I think I should stop eating breakfast. Bad things seem to happen while I'm eating breakfast.

Today, I'm sitting at the table and my big old dog starts begging for my breakfast. Only he doesn't beg silently. He barks for it. BARKS. Awesome. So I shut him in the other room, finish, come back. He and the other dog are still feisty (full moon anyone?) so finally I'm like, "damnit! Fine, I'll take you for a walk, alright!?!?" That's when the young hyper dog jumps back, bounds really, towards me, getting nicely tangled in the internet cords that are strewn about this room and tearing the wireless router, my dad's computer and various plans, maps candlesticks and who knows what else crashing to the TILE floor.

That's bad enough, but what to my wondering eyes did appear as I walk down the hall to my own room? Only my poor little computer, lying in the middle of the hall, wide open and still turned on. Basically, the pull on the internet cord dragged it from level two on my desk, down to level one, then down probably to my (hard, wood) desk chair then to the (hard, wood) floor where it was dragged slightly down the hall and probably into at least one door jam.

Awesome.

I pick it up, I check it out. I turn it off and back on again. It's making kind of a weird spinny noise but seems to be working fine. I keep it on as I read Conviser. Still fine. I get up to get a glass of water, chat with my mom for one whole minute and cone back TO A BLUE SCREEN. AHH, the blue screen o' death!!! Nooooooooo!

Oh yeah. After that the computer "can't find boot device, try again (yes/no?) With a side order of [bwahaha go ahead and try again, your boot devise is as gone as if it were left in the stall of a hungry goat. Bwahaha.]

So I frantically call my computer guy, Brad, Brad, HELP!! He tells me to bring it it. He plug it in, tries a couple things and then just listens closely. "Are you familiar with the phrase, 'shit outta luck?'" he mocks. (Not really, but had the positions been revered, I totally woulda.)

My computer, the beautiful, tiny white and gray ASUS that no, was not an imac, thank you very much that has been my faithful companion through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, South Dakota, Oregon etc etc etc...is dead. And gone. And pretty much fried. Although I hadn't noticed it before, the entire casing of the computer was cracked right up to the hard drive.

So...it's a good thing I back up all my documents, right? Except that the last time I did so was in Indiana...and all my backup CD's were in the stolen boxes. And the few things that I put on my flash drive after I came back here I recently took off so the my brother could put a program on the flash drive and I hadn't yet put them back on.

So I have no backups, luckily I don't have much in documents when it comes to the bar, I rely on the outlines, conviser and flashcards, but I do have some stuff in there that I'd like back out.

Monday I'll see if I can possibly get anything out of the shattered harddrive and since that'll be 8 days before the bar, I'm not gonna hold my breath on getting it before then.

So...I went ahead and got a new computer. I can't really afford it, but what else was I to do with the IU hush money, right? Anyway, as soon as the bar is over I'm helping my dad with two trials, so I'll have some money coming in at least. After that, damn I gotta find a job.

Also, Window's Vista? I know everyone hates it and I'm not entirely sold yet, to be honest, but it seems to work just as well as every other window's version I've used and it's got some sweet little perks! :-)

For instance, I have fingerprint access available, so I don't have to remember a password, just swipe my finger and I'm in. I can connect my phone via bluetooth to my calendar, email, internet etc...I dunno, this thing is kinda sweet! :-)

But I've now spent all day working on my old computer, driving around to see if I can salvage it, getting the new one and setting it up and I've done all of...3 maybe 4 hours of actual work? Scary.

I am becomming astonished at what I am willing to do to avoid studying.

Today I: Made a bar exam lolcat with all the mnemonics from the MBE portions, went rhgouh 200 emails from an account I had been neglecting, read blogs, several blogs, cruised on facebook, read about Brangelina's twins AND the hate-filled comments on tv guide about them, (hi-larious), thought about moving out, looked at places I could move too, price plane tickets for some trips I want to take...

