The Night Before Labor Day and Memory: Hotels

Wow - it bothers me that I haven't thought of anything very interesting to write about in a while. However, today was pretty eventful in a few ways.

Last night, I stayed at Shannon's house for a sleepover, along with Elizabeth. We watched the Japanese version of "Shutter," which was O.K., but the character that Shannon thought was hot was indeed far from it. We got to sleep around 2:00, and I had to wake up at 8:00 to get ready for church, where I would be arriving earlier than usual to play the piano for the director of the music ministries, Mr. Dodds; after hearing me, he would decide whether I would be suitable as a rehearsal accompanist for the children's choir.

My dad and I arrived just as the first traditional service was ending, and so we met Mr. Dodds and Ms. Moyer at the front of the Sanctuary. After warming up, I played a portion of the "Moonlight Sonata," what I hoped to be my trump card of sorts, and when I was asked to play something fast, I played the "Adagio Cantabile" movement of Beethoven's "Pathetique Sonata." This part of the audition went well, but then I was supposed to play the "Moonlight Sonata" at a conducted tempo. I became nervous and messed up twice, though I did make it farther in the second time; you see, I'm used to being conducted, but I'm usually holding sticks in such situations. It seems like the piano would be easier, though, as your hands are right on the instrument. But despite this rocky part of the audition, I think I might have a chance, as Mr. Dodds said that children's choir music typically doesn't have that many difficult tempo changes. Ending the hearing on that positive note, I attended Sunday school before meeting my dad back at the second traditional service. After the sermon, we left the church and ate lunch at Mr. Waffle, which is this nice little underrated restaurant near the $2 theater that, like the $2 theater, doesn't receive the credit that it deserves.

Following our lunch at Mr. Waffle, we came home, ran the perimeter of Hanes Park, and went to the YMCA. I swam while my dad lifted weights. Then, upon returning to the house, we drove to Sams, only to find that it was closed; while we were on that side of town, my dad decided that it would be a good idea to have dinner at Mario's, and so we did, bringing in a deck of cards so that we could play a round of racehorse rummy. Following dinner, we shopped at the Dollar Tree and Target before coming home.

Now, my dad is waiting for a friend of his to arrive so that they can study for the GMAT, which is a sort of test; my dad, as he waits, is currently playing his guitar on the roof.

As for the memory, it came to me randomly, just now in fact. Before I was born, my mom brought home my first pet, Shamus, who was a German Shepard/Chow-chow dog mix. A friend had informed her of his presence on Wake Forest's campus; he was a homeless dog who fed himself from the dumpsters and occasional scraps from the students on campus. His fur came out in clumps and he apparently wasn't very pretty when my mom first found him; but she fell in love with him right away and brought him home to the house that she and my dad shared with some other roommates. She fed him eggs and other things that she had discovered would make his fur grow back; slowly, it did. A year later, I was born and by this point, Shamus looked as handsome as any other dog, and not only this, he was completely devoted to my mother.

Now, with this background on my old dog, who died when I was in sixth grade, we can move to the real memory. A few years back, when I was in elementary school, my dad, mom, and I decided to go on a trip to Williamsburg, Virgina (I think; it was somewhere in Virginia). My dad insisted that we stay in the cheapest possible hotel, while my mom stubbornly insisted that Shamus come along.

We had to get creative with some of the hotels when it came to sneaking my dog inside. The cheapest ones wouldn't allow any pets, so we would have to take him through the side door, and come up with arguments against having a second or third floor room. My mom remarked one night while we were running through a hallway to our room with Shamus's leash in one hand and her suitcase in another that people were probably watching us via the security cameras and laughing.