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Past faces and other notes
It was wet and disgusting this morning. Even my beautiful new umbrella, the largest I can find, is not enough to keep the lower halves of my legs from getting rain-sodden. The sun is out now, but it will take my jeans the rest of the day to dry.
That doesn't mean I don't like my umbrella. In fact, I'm thinking of writing the Totes people a testimonial letter. They have done something that's so clever I wonder why more umbrella makers aren't doing it: Flexible plastic struts instead of metal ones.
The wind here is murderous. Several times this morning, as on other occasions, it has taken my umbrella and nearly snatched it out of my hands. Several times it has taken the umbrella and crumpled it, like wadding up a piece of paper. If the umbrella had metal struts it would have been tinfoil by now. But it just bounces back into shape.
Today is a boy day. Yesterday was a boy day too. I may have temporarily burned out my girliness fuses.
I saw Theo on the subway this morning. I almost didn't recognize her. She does unusual things with her hair and it's been a long time. We chatted a little. Theo is that rare thing, a former co-worker whom I actually want to stay in touch with. We don't see each other very often - she changes jobs a lot - but every time I see her I remember how much I enjoy being around her. She's a vivacious person. To say the least.
I mentioned to her that of the people from that Former Job, I do manage to run into the ones I want to stay in touch with every now and again. There weren't many. The only person whose whereabouts I'd like to check in on was my former boss - who may still be there for all I know.
Theo, ever practical: "Well, just write and ask!"
The problem is - sometimes you get a message from someone that you don't really want to hear from - a face from the past that you'd rather keep in the past. If my ex-boss would really rather not ever hear from me again, that's perfectly understandable, and I'd rather not force the issue and make her come up with some sort of polite non sequitur in reply.
You know the party conversation where there are two people who have met several times, know each other passably, but actually have very little to say to each other? I don't want to have one of those if I can avoid it. Not even via email.
Theo, on the other hand, I want to see socially - I have got to invite her to a restaurant somewhere or something like that. Theo is the kind of person you just want to talk to, even when you have nothing in particular to say.
I'd like to be that kind of person. However, I'm afraid I fill a conversational void by either clamming up or talking about myself. So I suspect I am not.
I bought plane tickets to Colorado yesterday. I will end up going there one weekend this month (by which I mean October) to see some Aether friends I've never met ... and another weekend is my sister's wedding ... and the eleventh is a holiday. This is making me feel guilty; I'll need to miss several days of work and I don't feel like I'm being that productive to begin with.
So today I find myself working double-time through old neglected tasks on my to-do list. Ah, guilt, the world's best motivational tool.
I updated the bio page last night. And I reformatted and did another round of small edits to the two pieces of erotica I submitted to Mary Anne. And I put together mouth organ. That was it for constructive work last night.
I had problems sleeping again. I don't know when I actually slept, but I remember getting up for more water at four-thirty. Which may be why today is a boy day - I'm just too exhausted to care.
© Columbine
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