Better late than never, I suppose

I was offline most of today, so I couldn't say this until now.

Merry Christmas, my friends.
I hope today was a good one for you.

Kinda/sorta 2008 meme in review

I borrowed this from my dear friend Charlotte's Facebook page.
Decided this was better in the blog here than over there...

Did you get a boyfriend or girlfriend?
I got all I could ever wish for in the woman I love.

Did you make a new friend?
One or two... ;)

Did you get into a physical fight with anyone?
I'm a lover, not a fighter.

Did you go to a funeral or wedding?
Both, actually.

Get so drunk that you passed out?
I don't drink, therefore, I don't get drunk. I did get so exhausted I sounded like I was drunk, however.

Lost your voice?
Much to a few's regret, no.

Had someone tell you that they liked/loved you?
Every day.

How has '08 been so far?
A year of major changes in my life.

How old do you want to be when you die?
I'm too busy living and enjoying my life right now to think about that.

How do you feel about love songs?
They're fine in their place. I've been known to sing a few of them in my time.

Who was the last person to call you?
Jessica called me ten minutes after I dropped her mom off at work, asking if she was still with me.

Have you ever talked on the phone in the shower/bathtub?
Neither, but I was always good at catching Prosey in the bath (Don't tell Rene!)

Where's the person you miss most?
Next question.

Do you just want to yell in someones face right now?
Nope.

Was today a good day?
It'll be better when I can go pick Julie after work.

Whats wrong right now?
My head is itchy. Oh, that whole "no job" thing as well.

What are your plans for this weekend?
Spend time with Julie when she doesn't have to work.

Are you dating the last person you kissed?
I went so far as to ask her to marry me. ;)

Do you still play in the snow?
Does shoveling Julie's driveway and sidewalk count?

Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby?
Only my angel.

Is there someone that you believe you will always be attracted to?
There is someone whom I will always care for as a friend, but nothing more than that.

Would you forgive a cheater?
Define "cheater".

Are you mean?
I believe we can all be mean in our own way, if we need to be, or when we choose to be.

Whos the first person in your contacts list in your phone?
Aw, damn. My phone's all the way at the other end of the table. I am not getting up to get it just to check. Probably something stupid like "*now*" or some shit like that...

Does it matter when your friends bring up your past mistakes?
Nope, 'cause I'd do the same for them!

Do you sing obnoxiously in the car?
Heh. You were obviously listening to me singing "Waterloo", weren't you?

When was the last time you stayed up all night on the phone?
April 13-14, 2008, and it wasn't on the phone, it was an IM chat with a certain someone...

Do you curse a lot?
Fuckin' A! Hell Yeah, you sonofabitch!

Would you go in public looking like you do right now?
Hmm...nah. I'd be too cold. (I leave the details of how I look to your imagination, dear reader. Please don't puke over the thought.)

What are you listening to?
Sirius/XM Satellite Radio. Channel 35, Holly. Jim Brickman's Christmas Is, to be specific.

Where did you begin 2008?
Jonesboro, AR, with a dear friend (whom I fear I've lost).

What was your status by Valentines Day?
Single, content to be alone for the rest of my life. (HA!)

Were you in school anytime this year?
Funny thing is, I worked for a school for part of this year...

Did you have to go to the hospital?
For myself? Thank God, no. No work means no insurance.
I went there for The Kid, however.

Did you have any encounters with the police?
Only counting the number of state troopers on the Ohio Turnpike on my numerous trips to DeKalb.

Where did you go on vacation?
One should have a job to consider it a true "vacation", but I like the weekend getaways Julie and I had this year, to Toledo and to Lake Geneva.

Did you know anybody who got married?
Yeppers.

Did you know anybody who passed away?
Yes, God rest their souls.

Did you move anywhere?
BWAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH! Oh, that was funny.
If you don't know the answer, I don't know what fuckin' blog you've been reading...

What concerts/shows did you go to?
Well, we saw the Madrigals this past weekend.

Describe your birthday:
Spent it with the woman I love.

What is the one thing you thought you would not do, but did, in 2008?
Get fired. Fall in love. Leave Pittsburgh.

What have been your favorite moments?
Holding Julie.

Any new additions to your family?
Yeah, I kinda joined one...

What was your best month?
Stick with the one that was the worst. March. Since then, they've all been better.

Made new friends?
Didn't you already ask me that? What? Are you getting senile or deaf?

