Ginny B

My days at work were divided between installing computer applications and setting up systems. I created a mock inventory to enter to ensure that all of the information was acceptable to the higher ups. Everyone was thrilled about the many reports I could create from the database.

So went my summer break: I woke up, went to work, came back to the fraternity house, ate, watched TV, and went to bed. On the weekends, I spent a lot of time alone. The guys, who spent the summer in the fraternity home, partied the entire time. Some evenings, their drinking and carousing kept me awake until 2 AM. The next morning, I would be in no condition to go to work. That gave me an additional incentive to find an apartment.

I didn’t find an apartment until three weeks before my new school’s semester began. This one was a mile from my former college and 16 miles from where I planned to attend graduate school. It took 30 minutes to get to the new campus. I thought it was a win-win situation. If I wanted, I could go to my former school for a party and a Saturday afternoon football game. What I enjoyed best was that it was quiet, inexpensive, and clean. The flat was in a quad-unit structure constructed in the 1930s, with two apartments upstairs and two downstairs. The finest feature was the garage, where I could park my automobile. I could study without distraction.

That summer, I started running to stay in shape. After all, I didn’t want to lose the toned figure I’d worked so hard to develop. It was hot and humid, so I ran much of the time shirtless. I was amused by the women who stared at me as I ran by. The worst offenders were mothers pushing their infants in strollers. They drooled, which boosted my ego. Although some of the comments thrown at me made my ears burn from embarrassment.

Now, if only I could find a lady friend that looked like my last one and didn’t have rage or jealousy issues.