Of Birthdays and Halloweens
I'd cut this thing into two sections... but I don't recall how.
I had meant to post on my birthday, but it ended up not happening. It's not horribly surprising, to be perfectly honest. Birthdays don't tend to run so well with me. It just seems like the universe tries to turn and go "Oh, so you made it another year; why don't we remind you of how powerless you are, and of the suffering that surely awaits!" It usually just gets depressing.
Now, this isn't true of all birthdays. I do remember the one I had in, like, kindergarden. It was all kinds of fun, from what I remember. There were one or two at Happy Joe's that worked out when I was younger. The one at EIU, when Carolyn and A'ntonia suddenly popped up. They'd somehow even called, and I answered the phone, and didn't know who it was. And there's the one when I spent the day chillin with Kris online. Played lots of Scrabble. It was pretty spiffy... she went out of her way pretty hard to make sure it was a good one. And there was the one my second year in Peoria, when Brittany had a cake, and she'd painted up a banner, and had even painted the box in which she had put some of the gifts.
Every couple of years, there's a good one. Every couple of years, it's like somebody goes "screw that, that's retarded. We're CELEBRATING." But it doesn't surprise me when it goes wrong.
This year, I was kinda just celebrating by getting new tires. I'd punctured one.. the day before, I think? But it and the other back tire needed changed, anyway. The front driver's rim is still warped, so I needed to head to the scrap yard, and I could get a new rim, and just change all four tires at once. But I worked 4:30-11, and didn't get out til almost 1. Then I couldn't find the scrap yard.
Google maps is a bit decieving about the location of the scrap yard. First, the name of the main road I was turning onto was not correct. It's like "Mayden Dr" on the map, I think, but it's actually Road. ...There's another Myaden in town that is a Street. There is no Drive, though. It also looks like there's a fairly big intersection you turn onto to get to the scrap yard. ...it really isn't. Also, everybody at the scrapyard smokes inside.
But after wandering lost for about forever, I found it, got the rim, and went to Wal-Mart. I unlocked the passenger side door form inside, since it won't unlock with the power lock, and the rim was in the floorboard. Gather up the laptop, a book, the earbuds, and the iPod that stays hooked to the stereo, just because I'm not trusting. Make sure not to lock the doors, because locking them with the powerlock WILL lock the passenger door. It just won't UNlock.
ANd so I go in, take a bit to get served, get the tires ordered, and go to hand over the key. Not in my pocket. Not in the bag everything else got stashed into. No problem - doors are unlocked, right? Well, you see, every 10th or so time I close the doors, they lock themselves. And being my birthday, of course, 10% chance was more like 100%. So I had to call my insurance agent, and get a number for somebody to come break into my car (yay roadside assistance!). ...THe first business was OUT of business, so I had to call her back, and she gave me two numbers to make sure. Neither does direct billing to an insurance agent (I guess you just can't trust a small town name like State Farm?), so I had to hit the ATM, get charged to pull the 40 bucks, and be uncomfortably close to not being able ot make it through the week with the tire change.
But I got the keys (and fairly fast, too, which is good since the phone was dying, and no wifi at Wal-Mart). THen went to Wendy's (as the Culvers on the north end doesn't have working wifi). Sat and chilled for a while. Had some food, read some book, watched some DBZ Abridged. Decent times.
Then, about 2.5 hours later, they call to ask if I am in the store, because they've been calling for me via intercom (though I said I was gonna go chill at Wendy's with some wifi). Turns out, I'm missing a lugnut. They don't carry lugnuts, and even if they did, the stud is stripped. And if there's something wrong with the car, they have to reject it for service. ...Leaving me driving on a donut, a warped rim, and a tire with a missing lugnut, planning on going to Peoria next day.
Kinda put a damper on all of my plans, there. Next day, Kindyr would come and we'd get the stud changed, but still. No trip. ...Not the worst birthday experience ever, but it had the standard level of "lol failure waits for you." But I didn't let it get to me too much.
I was told some time ago that I would likely not meet my soul mate until I was 30 (maybe later, depending on my own actions). That's Rachel, for people who have heard me talk about her. It wouldn't have been odd for me to go "Uhg, 28, single, loser, grr." But not this year. This year, I went "I am 28 - I have survived another year, and am one step closer to her." I remembered the things which I have survived, and the good things to come.
A part of me tried to kick up and go "Hey, David? Remember how He said to stick with BK until you meet her? You've got TWO MORE YEARS of ABSOLUTE HELL." But I didn't let it get to me. I don't tend to think of that aspect of it very much. Sometimes it's just easier to keep it going when you don't actually think about what lays ahead, ya know? Besides, He said it'd be over soon. How that works with at least two more years, I don't know, but God's crazy like that.
So, even though the day did a decent job of trying to suck, I still had a decent gift: hope. And it's hard to go wrong with that, huh?
Halloween.