Other than home, where did you spend most of your time?
DeKalb, Illinois.

Have you lost any friends this year?
Yeah. Lost one good one, and I understand why.

Change your hairstyle?
No, but for the first time in nearly 25 years, someone else cut it...

Have any car accidents?
Thank God, no, and let's hope it stays that way.

How old did/do you turn this year?
41

Do you have a New Years resolution?
Find a job, love Julie with all my heart, and not fail.

Do anything embarrassing?
Feh. This is ME, remember? When haven't I done something that's not embarrassing...

Buy anything new from eBay?
eBay is eVil. I avoid it like the plague. Now, if you asked me about Amazon, Newegg, Fry's...we can talk.

Get married or divorced?
Got engaged. Marriage will come in 2011.

Get arrested?
Nope, but I've got another 8 days to go this year. Let's see if I can make it to 2009 safely.

Did you get sick this year?
A mild bug here or there. Nothing major.

Are you happy to see 2008 go?
On one hand, yeah. Losing my job for such a stupid reason still kinda hangs heavy in the back of my mind. But if I hadn't, I'd never have met Julie or started living my life for me. I'll just say "it is what it is" and leave it at that.

Been naughty or nice?
Yes.

What are you looking forward to most in 2009?
Curtis' birth, for now. After that...let's see what happens. ;)

Dean Martin sure ain't kidding

Baby, it's fucking cold outside.

The high today in DeKalb is -4. That's MINUS FOUR DEGREES, and I don't mean Celsius. Oh, and lest I forget, there's a Blizzard Warning, a Wind Chill Warning, and a Winter Weather Advisory. They're saying the wind chills, later tonight, will make it feel like 20 to 30 degrees below zero.

So we sent out for pizza delivery.

I can attest that it's cold out there today. I spent the night with Julie after seeing the DeKalb Madrigals concert. It was a nice experience...I rather liked it. Presented by the high school and held NIU, they're high school students who sing like angels. A great Christmas pageant concert...for the price of admission, you get dinner and a show.

Ah, but there was a twist with the dinner.

Julie and I got food poisoning.

They served bread pudding as a dessert, but it was sitting out on the table when we got there. Jessica had some and got a little sick from it, and Hailey and Brad didn't have any, so they were fine. Julie and I pretty much finished ours (I love a good bread pudding), and we got the worst of it.

Mind you, I've had food poisoning a few times, so I know how to deal with it and treat it. Julie's never had it before, so she let it go all night until it got to the point she felt her stomach was being used like a football, so I had to go back over to my place to get something to settle her upset tummy.

I got the chance to take care of my ladylove today. I think I did pretty good. Gotta feel sorry for whoever answers the phone at the high school tomorrow, though. I think there's gonna be some pissed off people calling in.

After letting her rest for the morning, we started making Christmas cookies. There's a family tradition: Julie buys a cookie recipe book and lets the kids pick out up to three cookies from it. Then they make the cookies, some of which they give away.

Well, most of the kids are out of the house right now (two of them unaccounted for, which is a slight concern, given the weather), so it's been the two of us, recovering from the night before, to make cookies.

It's been fun. My idea of "baking cookies" is to get the tube of pre-made sugar cookie dough and stick vanilla, butterscotch, or whatever's-not-chocolate chips inside, and toss 'em in the oven. Julie bakes from scratch, and from what I've sampled so far, she's damn good at it.

I think I'm gonna suggest to her to save the rest for another time (even though there's not too many days before Christmas, and she's gotta close at the store all week) and take it easy. Wait for the pizza...which has arrived even as I type this...and we go curl up on the couch, watch a little TV, and listen to the wind blow outside...

My GPS won't tell me where my life is headed.

I'm a little nervous this morning.

I've got a job interview in a little over an hour from now. First one of these I've had in a few months, and to say I'm anxious might be an understatement.

Best part is, it's to be a part-time school bus driver.

It's work, and after being off the clock for so long, I'm looking for any honest work. The fact that I have never driven anything larger than a van doesn't bother me too much. I figure, just because I've never done it before doesn't mean I can't do it. How am I supposed to know what I can or can't do if I don't try?

I spent the last 10 years of my life fixing computers. Before that, I spent 10 (or so) years working in a library. Seems that my life changes every 10 years or so, so maybe this is what the next phase of my life is supposed to be. Although I was kinda hoping it would have involved winning the lottery and living a life of ease, I guess bus driver is as close a substitute as I can get.

