Yes, yes, I’m still alive.

So I apologize for the lack of blogging lately… I had a lot to sort out, and I’m not sure if I’ve sorted all of it out (OK, I’m sure that I haven’t), but life is what it is, no?

For those who don’t know, I’m back in Oregon. If you’ll recall, Mike and I decided a while back that we wanted to give this relationship a real shot and the only way to do this was to be together. The plan then was to move to SF, but we also knew that if we waited too long, it would be too hard. So, I took an under-the-table typing job, made $1500 and came home. It’s not permanent – we still plan on the move to SF – but he has a few things to sort out first and they have to be done here. So, we’ve moved into an extended stay hotel - oddly enough, right next to the apartment he lived in and right down the street from where I worked when we first met.

I’ve been back for almost two months now. We’ve been very hermit-like, but we’ve had to get to know each other all over again. I mean, we went from a really odd relationship – where he didn’t want a future with anyone, even me – to me living 3200 miles away and realizing we *do* want a future together – to living together. Not exactly how it’s supposed to go. But we’re doing it – and considering him and considering me – I think we’re doing quite well.

I’m not going to lie to anyone and say it’s easy. It’s not easy. We’ve had some knock-down, drag-outs (one of which prompted someone to actually leave the hotel. We only yelled for, like 15 minutes! Sheesh!) but I’m finally comfortable enough and secure enough to say that we’re both in this for the long haul.

There are no guarantees in life. I can’t promise anyone that he and I will be together forever – or that we will be together next Tuesday – but I know that we’ve got two very important things going for us: we both love each other very much and we are both committed to making this work. That’s a pretty solid foundation upon which to start building a future.

Whether I’ll continue this blog or start a new one, I’m not sure. For those here in town, hit me up and see if we can get together. I’m finally ready to start hanging out again – I think. Not sure. I mean, I’m still flipped out about what the hell I’m going to do with my life as I have no fucking clue. So I’ll have some off days – but on my “on” days – I just might be up for lunch.

 

Now Twitterfied.

If you’re really bored, you may follow my Boston antics and adventures on Twitter. I’m @c0ur7n3y (that’s a zero).

http://www.twitter.com/c0ur7n3y

 

There really IS a city outside of my apartment… Who knew?

So… I finally actually went out with another human being in Boston. It only took five months and three days, but who’s counting. Actually, Sonia thinks I’m doing pretty well because she knows exactly three more people in the neighborhood than I do and she’s been here since September (though she was born here, grew up here, and her family lives down the way in Jamaica Plain).

We hopped the train to Coolidge Corner Wine and Spirits in Brookline. My second trip to Brookline this week, actually. I think if I were staying here, I would totally move to Brookline. It’s a fun neighborhood. Anyway, they were having a wine and food tasting – supposedly – and it was free. My favorite price. I should have known better, though, as I left with two new lagers. But they were sampling beer and pizza instead of wine, so I had to buy some of the beer I tasted. It’s not what we were in the mood for, but we adjusted. Because I *still* don’t have a permanent license (the DMV is resending), they almost didn’t let me in, but the guy said “1974 – I believe that.” WTF was THAT supposed to mean? Am I suddenly looking my age? I certainly hope not!!! lol.

They had eight beers to sample. I walked up and said “I’m from beer country – what do you have?” The guy pouring was from Minnesota and I said “Oh, so this is all new to you, huh?” He laughed. The samples were stingy, but there were some good beers. I wish I could remember the name of this one lager that had a banana flavor to it. It wasn’t like a banana slurpee or something, it just had a hint of banana behind the wheat. It was thick like a stout, but lighter in color like a nut brown, and even lighter in flavor. Not too expensive, either. I bought a bottle and drank that at Sonia’s before dinner.

They also had the obligatory Sam Adams selection – the Chocolate Bach was DELICIOUS. Didn’t buy that, but I did buy this citrus ale – Affligem – from Belgium. $8 for 750ml. The only beer I didn’t try was Brooklyn Lager. I dunno – I just don’t feel like I’d be impressed with a beer from Brooklyn. I did try this coffee stout they had – not a fan.

