Count Blogula, the undead blog, rises from the grave!
Since we last spoke, here's the various scoops:
My house remains obstinately on the ground, foiled by 'Audrey' at the Planning department of Prairie Metropolis. See, my house is so close to the house next door that the City would very much like it if the houses were torn down and replaced with something spaced a little farther apart. As of this morning, The Contractor and I, who are in constant contact, believe we are leaping the last hurdle even now. The main bone of confusion seems to be that the City thinks I am raising the house to a new level, when in fact, I am lowering it. Kinda.
I am continuing to live with She Who Does Not Have A Blog Nickname, and that is going very well. The condo is no bigger than it was, but that's ok, too. I do really miss living in Isambard, but that will come back in its time too. I am 100% aware of the stress that moving into that house may cause her, but I'm gonna make that play nonetheless when the time is right!
There is much to do on renovating it on the inside before that can happen, anyway, so
there's not a huge rush.
UPDATE: Audrey, the cruel empress of planning, has relinquished the house, and I am informed that we are marching forward. More details to follow.
11.8.10
14.6.10
Cohabitating, part... I don't know... 7?
A few more things I've noted:
1) Three cats produce approximately 1/2 a litre of hair a week. On laminate flooring, it 'pools' together due to the air stirred up by the passage of people, and fifth floor wind gusts.
2) It's really nice to live with someone who does laundry the same way you do. It's a huge thing-that-isn't-stressful.
3) Apartments are really small. The kitchens are small, the bedrooms are small, the living room is-- actually, pretty big.
4) Getting into the routines is a constant source of negootiation. Grocery buying the first time was a bit of a hassle, trying to buy groceries for two. I've evolved a somewhat strange style of grocery buying the last two years, based on gettign generic staples and some basic ingredients, THEN basing my menus on what I have. Turns otu there's a large body of folks what do it differently! Apparently you can buy gorciers by starting with the the menu THEN buying corresponding groceries.
Weird....
1) Three cats produce approximately 1/2 a litre of hair a week. On laminate flooring, it 'pools' together due to the air stirred up by the passage of people, and fifth floor wind gusts.
2) It's really nice to live with someone who does laundry the same way you do. It's a huge thing-that-isn't-stressful.
3) Apartments are really small. The kitchens are small, the bedrooms are small, the living room is-- actually, pretty big.
4) Getting into the routines is a constant source of negootiation. Grocery buying the first time was a bit of a hassle, trying to buy groceries for two. I've evolved a somewhat strange style of grocery buying the last two years, based on gettign generic staples and some basic ingredients, THEN basing my menus on what I have. Turns otu there's a large body of folks what do it differently! Apparently you can buy gorciers by starting with the the menu THEN buying corresponding groceries.
Weird....
27.5.10
Guinea pigs.
Dear sir or madam,
Should we meet, I a civilized man of some taste and distinction, and
you, a person who poisons guinea pigs, I will punch you in the cock.
In the interim, I remain,
Yours truly,
The Stealthy Dachshund.
Should we meet, I a civilized man of some taste and distinction, and
you, a person who poisons guinea pigs, I will punch you in the cock.
In the interim, I remain,
Yours truly,
The Stealthy Dachshund.
--
Sent from my mobile device
26.5.10
Living together more
I don't fight well. It's not a skill I have developed. But I tell ya, I'm developing it now.
Here's what I've learned:
The fight is never about what it is about. It's about something else. That doesn't mwean it's a bad thing, but you haev to get through the small stuff to get to the big stuff (that's usually also not that big)
The faster you fight, the faster it's over. Get it done. Yesterday, there was a fight that would have taken... 4 days or so in a previous life, becuase of my efforts to avoid it. Last night, diving in, it toook ten minutes.
Because the fight is not about what you think it is about, you never actually lose. Say you don't like barstools. Your partner wants to buy 12 of them. So you fight about it. You're not going to lose that fight, even if you get the barstools, because it's not about barstools; it's about... oh, let's say... not being listened to. After the fight, you'll have been listened to, and you won't care about barstools.
And so it goes.
I've also learned that cat hair builds up faster in 800 sq.ft. than it does in 1800 sq.ft.
Here's what I've learned:
The fight is never about what it is about. It's about something else. That doesn't mwean it's a bad thing, but you haev to get through the small stuff to get to the big stuff (that's usually also not that big)
The faster you fight, the faster it's over. Get it done. Yesterday, there was a fight that would have taken... 4 days or so in a previous life, becuase of my efforts to avoid it. Last night, diving in, it toook ten minutes.
Because the fight is not about what you think it is about, you never actually lose. Say you don't like barstools. Your partner wants to buy 12 of them. So you fight about it. You're not going to lose that fight, even if you get the barstools, because it's not about barstools; it's about... oh, let's say... not being listened to. After the fight, you'll have been listened to, and you won't care about barstools.
And so it goes.
I've also learned that cat hair builds up faster in 800 sq.ft. than it does in 1800 sq.ft.
