Looooong update

{'Puter and dial-up networking aren't playing nicely together. arson is very kindly posting this and mail for me. Partially 'cause he likes me sane and partially 'cause he's just that sweet.:}
~~~
Monday, September 9, 2002

The move went well...Jeff had to go back on Sunday, partially 'cause we'd filled the van and didn't want to do two trips on Sat night, and partially 'cause I did *not* want to go back at all.

While he was bringing things up, I coralled Sam and turned on the tv to see what was on. Watched The Birdcage and realized that we were home.:)

The freedom here is remarkable. I had no idea how oppressed I'd felt till I wasn't feeling it any longer. We went food shopping after we lazed around for a bit, and being able to buy exactly what I wanted without having to worry about anyone saying there wasn't room in the fridge or that it was "Ok" if we wanted to buy our own things was so wonderful.

Being able to cook whatever the hell I want, whenever the hell I want, without worrying about making too much noise, too much mess or something someone won't like almost makes me giddy.

Not having every meal I make turn into an event "Oooh, Gesi *Cooked*!" makes me more creative.

And not having to clean up everything nearly as soon as I've used it makes me less stressed. (Of course, I couldn't wash *anything* till today (Monday), 'cause we forgot the scrubby soap dispensing thing onna steek. Jeff picked one up today.:)

Having my own *door*, not having people stomping above me (since it was a basement that had been turned into a livable space, the noise reduction was almost nill), not having people running up and down the stairs right outside "my" space, not having to hide more than half of who I am, not having to worry that I'm going to simply snap and tell everyone exactly what I think of them *without* any of my internal filters and not being *there* any longer makes me so happy I could honest to ghods cry.

So, you know...this is good for me. Jeff has relaxed considerably...he actually looks *younger* now...he'd better not get any more comfortable, 'cause I'll be arrested for being with him.;)

Sam's adjusting...she deals with change pretty well for her age, and she's having fun exploring, but she's definitely wondering what's going on. She's adjusting to here faster than she adjusted to there, that's for sure. And she really enjoys the rides on the luggage cart when Jeff brings stuff up. *grin* (Its something of an unspoken deal...he brings the stuff up and I put the clothes and kitchen stuff away. Most of the other stuff stays in the bins till needed.)

I *like* it here...I love having a living...nook. (Well, its not a complete room, but since the sleeping area is recessed, the couch/chair area has its own space.) After so many months, its so lovely to have somewhere to sit that *isn't* a bed.

There's a nice long table dividing the kitchen from everything else, and it has room for the 'puter and a place for me to make stuff. In a word, YAY. :)

Of course, aside from being away from the 'rents, I think the best part is not having to go up two flights to have a shower.

~~~

Disney Channel...where every kid's an original. Just like you.

I don't think that means what they think that means. Or maybe it does, and I have a crush on every person who made it possible for that phrase to come to that channel. *grin*

~~~
Tuesday, September 10, 2002

{Disclaimer: This is a rant, and I realize that I'm speaking in general terms here. I break these generalities. I think I'm speaking in "we" because that's how most of the people in "The media" speak and that's who, in large, I'm yelling at.}

The commercialism of 9/11/01 is getting to me in a huge way.
( Here come the rant )

~~~

The instructions on Cross-Stitch always say "There are no knots in Cross-Stitch." I hate to break it to the instruction writers, but there *will* be knots in any cross-stitch I'm doing. *grin*

~~~

If you get a chance to see Minority Report, go for it. It isn't just the best science fiction movie I've seen in a long time, its, simply, the best new movie I've seen in quite a while. I even forgot I was watching Tom Cruise...he became the character. Imneho, he hardly ever does that.

