Clay

Internet is out at my house. Been using cousins' places to check email and such. Got a library card today. The library down the street from my house is closed for repairs, so I went to the one on Eldridge. Maybe I should also borrow some books and movies.

I got Bianca (8) and Camille (6) to make lists of things they want for Christmas. Research for my aunt. Anyway, one of the things on Bianca's list was clay. I went over to Texas Art Supply and got her a big block of clay. Not Play-Doh, not Model Magic, real red clay that actual artists use. It also happens to be toxic if you inhale the dust of the dried clay. But it's ok, I wrote her some instructions for safety and proper use. Also got the basic set of tools, a bucket, and plastic to put the clay on. The great thing about clay is that if you don't let it dry out completely, it's endlessly reusable. I brought it to her today and we started playing. I never give them gifts on time, I had already given Camille a set of 120 crayons a few days ago. Showed Bianca how to make a coil pot. She attempted a mug, then she made a girl's head. Camille was very messy. She didn't make anything but blobs of clay, and she called it something different every time.

Camille sometimes uses expressions that don't make complete sense in the context in which she uses them. When I gave her the 120 box of crayons and a oversized coloring book, she said "How dare you get me so many crayons!" To which I replied, "If there's too many, I can take them all back." And she said, "No no no! I'll keep them!"

Visiting those kids is always fun. The other day, I rang the doorbell, and Camille started shouting "It's Andrew! It's Andrew!" Then Bianca and their friend (from next door that was visiting) started shouting too. When I went inside, Camille was jumping up and down, like she had won the lottery. Nobody else ever greets me like that.

I bought Blokus Trigon. It's fun. You should play with me.

Today I saw The Day the Earth Stood Still. I thought it was a surprisingly good movie. You should go watch it.

I thought of an alternative life plan. Basically, I work odd jobs until I can pay off my student loans. Then I save up some dollars, and move to the Philippines. Live on the beach, eating fish and drinking coconut juice for sustenance.

HoneyBaked Ham is really bad about scheduling. Monday I get a call at 10:30am "Can you come in to work?" "Ok.", so I go work for a few hours. Manager says "I'll call you later with the schedule". Tuesday didn't work, drove grandfather to a hospital visit, no calls. Wednesday I get a call at 11:15am "Did they not tell you to come in to work today?" "No." "Can you come in to work for a while?" "Ok." When I go home, he says "Come in at 9:30am tomorrow." "Ok." I wake up on Thursday to go to work, I'm driving to the store, and I get a call "Don't come in to work today, we're training a few new people." "Ok." and I'm thinking this was worse than when they randomly woke me up to work (if I have nothing to do, I sleep until 1-2pm). Later that day, I call in to see if I'm working the next day "No, you're not working tomorrow." And sure enough, they called me Friday (today) at 9:30am "Can you come in to work today?" "What? How long? They said I wasn't working today." "Oh. How about tomorrow, can you work tomorrow?" "What time tomorrow?" "Hold on, let me see." (On hold a minute) "Ok we'll call you about next week." Ridiculous.