september 10 2006 - april 26 2009

we moved the rest of our stuff out of landa street today. 

i'll miss it, but its on to bigger and better apartments. 

taking a day off

i started getting a massive headache yesterday at work, and at about 4:30 i decided it was time to cut out and come home.  came home- watched an episode of gilmore girls (a really good one too- i love cable.), and got in to bed.  

woke up today with the massive headache still there.  not one of the stabbing migraines- but one of the tension headaches where its just like my brain is a balloon and someone decided to inflate it inside my head, but my skull doesn't give.  my neurologist says they're a different type of migraine.  the problem with these is that if i can't nip them in the bud, they turn in to the stabbing migraines.  i'm entering hour 25 of this stupid headache, and nothing is working.  

i gave up coke yesterday, and i drank one just to see if that would even help, and no luck. 

i can't say i've minded the day in bed.  my 10 oclock meeting emailed at 6:30 saying "let's not meet" and i was beyond ecstatic.  only 34 emails so far.  5 phone calls.  i've started watching buffy the vampire slayer on hulu, and gossip girl because jeanette lent leslie the DVDs.  and naps.  i keep waking up and having to backtrack on shows.  

i'm supposed to go to a bonfire at the beach tonight for my friend kristin's last day in LA (she's headed back to brooklyn in the morning.) but i don't know if i'll make that.  it was going to be my first time to the beach since i've moved here.  

this weekend if i feel better its going to be another trip to home depot to look at curtain rods.  a trip to ikea to get another blanket .  its this really gossamer stretchy fabric, and i'm going to use them as my window treatments.  

i'm also going to finish putting together this.  that way leslie and i can actually unpack all of our books.  and i'm going to go over to the old place and bring over the last of the stuff and do a final clean.  i'm looking forward to being settled.  i'm so close to being able to unpack completely, then the matter will just be making it more like i actually live here.  you know, decorative stuff and pictures on the wall.  i want to paint my bedroom- and hang up some prints.  i want my room to be all whites, light blues and greens- with red accents where applicable.  very tranquil, very relaxing.  we'll see.  i'm not buying any furniture that isn't perfect, and i'll take my time.  

now- i'm going back to bed. 

moved in!

with only a few flukes.  

leslie and ben locking keys in the uhaul while they were at ikea being the best of them.

now we are only dealing with the fact that we don't know where to put anything, because there's too much room.  our living room is basically the size of our entire old apartment minus the bedrooms.  it looks completely empty with just the TV, sofa and pong chair. 

we're still trying to get the wireless router to work so we don't have to plug directly in to the cable for internet.  we can't get the DVR to work.  ben thinks its because our TV is too old.  i don't know. 

i think today i'm going to stay here organizing and cleaning and putting stuff away.  i want to get everything i already have here sorted before bringing more in to the mess.  i still have a few boxes over at the other place. 

my goal is to not have leslie refer to my new room as "post-katrina new orleans."  like she did my last. 

now to pry myself away from watching the 5th element for the 20th time.  cable- sweet cable.

too much to do!

i have too much to do!

tonight i get off work, drop stuff off at the new place. come home, pack as much as possible.  take it to the new place.  hopefully do a second run, then go to the airport to pick up a friend.  tomorrow at 8 i have to be at the new place to wait for the gas company.  they'll be there between 8 and 12.  hopefully my friend is willing to sit in the apartment and wait for the gas guy, while i do runs back and forth between here and there. 

THEN we go to disneyland!  it will be the first time i've ever been.  i'm excited, but its going to make for a busy busy few days.  our other friend who is going with us wants to stay for fireworks.  so we'll get home late- i've got to work all friday, then pack friday.  we have the moving van on saturday, and i want everything to be organized and sorted and easy for our helpers.  i've moved a lot of my books at least.  

sunday i'll be living in absolute chaos, but i'm not sure i'll have the energy to do anything.  at least we have this place til the end of the month- so at least whatever i don't get on saturday i can leave here and keep doing runs after work til its all moved, and then come back and clean.  

blech.  i wish i'd started packing and organizing earlier.  or that i could take friday off too, but i can't.

my new room

i have to adjust the drawing, as i've realized my doors are smaller (which is good, more floor space.) but this is my room with my existing furniture. 

list of things i need for my new room (my room is priority #1. i have lived in a small, unfurnishable room for two and a half years, i want a REAL room.)

1. nightstand (or 2 now that i have more room because of shorter doors) 

2. window treatments (a. one set for privacy b. one set for looks- blinds AND drapes)

3. new bedclothes

4. new dresser- larger

5. new bookshelf- larger

6. lamps

7. art

i realize i can't buy all of this at once, not even close- but i'm going to start putting money aside to buy nice, new furniture.  i want to feel like a grown up. 

this apartment is worthy of having real furniture, and i can't wait to make it look like a real home.  

oh blurg

i admit it.  

the stupid recessions got me down.  we're making cuts at work.  we've laid people off.  we have to send people home if there isn't enough work for them.  it's extremely stressful for me, and if history shows anything i don't handle stress all that well.  i start worrying about stuff that's absolutely not important. 

if leslie and i weren't moving to an apartment that's actually $5 less a month than what we currently pay, i'd be completely freaking out.  last night when i went over to meet our landlord and look at the place he was showing me the upper unit- hoping we'd take that one.  yes its a little bigger and nicer- but not for $255 a month extra.  not when i could end up unemployed, or taking a pay cut.  unemployment doesn't pay the bills.  not by a longshot.  and no one is hiring.  

so, when i couldn't sleep last night for worrying, not because of the economy, my job, $800 for a new clutch in my car,  or anything related to money- i had to keep telling myself, "this will not be the death of me.  at the end of my life, this really won't matter." of course- had i been worrying about my job or the economy i should be saying, "this will not be the death of me. at the end of my life, this really won't matter."  

what kind of gets me out of the worrying state of mind is thinking about my mom. (sorry mom.)  she can worry more than anyone i've ever known.  so when i start worrying, i ask, "wait, is this something my mother would do?  would i tell her 'they make medicine for this?'"  if the answer is yes- then i try to change the topic in my brain.  which is easier said than done.  but i try.  

so- for right now i can't read any books that require thought, because if i do i can't pay enough attention to stick to them.  i tried starting "the return of the native" but hardy is too dense for a time like this.  i'm reading "the alienist" by caleb carr- and it's pretty much perfect for my state of mind.  at least if i'm up worrying, i'm worrying about being murdered by a serial killer, and i can just get out of bed and double check the lock on the front door.