Oh, yes, it is definitely a much slower beast when the battery drops below 50%. Gad.

I'm sitting in the mall in Laughlin, waiting for Corey and Mercedes to show up. I should have noticed that this day was going way too smooth and quiet. I wasn't feeling stressed, and outside of Alex not being the kind of kid to take into a shop filled with fragiles, I was pretty much enjoying myself and my day.

I started out going to the campus across the river, in Bullhead, so I could pick up my last textbook and find out where I was going to have to go for the classes that I'll be taking up there. I thought about calling and telling Dad to tell Corey not to worry, because I passed a nasty truck accident. I was thinking he might hear about it and stress. I decided not to worry about it though, since the only vehicles involved were 18-wheelers. All went well at the college, and I even managed to take a tour of the student center while I was there.

Afterwards, Alex and I came across the river to explore the mall. We grabbed lunch at McD's in the food court. I found some tremendous deals and got 8 items of clothing for my yoga class for less than $18. Because...well, I just rock that way. Heh.

So anyhow, I realized that Corey and I hadn't decided on a place to meet. We were going to meet up here for the Friday night buffet. I called home around 2 to ask Dad if he would let Corey know to meet me at the food court here at the mall. Only nobody answered the house phone. So I called Dad's cell phone. Still no answer. I freaked out and started hauling ass out of the mall so I could get home close to when Corey normally would, and then I thought, "Well, maybe he was just outside having a smoke." I called back a few minutes after the first phone calls, and COREY answered. My first reaction was just a mild surprise that he was home so early, about 10 minutes past two by my watch. I just figured my watch was a little off. But no.

Mercedes called home from school sick about 20 minutes after I left the house. Of course I wasn't home, and I don't have a cell phone. I feel like Corey's going to criticize me for not taking Dad's, but it's not mine to take, you know? So I just don't feel any urge to feel guilty about it, he can kiss my ass. He had to leave work almost four hours early to go get her. So he can criticize me for not taking the phone, but he also knows that Christine would be happy to help out in a situation like that. He should have called her to see if she could help. Maybe he's too afraid to ask her for anything.

the last trail...the next path