Holding Down the Fort

Some sun and my man. That's all I'm asking for. It sounds so simple, but sun's been in short supply for weeks, and so has Cam. I still don't have a return date for him. Not soon enough, I can tell you that much.

It's weird, all this time living solo. I've never lived by myself before, and it's something Enna recommended I do at some point. There are certainly things I like about it - the eating with my fingers, the regular gym trips, the healthy food and the much lower alcohol intake. I had a fantastic weekend in Philadelphia with sister & bro-il, not to be beat. I lunched with a dear friend, visited Cam's family, and helped his sister register for her upcoming wedding. I've been out with neighborhood friends, been to two parties and a show, and dined at a new buzzy restaurant. I've taken myself - driven myself, walked myself, metro'd and bussed myself - to each event, and it's been a pleasant reminder of the first couple of years I lived in the city, during graduate school. It's fun to reconnect with it, to enjoy it on foot and on metro.

Other parts of me, however, are suffering. I don't mean the obvious - hugs and affection and laughter and love and conversation and checking-in and partnership. While I've been super productive, my creative impulse, fragile at best, is now dormant once again. I'm taking an online course designed to help me with that, and can barely muster the will to complete the assignments... And I paid for the class. I'm not really sure what to do about that.

Still and all, I'm taking good care of myself and our kitties.

love is all around

ok, so the first round of the bad was pretty bad. even though cam was gone for 9 days instead of 10, i hit a low low spot around day 5. i love being alone, but this time, i was too alone. my best dc friend was out of town, my awesome roommate was out of town, and i just felt lonelier than patsy cline. after a fantastic phone date with cam i realized hey! i have the resources to fix this situation! and just a few hours later, my weekend was PACKED. friday after work i headed home to visit my bff, her hubby, and little evan, then dashed to my sister's and then to dinner downtown with her, her bf, and some other friends. we had two rounds of tapas at kyma, two bottles of wine, and more than two hours of good conversation. the funniest part came toward the end... i headed down the street to the atm to get a bit more cash for my share of the bill. the line took forever, and when i finally slipped my card into the slot, the brightest light shone straight on me from the street. what?! i shielded my eyes and checked it out - it was a cop car shining its spot on me. huh? i sort of glared and turned back to the atm. next, "ma'am: you there, at the atm, are you alright" boomed over the cop's pa. duh, of course i am. so i shot another glare over my shoulder and went back to the machine. again, "are you ok at the atm?" next thing i hear is my sister laughing, and i look over once more just in time to see her tumbling out of the backseat of the squad car - our friend, one of annapolis' finest, had picked her up as she trailed me to the atm to make sure i was ok (since i was taking so long). hilarious!

the next day was a doozy too - up early and over to newlywed ernie's new condo to hang out with her and her husband, over to mom's to say hello, then home for about 4 hours and off to a pig roast in brookland. it was fantastic - hosted by the parents of a former intern of ours who graduated from american this summer. they're latino, puerto rican and salvadoran, and man did they throw a feast! the pig was roasted slowly in a large box with coals on top, and accompanied by potato salad, spicy rice, and tons of beer. we dined under a large tent set up in the driveway at tables adorned with vases of flowers, and as soon as the sun set a variety of instruments emerged from the house, and soon thereafter the music began. it was so warm and inviting and fun, i had a hard time leaving.

sunday was another round of the good - more tubing! a different crew this time, and less drunken, but no less fun. and monday i dashed out of work and picked cam up and all was right in the world. he's gone again now, for a day or maybe two... the unpredictability is frustrating, but it's so important and his employer values him so highly that i know we'll make it work. and i'm so proud of him.