On the drive home from work (all 7 minutes of it) there is a Petsmart. I was never one to buy into the idea that a pet was essentially as good as a human member of a family, but I have also always felt a fondness for animals (minus their inability to deal with their own poop). Maybe it was simply the desire to have another moving, living thing in my domicile, or I was fulfilling some long-lost childhood desire to have a pet that actually lived through the first month of my care, but due to a lingering notion that having a fish would fulfill my desire to not be the only animate thing in my apartment as well as my desire to avoid much significant commitment, I fuckin’ bought a fish. I got a betta because they are lovely creatures, but mostly because they are aggressive and like being alone, and they only require 1 gallon of water’s worth of space. His name is George. I cannot explain why that is, but I knew as I pulled out of the Petsmart parking lot that he is George, and he really doesn’t like travelling in a small plastic tub in my car’s cupholder, poor guy. Regardless, I love him and he is simple, and that was entirely the point, I think.

On the drive home from work (all 7 minutes of it) there is a Petsmart. I was never one to buy into the idea that a pet was essentially as good as a human member of a family, but I have also always felt a fondness for animals (minus their inability to deal with their own poop). Maybe it was simply the desire to have another moving, living thing in my domicile, or I was fulfilling some long-lost childhood desire to have a pet that actually lived through the first month of my care, but due to a lingering notion that having a fish would fulfill my desire to not be the only animate thing in my apartment as well as my desire to avoid much significant commitment, I fuckin’ bought a fish.

I got a betta because they are lovely creatures, but mostly because they are aggressive and like being alone, and they only require 1 gallon of water’s worth of space. His name is George. I cannot explain why that is, but I knew as I pulled out of the Petsmart parking lot that he is George, and he really doesn’t like travelling in a small plastic tub in my car’s cupholder, poor guy. Regardless, I love him and he is simple, and that was entirely the point, I think.

How’s this for boring? It’s my entryway carpet. But a big part of this day was my move-in inspection, and I damn sure will not be blamed for stains on the carpet upon move-out. What’s funny is that this day, January 31st, was my first day of work at Sapient. I wish I had a better picture of anything, really, but all I have is this carpet. This day marked a huge turning point in my life path and here is some carpet to remember it by. That’s a thing to consider, though. The semi-related idea that once a moment or a day or a year, even, has passed, you can’t go back to it and get a better picture to represent it. (This is the point at which I begin to extrapolate based on this silly thought I had about this picture of carpet, and turn it into the whole world. It’s this thing I do.) Something I have been thinking an awful lot about lately is how my life is gaining momentum, every day moving more and more rapidly away from what I have regarded as my life. That is, I have had this idea about how things are for years, and I have loved those years, in general. In particular, for the last two or three years I got into a routine, and though my schedule changed semester to semester and even day to day, I knew these things about myself and my life: I was a college student, and I knew how to be and do that; I knew that I would come home to my sister every night regardless of whether or not we were getting along or fuming at each other; I knew that at most any time, I could call up a friend to go out for dinner or to hang out and drink beers. I knew all of these things, and they had a great deal to do with who I thought myself to be. It wasn’t until recently that I really began to understand that all of these things are changed. Changing. My life is not the way it was, and I can never revisit that prior life. This is how it all works, and I know that, but it still makes me sad. I’m sad that I will probably never live with Charly again. I’m sad that I don’t bump into some of my favorite people on campus on a regular basis. I’m sad that I’ll never have a break between classes and my office hours just long enough to walk to the Francis house and have macaroni and cheese while watching that week’s episode of The Office onDemand. I loved those things, and I will miss them so much. There’s no way around that, but it is still just a sad thing. So here’s a song about these themes that I really like, and maybe listening to it will remind me that at least I understand how these things go and other people think them too, and it’s really okay after all.Still Fighting It - Ben Folds 

How’s this for boring? It’s my entryway carpet. But a big part of this day was my move-in inspection, and I damn sure will not be blamed for stains on the carpet upon move-out. 

