8:49 p.m. | 2003-06-13 TGIF. It bears repeating. Thank god it�s Friday! I�ve been to Dante�s hell and back several times this week, and I�m only talking about level one. I�ve got more levels waiting in the wings on my path to becoming �Eloise�. With growth comes pain, right? Right. Moving on. Highlights of the week? Wow, they�re so many of them. Buying cool furniture, laughing with Boss, fun conversations with Intern, spending time with Bestest Girlfriend, receiving great support from you all, and an impromptu visit tonight. On my way home, I spotted Drummer in his yard. I�m way overdue for a visit with him, so I dropped by. Apparently, it was Bonus Day at Drummer�s as I also got to visit with Drummer�s brother, Single Dad (2 kids, boy and girl, 6 and 3, respectively), and Drummer�s wife, the Queen of Chefs. I think last time I mentioned Drummer, he was working on a new CD. He recently held a focus group to do some test marketing of this single. It was a hit! He�d done a limited production of it for the event and set a CD aside for me, which he signed tonight. (�To a Dear Friend: Cruel-Irony. May all your dreams come true!!! Drummer.�) He�s going to do a mass production once he�s through with all the groundwork. Oh, and his birthday was just a couple of weeks ago. He�s 50! You�d never know it though because he has the energy of a 21-year-old, albeit it�s more of a peaceful energy than a frenetic energy. And, he looks at least 20 years younger. I caught them at a good time. They (Drummer and Queen of Chefs) were getting ready to host the bimonthly musical gathering and their car is in the shop, so Drummer asked if I�d take Queen of Chefs to the food co-op to get refreshments. Of course, I was happy to do just that as it also gave me an opportunity to catch up with Queen of Chefs. She also has a remarkable energy level and is about the same age as Drummer although she looks much younger. I tell you, they both wear me out! That�s why I don�t see them too often � they�re always on the go. Here�s some of that. (D:) Hey, Cruel-Irony, make sure you call me and leave your new address and phone number because I probably won�t see you for the next couple of years. I want to make sure we know how to contact you. (CI:) What?! Are you going somewhere?! (D:) Oh, no. I just meant that in the sense that time just tends to fly by. (CI:) Phew! Don�t scare me like that! I always feel such a sense of peace when I visit Drummer. I�ll have to remember to make more of an effort to catch up with them after I move since I won�t be driving past their home everyday. I just love remarkable people. I had a rather interesting, yet confounding conversation with Intern today. I was reviewing an analysis (of sorts) that he did when this happened. (CI:) Did you write this part yourself? (I:) Uh, no. It�s bad huh? (CI:) No. Actually it�s fantastic. I LOVE it. But these aren�t my words and I can�t imagine where you would have taken them from, so I figure they�re probably YOUR words. (I:) Oh, it�s good? Yes, yes, I did write that. I think. What words are you talking about exactly? (CI:) (Reading aloud.) THAT part. It�s some great stuff! I�m gonna steal it and use it myself. It�s just that those aren�t my words and I don�t recognize them from anywhere else. So, did YOU write them? (I:) Uh, I don�t know. If it�s that good, maybe I took them from somewhere else. Wait, I mean, of course I wrote that. I�m just really brilliant like that. (CI:) Did you or didn�t you write this? (I:) Honestly, I have no idea. I don�t remember if I did or not. (CI:) Okay, now I�m hearing you. I can relate to that. I don�t remember squat myself. I personally think you wrote this and, in that case, you�re either brilliant or an idiot savant. Take your pick. (I:) Oh, in that case, I�m brilliant. (CI:) (Oddly, I happen to know his cousin; that�s not how he became an intern, just coincidence.) You know, it really sounds similar to the stuff your cousin says and writes. In fact, you say many things exactly like him. Maybe it�s some random family gene thing. (I:) Really? I mean, I don�t really know my cousin very well, but he writes stuff like this? (CI:) Yes. He says it and writes it. He has a gift when it comes to language. I think you have it too. I mean, read it again. It�s legalese and it just rolls off your tongue. That�s just a gift. (I:) You really think I wrote this? I wish I could remember if I did or not. (CI:) I think you did. It�s just too original. (I:) Heh. You think I might be good at this stuff? (CI:) Yeah, I do. I think. Did you write this? It was like some bizarre looping discussion. However, I really do think he wrote it and I�m so going to copy it because it�s some brilliant writing. Actually, come to think of it, he wrote that under my name. Which would make me either brilliant or an idiot savant by proxy. Heh, I�ll take either, even by proxy. your thoughts? seed flower