last-minute men

I’m back in the swing of things and I thought all was going well. The first half of my day was decent enough, but Mondays are just going to be ridiculously long and tiring.

Halfway through the day, I was starving. I had eaten a Lara Bar for breakfast, so I needed something substantial for lunch. Record Street closed, so getting a tuna sandwich there was out of the question. Although I think I always like my sandwiches at Jimmy Johns, I didn’t feel like going in there today. So, I trekked up north to the now happening (hello Greg Brady) part of campus to scope out the food choices. Actually, I already know them, but I was hoping that they had changed. No dice.

Starbucks and Keva Juice (smoothies and juice only, no pretzels) are located on the first floor of the Joe. On the second floor are Port of Subs and Tahoe Creamery. Although I have a deep love for ice cream, I just didn’t want it for lunch (no...really, I didn’t, but it does sound good right now). I also didn’t want Port of Subs. All too often when I think of Port of Subs and Subway, I think of bad service. The service I received today was actually good. The sandwich-makers were chipper and polite; they didn’t roll their eyes at the crowd of people queuing up in front of the counter. But…just the thought of a Port of Subs sandwich was depressing. I love sandwiches, I really do, but sometimes I’m not in the mood for something so generic. I think this is what depresses me about the Joe, everything is so new and generic (which really means so big-business brand-named, but generic just feels right). Everything is still too new. I know I whine about weird things, but I like places to feel lived in.

Anyhow, I’d much rather have had a sandwich from Massimo’s, but, alas, it wasn’t to be. So, I ordered my sandwich and trekked back down campus to sit in the empty seminar room, eat, read and write.

I called Cardo during my break and he had bad news for me. He had just gotten an e-mail saying that he needed to go to Oakland on Thursday. This frustrates me for so many reasons. One: he was told that he would be notified of any trips a month in advance. I don’t know what the crap calendar these people are looking at, but three days does not a month make. Two: Coach J and I have our first day of our internship that day. Thursday is the one day I need Cardo to have off so he can be a parent and watch the kids. Hello! One. Freaking. Day. Just one day a week. Three: it seems like it’s always my work that has to be pushed aside and put off when it comes to scheduling issues. (Cardo actually off-handedly remarked on Sunday that things are hard to schedule now that we have a kid. NOW? Um, okay, three-and-a-half-years later.) Four: did I mention how freaking last-minute this is? I thought so.

I should stop and take a breath now. A friend is going to sit with the kidlets Thursday. We don’t have to disguise them as tiny high-schoolers and smuggle them in. And, I should mention, Cardo is a good papí. He’s supportive of me and my plans. He works full time and then some. I imagine he spends more time with family than many other people who are the primary moneymakers for their families. I don’t mean to sound so annoyed with him, but sometimes I am annoyed. Maybe not so much with him (although that is part of it), but with the situation…with my measly paycheck, my many years of measly paychecks ahead of me, my exhaustion, my impatience…. But, really, I’m still shaking my head about his “now that we have a kid” comment. Ah, well.

Well, internetland, thank you for letting me vent (not that you had much choice…but if you made it this far, thank you). I’m going to go upstairs and lay like a useless lump.

Before I do that, though, I’ll leave you with Pic’s choices for who could watch her Thursday. She first suggested Auntie C and Uncle A. However, they will both be working at that time. A couple of hours later, as we were walking to Ross to look for shoes for her, she suggested, “Bert and Ernie can watch me!” We’ll drop you off in New York first thing Thursday morning, lovie.