Again, not traditionally an awesome day for me. When I was younger, I was litterally allergic to cold. If it was 40 degrees or less, I couldn't go outside... which meant a lot of not-Halloween. The low for tonight is 36 degrees. When that sun goes down, it'll get chilly fast. When I was younger... I usually couldn't handle it. But still, a few decent memories. Being an epic robot in kindergarden (which I guess was a god year in general, come to think of it). I remember having fun as a ghost, with my Pooh Bear also being a ghost. One year, I was at the church Fall Festival dressed in my Amtgard stuff, but with an autoharp. Can you guess who I was?
...It was David. Duh!
There was that one year I dressed as an angel, and had intended to go to the mall to watch the trick-or-treaters, and hit the coffee shop there. But Halloween was not on Halloween at the mall. I still hit the coffee shop (called Cup of Heaven, yes, as an angel). Wandered some. ...Became a little closer to the craziness that is my life in its current form, accidentally giving an old lady a good scare. Not a bad time.
But the last few years.. it's just plain been crap.
The first Halloween in Peoria was just plain disturbed. Set off a landslide of lots of crazy stuff that I don't normally talk about in these open posts, though I've been letting it leak in as of late.
Next year... I think was the one when some girl came to AnS, friends with one of the semi-regulars, ranting and raving about how she was sleeping with a demon, and it was so awesome. ...I believe Katheryn and I both decided to take a walk. When your cross gets hot against your chest, it's time to start rebuking or go somewhere else. ...In the end, we ended up dealing with some of that stuff. ...More than once.
...Year after that, I was scrambling to finish moving my stuff after the collapse of the apartment arrangements. Brittany's mother died. It was just... kinda bleak, really.
Last Halloween, I guess was okay. Just... really slow. Nothing happened. Some usual Halloweeny stuff, but it was okay. We just... didn't do anything for it.
...One of them, I think, was a day when some kids gathered in the cemetery and summoned something horrible I still don't openly talk about. ...That... was some pretty bad times.
This year, I was planning on going to Brittany's party on Saturday. Requested it and Sunday off. Got scheduled for open Sunday, so I couldn't go. Closing tonight, so nothing Halloweeny tonight. ...Kinda worse, I'm in an unfamiliar city, being forced to be out until 2am or so. It... makes me uncomfortable. I don't know what to expect of the natives here. But badness seems to have gravitated fairly heavily on Halloween recently. Except last year. Maybe the chain is broken.
Maybe it'll be a peaceful night, with just a side of weird.
Maybe.
Hopefully.
I had meant to post on my birthday, but it ended up not happening. It's not horribly surprising, to be perfectly honest. Birthdays don't tend to run so well with me. It just seems like the universe tries to turn and go "Oh, so you made it another year; why don't we remind you of how powerless you are, and of the suffering that surely awaits!" It usually just gets depressing.
Now, this isn't true of all birthdays. I do remember the one I had in, like, kindergarden. It was all kinds of fun, from what I remember. There were one or two at Happy Joe's that worked out when I was younger. The one at EIU, when Carolyn and A'ntonia suddenly popped up. They'd somehow even called, and I answered the phone, and didn't know who it was. And there's the one when I spent the day chillin with Kris online. Played lots of Scrabble. It was pretty spiffy... she went out of her way pretty hard to make sure it was a good one. And there was the one my second year in Peoria, when Brittany had a cake, and she'd painted up a banner, and had even painted the box in which she had put some of the gifts.
Every couple of years, there's a good one. Every couple of years, it's like somebody goes "screw that, that's retarded. We're CELEBRATING." But it doesn't surprise me when it goes wrong.
This year, I was kinda just celebrating by getting new tires. I'd punctured one.. the day before, I think? But it and the other back tire needed changed, anyway. The front driver's rim is still warped, so I needed to head to the scrap yard, and I could get a new rim, and just change all four tires at once. But I worked 4:30-11, and didn't get out til almost 1. Then I couldn't find the scrap yard.
Google maps is a bit decieving about the location of the scrap yard. First, the name of the main road I was turning onto was not correct. It's like "Mayden Dr" on the map, I think, but it's actually Road. ...There's another Myaden in town that is a Street. There is no Drive, though. It also looks like there's a fairly big intersection you turn onto to get to the scrap yard. ...it really isn't. Also, everybody at the scrapyard smokes inside.
But after wandering lost for about forever, I found it, got the rim, and went to Wal-Mart. I unlocked the passenger side door form inside, since it won't unlock with the power lock, and the rim was in the floorboard. Gather up the laptop, a book, the earbuds, and the iPod that stays hooked to the stereo, just because I'm not trusting. Make sure not to lock the doors, because locking them with the powerlock WILL lock the passenger door. It just won't UNlock.