Anyway, we decided to go to Trader Joe’s since it was right across the street. What I thought was funny was that the bottles of Rogue they were selling at the wine shop for $13 were selling for $3 at TJs. Apparently Oregon beers are trendy enough out here for a 300% mark-up – if you don’t know to cross the street and buy it. While at TJ’s I added a little taste of home to my beer selection with a Dead Guy Ale.

We took the train back to Eastie and headed to Angela’s for dinner. It’s an inexpensive fine dining Mexican restaurant – yes, the great thing about Eastie is that you can dine well for very little money because nobody comes here and everyone who lives here is poor. Though somehow it’s not ghetto, just eclectic. Anyway, there was a wait so they took our number and we walked home, hung out and drank our beers, before they called and told us our table was ready (take that Olive Garden with your ridiculous vibrating, flashing coasters – they actually call us when our table is ready!). So we trekked back down the street to eat.

I had heard that they have some of the best guacamole in the universe. We decided to split the small. The reviews were right – that is some of the best damned guac I’ve ever had. They make it right there in the bowl. Very limey. Delicious! Papa, I know you’re reading – your guacamole is still *the* best, IMHO – it’s just a different recipe!

I had a little taco al pastor and some flautas while Sonia, who is a fishitarian, had fried plantains and a cactus salad. I tried cactus for the first time – it was actually pretty good. Had the texture of a mushy pickle. Not something I’m going to run out and stock my cupboard with, but it was good.

Then back to Sonia’s apartment where I met her friend Pete. He was pretty cool – nice guy. They had some stuff to do, so I excused myself and came home.

I spent a liiiiiiiiiittle bit more than I’d planned, but since I haven’t gone out since October and since  I haven’t gone out with another person (besides my trip to Portland) EVER, I figured I deserved it. And the Affligem lager is delicious. It had a cork – like champagne. Pretty nifty.

Anyway, tomorrow – not sure what’s on the agenda for tomorrow. But next Sunday, Sonia and I are doing brunch at Scups on the Harbor – this strange little inexpensive eatery that is actually in one of the marina buildings. That’s right – I’m brunching. I’ve finally arrived.

 

A new side blog…

So in addition to Courtney Goes to Boston, I’ve started a little side blog that probably won’t be of any interest – to anyone, really (lol) but I am doing it anyway. Table for One. Boston. is a blog dedicated to dining solo – or just venturing out on your own – in the Boston area. There’s a reason some people hate (or even fear) dining alone – it’s because you have about a fifty-fifty shot of being treated like a pariah when all you want is a nice, peaceful meal.

 Many people know I actually LIKE doing stuff on my own.  A couple years ago I took a vacation to Vancouver, B.C. by myself because I wanted to. I like to be able to do my own thing – eat where I want, go where I want, and stay however long I want. So while it’s been a little lonely here as I’m just NOW starting to meet people (met two new neighbors today!) , I’m actually fine with going it solo most of the time. So – while I know I’m moving back west this summer sometime, in the meantime, I figured I’d do the solo diner of Boston a favor and if they happen upon my new little blog, they’ll know the best and worst places around to request a table for one.

Any ideas, recommendations, requests (i.e. making it more than just a restaurant review site and how, exactly, I should do that) are encouraged.

Happy weekend, everyone!

 

Another Boston first: A trip to the emergency vet.

As many know, we had our first Boston vet emergency today. Nancy has chronic constipation issues (there’s no pretty way to say that) that are usually well-managed with soft food and medicine. I don’t give her medicine every day because she doesn’t need it every day (didn’t need it every day) and now apparently she does. No big deal, the medicine is practically free. 100 days for $6. Anyway, so today I watched as she suffered. I gave extra medicine. I held up her little tail (she has arthritis in her tail which doesn’t help). I willed her to go…. but that just wasn’t going to happen.

So, with my rent due tomorrow and almost all of my money going to that little bill, I didn’t know what to do. Honestly, I don’t know what people without friends do because the MSPCA said they help people in our situation – they do not. They do not help at all. They said they would bill me the emergency fee and then if something needed to be done, then I’d have to pay for that part. Fair enough – but I knew she’d need an enema. So I drive to Jamaica Plain – not realizing that Huntington actually veers off of Route 9 (I know this now), went all the way to Brookline and had to turn around and come back – had one pissed off cat who had thrown up (hadn’t eaten so it wasn’t like it was bad) and I had no idea what we were going to do when we got there.

