A Step at a Time

My girlfriend is moving in with me!

I can't say this is a drastic change since she practically lived here already but it does tend to put me in a different head space. My relationship is progressing and I feel good about that.

I was looking at my sweet one yesterday and thinking yet again, "how did I ever get this lucky?" I may never know but I hope always to be aware of it.

I'm starting to look differently at the clutter I've accumulated in my space and really try to decide what I need and what I can lose without missing or mourning the loss. It is also a good opportunity to find better ways of organizing what I do want to keep.

Step-stools. I think I need more step-stools. I have a good bit of space on top shelves but they are not very accessible for everyday use. I also really wish more of my shelving pulled out or rotated. Looks like a trip to Ikea may be in order...

It is strange to think of myself as holding on to things simply out of a sense of duty or habit or loyalty to the givers. I look at various objects around my house and remember, 'My mother gave me that, or my ex wife bought that.' Somehow I feel if I throw it away or sell it or donate it they will know and be hurt. Silly I know. Kind of like holding on to anger because we feel it actually punishes the object of our ire. It doesn't of course. It punishes us. Maybe guilt is punishing me also.

This week I vow to look at what I have accumulated and decide if it really provides me with utility, comfort or joy. If not, it needs to live with someone else, or decompose somewhere.

Wish me luck. I can't look into the future living with all these ghosts. How appropriate that I choose to exorcise them on Halloween.

And the winner is...

Well I did say I was prepared for more weird news this week but I wasn't expecting it to be Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Wow. Not sure what to think of that, but congrats!

Strange Days Indeed...

Have you ever had the experience of starting out a week thinking, hmm- that's a bit unusual, then having strange, uncharacteristic things happen for several days, making your week go from mildly unusual to downright freaky? It seems this is my week.

Oddball #1: It started by going to a very nice house concert last weekend and running into the Wicked Witch of the East, (who was mentioned in my last entry). To make things as miserable as possible, WWotE ended up at one point sitting next to me during the music so close that I could have reached out and whacked her in the head if I had stretched out my arms. Luckily I'm not violent so her head is just fine. Still though- big bleah to keep running into her. Now that she's single and out on the prowl I never know where she will turn up. Hopefully not at the 'Raise the Walls for Equality' Habitat for Humanity build on Saturday or the Kings N Things Hootenanny that night. I'm skeeved enough for the week.

Oddball #2: I am in the process of arranging for my friend A to accompany my old nemesis Mr. Darcy to a fancy dance on Sunday. I think I have safely gotten past the nemesis stage with Mr. Darcy and it is a nice thing to get texts with updates from her bout with the flu or social plans instead of the deafening silence I felt was the best option for 6 months or so. It seems we are both in better places to contemplate a friendship these days.

Oddball #3: Yesterday I got a phone call from my old roomie R. She burst out crying and apologized for, in her words, 'being an asshole to me'. I was unsure what to say so I just said it was ok and that we should get together soon and hang out. I'm having her over for dinner on Sunday. She told me that she broke up with her g/f and had been going through a lot emotionally and wanted to say she was sorry for all the things she did that were disrespectful to me. I hung up the phone and thought- wow that was really weird.

Oddball #4: I got a phone call a couple hours later from my dad. He has been diagnosed with Macular Degeneration and in his words- 'is going blind'. Wow. That's certainly sad-- especially for a man who gets so much pleasure from reading and watching movies. He said some vitamins called I-caps can slow the progression and I'm on tap to get him some for Christmas. Anyway, it was a nice conversation and this adds to the litany of secrets I'm not supposed to share with the rest of the family for fear of 'worrying them too much'.

Oddball #5: I got a Facebook Friend request from my ex fiance K today. Another person I hadn't talked to in ages contacting me out of the blue. I accepted her request and found that she got married in Iowa in September to a woman I've never seen or heard of before and is now living in Canada. Wha? Wow- go without chatting with someone for a few months and things can really change!

So- what's next? My British ex calls? I win a sweepstakes? Whatever it is I feel on edge and will be on the lookout. It's that kind of week...

What she said!

http://dorothysurrenders.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-weekend-contemplation.html

I don't usually add other bloggers to my blog posts but Dorothy Snarker is one of my faves. She speaks in this entry what I have been feeling since this whole thing popped up again and there is no reason for me to echo her eloquence when she does such a wonderful job of conveying it herself. Do follow the link. Do read this- and other entries. Most of her blog is about entertainment figures but she does it in an empowering and delightful way. I'm a big fan.

Happy weekend all.