January 10, 2004 - A Place for My Stuff

On the way there, The Gryphon and I got into a conversation about what movie stars we resembled. I told him that his eyes and his voice reminded me of John Malkovitch, who I think is sexy. But his personality, I said, reminds me of John Cusack. He's got the same sardonic sense of humor, mixed with a poetic side.

I asked him which celebrity I reminded him of. "No pressure or anything." He thought for awhile and then said Diane Keaton. Maybe it's the hat.

Man, my web cam is dying.

As expected, Una was deliriously happy to see me. She was equally happy to see The Gryphon and couldn't decide which person to run to. When she'd bounced between us for awhile, she put her paws up on The Gryphon and began to lick his face.

I pretended to be offended: "I buy you food and pay your vet bills, and you run to him?"

We all went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant, along with my Mom. It was a particularly foggy night and it was hard to see the sign for the restaurant, which was along a back country road. Still, it was worth it. They have great Mexican food, along with an interesting atmosphere, with murals on the walls and streamers on the ceiling.

At dinner, I told Mom about her doppleganger. She tried to figure out if Lisa K. could be one of her relatives. I had to admit it's possible.

Then, The Gryphon and I watched Laurel Canyon with my Dad back at his place. We all loved Frances McDormand in this movie. I found out through watching the director's commentary later that the character was at least partly inspired by Joni Mitchell.

The next day, we went over to my mom's place with the goal of packing up some stuff from my old bedroom. I had brought along a plastic crate for that purpose. This turned out to be a more difficult task than I'd anticipated. I have far more stuff crammed in my old closet than I had remembered.

By the time I'd filled the entire container, I realized I could have filled another. Perhaps two. I began to feel a big self-conscious about it, especially when Mom came up to keep us company. Still, she assured me she won't throw out any of my stuff until I get a chance to go through it.

Amongst the boxes in my closet was a shoebox of pictures I'd taken years ago, including several rolls of snow pictures and a roll of photos I took of my sister for a Cheerios contest.

My mom immediately made me promise to make her copies.

After packing up my car with several more assorted small boxes and such, I was suffering from dust exposure. We decided to stop and have dinner. Mom came over to Dad's place and we ate a chicken dinner.

This afternoon, Mom told me an entertaining story. Apparently, because she and Dad remained such good friends, a number of people in her church had also assumed that they weren't really divorced. Instead, they believed that Mom and Dad had got the divorce, leaving me with Mom, so that I could have a chance of scholarships for college.

This, of course, was nonsense. In order to apply for a financial need scholarship, you need to put down both parents' salaries, whether they're divorced or not. Still, it was a funny thought, that someone would do such a thing. Sounds like a comedy plot!

So many writing ideas lately; I should start writing them.

 

Moral:
You can go back, and take your stuff with you!