ikea trip

My Saturday off was threatened by stormy weather and sober september, so when Joe asked if I wanted to go to Ikea I jumped at the chance.  Not that I really have disposable income right now but I always enjoy a trip to Ikea.

Of course I ended up getting a few things but I managed to get out of there without spending more than $100.  The most important was new pillows for my couch as I ruined my old pillow by trying to put it through the wash.  Speaking of Ikea durability, when I tried to rip the tag off of one of my new pillows I definitely almost ripped it completely in half.  Thankfully the pillowcase holds it together enough that you'd never know.

Of course, once I commit to swiping my card I go ahead and get a few extra random things that I totally don't need.  Like a new rug for the detective:

What was I thinking getting a rug that he blends in with so effortlessly?  I've already tripped over him several times, especially because he ALWAYS HAS TO BE LAYING ON IT.

My final impulse purchase, literally right before we got to the register, was these clip together teak tiles:

They don't fit perfectly in my shower but they still look pretty cool if I do say so myself.  I'm curious to see if they get super disgusting or not.  The teak should be fine but the base of them is plastic which I'm scared it just asking to get soap scum build up.  Either way it was $30 for a pack of them so I think it was worth it.  It definitely makes my shower seem more fancy than it is.

And my apt looks a little bit more homey, just in time for me to figure out where I'm moving next.

guess who spent the night outside?

I thought he was just sleeping under my bed and being antisocial.  Apparently he had escaped at some point andI didn't notice.  I had no idea until I was leaving for work and discovered him here, standing in front of my old apartment, howling mournfully.  When he saw me he was so confused and relieved, he acted like he had been wandering in the desert for years.  It seriously couldn't have been longer than 8 hours that he was outside.

I feel really bad for the girl that lives in my old apartment too.  Who knows when the wailing started but I'm sure it was loud and consistent.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I came home the other day to find that my downstairs neighbor had "decorated" for Christmas.  It does light up at night which Gala said made it cute.

I don't know if I agree.

I am amazed that our super hasn't forced her to move it yet.  I guess he probably doesn't think she's eccentric so he doesn't really care what she does.

I know if I tried a stunt like this I'd get a strongly worded text within a few days.

But whatever, merry Christmas.

Bah humbug.

birthday beach lunch

Even though Daniel led me on with his alleged "dog handling classes" and threats of cancellation altogether, he came through and let me take him out to lunch for his birthday yesterday.  I asked him to come up when he arrived to help me put my bedskirt on, a job I've learned is far easier with two people.  My morning turned in to a whirlwind of cleaning and organizing, once I realized I still had piles of junk on every surface from my move that happened two weeks ago.  My apt isn't 100% yet so I don't want to take pictures but I will say it's almost there now, and my bedskirt looks great!

So thanks Daniel, for unknowingly shaming me in to getting my life together.  And thanks for letting me spend some time with you on your birthday!!

We had a very nice lunch, and I didn't even get a parking ticket despite only remembering that I hadn't paid an hour in to our meal.  I also got to give Daniel his gift, which I was pleased with.

The last time I spent the day at his work I commented that there weren't a lot of toys for the dogs to play with.  He said that the toys don't last very long but that there were a few ones left scattered around.  It seemed really sad that the only one I could find was really just 3/4 of a tennis ball with a rag tied to it.  But the dogs seemed to love it!  At some point after that day I realized that I had to get tennis balls for Daniel for his birthday.

He laughed and was happy when he opened his present but again said that they wouldn't last very long.  When I pressed him for a more specific idea of how long a tennis ball would last he said, "Gypsy can pop a tennis ball in the first bite".

Yikes.

I asked him if it hurt her when it exploded or if it was more satisfying like snapping a neck.  He said definitely more satisfying, so I guess maybe she can have one or two to destroy but I really don't think that's fair to the other dogs that she be allowed to pop all 12.  I asked Daniel to take a video of her popping one though.

Even though I couldn't get the waitress to sing happy birthday, it was still a nice day, and a great way to end my little back to back vacations before getting back to work for many days in a row coming up.  No more of this life of luxury:

all done ok?

I'm finally completely moved out of the downstairs unit and in my fancy new upstairs unit.  Can you tell?

There were a few snags along the way today that kept delaying the process.  Mostly just my own inability to focus on anything.