~~~

If you get a chance to see Signs (I think that's it...the new Mel Gibson movie), read a book. Dear *ghods* but it was awful. ( Here Be Spoilers )

~~~

That's the best thing about drive-ins. If you hate the movie, you *can* read a book. If you brought a book, that is. The one we go to, Benjies, had a marathon on Labor Day weekend...Spirit, the horse of somethingorother, which was animated and Sam really liked (which was the whole point for us.:); Signs; GoldMember, which was *so* much better than Austin Powers II; Eight Legged Freaks, which I tried to watch for five minutes, but read though, while Jeff & Sam slept; and Minority Report, at three or four in the morning...and it was definintely worth having to read through Eight Legged Freaks. But, you've probably gathered that from the paragraph before last.:)

~~~

Oh, eleccham, after doing extensive research, I've come to the conclusion that Pocomail sucks dead rats through a twisty straw. Its slow, it hangs on some IMAP mail, but never the same or same sort of message twice, so I don't know what the problem is...so, I'm still on the search for a good mail program that deals with IMAP well. I tried Pine, but it makes me feel stupid, and I try to stay away from things that do that.:)

~~~

The acoustics here are odd...it *sounds* like the crickets outside are actually in the computer. Even if that *were* possible, the fact that the sound is softer when the air conditioner is on makes me kinda suspicious.:)

~~~

I love having an oven. Now all we have to do is find all the nifty pans I bought at the Good Thrift Store on Saturday (it was kind of an exchange...they got a bunch of clothes, some books/magazines and our old printer, sans cords, and we got a high-chair, kid-sized rocking chair, bunch of books and kitchen stuff. For some reason, they insisted on charging money though.;) and we're in business. The hotel provides a pizza pan and a broiler pan, but neither of those do well for muffins and such. But, casseroles and that sort of thing are workable atm. Yay.:)

~~~

We've been here since Saturday, and I still haven't gotten over the joy of having privacy and my own space. Not that I'm *looking* for that to go away or anything.

~~~

Jeff and my third wedding and fourth relationship anniversary is Sunday. (Getting married on the date we fell in love comes in handy. We plan to be handfasted on the fifteenth as well...not this one though.:) This is one of those things that feels like its always been...but I *know* it's really only been going on for a week or so.

I don't know what I'm going to get him...of course, even if I did, I wouldn't put it here. But I don't...and it *would* be nice to have something to not put here...or mayyyybe I'm just being crafty and have a whole roomful of stuff for him.
~~~

Sometimes, when I'm thinking about things that happened before I knew Jeff, I wonder where he was. Then I remember that it was something that happened when I was ten. I do the same thing with Sam...I think it happens with her more often, 'cause she's been with me damn near 24/7 since...June of '99.

~~~

1:48 AM 9/11/02 (Hey look, I remembered the date function in notepad.)

Well, *That* was depressing.

Just got finished watching "The House Of Mirth", though it should have more properly been called "The House Of Really Crappy Stuff Happening To This One Person Who Didn't Seem To Deserve It At All"...though, I suppose that was too long for a marquee.

Oh, it was a good movie...good acting, lovely costumes and I do so adore the language of "high society" at the turn of the last century. And, after watching the first few minutes, I wasn't exactly expecting the Marx Bros...but *still*.

Though, it did reinforce my belief that you can't really be saved by someone else. People can help, but you have to truly *want* that help and you have to do your best with what you have to dig yourself out of any hole, or you'll just slip back in when the helper is distracted for the smallest moment.

This is why I don't really watch depressing movies...they make me say stuff like the above. *smile*

~~~

Though, I did learn something important from House Of Mirth.

Anthony LaPaglia doesn't really look good in a top hat.

Ok...so it wasn't important...kinda interesting though.:)

~~~
2:14 PM

Sam's vocabulary is *exploding*...she repeats words after me now, not just the ones she knows, and not everything, but a lot. The Good Thrift Store was having a bag sale wrt books, a dollar a bag, and I managed to go twice while it was happening, so Sam has *lots* of new books...me too.:) (Finally got a replacement copy of The Dollmaker...I haven't read it in over ten years.) Found a number of Sesame Street books...the kind that they used to sell in supermarkets, and she is over the moon for them. She spends quite a while looking at them herself, and reading them to LaaLaa & Baah (the stuffed ram in jammies I bought in Nashville) She brings the books to me and points out things...I tell her what they are and she repeats them, the best she can. Sure, there are some things only Jeff or I can understand, but there really are a lot that anyone could get. I'm really excited about this...she and I have been communicating for a very long time, but soon, we'll be able to *talk*, rather than me talk and her listen.

~~~

I know what I want in a house now...I'll put it here as a tribute to pipe dreams.:)

( Wanna spend the night? )

