Gold Colored Crayon

It's that time of the year again. Beast bush needed a haircut once again, and this time I also did a bunch in my parents' back yard. Fortunately Dad was a little more physically than vocally helpful this year.

Before I went out, Mom wanted to show me the aftermath of one of her mosquito bites. For some reason, mosquitoes seem to be very attracted to her, and what she showed me was horrifying. The bite was on her upper right thigh and it looked like someone hit her because there was a tremendous black and blue mark. One thing to note about Mom is that she bruises rather drastically. Curious I asked her if she was wearing any gold. She told me her wedding band and engagement ring is white gold. So I asked her to take it off and rub it on her face. Immediately her skin turned ash colored where ever she rubbed. She didn't believe me until she saw for herself in the bathroom mirror. Then she had me do it and nothing happened. Then she went over to Dad and started rubbing it all over his face and nothing happened. Content that the ring was now nice and clean she tried it again on her face. And her face turned black again.

Yep, it looks like Mom is anemic. I remember when I first heard about this. My middle school science teacher was talking about how gold jewelery can cause the skin to change colors. For example fake gold chains tend to leave green lines around necks. And people with low iron levels tend to have black marks left when real gold is rubbed up against their skin. My friend is anemic and she told me she brusies very easily, which is what made me think my Mom might be when she showed me that mosquito bite.

Nevertheless Mom protested that every day she takes a vitamin that has 100% high iron levels and eats a bowl of 'Frosted Mini-wheats'. The reason the cereal is noteworthy is because I noticed one day that the iron content in every version of 'Frosted Mini-wheats' I've seen is 90%. I didn't have an answer for her as to why her skin was turning black. But it turns out that at the end of the day she tried it again and this time she noticed no black marks. So maybe she had low levels in the morning before she had much food and before the vitamin was completely absorbed.

I had never seen the black marks before and thought it was pretty cool seeing how quickly they formed on her face. It was like drawing with a marker.

Five out of Six

Apologizes are in order for not getting the third and final post of my mini-saga out on time. Happily I was visiting an old college friend who I haven’t seen in over a year, but sadly I didn’t get back until much past my bedtime and the next day I was traveling back from my business trip. Actually I am here at the airport typing this up, and hoping I can post it tomorrow (Friday).

We left off with Sarah finally calling me to meet up early Sunday afternoon. Since I hadn’t seen her apartment yet, she invited me over to have a look around. Since we live in the same complex I was curious to see her layout. It turns out our apartments are very different. For example she has a fire place and vaulted ceilings. But in the end I prefer mine, which has a wonderful view.

After having a look around, we sat down and talked for the next two hours. And she let me know how her weekend went and where we stood. She told me, she told her ex-boyfriend their relationship was over between them and that she still really wanted to go on a date with me. I could hardly believe it. And for the next two hours we talked about us and her interesting weekend until my friend Will called wanting to get Mexican. Sarah was up for going, remember he was with us for last taco Tuesday, and we went out to join him.

Since it is tasteful Thursday at this point I cannot help but mention the profound sadness Will and I had while eating at this Mexican restaurant. Recently our favorite Mexican restaurant, and in everybody’s opinion who ever ate there, closed its doors. This new place we go to is voted “best Mexican in town”, but Will, myself and everybody who ever at the other restaurant know the truth.

Will frequently comments on his opinion of Sarah and me. He thinks we are great together in terms of chemistry and our interactions. Sarah also approves of Will so for me I am happy that both my friends get along. I think it is important in any relationship that the significant other can be friends with the friends.

After Mexican Sarah and I watched a movie and then called it a night. During this entire time, she made it clear that this was not a date. She wants to be able to dress up on the first date, and since the weather wasn’t very good that day, dressing up was out of the question. So we still have yet to go on our proper first date, but things could hardly be better. And that concludes the three day mini-saga.

In other news, when I checked in at the ticket counter to my surprise my seat is located in first class! I’ve never flown first class before. I wonder if they’ll let me have free drinks and food. If that’s the case I will be asking for Juicy Juice in a glass and an ice-cream cone with sprinkles, but only the yellow ones, so I suppose they’ll just have to sort them out.

Close Encounters

On Friday I had to go to the store to get a new computer mouse. Mine accidentally broke at work on me earlier in the week. The store is just down the way from where I live so I occasionally walk when the weather is great, and on Friday it was. My walk takes me past the gazebo that extends out over the pond where I live, and as I walked by I noticed Sarah and her ex-boyfriend were sitting out there enjoying the sunset. He had his back to me, so waved at her, but then she waved back and he turned around. So I texted her I was just going to the store. On my way back they were still there. This time she texted first and made a comment about me being far off. I told her I like to avoid conflict.

