Leave Me Alone

It is easier to move mountains than to change the hearts of men.
-Bette Bao Lord
"Spring Moon"

Twenty-five years ago today

November 30, 1985
Saturday

We woke up late. It was already noon! I don’t really like sleeping-in that late anymore. I could get reprogrammed if I don’t watch it. I have trouble getting up at the crack of dawn as it is on Monday through Friday.

By 1:30PM or so—after showering—Chad and I went to Stone Ridge Shopping Mall in Pleasanton to look around. Chad and I ran into Randy who works out at our gym. He’s a nice guy. We exchanged a few words with him and then we departed.

We tried on some neat olive green 501 LEVI jeans at The Gap. One saleslady named Michelle was exceptionally nice to us. There were a couple of other sales clerks (of the male gender) who were eyeing us as well. The visit to the mall was fun. I think it was mainly because of the company.

Chad read most of my journal (up to the green ink) on November 27, 1985. I allowed him to read it during our drive to the Stone Ridge Mall. It kept him interested to say the least. I believe he liked what I had written about him. It’s mostly good except for his snide remarks that I may have mentioned. I do hate when he tells me to leave him alone.
He literally says, “Leave me alone!”
It kind of hurts my feelings. I do notice that he now says ‘please’ when he has to be rude with statements like that. ‘Leave me alone, please’ is still rather hurtful.

Chad and I returned to his place and we played more FROGGER. It was getting a little boring for me. Chad could tell I wasn’t into the computer game.

Larry came over and brought a pizza. We fiddled with observing a new ‘BUCK ROGERS in the 25th Century’ videotape but I didn’t like that much either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnhEtkSxBr4

Larry politely asked Chad, “Are you staying-in?”
It was more like he was politely chasing us out.

Chad and I left to go work out at the gym. We had planned to go in the steam room but we didn’t’. We didn’t stay very long since we arrived at 9:15PM and they were closing at 10PM (early tonight).

We went to the Alpha-Beta grocery store. Chad laughed and made the “UH” sound when I said “Hi” to the sales clerk. Chad claimed that the sales clerk was actually saying “Hi” to the lady ahead of us (whatever). After purchasing our snacks of Honey Vanilla ice-cream and Chocolate Chocolate-Chip we sat comfortably in my car. I almost tripped on a banana peel while walking to my car.

We soon found ourselves at WHEREHOUSE RECORDS where we rented the movies, “Country” and “Vision Quest”. We watched “Vision Quest” at my house and then went to bed.
Chad kept saying, “We better go to sleep.”
I tend to just ignore his moodiness now. It’s only because he eventually does ‘come’. And then he ends up doing something really nice to make up for his abrupt words.

He was too ashamed really to cry, he merely cried in words onto the patient sheets of paper.
-Thomas Mann, "Six Early Stories"
FALLED, 1894