~~~

We've got Rocky II on, and my diction is going all to hell. Maybe I should try to find House Of Mirth again...maybe my mood wasn't the greatest, but I sounded fabulous.

~~~

I'm so embarrassed...I need to transfer this entry from 'Puter to Jeff's laptop, and in a family of 2.5 geeks, we have no floppies. I'm just waiting for the geek police to come take our keyboards away.

~~~

Jeff got home around two am last night, 'cause he had a couple things he had to moniter past his midnight quitting time. Sam was asleep on the bed, and we got a chance to just sit and talk for quite a while. Not about anything thunderously important, but just an exchange of ideas while being curled up together. We haven't done that in *so* long...and it was beyond nice.

~~~

7:14 PM

Ohmyghods! I just saw an ad for the new Family Affair...Tim Curry's in it! I think he's playing Mr.French! This is so completely frightning.

~~~

3:11 PM 9/12/02

Sam learned to say Apple yesterday. "App-ummmmm". Its a good thing she likes them, or that'd be false advertising. *grin*

~~~

There's more to say (isn't there always)?, but I've got to wrap this up, so that I can put it on the floppy Jeff brought home yesterday & he can post it for me.

We're doing fabulously...Sam's adjusting well, and seems happier. The rocking chair I got her at the Good Thrift Store is her veryfavorite thing.

I'm sorry I didn't cut-tag the whole post, but I needed them to hide things people might not want to read. Hope this doesn't turn out to be the entry that ate LJ. :)

I miss y'all, and can't wait to read back the two thousand entries you've posted. *grin*

~~~

Looooong update

{'Puter and dial-up networking aren't playing nicely together. arson is very kindly posting this and mail for me. Partially 'cause he likes me sane and partially 'cause he's just that sweet.:}
~~~
Monday, September 9, 2002

The move went well...Jeff had to go back on Sunday, partially 'cause we'd filled the van and didn't want to do two trips on Sat night, and partially 'cause I did *not* want to go back at all.

While he was bringing things up, I coralled Sam and turned on the tv to see what was on. Watched The Birdcage and realized that we were home.:)

The freedom here is remarkable. I had no idea how oppressed I'd felt till I wasn't feeling it any longer. We went food shopping after we lazed around for a bit, and being able to buy exactly what I wanted without having to worry about anyone saying there wasn't room in the fridge or that it was "Ok" if we wanted to buy our own things was so wonderful.

Being able to cook whatever the hell I want, whenever the hell I want, without worrying about making too much noise, too much mess or something someone won't like almost makes me giddy.

Not having every meal I make turn into an event "Oooh, Gesi *Cooked*!" makes me more creative.

And not having to clean up everything nearly as soon as I've used it makes me less stressed. (Of course, I couldn't wash *anything* till today (Monday), 'cause we forgot the scrubby soap dispensing thing onna steek. Jeff picked one up today.:)

Having my own *door*, not having people stomping above me (since it was a basement that had been turned into a livable space, the noise reduction was almost nill), not having people running up and down the stairs right outside "my" space, not having to hide more than half of who I am, not having to worry that I'm going to simply snap and tell everyone exactly what I think of them *without* any of my internal filters and not being *there* any longer makes me so happy I could honest to ghods cry.

So, you know...this is good for me. Jeff has relaxed considerably...he actually looks *younger* now...he'd better not get any more comfortable, 'cause I'll be arrested for being with him.;)

Sam's adjusting...she deals with change pretty well for her age, and she's having fun exploring, but she's definitely wondering what's going on. She's adjusting to here faster than she adjusted to there, that's for sure. And she really enjoys the rides on the luggage cart when Jeff brings stuff up. *grin* (Its something of an unspoken deal...he brings the stuff up and I put the clothes and kitchen stuff away. Most of the other stuff stays in the bins till needed.)

I *like* it here...I love having a living...nook. (Well, its not a complete room, but since the sleeping area is recessed, the couch/chair area has its own space.) After so many months, its so lovely to have somewhere to sit that *isn't* a bed.

There's a nice long table dividing the kitchen from everything else, and it has room for the 'puter and a place for me to make stuff. In a word, YAY. :)

Of course, aside from being away from the 'rents, I think the best part is not having to go up two flights to have a shower.

