Materialistic

Another day… but finally a really good, eventful, positive step in the right direction. ;)

I GOT MY STUFF TODAY… TMO finally came through and all of my household goods… my worldly possessions… were delivered to my doorstep. Maybe it’s a little materialistic of me to put so much value into my stuff, but it is so nice to finally have a home… a house filled with things of familiarity… rather than just a pretty shell to live in.

I’m not going to lie… things are in quite a state of disorder right now. The movers didn’t have the right tool box with them so we had to dig through my stuff looking for my tools for a while (I didn’t know where they were packed since I didn’t pack my own stuff). We were literally opening whatever box was closest and rifling through it… half the stuff dumped onto the floor… just enough to see if the box had the tools we were looking for or not. We never did find what we were looking for and had to improvise from the limited selection they had. And I did eventually find my tools… packed between the cups and the wine glasses (don’t ask me how or why they ended up there). I successfully unpacked all of my kitchen goods and started putting everything in it’s new place. The set up here is different, so there is some stuff I will end up putting in storage (like my wine shelf)… and thanks to UK power plugs being different from US, I’m probably won’t get much use out of other stuff like my lamps and vacuum and hairdryer, etc. I got 2 power transformers from base, but they’re old, big, and heavy, and the plugs are set low on the box so I can’t use some of my US stuff anyway. I’m sure the whole process will take a long time… the unpacking, moving around, making this strange house feel like home. But it’s something to do and it’s productive so I’m excited (or at least pretending to be).

One thing I have noticed… I’m not sure if it’s just this place, or if it’s cultural or what… but storage doesn’t seem to be a priority here. At least not practical storage, anyway. For example: my kitchen has lots of cabinet space and large pull out drawers for storage, spare counter space and extra plugs for small kitchen appliances… but no small drawers. No silverware drawer, no junk drawer, only cabinets and cupboard drawers. Weird. Hopefully I can find some way to store my silverware and kitchen utensils upright to make better use of the space, but as is I just find it weird and another odd thing I have to find a way around. Another thing… I have three awesome bathrooms… but each bathroom has a toilet, pedestal sink, and bathing facility (tub or shower)… that’s it. NO STORAGE. There are no linen closets, no medicine cabinets, no under-sink storage, no counters… nothing. Where do I put my toothbrush and toothpaste? Handsoap? Where do I put my nail clippers, hair stuff, makeup, extra toilet paper, plunger, and other random bathroom stuff? Where do I put my spare towels, washcloths, extra sheets and blankets and pillows? Also… each bathroom has a nice heated towel rack… but they’re all single size, as in, big enough for one towel. It’s nice to have a heated towel rack, but what do I do if I want to hang up 2 towels? What if I have a guest? Where do they hang their towel? I don’t know… again… all workable issues and if those are my biggest problems then I don’t really have much to complain about… but still… it’s the little things I suppose.

Anyway… Kelly came over tonight… That was nice. ;)

I think I may be losing some of my social skills… at least with any living bipedal. Kelly and I were watching TV and I only realized I was playing with and talking to Dexter (the dog) when Kelly looked up and said “You’ve really lost it now, haven’t you?” I guess when you spend so much time with a puppy as your only company you adapt. I feel like Tom Hanks and his volleyball Wilson… only on a smaller and slightly MORE sane scale. I DO talk to Dexter a lot though… I cuddle him and ask him questions and talk to him while I’m doing stuff around the house… he follows me everywhere and is probably more clingy than I should allow… but I like that he needs me as much as I need him. If I stand too long in one place he lays down my feet… if I sit on the couch he tries to climb in my lap and if I don’t allow it he’ll lick my toes or rub my legs until I relent. Even if I get off the couch to go to the refrigerator or sink, he’ll follow me and lay next to me… every time I move he moves… he’s the picture of a little puppy who just loves his mommy. Awwwww…. ;’)

Anyway… back to Kelly… it was really nice to have some human company. She is awesome and I couldn’t have asked for a better ‘first friend’ here. She guides me away from things she knows will make me cry… I’m not allowed to say the “J” word… and the “M” and “R” words are off limits now too… (sorry guys) I’m only allowed to look at pictures when I show them to her and then only one time through… no repeats. And if I linger too long she changes the subject and tries her darndest to distract me. She text messages me every day… even on her own birthday… and invited me out Friday and Saturday. Last Sunday, we went out to watch the football games, and I got really drunk really quick (when you don’t drink for a month or so the first time back catches up really quick). Anyway… she listened and comforted me when I cried at the pub (what a loser, I know)…she retrieved my phone when I left it at the first pub and brought it back to me… ordered pizza and made sure I ate… and all but tucked me in before leaving (even though she was pretty drunk herself). I dunno… She’s awesome… and I’m looking forward to Friday and Saturday.

Tomorrow is a bit more unpacking… taking Dexter to the vet… and meeting Kelly for a Friday evening out. And Monday… back to work. Man… it’s been a long time since I’ve done that. ;)