...now what?
For the first time in years, I do not have to go to work today. Or tomorrow. Or any time in the foreseeable future.
I'm going to take a few weeks off before I go back to work, because I haven't done that... ever.
I actually don't even know where to start today. Like, there is a bunch of stuff to be done around the house, but Allen is like, "Fuck that, why don't you stay in your PJs and watch movies all day?" I don't even know how to do that. I don't know how to not do anything all day. I'm already planning to vacuum, mow the lawn, clean up the back yard, do laundry, etc. Maybe make a trip to the farm! Maybe I will make salsa! Maybe I will work out! And scrub the cabinets! And give Rufus a bath! And take care of the car accident stuff! And renew my driver's license! And and and and and......
The world unfurls out in front of me, filled with possibility. So many choices! So little time! I kind of feeling like jumping up in the air and high-fiving myself. I am kind of freaked out by not having a schedule for the next few weeks, but I am also kind of fucking psyched about it.
Good: Our self-destructive friend who went to Mexico for his last hurrah and amazingly survived it unscathed, has finally been diagnosed as schizophrenic, and is finally on good meds and is back in school and receiving disability checks, and is apparently doing quite well. It is sort of a miracle that a man that determined to end his life would not only survive his best attempts, but then recover to the point that he has, and so quickly. It is hard to get too excited, though, as the drugs always seem to work... at first. At least now he is court-mandated to take his meds, and his parents can have him medicated by force if necessary. So, there's that.
Bad: I was in a 9-car pile up on I-95 at the Susquehanna bridge in Cecil County Maryland this weekend, where the 7 cars in front of me all slammed into one another, I stopped and then the guy behind me ran into me. Every single car in front of mine was towed, and half of those people went to the hospital. I have some light whiplash, my car is going to need some body work, and the dude who hit me is going to need a good lawyer, because the last time I got hit, it ruined the resale value of my car from being reported on the CarFax report, so they're going to pay me for that loss up front. Sorry dudes, life sucks, you should not follow people so closely on the interstate.
Ugly: One of Allen's friends has been suffering from brain cancer, and he passed away this morning. We all knew he did not have long, but it never fails to shock you how stunningly fast it all happens. We are grateful that he is finally finished with his surgeries and no longer in pain, but he will be so deeply missed. He was ridiculously creative and brilliant and young and smart and good looking and everything that people are when they are young and die too soon. He is loved, and missed.
Today is my 35th birthday! So far it is pretty awesome. Allen bought me this tight little laptop so that I can get on the intarwebs without borrowing his computer. That dude is awesome to me. I am excited to get married to him. He rules it!
Okay, so by now probably everybody knows that allen gave me this:
We are trying to do it super low-key, totally secular, and low-budget. So far we have had some ideas. We wanted to get married in October, but throwing a party for 100 people is kind of impossible in 2 months, so we moved it to March. so uh,
location: probably in an art gallery downtown
catering: heavy appetizers
flowers: diy, low budget, whatever we can get. I think I just want to do all one color, so maybe all white
cake: no idea
photography: we have a ton of photographer friends so we're going to ask them to help
music: we might try to get a band? but we might just do ipod DJ or get a friend to DJ
ceremony: at the location, friend with internet ministry?
dress: no idea, probably something super casual and not very bridal
invites: my super talented friend andrea is doing some letterpress invites, she is brilliant, so I know they will be awesome. I am actually looking forward to the invites more than anything else. ha ha!
Anyway! I will probably go all bridezilla on your asses soon enough, but that is the general idea. WHEE PARTY!
I just stumbled across the Facebook profile of someone from my high school class. He was easily the most popular and best looking guy.
His status update?
"Finishing the inventory at Jamba."
I feel like I've been on radio silence. It's the new job. I don't have 8 uninterrupted hours of goofing off on the internet anymore, so I tend to have less of an internet footprint. I don't really have a computer at home, either. This doohickey I'm typing on now is Allen's. I try to limit my internet time on it, because it's in the guest-room/studio, AKA "Man Space" so I try to limit spreading my estrogen around in here. The next thing you know, I'll be vacuuming and changing the sheets on the futon. HORRORS!
