Ups and Downs

When I woke up this morning, I looked at my bedside table and saw a purple dry-erase marker. Picking it up, I twirled it on my fingers for a moment before looking at the dry-erase board I've been decorating during the three years I've had it. So I uncapped the marker and wrote 'Happy Birthday Aniki' in what most would consider neat cursive. I personally think it's chicken scratch.

For those of you who don't know what 'aniki' means, it's Japanese for 'older brother'. I have more than one, but this one, Travis, was that brother I very rarely got along with. I have very conflicting feelings regarding my brother, and I hope he's doing okay in Iraq for the third time. Today makes him twenty-one. Go Army!

I picked up Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton again. It's the latest in her Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. But instead of waiting on a paperback, I was a little too impatient and bought the hard copy about a week after it came out. Sadly, that is the only hard-copy I have of the series. I've always been diligent about keeping a steady pattern of paperback and hard copies, but this completely threw off the rhythm. I own a lot of books. A majority of them, I will admit, are paperback. They are just easier to carry around, in my opinion.

Speaking of books, I should return the two I borrowed from my friend... She's a girl I rather admire, actually. I wouldn't... mind asking her out. But that feels like a big jump to me. I don't know if I'm ready for another relationship. But, it's nice being her friend anyway.