Yay! I'm happy! God just did something I'm happy about!

When I asked for more hours recently at work, the owner immediately set me into training to close the store. This was less than ideal for a few reasons - one being that I would be alone in the store until 11:30 five nights a week, and two that I either had to find someone to drive me home that late or else ride my bike that late (not very safe, obviously). I would much rather have opened, but I didn't want to ask because for one thing I was already almost done with my training for closing, and for another I didn't want the guy who opens to train me because I can't understand his English hardly at all.

But that guy is quitting. Yes, in the two weeks I've worked there, one person was fired and three people quit. It's sad, but now I have this guy's shift! I'm going to open the store! I didn't even have to ask; the owner just called me up and said 'I've changed my mind. I want you to open." So, later this week, I'll start my training for that.

You may be asking what is so bad about this restaurant that three people have quit in the course of two weeks. There are quite a few things that are bad about it, yes. If you are asking that, let me not tell the details (I'm tired of talking about it right now) but I assure you that I will only be there for the summer. Surely I can handle almost anything in that amount of time.

Yesterday was a lot of fun. I called becca and she came and tried out Edgar's new piano. Then I had a craving for root beer float bars so we went and got some. Then she took me to work. After work I walked over to her house and we watched Singin in the Rain. Then she took me home. That's the abbreviated version, but it was really fun. Last summer was full of sitting on the curb outside her house, making comments about pine needles and eating popsicles. There are a lot of memories of the curb outside her house. My favorite memory is one where we were sitting outside drinking blueberry tea, and having deep discussions about my leaving for college, and then kaitie came out, and then Josh came out. Then Josh said, "I'm going into the house" but he really hid behind a tree. He was trying to be all sneaky but we saw him and from then on we laughed about how anytime someone says "I'm going into the house" they really mean to say "I'm going behind the tree."

Then there was the time we made the pine needle speed bump. I don't know if it was the tree/house time or another time; we sat out on the curb an awful lot because her house is small and the outside is big. We were just playing with dried pine needles and making piles and lines and things, and then we made it all the way across the road. It was probably kind of an immature thing for us to do, but we were both only like 17 then.

The day I retook my SAT, they were having a garage sale in their driveway. I entered their house and Kaitie said, "Congratulations, you sat!" It was funny, and I knew she had been planning to say it ever since she'd thought of it. It was like when you think of something witty and you wait for the opportune time to say it, and then you sound kind of overeager. That was Kaitie.

Another time I seem to remember picking dandelions out front because Mr. M had everybody out there with plastic bags picking all the dandelions.

And twice we Christmas caroled. Or three times? No, I missed the last time, I think. I can't remember why; maybe I was sick? I should look it up on this blog, because so far it's been a great aid with my memory. We sang at one lady's house and she was like "Oh, you're just in time! I just made some cookies! Here, they're fresh out of the oven!" She was so cute! And we sang the Veggie Tales theme song in front of one family's house that had Veggie Tales Christmas decorations. I used to babysit for them, years and years ago. haha. that was so weird. And then they came over to Merker's for hot chocolate.

I think I've talked before on this blog about caroling. Oh well. It's one of my favorite Christmas traditions.

becca, remember that house we sang at where there was that guy who turned out the lights in his house and went upstairs and stood in a window and watched us and he didn't think we could see him but we could because his hall light was on? that was kind of weird.

Okay. I don't even know why I am talking about this. How did I get started on this? Oh, Merker's front curb. Yes.

The other central location for our friendship is probably the couch in their living room where we watch movies. Including that stupid of all stupid movies, the one we filmed on their monster of a camera in their living room after dressing up weird. I was an Asian sheik on an airplane who breathed out of my shoes pretending they were oxygen masks. Kaitie was a nun. That's all I want to remember. I think it's taboo for anyone who isn't in the movie to see the movie. It was pretty stupid.

But movies, they're fun to watch, because the whole time usually becca and I elbow each other at parts that have some special mutual understanding element to them, and whisper and giggle the whole time at our own stupid meanings we put to the film. becca will sometimes fall asleep until I keep nudging her and saying "Are you asleep?" We always have to watch a movie with blankets. More for comfort than for warmth. If it's a movie we've seen more than 8 times, we usually feel free to laugh in anticipation of a funny part coming up.

Okay. That's enough for now. May you be inspired to remember your favorite moments with your best friends.