~~~

Disney Channel...where every kid's an original. Just like you.

I don't think that means what they think that means. Or maybe it does, and I have a crush on every person who made it possible for that phrase to come to that channel. *grin*

~~~
Tuesday, September 10, 2002

{Disclaimer: This is a rant, and I realize that I'm speaking in general terms here. I break these generalities. I think I'm speaking in "we" because that's how most of the people in "The media" speak and that's who, in large, I'm yelling at.}

The commercialism of 9/11/01 is getting to me in a huge way.
( Here come the rant )

~~~

The instructions on Cross-Stitch always say "There are no knots in Cross-Stitch." I hate to break it to the instruction writers, but there *will* be knots in any cross-stitch I'm doing. *grin*

~~~

If you get a chance to see Minority Report, go for it. It isn't just the best science fiction movie I've seen in a long time, its, simply, the best new movie I've seen in quite a while. I even forgot I was watching Tom Cruise...he became the character. Imneho, he hardly ever does that.

~~~

If you get a chance to see Signs (I think that's it...the new Mel Gibson movie), read a book. Dear *ghods* but it was awful. ( Here Be Spoilers )

~~~

That's the best thing about drive-ins. If you hate the movie, you *can* read a book. If you brought a book, that is. The one we go to, Benjies, had a marathon on Labor Day weekend...Spirit, the horse of somethingorother, which was animated and Sam really liked (which was the whole point for us.:); Signs; GoldMember, which was *so* much better than Austin Powers II; Eight Legged Freaks, which I tried to watch for five minutes, but read though, while Jeff & Sam slept; and Minority Report, at three or four in the morning...and it was definintely worth having to read through Eight Legged Freaks. But, you've probably gathered that from the paragraph before last.:)

~~~

Oh, eleccham, after doing extensive research, I've come to the conclusion that Pocomail sucks dead rats through a twisty straw. Its slow, it hangs on some IMAP mail, but never the same or same sort of message twice, so I don't know what the problem is...so, I'm still on the search for a good mail program that deals with IMAP well. I tried Pine, but it makes me feel stupid, and I try to stay away from things that do that.:)

~~~

The acoustics here are odd...it *sounds* like the crickets outside are actually in the computer. Even if that *were* possible, the fact that the sound is softer when the air conditioner is on makes me kinda suspicious.:)

~~~

I love having an oven. Now all we have to do is find all the nifty pans I bought at the Good Thrift Store on Saturday (it was kind of an exchange...they got a bunch of clothes, some books/magazines and our old printer, sans cords, and we got a high-chair, kid-sized rocking chair, bunch of books and kitchen stuff. For some reason, they insisted on charging money though.;) and we're in business. The hotel provides a pizza pan and a broiler pan, but neither of those do well for muffins and such. But, casseroles and that sort of thing are workable atm. Yay.:)

~~~

We've been here since Saturday, and I still haven't gotten over the joy of having privacy and my own space. Not that I'm *looking* for that to go away or anything.

~~~

Jeff and my third wedding and fourth relationship anniversary is Sunday. (Getting married on the date we fell in love comes in handy. We plan to be handfasted on the fifteenth as well...not this one though.:) This is one of those things that feels like its always been...but I *know* it's really only been going on for a week or so.

