I get that going down to see the tree in LODO is risky, but what happened on Monday hasn't been repeated and these last two days have been fairly quiet. Today things were touristy even, the protesters were still there, but beyond being loud they haven't been threatening. Police presence was still high, and they weren't letting people get near the barricade. But both groups of activists actually had tables where they were handing out information concerning their side of the debate and taking interviews.
As if armed conflict was just a debate.
I know, I know, things were pretty bad on Monday, and there were still signs of the violence to be seen. But it's like everyone has settled down and changed tactics, become more civilized. I think that's a good thing, and it's the only reason I agreed to head down there with Max when she stopped by Candace's after class.
But I think what pisses me off most is that Candace is accepting Sam's blow up, even agreeing with it. She didn't put up much of a protest when Max and I left, though she did warn that Sam wouldn't like it. But that's just it, he can not like it, but he can't prevent us from doing so. We're grown women, and he's neither of our parents, we have a right to our decisions and will take responsibility for our own actions. It's nice that he's concerned about us, but he needs to learn how to handle that concern.
Even Max, who'd be thrilled to think he cared about her, was turned off by his yelling. She chewed him out on the spot for jumping our shit, and Candace told her to leave. It was too much at the moment, and I certainly wasn't going to wait around to get yelled at some more, so I left with Max saying they were in the wrong.
I just don't understand what the issue is. I'd have thought he'd be happy we didn't take Candace with us knowing he's so overprotective of her. And in a way, it's flattering that he's extended that sense of protection to the two of us, but it's overbearing, inappropriate, and wholly uncalled for. He has no right to be ordering us around in any way. And no more right to be ordering Candace around either. Why can't she see that? How can she accept it?
We've talked about it before, and I get that she feels safe with him around. I'm just not sure why, and I still don't see what right that gives him at all. If she didn't want to go, and she mentioned as much, she doesn't have to go. It's her decision, just as ours was to go. Sam has no part in that, so I'm frustrated that she leans on him as her excuse. Even more so that she tries to use the same excuse to say we shouldn't go either.
I hope we can get past this, I hope we can talk later, because we need to. I've come to really like Candace these last few months. Even Sam, when he's not being overprotective, he's a very thoughtful guy, sweet and caring. I love seeing him laugh, and he's got a great smile when he lets it show. But if we're going to have any relationship going forward, he needs to learn some boundaries, and I need to establish them. I know I can't enforce those same boundaries for Candace, she has to do that, but I will maintain that she should. For now though we both need to cool down.
So, moving on. I should record that I did have a dizzy spell this morning while I was trying to take a shower. I managed to ease my way to the floor of the tub before I'd lose my balance. Last thing I need is to be breaking my neck in the bathroom. Still, it made the rest of the day that much harder to deal with. I could probably have handled things better.
I did pick up fliers while down at the tree. I made sure to pick up fliers from both sides so no one'd think I was favoring one side over the other. Doubt they were watching, but I've been acting paranoid anyway thanks to Hal. The flier in favor of ridding us of the demon tree is full of god bothering idiocy. They seem to be comparing this tree to the tree that got Adam and Eve thrown out of Eden, as though it were the tree's fault. Though there was a reference to a fig tree too. I don't know, incoherent as always.
It was the flier opposed to cutting down the tree I was most interested in. And sure enough it was showing information about the tree being a rare species of ironwood that is endangered. The flier invokes US regulations for the protection of endangered species. As a proposal to adjust the intersection to accommodate the tree, they suggest making it a roundabout. I didn't see any suggestions for moving the tree, and I tried asking, but the guy at the table didn't hear me and had already moved his attention on to the next person. I did catch sight of Melia, she was being interviewed by a guy and a cameraman. It didn't look like a news station though, so I'm not sure who was interviewing her. I'm sure she'll take whatever attention she can get, the city still seems to be ignoring her.
While we were out there though, Max asked about Hal. I had been avoiding talking about him, which was easy 'cause we'd gotten sidetracked by the tournament and then Halloween. But Max and I had already been talking about his conspiracy, and leave it to Max to never forget a conspiracy. Or the idea that I have a boyfriend. Our nights out have been fun though, when I'm not stressing over the world as we know it coming to an end. And I kept the conversation on that still unsure how to tell Max about the Illuminati and everything. Though looking back on that, I'm not making it any easier to deny that we're dating.
I did let her know how he'd been put off by me having to miss a night thanks to the tournament, and that I hadn't told him before hand. Max was encouraging in how I'd handle it, but she was sympathetic to things from his point of view. Which again, she was leaning on us as dating regularly. I'm just never going to shake that am I?
Despite my avoidance though, Max remembered his thoughts on the conspiracy as we had been talking about it when first they'd met. I couldn't deny that he and I had been continuing that conversation without flat out lying to her. So I told her that we needed to talk, but that "here" was not the place. It wasn't hard to act paranoid about it, and she let me off with a twinkle in her eye that I have a feeling I may regret later. She and I may need to have a girls night out next week.
It was after visiting the tree when Max and I returned to Candace's and found Sam there. He had picked me up this morning as usual, and hadn't said anything to me about the tree. We chatted peacefully enough on the way over, nothing was amiss. And while I was visiting with Candace before Max had picked me up, we were doing fine. Max got there and we asked if she wanted to join us. She turned us down, which was her right, and warned us that Sam wouldn't like it. So yea, when we got back... I've already gone over it. No need to dwell.
It'll be nice getting back to work tomorrow. Though I just realized as I was looking at the calendar, my birthday's coming up. With everything going on, I'd completely forgotten and didn't ask for the day off. Must be getting old. Oh well, Sunday's are hard enough to get off anyway. Mom and Dad haven't mentioned anything, nor Max. I guess we've all been busy. Will have to try and do something on Wednesday. Maybe Thursday, might not be going to Candace's this week. And if my birthday is here, that means Mom and Dad's anniversary is right around the corner. Will have to keep that in mind.
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