We didn't go down to Shanendoah to look at that college. Jason flaked off, disappearing from Dirk's house (where he'd been hanging out with Aaron) while Dirk was in the shower. No big loss, honestly. I'm almost certain I've been mis-spelling it for the past week, anyway.
Instead, we picked up Dirk's paycheck, watched T.V., and got a pizza. Dirk's mother (and father, but I consider him a non-entity) was at graduation, of course, cheering on the daughter-in-law she'll never have. She came back at about 10:30, dressed to the nines. She'd taken out her best polyester for the occasion.
My cousin Shelly did graduate, and my aunt took everyone out to a restaurant afterwards. Shelly didn't show up. Imagine having a dinner in someone's honor, and they just decide not to come. The popular theory is that she took offense to my aunt referring to her friend as "that one" when she told Shelly she could come. Shelly and her friend are really close. Strangely close. Close enough that there are rumors about their "friendship". When her friend got fired from McDonald's, Shelly quit so that they could both work at a daycare center. Shelly doesn't like kids.
No-one would care if Shelly was a lesbian, really, if it wasn't for the fact that her friend is immensely unattractive. She's short, very obese, ugly, and dirty-looking. I'm hoping Shelly has better taste than that, but she's always been an odd girl. She had a car, for a while, without registration, insurance or tags (I suppose she didn't want to spare the expense, or perhaps it couldn't pass inspection). It's in a ravine somewhere now, if her friend's father is to be believed. I don't know how it ended up there, but I'm sure it would make an interesting story.
She tried to get her father to give her one of his cars, and got angry when he insisted that she get insurance and get it registered before he handed it over to her. Shelly says that she never wants a desk job — I suppose working in a daycare center is a dream job compared to the world of high salaries and actual health benefits.
The band's gotten to the point where we rely on each other; if one of us is missing, all the cues are thrown off and we suck. This point was graphically proven to us when DoShu got screwed over by his job and didn't get to practice until the second half of the set. We're almost ready; all we need to do is finish getting the equipment.
It's vital not to lose anyone at this stage. My life being what it is, however, it's only at this stage that some long-standing resentments/emotional clashes are coming to the fore. There's apparently a long-standing problem between Aaron and Greg, from the days when they were in another band together. There's also the feeling that I get from DoShu that he's feeling a bit alienated. He has more to deal with than we do, and I worry. The band is his only social contact/outlet for his frustrations. I also worry about him and Greg pairing up (they've been working on songs for the band), because Greg's still cherishing the hope of getting his own band started up again.
If Greg tries to recruit DoShu away from our band, I'm going to punch him so hard blood will spurt from his eyes. I also worry that I'm just overreacting because of vague accusations Aaron has made (in private) about Greg. I don't want to fall into that trap.
So I'm pushing Dirk to be more involved where DoShu is concerned. He needs to call DoShu, we need to make plans to talk/hang out. Something to let him know that we care, not just as band members, but as friends.
We're still looking at recording the E.P., that's just on hold while we find a decent studio that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. That might be a contradiction. We'll possibly be doing shows by fall.
We went out after practice, to go last-minute Father's Day shopping at the mall. Dirk also pulled me over to the jewelry store to look at rings. Yes, THOSE rings. I've got my heart set on getting a heart shaped solitaire diamond, if it's going to happen. They had a nice one at the store we looked at.
We ate dinner with Aaron, and Dirk lectured Aaron about his attitude problem where Greg is concerned. Aaron's been really pissy lately. He's on the lookout for a new girlfriend, seriously this time. I guess Sonia pissed him off again. I don't really care anymore, I just hope that if he does get another girlfriend, he makes certain she isn't a pit viper. It would be nice if she isn't stupid, either.
Sunday morning dawned cool and misty. Bob Ryan lied again, and it rained/drizzled/misted all day. Being the hardy souls that we are, however, Dirk and I went to King's Dominion anyway. It's about an hour to an hour and a half from where I live. We left at 7:30, and got there at 8:30. It was closed, although there were cars lined up at the gate to get in. It was raining really hard by then, so Dirk and I decided to get a hotel room and take a nap until about noon. There's a hotel right next to King's Dominion, in fact. A Best Western. We got a room there and -ahem- napped until 11:30.
The rain died down to a fine mist by that time, and we went over to King's Dominion.
The nicest thing about going there when the weather's less than perfect is that there are absolutely no lines. None at all. We rode some rides 3-4 times in succession. We ate a funnel cake, Dirk tried to win me a giant stuffed Garfield, and we got wet. We even tried one of the newer roller coasters, "The Outer Limits, Flight of Fear." You have to ride this one! It's completely enclosed in a building, and it's pitch black, so you have no idea of what's coming next. I got a bruise from holding onto Dirk's glasses. If you want to intensify your awareness, try going through a roller coaster holding something small and breakable. I learned all sorts of things about awareness and control during that ride.
We left the park at 5:30, and went back to the hotel until 7:30. I watched Dirk sleep for a while, and I honestly didn't want to go home. It was the best day I'd had in a long, long time, and I just wanted to stay away from the rest of the world and all the responsibilities for just a little longer.
I forced myself to wake Dirk up, and we checked out and left. His mother found the receipt for the room yesterday, and had a fit. She decided it was some kind of conspiracy; that we'd planned to get a hotel room all along, not go to King's Dominion. Dirk very bluntly told her that it was none of her business even if that was what happened.
I've been achingly tired since Sunday, and I've been tempted to take days off to recover. I've been strong, though, so that I can take most of a week off while my parents are on vacation. That way I can spend lots of time with Dirk and get stuff done.
