MEANWHILE -- AT TONY PARKER'S HOUSE --

Tim Duncan: Hello, Manu. I've got some aaah JELLO pudding pops.  They're aaah um chocolate! Do-do you want some, Manu?

Manu Ginobili: You say CoCa, Timo?

TD: No, Manu. I said, I said um chocolate.

Tony Parker: Hey, Timmy, man, how come you came over with only JELLO pudding pops, man? I told you to bring coffee, cigarettes, and french fries, man.  Desperate Housewives, man! ABC! Sunday night! Eva Longoria, man! Ben Hall's favorite show, man!  Timmy, what up with that, man?

TD: Sorry, Tony. Sorry.

Days two and three...

So I haven't slept in a hammock yet, but I am getting there.  I'm taking the deep breath before the plunge.  I'm preparing for winter, if you will.

On the upside, I've gotten all of my classes and financial aid worked out.  I have my books; I have my studio all set up.  Clothes and toilet-trees and spare bicycle tubes are all in place.  I have my job lined up for the term -- I'm the new dinnertime Table Washer and Vacuum Manager.  I'm also in charge of the outside-only salt and pepper shakers; I guess they don't trust me with the ones on the inside of the dinning hall.

I've already been yelled at for getting someone a to-go cup from the cabinet under the coffee-makers and hot water dispensers.  There used to be to-go cups for all, but, as one of the managers explained, the members of last summer's MFA writing program would come in every night and like take five cups each (I guess they really liked tea), and they ruined it for everyone.

I was trying to help, and I assumed that the cups would be there, where I looked, and they were.  So I grabbed them -- to give one to the girl who had asked for it and to put a bunch out for the rest of the world. But the boss snatched the cups out of my hand and asked me what I was doing.  I tried to explain and was quickly interrupted: "We don't use these anymore!"  It had been thirteen months since anybody had told me what to do at my job (now that I'm the boss and all), and I almost started crying.

Not really but kinda.

It was like I was seventeen again and still working at the Taco Bell in Waterford, Michigan.  That job lasted about sixteen days. They fired me because I went to homecoming with Michelle Sese, who was a very nice Filipino girl.  No, they didn't fire me for going on a date with a Filipino -- what happened was that they hired me and the very next day gave me a schedule for the next two weeks.

I said, "Wait, I can't work next Friday. I'm going to my Senior homecoming with Michelle Sese."

They said, "You have to work."

Then I told them that I'd already rented a tux, and that my stepdad was letting me use his Ford Taurus (it had electric side-view mirrors), and what about my reservations at Mountain Jack's? They told me that if I didn't come to work, I would be fired.

I said, "No more."

I didn't show up, and they fired me.  Then I got kicked out of the house a few days later for smoking weed and being all together a pain in the ass.  I never got to say thank you to Michelle Sese, which to this day makes me feel a little sad to think about.

So anyway, getting yelled at isn't something that's happened in a minute.  But you know what I realized at that moment?  I shouldn't have assumed that it was okay to just grab those cups.  I own a business, and I should know better.  Always ask if you don't know, kids.

Speaking of kids, do you know what really bothers me?  When people use the term -- and it happens often in the restaurant -- "sippy-cup."  Sometimes adults say it to each other, even when there aren't any kids present.  Isn't it bad enough that a child has to grow up in this world?  Does he or she really need to use the term "sippy-cup" until they're 8-years old?

So other than that, my new job is going well.  It's supposed to take ninety minutes to do the wiping, shakering, and vacuuming, but my second night I did it in sixty.

I also have my FWT (Field Work Term) job all lined up for this winter. For those of you who aren't in the know, FWT is Bennington's third term, where students have the opportunity to explore their areas of interest through firsthand experience in the real world.  No, not the TV show!  The main difference between Bennington and other schools is that this internship is done four different times by each and every student over the course of his or her education.  (Sometimes they do three internships and an independent study.) Guess what my FWT job is?

Running a restaurant in Detroit!

My supervisor will be Ben Hall -- it says so on the application.  I hope he doesn't yell at me for giving to-go cups away.