I know this sounds really random, but I love my grandma. She's pretty much someone I can talk to about anything, although there are some things I won't talk to her about....

We had to brave traffic this afternoon from the South Side to the peninsula, which meant waiting in a 7 mile backup at the tunnel. I have a certain set of CD's I play when she's riding in my car, and to be honest, I kinda like listening to them. Groups like the Bee Gees and Culture Club aren't that bad, and as long as I don't have to listen to anything by Elton John or Madonna, it's all good.

I drove her to my cousin James's apartment in Newport News, so we could clean for him. When we got there, I thought for sure I was going to throw up. The f**king place smells like a dead, rotting dog or something. Bascially it's because he doesn't throw anything away. When I say that, I mean ANYTHING. There were bags from Hardys and Mc Donalds and Wendys and Arbys and Burger King and Taco Bell behind his entertainment center, under his desk, in between his couch and his coffee table and even overflowing on each side of the toilet in his bathroom.

Usually my stepmom cleans up for him, but ever since my dad went into business for himself, she hasn't had the time to do anything for him. So I guess my dad went over there and almost fainted, and I can see why. James never finishes his food, so all of the bags had left over fries, half eaten tacos or burgers, and other crap in them. There were cups that had been sitting so long with soda in them that there was mold on top of the soda, and when we left, it was still gross. I thought I could smell spit or something, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

So after we cleaned and vaccumed his place, my grandma poured bleach down all of his drains and closed all of the windows at his place. As soon as she closed the windows, i felt like gagging all over again. So it looks like we're going to have to rent a carpet shampooer and go back. Since my cousin is basically inept, we have to do it for him, or he'll live in filth. Of course, we're talking about the guy who's too lazy to buy 5 quarts of oil and a fliter so I can change his oil for him. Instead, he'd rather go to the dealership and get it done.

Well anyway, the good thing is that my grandma and I got to spend some time alone. We haven't done it in a while, and I miss it. We had a really good talk about my trouble at home with my dad about Kate, and she told me that she supports me no matter what and her and my grandpa are going to help me do whatever I want to do with my life when I turn 18. Sometimes I forget how I blessed my life really is, but she has this funny way of reminding me just by being who she is.