So they did say that they would bill me the vet fee and the registration fee ($11 to register my cat – $11? Really? To do what? Type four lines?). Meanwhile I called my vet and asked them to pull my track record with them thinking that might carry some weight – somewhere between 10 and 15 thousand between Sid and Nancy over nine years and I paid ‘em every penny. Sometimes a little slow, but I paid them. Some people buy a Hyundai, I paid to keep my kidney kid (Sid) alive. Oh, don’t worry – I didn’t drag him along for 15 years. He was a perfectly happy, normally functioning cat who had to have fluids every so often and when he would have a kidney crash, we’d go into the hospital, they’d tell me he wasn’t going to make it, I told them he wasn’t done yet – and two days and $3,000 later, I had my perfectly healthy, happy cat back for another year or two. Sid and I had an agreement – he’d let me know when he was done so I wouldn’t put him through something he didn’t want to go through. And when he was done, he let me know, and within an hour he was put down. I’m not one of those crazy cat ladies like whats-her-name on The Office who bathed her cat – with her tongue. I simply take pet ownership very, very, very seriously. It is my job to keep them alive if being alive is a possibility and that life will be healthy and happy. That is my job. And that is why Kiki and Gracie have pet insurance!

So anyway, today that job was Aimee’s. Aims floated me the money so that I could get Nancy back to happy and healthy because Nancy couldn’t wait two weeks for me to get caught up to get sick. She’s so inconsiderate like that. lol. We’re still waiting for the enema to do its job and hopefully by tomorow this will be behind us and we’ll just increase Nancy’s medicine a bit. Public shout-out to Nancy’s Aunt Aimee – don’t know what we would have done without you tonight Aims. Thanks.

Unfortunately, while we were there, they found a heart murmur. Sid had one of those, too – an appearing, disappearing, reappearing heart murmur. In his summer from hell, he threw a blood clot and they thought he had cardiomyopathy. He was only 9 at the time, so we ran the gamut of tests. You never want to see an EKG administered to a cat because it is not done with stickers like for humans, they use clamps on their little elbows and knees – he cried (yowled), and I was bawling. Anyway, they found nothing. Sid never threw another blood clot until the day he died (they think that’s what killed him – that or a stroke) six years later. Put him through that EKG for nothing. I won’t be doing that with Nancy. Even if I had all the money in the world, I wouldn’t do that for her. She’s sixteen and a half, for God’s sake. It could be nothing, it could be the early signs of congestive heart failure or it could be an advanced sign of congestive heart failure. We will cross that bridge when we get to it, but it looks like she’s on her last life. I am still hoping she’ll make the trip back to SF with me… she and Mike love each other so much, I’d hate for them to not get to see each other again. Of course that concern is probably more mine than either of theirs. lol. Gracie is the one who is a Mike addict. If she could crawl through the phone to get to him, she would do it. Hell, I can’t blame her – some days I’d do the same thing! I just… my family, in my mind, is all five of us, and I’m not ready for that to change just yet.

But as long as this poop gets moving, she’s no more or less sick than she was yesterday, so other than making sure she gets her extra medicine and making sure she gets a little more water in here diet, nothing changes. When she’s done, she’ll let me know. I didn’t think I was ready for Sid to go – but after facing his certain death so many times before, I guess I was as prepared as one can ever be and choosing to put him down was a no-brainer. He was in pain, I wanted the pain to stop and I wanted it to stop NOW. That was a painful but very easy decision. I don’t want to make any tough decisions with Nancy unless she helps me make them for her. I do know that we avoid vets like the plague – that keeps Nancy the happiest. So… our goal is to make sure that Nancy never sees another vet again until it’s that time and we hope that vet is on the west coast. But if not, then not.

OK, so it’s 12:30 and there’s a soggy, drugged out cat on a towel where I am supposed to sleep… it’s going to be a long night. But not as long as it could have been…

 

I’m back… :-)

Well, here I am back in Boston. It was 34 in Portland and it’s 28 here but it feels so much colder. Maybe it’s this drafty old house, I dunno.