On Saturday night I decided to go to the club house where I live to get on the internet and do some research. There was a little band in there playing guitars and a harmonica with some good singing. I thought about telling Sarah this but then decided not to, because it would be awkward if she came with everyone. And I didn't want her ex-boyfriend seeing me texting her in case he's the type to check these things out.

Well she and her crowd came anyway, and sat right across from me. I waved but kept my head in my books for the most part. Then Sarah came over to say hello. I told her this was really awkward and she completely agreed. But I didn't leave because I thought that would be worse. Fortunately the whole situation passed without incident. But while I was indeed studying I couldn't help looking up now and then to make a gauge of how Sarah and her ex-boyfriend were doing.

My impression was mixed. He was laughing and she was laughing. But I couldn't tell if they were mutually laughing at each other's comments. I didn't see them holding hands under the table or playing footsie. When they left he was standing very close to her but kept his hands at his side. So no clear signs there.

Now on Saturday and Friday, a little after midnight Sarah texted me essentially saying she was looking forward to Sunday. See on Thursday after getting overwhelmed with her sudden guests she asked if we could meet again on Sunday even though Wednesday was supposed to be our "goodbye". I said I understood her want to see me again because of my desirable physical traits, and she decided to cancel. But I groveled and she relented. But I wasn't sure how to take these texts. After all she was spending most of the weekend with a four year old boyfriend who was spending the entire time trying to win her back. So again I wasn't sure if she was just looking forward to hanging out with a friend and the idea of dating was off. After all I have a ton of friend who get excited about seeing other friends and text and call and all that, but they are just friends. The idea of dating these people would seem absurb to them.

Sunday finally came around. I was hoping I'd see her first thing in the morning. But then realized this would likely not be the case. Here her ex-boyfriend would be trying his hardest, and likely crying would occur. So I waited and waited. Waking up early made the day go a little longer. Finally around 2:30 I heard from her.

And here is a wonderful spot to take an ice-cream break.

Yes You May, No You Can't

Being able to go on a date and going on a date are two very different things. I might as well say, yes you are more than welcome to fly to the moon. But just because I give you permission doesn't mean it is ever going to happen. Such is my current situation. Amazingly, Sarah said we could go on a date. Better yet, she said that ever since she saw me she was hooked. Well it's been nearly a week since then and we have yet to go on our date.

My friend came over to visit last Wednesday and asked a few basic questions. He didn't want to ask too much because he didn't want me thinking too much about it. But he was happy to hear I managed to score a date. I told him, oh yes, I got that far but it may be weeks before I actually get to have a date with her. You see she was still in the midst of finals at that point of time. Her finals ended on Thursday but she wanted to spend some time with her friends before they all left her for summer. Then I had to go on travel for work for a week, which is where I am now. When I get back she is going back home to visit for a week and is bringing back a friend from Scotland for another week. Shortly after that she has a friend from Australia coming to visit and I will be back here in mid-June. So basically we had this past weekend.

I told my friend this, that we essentially had this weekend to go on a date before we would be separate for possibly 3 - 5 whole weeks as I understood it. So with my luck that means we wouldn't get to meet this weekend, it would be five weeks before we got to meet, and by then she'd have a boyfriend, and I'd be the pleasant chum she walks around the pond with from time to time.

At the precise moment those words stopped I got a text from her. It said, her brother and girlfriend unexpectedly decided to visit for the entire weekend. Just lovely.

But ever hopeful, I figured she'd be able to bug out at least briefly for some point during the weekend. And sure enough later that Wednesday night we did get to meet up. She wanted to say "bye" thinking this would be our last chance to meet for awhile, and we ended up taking a trip to Meijer for computer paper, binder tabs, and Baking Soda. The Baking Soda was her taking my advice as to how to possibly remove the heavy curry smell from her neighbor that wafts into her apartment and tends to collect beneath her sink cabinet.

That was a lot of fun but more of a tease. I wanted to spend a lot of time with her not just a quick half hour trip. But I still kept hopeful that we would be able to meet for a little longer before I left. Thursday came and after her final I got another text. In addition to her brother and his girlfriend, a childhood friend of hers decided to visit, and horrifyingly her ex-boyfriend was waiting for her on the steps of the school building as she came out from her last final.

Her relationship with her ex-boyfriend lasted for four years. And he had decided to come and visit for the entire weekend. He's also a friend of her brothers. Delightful.

Now, so far in my life, if ever another guy decides to pursue the same girl I am he always wins without exception. My junior year in college I went and knocked on the dorm room door of my friend ready to ask her out, anxious as always in these situations. When she opened it she excitedly said, "Hey guess what?! So-and-so just asked me out!" After the required completely fake but mutually-shared excitement for her good news she asked what brought me to her room. I mentioned she had invited me for hot chocolate and I was taking her up on the offer. She was suspicious of this, but didn't press the issue too far. About a year and a half ago I told her the full story. You already know about Suzy and how she decided to re-pursue a relationship with her ex-boyfriend who lives in Europe. And then there's the other one, who three times now has chosen another guy. So five out of five times, the other guy has won, and it looked like a sixth was about to happen. Because while I may have been the cause of Sarah to be "crushing hard", I have nothing against a four year old ex-boyfriend.

