A lot of Memorials

"A writer expresses himself in words that have been used before because they give his meaning better than he can give it himself, or because they are beautiful or witty, or because he expects them to touch a chord of association in his reader, or because he wishes to show that he is learned and well read. Quotations due to the last motive are invariably ill-advised; the discerning reader detects it and is contemptuous; the undiscerning is perhaps impressed, but even then is at the same time repelled, pretentious quotations being the surest road to tedium." - Henry Watson Fowler (1858-1933) and Francis George Fowler (1870-1918) A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, 1926

Here it is, Memorial Day. It is much bigger day in comparison in DC. There were no BBQs for me, but I still made the most of it.

Now Saturday night instead of hitting the bars and helping make random girls nights that much better, I stayed home trying to figure everything out. Maybe if I didn't think so much. I put on the movie Music and Lyrics on that I had sitting there unwatched for months as the background theme of just enough cheesy to organize the latest boxes I brought from home and working on my "memory box." I actually got the idea from my sister Ana when she told me that she was going to send me a graduation program for my "memory box." She meant it in a joking way. I don't have one and considering I have a lot of things scattered about, it was probably a good idea to keep them all together. I need a cooler name though, "box of old crap." Well I'll work on it.

Getting a box wasn't the hard part, but figuring what to put in it and what to throw away was somewhat hard. Mainly I put in letters from family, friends and past girlfriends (more from some than others). In there I also included programs from important events. Going through card after card from years back, it is sometimes hard not to read the words. It felt at times like I was reading them for the first time. The more heartfelt, thoughtful and loving they were, the harder it made to read some of them. It made me think, why did I even open the envelope and look past the name. There are probably many examples of cards that really struck a chord, but here was the first one I pulled out as an example.

It was card I got while I was in Miami. One of those left behind when a person leaves from a trip. The generic card text read, Gracias ...por todo lo que has hech, por todo lo que has compartido. The handwriting had, "Marty - I had a wonderful time and it was great remembering everything that I missed about you. I love you and will miss you every day until we are together again! Love **" Maybe it was the context more than the words that got me thinking. I quickly put it away and as I opened the next card to see where it went, a small paper fell out. This card was one was another one I got while I was in my first year of law school, but from a different person. Here is an exceprt. "Anyways, as you can see, I'll be in Miami on Wednesday, March 2nd if you'd like a guest. :) You can give me my V-day kiss then... **" Included was an itinerary with a highlighted arrival time.

Finally, the third envelope I pulled out was a hand written letter from my grandfather. I think it was a reply to the letter I had sent him. This meant the most to me. I did my best to read it, but it was hard since his hand writing wasn't too great in his early 90s and my spanish still isn't where it needs to be. But there were important parts I had not trouble reading.

I also saw the movie Into the Wild. A friend had recommend it a while back, but it too went unwatched. I liked the movie, but man I have a lot of commentary, so I'll share that with you when you ask me.

Monday I had lunch with Rino and Jess in downtown Buda. I picked up a local paper and on the cover was pictures of 4 youths who were just caught for a string of break ins in Buda subdivisions. They were connected to at least 20 and that is in a town of about 5000. I think I'm one of them. I'm going to do some follow up work to see what happens here.

Rick was in town. His girlfriend Kate is going to be living in Austin for a few months and I met up with them for a drink on Monday. We were north of West Campus and Rick's other friend Helena joined us. The place Kate is staying at really rocks...talk about a great deal. There was this really cool Zen garden type thing in the back that made me wonder if I had one if I would use it. We had dinner at the Flying Sauser where they have all types of beer. I had never been there before and really liked the place.

Trying to save money I've been on the look out for deals. So I had purchased a bedroom set from a moving college student a while back and had been looking for the nightstand. I found the matching one and it cost $279. That was ridiculous and out of my price range. I did some research and found a smaller version that fit my set better for $179. I went in today to take a look at it and instead bought a gift certificate for $100 and got a bonus $100 certificate free, but I can't use them until June. I'm a patient man. So now I'm going to get that nighstand for $100. Go me. Assuming all goes to plan. Shopping does make me feel better.

It is nice and comfortable on the ground rolled up in a ball, but it is still pitiful