I had a great weekend. It was truly wonderful. Some things, like having the freedom to go wherever I wanted, were nice. Other things, like the ability to spend all day going from store to store looking for bargains, without Jackie, was nice. Being able to splurge and get Jackie a few things she needed was nice. The best part was that they were on sale.
I feel like I did a lot of talking, more than usual. I saw no less than 8 family members and 1 friend. It was nice to catch up.
Friday, my mom and my sister Maggie came to get Jackie. We chatted while Jackie finished packing her suitcase. Mom commented immediately how much better Jackie�s hair looked. The stylist didn�t do much. She just evened up Jackie�s layers, put a few new ones in, cut her bangs and tried to shape Jackie�s hair so that it grows out nicely.
Sister Maggie mentioned that her boyfriend, we�ll call him Spike, was mad at her. I guess it was because she wasn�t going to make it back home to her at a certain time. I always thought he was sort of a hothead. Maggie seemed perturbed at him. Ah, maybe there is some trouble in paradise.
They just moved in together around Thanksgiving.
After Mom, Maggie and Jackie left; I sorted out the laundry and piled it into the car. I headed over to the Laundromat. That was a couple of mindless hours.
Still on the to-do list was Grandma�s shopping. I had to run to Dierboog�s for bananas. For Valentine�s Day treat, I got her small shortcake with whipped cream and strawberries. While I was there I also grabbed some soft and chewy breakfast bars for Grandma.
I decided I was going to get her another pack of those Boost Energy Drinks. I wandered over, after looking over the entire store, and found them. I found something new though. There is a new shake called �Glucerna� for people with diabetes. It�s supposed to help stabilize blood sugar. Plus, they were cheaper than the Boost, which is always nice. I got a six-pack.
Last time I was at Grandma�s; she gave me a shopping list. Some of the items, like toilet paper and rubber gloves, I picked up at Target the night before.
Dierboog�s had a special on rubber gloves too. You get a six-pack for 99 cents. I decided to get them because 1) they were bright colors like hot pink and electric blue. My uncle Nat is the only one that uses them, and the thought of his big hands in hot pink gloves was more than I could bear. I snickered to myself as I pictured that scene. So I got two packs.
I got a few other things and left.
I was feeling sort of weak when I looked at the clock on the car and realized that it was 8:45 p.m. I hadn�t eaten since 11:30 a.m. that day.
I stopped by Arby�s and got one of their Market Fresh turkey sandwiches. Those are so tasty!
Nicole, my cousin, called me around 9:30 p.m. We talked for a while. She�s got the support of 98% of the family, to move Grandma down to Tennessee so that she could be near her brother. There are also beautiful apartments for assisted living right across the street from Nicole�s place. Your rent is according to your income, your electricity is paid for, and there is a PACE program in that city. Nicole and my sister Renee would take Grandma on errands and such. And I think Grandma could keep her dog.
Aunt Rabby won�t go for it. I know she won�t.
Saturday, I woke up without the alarm clock, at 9:00 a.m. I sat around for a little bit watching mindless TV, and I headed out to Grandma�s.
I picked up some Arby�s for Grandma. Finally, she has tired of White Castle. I never thought I�d see that day. Grandma had been going to White Castle since they built the original one in North St. Louis, whatever year that was. Yuck. I was gone for 5 years and didn�t eat White Castle and they still got old for me.
Anyway, I wasn�t in the door two minutes at Grandma�s and her phone rang. I hurried up and put the food down and answered it. My cousin Jeff and his wife were in St. Louis and were coming by to visit Grandma.
Grandma wasn�t hungry. She had already eaten a bowl of cereal. I put the bag of roast beef sandwiches in the fridge, and we chatted.
Jeff and his wife arrived 15 minutes later. They had their little boy, Jackson, with them. He is so adorable. He�s almost a year old now. He�s got curly brown hair and the biggest brown eyes. I was in love! He gave me hugs.
Jeff helped me unload the car. As I was putting stuff away, I told Grandma where I was putting it. After all that, I was satisfied that there would be no attacks with the blood sugar, at least for the next week or so.
After Grandma�s, I went to Marshall�s to look around. I found Jackie a pair of pajamas for 5 dollars, a couple pairs of Hello Kitty socks, a pajama tank top for the summer for 99 cents, and a really cute purple top for $3.00.
I went home and relaxed a little. Around 4 my cousin Jackie called me. She confirmed Jackie was at her Grandma�s. Then she asked me if I wanted to go out. I told her yes.
I told her I would call Lisa and ask if she wanted to go with us. We decided that we would have dinner, and then we�d come back and call a cab. We decided to take a cab because we both wanted to have a few drinks, and it was the responsible thing to do.
I tried calling Lisa but didn�t get an answer so I left a message. I had a feeling she might have been out of town, but it was worth a try.
I hopped into the shower and got ready. I really love my new haircut. If I put some styling foam in it and use a diffuser, it really brings out the wave. I felt pretty for the first time in a long time.
Around 7 my cousin showed up. We chatted for a while and decided to go eat at Denny�s. The food was great, as usual.
After that we went home and called the cab. We waited about 20 minutes, but he finally showed up. His name was Barry, and he was very nice.
He told us that because of the rain it would be very busy. But if we were waiting a long while to call him, and he�d come get us.
I had first thought of the Phoenix and the Dam. I even thought of Woody�s. However, there are 3 people that I�d like to avoid that go into Woody�s. Iris� daughter, Patrick (the date that went horribly wrong) and the Bosnian guy.
