Things are looking up here in purgatory, or at least they're not looking down quite as much. I've restocked my coffee and read most of the way through the book Earnestine found me. It's been interesting and, for the first time in a while, I can say the same about my day.
Don’t get me wrong, this town isn’t devoid of interesting things or people. There's always some minor curiosity to keep things relatively interesting and to keep me from packing up and leaving. That being said, they usually aren’t significant enough to warrant me telling you about them. Last night (this morning, if you want to get technical) I got a bit of an upgrade. Along with the usual frivolities of the day, I got to watch a meteor shower for the first time and, as though that wasn't enough, I maintained a conversation with a stranger for more than 30 seconds, marking a new personal record.
I did not expect to have a meaningful conversation with anyone yesterday. I suppose I didn't expect to watch a meteor shower either. I expected to drink my coffee, read my book, and go to work, but evidently someone decided that routine wouldn’t fly. Not that I would have been happy with the original, but I’d at least like to know what my plans are before they happen. If I'm honest, the majority of my day went by unaltered from the norm. The coffee part went great and I went to work as expected, so time-wise, relatively little was different. Between the two mundane activities, however, when I sat down to try to finish my book, I was interrupted by splashing and yelling from the street below my window. Some parent, it seemed, decided that the warm weather meant they should let their child noisily play in the fountain. When I looked out my window to verify that assumption, I found that the child's was alone.
Unable to make any progress in my book, it was at this point i decided to investigate, and it was at this point I started approaching the events that night. On my way to the street, I caught a fragment of conversation from a few people talking about the meteor shower. This of course immediately derailed my previous mission as I sought to learn more about the upcoming cosmic event. I ultimately agreed to watch the celestial display from the roof that night. By the time I got to the street, the noisy kid had departed and it was almost time for work.
Though I hoped to make up my list reading time between work and the party, this proved impossible, as when I came home in the evening, I found my apartment noticeably sparklier that when I left it, now inexplicably sporting a fine coat of glitter. I spent the next few hours cleaning the damned stuff out of my carpet, an incredibly tedious task without a vacuum cleaner, and one that lacks all of the joy typically associated with glitter.
By the time the party rolled around, I was thoroughly sick of all things sparkling. I thus found myself unwilling to spend much time watching the sky (as exciting as it was), forcing me to interact with people instead. By my count, I talked to a whole 8 people, and even held up a conversation with a few. Lucia was one of the people I met and is proof that my dissatisfaction with the town is warranted. Even she, a cheerful and friendly enough person to strike up a conversation with me, seems to feel let down. She mentioned something about an essay for her lit class at the college, so here's hoping she can find the right book in that barren library.home.
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