D'ya SEE any remedies studying in the above paragraph!?!? DO you???

Time for me to remove my computer from my vicinity. :-P

This is how I'm keeping all my flashcards for the bar straight. At first, the paper holder wasn't there but oddly enough the cards kept falling through the cracks. I'm pretty sure the mice behind my dresser have a VERY good grasp of adverse possession. (kidding!)

Anyway, today my goal is to get through remedies. It's only like 44 pages and I've written....1/2 of one card so far, it's 11:30 and I have class from 1:30-5. Hmm....

Also, I haven't yet showered and I'm running out of food so I should really go shopping. Or else my concoctions are going to get quite...interesting. As the guy behind me in class was eating yesterday, Tilapia with an american cheese single melted over it, melon chunks and rice pilaf. Ewwwww.

So, generally, I eat breakfast alone. My dad has gone to work, I have walked the young dog, fed both, given the old dog his pills and am finally settling down to breakfast, my mom is usually still asleep or just getting up and in the shower.

I say this to set the scene.

Because this morning, something went wrong. Terribly terribly wrong.

At first, everything seemed normal. My dad was just leaving when I got back from walking the young dog and, after asking me if I could possibly just a little bit violate the California rules of professional conduct, he took off. The dogs were fed, the old dog ate his pills. Then...my mom got up. And made breakfast for herself. And grabbed MY newspaper (that she pays for, but shush) and went to sit RIGHT next to where I sit.

So, okay, I can deal with that, I putter around the kitchen, make some breakfast, damn. She's still there. Whatever, I'll take part of the paper, I can deal.

Here's how the conversation progressed.

Mom: "Wow, that old dog really adores you."
Me: "Well, I've been feeding him and giving him water and I give him treats to leave me alone." (Which, by the way, is kinda like the slogans "fighting for peace" or "fucking for virginity"...it doesn't really work.)
Mom: "I wonder if he's scared to die."
Me: "..." (I've been asserting he will live forever, which seems like a possibility as he is currently at least 16.)
Mom: "I wonder if my dad [my grandpa who died in November] was afraid to die."
Me: "..." (Scarf down the breakfast, forget about chewing, gulp that coffee, ouch, hot! Get the FUCK away from here!!!)
Mom: "I tried to ask him, but he really was just a huge jerk at the end."
Me: "..." (I'm not here, I'm not here, I'm not here.)
Mom: "I guess that's how it is when you're dying, you say whatever you feel like."
Me: "Well, I better go get to work!" (Runs, hides, closes bedroom door.)


Another random snippet. One thing that drives me crazy about my mom, who really is a great lady, is that she is SO negative. I mean, I say something like, hey, I'm going to the store, do you need anything and she says, well, I hope it hasn't burned down yet. Or maybe not that extreme but I told her about an employment related thing that happened a while ago and her first reaction was "I bet he's having an affair." Like, jigga wha..!?!?

So her comment the other day, in the middle of our conversation and pretty much appropo of NOTHING was "I'm just such a Pollyanna."

Me: "... ... ...?"

I mean, what do you say to that when you absolutely, completely 100% disagree??

Her: "I mean, other people even tell me that all the time, I always look for the good in people."
Me: "... ... ...?"

Her: "But I really don't trust people, I mean, other people are always out to screw you over."

Me: (Head exploding.)

Last, but certainly, certainly not least, we were talking about my dad and me going to work for my dad (not going to happen, by the way) and I was saying that I didn't really want his practice, I'm just not really interested in what he does but he's kind of an annoying boss.

Mom: "Oh, but you have a much better relationship with him than I do."

Um, excuse me??? I have a better relationship with my dad than MY MOM does???? She meant a professional relationship, which is probably true, but that doesn't make me BLIND.

Brain. Hurt.

Did you know you can get caffeinated soap? Also, caffeinated lip gloss, gel to put on your skin, mints, gum, who knows what else. It's pretty nuts, but also kinda awesome in a scary way.

