It's Sinking In

lenore and i painted the trim and minishelf in my new bathroom tonight. or i should say, i tried to paint it and she fixed it. there was no painter's tape and i don't have the skills she does. so i retreated to the kitchen to wash the dishes. later, i held the screws while she put the hinges back onto the doorpost. thank you, lenore!

anyway, the bathroom and kitchen are now mostly in place and i'm starting to feel like i have an apartment. but it's sinking in slowly. tonight i asked my guests/helpers if they minded if i put the leftover pizza away in the fridge. they laughed at me for asking for permission in my own place. i'm so used to tiptoeing around others' sensibilities. it's been so long since i've been a real person; i don't know if i'll be able to acclimate back into life in the wild. but move in day is in a week: april 2. i"m sure i'll be ok once i spend a night there.

meanwhile, my parents are out on the town: dancing to live music, celebrating their freedom. i guess a new day is dawning for everyone.

The Big News

my apologies to the blogosphere for not posting recently. i'm finding it easy to get busy and not have time to post, yet when i have spare time, it seems there is nothing going on to write about. it's tragically ironic.

but i have set aside time to post today, because i have big news: i am moving back out of my parents' house--only 3 years behind the planned schedule. i'm taking a basement apartment in coventry below dan and julie larrivee. it's a great apartment; about 1000 sq. ft with a lot of working kitchen space. and although it is legally a guest suite within dan's house, i have my own private, lockable entrances.

of course there are drawbacks: it's in the woods, and i keep expecting to find a decomposing person hanging from a tree one day on the way home (i just freaked my mother out), but i know it's just my sheltered suburban imagination. and it's at the bottom of a dirt driveway on a poorly paved road; certainly a far cry from a Pearl District loft. for those--or other reasons--i know some of you will be hesitant to come visit me, and i understand. i do. it makes me sad, but i understand, and won't take it personally. but i hope most of you will come. i'll have 1000 sq. ft and a meal to share.

i dropped off my first month's rent tonight, and i have the place as of april 1. as soon as i can get in there, i'll take pics so that i can post them. i know a lot of you like picture books.

Good Day, Good Day

yesterday was most satisfactory. it started off rough when i was 20 minutes late to the service group after zoning out on the highway, missing my exit and driving all the way to colchester. but service--when i got there--was nice. we had a good group, including ian and jonathan, who are pioneering this month (!) i worked with joe and becky and diana. we had a decent conversation with a householder who was already chris beaudoin's call, but i'll still take the joy.

in the afternoon i worked with lenore, jonathan, cheyenne and dave. jonathan and i swapped our favorite scriptures of righteous indignation (job 38 and 39, psalm 50). and i finally got my houlihan's W2!!!

i would have been content with that for a tuesday, but then dave, cris, lenore and i went out to dinner at dish. i hadn't been to a nice dinner in a while; the nominal reason was to celebrate dave's having fixed my car's serpentine belt. it was really just an excuse to have cheesy boursin bread, lobster and short rib dumplings, crab cakes, ahi tuna, diver scallops, hangar steak frites, pork shank with risotto and apple butter, chocolate fondant, alcoholic coffees and a couple bottles of wine. in the end, the dinner was

delectable and the conversation was engaging.

plug: http://www.dishbarandgrill.com/dishhome.html

after such a good day yesterday, i'm presently at the house, locked inside my room. outside my door, maya has been sick all night and my mother is now feeling nauseated. maybe i'll finally do my taxes. wish me well.