Common Sense

I feel like crap, but I’m in a good mood. Thank you Eli Lilly and company!

Yesterday, Sunday, I went out for lunch with my mom. We invited one of her friends (who happened to call that morning wanting to take her to the same restaurant we were planning on going to) and some of my friends from work. There was Big Boobs McGee and wise, old Sage from the copy desk and Shorty McDwarfentsein. Sage is getting on up in years, she’s in her early thirties, but my mom still called her a “little girl.” Go figure.

And my mom loved Shorty. I think she can tell I have a super secret crush on Shorty becuase she wouldn’t stop talking about how cute she was on the drive home. “She was so sweet. I bet she’s a good cook…” I have three excellent reasons why I will not ask Shorty out:

1. I am very self-conscious about my leg. I was vain before, but now I seem to notice every little stare and every look of pity from complete strangers. It has its own painful way of reminding me how I can’t quite do everything that everyone else can.
2. Depressed crippled guys make shitty boyfriends; we’re too self-centered.
3. Her current boyfriend, who also works with us, is like twice as big as me and could beat the crap out of me without me ever being able to run away.

I just made those up off the top of my head.

It would have been better had it not been for the extremely long wait. Have you every waited over an hour for a table at Red Lobster? Its just crazy. If only restaurants in Waco accepted reservations like in a decent city. At least I got plenty of those Cheddar Bay Biscuits filled good ol’ fashioned American crack. You can’t eat just one of those things.

While we were eating, mom brought up Mardi Gras. We’ve gone before, several times in fact. But she hasn’t wanted to in years. The last time I went to New Orleans, I went with Sailor Moon before we graduated high school. She seemed very keen on the idea of going and she found an article in the paper last night about going. I think a trip, a little drinking and some general non-stop partying for a couple of days could do her some good.

When I got home, I finally crashed. I hadn’t slept for more than 3 hours at a stretch for weeks. I slept for 6 straight hours. Then I put in Thirteen Days. What can I say, I actually like that movie. It’s one of the most interesting moments in American history and a lot of people who I admire were there to see us through the danger.

As much as I like it, Pan’s Labyrinth was still the best movie I’ve seen in a while. A few Saturdays ago, the Common Sense Crew made a trip to Austin to watch it at the Alamo on S. Lamar. Good times with some good pizza… I mean friends. Who knew subtitles could actually add to a movie? And post-civil war Spain, that is a time and place that I think few Americans really hear about. I’m sure a lot of people are shocked by Vidal’s brutality, but that was run-of-the-mill fascist brutality seen all over Spain under Franco’s rule.

I very much admire the way in which Ofelia viewed the world, too. There needs to be more magic in the world and more people like her to see the possibilities.

The title of this post was inspired by Nobodygirl, aka The Judas, who did not set her alarm clock and therefore did not have lunch with us yesterday, even though my mom really wanted to see her. Broke her heart. OK, not really, but still, I’m going to call her The Judas for a while and I’m willing to bet The Jesus pees on her foot the next time she comes over.

He’s not doing so well. He’s been so lost the past week. There were a lot of people around before the funeral, so he didn’t know what was going on, and now the house is practically empty during the day while I sleep and my mom goes back to work. I heard him crying the other morning. It’s the saddest whimper you can imagine and I was just on the other side of a wall. We pet him and love him as much as we can so that he doesn’t feel lonely. I held him in my arms like a baby for a half and hour just stroking his tummy yesterday morning. He still looks lost, though.

On the bright side, he pees on some of the large flowers from the funeral because he thinks they’re trees which is really funny. And his tail still wags like crazy when my nieces come for a visit.