Thursday Thirteen

1. I've won at the medium difficulty level of Spider Solitaire four times. Yeah for me!

2. I bought new underwear tonight: black, seamless, boyshort style. I like them a lot.

3. It took me seven months, but I finally found the replacement coffee filter for that fancy-dancy coffee machine Steve got me for Christmas. I can use it again!

4. I nursed a large turtle mocha for over two hours this morning. I sat at a table outside Caribou Coffee in the lobby of the Bank of America building and watched all the business people march to and fro in search of success.

5. I listened to two guys behind me talking about their cars for nearly 45 minutes. One actually said: "I'm taking the kids to Richmond for a long weekend, but my wife can't drive my new car. She'd better make sure she has everything she needs in the house." I can quote him because I wrote it down after he said it. Men and their stupid machines. Or is it stupid men and their machines? No, it's just some stupid men and their stupid machines.

6. It's hot.

7. The air conditioning at the mall was not functioning properly tonight. I got my panties and got out of there.

8. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that read: "Give war a chance." Haven't we been doing that for the past 5000 years?

9. I'm going to Hilton Head, South Carolina on Monday with Kristiana. Daniel will be at camp with his Sunday School class. Steve and Maya will be alone at last. They are deeply in love with each other; I'm sure they will enjoy having the whole house to themselves.

10. Next Friday and Saturday, the 4th and 5th of August, Kristiana and I are going to a scrapbooking convention here in Charlotte. Taking two classes together. Roaming the huge sponsor/retail hall. We are taking "mother-daughter time" to the max.

11. After our Saturday morning class, we will meet up with Steve and Daniel and head down to Orlando together for Daniel's AAU basketball season finale. Yup, you read that right: basketball. It's been the never-ending season, but soon we'll be done. A week in Orlando in August. Our only vacation week as a family all summer, sweating our pistachios off in Florida --> our sole consolation is that he's gonna pay us back big time when he becomes a professional basketball or baseball player.

12. I wish I were floating belly up in the water in the Meditteranean Sea off the coast of Menorca, Spain. Gazing up at the sky. Watching clouds drift lazily by. Listening to the shutter of Steve's camera capture the kids as they splash past me on their way back to shore, seashells in hand.

13. Last night, I dreamt that I went to a college reunion and saw friends I haven't seen in over 20 years: guys I danced with at parties, women I sat with and talked to until the wee hours of morning, campus leaders and cut-ups alike. I woke up just before talking to and hugging someone I don't think even noticed me, the lowly freshman, when he was a much-admired senior. Whenever I have dreams like that, whenever I think of someone I haven't seen or heard from in a long time, I take a moment to pray for them, for their safety and well being. I don't believe in coincidence, so I take the incident to the One who knows and loves us all. I hope and pray that Seth, Mike, Carolyn, Helga, Chris, Julie, Bill, Jackie, John, Rita, Jacqui, Janice, Enith, Kenard, Steve, Rob, Harry Sheehy, and Coach Farley are all doing well. May God give rest to the souls of Leza Washington, Will Love, and Carlos Egan. I miss you all. I miss the hills of Billsville - otherwise known as Williamstown, Massachusetts.

I'm off to bed.
It's late.
It's hot.
It's almost Friday.