Instead of going to class, she sits in the school parking lot and listens to jazz. For one blissful hour, the sunlight is her only company. The happy pair sit in silence, reveling in the beauty around them and exchanging secret, knowing smiles.

Then the cell phone rings, the clouds roll in, and life elbows her in the ribs like an unpleasantly inebriated uncle.

Things I Learned This Weekend:

• Old ladies from church do not like tattoos or nose piercings.
• Old ladies from church are not sure what to think of me now that they know about my tattoo.
• Old ladies from church sure do like to talk about dogs.
• Old ladies from church are blind and should not be making jewelry.
• Making jewelry at 9 a.m. on a Saturday is less fun than making jewelry at 9 p.m. on a Saturday.
• Saturday mornings without cartoons are STUPID.
• Breakfast pastries do wonders to improve my mood.
• Some boys think I have a nice butt.
• Compliments also do wonders to improve my mood.
• I am extremely paranoid that the old ladies will (a) find out that I talk to boys and (b) ban me from church.
• Writing a bullet point about my butt between bullet points about church members makes me extremely uncomfortable.
• New subject: my fish is still alive.

She is dying of cancer, and I am terrified that I won't cry at her funeral. Meanwhile, I still weep when I think about that last hour with my cat.

I subscribed to his blog's RSS feed from my phone, so he won't know how often I check for updates while I'm out and about.

Sometimes, I pretend not to listen because it's easier than dealing with what I think I'm hearing.

I did not brush my teeth last night.