I don't know what I'm going to get him...of course, even if I did, I wouldn't put it here. But I don't...and it *would* be nice to have something to not put here...or mayyyybe I'm just being crafty and have a whole roomful of stuff for him.
~~~

Sometimes, when I'm thinking about things that happened before I knew Jeff, I wonder where he was. Then I remember that it was something that happened when I was ten. I do the same thing with Sam...I think it happens with her more often, 'cause she's been with me damn near 24/7 since...June of '99.

~~~

1:48 AM 9/11/02 (Hey look, I remembered the date function in notepad.)

Well, *That* was depressing.

Just got finished watching "The House Of Mirth", though it should have more properly been called "The House Of Really Crappy Stuff Happening To This One Person Who Didn't Seem To Deserve It At All"...though, I suppose that was too long for a marquee.

Oh, it was a good movie...good acting, lovely costumes and I do so adore the language of "high society" at the turn of the last century. And, after watching the first few minutes, I wasn't exactly expecting the Marx Bros...but *still*.

Though, it did reinforce my belief that you can't really be saved by someone else. People can help, but you have to truly *want* that help and you have to do your best with what you have to dig yourself out of any hole, or you'll just slip back in when the helper is distracted for the smallest moment.

This is why I don't really watch depressing movies...they make me say stuff like the above. *smile*

~~~

Though, I did learn something important from House Of Mirth.

Anthony LaPaglia doesn't really look good in a top hat.

Ok...so it wasn't important...kinda interesting though.:)

~~~
2:14 PM

Sam's vocabulary is *exploding*...she repeats words after me now, not just the ones she knows, and not everything, but a lot. The Good Thrift Store was having a bag sale wrt books, a dollar a bag, and I managed to go twice while it was happening, so Sam has *lots* of new books...me too.:) (Finally got a replacement copy of The Dollmaker...I haven't read it in over ten years.) Found a number of Sesame Street books...the kind that they used to sell in supermarkets, and she is over the moon for them. She spends quite a while looking at them herself, and reading them to LaaLaa & Baah (the stuffed ram in jammies I bought in Nashville) She brings the books to me and points out things...I tell her what they are and she repeats them, the best she can. Sure, there are some things only Jeff or I can understand, but there really are a lot that anyone could get. I'm really excited about this...she and I have been communicating for a very long time, but soon, we'll be able to *talk*, rather than me talk and her listen.

~~~

I know what I want in a house now...I'll put it here as a tribute to pipe dreams.:)

( Wanna spend the night? )

~~~

We've got Rocky II on, and my diction is going all to hell. Maybe I should try to find House Of Mirth again...maybe my mood wasn't the greatest, but I sounded fabulous.

~~~

I'm so embarrassed...I need to transfer this entry from 'Puter to Jeff's laptop, and in a family of 2.5 geeks, we have no floppies. I'm just waiting for the geek police to come take our keyboards away.

~~~

Jeff got home around two am last night, 'cause he had a couple things he had to moniter past his midnight quitting time. Sam was asleep on the bed, and we got a chance to just sit and talk for quite a while. Not about anything thunderously important, but just an exchange of ideas while being curled up together. We haven't done that in *so* long...and it was beyond nice.

~~~

7:14 PM

Ohmyghods! I just saw an ad for the new Family Affair...Tim Curry's in it! I think he's playing Mr.French! This is so completely frightning.

~~~

3:11 PM 9/12/02

Sam learned to say Apple yesterday. "App-ummmmm". Its a good thing she likes them, or that'd be false advertising. *grin*

~~~

There's more to say (isn't there always)?, but I've got to wrap this up, so that I can put it on the floppy Jeff brought home yesterday & he can post it for me.

We're doing fabulously...Sam's adjusting well, and seems happier. The rocking chair I got her at the Good Thrift Store is her veryfavorite thing.

I'm sorry I didn't cut-tag the whole post, but I needed them to hide things people might not want to read. Hope this doesn't turn out to be the entry that ate LJ. :)

I miss y'all, and can't wait to read back the two thousand entries you've posted. *grin*

~~~