21.5.10
More cohabitating.
I have learned another thing.
I don't clean 'cause I think I should. I don't clean 'cause I think it will make the people around me happy. I don't clean because I'm a neat person.
I clean because it makes me feel good.
It's a drug.
I don't clean 'cause I think I should. I don't clean 'cause I think it will make the people around me happy. I don't clean because I'm a neat person.
I clean because it makes me feel good.
It's a drug.
19.5.10
Cohabitation... take 2?
Well for those of you not in the loop on this, She-who-does-not-yet-have-a-blog-nickname and I are cohabitating in her condo while I redo my basement.
So I moved the cats and the fish and the plant over there on... Sunday I guess, and a few clothes, etc.
We've been spending most of our time together anyway, so it's not a huge change in how much we see each other, but there's still some subtle changes that are just now coming to me...
1) Affection by housework. I notice this pattern re-asserting itself. I like the look of a clean kitchen; I find it very calming. I suppose it's an assumption of mine that my partner feels the same way, and that when she comes home and sees the clean kitchen or bathroom or whatever, then she will feel the same calming effect that I do, and associate it with me. I'm not sure that's good advertising. ;)
2) Apartment living. I have to keep my bike on the balcony of the condo. That is the very definition of a pain in the ass. Through the front door of the condo, past the cats through the dining room and over the 12" gap onto the balcony. I so love having a garage I can put my bike in.
3) Energy and water use. I'm a pretty crazy extreme-o environmentalist, and I get nervous and tense when the lights are left on, the water runs, or what have you. It's really hard not to make that everyone's problem. Despite the fact that I am completely correct in my environmental views (I KEED, I KEED), I need to remember that this is MY problem.
4) Space. I am conscious of trying to take up as little space as possible. I don't know why, but I am. It's a similar feeling to the environmentalism. Food for thought, anyway.
5) Cats. They see everything as beds. Chairs are cat beds, tables are cat beds, shelves are cat beds, people are cat beds, the GRAND PIANO is a cat bed.
That's it for now.
So I moved the cats and the fish and the plant over there on... Sunday I guess, and a few clothes, etc.
We've been spending most of our time together anyway, so it's not a huge change in how much we see each other, but there's still some subtle changes that are just now coming to me...
1) Affection by housework. I notice this pattern re-asserting itself. I like the look of a clean kitchen; I find it very calming. I suppose it's an assumption of mine that my partner feels the same way, and that when she comes home and sees the clean kitchen or bathroom or whatever, then she will feel the same calming effect that I do, and associate it with me. I'm not sure that's good advertising. ;)
2) Apartment living. I have to keep my bike on the balcony of the condo. That is the very definition of a pain in the ass. Through the front door of the condo, past the cats through the dining room and over the 12" gap onto the balcony. I so love having a garage I can put my bike in.
3) Energy and water use. I'm a pretty crazy extreme-o environmentalist, and I get nervous and tense when the lights are left on, the water runs, or what have you. It's really hard not to make that everyone's problem. Despite the fact that I am completely correct in my environmental views (I KEED, I KEED), I need to remember that this is MY problem.
4) Space. I am conscious of trying to take up as little space as possible. I don't know why, but I am. It's a similar feeling to the environmentalism. Food for thought, anyway.
5) Cats. They see everything as beds. Chairs are cat beds, tables are cat beds, shelves are cat beds, people are cat beds, the GRAND PIANO is a cat bed.
That's it for now.
14.5.10
Ohhhh yeaaahhh... the other thing!
OH YEAH!
I forgot. I also did the second trip to the courthouse yesterday to get divorced.
Ok, so the first visit, you just popp in and you say "Hiya, I'd like to get divorced" and they say "ok, here's your divorce number". But you say it in 6 pages.
The second visit you tell them that someone told your spouse, you tell them WHO told your spouse, you tell them you weren't kidding and you'd actually like to get divorced for real, you tell them that you are actually you, you tell them you were actually married, and then you tell them how to give you a divorce. You tell them this in 15 pages, containing 3 signed pieces of evidence, 2 separate documents sworn by a commissioner, and then you go home.
So that's what I did!
I"m still not divorced; the divorce egg takes 8 weeks to hatch... so I wait.
I forgot. I also did the second trip to the courthouse yesterday to get divorced.
Ok, so the first visit, you just popp in and you say "Hiya, I'd like to get divorced" and they say "ok, here's your divorce number". But you say it in 6 pages.
The second visit you tell them that someone told your spouse, you tell them WHO told your spouse, you tell them you weren't kidding and you'd actually like to get divorced for real, you tell them that you are actually you, you tell them you were actually married, and then you tell them how to give you a divorce. You tell them this in 15 pages, containing 3 signed pieces of evidence, 2 separate documents sworn by a commissioner, and then you go home.
So that's what I did!
I"m still not divorced; the divorce egg takes 8 weeks to hatch... so I wait.
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