It really didn't help that I kept having to take breaks to chase that bad cat down after he would run bolt out the door.  One time when I caught him outside without even realizing he had gotten out I went after him and he ran to the downstairs apartment and tried to get in.  I feel sorry for whoever moves in there, I feel like he will continue to terrorize them.

He's angry about the new place, and the fact that I still haven't put things in order.  He's laying on the exact spot where he would be laying on the couch if it were there.

Oh and he's already sat down in the bathroom sink so I guess that change didn't upset him too much.  He's pissed about the bed situation though.  In my old place there was a built in bedside table thing that was attached to the wall and dictated that your bed had to be put next to it in a certain way.  This apt doesn't have that so I have my bed pushed in to the corner so it's touching the wall on two sides.  Now the detective's favorite place to sleep is in the corner which he does not do.  He needs to have the freedom to drape himself over the edge of the bed.

Last night was my first night sleeping up here and it was nice.  I mean, I was so exhausted that I'm sure I would have slept as well regardless of where I was, but I definitely didn't wake up to any noises.  And it's so nice to be able to open my blinds!

It's back to work tomorrow so we'll see how long I can live with this clutter before I go crazy and have to deal with it.  For now though I am going back to sleep.

the transition has begun

It's really weird.

I did a little cleaning before I started moving my things upstairs and about halfway through I forgot I was cleaning a new apt because the process is exactly the same as cleaning my old apartment.

Then I actually started moving things, picking up my plant from the counter downstairs, walking upstairs, placing it in the exact same spot on the exact same countertop in my new apartment.

So bright and clean!

Thank you Daniel for coming and helping me with the heavy lifting today.  Now all I have left is clothes and dishes.   Oh and the detective.  I don't want to break the news to him that it's a different bathroom sink so I'm leaving him down there to enjoy his old place for a little longer.

king of the castle

I cleaned my apartment today from top to bottom.  In the process I put everything I could on the couch and the bed.  I returned from cleaning the closet and the bathroom to find this scene in the living room.

He's laying on his scratching pad, which is really more like his bed.  I rarely see him actually scratching his nails on it, he normally just rests there.  He only likes to scratch his nails on things of value, like the carpet, or my face.  Most of the time he is laying on it just like that, snoozing his life away.

So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he climbed all the way up there just to be on his favorite bed, it's just odd.  But then, nothing he does makes sense.

He's like, "Please don't look at me or touch me".

the hits keep coming

Yesterday when it was time to take Jon to the airport I said, "I'm going to run the trash to the dumpster and then we should get going".  When I returned Jon was standing outside of the apt with his bags in hand looking at me expectantly.  It was then that we realized we both thought the other one had the keys, and Jon definitely closed the door behind him.  The locked door.

My upstairs neighbor Mike tried to break in for me but to no avail.  I guess I feel slightly reassured about the security of my apt, but still I was hoping he would be able to get in.  Instead I had to pay A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY for a locksmith to let me in to my own apartment.  At least we were able to get inside and Jon made it on to the last flight home for the day.

Since I now have zero dollars to my name until whenever I get my first paycheck for my new job I decided to go for a nice cost free bike ride yesterday afternoon.  You can imagine how I felt when I was about 5 miles from home and realized that I had a flat tire.

This being the 2nd time I had taken my bike out I was a little discouraged.  Thankfully the bike store was still open when I got back to it yesterday afternoon and although they weren't particularly compassionate they did fix my flat at an extreme discount.  They said they couldn't help it that I got a flat tire and that it was just an unfortunate accident.  I had to push down all my emotions in to that dark place deep in the pit of my stomach and accept that things are just not going my way.

But of course, when you bottle up all your feelings they inevitably come back to bite you in the ass.  Cut to this morning when I get my bike out to go get coffee and I discover IT HAS A FLAT TIRE AGAIN!

At least this time I got a, "I've never seen this happen before" from the bike shop guys and they did fix it completely for free.  They also gave me a new super thick tire tube that they said should prevent it from happening again.  We'll see.

I'm going to ride it to the beach now, hopefully without incident.  Of course, knowing my luck both wheels will just go flying off once I'm as far away from home as possible.

WISH ME LUCK PLEASE THANK YOU.

rabbit rabbit rabbit

source

Woooowwwwwwww.  Can you believe I have lived down here for a year?!  I certainly cant.

These next two months will be interesting as they are the ones I spent in Sarasota last year.  I have a very different September and October planned for this year, although I've learned that anything can happen.