I don't have much to say after that, been working on Civ Pro and looking very very forward to the upcoming 4 day weekend. Not that I'll get much time off but fireworks is always one of the funnest days in Davis. Also, I can climb onto the roof and watch the fireworks solo style or run out to the soccer fields and huddle with the great masses. I am worried about my cat and Hudson though. Loud bangs.

Anyway, I really should get to sleep.

BTW - BarBri takers in CA, have you received back more than one essay yet? I only have the first one and it's annoying the shit out of me as I wrote three basically the same way and it turns out that was pretty much full of fail (and I admit some of the comments I was like, "oh yeah, duh, I totally knew that" for February). So before I write another one I'd like to see some more comments than just "btw, though you passed two parts, you failed two parts, your argument is all over the place and defenses belong at the end. FAIL"

Grr.

On the other hand, how fun is taking 6 hours of MBE going to be!?!? (My practice is tomorrow.) *Sigh*

Maybe some bar prep lolcats will cheer me up...*facebook*

The weirdest thing, since I moved back here is that I keep recognizing people. Bloomington people. Like, I was at a stoplight the other day and I woulda sworn I saw Dave the computer guy drive past. Or, at farmer's market one of the women shoving her way to the front of every stall looked like a librarian I particularly disliked. A couple days ago I would swear I saw that bouncer from Nicks. A couple times on campus I've seen a professor who reminds me so strongly of Professor Conrad I have to resist the urge to flip him off. This has happened multiple times and each time I do a double take and I'm sure these people are wondering what the pale tired freak is doing.

But it's always been people who played bit parts, so to speak, in my life. Like, in the movie of my life they would be billed as "nonspeaking part #5" or "rambling professor #2 from montage."

Until today.

Today I swear to god the guy in front of me at the supermarket was Doug, just older. Same hair color, similar facial hair style, similar height and build. Then, riding my bike home I saw Liza. The feeling was so strong both times I almost said hi to each of them. Especially to the girl who reminded me of Liza, I smiled at her like a kooky little nutjob before my head caught up with myself and went, ummm, I'm pretty sure Liza is not in Davis, California, looking like she just got outta class.

It's strange, it's bizarre, and it's one of the few am,using little things about my life right now. I think I'll keep looking for people I recognize, but every time I do I'll know that bar prep #2** has crushed one more little gray wrinkle of my brain into dust.








*Or what little I had to begin with anyway.

**Side note #2, you'd think bar prep would be easier the second time around. You'd be wrong. If anything I'm more scared, more uncertain...yet oddly more confident, and nightmares*** of that confidence being false wakes me in a cold sweat every so often.

***Speaking of nightmares, I've been having some DOOZIES lately! Like, I dreamt that I was still with my old marine boyfriend, ACK!!!! Or that I'm running on the greenbelt and I can't find my way home again. Or that my car won't start on my way to the bar exam (I'm staying close enough that I'm going to walk, not drive). Or many other things. Sometimes I just wake up feeling like I haven't slept. That's right, I dream about being awake all night and knowing I have class and bar prep the next day, that's enough of a nightmare to leave me breathless.****

****Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm deeply nuts. Luckily, I'm okay with that!

I read something about the Santa Barbara area (really the area north-east of it) the other day about how everything there yearns to burn. I was thinking about that, as I biked to class through the smokey, sooty air that reminded me of inland LA on a good day. I think everything and everyone in California yearns to burn. In different ways, using different meanings, we all want to burn or we wouldn't love being Californian so much.

Or maybe I was just lightheaded from trying not to get cancer. :-P

He said; "Oh yeah, Hudson* does fine running next to bikes."
He said; "He's a little scared of them."
He said; "It's a good way to tire him out."

I said; "Alright Hudson, let's try this now, nice and slow, slower slower! Watch out for that parked car! Don't get in front of me I SAID DON'T GET IN FRO..! AAGH!!! OOOOWWWWWIIIIIEEEEE!!!!!"

