when doves cry

today i poked holes in the snow. that's how bored i was. i was standing on the deck trying to help my dad figure out some water-mover-thingie while he was trying to get it to work. i took the broom we keep on the deck and turned it upside down and poked holes into the small amount of snow left on the deck. BOR-ING.

i spent part of the day looking for jobs online. i've done this every day for over a week. i can't find anything that interests me and seems to fit my qualifications. i'm either over-qualified (analyst) or not qualified enough (senior management). i need something right in between and in a city i want to live. but there are a few catches:
1) i'm traveling for pretty much all of may. not that i would even find a job that fast, but i hate to apply for a job and then not be able to interview it, or even worse, not be able to accept (OF COURSE they would want me right away - not) because i was traveling for a month.
2) i don't want to waste human resources' time looking at my resume if i'm not qualified
3) i don't want to take a job for which i am overqualified - i can't imagine the salary would be enough to facilitate my lavish lifestyle (sarcasm intended)
4) there is no four. except to say i'm almost too bored to look for jobs.

i've spent the past week planning a birthday party for my grandma, then half-entertaining my parents friends in town for the eagles concert, then nursing my sick brother. let's just say i was not born to be a nurse.

apparently my brother called last saturday night and told my mom he wasn't feeling well. she's a nurse, so she tries to help him from 300 miles away. the next day, he calls back - wait. no, death called in the voice of my brother. he could hardly talk, we couldn't understand him and he was in a lot of pain. he called someone to take him to the walk-in clinic where they force him to wear a mask and tell him he has influenza A. he can't go to school for a week and they gave him hydrocodone for the pain (it's a virus, so obviously nothing can cure it). my mom starts freaking out - she has a soft spot for sick kids - and is really worried about him. she starts thinking she needs to go to bismarck and take care of him. he lives in the dorms, so it's clearly an uncomfortable situation. my parents friends are still in town because the concert was that night. eagles tickets are not cheap and my mom had to work the next day, so she was conflicted. of course, i volunteer to go take care of him - get a hotel room so he would be more comfortable (at 6'5" he hardly fits into the dorm beds) and nurse him back to health. we realize that since he can't go to school, i could just go to bismarck and drive him back the next day. within an hour i have packed, reserved a room, filled the car with gas and am off. i text my little brother to tell him i'm coming and he doesn't respond. he's passed out.

about three hours later, i arrive in bismarck and make my way to the college. i call player, that's my new nickname for him - now my brothers are player and homie - and ask for directions. pretty much i'm a genius in understanding sick-speak and i figure out where he is. he can hardly stand up. he came to the door to let me in and then was so worn out by standing there for three minutes, that he had to go back to bed to rest. a half hour later, i've grabbed his books and two loads of dirty laundry and we head for the hotel.

we stop for mcdonald's which he doesnt' eat right away. within minutes of getting into the hotel room, he's passed out again. i amuse myself for the night, randomly checking up on him, giving him seven up and drugs and taking his temperature. he started to feel better and ate his dinner. then he passed out for the night. the next day he felt a little better, but not much. we waited until it was check-out time and then got on the road back to fargo. as soon as we walk in the door at home, everyone forgets about me - "ohh, eric! how are you??" i knew i shouldn't have brought him back! i get NO ATTENTION when he's here. un-zaz.

so that's the story. sick brother has pretty much melded into the couch watching tv, sleeping, coughing, throwing up, sweating, and every now and then asking for seven up. i think i'd be a really good nurse if it just meant helping others pop pills. or just popping them myself. i could go for some hydrocodone right now. so usually when player is in town we hang out and do things, but 1) i don't really want to go near him and 2) he can hardly think straight he's been so sick, that i have been doubly bored this week. i even offered him $20 AN HOUR to play stratego with me. but he refused! that's like the easiest and most fun 30 bucks anyone could make ever. ALL i want is someone to play stratego with me. that's all i ask for.