Football Victory, Fire, Fights with Boys, Copper's Ears and Butt, and Other Forms of Procrastination

1. Football Victory: My Spartans didn't let me down (for once). Yesterday they defeated our arch-rival Michigan Wolverines in the Big House for the first time since 1990. We hadn't beat them at all since 2001. I watched the game over at a friend's house with some others from work. We were supposed to go to another co-worker's anniversary party after the game, but apparently cheering on our team left us too tired. I was home and in bed by 10:00.

2. Fire: When I got home from work one day this week and logged onto Facebook, I found a friend's status message about a fire raging in his apartment and how the status of his cat was unknown. We exchanged a few texts over the afternoon, but he didn't hold out much hope for the kitty; his apartment was a total loss along with 9 others in the building (he says the fire started in his apartment, but I'm not sure of the accuracy of this as a cause has not been determined). Good news came later as his cat was found... wet, scared, and a bit singed, but no sign of smoke inhalation, so she should be fine. Also good news that he was insured, although it will not cover his losses completely, and, of course, nothing can replace the things of sentimental value.

3. Fights with Boys: All this week an argument has been brewing with my friend Richard. There's a lot of things that figure into it, but basically I'm sick of him not respecting me. It seems he can find time to spend with pretty much anyone else in his life, but not me. I know... it sounds like I'm being petty, but I swear there is just more that I'm not willing to discuss publicly. The thing is... it's now been three days since I talked to him and I'm just sad. I know I'm right in this, but I just wonder why boys have to be stupid.

But that's nothing compared to the news I got a week ago from my mom... My older sister is divorcing her husband after nine years of marriage. Apparently she's been unhappy for years and has just had enough. This also makes me sad. While he can be a bit of an annoying oaf, I like my brother-in-law, but I'm not the one who has to live with him. I know it's got to be hard for my sister to admit that her marriage is over. She's not the type of person who likes to admit failure in any area.

4. Copper's Ears and Butt: Copper had her routine vet appointment this week for her vaccinations, so I had budgeted in the expected $100 or so. Once her double ear infections were diagnosed, "excessively full" anal glands were expressed, and hookworms and tapeworms were treated (Eddie got a dose of treatment, too), it cost more than double that. She goes back in a week for a recheck on the ears, so that will be at least another twenty bucks. Did you know that the monthly heartworm preventative that I thought also prevented all those other worms actually only controls an infestation until it can be treated? Yeah, neither did I.

5. Other Forms of Procrastination: Yeah, I have papers I should be grading. I have sat on my ass most of the day watching shows on the DVR instead of grading them, or even cleaning the house (my typical form of schoolwork avoidance). The one bit of work I did get done is the laundry (although there is still a load waiting to be folded in the dryer).

I also stepped on the scale today. Holy crap. I did actually go running yesterday, which was a good start, but I guess I'm going to have to start watching what I eat again, too. I was really hoping to avoid counting points again, but I think it might have to happen. I'm at my heaviest weight ever. No wonder my jeans are so stinking tight.

Makes Me Wonder

I was visited today by a book vendor that we've done business with for several years. He's a super nice guy and is usually able to cut me some pretty good deals on books we purchase from him. Today my aide asked him about a series of books that I was already planning on buying from another vendor, so I was a little annoyed at first. But then I told him I had a quote from this other company and he assured me that he could beat it. And he did.

He then proceeded to give me a great deal on the other books I was looking at ordering through him and he threw in a free book on the order (as he usually does).

As he was starting to pack up, he handed me a Halloween book as an additional freebie.

We continued to chat while he loaded books back into his containers and I ran into my office to make sure that I had received his emails with the quotes. When I returned to the table, he handed me yet another free book that I had been looking at.

I thanked him profusely as he was on his way, but I was left wondering...

Exactly how much are books marked up that our book vendor is able to give me such great discounts, beat competitors quotes, throw free books in on the orders, and still hand me two more free books as he goes out the door?

Petty?

Recently there's been an explosion of Facebook usage by people who went to my high school. I hesitate to say my friends from high school, as quite a few of the people I've recently received friend requests from are people I don't even remember from high school. Some of them graduated two or three years after me, which explains things, but others claim to have been in my class and yet... nothin'. No memory whatsoever. I don't get it. I didn't go to that big of a school.

At any rate, one night a couple of weeks ago, I logged in and a newly added friend had a status update complaining about the class of '93's lack of a 15-year reunion this year. It also asked if anyone had seen G. As in my ex-fiance. Well, I couldn't help myself. I commented simply that, while I hadn't talked to him myself in quite some time, I knew of his whereabouts and vital statistics through his sister.

But I couldn't leave it at that. I decided to do a search for G. and see if, by any chance, he was also a Facebook user. Turns out he is. I sent him a friend request with a brief message about how the previously mentioned friend (who had been quite close to G. in high school) had been inquiring about him.

A few days later, G. replied to my message. He thanked me for putting him in touch with our friend and that that he'd also found our former band director (also on my friend list). But he didn't respond to my friend request. Yet he added both the friend who was looking for him and our former band director. When I looked again a couple days ago, I saw that he had also added another friend from high school (who I'm sure requested G., not the other way around), yet he has still not responded to my request. And we've sent a couple of brief messages to one another since then as well, so it's not that he's totally ignoring me.

I'm sure that G. has nothing against being "friends" with me on Facebook. He knows there are no bad feelings between us. But I'm sure that W. would never allow it. I don't get it, though. If anyone should be bitter in this situation, it would be me, not her. She won for God's sake! She's the one who married him and gave birth to his children. Not me. I just don't understand. I even requested her as a friend as well, just so that she knew I was not trying to do anything underhanded by contacting her husband without her knowledge. She outright denied my request. The one I sent to G. is simply still pending.

I don't understand how, nearly twelve years later (and they've been married for seven) she can still be so threatened by the connection I once had with G.

I've been known to be pretty bitter about some things that have happened in my life. But not one of them is a situation in which I was the winner. And nothing that happened over a decade ago even still makes the radar. I hope to God that I never develop that level of bitterness.