Oh, and they're calling for an ice storm up here this afternoon, along with, by tomorrow morning, between 9 and 12 inches of snow.

My love tried to warn me what the Winter was like out here, but as with most everything else, some things have to be seen to be believed.

I've been used to some heavy snowfalls back in Pittsburgh, but nothin' like this. No wonder Julie hates Winter. Seems like there's been snow on the ground out here since I arrived three and a half weeks ago.

I'm gonna go get in the shower, get dressed for the interview, and head over there. Wish me luck, kids, or at least give me good enough lottery numbers so I can get a truck or something...

Thoughts from the morning

Thanks to Tim for sending me this pic.

There was an open house back in Da Burgh yesterday. I haven't heard from the Realtor yet to see how it went.

I've finally got Internet access here at my place. Took awhile, three phone calls to The Evil Empire, a new DSL modem (old faithful didn't survive the trip, apparently) that some twit at Bestus Buys didn't say they have in stock, but I found right there on the bloody shelf and a bit o' tweaking and geeking. It was worth it, though. I've a faster Internet connection than it was in Da Burgh, the Vonage line is up and running, so I can just put the cell back to "emergency use" and/or "texting only" modes.

Still no movement on the job front, although I've found a couple possibilities, or so I hope. The school district is looking for a geek, and I happen to be one, who has...

• loads of customer service experience
• familiar with the education environment
• training and teaching skills (I used to train new part-time staff years ago)
• Geek cred out the wazoo.

Now all I need is them to hire me.

Of course, there are other avenues I'd like to pursue as well, possibly. The local Barnes and Nobles is a good possibility (12 years in a library might give me an edge) and I've even put in an application at Caribou Coffee. I think that'd be fascinating, working at a coffee shop. I'd dreamed of owning one, awhile back, and this would be a good experience. I've even worked in a job where I was on my feet for 8 hour shifts before...

And, most important of all, I get to see Julie. It's wonderful knowing I don't have a 9 hour drive to be with her, just a two minute (or less) walk around the block to her place. Tonight, the family will be at her place. We're gonna make sammiches and watch Dark Night.

This is a good life. I'm happy, I'm in love, and even without the job, I'm happy.

Now to figure out what to do for Christmas this year...

Another really short post

Presenting the virtual tour of my new home.
A Flickr slideshow with photos from my new place.
Check it out.

My favourite part has to be the garage.
I've never had a garage before!
I'm so fascinated with it, I shot this...
Updated with correct video.

A blog title longer than the blog itself.

It's listed.

Greetings from DeKalb, Illinois

It's been (almost) a week since I've moved to DeKalb. Yeah, it's a little strange, and there have been some weird moments...like looking up from my dining room table and seeing my furniture in a different house...but all in all this first week has been a good one.

Last week was a whirlwind. I can't thank my best friend Tim enough for the support and the help. Without him, I doubt I'd have made it out here.

Sure, there were some emotional moments before I left Pittsburgh. Going out to see My Kid was...difficult, to say the least. Leaving the nursing home, I had my dark glasses on for some time, so no one could see my red eyes.

Yet I didn't shed any tears when I left my brother's place after Thanksgiving. I haven't felt any love or support from them during the last few weeks since I first told them I was moving. I could understand my one brother's concern, that I was losing my "safety net", but really, at some point before, they'd all left home with no guarantees, no safety net. Who am I to do any different?

We've talked about this before, Julie, Tim and I. The consensus is that they've had me to take care of The Kid for so long, now with me gone, they've gotta pick up the slack and, y'know, visit her more than once a month, if that.

Tim and I picked up the truck Thanksgiving morning and loaded a few things, like my bed, on it before going off for our respective dinners. Slept on my couch that night. Friday morning came and I started putting boxes on the truck before Tim, his parents, and his kids came over to help.

Notice please the lack of my brothers in that statement. They were all too busy to come help me move. Kinda shows who I can count on, doesn't it?

We got the truck loaded in about three hours, not too bad for two 41 year olds, a couple of pre-teenagers, and two septuagenarians. After that, Tim's parents took his kids off to dinner, while I took one last look around.

I can't begin to describe the emotions, the feelings, of seeing my old home empty, bare to the walls. Some of you have seen the photos...imagine standing there, in a place you'd spent your entire life...

Yeah. I'll leave that thought alone.