I got a much needed phone call from Eliza this morning that sweetly paralleled my life.  She was bemoaning having just moved in to a new apt and not having anything besides a set of Tervis tumblers. She didn't even realize that I was lost in memories of a year ago when I was in the same boat.  I can't remember how many nights I slept on the leaky air mattress before I finally broke down and bought a bed.

I told Eliza, it takes time but believe it or not you will eventually feel like you've settled in.  A year is both a very long time and a very short time.

Thankfully I still have Barbie to keep me grounded and remind me whats what.  Apparently this month it's all about formal evening Lady Gaga:

I love it, especially her disinterested expression.

The good news is that Ariel and JD are finally coming down to visit this month, the bad news is that it took a year for that to happen.  And don't even get me started on the lack of Meghan in my life.

There's still time though, I signed a 6 month lease so I'm here for at least that much longer.  Hopefully in that time I can get my ducks in a row so I can move out in February to some place a little more comfortable.

Today though, oh today, it's all about the beach.  Too bad you can't join me.

trying to decide what to wear when suddenly

When Linden came over to pick up Chloe the other day she did some motherly scolding of how messy my closet was.  It's just so easy to get out of hand, and even easier to shut the door and ignore the accumulating disaster.  But it really is better when it's organized.

So yesterday, keeping with my theme of not spending money, I decided to lock myself in the closet all morning and clean.  The fact that my piles are so haphazardly folded should give you an idea of how much I actually had to do.  I did eventually get it in to some semblance of order though, and still had enough time to go for a run before I had to start getting ready for work.

It was after my shower when I was standing in my freshly cleaned closet that I actually looked around at my clothes for the first time.  Actually being able to see everything instead of just a giant pile makes getting dressed so much easier.  And there were several articles of clothing I had forgotten about altogether.

I was scanning the piles from left to right, top to bottom, which is why I didn't even notice him for quite a while.  He wasn't actually asleep anymore though you can't really tell.  His eyes were open and he was watching me from his peripheral vision.  Once I got more up in his face to take his picture he made it clear that he was not pleased with me disturbing him.

It makes me wonder how many times when my closet was disorganized did I come this close to almost certain death without even realizing.  It's a chilling thought.

After I took my pictures I left him alone and got my clothes for work.  I turned out the light and didn't see him again until I got home late last night.  You can imagine what was waiting for me in the window of my apt when I got home.

rabbit rabbit rabbit

source

Aaahh August.  It seems to have come so quickly but I anticipate it will take a while to get through.  Not as bad as September but still, a pretty gruesome month.

I resigned my lease but only for another 6 months.  So while I will not have to spend my August searching for a new place to live as I previously thought, I will have to spend my August knowing that I will have 6 more months of listening to my upstairs neighbor move furniture at all hours of the day and night.  And it's another 6 months of having to figure out how to park two cars.  Or I could just bite the bullet and put up a listing for the roadster online.  Meghan, this is what happens when you drag your feet, that's all I'm saying.

Speaking of, I feel like it's time for me to stop dragging my feet and decide what I'm going to do for the next adventure in my life.  I am coming up on my year anniversary of moving down here and things have settled in to a decently comfortable routine.  I want to start something new but I'm not sure what.  My mind keeps wandering back to my first months out of college when I got my yoga certification.  I want to do something like that but I'm just not sure what.  Suggestions?

On an unrelated topic, I don't necessarily agree with this month's Barbie:

I mean she's fine, she's whatever, I just don't believe that she is the August Barbie.  I mean, where is she headed in that dress?  Unless she got booked doing the print ads for a prom dress catalogue I can't think of a legit reason for her to wear that dress in this month.

I will give her extra points for the amount of taffeta used.  That's what that is right?  Dan?  I need your expertise as usual.

fast asleep

This is how I found him yesterday, at first I thought he was dead.

I don't know why he likes being on that scratching pad so much.  If anything I would think the tile floor would be the coolest spot in my apt.  And if he is wanting warmth then he should be in the window in the sunlight.

But instead this is where he collapses.  Underneath the air conditioner, his large body spilling over the edges of his "bed".  I'll never understand him.

a bad bad boy

He's the missing decoration that my coffee table needed!  Of course, why didn't I think of that?!

Wedged in between my spider plant and my light coffee table reading (the complete unabridged works of Shakespeare).

