Post #723

Blogger.com up and changed on me over the weekend. It'll take me a while to get used to this new setup, but I'll get there. One additional feature is that I now can tell you how many posts I have completed. This being #723, as previously indicated.

This weekend, I actually had a good reason to not blog: I was away from technology. It was a nice weekend to be in that situation. Let's talk about my weekend, starting with the biggests stumbling block, Friday.

On Friday night I had a quiz in my Java class, which I breezed through(I'm a very good test taker) and managed to get to Ginger's to have dinner with friends before we attended a birthday party. I was sitting there with my friend J at the big front table, which is the only table which comfortably seats more than 4 in the front room. In walked this guy with three friends, and was halfway into a seat at this table when he then thought to ask if I was saving those seats.

Now I'll fully admit that from time to time, I can get flustered and lose my usual rapier-like wit. It happens usually when I'm either dumbfounded by people's idiocy(frequent) or when someone is so unbelieveably rude. My response to his seat-saving quiery was evidently without wit: "um, yeah." He proceeded to sit down anyway, asking how many more and saying that we'd be fine.

I was slightly, if not very, taken aback and pissed. I continued to scowl at him and be generally unneighborly while I waited for my other friends. They were late. And then they were later. And I called, and they were "on their way" and then I called again, saying to bring more people. Then asshole's party of 4 turned into 6. Then, after my food had arrived, my friends finally showed up. I told them to get a different table, finished my dinner, and left in a huff. We spent the rest of the night calling those in our usurped table assholes, and cursing their names. Openly. I'm surprised there wasn't a fight.

The only reason I wasn't completely pissed is that I figured out a place in Chicago to do our Midwest version of PacManhattan. Details on that when I get them all worked out.

Now, Saturday. My mission was to drive out to my aunt's house in my hometown(allow me to say that I'm impressed there's a link, it doesn't make it onto most maps), where I was to surprise my grandmother for Mother's Day(as well as the rest of my family, only my aunt, uncle and I knew I was going to be there). We had a barbeque, a bonfire, and yes, Bocce ball. It was fun. My roommate came with me, and was at his more serene. Sunday, I woke up at my grandparents' house, and went to do some "hill training" as I call it. We have no hills in Chicago. It's the truth. I started out heading west, down the hill from their house, when I got to the bottom I was almost run over by a terrified deer. I'm not exagerating, either. I'm talking inches away. It took a fair amount of wind out of my sails, to say the least, so when I got to the top of the next hill, I took a minute to re-evaluate the situation. I decided to move on, and went down to the creek and up the next(very, very steep) hill. About 3/4 the way up, my chain came off. I grumbled, walked up the rest of the hill, and put it back on. Feeling thoroughly discouraged, I was running out of patience. I did, however, mush on a couple miles, stopped at a cemetery to check out my chain(and the older tombstones) and turned around to head back. It was fun. I enjoyed myself, and even got to mow my grandparents' lawn. Don't think that's impressive? It's about the size of a football field. I was on a tractor. Pictures, as soon as I can get them. It's cool.

That's my weekend. Hope y'all's was good, too.