I’d initially planned on taking today off of work, but, it kinda crept up on me and before I really thought to get it done, it was too late. It would have been a good day to take off to as it was a pretty busy weekend. My dad came up on Saturday to spend some time with me and take me out for dinner for my birthday. Which was nice but it meant that I spent Friday night cleaning house.

Yesterday, an old friend of TheBoyfriend™’s was in DC for a conference so we took a day trip up there to see him. It’s so refreshing to just get a significant change of scenery every once in awhile, if even for just the day (and it’s nice to be able to hold hands in public). Strange thing about DC is that, having never lived there or in the immediate area of there, I always randomly run into someone I know when I visit. Yesterday was no exception. As we were just leaving, actually getting our Metro farecards for the trip out (we decided just to park in Fairfax and ride the Metro into the city), I hear my name called, and turn to see someone I knew in college.

That quote from the same article as this one:

Asked about the fest’s [his Hollywood ‘coming out’ party] rumored price tag, Combs smiles and responds: “It’s up there, but I can’t confirm it’s $4 million. It’s priceless.”

Now I don’t mind the fact that Combs a ton of money. He’s a big-time celebrity, they tend to have a fair bit of money. And if you’ve got it, and no financial worries, and you want to throw yourself a $4 million party, I say go for it. I really do. BUT don’t claim that that kind of expense can be classified as a “need.” You WANT a $4 million party (or even a $40 party), you NEED food and shelter. Though there was nothing in the article indicating so, perhaps his “cutting back” comment was intended to be tongue in cheek. Even still, it seems a little uncouth to be making jokes about cutting back when most of the population is having to cut back and some of the population really is having to cut back to needs only.

I had a dream last night, which I’d planned to tell you about, but it’s long since faded as dreams have a tendency to do. What I do remember of it is that TheBoyfriend™ and I had a son, named Citrix (no, I have no plans to ever name a child Citrix, or, as an aside, let him wander around New York City all by himself*). He was about 8 or 9 years old with sandy blonde hair, just a tad overdue for a haircut. I remember that he somehow injured his hand or wrist in the door while trying to let in some unwelcome guests that TheBoyfriend™ and I were trying to keep out. Presumably the injury was somehow caused by either TheBoyfriend™ or myself, because I also remember a “Lifetime Original Movie”-esque scene of “I know you only did it because you love me and want me to be safe.”

In other dream-related news, I have woken up numerous times in the last month or so in a complete panic over the fact that I haven’t completed a major history class assignment and there’s no way I’ll be able to get it done prior to my class, seeing as it’s first thing in the morning (and interestingly taught by an English professor I once had). It generally takes me a good 5 full minutes to realize that not only am I not missing an assignment, but I’m not actually enrolled in school, nor have I been for quite some time. Further even when I was the only college level history class I took was towards the beginning of my college career and was, not surprisingly, taught by a history professor and not an english professor.

*Hat-tip: MusicCityBloggers

In Memorium.

My job has really picked up. That’s a large part of what’s been keeping me so busy, but it’s a good thing. For awhile now it’s been slow for me here. Not slow for the company, but there’s been a limited amount of work coming across my desk. So much so that I began to worry some about whether or not my particular position was going to continue to be needed. Not as stressful a situation for me as it could have been, because at the peak of my worrying about it, TheBoyfriend™ came home telling me that his company was casually looking to fill a position that, while not exactly my field, was one which I was qualified enough in that I’d have likely had little trouble getting the job. When feeling insecure in your job, it’s nice to know there’s another one available to you, should you need it.

It’s especially good when you’re looking to build a house, and we finally are. It’s been just over a year since the land surveyor was hired to come out and survey the property we are planning to buy a piece from. This guy is known for being quite slow, but he’s pretty much the only one in the area. Well, it’s taken him a year but he’s finally done. The only thing left to do is to sit down with seller and figure out exactly where the boundaries are going to be drawn, have it notarized and make the purchase. Then we can get a loan and start building. It’s exciting and a bit scary at the same time. TheBoyfriend™ (who doesn’t blog) has suggested that once the building process starts, we should start a blog to document the progress, so stay tuned for that.

We’re more than ready to move, especially since the owner of the townhouse we’re currently renting has discovered that we own cats. We’d neglected to mention them in the past because policy this renting company takes on pets is utterly ludicrous. I’m completely OK with a pet deposit. I understand that animals can cause damage and they need to be able to recoup that cost should those damages occur. What I think is ridiculous and unjustifiable is charging a one-time “pet fee” (we don’t get that money back) that is double the amount of the deposit and tacking on an additional $10 to each month’s rent. We could bring another human being on the lease (which would arguably actually cost the townhouse owner more since they pay water) and not pay a cent more per month, but not a cat that doesn’t cost them a penny. Ridiculous. But I signed the lease, so I guess I can’t really complain, just get this house built and get the hell out.

Below the Bradford Pear trees so popular around here are in full blossom with their tiny white flowers which make each branch appeared to be covered in snow (and thanks to the bizarreness of Virginia weather, this “spring snow” got a taste of real snow in a short flurry just this morning). The same temperatures that have birthed the blossoming trees have also offered a blossoming of activity in the skate park a few streets over. I’m no skateboarder, yet there’s something refreshing about getting to peek in on a group who can find such enjoyment out of what is ultimately a cement hole in the ground. Between them and the river an old building is being torn down. As the demolition equipment crumbles away the brick walls, I’m getting an excellent view of the skeleton of concrete columns that hold the whole structure up, at least until such point as the walls are gone and the workers turn their attention to these newly exposed bare bones. The river is doing battle with a lone kayaker who is desperately paddling against the current. He’s winning, but then the river isn’t really trying. It’s just lazily trekking across the state where it will expand from the couple of hundred feet in width that is outside my window to over 5 miles across as it passes through my hometown before dumping into the bay. Turning to the left, I can the purple and blue silhouettes of the mountains looming into the clouds and today being obscured somewhat by a haze that I’m sure is rain though the clouds over head are white and fluffy and allowing fair amounts of blue sky to peak through.

Maybe that bird doesn’t have so much on me after all. Unlike that bird, my point of view doesn’t change, but when I decide to look away from the computer screen in front of me, I do see a view not all that dissimilar to that of the bird’s and sometimes, if I allow myself to be opened up to it, I can appreciate just how beautiful and good it all is before returning my gaze to my computer screen fully refreshed. I’m not so sure the bird allows itself that time, and it’s a shame.