XVI: Off the face of the Earth

It's been kind of a nutty couple of days. I'm practically pulling my hair out from boredom and frustration. I'm fearing the next month and absolutely dreading the semester that follows (and the less said about the one after that, the better.)

I've been trying to relax, but my stupid insane brain won't let me. I'm worried about every litlte thing, and brimming with anxiety. Oh yes, it is indeed not particularly fun to be inside this head right now. Then again, I'm sure there are dozens out there with worse problems than me - both real and imagined - so a tip of my hat to anyone better at coping than me.

A few days ago (and I don't know why I didn't mention this at the time,) I ran into an old acquaintence of the bus. I don't know how any of you out there deal with this inevitable scenario, but I at least try to make the best of it. Sometimes it'll be someone I'm good friends with - as when I found myself on the same bus as Doug a few months back - or someone I need to catch up with, like a few years ago when I ran into Gabrielle, a girl I was sorta-friends with back in high school (she's a few years older than me) who has intermittently popped in and out of my life since Grade 10-ish. She even goes to Sheridan.

This time, it was Raj Pattani, whom I've known since Grade 6 and have always been friendly with, if never really good friends. He's a nice guy and we made pleasant chit chat about University/College etc etc, but it was also quite awkward. He's a smart guy, but he's the cliche of being the smart guy who's not so smooth in social situations. It was with a heavy sigh of relief that I eventually got off the bus, and the last thing I said to him, "maybe I'll see you around," seemed more like a threat than a promise. Nah, I'm kidding.

Yesterday, Eric, Brandon and I went out to see Clerks II, a film I have been eagerly awaiting, as I hold the original Clerks very close to my heart and in very high esteem. This film did not disappoint in that it emulated the format of the original quite successfully, and was riotously funny (without being too in-jokey.) I wrote a review for it at ComiXtreme which you can read here, and I'll put an abbreviated version up on Interneta sometime soon.

The experience was an interesting one in and of itself. For months, Eric and I have had in our possession a "Free Admission" and a $20 Gift Certificate respectively for Famous Players Cinema which we've been unable to use because... only shitty movies go to Famous Players. That's not entirely true, but of all the movies I've gone and seen, very few of them were at Famous Players, and of those, recently, only one I really wanted to see prior to this (that was Broken Flowers.) After all, I saw War of the Worlds there. I was beginning to fear I'd never get to use my Certificate. So I was filled with glee when Tribute.ca informed us the movie we were determined to see was indeed where we could see it at no expense to ourselves.

There was a wrinkle in the plan when, on the day of the movie, I examined Eric's free pass and found that it expired earlier this month. Dismayed, we fretted and frowned and came up with numerous contingencies, but stuck to our guns - Eric would attempt to pass the pass off and get away with it.

Walking from the bus to the theatre, we went over what we would say in the event our ruse was uncovered. "Oh really?" he rehearsed, "gee, I'm sorry," he would turn to me (I'd be behind him in line,) "Scott, the pass expired." I too would feign surprise and then pay for him with my gift certificate. I am indeed prone to moments of unselfishness, particularly when I would not be spending any of my own actual money. Were I to pay for him, he would not owe me *(except that, he being broke, I offered to cover his pop if he paid me back, which I am sure he will.)

Fortunately, the matter was settled without incident, and the girl at the ticket counter graciously accepted his "Admit One" card and he walked away smiling. I could hardly contain myself, as well, practically laughing all through purchasing my ticket. Afterward, I rationalized why the plan was likely to work; "First," I said, "they have to be sharp enough to catch it. Then, they have to care." I figure tha tif she had noticed, she would probably see how relatviely recent the expiry was, and cut some slack.

The bus home was crowded, which is explained by the fallacious logic of putting one of the smaller (probably more fuel-efficient but ultimnately less spacious) buses on the 24 Route, which is roughly the second-longest and therefore second-most-travelled (especially since it goes by Sheridan.) Instead of going all the way to the station and taking the bus straight back to our house, we got off at a stop that was a 10-minute walk from home, thus likely cutting our return-trip time down significantly.

Eric said something a while back that I often think of. He said that, because of the mild winter we had (I vividly recall the Sheridan Sun's headline upon returning fro semester break - "January Heat!") people were expecting a swelteringly hot summer. But, he reasoned, we'd had an unusually hot summer before the winter. Furthermore, apart from a mini-heatwave last week, it had been relatively temperate (keeping in mind it is summer,) and in fact, noticeably rainy is all. So we've got a rainy summer. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose, although too much of anything can't be great. It has been quite rainy these past few weeks, but you know, it can't rain all the time. And that's a saying I often use to get myself through the day.

Indeed it can't.

Keep on rockin'
-Scotts