But I'm Sorry I Don't Pray That Way

The lilacs are starting to bud out.

I gave plasma after work today. I think that's been going a little better. I talked to one of the girls who works there last week about all the hematomas (I was starting to suffer from hematomaphobia) I get. She said it was because my veins roll so badly. She also said I might be able to prevent a lot of them by keeping the employees from pumping up my veins so much before they put in the needle. It seems to be working a little better now. I'm still running my 4 mile route afterward. I think I'm too dehydrated to run any more than that, but I'm fine with 4 miles anyway. Since I'm not giving plasma tomorrow and it's supposed to be in the upper 70's, I thought I might do an 8 mile route to make up for it.

Stinky's orientation went well today. She needed new shoes for her job and since word on the street is that her dad got some tax money back, she called him to ask if he'd buy them for her. Surprisingly enough he actually agreed to it. (Of course, after he asked why I couldn't get them) Anyway, I think that's the first thing he's bought either one of the girls in forever. We'll take what we can get.

I started reading Marilynne Robinson's novel Home today. I still have a little to go on the McCarthy book, but it's a loaner from someone else, so I don't feel comfortable carrying it around with me. I read Robinson's first book, Housekeeping when I was in my early 20's and it is still one of my all time favorites. It's so moody and dreamlike. When Robinson moved to town here, I was still working at the coffee/ice cream shop and waited on her a few times. I'm sure I screwed up her order every time, I was so nervous. Her writing is so dense, that it cracked me up to be reading it while I sat in my chair giving plasma and trying not to listen to the guy's phone conversation right next to me. "Experience had taught them that truth had sharp edges and hard corners, and could be seriously at odds with kindness." Wow. And that's just one sentence of the book. It was a lot to digest, set against the background noise of the cell phone talker and Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" playing on the satellite radio station they pump in there.

Sooooo. Let's see. My kids, Spring, running, trying to scratch out a living, listening to music and reading. That pretty much sums up my day. I think it was a good one.