We woke up around 2AM Eastern time and got ready to hit the road. To save a bit of cash, I decided to drive my car and Tim'd just drive the truck, instead of getting a trailer hitch. Well, seems the anti-freeze is low in my car, and my car was a wee bit on the chilly side. Every rest stop would find me haulin' ass into the rest stop to warm up, and buying hot coffee or tea to drink to keep me warm. I'll have to check and see why my anti-freeze is low soon...it can get chilly out here, and having no heat in a 12 year old car is not a good thing.

Got into Dekalb about 11AM, Central time. I called Tim and told him to pull into Schnucks' parking lot...I had someone I had to see. Bought a dozen roses, went over to the Deli department, and asked for Julie.

From the hug and the kiss, you'd think she was happy to see me. Either that, or she just wanted the flowers.

Between her, the kids, and our friends, we had about a dozen people to unload the truck. To give Tim some rest, he stayed in the truck and unloaded. I was in the house and directed. Organized chaos, to be sure, but we got everything off in about an hour. I'm so thankful for Julie, the kids and our friends...they were there for me when my family couldn't.

Gee, think I'm a little bitter?

After everything was unloaded and somewhat organized (we had the place about 80% setup), it was time for the party at Fatty's. Fatty's is to Dekalb as Primanti's is to Pittsburgh, except instead of slaw and fries on the sammich, they've got a killer Cajun Potato Salad. Good times, good food, good friends. Tim just fit in (but I knew he would), and we all had a good time.

Sunday came, and so did the snow. The weather, while cold, was pretty much perfect the last couple days, but Sunday was the first significant snow in the region. We got Tim to O'Hare (he only had a three hour delay to look forward to) in plenty of time. Farewells, safe journeys and hugs were shared, and then Julie and I went home.

That's what DeKalb is now. It's home. I'm here with Julie at her place (long story short, I still don't have Internet over at my place, since Comcast sucks and Verizon will need another week to get my DSL up and running), but we're headed over to my place soon.

This is where I belong. This is where I'm loved. If you'd told me a year ago I'd be spending the first Friday in December in a high school gymnasium in the Midwest, watching a basketball game, I'd have laughed in your face...but that's where I was tonight, with Julie and a couple of the kids watching DeKalb take on Kaneland (and win). It was good. It was fun.

Right now, the focus is on getting a job. I want to work. I've been off the clock for too long. I've been applying everywhere, from businesses looking for a good geek to Barnes and Noble and JC Pennys.

Julie is amazing. She's wonderful. The light of my life and my true love. I'm just so happy being with her...knowing that I don't have to drive 9 hours to see her, that I can walk across the street to be with her is the happiest feeling I have ever known.

The photo at the top of this blog is of Pittsburgh, and while it's my home town, it's not my home anymore. I'll change it at some point...I have a good idea what I want to put up there next...but all that matters is that I'm home, where I'm welcomed, I'm cared for and I'm loved.

What more could anyone ask for?

Just a quickie...

Hi, kids.

I'm moved into my new place, although it's not totally unpacked yet. No internet there...I'm over at Julie's place with my laptop surfing the web.

Today, I'm headed off to change my driver's license and see about getting a job. Few places around here, but it's something, while I wait for the house to sell.

I'll write more soon, promise.

Things I will miss

Over the past few weeks, I've been making a list of things I will miss about Pittsburgh. Decided it'd be funny to post this when I'm halfway between Pittsburgh and DeKalb. I like that about Blogger...you can write something in advance and tell it not to post until three weeks later.

Mind you, nothing here compares to the thing I'm gaining by moving...Julie's love.

• Quaker Steak and Lube
• Primanti Brothers
• Gullifty's
• Triangle Bar and Grill
• Ali Baba's
• The view from Mount Washington
• Sheetz (believe it or not, they've got the best chai I've tasted, and it's bloody cheap!)
• PNC Park
• Kennywood

Mind you, there are some things I won't miss...

• Potholes.
• Construction.
• The Parkway onramp from Swissvale headed to Monroeville. I always swore I'd die in a horrible car wreck there one day.
• Waiting for the bus in Oakland in the middle of Winter when it's snowing and all the buses decide to go into hiding.
• The fact that, really, you can't get there from here. A two mile trip can easily take 20 minutes here.
• Idiots who decide to slow down when they reach the tunnels.
• Idiots in general.
• Pittsburgh radio. When I heard the same crappy Celine Dion song on three different stations, at the same exact time, I couldn't listen to it anymore. Thank the FSM for satellite radio.
• 100 degree days with 100 percent humidity.

