There's even some soup left over. Guess what I'll be having for dinner on Wednesday night?

As you can tell, I did eventually go to the store. M was kind enough to go with me; since I had made up a grocery list, I promised it would be quick. (He is not picky about what he eats - milk, Corn Pops, and canned soup suit him just fine - so he shops at the dinky corner market. I can't do that because I like the more "specialty" products and a larger, fresher assortment of fruits and vegetables.)

After the market run, I quickly prepared the soup so we wouldn't miss our show. After the show, I finished and submitted one article. I'll know within four weeks if it will be published. In the meantime, I have several other ideas for articles I'm going to work on.

Last weekend was kind of odd. M's brother E stayed with us on Friday night and all of Saturday because M's other brother and wife went out of town. E is currently staying with them and, since E is probably still suicidal, they don't want to leave him alone in their house. I don't blame them.

And rumor has it that M's brother's wife is close to having a nervous breakdown due to E living in their house. I don't blame her.

She's currently unemployed and, as a result, is usually the only one available to chauffer E around to his doctor's appointment and to do his errands. What kind of a life is that? She's not a nurse! And especially not a nurse to her husband's older brother!

I admire her because she's been handling everything so well. And E seems so ungrateful. I noticed that this weekend for the first time.

After all, I'd refuse to have M's suicidal, disabled brother living with M and I. I don't think I could take it. There are too many reasons why to list here.

Anyway, I was a little agitated by the whole scenario on Saturday. It was a beautiful day outside and E didn't want to leave the house. He dozed on the couch while we sat twiddling our thumbs, wanting to be outside.

I don't know; I think I was probably bent out of shape with the notion that a grown man needs "babysitting". That's probably evil of me to say after all he's been through, but... still!

Finally, we suggested seeing Spiderman and, luckily, he was feeling up to that. Good movie!

After the movie, we got the call from M's brother and wife saying they were now home. We also got a call from my friend who lives in Denver, asking if we wanted to meet up for dinner in San Francisco.

Luckily it worked out. If M's brother and wife hadn't gotten home earlier, we wouldn't have been able to go and I would have been fuming. I hadn't seen this friend in over a year and a half!

So we met up with her, a friend of hers, and a couple of her family members in North Beach, ate Italian food, and then went to a bar for a drink.

That, too, was a little strange. Maybe it's just me but I feel totally incompatible with so many friends that I used to be close with. I chalk it up to living far apart and eventually growing apart. Don't get me wrong; we had a good time. It's just that the depth of conversation we used to have just wasn't there anymore. That shouldn't be a surprise to me, I guess. What I mean is... maybe I'm remembering our friendship differently? We were close a long time ago! And we were in our 20s, for hell's sake!

Personally, I refer to the 20s as "the terrible twenties" - kind of like "the terrible twos". Can you blame me? The 20s are filled with financial ruin, extreme stress, poor diet, lots of alcohol, and not yet knowing who you really are or what you really want. As a result, it's a time of exploration and experimentation... not that that's necessarily bad.

I just don't want to go back there. I like where I'm at, thank you very much.

So anyway....

Weekend: Weird!