smoke over New York City. I remember my mom said that the whole situation felt double-weird because she knew that if she'd stuck on the path she'd started with banking (if she hadn't had kids, basically), she would've probably been working at the World Trade Center. So I guess she was watching a hypothetical version of herself die. Meanwhile, I'm more worried about being late to class. Come to find out, no one's all that worried about school and then the towers fall and we're all watching on TV and people are crying and the principal sends out a memo that excuses us from class. That was ten years ago. 

They were hosting a memorial concert on Capitol Mall. Jenny and I meandered through on our way to find the new donut shop. The only part that really plucked my heart-strings, besides the obligatory patriotic country music, was seeing the hundreds of little flags meant to symbolize the hundreds of lives lost on 9/11. That's a lot of death. Say what you will about the war that followed, the fact remains that tragedy is tragedy. 

I won a pair of lost-and-found Ray Ban aviator sunglasses in a game of ro-sham-bo with Landon. Fuck yeah.

I haven't told many people about my two-weeks notice. I kind of want to wait until I know the exact day that will be my last. At the very least, I know I won't be there past the 25th. 

Second Saturday was spent riding around on bikes with Iven and Andy to look for houses in Midtown. We found a couple. Not many. More two-bedrooms available... But Andy seems pretty excited about the idea of moving, so it should work out. I told him about my two-weeks and assured him that I have enough financial aid to survive a few months. He seems okay with the idea. Better to be upfront. After house hunting, we found ourselves at Golden Bear, drinking on the patio and watching the night-life wander by. Tessa happened to come by to visit friends of hers sitting at the table beside ours, so we joined circles. I found myself hoping that Tessa and Iven would get together. Wouldn't that just be the craziest thing. Jenny and her friend, Jenny, came by not long afterward and so we bought another round. Finished the night in the room with some late-night snacks and a little bit of Fantastic Mr. Fox before Iven and Jenny left and Jenny and I passed out, exhausted. Good night. 

Went to Old Sac today to see Mark's band (Mere Mortals) playing at Laughs Unlimited, which garnered us free passes to the comedy show that followed. Not a very big crowd. It was neat to see Mark doing what he obviously loves most, besides coming into Old Soul to order the "Markenstein." At the comedy show it was just four couples and the comedians on stage, but they embraced the intimate crowd and the jokes were still funny and my gut hurt from so much laughing. We were all sitting near the stage so the comedians made small-talk to get to know us. It was Jenny's first time at a stand-up show, certainly not the best she could've seen, but a good start. 

I made flash-cards for my Linguistics class. Can't remember the last time I needed flash-cards for anything. Cool thing is, I'm actually learning again. 

- Left to Fry