As Julie will remind me, it's not like we'll never be back here. We'll be back to visit The Kid, go to Kennywood and ride the Thunderbolt (if only to hear Julie scream "Holy Fucking Shit" again) and visit.

It's not goodbye, Pittsburgh. It's "see ya around".

Giving thanks

I can see more than half of my dining room table.

All things considered, this is a rather impressive feat, since the dining room table became the staging area for my move a few short weeks ago. I've had it piled with papers, boxes, junk, tape, shit, my laptop and almost everything else. I had a small space at the one end, just large enough for a placemat, so I could have a place to eat.

Now, tonight, I can see the other side of the table (even the tabletop) with ease.

I look in front of me and I see a dark living room. No lights in there...they've all been packed away in boxes. For that matter, that's all I see. Boxes. Totes. Containers.

A life packed up to fit in a seventeen foot moving truck.

Hopefully, it'll all fit.

Slight change of plan. We're picking up the truck first thing tomorrow morning. I figure, we have it for four days, so might as well get it tomorrow and get a jump start on packing.

I'm really not looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow night.

For the most part...

The packing's done.

There's three things that I'm not going to pack until Friday morning

• Sheets and towels I'm currently using. I'll pack those Friday morning after I wash them.
• The stereo and satellite radio. It's the only form of entertainment I have at the moment.
• The telephone and DSL modem, after I call Verizon and cancel the service. I'll have Vonage forward all calls (temporarily) to my cell phone, likely for the weekend.

I've also got the cleaning stuff to pack, but that's minor. I want to give the bathroom and the kitchen floor a cleaning before I pack that stuff away.

It's snowing tonight. I'm sitting in the living room, relaxing and looking out the window on occasion watching it blow. They're saying Pittsburgh's supposed to have two to four inches of snow by this time tomorrow. Thankfully, all the weather reports I've seen say this weekend, while cool, should be good.

Packing here will be interesting. Tim and his folks are gonna be here to help me put stuff in the truck. My family...hm...I sincerely doubt they'll be here to help me. I'm not feeling much support from them on this, but that's fine. I've got the love and support of my friends in this.

When we get to DeKalb, however...bless Julie...the troops will be there and ready. Her kids will be there to help, as well as Jessica's fiancee Brad, and Kathy, Chris and their kids.

Wow. That blew me away when Julie told me they'd be there. My friends...my friends...are more supportive in this than my brothers.

So to my friends, let me say this: Thank you. Thank you for the support, the love, the good vibes and wishes. They've meant the world to me. It means so much, especially since I'm not feeling much love from blood relatives these days...

I've taken more pictures of the boxes around the house, but Ubuntu's being fussy about mounting the camera. (I don't wanna hear any gruff from you Windows lovers out there...XP and Vista won't even see my old Olympus. Ubuntu's been able to see it until this last version dropped. There's bug reports out there for it now. The community will fix it...I got faith.

At any rate, when I can, I'll post the pics I've taken. Might not happen until after I move, but you'll see 'em.

It ain't funny now...

...but I'll laugh at this some point.

I finished packing the upstairs late last night. Everything there is packed away except for the sheets and towels I'm using, and stuff in the bathroom. I even packed away the digital clock sitting on my dresser.

Got to bed after Midnight last night. I rolled over sometime while it was still dark this morning, and thought I'd heard a faint electrical buzz. Figured it wasn't anything important, and it'd go away when I went back to sleep.

Only thing was, it didn't go away.

I finally had to get up. Checked my cell phone's time, showing it was about 10 to 6, and I knew exactly what it was.

Somehow, while packing, my clock's alarm switch got turned "on". Mind you, I never use that alarm...I'm one of those bastards who can wake up on their own when it's time...

But, you ask, how can a clock, unplugged, packed away in a box under a blanket and a pullover, make noise?

Bless and curse the maker of the battery backup for this one. Sigh...

Tried to go back to bed, but couldn't. This is gonna be a long day, methinks...

P.S. Oh, and Julie? The mantle clock, the piece of furniture I own that you love most of all, stopped at the exact moment I got up. Guess what's getting packed today.

Every picture tells a story, don't it?

For my 250th blog post, I'll just let the photos tell the story...















For those of you who've been to my home, some of those images will be somewhat surprising. It's all good, though. I'm going off to be with Julie. I'm going out to live my life.

