I think all my homework is done now. What with Spring Break and Easter break, instructors decided to give us some reading. So I had a little work to do. Anyway, it's been a hell of couple of weeks. I see that my rant about the unusual amount of familiar people dying this year isn't exactly off the mark, is it? The strange thing is, I don't think I've heard much of anything out of Bush lately until Terry Schiavo died. Even then it was more Jeb than George W. Now that the Pope's died, though, we finally saw G.W. on TV. The pope too!
Anyway, where do I start? My mom's doing better, but I could tell she was holding back when I talked to her on the phone last week. She talked about how painful it was to remember the little things, like just calling grandpa on the phone to see how he's doing. I told her she was screwed, because she lives in ND and there are tractors EVERYWHERE. She laughed a bit at that. Hunter's may be insensitive, but no one can resist our charm.
After the funeral, we were just going to take off, but my mom caught wind of it, and gave me the death look while pleading with me to stop by my uncle Jim's where they were having "fellowship"-(church term that seemed to define the get-together best). Needless to say, Karissa & I went. On a good note, though, we forced Ang & Brian to go, too (Brian was pissed). I got to show Karissa where Grandma Eunice & uncle Stumpy are buried, which was cool, because I'd never seen the graves myself. I love the area, just for its simplicity. It takes you back a few years. Park Center Lutheran is located in rural Hoople, just a little ways north of Park River. There's nothing but field and roads surrounding it. Right next door to the church (like, right in the church yard) lies the cemetery. Think of 1930's, maybe a little later. And a church in better condition. And not covered in dust.
Anyway, we were glad to get back. We threw a birthday party for April on Friday night. We did streamers, and I taped balloons to the ceiling. Karissa made angel food cake, which was awesome, and Kevin & April brought an ice cream cake. Kevin also bought me a belated birthday gift, which I thought was really cool of him. He got me a bottle of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel, which kicks ass! We had some, and it actually tastes different from Old No. 7. Don't worry, I didn't have much, so when I went to work I was fine.
Jas and his buddy Matt rode in Saturday afternoon & parked their bikes in my garage. I was a little surprised, because Matt had his pistol with him, and Karissa seemed to take it well (probably because Grandma Lesa had Is for the weekend). My uncle Mark & his band (www.stormproject.net) were playing at the Empire Theater that night, so my mom's whole family came out. Jas, Matt, Karrisa and I went to Mike's Pizza to eat, where we tried Gator Bites (yes, that's real Gator raised in Louisiana and sold to GFG--cool, huh?). They taste like chicken, but a little tougher. Very good, though. Then we got Jas & Matt checked into their suite at Travelodge, which they seemed to enjoy for its roominess. After that, to the Rite Spot to buy pints of liquor to stow away in their vests to drink during the no-drinking benefit concert.
The concert was cool. I've never seen Mark perform, so I was excited to go. The opening band was the Deb Jenkins Band. They were okay, I thought it was neat they did this cover called The Hunter, which Danzig also did. The guitarist for Storm Project was originally from the Boneshakers--I think his name is Tim Walterson--was fucking phenomenal! He was totally into every song they did, and his solos were amazing. His hands went everywhere. There was another guitarist, the one that played with Mark for years--he was awesome too, but I had to keep watching Tim play. They had an after party at Comfort Inn, but I had to work Travelodge again, so I couldn't go. Still, a fun night.
I think that's about it. Oh, and I finished the sketch of Isabella a couple days ago, but the Hello thing is acting up, so I can't get it on here just yet.