Part of the reason I went to the beach yesterday was to try and get some peace and quiet from this guy.  He's just been consistently bad for the past several days.  Especially all through the night.

He knows I'm talking about him.  He's angry!

Actually, he's not even really angry, he just wants constant attention.  I have my computer set up on my kitchen counter as it's the only place that makes any sense to have it.  I sit on a bar stool kind of chair whenever I work at my computer, which means that I'm high up and out of reach of the detective.  At some point a few months ago he started with this new thing to get attention from me when I've spent too much time on the computer.  He stretches up and puts his front paws on my leg, which is super adorable at first.  Then he digs his claws in to my thigh, until he pierces through the fabric of my shorts, at which point it stops being adorable and starts being horribly painful.  There are tiny pinprick holes in my pink shorts that I still haven't been able to work out.

Anyways, this is the solution that we've come up with for now.

Cause it's so comfortable for both of us.  And yet he won't leave and just purrs and purrs.  Even now as I type this he is resting his head on my forearm and hitting me in the face with his tail.

We love each other.

I know why the caged bird sings

This morning I had to go out to get quarters for laundry.  As I was locking my door I turned to see this sour puss glaring at me from behind the glass.

Feeling bad for keeping him cooped up in this little apt all the time I decided that when I returned I would let him have some outside time.  Since he can't be trusted it had to be monitored outdoor time, which means you get to enjoy some nice pictures.

I like how he uses his tail as an accessory to compliment his outfits.  He's so dapper.

Haha except when he makes that face.  It rained last night so it's very cool and clean out this morning.  He was enjoying sniffing the air, which is one of my favorite activities to watch.

He gets such a look of concentration.  It's just so nice.

Of course it doesn't take long for him to become irritated with my picture taking.

But I can't help it!  He's just so handsome.

Haha awww : (

Moments after these pictures were taken he bolted off the windowsill and I had to chase him down the street.

He's not kidding around.  He means business.

I love him.

coming back from a run

I feel reassured knowing that he is guarding the apt like the grim spectre of death.

Of course if anybody did break in he would do nothing to stop them but instead use the opportunity to escape.

He's a precious precious angel.

JFK twice in a day

For my birthday Jon agreed to help me move my junk from my old apt down to the sunshine state.  I've been stalling for far too long so today was finally the day.

I woke up at 4 this morning to begin my journey that I have been dreading for a while.  The above picture was from around 9 when Jon and I met at JFK.  As you can see he was already belligerent at this point.

We decided it was best to ride the wave of sleepless delirium and go straight to the apt to deal with the closet that time forgot.

Ahh the old stomping grounds.  I have to say, between the bitter cold and the endless ever changing 2nd Avenue maze I was reminded of why I left this desolate wasteland.

But then I stepped in to the old apt and came face to face with this guy:

awwwwwwwwww.  And just like that I was missing life in nyc.

I just had to remind myself that for every picture perfect innocent doe eyed looking cat there lurked a vengeful gargoyle-esque demon bubbling right below the surface.

He's nice.  But sadly, I had to leave him behind, as I did with new york.  But not before having brunch at the old barking dog, and beginning the process of trying to soothe Jon's rage with booze.

I'm not sure why our drinks are bathed in a heavenly glow but it is appropriate as they were quite delicious.  The blinding white light emanating off the whip cream is actually keeping you from seeing Nathanael who is in the shadows just on the other side of the Nathanael.  In case you're wondering he of course roofied our drinks.

After lunch Jon and I headed back to JFK for round two.  Unfortunately the afternoon flight did not go as smoothly as it had earlier this morning.  Due to circumstances beyond our control we were stuck at the airport for several hours, which meant there was only one thing I could do to satiate Jon.

There were a lot of pictures taken over the course of the next several hours.  We've had several fights about what is and is not allowed to be posted on the internet.  The compromise that we reached was that I can post this picture:

Which Jon actually posed for, that wasn't like a candid shot while he was in the middle of talking, that was a face he was making at me to show his disinterest in something I was saying.  Anyways, I was allowed to post that picture but then I had to also post this picture:

In case it isn't obvious the drinking has continued throughout the day.

And believe it or not I'm back home and everything is as it should be.

I wish the photo weren't so blurry but I could not stop laughing to save my life.  But it's time for the laughter to end as I tend to the chore of unpacking all this junk I just moved down here.

The worst part is that I only emptied like half of the closet.  So you can expect a "JFK twice in a day round two"