My trip to Portland was good. I visited a few schools for the tour job with a couple promising conversations. After years in sales, though, we’ll just talk about it when there’s something to talk about! lol. The weather was great, waiting to snow until after I left. It was great to see everyone and to see Stella – though she really doesn’t do much yet – pretty standard for a five-month-old. My goal was that she not scream when she saw me or when I held her and she did not. She grabbed my finger and stared at me a lot. She has a beautiful smile and likes to have her feet tickled. She’s perfect!

The main reason I went home – oh, besides my license which I now have (I exist! I exist! lol) – was of course to see Mike. Four and a half months is a long time. I think both of us wanted a “perfect” week, and it is safe to say that we didn’t have one. lol. But it’s not a bad thing. He and I are very strong-willed, strong-minded, fiercely independent people who do not like answering to anyone else – and frankly we’re not used to it since both  of us have been divorced for a very long time. On top of that, we’ve spent the last few months trying to be supportive of each other – which means that we hadn’t had a knock-down, drag out since a few weeks before I left.

We fought more than I think either of us would have liked this weekend (at least I hope he didn’t like fighting that much, lol), but based on his past marriage and mine – where they never fought (and never really talked about anything that needed to be talked about) and where David and I bickered all of the time without any resolution to anything often escalating into screaming matches with no resolution to anything and the same offenses being committed over and over again (mostly on his part but also on mine – I’m no innocent), I’m glad that Mike and I fight the way we do.

I know it sounds weird but when something bothers one of us, if talking doesn’t work – things get heated, we fight (we’re both very good fighters which isn’t always pretty) but then we figure out what the hell we’re fighting about, calm down, talk about it and it’s done. Sometimes this takes a few minutes, sometimes a lot longer and maybe he’s done talking about it before I am or vice versa, but eventuallly we reach the finish line and something has actually been accomplished. The best part is that it doesn’t ruin the rest of the day or night or whatever because once it’s done, it’s done, and within five minutes we’re laughing and joking again and it’s actually genuine – nobody’s putting on a front for anyone else.

I look at the relationships that I have been exposed to in my life – what appears to make them work, or what appeared to contribute to their failure. I look at people I know who got married so young that they didn’t really know what they were in for and are still married nearly 20 years later. I look at people who met and got married quickly and, again, years later – happily married. Relationships that started out without a chance in hell – still married. People who do everything by the book – at least in my experience – not so much married anymore.

I think the common thread in the successful ones is that they have consciously agreed to be partners. Not bf/gf, husband/wife, whatever – partners – going forward knowing it’s not going to be easy, knowing there’s a really good chance that it won’t work out without some hard work, and knowing how to pick your battles – knowing that every solid relationship has to have balance in compromise or it’ll capsize.

Mike and I had a few rounds this weekend that were hard to find balance – we both stopped, figured out what was wrong, talked about it, acknowledged each other’s feelings on the subject, found our common ground, and let it go. I’m very proud of us as we’re both so damned stubborn that it shouldn’t work like that, but I think we get that critical point – without being able to compromise and work through the bullshit, we may as well just walk away now. I think we learned a lot more about each other in the last six days than we did in a six week period of time before.

So, after all is said and done, we actually had a great weekend. We worked through a lot of things that have been frustrating both of us for the past few months and we cemented our future plans…

A couple months ago we were having – not really an argument – but a very difficult conversation. He told me he really doesn’t want to move here (he has many valid reasons- the most important of which is that his daughter is now back in Oregon). I told him that I didn’t want to move back. I asked him if that meant we should break up and he said no and then we were like “ooooooooooh kay, how do we do this, then?” The conversation that night ended without a resolution to anything – I hate when that happens, but it left me thinking about how the hell we were going to do this. Then I remembered that relationships are about compromise. When I made plans to move out here our relationship wasn’t even a “relationship” – though I cared about him, he wasn’t really a factor in any plans I made. By the time I moved here, we were in a relationship but this move had been part of the package as we moved forward – so while he was a factor in my decision, I had his full support in moving and we were going to part friends. Now, four and a half months after we’ve decided that we do love each other and we do want to be together – and that he ain’t movin’ to Boston and I ain’t movin’ back to Portland.

I had a list of cities in which I would live. Boston was number one, Vancouver B.C. was number two (and would probably be Mike’s first choice – but moving internationally right now isn’t a very good idea, nor is it easy to do) – San Francisco (or the greater bay area) was number three. So the next day I told him I wanted to run something by him – and I could tell he was ready to say no to whatever my suggestion was. I asked him how San Francisco sounded – and he stopped and said “Oh… oh, I can do San Francisco.” And then he promised me that I will not die in an earthquake.

