My weekend started last Thursday afternoon and didn't stop until I arrived at work Tuesday morning. I requested a day off about a month ago, as I was in dire need of a "chill day." I was able to work out a deal with my friends, Jamie and Mike, and they went on a day date so that I could baby-sit their 1 year old baby girl, Riley! It was so much fun! Ever since she started walking, we have been able to play so many more games. I love kids!
Friday night we went to Rib Night in Los Gatos, and per usual, they were excellent. I didn't have any ribs, but everyone else enjoyed them. We had four "rookies" in our group this month and they all finished their ribs off with ease. There was a lot of excitement at rib night, as Heather won two of the raffle prizes, but allowed me to take a break from rubbing shoulders to collect one of the prizes. She won a camping chair and a set of pasta bowls. She donated the pasta bowls to my new apartment and me! So sweet of her! Now the greatest moment of the evening was the 50/50 raffle. In case you don't know what that is I will give a brief explanation. People buy a number of tickets, and after the money is collected, 50% goes to the Lodge for whatever "lodge improvement" project they are needing, and 50% goes to the ticket holder! I decided that after 7 years of attending rib night, I could spare ten bucks to help them make some renovations. Just before he read the winning ticket number aloud, I shouted out to my buddy on the stage, "Oh, oh! Mama needs a new car! Oh, yeah!" As he read the final digit of the winning ticket I shouted in disbelief, "Shut up!" Everyone, including my friends at the table started laughing at me! Dude! I totally won $125!!! It was so great! Of course, I put on a little show by doing a little victory dance as I collected my winnings. Even now, I am in a little bit of disbelief.
After Rib Night, Dave, Heather, and I (after much deliberation), decided to meet up with some people for karaoke at the Almaden Lounge. The bar scene is not really my cup of tea, but we went at any rate. Dave was being a baby about the whole thing, which kind of worked out well for me. I didn't really want to be there long, but was making the best of it. He finally gave me the "look" and I knew we were on our way out! Woo hoo! I knew he wanted to go see the new Harry Potter. He had made such a fuss about it earlier in the evening, so when he said, "I wonder if I could catch a midnight showing of Harry Potter? I'll watch it by myself!" I knew he was gonna go see it, and of course I said I'd go with him. He's such a baby sometimes! It was 2345 when he said that and we called around and found a midnight and midnight-thirty showing in Santa Clara. Of course, with his lead foot, we made it to the midnight showing and even were able to enjoy a few previews. I didn't get home until nearly 0300 and I was wiped out.
Saturday was extremely busy. I cooked an Indian dish for the Box Lunch activity for church, but ran late because of a few technical issues, one being the misplacement of my keys. I ended up going and having a chill time with the people that attended. Most of the day I kept busy doing things around the apartment and can't remember what I did in the evening, which means it obviously wasn't very memorable.
I love living in my apartment! It's been so great having my own place, have I already said that? I have been enjoying going through boxes and finding these I haven't seen in a few years! I have been spending a fair amount of time purging all the excess "junk" I have accumulated over the past few moves. When the moves are rushed, I find that I acquire much more junk than if I had packed systematically. This whole week has been a week of getting things done around the new homestead.
On Tuesday, my friend Michelle came by to help me come up with a new floor plan. I'm pretty left-brained and I wanted to have a little more style in my place, so I called in the Calvary. It's a little abstract, but I like it. I wouldn't have come up with that kind of layout (again, really left-brained), but it's going to work for now. I need to make or buy a beanbag chair or something like that. OOHHH! If those silly "Love Sacks" were less expensive, that would be a lovely addition to the studio apartment life. I think apartment complexes that feature Studio apartment living, should include a "Love Sack" in each dwelling. That way, each person when they move in gets to have one! Heh! Oh yeah!
Okay, back to reality...things are coming along. I finally got my bookshelf out of storage, but not my books. Until my VHS are gone, I don't have room for more books at the moment. I have half a dozen big boxes in storage, and not sure what I'm going to do with them. I will have to make a goal of one box a week to sort through until things are all resolved. I think my favorite part of living alone is that I don't have to worry about anyone but myself. I know the bills will get paid on time, and I don't have to wait on someone else to cover their share of the rent, or the utilities. It makes it so much easier to depend on someone dependable...me! Amy and Arthur are loaning me their kitchen table and chairs and will be bringing it by today! I've been eating over the sink, or at my desk, so it will be nice to be able to sit at a table. When I have guests over for dinner, they can sit on actual chairs and eat at a table, instead of covering my ottoman with a sheet and calling it a table.
The week has been very full. Between seeing my family on Monday, very interesting and intense classes at karate, friends coming over to help me in my decorating/organizing efforts, and boys working hard to complicate things in my life, I've realized many great blessings that fill my life currently. I am so grateful that I am able to recognize them and to be able to express my appreciation for them. I would not want to take too much for granted, especially, since I am really proficient at going 100 mph and forgetting to let people in my life know I appreciate them. I love my family and friends! They are important to me!
ej
