July.

I'm kind of really looking forward to July.  I'm looking forward to a good friend's wedding.  I'm looking forward to getting to stand by her and rejoice with her on her special day.

I'm looking forward to some time off work, though I'm perpetually anxious that somehow that time off request I submitted months ago now will somehow be overlooked or that something will happen to not let me get all the days I'm hoping for.

I'm looking forward to driving a day to the east and picking up a friend I haven't seen for far too long on the way.  I'm looking forward to quality time with people who have been essentially out of my life for the last few - ahem, five?! - years who I don't really want out of my life.

I'm looking forward to re-registering my car in Texas and knowing that I'll have officially lived here for a year.

I'm looking forward to being near the year mark at my job, too.  (Retail thought it would conquer, but I have prevailed.)

I'm looking forward to life, and how it keeps moving forward to potentially exciting possibilities.

Between July and I stand about ten hours of cashiering and two hours of teaching a painting class.  Between my July adventures and I stand about two weeks of cashiering and possible teaching.  If patience is a virtue, then in that way I am not virtuous.  I want to time travel to the future.

work, food, books... and sweltering weather

The whole actually teaching classes thing started for me last Saturday.  I had two students.  This Saturday I prepared for eight but only had five.  I have another class next Friday.  The most interesting thing about this class teaching thing that really isn't related to the classes at all is figuring out what to do with the time I have between teaching and cashiering.  Last Saturday it worked out great because I only had about an hour or so between the two -- enough for a long drawn out lunch.  Today I had about three hours.  I ended up bringing a fat book with me - The Brothers Karamazov and sat at Corner Bakery for about two hours eating a sandwich far more slowly than usual and reading.  I was excited to read the book again -- well, to try to read it.  I've never actually finished it because I don't get that far into it in one sitting and by the time I get back to it I forget where I am at and decide to start over again.  I'm hoping this time it will stick and I can actually read the whole thing in the next few weeks... It will be nice with all the annoying split shifts I'm anticipating.

After this I spent about half an hour half sleeping in my sweltering car.  Of course, when I decided to open my windows to let some slightly less sticky air in, some slightly spitty rain decided to come down.  This wouldn't have been bad except that I was still sort of reading and I didn't want my book to get wet.  I remember when I moved to Texas about a year ago thinking how much more humid it was here than in Southern California.  I mentioned this to people a few times and I remember at least one person saying that Texas was not humid.  False.  June is the month that proves that statement wrong.  California is dry all year round.  I don't know how to work up a sweat there.  Texas.  Is not dry year round.  And it is easy to work up a sweat.  By sitting.  Outside.  Sometimes the rain evaporates into the air before it hits the ground.