quote book

"I haven't worked out much since my car exploded."
-Brandon Gruhl

And I know I have worn my mother's heart out believe me I saw it

All these babies are born
Like a field full of poppies
Who's gonna know which are torn?
I believe I'll soon leave the meadow
I see my shadow

Liz Phair - Only Son

So I was kickin around after my mom left and dad was at work. Watchin demos of theCuties pwnzing clan [AWP]. (go Ryan!) Cleanin stuff up outside. Whatever. I get a call. It's Mona trying to explain to me some ish about how Brandon needs some money from his roomate with a sick mother. I'm not takin any of this crap. I say "so what should I do about it?". She hands the phone to my mother. After much reexplaining, I discover the following:

• Brandon's roomate Tabitha owes her part of the rent. She is, inexplicably, unreachable.


• The rent needs to be in today or their landlord will issue a 10-day eviction notice.


• Brandon had to pay his lawyer $200 today to avoid going to jail and being the bitch of some guy named Raul for 3 months, otherwise he'd pay the rent.


• Since both Mona and my mother are 30 minutes out on I-90 going to Moses Lake for the weekend, they need me to handle the situation.


• "Handling the situation" involves taking $200 out of my checking account and delivering it to him at his house right now.
  
• I'm doing this only out of the goodness of my heart and will be paid back.

At the time I wasn't feeling particularly full of goodness in the heart - I mean, while he has been my friend for 13 years, he's something of a fuckup and I haven't talked to him in months - - and dammit I earn that money - - - not that he doesn't but whatever - so I made sure that these women knew that I was doing this purely as a favor to them. I know it's my God-given duty to give without hesitation, but not thoughtlessly, consequently I was trusting them that me doing this would be a good thing. Hard to argue that Brandon being evicted is not a Bad Thing, but anyway. I hadn't thought that far. They gave me his number.

Called him, figured out where to meet and when. Wrestled my way through traffic and to the Top Foods where we got a money order. He bought some food for the Gorge and we went back to his apartment (in Top food's backyard. I had never been there). He has two roomates, a TV, some chairs, a broken PS2, a dvd player, and a phone. That's the living room. Pretty sparse. The whole place smelled like a Radiohead concert. He's got the master bedroom, with the weight set that will be a major part of his life due to a court order to lift ounces instead of lighting them. We stood around and talked about... nothing, really. You know how guys behave when they don't want to say what's on their minds? Yeah, that. "Stay clean", I told him, and bowed out.