Straight No Chaser

Jujube

in the words of one charles crandall finster, life is hard. sometimes i think it's the hardest thing there is.

first off, today's entry title comes courtesy of mia, who apparently read the same website i did, and was probably just as shocked as i to find that jujube is not the name of a candy. or is, but is named after a real live fruit, purple.

and also, i used to know this really corny, mildly anti-semitic joke where jujube was the punchline. i won't tell it here but i will say that there was an older jewish woman wandering the halls of my dorm this morning, inexplicably. except for faculty members and those recruiters who come to advertise internships and graduate programs, you almost never see white people on campus. and when you do, they tend to be jittery and a little aggressive, maybe because it's unnerving to be so environmentally outnumbered. (the irony.) they move with purpose, march directly for their destination buildings.

the ones who don't have any real purpose, the strays, are notorious for starting shit. for stopping students and asking, randomly, "so, what did you think of the whole nelly controversy?" so i smiled politely at this woman, who was staring intently at a blank lobby wall, and asked if she needed help finding anything.

"keep it in your pants!" was her answer. she yelled it, loudly, into my ear, and then repeated herself at a more reasonable volume. "young people don't know what the hell is going on," she elaborated, vaguely. "you have to have some self-control or you're not going anywhere."

then she was gone. i stared after her for a second, then went back to fucking every random guy i could find, for the fun of it.

od performed tonight. the show was fun, long, aptly punctuated by my eight-dollar coconut shrimp. fred's girlfriend almost fought a random drunk woman. on the way home, "do i do" came on the radio, and we had a moment. ever had a moment? where everyone in your company knows the words, and loves them, and where at least one person would list the song as his or her favorite, whether or not it really is? and really belted out the words, prompting laughter and delight from all the others? i was the one, doing my best stevie wonder impression, low and gritty, honeysuckle chocolate-dripping kisses full of love, thinking i was just being silly; not realizing till long afterward that i was insulating myself against the other people in the car, singing loudly and passionately enough to totally block out four threatening presences.

marcus did not hurt me, no. marcus is, in fact, being rather sweet right now, and has just promised me a couple of things that i rather deserve, if i do say so myself.

i bit the side of my tongue.

** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **