Non Sequitur

Okay, so I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to start this post, and I really have no good way to do so. It's not like a story, where you can just begin with the old standby "It was a dark and stormy night," and it's not like a techincal paper which requires a table of contents and a formal introductory paragraph (yay college term papers), so it can be tricky. Do you begin with "so, this week..." blah blah blah, or start off with the infamous "I did..." blah blah "then I did..." blah blah blah? Either way, I foresee epic failure. Maybe I'll try this: the word of the day from Merriam-Webster.com is "non sequitur," meaning "it does not follow" in Latin. Okay, that's technically two words, but whatever. Their problem. This week has been a bit of a non sequitur for me. Logically, nothing I did this week was really well-related to anything else I did. I need a job, but I decided that with what little cash I actually have, I would go to Flagstaff last weekend. Mind you, it was TOTALLY worth it, but nonetheless, it was something more spur of the moment get-me-the-hell-out-of-Phoenix-esque than logical for my situation. Ryan went along with me, after much arm-twisting, and we both had a good time seeing some old friends from Mountain View and Taylor Halls, hiking in the gorgeous weather, and hanging out at some of the local bars like the Wine Loft and Rendezvous, neither of which I had been to more than once before. (I actually did find a great wine I like called "Bommarito" - a red Cabernet Sauvignon.) Then, the job hunt continued most of my week until yesterday, where I took a break from job hunting to - what else? - work. I substitute taught for a sixth grade class at the school my mom works for, which wasn't a bad gig, but I'm really finding I don't enjoy elementary teaching. If I was going to be a teacher in the future, it would have to be high school to college teaching, because I think I would be a better fit there. It's hard to have thoughtful discussions on whatever with a bunch of 12-year-olds. Still, it's not a hard job to substitute, and it pays $90 a day, so it's some pocket change every now and then. After teaching, I came home and flipped on the news - a habit more than anything now - and there was ABC15's Daphne Monroe talking about the great deal of the day: $50 in free Thanksgiving groceries from Albertsons to the first 50 people at a couple select locations around the valley. Well, hell, who's going to pass up free everything non-perishable you will need for Thanksgiving (paper plates, cups, towels, canned goods, soda, juice, au gratin potatoes, stuffing mix, etc.) if given the opportunity. So I drove out to one of the locations, and I was number 49 of 50 in line to get the groceries! Good times! Mom was happy. Today, I've been fairly productive. My dad left me with a mandate that if I was going to be home all day, instead of job searching in the morning, I should (okay, had to) clean up the house, dishes, all that crap instead. So, after about four hours of work, the house looks great, and I even have dinner all laid out for tonight for them. I just have to cook it at 5:30 or so. Ham and salami paninis with fresh-sliced mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and peppers on toasted sourdough with kettle chips, bacon and potato salad, and a pickle spear. For drinks, Arnold Palmers (lemonade-iced tea mix).