02.22.2002 -> 02.28.2002 - We Were On A Break

Dear Diaryland,

Things have been so stressful lately that I decided I needed to take a vacation. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but sometimes these things can't be planned. I thought I'd at least show you the courtesy of checking in and updating you with what I've been up to.

Last Friday was The Moms' birthday, so I used Mr. Bestfriendinthewholewideworld's car to drive to L-town and take her out for dinner. I proceeded to eat enough sushi to choke a moderately sized walrus while trying to don my best "hey, I'm not a total asshole" face as The Moms broke down into tears every fifteen minutes. She quit smoking and she's trying to deal with the guilt of kicking my twenty-five year old brother out of the house, so she's not exactly at the peak of her mental game. I can't say I blame her. If I tried to go without something like masturbating, I'd probably choke up a lot too.

On Saturday, we caught an early showing of The Royal Tenenbaums because The Moms hadn't seen it and I wanted to catch it one last time before it left the theatre. She didn't say much about the movie other than, "all that smoking makes me want a cigarette." I had to leave that night in order to pick Mr. Bestfriendinthewholewideworld up from the airport early on Sunday morning, so after a rousing day of couch jockeying and watching TV, I stopped by Mr. Bestfriendinthewholewideworld's parents' house to check out my new automobile before going home. There are definitely a few things wrong with it, but it's not going to leave me stranded on the highway on a weekly basis. Plus, the backseat folds out into a bed. If this van's a-rockin', I'm probably watching some porno on the TV/VCR and a-jerkin' it.

I headed out to the airport to pick Mr. Bestfriendinthewholewideworld up from his trip to Vegas on Sunday morning. After we dropped everyone off, we spent the beautiful morning having brunch in town. Since my car is still acting flakier than a Greek pastry, he kindly let me use his car for a few days until I get my baby back up. Everything seemed nice until I got back to my place and Mr. Bestfriendinthewholewideworld called me to tell me about this.

We either played sports or music with everyone in that car except for the driver. Completely shocked, horrified and saddened, I've spent much of the time since ruminating about mortality and trying to live a more fulfilling life. I've done some exciting things in the days since, but all have been slightly less sweet than they normally would have been.

As I wasn't really feeling like bringing the funny on Monday night, I was relieved when my friend Dominic offered to write this week's column. He wrote it, e-mailed it to me and I edited the shit out of it. Still, it's only about 35% Jeffy. Don't tell nobody.

On Tuesday night, I went out to San Francisco with Jackson to see the Death and Dismemberment tour. Seeing a couple of my favorite bands was cool, but the Hipsterfest 2K2 audience wasn't really digging it. San Francisco crowds can be fickle like that. It didn't help that Death Cab for Cutie were having technical difficulties. Still, I got to hear good rock and meet Malinda, so it was totally worth my time.

The weather was great on Wednesday, so I decided to walk to school and then home from school after I dropped my car off at the shop again. It was nice, but after walking up countless blocks of monster hills in San Francisco, a few miles in Davis and dancing my ass off, my legs were pretty rubbery by the time we got home from night two of Noisepop: The Faint. Seriously, if I could see The Faint, Rx Bandits and Ozomatli on alternating nights, not only would I be incredibly happy, I'd be in great shape. I already have to buy new pants because The Faint rocked my ass clean off. They're coming back next month. You should be there or continue being a dork. It's up to you.

When I came into work on Thursday, I had to duck to avoid a projectile turd, because the shit done hit the fan. We have a new client that we're trying to impress in order to get their business. Two candidates I sent out were let go within three days because they weren't quality. In addition, I was supposed to forward over some resumes to that client from a sister office. I never got those resumes, but it didn't matter. Shit rolls downhill, and I'm camped out on the base of the Dookie Grand Canyon. I was accused of taking advantge of my new branch manager (which I'm so not doing) and told that I need to be the perfect employee for the time being, as my job is now back in limbo. Also, I have to run anything remotely important by my boss before I can do anything. Usually having less responsibility and accountability is a good thing, but I feel like I've just been handed a pair of safety scissors and a sash that reads "KING RETARD." It's not a good feeling.

Aside from that added stress, I had to interview roughly three times as many candidates on Thursday as I normally would have. Exhausted from work and two late nights, I struggled to make it to Rodney and Mr. Bestfriendinthewholewideworld's show at a local coffee house. Although my car is done at the shop, I'm still afraid to drive it because there's a mysterious six amp draw from the battery when the car is off that drains it. Thankfully, Julia came by to pick me up. Unfortunately, the kids only got to play for about ten minutes, but it was still fun. I ran into a lot of friendly faces there including Mr. Bestfriendinthewholewideworld's brother who just got accepted to transfer to his university of choice.

Also, I found out accidentally that someone I know has been reading my diary without telling me. HI SHANNON. I don't really care. It's just nice to know.

Rodney's friend Cat played a song that she wrote as a birthday gift to Rodney and I almost got a little choked up. It's an incredibly nice gesture, and if anyone deserves something so nice, it's Rodney. I had one of those moments where I realized that I'm surrounded by incredible people, and for the first time in about a week, I felt good about life.

So, I can expect to be plagued by bad things and worry, but it really doesn't matter so long as I have good people to help me through. If the last month or so has taught me anything, it's that I've got that.

So that's what I did while I was away. I hope you didn't miss me too much. I may take a vacation or two in the future, but I'll always keep you posted. I've got a lot of love for you, D-land.

-- Jeffy