Since I am not in the heartland of activity on this business trip, I've decided to break this up a bit to give me something to do. I figure these posts, like this one, may be a bit long and with all this typing I need to rejuvenate with ice-cream. And fortunately right across the street from me is a home-made daily ice-cream stand. Oh boy! So off I go for ice-cream, and tomorrow I'll be back for the next part of the story.

Tacos and Texts

Taco Tuesdays tend to be good days. This taco Tuesday in addition to my regular friend we had a guest join us, Sarah, the girl who walks around the pond. Bringing an outsider into the group can always make for disastrous circumstances. Fortunately there was good meshing that occurred all around. Nevertheless I was a little anxious about the whole situation.

Earlier in the day I had acquired Sarah's personal e-mail address through some internet searches and decided it would be a good idea to write her an e-mail and invite her to taco Tuesday night. Happily she was not creeped that I managed to find her e-mail and also accepted the invite. At the time I didn't think my other friend was going to be able to make it. But then later in the afternoon he called up asking if we were still on. I told him about Sarah and he said he had no problems with her joining. Then I got in touch with Sarah to ask she minded if my friend came and she said no. Phew. I tend to live by the 'more the merrier' philosophy and just hope everyone I'm with can get along swell. This can lead to very awkward situations but again this time things worked out.

Now after tacos, Sarah was going to study for finals, my friend was going to work on his doctoral defense, and I was going to go do whatever it is I do. In this case it was probably going to be to sit down with ice-cream and watch 'The Voice'. But instead I wound up studying with Sarah like I did that other night. Speaking of that other night, only about 5 minutes of studying occurred out of the 3 and half hours we were at that caf. Last night about 15 minutes of good studying occurred out of the 6 hours we were together. So at 11 she decided she really needed to hit the books.

At this point I did go get my ice-cream and started watching 'The Voice' which I had recorded. Sarah started texting some messages about her disagreement about my feelings on jean shorts, and then out of the blue she said she has been inexplicably "crushing hard" for me since she first saw me walking around the pond.

Prior to this point in time I did not know if she had a purely friend mindset. I had been planning on asking her on a date as soon as her finals ended, but had some concern that if she only wanted to be friends that my asking could put a damper on things. So I told her if she could have just waited 2 more days I was going to ask her out. But now, through text no less, was as good a time as any to ask. And I did. Which apparently threw her off gurad because she had no idea I was interested.

That last statement needs some attention. I see this all the time, where girls think of the guy as only a friend and that all he is looking for is friendship. Then after a few days or weeks when he asks her out she is shocked. Come now.

Anyway, turns out we are planning to meet up sometime after her finals to go on a date. No idea when or where yet, but it's great to have all the difficult stuff laid out and out of the way.

Laundry Day is a Very Dangerous Day

Yesterday my laundry needed done. That seems like terrible grammar but I like it and am not changing that sentence. Unfortunately I didn't have any detergent, so I went out to the grocery store to pick some up. Now you should know I have sensitive skin. Or at least I think I do, because whenever I wash my shirts and then sit in a chair such that they are pressed up against my back I itch like crazy. It is really unpleasant and can be rather embarrassing. All my life I have had this problem. Mom used to wash our clothes with 'Snuggle' until one day she finally got fed up with my complaints and changed it to something else. I don't think she really believed I had a problem with it, but didn't want to hear me whine anymore. This actually saddened me a little, because I really like that cuddly looking bear.

So yes, I'm a bit particular now about my detergents. And I saw that 'Tide' has a hypo-allergenic brand. It goes for about $12. Then I looked over and saw that 'Downy' has a hypo-allergenic brand for $3 less. So very proud of myself for price comparing, I bought the Downy and went on my happy way.

When I got home I noticed the cap was a little small, and just figured it must be really powerful so I can use less. Then I noticed the liquid was much more "liquidy" than I am used to. So I poured in a half a cap full and then read the bottle. That was when I read "fabric softener". Oh dear. So I went back to the grocery store, got my Tide and came back to start my laundry. My amazing $3 savings turned into a $9 expense.

For those of you who did not find that story fascinating, I have other news to tell. The girl who walks around the pond with me, invited me out to a frozen yogurt buffet yesterday. That was a lot of fun. And then tonight she texted me asking if I was at least enjoying my Friday while she was studying for her finals. I told her I was just getting ready to go out to do work, like entertain you, and asked if she wanted to join. She said, "yes". And so, she is at this very moment sitting directly across from me, typing away.