DREAM: Playing a real live Unreal game of domination and territory. There are 3 or 4 teams. I’m running with my group through an alley shooting other players. We seem to be a strong team. “Red leader, I’ve got your back!” We’re about to enter a borough of the city, which is the blue team’s turf. They’ve been really strong throughout the whole game so I’m nervous. Somehow I lose the rest of my group and get ahead of them. Jumping into the water. One of the more buff guys from the blue team charges me. During this time I am aware of my life bar, which has decreased to a low level after he shoots me once. I have the enforcer gun, which is smaller and less damaging. I tell him to wait because I have only one shell left. I climb out of the water and find a health pack that increases my life bar a little. The guy follows me. We’re at a standoff. I’m waving my gun in a anticipating manner while he does the same and…
Around 3 p.m. I wake up.
Breakfast: Toasted Bagel Plain with Butter and Blackberry Spread. Mango Orange Juice.
Figuring out bills.
Rocky is practicing violin reaching shrill high notes.
I bike to Target and Trader Joes.
Lunch: Grilled Cheese with Tomato. Salt N Vinegar Chips. Mango Oolong Tea. Mango.
Watching some of Siddhartha.
I decide to bike to the Heritage Store and then to the beach for some solace.
Standing in front of the old Cavalier hotel—the sun hitting that magic hour where it recedes just above the horizon to the west. Observing a couple park their pink and yellow beach cruisers by the light pole, then climb up the hill to have a picnic under the that special lone tree that looks like an over sized Bonsai. The shape of the tree looks as if a wave from the ocean came in and whooshed over it causing a permanent lean. I’ve always loved this spot and consider it my favorite place in Virginia Beach. The guy is repeatedly taking photos of the girl sitting on the picnic mat. They look almost like people from a department store catalog, maybe Target, modeling brand new clothes from a summer collection.
Scouring the quaint beach houses on Ocean Front Ave. A big beautiful blue house with an innumerable amount of windows catches my eye. I go down the walkway and park it on the bench facing the beach. Seagulls parade like vultures around some people’s cookout scavenging for any leftover food. An obnoxious teenager is entertained by them and throwing french fries in the air. Then I see a tiny little girl attempting to get close to the birds. “Olivia, leave that seagull alone!” The dad, wearing this strange black cape, takes a playful stance from a good distance, and then starts running over to the girl. She no longer cares about the birds, runs toward her dad and into his arms. He swings her up, “Woooo!” She’s happy and safe—a beautiful moment on the beach. I am reminded of when I was younger. That feeling of security you place in your father. He’s larger than life—he’s your hero, your role model, and also far from any understanding except for the fact that he’s your father. It’s such a biological phenomenon yet such a simple and deep relationship.
These thoughts in turn inspire me to call my dad. He had tried to call me last week for my birthday but my phone was off. We talk for awhile, catching up on each other’s lives which haven’t change too much except he’s thinking of retiring soon and starting his own labeling business. I think I’ll make plans soon to go visit him for a few days.
Stopping by the unit—practicing the piano and brushing up on scales and some Beethoven songs.
Dinner: Baked Tilapia. Cauliflower and Romanesca in Garlic Butter. Rice. Passion Tea Lemonade.
Elliott, Roma, and I go to the basketball court for a few rounds of Shootout, Around the World, and 21.
Talking with Elliott on the couch while I paint a zucchini and turn it into a sea cucumber.
Elliott: “I don’t mind getting fat. I just want to be healthy.”
Eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes.
Elliott and I go pick up Emily from The Grand Ocean where she works.
Sitting at Ricks Café. Emily’s stressed because she has to be at her other job at Starbucks at 4:30 a.m. and the food is taking an unusually long time.
Emily: “This is unprecedented!”
Shower.
Sleep 6:15 a.m.
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