He said; "You just suck at biking."
I said; "LOOK AT THE BLOOD MOTHERFUCKER!!!"

I now have no skin on my elbow. And I think I bruised my...pelvic bone? All I know is that if I were a guy I'd STILL be lying there in the middle of the street...possibly begging someone to pack my severed member on ice in the hope the hospital could reattach it.

I'm sad I cleaned up the blood before I thought to take a picture.

Update #1: Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of your elbow!?!?

Update #2: So, once you have taken a picture of your elbow and you're trying to figure out how to put the pictures on your mom's computer but you need more light to see the port DON'T flick the lightswitch on the wall because apparently that turns off the whole computer. Thank god for autosave.

Update #3: Lastly, once you do, in fact get light and get to the back of the computer and plug everything in and get the pictures up...apparently trying to upload pictures to facebook will, actually, crash mom's computer.

Update #4: You're not getting pictures. Deal.

Update #5: Mojito's make everything better.

Ouch.










*Yellow Lab, Like Scout, for you IU people, but bigger. And I think dumber, though that's a tough call.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008.

I get sworn into the Indiana bar. 9am, California time I'll be raising my right hand and repeating after the judge..."I, Kristina Trewartha Conrad Jansen..." (Yeah, they gotta put in my whole name, think I should make a pronunciation guide? I mean, after what Dean Fromm did to my name at graduation...)

Immediately after that I keep studying for the California bar. Sometimes my life is too much for me to handle. And that's when I get a beer.

It's just weird, why can't I ever do things the way they're SUPPOSED to be done!?!? Nooooo, I gotta run my own path, dammit.

On the other hand, I can pretty much zone out in bar class for minutes on end and not really miss anything. I even still have some of my MBE notes from Indiana...although my flashcards are gone.

I started cleaning my room from the unpackingness today (also better than writing a con law essay). I still haven't completely unpacked, which is probably a bad thing and definitely makes my car less mobile. I actually haven't driven it since I got back here. I either bike, walk, jog, rollerblade or borrow my mom's. (Point of clarity; I have not, in fact, jogged or rollerbladed to the store, mostly because when I jog I get red and sweaty and when I rollerblade I get red and scrapey [I'm not the most graceful person I've ever met, surprise!]) But I got my bike all tuned up and I'm kinda loving riding it...though today I think it was approximately 900 degrees out and I was riding at 1 and 5 when it was really hot and I was not so stoked.

I also got a little swim chair with a cup holder so that I can float out in the pool with my drink. Now, if only the barbri books were waterproof...

I've been exercising every day, which makes me really tired at night but slightly more energetic during the day. Also, I'm getting my tan back. This will surprise anyone who met me in the last three years, but I actually used to be super tan when I was playing tennis 4 hours a day. I'm not outside that much yet...but I'm starting to build it!! (I mean, that skin cancer isn't going to grow itself!)

That reminds me of a girl I used to know who was as fair as I am, but where I generally use 50 spf (that stuff about burning and skin cancer was -somewhat- tongue in cheek) she used to go lay out all the time, she went to tanning beds, etc etc. She was a really pretty bronze, really. And at 23 she'd already had skin cancer cells removed and was under the care of a dermatologist. She would say "I know it's bad for me, but you're only young once and I'd rather be pretty and have fun now and pay later!" Go figure.

Anyway, I hung out with a friend from college the other day, Lindsey, for you who know her. I might go up to Petaluma on Friday to see her ex play with his band and see if we can ride the mechanical bull. And yes, I get the irony of coming back to California to do a hugely hick thing and no, I don't care. :-D

It's getting late, strict scrutiny and rational basis ain't gonna write themselves!

Don't we all feel like this sometimes? (Or in the case of Chutch, most days.)

On the other hand... THIS is just wrong.

(Can you tell I don't want to write a timed, turn-in essay for Con law??)