Boxes, boxes, boxes

I took down the pictures tonight.

For those of you who've been in my house, you'll know that I have pictures on the walls. Photos I've taken, a painting here or there, gifts from friends.

There's only two pictures on the walls right now, simply because they won't fit in the box: An old painting of The Last Supper that's been in the family for I don't know how long, and my print of Hopper's Nighthawks, my favourite painting. That's it. All the others have been packed away.

Yeah, the packing phase has begun. The kitchen's about 75% packed away. Glassware, pots and pans (except my wok...bought it a year or so ago for $10 and never used it) and some of my appliances. Dishes haven't been packed yet. I can do that tomorrow. Not that big a deal: I've got plenty of paper plates to hold me for the next week or so.

About 90% of what's going to storage is there. I've got just gotta pack some of the nick-nacks, like Mum's China Doll (that my oldest brother brought her back from The Orient, when he was in Vietnam) and some little things.

Friday, Tim's coming over to get the desk and the TV. Yes, I'm giving him my big 37-inch, widescreen, high definition, heaviest sonofabitch on the face of God's Green Earth television. It took three of us to get the TV into the house, and that was six years ago. I told him early on, when he helped me get it in the house, that I'd give it to him someday. I do try and keep my word.

I've already disconnected my main computer. It's sitting over in one corner of the room. I'm using my laptop for the next week or so to surf the web here. It's weird to see it all apart over there. I made a backup of the drive before shutting it down, though...one never knows what's gonna happen when moving.

Down to 10 days now. Julie's as anxious as I am. I just want these days to be over, to be out there. All I have to do is make one more drive out there, one more trip, and I don't have to leave her again. It will be wonderful...

Called and setup utilities out there today, gas, water and electric. I'm gonna call The Evil Empire tomorrow to see if they'll give me internet-only at a decent price, but I'm not expecting it. Instead, I'll just use The Other Evil Empire to stick with DSL, in the chance they get FiOS out there at some point. Don't need home phone service, just a dedicated data line.

I'll have to see what I'm gonna do for a cellphone provider out there. The Death Star and the aforementioned Other Evil Empire have limited service out there (the irony of their commercials, saying they've got the best coverage, is not lost on me). The one that has the best coverage, amazingly enough, is those NASCAR Cup sponsors. Hm. Not sure I wanna go back to them, given some of Prosey's problems.

I'll figure that out after I get there and, oh, I dunno, get a job? Gee, that'd be wonderful. I've been applying for three or four jobs daily out there, and so far, just a handful of "we're not hiring now" letters. Got one phone call from a HR department, saying I passed the first round of qualifications, but didn't get a call from the department itself. Looks like I won't be going "forward, together forward" I guess.

Wow. I've been rambling. Either I'm tired or...nah, I'm tired.

I'm gonna go offline, listen to a little more Mad Dog Comedy (I miss XM Comedy), wait for my beloved to call, and then go veg.

More later, kids...be good.

Quickie Sunday night notes

I'd love to blog daily with what I'm doing before the move, but that'd get boring really quick. Instead, I'll just post when major events happen, or if it's late and I'm bored and I feel like writing.

Like tonight, bored and feel like typing.

* Went out to check on The Kid today. Naturally, when I got there, she was asleep...mouth wide open but not snoring (loudly). I stood in the doorway for about 15 minutes, watching her sleep, and then left. Dropped off a set of rosary beads and some toothpicks for her before going.

Okay, about the toothpicks: She was always searching for a toothpick for obvious reasons. Even without her bottom teeth, she still asks for 'em, and while I don't think the staff would give them to her, and she can't really use 'em, I had a small pack of 'em. Left it there to make her feel good.

* Stopped at a rather packed Wal-Mart. I swear, if everyone's feeling an economic crunch, what the Hell are all these people in there doing, with shopping carts packed full of crap?

Wait. Almost forgot. It's Wal-Mart. Nevermind.

Got some groceries for the week and a few more tubs, which I used...

* When I got home, I packed away photo albums. I gave my brother some of the older photo albums (pictures from before I was born) yesterday, and wanted to put the rest in storage. My brother has a thing for genealogy and family history, so I knew he's like to have those albums. I kept a few of the older ones, as well as those from the year I was born. No worries, love. I'll be bringing those.

Ran the totes down to storage, and came back intending on taking a second shipment when I found boxes with old papers of Mum's. Rather than take those down sight unseen, I decided to wait until tomorrow to look through them, and decide what can be stored or shredded.