So, this summer, I will be packing up the kids and heading west – again. Aside from SF being someplace we can both agree on and aside from it being within driving distance of home (his ex can meet us half way with his daughter and it will just make life so much easier) – the days are a little longer which will help us both with some seasonal issues, and it is my favorite temperature all year long – 65 and foggy. I don’t dislike cold – it really doesn’t bother me most of the time as even when it snows it’s still pretty dry out here. But I had no idea until I moved here that I have an arthritic knee! I feel like an old woman! If I sit for any length of time, my left knee gets so stiff that I hobble for a few minutes before I can walk normally. I’m only 34! lol. I can still walk for miles no problem, but God forbid I sit for five minutes cuz I’ll be dyin’ when I try to un-sit. This week in Oregon was great because I had no arthritis pain whatsoever.

Anyway, it is just about as expensive to live there as here, but even though I would love to live in SF  proper, I really have no problems living anywhere within the greater bay area – though I’d prefer not to live in Oakland and the closer to the water the better. But housing costs are the killer, so neither of us have our hearts set on a SF address. Both of us have transferable jobs – there are NAPAs everywhere and there are colleges everywhere. His job is one of those made more secure by recession because when people stop buying new cars – they fix their old ones! With sixteen years working for the same company – it’s just a matter of finding one with room for him. And, though slow, moving in June/July works really well with the academic year so I can be working in both places at once and it should work out pretty well. Law school is still on the agenda for me – and for him, he goes back and forth on opening a restaurant, but I think it’s still very much something he’d like to do someday. So plans haven’t changed – they’ve just moved.

In the meantime I’m going to soak up as much Boston as humanly possible and get to enjoy a New England spring and early summer – then in a few months, we’ll both finally get a real fresh start (that isn’t a false start). We get to start laying down some roots and build a future. Believe me, there was absolutely no fighting about any of that!

 

Courtney goes to Portland

I’m heading west in about 10 hours.  I cannot wait to see plain old wet pavement instead of piles of snow! But I have compiled a list of things that will take some temporary adjusting as I return to my native land for a few days.

• Do not even try to pump your own gas. Get back in the car, sit down, and let the nice man (or woman) pump your gas for you.
• Your horn is for alerting someone to an impending accident - nothing else.
• Do not make up your own lanes as they suit you – the painted lines on the roads are there for a reason, please pay attention to them.
• Amber lights are to remind you to stop, not to speed up. And in some municipalities, failing to do so will get you a ticket.
• The price on that non-food item is actually the price – no need to fumble for change to cover the nickel on your $.99 cup of coffee.
• Who are you kidding? Coffee doesn’t cost $.99 here. Forget the change – get out the $5.
• Beer – everywhere you’d like it to be, including grocery and convenience stores – and available for purchase 2o hours a day!
• Layers – dress in layers – you will need to vary them throughout the day. Unlike in Mass where you need all of your layers of clothes all the time because it’s just that freakin’ cold.
• Your health insurance  (MassHealth) is no good here - don’t get sick or hurt yourself.
• Trader Joe’s will cost exactly the same and the employees will be equally as happy to serve you.
• One word: Burgerville – because that really is the last one for another 24,500 miles – they’re not kidding!
• There are no Dunkin’ Donuts, so don’t even ask. And if there were, the coffee would be old and nasty because nobody goes there.
• No U-turns ever – for any reason.
• The only places that deliver are pizza places and the occasional chinese place – if you’re craving mexican food, you’re going to have to go get it yourself.
• Your bank is here – bank away!
• The freeways are actually free – you don’t have to pay anything to get from one side of town to another, to cross a bridge, to go through a tunnel (the tunnel), or to simply go up an exit. You do not need to Google map toll-free directons to someplace you already know how to get to.
• People stop at red lights. Pay attention.
• Due to the change in humidity, your hair will likely double in volume in a matter of minutes after arriving. Be prepared to have a new ’do.
• Your boyfriend and all of your friends are here - relax, have a good time, and enjoy being home for a few days!

See everyone soon!

