So even though the day started a bit crummy, it ended up being pretty great. I had some pretty good sushi for lunch, then later I hung out with Stuffy and Natalie a while. Then we went to see Wall-E with Nate and AP, which was a wonderful movie. I left feeling sentimental and fond of life.

It’s not often that I stop and really appreciate what we have here in Nashville. I have great friends and a great life. Sometimes I wonder how long this time will last. Maybe that’s the type 4 in me that always wants something to feel a bit sad about, or maybe it’s just the realist in me. I feel like if things are going too great, then it’s not real.

But I hope it lasts as long as it’s meant to.

I’m coming off my emotional high now. Time to have a clove and get ready to sleep in. I’ve been running on not-much-sleep, after all. Whatever was in my bed better have moved the hell out by now.

<3

Wednesday night, Stuffy and I tried to go play ping pong, but the building was locked (30 minutes early… Vandy slackers). So we went to the field across from my apartment to throw frisbee instead. I believe that’s where it started.

Wednesday night I woke up at 3am itchy. I figured it was nothing to worry about and fell back asleep eventually. Last night/this morning, I woke up at 3am again. I had bites all over me. Not okay. At all. I got up and took a shower, took my sheets off my bed and tried to sleep on the recliner. That didn’t work so well, and so I just came in to work really, really early instead. I’ve never been that good at sleeping in recliners.

I’m fairly certain it’s not fleas, so I don’t really know what it is. But it will end, immediately. I’m pretty sure I’m not going back to that damn field either.

Someone on my floor tokes up big time every other day or so. It doesn’t bother me; it just makes me chuckle when I come home and smell it. It’s clear they’re not even trying to mask it. Funny. I hope it’s the old lady who lives next to me.

I decided to start writing my own blogging software again for fun. This time, it’s a git-backed merb-based blog. Merb is pretty cool. It’s like Rails, except less opinionated and faster.

I sometimes have trouble asking people for what I want.

Let’s say I’m in a social situation and I really want something to happen, but I don’t want it unless other people want it, too. So I don’t ask, because in my mind, asking would otherwise deter them from whatever they’re doing voluntarily. So then I feel kinda sorry for myself because the thing I wanted isn’t happening, and yet I don’t want to ask anyone to do it because it would “defeat the purpose”. If I finally do ask and I “get my way”, I feel guilty about it, and I don’t enjoy the experience as much as I normally would have.

You know, I’ve never quite learned the art of accepting things the way they are and to just have fun anyway. I know the reason for that. It’s because for so long I used to keep my feelings and desires to myself to the point of being a doormat. I did it because I thought I was being “humble”. And now, if I don’t let my feelings be known in some way, I start feeling anxious and feeling like life is unfair, blah blah blah, etc. I realize that there should be a balance to this sort of thing. Maybe it’s just my personality. Maybe it would be more mature to let my feelings be known right away instead of moping about it.

Yeah, so that’s the emotional shit that goes on inside my head. Awesome, eh?

Today AP and I scheduled a cookout on Saturday, since Brian is coming in town. Soon after that I realized that we scheduled it at the exact same time as a party Weeman is throwing, and I had invited some of the same people. I realized that was kind of a rude thing to do. I still feel bad about it, but I asked to have the time moved back, and I feel like I’ve done my best to apologize.

Tonight I went through a big stack of mail and updated my contact information for various important companies that provide things like insurance and what not. It’s been a while since I felt like I got my shit together in that respect. It’s almost like I’m a responsible adult!

Then I finally watched the rest of season four of The Office, so now I’m feeling emotional and reflective, and listening to Joy Electric.

Tomorrow is a half day, then hanging out with an old friend.

This past weekend was an eventful one. Weeman and I spent Saturday morning running about town getting ingredients for homebrew. We’re using a recipe called “Sparrow Hawk Porter”, a really dark but sweet-tasting beer. It turns out there’s a shortage of hops, and the brewing store would only sell us 2 ounces worth. Luckily, that’s all we needed. Everything went well, except when we tried to strain the wort into the fermenter. The strainer I had ended up being way too small, and it clogged easily and often. I had to run to the store to get a bigger one (not bigger as far as mesh goes, bigger as in total size).

The yeast took a lot longer to kick in than the last time I brewed, or maybe it’s just that I was worried about it so much that it seemed longer. This afternoon it finally started foaming up really well, and now it’s flowing readily into the blow-off tube. That was a relief. I even prayed over it at one point when it seemed to be doing nothing.

So in a month we should have some kick-ass homebrew ready to drink.

Also this weekend was the US Open golf tournament, which I followed for the first time in forever. I got more interested in golf after playing with my dad and brother. It made me appreciate how amazing the pros are. It was pretty much the best golf tournament I’ve ever watched. At the end I was pulling for Rocco more than Tiger; it’s a shame he didn’t pull it off. But hey, quite an accomplishment.

We also went to Dave and Buster’s, which was fun. It wouldn’t have been as fun without the alcohol, as there really wasn’t a huge variety in games there, and the bowling alley was reserved for a private party.

Brian’s coming to visit this weekend, so I’m looking forward to that. I have to clean up the mess we made brewing beer before then, which I’m not so excited about.