ANd so I go in, take a bit to get served, get the tires ordered, and go to hand over the key. Not in my pocket. Not in the bag everything else got stashed into. No problem - doors are unlocked, right? Well, you see, every 10th or so time I close the doors, they lock themselves. And being my birthday, of course, 10% chance was more like 100%. So I had to call my insurance agent, and get a number for somebody to come break into my car (yay roadside assistance!). ...THe first business was OUT of business, so I had to call her back, and she gave me two numbers to make sure. Neither does direct billing to an insurance agent (I guess you just can't trust a small town name like State Farm?), so I had to hit the ATM, get charged to pull the 40 bucks, and be uncomfortably close to not being able ot make it through the week with the tire change.
But I got the keys (and fairly fast, too, which is good since the phone was dying, and no wifi at Wal-Mart). THen went to Wendy's (as the Culvers on the north end doesn't have working wifi). Sat and chilled for a while. Had some food, read some book, watched some DBZ Abridged. Decent times.
Then, about 2.5 hours later, they call to ask if I am in the store, because they've been calling for me via intercom (though I said I was gonna go chill at Wendy's with some wifi). Turns out, I'm missing a lugnut. They don't carry lugnuts, and even if they did, the stud is stripped. And if there's something wrong with the car, they have to reject it for service. ...Leaving me driving on a donut, a warped rim, and a tire with a missing lugnut, planning on going to Peoria next day.
Kinda put a damper on all of my plans, there. Next day, Kindyr would come and we'd get the stud changed, but still. No trip. ...Not the worst birthday experience ever, but it had the standard level of "lol failure waits for you." But I didn't let it get to me too much.
I was told some time ago that I would likely not meet my soul mate until I was 30 (maybe later, depending on my own actions). That's Rachel, for people who have heard me talk about her. It wouldn't have been odd for me to go "Uhg, 28, single, loser, grr." But not this year. This year, I went "I am 28 - I have survived another year, and am one step closer to her." I remembered the things which I have survived, and the good things to come.
A part of me tried to kick up and go "Hey, David? Remember how He said to stick with BK until you meet her? You've got TWO MORE YEARS of ABSOLUTE HELL." But I didn't let it get to me. I don't tend to think of that aspect of it very much. Sometimes it's just easier to keep it going when you don't actually think about what lays ahead, ya know? Besides, He said it'd be over soon. How that works with at least two more years, I don't know, but God's crazy like that.
So, even though the day did a decent job of trying to suck, I still had a decent gift: hope. And it's hard to go wrong with that, huh?
Halloween.
Again, not traditionally an awesome day for me. When I was younger, I was litterally allergic to cold. If it was 40 degrees or less, I couldn't go outside... which meant a lot of not-Halloween. The low for tonight is 36 degrees. When that sun goes down, it'll get chilly fast. When I was younger... I usually couldn't handle it. But still, a few decent memories. Being an epic robot in kindergarden (which I guess was a god year in general, come to think of it). I remember having fun as a ghost, with my Pooh Bear also being a ghost. One year, I was at the church Fall Festival dressed in my Amtgard stuff, but with an autoharp. Can you guess who I was?
...It was David. Duh!
There was that one year I dressed as an angel, and had intended to go to the mall to watch the trick-or-treaters, and hit the coffee shop there. But Halloween was not on Halloween at the mall. I still hit the coffee shop (called Cup of Heaven, yes, as an angel). Wandered some. ...Became a little closer to the craziness that is my life in its current form, accidentally giving an old lady a good scare. Not a bad time.
But the last few years.. it's just plain been crap.
The first Halloween in Peoria was just plain disturbed. Set off a landslide of lots of crazy stuff that I don't normally talk about in these open posts, though I've been letting it leak in as of late.
Next year... I think was the one when some girl came to AnS, friends with one of the semi-regulars, ranting and raving about how she was sleeping with a demon, and it was so awesome. ...I believe Katheryn and I both decided to take a walk. When your cross gets hot against your chest, it's time to start rebuking or go somewhere else. ...In the end, we ended up dealing with some of that stuff. ...More than once.
...Year after that, I was scrambling to finish moving my stuff after the collapse of the apartment arrangements. Brittany's mother died. It was just... kinda bleak, really.
Last Halloween, I guess was okay. Just... really slow. Nothing happened. Some usual Halloweeny stuff, but it was okay. We just... didn't do anything for it.
...One of them, I think, was a day when some kids gathered in the cemetery and summoned something horrible I still don't openly talk about. ...That... was some pretty bad times.
This year, I was planning on going to Brittany's party on Saturday. Requested it and Sunday off. Got scheduled for open Sunday, so I couldn't go. Closing tonight, so nothing Halloweeny tonight. ...Kinda worse, I'm in an unfamiliar city, being forced to be out until 2am or so. It... makes me uncomfortable. I don't know what to expect of the natives here. But badness seems to have gravitated fairly heavily on Halloween recently. Except last year. Maybe the chain is broken.
Maybe it'll be a peaceful night, with just a side of weird.
Maybe.
Hopefully.