So, let's see. What's new? Um, the garden is going gangbusters. It's been hot, so my tomatoes are finally ripening, but they have a fair amount of blossom end rot on the first few 'maters, so they're getting chucked over the fence into the neighbor's Swath Of Debris. The peppers are doing great this year: we've been freezing dozens of jalapenos, whole, waiting for Salsa Party 2008. I've also got Serrano peppers and tabasco peppers and some cayenne, oh, and the hungarian wax. It's a good pepper year. The tomatillos are finally setting fruit... they take a while longer to get going, but they add a really delicious sweetness to salsa that is hard to replicate with anything else. The beans are all done, and I need to harvest the last batch and pull the plants and replant more edamame beans, but that'll wait until it's not 100F out.
Smitty the Kitten went home to his new house. Three kids, two boys and a little girl, so that makes, what, like 5 cats/kittens in a row that I've sent home with kids? Kitten Whisperer strikes again. Smitty was a little overwhelmed with all those kids, but I think once he realizes that he hit the Fun Times Jackpot, he'll be rip-roaring around there. He's going to have a blast, and I'm excited for him. He is a super great little kitty, he scored himself a sweet ride with a really awesome family. Go Smitty!
Everything else is about the same. Allen and I are still doing well. He's still in the studio a couple nights a week. tonight's that night, so I'm going to try to clean up the bathroom (where Smitty was staying), and watch Kiss Kiss Bang Bang while eating popsicles in my underpants. You know how I roll. Rufus and Bunny are still kickin' it. Zsazsa's going to miss Smitty, because they were becoming BFFs, but Eva the Dumptruck is glad that tiny motherfucker is gone----Eva can't stand change, and she is on a personal mission to DESTROY ALL KITTENS!
Oh, and we finally saw WANTED. Man, it was awesome. There's this one scene where... well, I won't ruin it for you, but we've got a new phrase in our lexicon, and it's the title of this post.
I hope you are well, friends! If I haven't responded to an email, it's just because, well, I probably haven't had time. I have been picking up the phone and calling people more often. OH, so THAT's what that little ringy box is for in my pocket! It is a TELEPHONE, and you use it to COMMUNICATE with OTHER HUMANS. WILD.
Surf the corpse, dudes.
I drank an entire bottle of prosecco by myself last night while watching a terrible romantic comedy. I texted danielle like 100 times. Sorry for blowing up your phone, D.
I haven't been drunk by myself in a long time. It was kind of awesome. Allen thought I was hilarious when he got home. WOO WASTED!
surprisingly, i feel damn good today. I hope i am not still drunk.
This is one amazing kitten. He is super sweet, right off the bat, which is sort of unheard of in feral kittens. He is just a little lover, and he is so happy to be inside, in his crate, getting lots of food and having clean blankets and clean litter. He is a rad little guy. Cross those fingers that he doesn't have kitty aids or the leukemia, because either of those would absolutely destroy my spirit.
Available for adoption in a month in the Richmond, VA area.
Things that are fucking sweet:
- That dumbass contractor didn't show for the trial, so we won by default. My lawyer made me take the back stairs out of the court room because, "If he shows, we have to go to trial. This way, we win!" I was all, "Stairs it is, dude!" Now he's going to work on the collection part. I took three xanax before the trial, and went to lunch with my friend patrick afterwards. We drank beer, and the minute we got back to my house, we both passed out on the sofa for like 2 hours. TEAM NAP FTW!
- I never, ever, ever have to go back to the plantation. It just hit me yesterday. I am fucking PSYCHED.
- I start my new job today! I have an aeron chair! I made homemade cinnamon rolls! Shit is sweet!
- Do y'all remember a website called The Safeword? Well, the awesome lady who ran that site emailed me today, and it was awesome to hear from her. I'd thought of her recently, and tried unsuccessfully to hunt her down. It's always awesome to hear from old pals. High-five!
All right dudes, PEACE OUT. (As Erin once said to me in the desert, after taking another pair of Tylenol PM at 6 in the morning.)
Today's my last day at my old job. I feel like I'm being freed from the plantation. In fact, I'm going to start referring to my old job as The Plantation. My boss gave this ridiculously insincere card and this gift that obviously came out of her "gift closet." In my exit interview, the woman asked me why I was leaving, and I said, "Well, there just really wasn't any room for career growth here, I tried to stay but I didn't get any of the jobs I interviewed for, so my only real option was to, you know, leave [The Plantation]. So you know, it's been a fun 8 years, but uh, I guess it's time for me to peace out!"
Her eyes bugged out of her head when I said "peace out."
