Of beans, ghosts, and wearing red

So, I went to a conference last week, and Brian went with me. It was my first time sharing a professional event with significant other.

Seldom have I been to a more interesting place as Boston. I have seen lots of old edifices, grand cathedrals and the like. But this was MY history, and it had personal meaning because of that. Plus, it's just intellectually interesting - like the MIT study that was recently performed to test this supposedly haunted spot in the harbor where a lighthouse master and his family drowned (all except one daughter, that was waiting on the shore for the family to arrive and watched the tragedy occur). The MIT team's equipment supposedly went crazy when they got to the specific spot.


And Salem - jeez! What a creepy place. All this commercialism attempts to gloss over the events that transpired there over the centuries (of course, the witch hunts, but also all the pirating and the criminals that were hanged and the people that died of the plague or the pox or some other catastrophe, natural or otherwise) but if you stop and sense for a moment the residual energy that is still there... Well, we left at nightfall.


Going to the conference during the day and having my honey waiting for me when I got out was something that I would definitely like to do again. The only hard part was going to "school" while he was out galavanting around, taking in the sights. Luckily, the conference was really interesting, so as soon as things would get started, I was fine, but on breaks I kept thinking about Brian and calling him to find out what he was doing. Then we'd have the whole evening together, debriefing over dinner and visiting some other site before returning to our B&B. Really, really good feeling. As I said, I liked that.

I found out I ____ ABHOR___ lobster. At least when it's served whole, so you can see the head and the eyes and the antennae and the legs, and when you have to touch the bug shell to get the meat. Dear God, my stomach lurches even now as I write and remember. On to the next topic.

GOOOOOOOO CARDS!!!!!!!!!!

After catching a little bit of the beginning of the game at Cheers (the second one that they put in Faneuil Hall, not the real one that looks like the bar from the outside but doesn't on the inside), we went on a nighttime tour of the haunted parts of Boston (again, murders and plagues and such). Brian's gizmo that he can text-message and receive updates on had a half-hour lag time, so I called my friend Ed (who I knew would be watching the game unless he was under a surgeon's knife or incarcerated) to catch up on the score. Then we had just left the cemetery where Paul Revere, Sam Adams, and the 5 victims of the Boston Massacre (among many other names of greater or lesser renown) are buried when we walked past a bar that had a TV facing the window. A fellow tourist pointed at the TV and sure enough - Cards were jumping up and down and fireworks were going off. I brought it to Bri's attention and we hooted and hollered some. We were in an American League city, though, so the others around us didn't seem that excited. Plus, it was bloody cold and we had to get back on the trolley.


On Sunday, I watched the parade and rally on TV. Having gotten up at 4 a.m. and traveled for 8 1/2 hours, I just didn't have the energy to personally join in the revelry. And, as many of my coworkers, I wore red today to work.

I don't think we won against the Mets because we played that well in the playoffs; rather, they didn't really shine. But during the Series - boy, it was just good ball. Both teams did their best, and fortunately STL gets to celebrate, but really, it was just good ball.

My turn: By the Same Token

So I spent last weekend (and I do mean most of the weekend) organizing all this crap in my basement. Most of my more recent stuff was in OK shape for regular storage, but there were all these boxes of stuff that I had left over at my mom's when I moved out. She finally asked me to clean out my old closet, at least a little bit, so a long term guest could use it. I didn't think it was fair to keep clogging up her space, so a couple of friends and I brought the crap over and dumped the boxes in this one part of my basement. It's stuff that I haven't touched in years, so needless to say, I reduced about a third of it down from 7 boxes to 1 (keeping gifts from my now deceased grandmother, for example, but pitching or taking the rest to Goodwill). I've still got much work to do but Brian's at least got one whole wall that he can put his shelves and boxes up against. More space will eventually exist.

The point of this blog, though, is not to talk about just the procedural or logistical aspects of moving in together. It's actually to talk about something that I recognized was happening with Brian's new presence in my life. I've noticed before all the things he is bringing in to my life - cool friends, frequent theatre visits, and so forth. But what I saw this weekend, too, was this wonderful opportunity to get rid of stuff as well. I mean, of all the reasons one could have to go through musty, dusty boxes, isn't the fact that you're doing it 'cause you've fallen in love with someone and that someone has fallen in love with you and is now moving in so you need more space in the basement an absolutely great reason to have to go through musty, dusty boxes?

And I don't think the whole outward flow of crap has to stop with boxes and papers that Lord only knows why I kept in the first place. I think I can use this as a wonderful opportunity to let go of some emotional baggage, too. I haven't figured out exactly how I would do that, or what I would let go of, but hey - I really, really like the idea. It's the concept: he's bringing great things to my life by being in it, and by the same token, is leading to the release of not so good stuff. He's doing the same thing, too, by giving away some of his old books and things. We're both making room for each other.

I have to say, I feel a great sense of relief at relieving myself of items, paring down, as it were. And if I can somehow parlay the experience into a metabolization of emotional or spiritual debris as well, then double-kudos to Brian for entering my life.

Boston!

We're going to Boston!

Our second big multi-day trip in our relationship...and we're flying 'cross country!

I've always wanted to go to the northeast, and now, due to fortunate timing of a legal conference that Alex is going to, we are...

