Almost Thwarted: Hair Ties and Other Sundry Things

Had it not been for my determination to buy hair clips the first few weeks I was in town, I would not have run five point whatever miles today because I cannot, for the life of me, find my hair ties. I’m sure I tucked them away somewhere in this apartment (and it’s a comparatively small apartment, so I don’t have many places to look, but conversely, I don’t know where to begin since the obvious places have yielded zip), hidden from view because I thought, in a most unwise fashion, that I wouldn’t been needing them anytime soon. Sure, when it’s 30 degrees out, you can just stick a hat over your head and your hair won’t fly all over the place, but when you’re wearing shorts and a tank top and there’s no baseball cap to be found? You need hair ties. Or, failing that, you need hair clips. I found the clips, thanks be to the Jebus Slug (hint: X-Files episode), and I was able to run my five point whatever miles. And yes, I have no idea how much I actually ran because, on a clear and sunny day, my Fore Runner crapped out of me. Again. I’m this close to calling customer service and asking for a new one.

Prior to my run, I was heartily entertained by my sister and heartily disheartened by a high school friend. Said high school friend is the only one I’ve been keeping in contact with lately (I go on AIM to seek out family members, and sometimes come across her). While I was regaling her with tales of how my curious Google-stalking (which came as a result of the U-Michigan Alumni Association’s new inCircle directory) yielded such tidbits as a pompous ass from high school who self-publishes his “philosophy” on life to a film AB whose only works star high school friends, she lamented that she missed high school, wished she had had the guts to ask out a guy she liked, and just generally wished she didn’t look back on that time with such nostalgia. I was flabbergasted–what to say? I couldn’t even attempt to imagine missing high school, and she was clearly looking for me to sympathize with her. I didn’t encourage her nostalgia, telling her instead that she was young (it’s only been ten years this year) and that there was a lot more to look forward to than high school. I think it’s partly because she’s tired (young child) and because she might be a little scared by the choices she made in the past few years. She’s definitely settled when it came to marrying (her husband is very nice, but she told me for the first two of their three years dating that she was not attracted to him and just liked the physical nature of their relationship), had a child much too soon (though this happens when you stop using birth control pills and don’t have a backup), and just generally wishes she didn’t have the responsibilities she has now. I’m now criticizing her choices, nor am I telling her to take it like a woman, but I do wish she’d let go of the high school nostalgia–looking back on it will just make her feel worse.

And really? It wasn’t all that great. She was part of my group, and we weren’t exactly misfits and we definitely weren’t popular, so I have no idea where she’s getting the nostalgia from. It was one of those spaces in time where you just float along, waiting for it to end because you know it has to. There was nothing going for us at the time. One thing I wish she still had from that time is her father–he died a couple of years after we graduated from high school. Writing this, maybe it’s really him that she’s missing. I can’t say I blame her if that’s the case.

What can you to all this, though? Be kind about it and try not to get all snitty about how high school was awful. At least, that’s what I tried to do this afternoon.

As for my sister entertaining me, let’s just say that when we go out to have drinks the day of her graduation, we’ll be two gossipy girls. Eventually, though, the conversation will turn to Harry Potter and how we would’ve raised him better than those damn Dursleys.

All in all, a good day in terms of correspondence–quite a bit done. And I got my lazy ass out the door, so it was a great weekend in terms of activity. Five miles on the elliptical on Friday, seven miles walking around the Cherry Blossom Festival yesterday, and five point whatever miles on today’s run. And thanks to the time change, it’s nearly seven and it’s still beautiful outside. Maybe this whole losing an hour thing wasn’t so bad.

Ask me tomorrow morning when I have to be to work early, though.