A fruit snack followed me as I left home today. I stopped in the stairwell, spotting it at my feet.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I asked it, but it did not respond.

The world is an enormous place to a fruit snack, wrought with dangers of all sorts. A hungry animal could carry it off, or it could be tread upon by someone less thoughtful than I, who would later scrape it off the bottom of their shoe.

Little fruit snack, you are brave, but there is a fine line between bravery and foolishness. I cannot in good faith, leave you to whatever fate the world has in store for you.

“Do you want to see where I work?” I asked it, but it did not respond. I took its silence as an affirmation, so I picked up the little fruit snack and placed it in my pocket. It rode with me on the train, quiet, to avoid us having to pay for two tickets. On the T, I offered it one of my ear plugs, so we could listen to The War by Angels & Airwaves together, but it did not respond.

At the office, I took the fruit snack out of my pocket and placed it on my desk. I turned on my monitors, and showed it the things I was currently working on. It took everything in in silence, patient and pleased to simply be out and about. I am sure, though, that it will eventually tire of watching me work and go exploring.

Oh, little fruit snack, do be careful. There are people here who do not believe in the five minute rule.

Walking into the kitchen to get myself a soda, I witnessed another employee taking the last Diet Coke from a pack of six, leaving the plastic rings that hold them in place on the floor. I picked up the ring and stretched it carefully to fit over my hand and pinch my wrist. Then I went to the coworker’s desk and stood there, holding up my arm. He looked up when he sensed me standing beside him and, noticing the rings of plastic around my wrist, raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.

“You’re supposed to cut these up when you finish them off, to prevent Dalphins from getting trapped in them,” I said, giving him sad puppy dog eyes.

Katie asked me to post this.

hi! i halp momy! i cary the luchbox! its big! i wak funy to cary it to the room thet gos up and don! i cary luchbox to the car! im a goo girl! hi five!

She is a good girl, that little scamp. She has taken on the morning duty of carrying Melissa’s lunch bag to the car for her. She loves her new job so much that getting the bag away from her once she’s in her car seat can become something of a dilemma. I gave her the bag to carry yesterday as I walked her and Melissa down to the car in the morning, and she waddled along with it, holding it up to her chin to keep from tripping over it. It was very cute. When they came home in the evening (I worked from home), in came Katie, carrying the now empty bag. This morning when I left for work, I left the lunch bag upstairs so she could carry it again.

In other news: tomorrow I engage in the awesomeness of Dungeons & Dragons once again. My best friend Jon has planned out the beginning of a campaign for me and our other friend John to play in. It has been more than a year since we last played, and we are now down to two players (Jon’s father will not be joining us this time around). I’m really excited. I’ve been polishing my dice in anticipation.

It was a pleasant weekend, beautiful weather. Blue skies, puffy, white clouds and a warm sun shining down upon us. Saturday, Melissa and I cleaned in preparation for the little Indy 500 soirée we were hosting the next day. After picking up, vacuuming, adjusting furniture and keeping Katie from messing it all back up again, we treated ourselves to a babysitter so that we could partake in dinner and a movie (and a short jaunt to the book store). We saw the Indiana Jones movie, which isn’t awful, but it’s definitely the least of the Indiana Jones films. George Lucas needs to be tied up and stuffed in a closet before he destroys anymore of his classics by making more of them and ruining them with ridiculous dialog. The man can’t write, that’s just fact now. Maybe once he could, but he’s lost it, and lost it bad. George (Lucas), if you’re reading this… stop. Let someone else write for you, because you suck at it. That said, the film was still entertaining, thanks to Spielberg and Harrison Ford. John Hurt was good too, but really, the film only needed the two of them. Karen Allen, Shia Lewhatever and even, sadly, Ray Winstone could have been left out entirely.

Sunday, we picked up and vacuumed again (thanks Katie!) and prepared for the Indy 500, which started promptly at 1. Julie and the boys showed up quickly, followed not too long after by George and Annie. Bobbie, Nat and their boys showed up some time after 2, apparently because Bobbie had lost track of time while baking bread. We had snacks, sat around and talked, went through two bags worth of kids books that Bobbie and Nat dropped off… good times. Around 3, we went over to the park so the kids could get some air. Katie played on the jungle gym some more, and I brought a Frisbee to toss around. Just as Katie decided that she wanted to play on the swing set, it was announced that it was time to go. Nobody had brought any sunscreen, and that gaseous giant was blazing in the sky, slowly cooking our tender flesh. I gave Katie a couple dozen good pushes on the swing, and she was loving it big time, but I had to take her and depart to protect her precious, soft skin. She was very mad about this, but it was for the best.

Scott Dixon won the Indy 500, making Julie the winner of the name drawing. I had drawn her favorite, Helio Castoneves, as well as the three people in 2nd, 3rd and 4th place, but Dixon, who had been the pole leader from the beginning, managed to hold his own through the race and won it with ease. Everyone felt bad for Danika Patrick, who got denied even finishing by some jackass who clipped her as she was leaving the pit. Ah well, que sera sera.

The Heffermans packed up around 5 or so to head home for dinner, and those of us remaining discussed what we were going to eat, which it turned out was nothing, really. Everyone was so full on snacks that they weren’t very hungry. Melissa had some leftovers from the fridge, and George and I grabbed some Mickey-D’s on our way over to the theater for my second (and their first) viewing of the Indiana Jones movie. Afterward, they all agreed that it was entertaining, but lacking. Also that George Lucas needs to get beaten with a sack full of doorknobs or pinned down in bed at night and smacked on the stomach with a dozen socks stuffed with soap.

Monday, we rested. In the late afternoon, I took Katie out to the gazebos to run around, and a while later, Melissa joined us. We went for a walk to see if any restaurants were open, Katie holding our hands as we walked down the sidewalk. Occasionally, we would swing her, lifting her up by both arms, and she’d laugh. In the end, we took her home and just had more leftovers.

All in all, a satisfying weekend.