i rescued my bike. it got a flat tire last week and i left it locked at reed because i was too tired to walk it home that day. today i wore my new pink summer dress, black knee socks, and my new strappy shoes. it was so sunny and warm, but as soon as i left the house it started raining big fat drops all over me, so i ran down the street to the bus stop. the magnolia tree on the corner is blooming and i ran across a blanket of pink petals. running through flowers into a dream. the trees have a faint dust of green on them as the leaves begin to open.
i was so afraid my bike would be gone, but as i got off the bus there it was--the happiest wet bike i've ever seen. i ran through the heavy rain to the library to make copies of monday's reading. i saw beth and she told me about new orleans. i like running around the library making copies; it makes me feel important. on the way home i put my bike on the front of the bus, which inevitably made me hopelessly tangled in the bike, my backpack, and the bike rack. a kind man passing by helped untangle me and i thanked him.
when i came home i worked on my mom's birthday present for a long time. i wrote a nice introduction to the book. then donna and i went to rimsky's for dessert. first, we randomly called c., since we think he wants to be friends again. it was his birthday! we invited him along, since his date stood him up, but he was going to a show so he just gave us a ride. we're trying to think of a good birthday present for him, since he's depressed and we like him. i'm glad he's not mad anymore. i missed him. i guess we all forgave each other at the same time.
i love my new dress so much; i don't think i'm ever going to wear anything else. when i was in 9th grade, my friend rachel gave me a red dress that i loved so much i wore it every single day for an entire month. well, a boy in my algebra 2 class bet me a nickel, but i would have done it anyway. it was a 60s dress, red, with little white daisies, a big white collar, and white trim on the sleeves. it buttoned down the front. it was short but had long sleeves. i still have it, but it's kind of torn up since i wore it so much.
i say, if you're going to do something you might as well REALLY FUCKING DO IT. WAY too much is much better than not enough. when i was in 9th grade, the preferred word among my group of friends was "extraneous."
i like portland because it knows how to have enough of something. examples: rain. powell's (books). kennilworth park (pine trees). the big yarn store on hawthorne. movie madness (obscure videos). ladd's rose gardens (roses). the rhododendron gardens. the excessive amount of drinking fountains downtown. daisy kingdom (huge fabric store). and along mlk there is the biggest vacuum cleaner store i've ever seen. there are more but i can't remember them all. it's good to get a whole bunch of something in one place. if you're going to have one, why not have a million? maybe so you won't run out. maybe so you'll have a lot of options. maybe so you can just drown.