What’s funny is that this day, January 31st, was my first day of work at Sapient. I wish I had a better picture of anything, really, but all I have is this carpet. This day marked a huge turning point in my life path and here is some carpet to remember it by. That’s a thing to consider, though. The semi-related idea that once a moment or a day or a year, even, has passed, you can’t go back to it and get a better picture to represent it. (This is the point at which I begin to extrapolate based on this silly thought I had about this picture of carpet, and turn it into the whole world. It’s this thing I do.) Something I have been thinking an awful lot about lately is how my life is gaining momentum, every day moving more and more rapidly away from what I have regarded as my life. That is, I have had this idea about how things are for years, and I have loved those years, in general. In particular, for the last two or three years I got into a routine, and though my schedule changed semester to semester and even day to day, I knew these things about myself and my life: I was a college student, and I knew how to be and do that; I knew that I would come home to my sister every night regardless of whether or not we were getting along or fuming at each other; I knew that at most any time, I could call up a friend to go out for dinner or to hang out and drink beers. I knew all of these things, and they had a great deal to do with who I thought myself to be. It wasn’t until recently that I really began to understand that all of these things are changed. Changing. My life is not the way it was, and I can never revisit that prior life. This is how it all works, and I know that, but it still makes me sad. I’m sad that I will probably never live with Charly again. I’m sad that I don’t bump into some of my favorite people on campus on a regular basis. I’m sad that I’ll never have a break between classes and my office hours just long enough to walk to the Francis house and have macaroni and cheese while watching that week’s episode of The Office onDemand. I loved those things, and I will miss them so much. There’s no way around that, but it is still just a sad thing. So here’s a song about these themes that I really like, and maybe listening to it will remind me that at least I understand how these things go and other people think them too, and it’s really okay after all.

Still Fighting It - Ben Folds 

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Since I drank too much at my housewarming party, I was hung over most of the next day and didn’t much feel like documenting that in any significant way. Luckily my party waged on well into the wee hours of the morning, so I’m doubling up. Here, Mary and Mae are showing off one of the several drinks I really shouldn’t’ve drunk, but it was just so nice looking! Party, party, party!I will say, having a bunch of friends over the first night I really spent in my new place gave me a set of memories of good things in the apartment to start with, which I swear made the first week living alone easier. It started off good, so it wasn’t as lonely as it could have been otherwise. Plus, it was just a damn good party.

Since I drank too much at my housewarming party, I was hung over most of the next day and didn’t much feel like documenting that in any significant way. Luckily my party waged on well into the wee hours of the morning, so I’m doubling up. Here, Mary and Mae are showing off one of the several drinks I really shouldn’t’ve drunk, but it was just so nice looking! Party, party, party!

I will say, having a bunch of friends over the first night I really spent in my new place gave me a set of memories of good things in the apartment to start with, which I swear made the first week living alone easier. It started off good, so it wasn’t as lonely as it could have been otherwise. Plus, it was just a damn good party.

It took two days to finish moving all of my stuff into my apartment, which is pretty good for a bunch of out-of-shape old farts. You can be damn sure I consider myself an old fart, right along with my parents and uncle. And Charly.The tricky part was that I arranged for a Housewarming-In-A-Hurry party this night, which ensured that my moving party had to be a very abrupt and efficient one; it was in Charly’s honor that I held this party in such a rushed fashion, becuase at this point it was—as far as I knew—the last opportunity I had to hold a housewarming party before my bigs sister left my side for who-knows-how-long.The party went very well, lots of people I wasn’t really expecting to show up did in the most wonderful fashion, only one neighbor complained about cigarette smoke seepage, and I actually did get most everything moved in and in place in two short days. This photo reflects the communal nature of the evening via the excessive sharing of one of my coasters by me, Mae, Robby and Danny. A very sweet thing. Also, we played Taboo!

It took two days to finish moving all of my stuff into my apartment, which is pretty good for a bunch of out-of-shape old farts. You can be damn sure I consider myself an old fart, right along with my parents and uncle. And Charly.

The tricky part was that I arranged for a Housewarming-In-A-Hurry party this night, which ensured that my moving party had to be a very abrupt and efficient one; it was in Charly’s honor that I held this party in such a rushed fashion, becuase at this point it was—as far as I knew—the last opportunity I had to hold a housewarming party before my bigs sister left my side for who-knows-how-long.

The party went very well, lots of people I wasn’t really expecting to show up did in the most wonderful fashion, only one neighbor complained about cigarette smoke seepage, and I actually did get most everything moved in and in place in two short days. This photo reflects the communal nature of the evening via the excessive sharing of one of my coasters by me, Mae, Robby and Danny. A very sweet thing. Also, we played Taboo!

MOVE IN DAY! Obviously, I was too busy all day moving the thousands of belongings I have but don’t really need into my new apartment to take a photo of anything, but I did move into a cute little apartment with a very rectangular and appropriate floorplan. So here it is, in all of its glory!

MOVE IN DAY! Obviously, I was too busy all day moving the thousands of belongings I have but don’t really need into my new apartment to take a photo of anything, but I did move into a cute little apartment with a very rectangular and appropriate floorplan. So here it is, in all of its glory!

