Two good things happened today, and two not-so-good things happened as well.

The good thing was that I hit 3 instants in a row even though I forgot to bring the bamboos in here. They’re nothing special, though. Just a disc case, a PSP movie we don’t have a PSP PlayStation to play on, and a $20 Office Max gift card. The gift card would be nice to get, but I don’t care about the case or movie.

The other good thing is that although he’s only up $7, he bet on 9 races and two scratched and the other 6 all won. He would’ve won all but one had he been here to change his bets on the two that scratched. We’re still a long way from being able to bet big, but I’d rather the slow way than no way.

The bamboo’s energy seems to linger a day or two after they’re moved away since Tom didn’t start doing bad the instant I moved them out of his room, and I won the instants today. But they do start with their wonderful influence the instant you bring them back! Tomorrow I’ve got to remember to bring them in here before I hit the dailies. I still don’t see us ever getting rich, but if I can turn CDs and T-shirts into bigger wins, and if he can gain a few bucks a day rather than lose a few a day, then that’s certainly better than nothing.

The first bad thing is that they made him work overtime, and you know how much he hates his job. We walked to the store and got some of the usual things, as well as this caramel-flavored Pepsi that just came out. It’s pretty good.

The second bad thing is that Randy’s gone. Someone else delivered today and I asked if it was Randy’s day off and the guy said he was gone. I said that was too bad and the guy said that while a lot of people liked him on this route, he’s gone to another route. Also, he didn’t know who the new regular would be, but that someone would bid on it. Having once worked at the post office, along with his brother David, Tom explained to me that he probably didn’t know he was switching routes until today, which would explain why Randy never mentioned it. I’d think he’d have said something about it if he knew it was coming. Tom said he probably bid on an easier route that wasn’t so hilly, but that they don’t post the new route openings until they’re actually available, and of course, those who have been at the PO longer get first dibs. I wonder why he’d have bid on this route in the first place. Maybe they begged and pleaded with him to take it. I just hope whoever the new person is doesn’t fuck up before we leave.

It’s a real bummer. All the good people leave! The only difference between the 3 people that will always stand out in my mind when I think of Oregon (there’s been 1 for each year spent here) is that Jane liked me, I liked Liz, and Randy was a way cool friend. They’ll definitely be the top 3 highlights of Oregon. The druggie waitress falling all over me, the hot-looking cashier I wished would fall over me, and the jolly old mailman.