Day 1093: On being sociable

So this week my coworker continued on his lovely trip to the Bahamas, so I spent my days hunched in front of my laptop trying not to let Ivy bat it off the counter and murder it and also screaming at the stupidity of some people. In retrospect, I should give the client services team and their clients some leeway, because what seems like a perfectly clear statute to me probably looks like painful legal gibberish to them. Although sometimes I quote statutory language to Cody or BenTen to see if they get it, and they do. I realize they are both extraordinarily smart people, but sometimes a statute is painfully clear, and people who quibble over what "three days" means make me a little crazy. I got good housework and cooking done, and on Thursday night I went at volunteered at the temple. The Provo temple is super busy because it's right across from the MTC so all the little missionaries-in-training can go often, and also BYU is nearby, so college kids with oodles of time on their hands go as well. I volunteered down in the laundry for the first time ever. Yes, my parents ran a dry-cleaning shop back in the day (cue jokes about stereotypes, I've heard them all) but I didn't really know what to expect. As it turns out, being chatty and friendly is okay down in the laundry room. Some other folks from my ward were there, so I talked English Major nerdiness with Brother Christensen, whose first name I don't know but whose wife is very sweet and teaches RS once a month. There was one of those awkward moments where a dude tried to speak Spanish to me and looked super surprised that I barely speak it. (Sentences about cats drinking milk really aren't that useful). He didn't look Mexican (which made sense, after he told me he was Argentine) and once I explained that I'm Asian, we were cool. I made friends with a nice lady from Ecuador, who told me lots of silly stories about her pet chihuahua while we folded towels, and it was a lovely, peaceful night. I should sign up and volunteer more often.

Onn Friday night I went to dinner and movie with my sister and some of her Internet friends. One is a huge SPN fan, and the other is a graphic designer who makes adorable cakes on the side, and we had a great time talking and eating food and making friends. We saw the newest remake of Carrie, which was pretty good. Not as scary as I remember the original being when I was a kid. I almost want to read the book now, because I spent most of the movie not being scared because I was busy admiring the literary symmetry and themes that happened. Like how Carrie read from the Bible about Samson in class, and then died at the end bringing a building down on her own head. Really good. Also sad. When I was a kid, her mother seemed scary. Now that I'm older, I could see her mother had some serious mental issues and could have done with a lot of community and medical assistance. Also, I thought the remake of the film was apropos. They modernized the story, so when Carrie freaks out in the locker room at the beginning of the film, one of the girls takes a video on her phone and posts it on the internet. The movie was a weird warning, like, this is what happens when bullying in high school goes awry. I guess that's one of the things about this film and the best horror writers in genera - what they write is frightening because it's truth. I remember being a teenager in high school and having a girl get on my case in the locker room or say mean things to me in the hallway, and for one second I'd close my eyes and I'd be setting the gym on fire with my brain. It's scary because it's inside of us, and the horror writers just take it to the next level, bring it out of the depths of our souls and into the real world and say, hey, this is part of being human, and it's the part no one wants to look at. So take a good look at it, and remember.

I had a great time. Usually when I'm out with my sister for too long, tensions start to rise, but seeing her with the others, it was like being a kid again, when she was queen bee of the neighborhood and ruled all our games. I had a really good time. At first I was reluctant to go, but I ended up having a good time, and I'm glad. But the holidays are coming up and for the next six weekends in a row Ivy will be at puppy kindergarten, so I need all the time I can get to work on novels and Christmas presents and the rest. I need to just sit down and write, but first BenTen's wedding is happening.

Yesterday I went to volunteer to write POAs and AHCDs for old people. I only helped two people before the crowds tapered off, and I ended up making friends with a pretty blonde lady lawyer. Her name is Jennifer, and she's basically the white version of me. She grew up a corporate/tech brat, globe-trotting in the wake of her father's career in semiconductors before landing in Utah to finish high school. She admitted to reading fanfiction and being a fangirl and martial arts and...wow. It was weird. She also works from home, so we excanged email addresses so we could chat online. Now that Cory Beth is in Kentucky, she signs off work two hours earlier than I do, and then BenTen usually signs off before I do, so I get lonely. It was fun, making a new friend. I was exhausted when I came home, though, so I took a nap (Cody had been at scout camp and was also asleep when I got home) and we had a late dinner before we ended up playing music together instead of writing our talks (although we did talk about them before bed).

Our talks went well today, and I also taught Sunday school, which went well, and it was good times. I was feeling tired and a little sick after church, so I took a long nap, and then we had to scramble to get dinner cooked and chores started. This week is the wedding, and I have celebrations three nights in a row, so it's going to be interesting, to say the least, but I am sooooo excited for BenTen, so I don't mind. I have been making it a point to sit next to someone new every week in RS. We've had a bunch of new move-ins, so there are people to get to know, and even though I work from home and don't have a kid, there are ladies I can make friends with. I suspect I will not spend time with them like I do my friends from college, but I should do my best to get to know them.

Here's to not crashing and burning this week.