I'm just sitting here thinking about the money my old boss owes me and wondering if I'll ever see it. I'm also wondering if my W-2 will be in the mailbox today. I mean, he is required to deliver it to me by January 31st. How will I ever do my taxes without it? I'm also wondering if I'll see my pension money in the account before April. These are all things about which I am thinking. Will I forget them while we're at happy hour tonight? Perhaps. Will they make me angry each time I think of them? Very likely. Will I ever get the satisfaction of seeing my old boss suffer? Probably not. Is it justified for me to want to see that? Can that be considered as me stooping to a lower level? Am I losing my innocence and optimism?
Yes.
Where is everybody?
Can't anyone chase away this case of winter blues I have? It's just soooo depressing. The cold. The darkness. The dark coldness. The cold darkness. I'd really like some sleepy hibernation, but I think that would just depress me more.
Can you ever really feel organized in life? When I'm at work I think about all the things that need to be done at the apartment. When I'm at the apartment I just want to spend time with Kate, rather than doing the work that needs to be done in the apartment. And the cycle continues. I'd like to think that once we get the boxes put away and the decorations on the wall that we'll be all organized and I'll be able to concentrate more at work, but I know that this is not the case. There will be other things that come up that divert attention. I guess life would be pretty boring without those unexpected things that come up and distract us from what we think we want to do.
But actually, I wanted to write this blog about the clarity of vision I have when I first wake up. In those first moments of the morning, I have revelations about things that have happened over the last few days. And they seem so clear and everything just falls into place. But then I have to wonder: Could it be impaired morning judgement, rather than ingenious morning discoveries.
Well, we've got the kind of mess that is really hard to clean up. The boxes are in our face, but they're not stopping us from doing anything we want to do. Not that we've had any time to finish off the unpacking, but it's not like every time we have a free second we take a walk over there to unpack something. So, hopefully we'll get some stuff done on this wonderful 3-day weekend.
Hmm... is there anything interesting to say. I took my first Yoga class last night. It was a quick-paced psycho-yoga, but I did find it somewhat fun and helpful. It's really interesting because you use nothing but your own body. You have to carry your own weight in ways that you never thought about before. And I could see it helping balance and psyche. I like the idea, just not the class. Oh, and the yoga mats they provided were just too short. If my hands were on it, my feet weren't. Also, I wasn't warned that you had to take off your sneakers. Needless to say, I cut my toenails after my post-workout shower.
I'm proud to introduce my new idea, the year's end resolution. Sometime around Thanksgiving you decide how you're going to change your life for the better. You keep it up for the rest of the year and if you like it, you keep doing it come January. Making a commitment for one month is much more reasonable than doing it for a whole year.
Awww. How warm and fuzzy you are!
Is it cruel to encourage people to post and then berate them?
In the recent past, as part of my New Year's Day in fact, I sat in front of the television for a Real World marathon. I was doing other things, of course, but I did catch most of everything that happened. On any other day, I hate this show. It bugs me so much that these knuckleheads get to be on television for nothing. They have no talent except the ability to express their feelings, which is probably something on which I could use a little tutoring.
After a few episodes, I began to realize that there is a formula here (big surprise).
1. People getting along.
2. Person A does something to offend Person B.
3. Person B discusses it with us for a little while.
4. Person B discusses it with other members of the house.
5. Persons A and B discuss how they can solve their problem.
6. Persons A and B make up.
7. Person A discusses the issue and its resolution with us.
The final resolution discussion goes something like this: "I know that I'm usually this way, but I've never had such a supportive group of people around me. I'm really glad this happened because I've really grown and really learned a lot about myself and how I act in those kinds of situations."
And why am I watching this again? I don't give a damn if you've grown. You're an idiot and you will never be otherwise. You will be famous because that is the way things work here, but you do not deserve it. Go on and grow off-camera.
What do I know to be true? That I am, and will forever be myself. I will change, grow, lose, forget... but I will still be me.
