The Reinvention of Brandon, Part III

Fall semester: day seven

I went to bed last night a little after 8PM, not because I was ungodly tired (though I was, indeed, ready for sleep) but because it was much cooler downstairs than upstairs. As it had been thoroughly pleasant outside most of the day yesterday, I had turned the air conditioner off to save money on the electric bill -- a bill that has steadily been climbing as the summer months go on into the fall -- and because of that, by the evening the upstairs of the house had reached close to 90 degrees (95.1 in my Man Cave before I went to bed). I was sweating through my clothes, and had begun to develop a sinus headache due to the rain/storms that were supposed to be moving in during the overnight hours, so I just said fuck it, put away the sausage I had thawing on the counter to cook for dinner, and went to bed.

I awoke shortly after 4AM, got up and had my customary cigarettes and coffee before showering, tying my hair back for the day, and getting dressed. Off in the distance, I can see/hear lightning and low rumbles of thunder, which means I may be driving through some rather nasty weather this morning to get to school. This will also be the first day this semester I wear socks and actual shoes, as I'm not a big fan of having wet feet all day if it does decide to downpour on me.

Yesterday's errands were short-lived; I got up yesterday morning not feeling too great, but knowing I had a lot to do. I didn't have my next volley of packages ready to mail out yet, so I decided to forego the post office for this week and instead try to mail some more things out next week. As you know, I've been mailing out thank-you packages of tie-dye shirts (as well as other things) to those friends who helped me get back on my feet by sending me either small appliances or furniture after the breakup with the former girlfriend. I've still got three or four packages to prep, and should be able to get those done over this coming weekend.

I've learned that it's probably not the best idea to trust the Monte Carlo's gas gauge; yesterday, before I did anything else, I pulled into the gas station near my house to "fill up" for the week. According to the gauge, I had a little more than 1/4 tank left, and my trip meter read 150 miles exactly. Knowing that my car usually took about nine gallons or so on each fill-up, I wasn't expecting anything more than that.

It took 12.4 gallons and could have taken more -- it just kept filling and filling. As the price entered ludicrous territory, I stopped it, because at that point, I had paid for $43 worth of gas at $3.52 a gallon. How that car could take that much gas is beyond me, but it either means that it has a good-lord-huge gas tank of 16 or 18 gallons, or that my fuel gauge isn't exactly being honest with me, and I'd run it down much further than it would tell me. From this point forward, I'll be relying on the trip meter above my odometer only, and when it gets to that 150-mile point (or somewhere around there) I'll fill it up. That, at least, I know is accurate.

After spending $43 on gasoline alone, I was in no mood to hit up the Dollar Tree, so I bypassed that as well and went directly to Walmart, proceeding to spend more money there than I'd originally planned as well. I did, however, get a new rug for the kitchen, and finally purchased a paper shredder there (so that I don't eventually have to order one from Amazon), amongst other household things and foodstuffs. I was home by 10:45 AM, after which I spent a good thirty minutes chopping up celery to place into baggies for snacks/lunches this week. I'm trying to eat healthier, eat more fruits and vegetables, etc -- it's one of the reasons I asked my mother to send my dehydrator out here if she can, so I can make dried apples and kiwi slices to take to work with me on my long days. If I can keep up the habit of eating lots of fruit and vegetables again, not only will I begin to slim down a lot more in the weight department but I'll also be able to better balance my food budget.

My hair clippers arrived in the mail yesterday, and they're very nice. I can't wait to use them. The biggest clip that came with them, however, was a 1" clip, and while I want my hair short, I don't want it that short. So yes, I do have to wait until I get the other guide clip in the mail, whenever that may be. That's why I've tied my hair back today -- I'm trying to get used to the idea of myself with less visible hair and no full beard anymore, so that every time I look in the mirror I'm not surprised by what looks back at me.

Today should be mercifully short; I teach at 9:30 and 11, and have a thought-provoking lecture planned for my students. Depending on how long said lecture lasts for each class, I should be able to get out of there and come back home a little after the noon hour, and won't have to return until tomorrow in the late morning or early afternoon hours (my first class tomorrow is at 1:30). Tuesdays are, as I've said before, my easy day, which I'm thankful for because it's not only the shortest day of the week for me, but the only day of the work week where I don't have to attend any classes.

The Reinvention of Brandon is slowly progressing; as you know, I'm changing my looks and eating habits, but the other thing I'd like to do is find something to do (other than homework) over this long weekend ahead of us. As you probably know, next Monday is Labor Day, and everyone's off work/school. I'm going to try to find somewhere to go, find someone to come visit me up here in Newton, or perhaps try to find a date for one of the weekend nights -- even a friendly one, and even if it means I have to run myself ragged and end up doing something on Thursday night after class (though I hope it doesn't come to that, as I'll be dead tired). If I'm unsuccessful in finding something to do, that's fine of course -- I will, after all, have more than enough homework to take care of over the weekend -- but still, I'd like to do something fun. I think I've earned it, I think I deserve it. Tomorrow will mark a full month of my being single, and I've yet to actually do anything interesting with that newly-acquired single status, not just dating-wise, but actually getting-out-of-the-house-more-wise. We'll see what happens.

On that note, I must pack up and leave the house for the day to get to campus. It's dark enough to where I'll have to use my headlights (and wipers, of course, if it's raining) to be able to see.