Mind you, I did look through some of those albums, for photos of me when I had the long hair, just to prove to the world that I had a full head of hair, and I found one of myself from 20 years ago that's downright scary. I'll scan and post it somewhere, but consider yourself warned. It ain't pretty.



The agent comes tomorrow to put the house on the market, and it's a wreck. Sigh. Where's that bulldozer to just push all this shit out into the backyard?

Two weeks

Tired.

Dunno if I'm more physically or mentally tired. I think it's somewhere between the two, but right now, I can't tell which is which.

Let's see...right now, as I type this, it's about 9:30 Eastern time. Two weeks from this moment, I'll (hopefully) be in the new townhouse, trying to get some things unpacked (either that, or Julie, Tim and I will be at Fatty's, chillin' and introducing Tim to Cajun Potato Salad).

But that's in two weeks time. More on that soon. Let's see what we've got going on right now...

Today was the "small move". Tim, his kids and a friend came over and we moved out some of the pieces of furniture that's not going with me to DeKalb. The dining room, where I'm typing this, is now half-empty: The buffet, bar and organ are all down in storage, along with a few totes, my comic book collection (yes, I'm NOT bringing my comics) and a few other things.

The move went well today. We got the van about 9 this morning amid light showers and sprinkles, and the kids were ready when we got back to the house. It went pretty quick, and I treated 'em to Eat 'N Park for lunch.

Got back to the house and one of my brothers called, saying he was on his way over to get some of his stuff. He's concerned about me selling the house, right now, at a time of economic insecurities. He's worried about me losing my safety net, getting into financial troubles, which could cause problems between me and Julie.

I told him that I've had this house, this safety net, for the last 41 years. The time is right for a change. I'm in love, yes, and I want to be with her, and it's time for me to live my life...and if that means I'm gonna be out there, no job, deep in debt...so be it. I don't care if I have to go clean toilets, I'll do what I have to do.

He and I...we're both stubborn. My brother and I love each other dearly, and we worry about the other. He doesn't want to see me hurt, and I appreciate that more than words can say, but I'm not worried. Much like my love, I know it will all work out in the end. I have faith that way.

There's a bunch of tubs sitting around the house. I've got a few more things to move to storage...nothing major, pictures, nick-nacks and the ilk...and some important papers that I'll either have to put in a safe-deposit box or have my brother put in his. Once that's done, then things get packed for The Big Move.

I've got a reservation for a 17-foot U-Haul to be picked up on Friday the 28th. We'll drop Tim's car off at the airport (this is a one-way trip, and Tim's gonna fly back the next day), pick up the truck and come back to pack it. Crash for a bit, get up, as Tim says "stupid early" and drive to DeKalb.

Once we get there, Julie and her kids will be there to help us unpack. We'll get the big things put where they belong, assembled and then I can work on the details later.

Over the next two weeks, I've gotta work with the Realtor to get the house on the market, get utilities turned on there (and turn the ones here down to next to nothing), drop off some things to storage and to family here, say "goodbye" to local friends, and maybe even have a little turkey along the way.

I'm so excited. I'm so happy. I'm just so looking forward to moving, to starting my "life" out there with Julie. Will it be easy at the start? Maybe, maybe not.

All I know is...it's my life, and I'm ready to start living it. Might've taken me a bit longer than others, but I'm ready to start living.

Every blogpost paints a picture, don't it?

We all know things about ourselves.

Some things we know from birth, an instinct that we have that goes beyond self-awareness. Some things we learn over time, as we grow older, as we try new things, we understand and learn more just who we are.

I understand many such things about myself, and today, I wish to share one of them with you.

I cannot paint.

Hm. That seems a little vague. Let me clarify that previous statement.

I shouldn't be allowed anywhere near paint, paint brushes, wet paint, cans of paint, anything that might need painted, anything that has ever been painted, and paint just in general.

Most folks know that I have a degree of patience, depending on the subject. When it comes to painting, I have zero patience and zero tolerance. I want it done, mostly because I find it as much to watch paint dry as it is to actually paint.

The family home is going on the market, so I can move to DeKalb and be near Julie. The only reason why I'm painting is because I want to sell the house for a decent amount of money, and the front room (The Kid's former room) had taken some water damage (the chimney sprung a leak a few years back, and it got into the wallpaper and paint in her room...nothing major, just ignored for a long time), and it needed fixed before I sold the house.