I couldn�t believe it, but the Rec Room was packed. Last time I was there, they played some top 40, but a lot of heavy metal from the 80�s and 90�s. Not really my thing. But this time, it was basically all top 40, and some popular tunes from
Salt N� Pepa and Prince.
It was pretty entertaining for us to watch people be freaks on the dance floor. One of the bouncers even had to step in and stop this one girl.
I had ordered 2 Long Island Ice Tea�s. I watched the bartender make them and she made them right because they weren�t all water. I brought them back to the table. My cousin asked if she could have a taste.
�I like them!� She said, and she was off to get her own.
No one really hit on us, but I don�t think the bar is set up in a way to encourage mingling. I did get the eye from this Korean guy who thought he was Michael Jackson doing the Moonwalk. I quickly averted my eyes when he looked at me.
We had a good time, me and my cuz, laughing and talking. She is really easy to talk to.
About midnight, I was done. I probably shouldn�t have started that 3rd Long Island Ice Tea, but that�s okay. I was pretty warm and flushed from drinking. I went outside to tell her I was ready. She was talking on her cell phone and I felt bad to interrupt but I was starting to get very tired.
After she got off the phone, she called the cab company. After about 15 minutes, my feet and back started to really hurt. I wanted to sit down, but I was afraid to go back into the club because I might miss the cab. There was a ledge all the way at the end of the building, so I headed that way.
About a minute or so after I sat down, I felt rain. The temperature had dropped to about 40 degrees. I thought that we wouldn�t be out there long, so I decided to keep sitting there, even if I got a little wet. Stupid me. I had on a black tank top and an almost sheer nylon poncho over it.
We waited an hour and 45 minutes for a cab. 99% of my time, I sat on the ledge. By now, I was chilled to the bone. The rain felt like icicles. However, I was sort of drunk, and didn�t really start caring until I felt water seeping into my bra.
Jackie called the cab company. �We don�t have any cabs in your area�, he told her. She was like, �I don�t think so. Could you have told us that in the beginning?� She hung up. We called another cab company. They also said the wait was going to be very long.
The bar turned off its lights. I can�t ever remember being that cold. By now the parking lot was cleared out and the only cars in the lot were employee cars.
I was starting to get a little worried. We tried calling Rene� but he never answered the phone.
�I�m in hell,� I told Jackie. I was having flashbacks of boot camp by now.
Then we called Barry. He said he�d come get us. Finally, a cab came but about the time we got in we figured out that it wasn�t Barry. Jackie called him on her cell and he said he was right down the street.
We felt bad. We apologized.
When we got home, I got a hot shower. The hot water felt like icicles hitting my back.
When I got in bed, I got under my down blanket. Usually, that keeps me toasty warm. Instead, I spent an hour shivering uncontrollably before I finally got warm.
Sunday morning, my cousin and I got up and went to eat breakfast. As usual, Steak N� Shake was perfect hangover food. My headache went away rather quickly.
I went out to Florissant to get Jackie. I gave my mom $50.00 for Valentine�s Day. When she went to thank me, she whispered in my ear that she�s really proud of the choices I�m making in my life. That meant a lot. .
Then, we left and went over to meet Ms. Terry. She was at the nail salon down the street so I just had Jackie run in to give her the candy I got her and Lewis for Valentine�s Day.
When Jackie and I got back home, we ran to Marshall�s to get her some new tennis shoes. Her old one�s were coming apart and practically �talking� to her.
After that, we went home and relaxed.
I talked to my Uncle Nat last night. I'm going to go out to his house for the weekend sometime in the next month. We also discussed our plans for the parole hearing this year.
Jackie wore a red dress to school this morning. She looked adorable. She was so excited about her Valentine�s party at school. When she got in the car, I gave her the teddy bear, the candy and the Care Bear I�d gotten her. She loved the bear.
This morning, first thing, I got a phone call about a job I�d applied for Friday. This morning, I had my interview. It went rather well. He told me he had two other people to interview, and one of them was wildly �overqualified�. I�ll be able to be active again. I�ll have an actual job to do, and I�m so excited. I won�t be able to update my diary every day, but I think that�s okay.
I�m going to get a computer in the spring.
I�m reminded a lot that this is Black History Month. Jackie and I have been reading stories about black history. There was a book that I ordered from Scholastic Book Club about this doll, and I was so touched by it.
A child slave owns the doll. It is made from scraps of material, and is well loved. The doll is tied around the waist of the slave child, and the doll falls to the ground when the slave child is whipped by the master.
The doll is of course in the grasp of the slave child as the child and her family venture to freedom. Toward the end of the book, the family goes into hiding in a cellar of a white family, members of the Underground Railroad, on their way to freedom. The doll is left behind in the rush to leave (because the time was right). The doll was sad, but soon, another slave girl and her family find themselves in the cellar.
The doll is picked up by the slave girl, and becomes hers. The doll is no longer sad, and she leaves with the family when they go to the next leg of their journey.
There is a quote from a speech that has inspired me many times over the years:
"...I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today...." "I Have A Dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr,. Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on August 28, 1963
May the dream come to fruition. We are not quite there yet, whether people want to admit it or not.
9:55 am - February 14, 2005
Recent entries:
What you missed - January 16, 2012
%%older_entries%%From hell - October 19, 2010
%%older_entries%%a rant from a few weeks ago - August 17, 2010
%%older_entries%%Tired - June 20, 2010
%%older_entries%%A beautiful lie - March 11, 2010
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