Man oh man oh man. I feel so guilty about not writing that it's killing me. There are so many interesting things to say, but I probably won't remember any of them.
We had a great Christmas and New Year's Eve. I took off Christmas week so we could make the rounds and visit the families. We went back home to the Bronx on Saturday the 21st. But wait, that wasn't the first of it. Thursday night Kate felt really ill. We eventually took her to the emergency room. After some anti-nausea medication and morphine (that's the stuff), we found out that she had a stomach flu. If that sounds nasty, you should have been there when the nurse asked to see Kate's most recent vomit. It was great. Needless to say, I didn't go into work on Friday. Instead, I wrapped presents and packed up for the week. I decided to have the nine days of Henley, since I have so many of those long-sleeved shirts, I packed one for each day of our vacation.
So, we rode down to the Bronx Saturday morning, Kate with a trash can in her lap and I with my cap listened PJ Harvey, Patty Griffith, The Strokes, and David Garza. Traffic was light.
One of those nights we got to hang out with some of our friends. Dinner at Little Poland. Drinks at the very empty Remote Lounge. More drinks at Von. We drove Saku and Marc home. When we drove Nick home we dropped inside to see Arthur, back from LA for the holidays. Kate finally got to meet his family, which was great. They were ranting and raving about paper towels in the toilet, Chris's employment, my new business, the hobo Christmas they were having, and anything else that came to mind. Of the three women sound asleep on the couch when we arrived, Aunt Mandy woke up to say hi, Nana woke up to talk about sex, and Aunt Phyllis slept through the whole thing. Kate was impressed.
We got to see all the Andersons on Christmas Eve. We ate a wonderful dinner (thanks Mom) and exchanged gifts.
Christmas lasted a few lifetimes. We had the usually morning festivities. Then, we got the call that the Colellos of Ramsey were leaving their house on their way to ours, bringing with them Grandma Jean. Minutes later the doorbell rang and it was Grammy and Pop-pop, arriving from Cape Cod. Everyone was told to get there early to be able to see us before we left for East Greenbush. So, Grammy and Pop-pop arrive at 10 AM. The Colellos of Ramsey arrive at 11 AM. And we're set. We're looking at wedding photos. We're exchanging gifts. We're chitchatting about promotions and work and video games and whatever else comes up.
Then we head off to Kate's parents at 1 PM. In the Bronx there is sleet and cold rain. Over the Tappan Zee Bridge there is snow. From then on, the ride was hell. The road was terrible. Cars were off the road, front end kissing the guardrails. People were going so slowly, and with good reason. You were sliding on snow. You were not sure if you were on the road. You could not see pavement. Thank God we bought a Subaru. Darkness falls and the roads are even worse. After five hours in the car, we made it to dinner. Too bad none of the other aunts and uncles were there. They cancelled because of the weather. But we had a nice dinner anyway.
Then we did the whole gift exchange with the MacArevey's. It's interesting to be, all of a sudden, a part of something that you were never a part of. We didn't go bowling, but we met up with Kate's aunts and uncles at Nana's. Then we went to Uncle Mike's party for a little while.
Gee, this is sounding like a lifeless schedule of events rather than the thoughtful interpretation that a blog is expected to be. Too bad.
New Year's Eve was great. We stayed home. We drank Bull Frogs (a very tasty mix of Vodka and Lemonade - we had Newman's Own Pink Lemonade). We ate filet mignon and some amazing vegetable bread. New Year's Day was a little bit stressful because we were trying to clean up the apartment. So, I hit the ground running first thing our of bed, and burned out by about 2 PM. I wanted to take a nap, but our sheets were in the washing machine. Everywhere I looked there were things. Things that needed to be put away. Things that were in the way. It seemed hopeless. Somehow I regained my path and was able to get some other stuff done. We shredded papers like there was no tomorrow and we used the handy credit card shredder slot as well.
So, if anyone is still reading, next year we are staying home.
Oh yeah, Happy New Year!