 

I can’t wait to come home…

I mean, I can in the sense that I can wait forever if need be to get on a plane, but other than the eight hours of torture both there and back – I can’t wait.

While I do have some business to do and some things to take care of, and friends to see whom I have missed – and a beautiful almost five-month-old baby to see!!!! I want to see *my* baby. Four and a half months it’s been since I’ve seen my boyfriend’s face and I miss it.

The one thing I’m looking forward to most is not talking to him. We have done nothing but talk for four months. Sometimes for 30 seconds at a time, some times for two hours – but that’s all we’ve got. Not to say that this kind of distance isn’t healthy for a relationship to some extent. I think it really helps cement how you feel about someone and for us it has helped us decide that we need to figure out our future as he is there and I am here and that’s not really going to work long term – more on that after my trip.

But for all of the emotional things that both of us have gone through over the past four months – I can’t wait to just stare at Mike and not say a damned thing.

For those with whom I’ve had some “offline” conversations, you know that this road has been a rocky one. But the one thing that hasn’t changed at all is how much I love him. I take that back – it has changed – I love him more now than I did when I left. Not part of the plan, but love never is. He and I both have some demons to battle, and the key is that both of us are aware of them and are helping each other work through them whenever we can. Nothing worth it is easy, as they say.

I do dread getting on that damned plane though. I was able to procure some xanax for the trip courtesy of Mass Health. So that will help. Not going to help keep the plane aloft, but it will help keep me from freaking out as I plummet to my death. I’m just hoping to sleep.

Anyway, just need to get through the next few days and I will be on my way home. Home to my friends, home to my perfect little niece, and last but absolutely not least, home to my boyfriend.

I can’t wait.

 

A little bit of Boston (and details on my trip home in a couple weeks).

I finally went out and did a little Boston today. Not a lot, because I was afraid I was going to spend money I didn’t need to be spending if I stayed out.

As is every time I venture out, I wind up having an adventure that usually involves me lost and frustrated. I had heard Roommate Mike tell me repeatedly that the T-stop is just down that way a a few blocks. I Googled it and, sure enough, just a few blocks that way (though Google said there would be a right turn in there somewhere). So off I go… that way. Well I went as far as I could that way and didn’t see the station, so I turned right and walked. And walked. And walked and didn’t see anything but a sign that said “MBTA Airport Station” but no building, no arrows, no nothing.

One thing I have discovered about East Boston is that no matter what direction I am walking, I WILL be walking into the wind and it WILL be bitterly cold. I wandered around for a while, freezing to the bone, eyes watering, nose running, and I just decided to walk to the next stop, the location of which I had a much better notion. Found it. Then I realized that I hadn’t really decided where I was going, though I did bring a tote in case I came home with more stuff than I started out with.

I had never actually “done” Haymarket, even though I’d been through it before, so I decided that I was going to go buy some produce. A two stops and a transfer later, there I was. It’s much smaller in winter than it is in late fall (and probably summer) but the deals are still to be had. I had no cash, so I wandered into the closest convenience store where, while waiting for the ATM machine, I found a pair of leather gloves for $7. So I bought them – only to lose one of them less than ten minutes later. I had reached into my pocket for some cash because I was buying some asparagus for $1 a bunch and I couldn’t feel my money, so I had to take my glove off. Two minutes later I realized it was gone. I had to laugh at myself because I knew there was a reason I can’t have things like gloves. Or sunglasses. Though once I had to pay money for prescription sunglasses, I stopped losing them. I wonder if they make prescription gloves…

Anyway, I turned back, and there was my glove, politely placed on top of this archaic thing that looked remarkably like a phone booth. I’m glad it was good for something! In my Haymarket adventure, I bought a pair of gloves, a bunch of bananas, asparagus, grapes, plums, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and two 5-packs of garlic for $15. Now if none of that has gone bad by morning, I will consider it a success. Haymarket is kind of a crap shoot, but I think the fact that it’s like a refrigerator outside (or freezer) I probably have a better chance of my produce lasting a few days. It all looked quite good when I bought it.

