Aimee, Assisting, and Aspirations

Greetings friends and family and acquaintances (I think I butchered that one) to another installment in A RAMBLER'S RAMBLING. This will be the final post for the month of June, bringing the grand total to 151. Can you believe it? I can't. My goal is to have 181 posts by August 15 (the One-Year Anniversary of A.R.R.) which would mean I posted (as an average) every other day. I think that's impressive. Now, of course, I did not keep up that consistency every month. However, a month like last September (2005), I posted more often. So, because I always feel the need to prove things I say, here are the actual rundowns of posts per month:

- August 2005: 16 (in half a month)
- September 2005: 26 (wow!)
- October 2005: 22
- November 2005: 20
- December 2005: 15 (the slippage continues. . .)
- January 2006: 10
- February 2006: 11
- March 2006: 10
- April 2006: 3 (ok, that's bad - I was very busy at school, though)
- May 2006: 11 (a comeback of sorts)
- June 2006: 7 (with this one - remember, I was gone for two weeks. .)

I'm completely content with all of this. I am so happy I started doing this, and I hope to continue for awhile. As long as I want to do it, I will. My writing has improved (in my opinion) since the beginning, so I think thegoal in even taking a stab at this has been achieved (at least partially). Well I have about 47 days (that's a coincidence friends - and an inside joke) to do those 30 posts remaining. I can do it. And I will. . .

Anywho, since we last talked (or rather, I typed) we've experienced Tuesday, Wednesday, and today. Tuesday was a really long day, but a really cool one. I had to wake up at 0800 to prepare myself for my first day of assisting my old high school basketball coach. Allow me to explain: "T" (Mr. Thomas) was my basketball coach during my junior and senior years. He was also my Bible teacher in 10th grade and I've known him since 5th. Needless to say, we have a good relationship, and I really respect the man (both as a coach and a friend). As you know (if you've read my ramblings with any consistency), I tried to help him out last year at practices as much as my busy schedule would allow. I failed a majority of the time (in appearing, not in the actual assisting). But now, as it's the Summer, and I have no life, I am going to be able to appear at the Summer Open Gym opportunity. The only catch: T is coaching Girls Varsity this year! So, instead of helping out guys, I'm helping girls. One of these girls is my sister, Aimee, who is going to be a Freshman at DCHS this year (don't get me started on that one!).

Too late, you already got me going. So my sister is 14 and going into HS. I am so proud of all she is doing (dance, school, sports) and excelling at. She works pretty dang hard at school and she is very successful in what she is doing (just like her big bro ha ha). Aimee and I haven't been able to spend as much time together as is desired because of our equally busy schedules. However, since she is doing this basketball thing, that's an easy two-three hours a day that we're hanging out - this is cool. You see, Aimee's a really cool girl. Honestly, I think it has to do with being around my friends and I when they're around. She already "experienced" HS when I went through it and has a bountiful source for HS advice in me. All that to be said, she's gonna do just fine at the HS thing, and I'm still in denial about the whole thing.

Ok, so the basketball thing. Well it's cool. We're teaching them basics (gotta P.B. and J it to start) and they're slowly picking it up. I'm actually hoping that I can work my work/school/life schedule around working with them during their actual season. That would be a cool experience. So, yeah, we did that on all three mornings this week (Aimee didn't go today, though, cuz she had a previously scheduled engagement).

Tuesday, after the practice was over, was Sibling Day. Well, just Two Sibling Day. Aimee and I essentially hung out all day. After the practice, we went home and got ourselves cleaned up and then headed out on errands aplenty. I dropped off my check at our Credit Union (it was the one from training - good, but not the "big bucks" I had hoped for) and then we headed to the Mall for lunch and such. We also stopped by BEST BUY (had to pick up the DASHBOARD CD - Pretty good, but not as good as their old stuff) and TARGET (Aimee bought a girls basketball - yeah, they use different sized balls in the girls game. They're lighter and a bit smaller. No jokes please. This is a PG blog... Sometimes). We ate at GREAT STEAK and then went on a hunt for new basketball shoes for her (the only ones she had were from her Middle School days - way too small). During our hunt, we saw that the PRINTS PLUS store (a poster store) was having a "Going Out of Business" Sale. I made a bee-line for the store and began browsing for anything I could find. I found two prints that I got for about 60% off at least (usually $16, I got em for $6). One was the original "Dogs Playing Poker" Artwork and the other was an incredible looking print that I just had to have:

- - - http://www.photographymuseum.com/mutter/escalator.html

Cool, huh? (O and I also bought Aimee an O.C. poster for $3). Next we went to Foot Locker, Finish Line, and even Lady Foot Locker and had absolutely no luck finding shoes for her. So we left the Mall and went to Sport Chalet and were outta there in 10 minutes with a new pair of basketball shoes for her. I took her home to change and then I took her to her Dance practice (she has a ginormous recital on Saturday). I headed home and puttered around til later that night when Aimee and I went to CINEMARK 22 for the 2200 showing of SUPERMAN RETURNS. I love these "Midnight Showings" (yeah, this one was a bit earlier). The experiences are great and it's fun to see a movie before it's "Release Date". O yeah, the movie. SUPERMAN was good, but not great. It wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't super. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk. Brandon Routh was fine as Clark/Superman (I don't know what critics were expecting - it's Superman!) and I loved Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor (I knew he would be the best part of the movie). Overall, it was a fun film with good effects and a solid enough story that it keeps your attention for the tad-long 150-some minutes. (Grade: B)

We got home around 0045 and I was asleep by 0115. We went to basketball in the morning and then. . . I can't remember. I worked Wednesday night at 1800 and it was pretty slow. July is the worst month for restaurants apparently. Bummer.

Today, I got a call this morning from my GM saying I didn't need to come in tonight because he is trying to cut back on labor and only wants one TT during the week. It's a bummer because I only will get 10 hours this week (weak sauce) and minimal total tips, but you know what, I gotta enjoy this downtime. That's the only way I can stay sane later when I'm too busy to stop and smell any flower. So I watched DONNIE BRASCO, a good gangster film starring Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, and Michael Madsen this afternoon. Good film. Johnny Depp is awesome in anything pretty much. (Grade: B+)

I am now tired of blogging for the night. I'm gonna go to bed here in a bit. I gotta get up early to do a work thing at 0900 tomorrow. It's not work, but something else. I'll tell you about the stupidity in a couple days. Busy weekend ahead. Heather comes home tomorrow night for Aimee's Saturday recital. Basically, I'm stoked. Heather just makes me happy. Period. End of Post.

- - - "I'm a pilgrim on the edge,
on the edge of my perception
We are travelers at the edge,
we are always at the edge of our perceptions."

- - - Scott Mutter (Photographer of above linked art - this poem of his is on the art; not sure what it means, but I think it's weak poetry cuz the rhyme scheme sucks. That's my crappy opinion. I like the picture, not the poetry ha ha)

Laters,

JUSTIN