Thanks to those of you who wished me a happy birthday and all that. Not having a phone or internet access is weird. It is good and bad. I don't use my computer nearly as often when it isn't connected to the internet and when I do use it it is usually for a specific purpose. I generally have to wait until I'm at work in order to make phone calls. It is annoying but again, I only make calls when I have a defined purpose. That gives me a lot of free alone time. Sometimes I use it constructively. Sometimes I don't. The other night I cleaned my apartment. That was constructive. A different night I sat around all night watching tv. That was not constructive.

On Saturday night I went out by myself. I don't remember the last time I did that. Maybe never. I went to a bar that I'm becoming a regular at. There was only one person there I knew. After we chatted for a bit I decided to go home. But the power of the coffee (a full pot) I'd consumed merely two hours prior was mingling with the beer. I decided that despite the pouring rain, I would make something of the night. I then went down to Anna's in hopes that Liz would be working that night. She wasn't. I used the bathroom there and grabbed a Willamette Week to augment my previously acquired Mercury and trudged on to my next location. A bar. Nobody I knew there. I sat down at the bar, ordered a beer and did the crossword puzzle until I could go no further. At that point I walked to my final destination for the night. Another bar. This place was packed and immediately I saw someone who I knew from school. Then someone else. And someone else, this time from elementary school. I got a beer and some more cigarettes and hung out for a while before leaving and crashing at home. That night was alright. I spent a bit more than I should have and didn't have a ton of fun. But I proved to myself that I can do things by myself. I am able to have a decent time and run into people I know without having to have plans to go out with someone else. That is a good thing for me to realize. Especially now that I live alone.

But...

...for the next five days I'm watching Tally again. Susan is out of town and my mom is still overseas. Then in a little while I'm going to have to watch Stephanie's cat while she goes out of town to see an old friend. I won't go into how I feel about that whole thing.

I'm also thinking about visiting my Opa before he starts to get really sick. I don't know when that should happen. Soon, I guess. I need to talk to my mom about it.

There is a lot on my mind right now. I'm forgetting all sorts of entertaining stories. Oh wait! I just remembered one. I'll tell it, but then that's it.

I was helping a coworker to put boxes on and secure them to a pallette. One of the ways we secure the boxes is with this big roll of plastic wrap. As I was winding the wrap around the pallette, backing up, I ran my ass (no, not the cheeks, and not just the crack) right smack into a big wooden crate corner. It was shocking and painful but I couldn't deny the hilarity of the situation. My coworker and I shared a good laugh, her more than I. Ok. That's the story. Not a good story but it was really funny (and painful).