We had a chance to do this before...but then it was July, and it wasn't in Beantown, it was in Miami. I ask you, other than crocodiles and nightclubs, what is there to do in Miami in July? (And no, sweating to death is not an activity!)

So instead of going to 110 degree Miami in July, we're going to (at last check) 40 degree Boston in October. At least the leaves will be pretty and no crocodiles...LOL. I joke, but Boston will be so great, and even better that my baby is there with me.


Now as a topper to this post, how 'bout we get a little red dot on our map somewhere, say, around Cape Cod... :)

Moving in

Wow.

So I'm moving in with Alex.

Can I say "wow" again? I can? Cool. "Wow."

:)

I've been slowly moving my stuff over to Alex's place (now, our place) a little at a time. I've got about half my comics (and anyone who actually knows me knows I got a sh**load of 'em.), most of my clothes, and almost all of my books. Of the "little stuff," I would say I'm about 50% or so moved in. We're going to move the big stuff (TV, bed, computer, etc) probably the end of January, (although maybe the end of November, depending on how things go...) and hoping to make this a very easy move.

Ummmm...I guess this means that I've been spending most of my free time with Alex...in case no one noticed the subtle, errr, I mean, obvious signs....

I've only moved twice in my life, and I'm hoping that this will be the easiest one yet. In moving a little at a time, by every time I swing by my place, I grab a couple of boxes of something and swing it by our place.

Wow, again....just saying our place sounds so good.

So anyway, by the time January hits, I'm hoping that there will be a few tables, the sofas and maybe the TV and computer...and this move will take about 2 hours for me and my friends.
Anyone who knows me also knows I got a lot of stuff...and the question is...if my stuff barely fit into my place....how in the hell will it all fit into our place?

Well, we've actually been kind of working with that...trying to place this thing and that...and I think we've found a way to fit most of my stuff in our place without it looking too terribly cluttered. Lots of stuff pitched...lots of stuff in the basement...etc...

My apartment looks so empty now....there's no books and a couple of bookshelves are missing...and every time I'm over there it doesn't feel like home anymore.

Alex's house...the house where I will soon live, is feeling like home.

I first felt this way a few months ago, I was just standing in her kitchen and the place felt...I don't know...it just felt right...it was a very weird (but extremely nice) feeling...

And now I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be living.

Like Lord John Whorfin once said: "Home is-a where you wear your hat...."

So I guess right now, as I'm blogging this from the upstairs bedroom at Alex's house...I'm home.

So much, so much!

So much has happened since my last entry. I've been very busy at work, sadly, Brian's dad passed away, we hosted our first BBQ together. There just has been no time or energy to blog...

More and more of Bri's things are slowly but surely making their way over here, and none of them heading back. In some ways, it's amusing that we've led such parallel lives. In others, it seems like that much more evidence that we're meant for each other. But it is a little funny to see that we have the same bowls and stuff... A little twilight-zoney. Then we talk about some project or another that we have going, and our differences come to light - just enough to keep things interesting. I still don't think we've had an argument - the closest we've ever come was some tension over where the sofa might go in the TV room some five weeks ago. Other than that, smooth sailin'.

I may have mentioned it before, but one of the things I really enjoy about dating Brian is what he brings to my life - culture, politics, friends. Take trivia nights, for example. I've been to one or two over the years, but a group of friends of his get together about once a month or maybe every couple of months (several times a year) to go to some trivia night or another. They're frequently associated with good causes. For example, we just went to one that benefitted the Shakespeare theatre company. And you know what? We have a lot of fun - if somebody knows the answer, you surreptitiously communicate it to the others (can be by hand signal, huddling as close as possible to whisper, jotting it down on a note pad and showing it to the others). It's all very clandestine-like, as you don't want to tip off the other players! Plus, there are frequently silent auctions, and some of them have good stuff... Point being, it's a great way to spend a few hours.

Oh, I almost forgot. TAKE ME OUT TO THE BAAAAALLGAME! Yep, I finally made it to the new stadium. Bri got free last-minute tickets through his sister (which reminds me, did we ever call to say thank you?), so we ran home, let the dogs out, changed into more comfortable clothes (team colors for me), and had an absolute blast. First off, I don't know if it was a good idea fiscally for the city or not, but whoever designed the new ball park definitely did a nice job. Plus, the weather was great (crisp, cool fall weather) but not too cold, and the game was hot. It wasn't one of those mind-numbing pitchers' battles, that are 1-0 bottom of the 8th. Nope, this one had double and triple plays, home runs, and classic sliding-into-the-base-with-dust-flying, all-American baseball. It was a great date at the end of a long week, and as we left, I even got my fifth monthiversary present early: pink team memorabilia...

And did I mention the symphony? We stepped out with good friends, Rob and Janet, for opening weekend. The music was very enjoyable, but I don't think our current conductor is going to be here for long. He doesn't seem to fit in with the local color. Nice guy, and excellent music (of course - it is our symphony, after all) but he just doesn't seem like he's from around here or shares our values, type of thing. I don't know how to explain it. And his music selection seemed a little unusual, too.

How did I get so lucky? Blessed with love, family, and friends? All in good health (knock on wood)? A good career, and decent officemates? I am grateful, and thank the universe.