Then I hopped back on the train and headed to Downtown Crossing. Newbury Street is where people with money shop – Downtown Crossing is where everyone else shops. I wandered around, not really knowing where I was or where I was going, and I found a mall with a food court. I was STARVING, so I went in. Usual mall fare, but with a little bit more of an international variety. I went to the greek food place and got a falafel wrap which was delicious and didn’t make me ill like most of those places do. Which is always nice. Then I wandered out again and down the street only to find the corner of Glory be and Hallelujah – no, not churches – DSW, Payless, Marshalls, and TJ Maxx all right there. You can see why I had to cut the trip short.

I didn’t even stop in Payless or DSW as I know that if I walk in, I will be walking out with shoes whether I need them or not. Which is ironic, because after a brief trip through Marshalls (which had a shoe super center inside of it), I wound up at TJ Maxx, looking over a collection of horribly ugly shoes when I found them. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen – high-heeled patent sneakers. And not with a rubber chunk heel that’s about 2″ – no, these are on a 4″ wedge. I was about to flip out because they didn’t have my size – but luckily they run big and I now own them. I wish they weren’t brown, but since they’re totally casual, it doesn’t really matter anyway. They are absolutely beautiful – so beautiful that I sent a picture to Victoria, my shoe buddy in Portland, who was as awestruck by their beauty as I was.

So, yeah, I knew I had to get the hell out of there or I was going to spend money (though all total I only spent $41 including train fare for shoes, socks, 20 lbs of fruit, and leather gloves – I think I did alright). On my way back, I decided to get off the train at the stop I was trying to find earlier – come to find out it really IS just a few blocks that way, across a park, in a giant, glass, unmarked building. Not where the MBTA said it was. Not where Google maps said it was. It’s in a park, basically. No signage. Nada. As frustrated as I was at the time, it really is quite conveniently located so now that I know where it is, I won’t complain. Too much.

Tomorrow, new friend Neighbor Sonia (everyone gets proper titles now) is coming over for dinner. This is my first social anything, really, since the debate party in Cambridge. Yes, I said debate party and I realize the inauguration was Tuesday – this is why I need to be social! lol. Though in my defense, it was the final debate. More on that after the fact. Now that I have a little money and some time, there should be more socializing going on. Definitely looking forward to that.

Everyone in P-town, I will be home from the 4th through the 9th. I have a very tight schedule, so I figured Sunday afternoon while the boyfriend is at work would be a good time to get together – like from 1-4:30. A little open house if you will. Location, to be determined, but I’ll keep everyone updated as soon as I figure it out. I’m guessing the usual like The Greek or Maguff’s, but we’ll see.

I’ll keep everyone posted. Have a great night, everyone!

 

And I thought *I* was a hypersomniac.

OK, seriously – my roommate – I have been up since 9:30, it is now 12:30 AM the next day and he has NOT STIRRED. He has not peed, he has not eaten, he has not sneezed (that I’ve heard). Not judging, by any means, as I battle hypersomnia all the time – it’s more that I’m worried.

I’ve asked him about depression and he says he suffers and it’s worse during the winter. He just got done with winter break and he’s back to school, but it seems he’s only got one class Tues/Thurs sometime between 4 and 7. The rest of the time – for the most part – he sleeps. Some people with depression get the insomnia, but the rest of us get the hypersomnia meaning we sleeep way too much. If I haven’t noticed any other depression symptoms, when I realize I have slept for fourteen hours (and usually want to sleep more), that’s usually my first clue that something is terribly, terribly wrong.

I was going to ask him (pay him or do the dishes for a month or something) to tend the felines when I’m gone, but Nancy needs to be fed at least twice a day – she’d be eating plastic and paper grocery bags by now (she’s not an environmentalist, apparently) and then throwing them up which is her way of saying “Feed me now, you lazy, otherwise useless human.” She’s also getting old – I mean she’s getting to the point that you can tell she’s old – she’s sleeping REALLY soundly and getting confused sometimes. Hey maybe she’ll just sleep through when she is supposed to eat…. ha, highly unlikely. I’m sure if she were scratching at the door, though, he’d get up to feed her. He actually seems like the kind of depressive who is OK with the sleeping and can get up, do something he needs to do (class, store, whatever) then go back to sleep no problem.

Anyway, at least they’re all nocturnal (the cats and the roommate) though if that’s the case, roommate should have stirred by now. You’d think.  Keep in mind that he went to sleep sometime before I started waking up at 9…. So at least 15 hours.

At what point to I knock on the door to make sure he’s still alive?