st. patrick's day.

today i had class again. blast these early morning, late evening 8 hour days. i'm not sure how people do it every week, 48-51 weeks out of the year.
there's a woman from sierra leone in some of my classes. she's going to work on the same floor as me as a tech. i convinced her to eat lunch with me. how dark her eyes were, how her lip quivered sometimes when she was talking, how she held her arms up and vigorously pounded them twice in the air as she said the world 'strong'....with a rolling 'r' and powerful voice....made me miss hellen, my dear friend in cameroon. i wish i knew how to make her life more comfortable. i miss her.
there's another woman in my class who i made friends with the first day. she's older too. she told me about her romantic getaway she's planning to las vegas with her woman. we eat together at most of the meals in these group class things. she showed me their picture. she saw me later at kroger and yelled out my name and waved. it's always nice seeing a familiar face when you're feeling lonely and can't find anyone to go out and have a green beer with you on st. patrick's day.

as i came home i tried my damnedest to find some friends to hang out and celebrate the day of my favorite color, the day that brings out my eyes....er...just join me for a green beer or two. no luck. so instead i played my guitar and realized it wasn't such a bad way to spend the holiday. i ran some 2 miles and when i got home i turned on some irish rock music and i made a batch of beer bread and put it in the oven while i cleaned up real fresh with a hot shower and a shave. i put on a green dress and used an eye lash curler. all in time to pull out the bread and butter it to have a slice while it was hot. i felt irish a little bit. i poured myself a beer in my finest wine glass. i made an attempt to bring my closest neighbor some bread, but he wasn't home. so i headed up the steps all barefoot with my hair still wet, plate in hand with some barely steaming, buttery bread.

so i just got back from the upstairs apartment talking with gail and john about their rat visitors, their children in florida living with gail's sister, their new cat, and all the stuff they find in trash cans sometimes. john says he'll look for a kitchen table or a bicycle for me. they also offered me some internet service and refused any payment. gail just talks and talks and john just smiles and agrees innocently with big warm eyes. i wondered how i was ever afraid of him that first day i saw him coming suspiciously from across the street right behind me. we live in the same building...and he didn't say hello because he's shy. i like them. tonight when i was leaving, gail thought the cat had escaped out the window and i could tell she really got nervous. then john got up and started looking everywhere too. then the cat came out from behind the entertainment cupboard. guess they've already fallen in love with it. i like them. just pure people.

and here i am. with the remnants of my first beer in my wine glass.
a day of work behind me. one ahead.
and i guess some sort of friends upstairs.
thankful i didn't have to spend st. patrick's day alone.

some how we all need eachother.