Sunday, August 26, 2007

are you getting sick of hearing about this?

As sick as I am of living it? Hmm.

Each day feels like a lifetime. Yesterday, at least, I got a break. I actually enjoyed the few minutes I spent with my coworkers when we popped in work to steal the Chinese Gardens pass. I've never been so happy to see Mohawk in my life. Then we went to my friend Leo's graduation from library science school, and that was another oasis in the otherwise dull expanse of time with my brother.

He's fine, but he's so flat! He's also sometimes infuriating. Because he thinks he knows everything and he starts to suggest things that are either patently obvious or completely ridiculous and either way you want to say "shut the fuck up! what do you know about cooking over a campfire/raising milk cows/buying houses?!?*" (*Actual conversations we had.)

But mostly he's not so bad. I was able to leave him alone for two and a half hours yesterday to go hang out at my friend's post-graduation drink-a-thon at 820 over on Russell. A fine establishment at which I drank an avocado daquiri... not all it was cracked up to be, but not bad. Then I dragged him to my friend Rose's party where he managed himself pretty well. He went in expecting something more along the lines of a frat party, full of screaming people, blazing drunk, but when he found a bunch of calm, intelligent, friendly adults sitting around a fire and having civil conversations, he was pretty surprised. He'd come prepared to "make sarcastic remarks" as his only entertainment (his words, not mine) and when we had friendly conversation after friendly conversation with nice people who were genuinely interested in chatting, he realized he didn't have anything sarcastic to say anymore. And I guess that's the kind of education I was hoping to give him here.

Anyway, now we're getting ready to go to the coast to camp. At least we'll leave the city, for a change of pace. But the company will probably continue to make me weep from boredom. Oh well.

4 Comments:

Blogger south carolina boy said...

my step grandfather actually thinks he knows everything, too, one of those kinds. unlike your bro, though, he is quite animated...

11:38 AM  
Blogger roro said...

Man, that sounds exhausting overall, but the tedium of it must make the glimmers of interest from the brother that much more exciting! Hope the camping is good! Or at least that it provides hours for quiet reading

2:51 PM  
Blogger witchtrivets said...

Your hostessing skills are impressive -- at this point I would be in my bedroom with the door closed and a directive to the guest to go entertain his/her own damn self. Nothing worse than an unappreciative guest. Well maybe a guest who doesn't respect boundaries. Often the same thing. Argh, having summer hostessing flashbacks.

Good luck camping.

8:37 AM  
Blogger stumptown dreamer said...

you are heroiC! and i love everyone's comments here. roro is clearly a glass half full kind of a gal - hours of quiet reading and i saw you left your book behind - yaargh!

till soon,
xx
sk

12:44 PM  

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