Yes, you read that right, I'm blogging from my phone in class. I may not bring my computer to this thing but I will still find a way!!!

I think we get our break soon, so it's not soooo bad, right??

It's super weird not knowing anyone in class, I definitely feel like a fish outta water. It's kinda nice though, my life has been simplified to working out, walking the dog, hanging out with fam and studying.

As for my books...I went to the store and found maybe another 10 or so, and two movies. I also got back a small lipstick-case-sized ivory box that my grandmother gave me for christmas. They had it priced at like $70 so it was a bit more valuable than I thought!!

I'm still pretty sad. I got back one great book but I'm still missing about 3 boxes worth. I don't really understand. Some random shops-at-a-thrift-store person bought my Black's Law Dictionary?? And my sci-fi series'? It's just random. I keep calling, hoping they're wrong and they haven't unpacked all the boxes.

I also remembered that all the MBE flashcards I made for the Indiana bar and kept for now were in there, most of my postcards from Europe and a bunch of my pictures from high school, college etc...from before I got a digital camera, basically. I asked the workers what they do with personal stuff like that and they said usually, they shred it.

I also kept a journal the entire time I was in Europe, apparently someone actually bought it and then brought it back because so much of it was written in. They threw it away.

I know this is nobody's fault, or everyone's fault, depending on how you look at it, but it makes me so angry that they would throw away all these things that are my history!!!

Anyway, break's over but I'll post again later. I'm not on the computer much these days because my laptop won't get on the house wireless for some reason and I haven't set up my desktop yet.

I'm in a very small room at home (10x10 I think) and my mom already has two bookshelves and a dek in there, so really I haven't even finished unpacking. Maybe this afternoon. I'll simulate some essays and take 10 minute breaks between essays to organize stuff. Doubtful. :-)

So Rachel reminded me that I haven't posted here in a while, and to some extent that I even had this thing at all. I guess nothing's really been happening, the next two days of my trip after
San Antonio weren't super spectacular or anything.

I did get to go to Big Bend National park which was pretty awesome. I got there kinda late, so I got to see the sun set along the Rio Grande which was cool until that meant I had to drive out of the park pretty much in the dark. The road was so twisty and turny that my cat actually got motion sickness and vomited and I was damn close to doing the same. Wouldn't that have been a sight, cat puking in the car, person puking outside of it. Argh. But we made it to terra firma again and driving through the Texas desert in the deep dark night is pretty unbelievable. At one point I got out of my car and turned off the lights and everything just to listen to the silence and look at the stars. You can easily imagine you're the last person on earth out there. It was beautiful and really quite awe inspiring until my cat started freaking out in the car and I heard rustling in the bushes on the other side of said car. I don't know what it was but it sounded large and I got back in the car pretty damn quick.

It was probably a skunk or something, I saw a lot of those, dead and alive, but this was (according to signs) bear and mountain lion country too.

Shortly after that I got pulled over for going 68 in a 65. Riiight. But the office gave me a warning so I wasn't too upset, just annoyed. Finally I got to sleep, sorta. I was late pulling in so the only room left at this shitty little hotel was the handicapped room. It was...weird. Super low bed, super wide everything else. But whatever, once again my cat freaked out and tried to hide, but I'm used to that by now and just ignored her. It was late enough and in the middle of nowhere, Texas enough though that for the second night during this trip I had dinner made from lunchables and string cheese. Awesome.

San Antonio is a neat town! I like it a lot. The Riverwalk is beautiful and since the heat is stifling, it's about the best place in town to hang out absent air conditioning. The hat is actually better here than in East Texas. After spending one night in east Texas I was about to turn North until I hit the Canadian border and continue my trip from there. Clearly, such drastic measures were not entirely necessary but I was not a happy camper.

