[i]
Waking up around 1 p.m.
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Oatmeal with Bananas.
Working on a collage made out of pieces of a North American map ripped up by Kevin the other night.
Falafel Egg Wrap with Hummus, Non-Dairy Cream Cheese, and Tomatoes. Goldfish Crackers. Lemon Water.
Watching Coach Carter (2005).
Getting roughed up and sweaty...on the basketball courts. With Anthony, Moe, and our newly acquainted neighbor, Ben, who proves to us multiple times that he can slam-dunk anytime he wants. I mean he’s got the height and the stature. Matt, our other b-ball buddy from last week shows up. Kevin rode here on his bike. We play a few games of 3-on-3. Later, we conjoin with a group of players and compete in three 5-on-5 full court games, our crew versus theirs. Even with my new Reebok Pumps after a while the blisters start to develop near my big toes. We win and lose some. But overall they were well matched games and we leave the courts with pride and relief.
Back at the house. I quickly take a shower because I have a date with Ana Khrizzia. The original plan was to use this $50 gift card I’ve had in my possession for a long time. It’s a little before 10 p.m. when we arrive at Rock Fish only to find out they’ve closed the kitchen early. So we settle for pizza at Chicho’s. A large Cheese with Green Peppers and Mushrooms. Washing it down with a Mr. Pibb. This will be our second one-on-one hangout together. Her voice is a little quiet compared to the loud soundtrack this bar provides. It’s “like a crescendo and decrescendo, the way music is,” she says.
...
Back at the house. Ben comes over to retrieve the back of his cell phone that he left at the court. He’s a chill dude and seems to hit it off well with the housemates. Him and Kevin fry up some potatoes in the kitchen while sipping on bottle Natty Ice. Later, he pulls out a stack of songs and raps he wrote while in the pen. He seems to need fresh faces and new camaraderie. I’m glad he’s been hanging out with us.
...
Upstairs in my room. Ana and I sitting on the floor near the bookshelf – going through books and reading to her random excerpts I’ve underlined. I pull out Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, “I think you’ll like this one.”
“I didn't know why I was going to cry, but I knew that if anybody spoke to me or looked at me too closely the tears would fly out of my eyes and the sobs would fly out of the throat and I'd cry for a week.”
I pull out the very first journal I ever started writing in when I was almost done with high school (circa 2001-2002). While comparing some entries from it to my current notebook I realize my big-lettered quick-paced handwriting from 11 years ago hasn’t changed one bit.
Ana: “Maybe it means you’re staying true to yourself.”
Me: “Maybe.”
I turn on the electric kettle and we sip on mug after mug of Oolong Tea with Honey while we immerse ourselves in conversation, catching tidbits of information and opening up to each other about our lives. She notices the bottom shelf full of religious texts, mostly bibles and spiritual texts I used to read when I was younger. With my Christian background and her Mormon background it becomes an interesting tangle of cords. But for her it was merely a background rather than a practiced religion. At any rate I pull out my personal bible that I used to read a lot. She enjoys me reading aloud wisdom Proverbs has to offer and the philosophical understandings Ecclesiastes lays out.
“Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.”
— Proverbs 20:1
“Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.”
— Proverbs 11:22
I point out that the section in Ecclesiastes about the seasons and how there’s a time for everything inspired The Byrd’s song, “Turn! Turn! Turn!”. Both feeling enlightened. I joke about how we should start a bible study at Rick’s Café but she thinks we actually should.
Me: “Haha. Yeah that’ll be cool!”
I notice in our interaction how agreeable she is, often affirming me with yes’s or yeah’s before I even finish my sentences, as if she already knows what I’m about to say. Of what I know of her so far I see a pure heart. It’s almost 3 a.m. so she’s off to Norfolk.
Sleep at 5:30 a.m.
[i] Like a Gold Ring. Kahna Baal.
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