The Past Few Days. . .

Well, first of all, today is July 2nd, which, among being notable for historical reasons, is Hope's birthday. She is now five years old, and I cannot believe that I first met her when she was two (though, arguably, she was almost three). I have known this child for the majority of her life. . .it's really weird when you think about it; anyways, we took her to Emerald Point today (Heather and I because my dad had to work). It was really fun; she wore the dress that I bought for her over her bathing suit, and I didn't get roasted. She's really brave when it comes to rides, as I found out today; she went on this one slide with a large drop that I was too afraid to go on until I was about eight. I went on the Twin Twisters, which are the large black slides that curve around the sheer drop of the Daredevil Drop, which, in all my years of existence, I have still not had the heart to go on. On another note, I was slightly disappointed about a musical tradition that I associate with my infrequent trips to Emerald Point; every time I have gone there (just about), the song "Look What You've Done" by Jet has played at least once. This did not happen today, and I couldn't help feeling just a bit deflated. However, they did play "Bohemian Rhapsody," which makes this the second time that I have heard that song in an amusement park, the first time being last week at Cedar Point when we were in line to go on the Raptor, an inverted roller coaster. Yes, I know that it is very nerdy that I keep up with this sort of thing.
Anyways, after a fun day at Emerald Point, we dropped Hope off at her dad's and met my dad back at the house. He decided to take us out for dinner and a movie, so we went to this Japanese steakhouse near the $2 Theater, a.k.a. "Movies for Misers." The dinner was sort of embarrassing because I ordered off the kids' menu (a thing that I always do at Japanese steakhouses, because they give you enough food to choke a horse or whatever the saying is) and it was the first time in years that someone has challenged me. The woman asked how old I was, and I was just smooth enough to look down at where the menu said "12 and under" before answering. My dad and Heather weren't all that concerned about it, as my dad was the one who suggested that I order off of the kids' menu in the first place, but I felt really weird about it for the rest of the meal.
After dinner, we stopped by one of my dad's houses that is a work in progress. We went inside to see the work that has been done, and he was upset because, though no progress had been made, the lack of it had; I swear, this job has stressed him out enough to convince me never to go into real estate when I get older.
Then, we went to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, which was really awesome; it was even better than how I thought it would be, and I had assumed from the commercials that it would be worth watching, which is more than I can say for most movies that come out these days.
Anyways, now we're home and this is all that I can say for today.
Two days ago, on Tuesday, I went over to Shannon's house for the first time in at least a month; we hadn't gotten the chance to hang out since the get-together at my dad's house with Alexis and Elizabeth (who might be interested in hanging out again at some point as well? cough-cough). We arranged this last-minute Monday night when I was at my mom's, and so she dropped me off after work the next day.
I'm stunned that I have been able to convince myself, over the past few months, that every aspect of my life is not greater than the big picture itself, though in some moments I am reminded how wrong that assumption can be.
That will sound random to anyone but me, so I apologize.
After my arrival, I staggered up into the house and was introduced to Joe, a friend of Sean's, of whom I have heard many great things for the past few months from Shannon. My mom saw him from the car and the first thing she said was, "His hat has ears on it." which was very true; anyone in their right mind would have coveted his hat. But anyways, I was able to interview him and Stacia that night, gaining two more video interviews to add to my collection.
Another thing of minor importance: I had the chance to meet Tinuviel, Lynda's cat, who is now living upstairs in the computer room with her.
That night, we watched Meet the Fockers and sat on Shannon's roof for about an hour. We also walked to various places around her neighborhood. The next day, Stacia took Shannon and I out to eat at Mi Pueblo, and this was tasty.
Then, she dropped me off at my mom's, who in turn dropped me off at my dad's, where I spent an eventful half an hour before he came home from work.
Overall, it's been quite an eventful week so far.