Anyway, so yesterday I went to Galveston, which was cool, although my cat did not enjoy the beach as much as I'd hoped. I think it was the excessive water constantly coming towards her, but what do I know. I still got a picture or two of her before taking pity and leaving for here, but it was entertaining. I think the couple sitting behind me at the beach thought I was being cruel, but what would be worse, seeing if she would be okay outside or leaving her in a hot stifling car?? I thought I would at least see!!!

I also got to see the Houston Space Center, next door to the Johnson Space Center, it is there to divert the tourists from the actual working space facility, really ingenious. They were both cool, but I didn't stay long, I felt like I was wasting time looking at things I could see on a good Discovery program when I could be traveling! Plus, cat in the car.

This morning I'm going to Cowboy Town, I don't remember the name. Bandera or something. It sounds kinda cool. I sooooo want to introduce my cat to a horse just to see her reaction, but I think I already know what that would be. And it's pointy. And hissy. Ahh well. After Bandera, I'm moving on, either to Laredo or Big Bend National Park. The only problem that I'm beginning to encounter is that this is a 3-day weekend. There are lots of people traveling. There are lots of people camping. So I'm afraid that I won't be able to find a room/campsite quite as easy from here out.

But we'll see. I am resourceful when I need to be!

This Texas, around San Antonio, I guess South/East/Central? I dunno, beginning to get into hill country, this is the Texas I like. East Texas, Houston, even Galveston, meh. Here, it's nice. Not as humid, still hot but with an attitude that says, "eh, screw you too." Instead of "oh noes! Flee!" like Houston does. I mean, yeah, miles of subterranean city/passageways is a cool idea, but really pretty boring in practice.

But anyway, it's almost 8am and I still need to get ready and out on the road. I wanted to get up early enough to beat the traffic but I don't even really know when that is around here, so I just settled for staying northwest of downtown and hoping that will be sufficient!

Oh, btw, the duh moment of the day? I'm driving around downtown and I'm seeing all these signs for UTSA. This that and the other. So finally I run into it and it's this huge, cool looking building and I'm still like What the HELL is UTSA???

University of Texas, San Antonio. I'm not sure how I would have known that, so it's not totally duh, but I felt pretty dumb for being curious enough to go out of my way to track it down and take pictures of it...and it's just a school. Awesome.

So they've found about 7 of my books now. Since they can't pronounce anything and thought when I said sci-fi I meant medieval romance, I trust them soooo much less than when they "accidentally" thought I was donating 4 fully sealed boxes addressed to the address on which's porch they were sitting.

Argh.

So basically, Monday I get into Davis, Tuesday I have to go to SF to get my BarBri books, Wednesday morning I go to the warehouse to pick up what books and movies they've found and insist on looking at what else they still have there, Thursday morning I start visiting all the 15 locations in the greater Sacramento area. Sometime in there I'm going to lunch with Amanda, not to mention possibly seeing my few friends still in the area.

Also, I'm in a hotel room with my cat who was too scared of the car to poo all day and she stank up the whole room. But I don't want to go outside to my car to get the scoop to get rid of it because it's raining like nuts!!!

Argh.

But I'm on my way, and tomorrow I should be out of the rain in an hour or two.

I'm kinda sad I didn't get to see more people this last week. But oh well. School is over. Time for the next step. It's amazing how this place, these people became my life and then...just...not. I hope, as always, that people and something about this place will stay with me.

I'm really sad about a damaged friendship. Really sad. And it's pretty damaged.

Luckily, I'm about to have a new life.

So I finally got frustrated trying to sell my stuff and started just putting things on the curb. Nothing big, a desk that I actually got for free also, coffee maker, blender, popcorn maker, cleaning supplies (I know that's silly, but I'm SO not hauling these bottles back to CA and they were still mostly full!)toaster, cat scratching post, pasta express maker tube thingy, etc etc...

That was about 40 minutes ago.

It's all gone. It took me trips and trips and trips to get that stuff down the stairs and it was gone in 40 minutes. At the last these two huge ladies (clearly natives) came by and just shoveled everything that was left into their truck. Not the humidifier though, it needs a new filter and "they don't need no broken stuff."