My buddy Tim, a man with far more patience with a brush (and he hates to paint) agreed to come over and plaster the part of the wall to even it out, and then I'd paint it. So far, so good.

Except one thing: I should not be allowed to paint!

I've got one of those paint tubes...not a power paint brush, but the thing where you put a lid on the paint can (that's the same size of the can, making it next to bloody impossible to get the thing on easily), stick the tube with the paint brush on it, and suck the paint into the tube so you're not always having to dip your brush in the paint tray.

In theory, this is a good idea. In practice, getting the tube to actually suck the paint out is, I believe, something developed in the Third level of Hades. Getting a tight fit on the sucker tube requires fixing it on the just right...and patience.

Have I mentioned I hate painting?

There's two coats of paint on most of the walls now. Just waiting for them and the patches to dry. Do a little touch-up (HA!), and it'll be done. Furniture's moved out of that room, so that's one less thing to worry about.

Seventeen more days.

It's late and I'm tired...

...but I had to post this before going to bed.

November 29th.

That's the day I'm moving to DeKalb.

Three weeks and I'm leaving Pittsburgh.

Yay!

This post is full of shit

So much shit.

Over the past few weeks, I've bought 8 really large Rubbermaid containers to pack shit in. So far, five of them are totally full, and one's halfway there.

I bought six medium sized tubs. They're pretty much full of shit.

And I've got more shit to pack.

I'm willing to wager that everyone out there who reads this blog has moved their shit at least once in their lives. I haven't. I've never had to do this before. I've lived in the same place, with the same shit, for the last 41 years.

This is daunting. It's overwhelming at times. I'm not only going through all the shit I've accumulated, I'm going through shit that belonged to my family. My mother's shit. Some of my brothers shit that they left behind when they moved. I get to go through it all. When I bought the house two+ years ago, I inherited all of that shit.

Julie and I talked earlier today, and she finds it nigh-impossible to believe that I haven't gone through all this shit before. There's three reasons for that. First, I didn't really think about the shit. Second, it wasn't in the way of my shit, so I didn't give a shit. Third, some of it was The Kid's shit, and the feelings and emotions were too raw to go through the shit. As time passed...I really didn't give a shit.

No shit.

So now I've got over 50 years of shit to go through, and believe me, some of this shit is really shit. I'm not sure where the end of all this shit is. I might be near it. I've gone through 90% of the shit in the basement (leaving only the Christmas shit and some of the more interesting shit to clean out), and 70% of the shit in the kitchen and dining room. There's one big red tub in here that's just full of my CDs, and that sonofabitch is heavy shit. It's gonna take two of us to lift it, I think.

I've completely canceled my Dish Network service. Originally, I was going to just put it "on hold", but when I got the bill today saying they didn't "pause" my service, and I got billed for the full month, combined with the fact that I can't get Dish at the new place, I went and canceled it. Might not even get cable service at the new place, just get high-speed internet access and leave it at that.

Yeah, I've found a place to live out there. Nice two-bedroom townhouse that's really a little bigger than my current home. There's just no basement and a two-car garage. I'll actually have a garage, and the best part is it's pretty much right across the street from Julie's place. I figure, I can save money on gas while there...I can walk home when she needs a break from me.

I want to move out there in the next couple of weeks. I've gotta see if I can line up a few folks to help me move shit from here to a storage facility. Even if I have to keep some of the shit there short-term while I get the house on the market, that'll help.

I'm just tired. It's been a very long day, and tomorrow's gonna be even longer, I think.

This weekend, I'm going to go around and talk to my family, let them know what's going on. Tell them I'm probably not going to be here for Thanksgiving...hmm...I wonder how that'll go over.

And then, I've gotta go out and tell The Kid. That's going to be the most interesting conversation of them all. She's already asked me once if Julie and I talked marriage (a very surprising thing to hear from her...shocked the shit outta me), and I know she'll be happy to hear that Julie agreed to be my wife...but I don't know how she's gonna take the fact that she won't see me very much anymore.

Sigh.

I miss Julie.

I think I'm done for the day. I've got a DVD in the player (Alonzo Bodden...very funny comedian), and I'm waiting for Julie to call me after she gets off work and gets a bite to eat. Odds are, she's starving, after working all afternoon and evening. Other than that...

I'm gonna try and catch up on others blogs this weekend. Been behind on that, sorry.

I'd add more shit, but I'm too pooped out.