Back in Chicago, Part II

Only last night did I finally catch up on the sleep I missed during my vacation to TN.

But it was all cool. I wasn't really droopy or sleepy or even feeling that bad, I was just kind of aware from time to time that I wanted to get a really long night's sleep at some point. So last night I did.

N came back to CCP lab last Wednesday, and told me that in fact, he did not go to the doctor, nor was he going to. He was moody, and once again, it was like pulling teeth to get him to do his work. So I told him off.

I said, Look, you were going to go to the doctor to see if they could help you, because something needs to change if you're going to make it in this program. So if you don't go to the doctor, that's fine, but that means that you have to change by yourself. I told him that he had Thursday and Friday to prove to me that he deserved to belong to the program, or he was out, because I wasn't going to put up with his yelling and complaining and not getting his work done.

So he came in Thursday, and did much better than Wednesday. Then he came in Friday, and did much better than Thursday. He came in forty minutes late today. He said he had gone to eat. I asked him why he didn't go earlier and he shrugged his shoulders. So I said, "Next time go earlier. Don't come in late anymore." So he shrugged again, with a half-smile, and said okay, in a way that was not dismissive, but that actually suggested that he meant it.

He was personable and productive- got all his stuff done without complaining. He talked to me about a lot of things, and generally seemed to enjoy himself today. Sr. Angie, Oscar, and Diana all said that it was because they like it when you're firm with them but still show them you care. Sr. Angie cited one conversation in particular that I had with N where he was telling me that they found cats on Mars. I disagreed with this assertion, and we talked about it, and other related outer-space topics off and on the rest of the day. Sr. Angie said he probably very rarely had people disagreeing with him about things like that without making fun of him. So I respect him, but demand respect in return. That, combined with J not being there to fight with and play with, and it makes for a much more productive and enjoyable CCP lab.

But here's a bit about my trek to TN:

We took the greyhound bus to Memphis last Tuesday, hardly slept at all, and were crazy-tired the rest of the day. That night, Mom took Michael and I and my sisters Anna and Mary to this Italian restaurant, and I had toasted ravioli for the first time, and several glasses of sweet tea, which you can make any time, but it is really nice to be able to get it in restaurants. I got to meet Mom and Dad's, and Anna's new puppies, who are mad-crazy frisky. And cute.

Dad hooked us up with some Eddie Izzard DVDs and tapes, so Michael and I were well entertained the next day.

Thursday, we headed to Murfreesboro by way of Lawrenceburg. We stopped by to see Grampa in the hospital, and met Joan in the hall. He was only supposed to have visitors for 15 minutes, but we snuck in and wound up hanging around for about 35. He really didn't look too great, but he had a good color, and everyone kept saying how much better he looked, so I tried to see him from their perspective. He was definitely happy to see us, and rather talkative, which was one thing cited often as a good sign. (Michael said he was surprised and happy that Grampa seemed happy to see him- since he had never seemed happy to see him before :) We went and visited with Joan at the house for awhile, helped her a bit with the computer, and enjoyed listening to her battle-against-the-loggers stories. Go, Joan!

Once in M'boro, we spent some time finding people- and wound up over at Trevor and Bone's apartment, where we stayed for the duration. I went to Liquid Smoke to play the open mike I always used to play (It's changed a lot in nine months- I don't know anyone now, and I almost didn't get to play except that one guy who was scheduled didn't show up. It wasn't great, but it made me happy, and fulfilled my nostalgia quota).

Friday night we went to La Siesta and drank way too many margaritas with Duke and Gilley. Later we went to hang out with Autumn, who is moving this summer to Kentucky for grad school. I made a point to be happy for her and not think about how this meant that she wouldn't be around when we came for visits in the future. From now on, we'll have to go out of our way to see each other. Sad story.

Saturday morning, we went to the zoo with Molly and Eric and Ian, and we played in a huge playground. That night, Michael role-played with the boys while I headed to Nashville to hang out with my circle of friends up that way. We watched Labyrinth, and drank butterscotch schnapps, and talked of silly and serious things, and then suddenly realized it was 2:00am.

Then I stopped by Cindy's house on the way home to see Nikki, who was sick and therefore couldn't come to Winn's to watch Labyrinth. And Cindy, my fellow Harry Potter freakhead, showed me the long preview for the next movie, and we squealed with delight at how awesome it's going to be. So if anyone wants to send me hundreds of dollars of movie gift certificates so that I can see it many dozens of times, I won't object...

Oh! And Christi gave me a Trinity (from the Matrix) T-shirt, and Cindy gave me a copy of "V" (my film debut), and Elizabeth gave me hand crafted hemp necklaces.

Oh! And Elizabeth drove in from Atlanta to see me that night! She came in at midnight! It was so cool, because I really didn't think I'd get to see her this visit, but she came anyway!

And Fred and I talked about Hispanic culture, and Crys is moving up.. this weekend I think... to Murfreesboro, so I'll definitely get to see her again next time I visit. And I got to see Mylena too!

But then, :(, I was very tired when I got back to M'boro, and it was 4:00, and I went to pick up Michael, and I saw my adopted brother Jeremy, but was too tired to really get to hang out. So next time.... Calvinball! Yeah.

And then Gus chewed up my shoes. I ordered some new shoes on line, and they should be coming in today, but I've been wearing my running shoes ever since, 'cause they're the only shoes I have now except for my snow boots, and it's making my feet smell. But Mom was nice enough to pay for my new shoes even though the ones she was replacing were like 5 years old, because they were Dr. Martens, and those things last forever.

What? Who's Gus? Just some guy I know...