It was amazing. I feel like I could put the desk the computer I am typing on is sitting on and the desk chair and the bookshelves next to the desk on the curb and they would be gone in 5 minutes. I told them to drive by tomorrow and I might have more stuff...

The debate: is it better to take this stuff to goodwill? Probably. But I've already donated quite a bit of stuff there (mostly clothes) and after my entire library of books and movies was forcibly donated I feel like charities have done enough blood-sucking. On the other hand, if I give this stuff to charities I get to claim it on my taxes...hmm...

Lastly, can you believe there's only one food bank in town? And they're only open till 5 M-F and won't take donations any other time? I didn't find this out till 5:30 so I've got a box of perfectly good, sealed food here that I might just end up putting out for the dumpster divers. *sigh*

Three Monday's ago I sent nearly 200lbs of books, movies and other media home to California. This Monday I found out that while the boxes did make it to Davis they were nowhere to be seen. My brother tells me this with a chuckle "it's the damndest thing!" I promptly have a conniption, call the post office, call the girl who was watching our house, contemplate reporting them stolen. When my mom gets home on Tuesday I talk to her and she says that they did get this random donation receipt. She did leave stuff on the porch to be picked up, maybe they accidentally took my boxes?

Thinking surely not, I mean TWO HUNDRED POUNDS worth of books?? My entire library!??!? But hopeful, I call them, they take a description of some of the books I can remember right off the top of my head and promise that someone will get back to me. Today, they did.


Oh yeah, we picked up those boxes, they were near the donation bag. But don't worry, we found your books.
**At this point I'm freaking out all really really really!!!**
Yeah...three books right, and this one movie???
**I die a little inside.**
Um no, more like one hundred books and 50 movies and WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!?

So yeah, basically American Veterans stole all my shit. I just made a list of everything that I can remember that was in the boxes and I'm going to go fax it to them. But seriously??? They took FOUR boxes off my front porch. Four SEALED boxes that were addressed to that address. There's no way I can remember everything that was in there. My mom keeps saying "but now you're free of all your stuff" and I'm thinking, yeah, CUZ I WAS ROBBED!!!!!

Oh, also, they said that if I'd called within a day or two of it getting picked up they would still have everything. But my fucking brilliant brother thought the post office had come back and picked them up because nobody took them inside the house so he didn't tell me for a GODDAMNED WEEK!

I told him he owes me $500, or to start cruising used book stores.

He didn't think that was funny.

Neither did I.

Still traveling with the fam. I don't remember why I wanted to post from Nashville, burt I was out by myself so I was probably avoiding someone. Nashville was a great town for hitting on me...of course I was out on a Wednesday. Pickings were slim.

Now I'm in Atlanta and enjoying it. I really want a big hangover breakfast right now. But I don't see it happening. I also had the amazing good fortune to run into Rittle last night!!!

I knew he was gonna be down here but I was out with my bro and stuff so I wasn't sure it would be kosher to call him. Finally, at the coolest little tequila bar I was like, what the hell, so I told him where we were (the Highlands) and he messaged back so quick, (paraphrasing) "we're right around the corner!!!"

So we worked it out and it was soooooo good to see a fun, familiar face in Atlanta after I've been cooped up with my ancestors for three days...!

Next post, home again!!! Before one more loooong trip. I can't wait!

Oh, also, I found out I passed the Indiana bar yesterday. Months of torment followed by months of waiting...DONE!!!

It feels weird though. I mean, I took the bar so long ago (as I consider time) and did everyrthing I could do to pass it then, this is like an acknowledgment, not an achievement of itself. I dunno, my grandparents are super super happy. :-)

I'm posting this from ,ashville. I'm here with my parents and grandparents. So I escaped and am at bars. I've made friends and lost them. A night in a micro-cosm. :-)

I could live in louisville any time.

see more crazy cat pics