Obviously I didn’t take this photo, but since I decided to partake in this whole deal relatively recently, there will be days I will have to make adjustments for. Still, I know that on this day I looked for checks to buy. I seriously considered buying these checks (at least, as seriously as one can possibly consider buying unicorn-themed checks), but decided on plain blue that were extra-super-value-priced, because as I have made abundantly clear, I’m old. I still love this in mystical theory, though. (If you are curious about my activities this day, I probably just sat around enjoying my last day living at my parent’s house. Bittersweet.)

Obviously I didn’t take this photo, but since I decided to partake in this whole deal relatively recently, there will be days I will have to make adjustments for. Still, I know that on this day I looked for checks to buy. I seriously considered buying these checks (at least, as seriously as one can possibly consider buying unicorn-themed checks), but decided on plain blue that were extra-super-value-priced, because as I have made abundantly clear, I’m old. I still love this in mystical theory, though. 

(If you are curious about my activities this day, I probably just sat around enjoying my last day living at my parent’s house. Bittersweet.)

It was like the Robbirthdaying never ended. I am particularly fond of this function of my phone’s camera, because it means automatic zombies any time of day OR night!

It was like the Robbirthdaying never ended. I am particularly fond of this function of my phone’s camera, because it means automatic zombies any time of day OR night!

I didn’t technically take this photo, but it is far too adorable not to plaster all over town. This is Robby’s nephew, and he is the most nonchalant of nonchalant about it being Uncle Robby’s birthday.

I didn’t technically take this photo, but it is far too adorable not to plaster all over town. This is Robby’s nephew, and he is the most nonchalant of nonchalant about it being Uncle Robby’s birthday.

Robby’s birthday is a huge secret because he doesn’t like celebrations of any kind, but it happened just after I set up and took this [hint!]. The little ghost is my nightlight (blue light, extra fancy!), which I’m sure you could still purchase at Ikea, but I am also sure that you couldn’t possibly love the one you may buy as much as I love mine. That little guy has been with me a long, long time, and I love him far more than is necessary or natural.Also, Happy birthday to Robby on his big secret birthday. And good for me being the best at inventive, adorable well-wishing. 

Robby’s birthday is a huge secret because he doesn’t like celebrations of any kind, but it happened just after I set up and took this [hint!]. The little ghost is my nightlight (blue light, extra fancy!), which I’m sure you could still purchase at Ikea, but I am also sure that you couldn’t possibly love the one you may buy as much as I love mine. That little guy has been with me a long, long time, and I love him far more than is necessary or natural.

Also, Happy birthday to Robby on his big secret birthday. And good for me being the best at inventive, adorable well-wishing. 

The biggest decision I had to make after deciding to graduate when I was supposed to involved finding and paying a shitload of money to get an apartment. I went out one day with my dad and drove around Dunwoody looking at places, and it was horribly disappointing. We tried again a second day, considering a very slightly higher price range, and found the exact place I have always wanted to live (read: something that would suffice nicely). I began the rig-a-marole [Side Note: The word rigamarole is actually a variant of rigmarole, but I suppose it is very southern of me to add in syllables where there are none. Interesting factoid.] associated with acquiring the apartment, and had to settle for one that wasn’t the exact one I wanted because the leasing agent ahd the wrong list of available units blah blah blah you don’t care. But long story short, I got one! And my whole family went to have a look-see at my new place to make sure I wasn’t being swindled or hoodwinked or screwed, because they really care and only want the best for me.The point of my rambling is this: we drove home (my true home, where my family is), me and Charly in the car we shared in high school, and there was this really incredible sunset. The clouds formed their own little funnel in the least threatening of ways, and the light was pink and wonderful. It was a great ride, full of mentions of “our last…time…whatevering together,” the running joke Charly and I had abused throughout our last few months living together. It was the right end for a good day.

The biggest decision I had to make after deciding to graduate when I was supposed to involved finding and paying a shitload of money to get an apartment. I went out one day with my dad and drove around Dunwoody looking at places, and it was horribly disappointing. We tried again a second day, considering a very slightly higher price range, and found the exact place I have always wanted to live (read: something that would suffice nicely). I began the rig-a-marole [Side Note: The word rigamarole is actually a variant of rigmarole, but I suppose it is very southern of me to add in syllables where there are none. Interesting factoid.] associated with acquiring the apartment, and had to settle for one that wasn’t the exact one I wanted because the leasing agent ahd the wrong list of available units blah blah blah you don’t care. But long story short, I got one! And my whole family went to have a look-see at my new place to make sure I wasn’t being swindled or hoodwinked or screwed, because they really care and only want the best for me.

The point of my rambling is this: we drove home (my true home, where my family is), me and Charly in the car we shared in high school, and there was this really incredible sunset. The clouds formed their own little funnel in the least threatening of ways, and the light was pink and wonderful. It was a great ride, full of mentions of “our last…time…whatevering together,” the running joke Charly and I had abused throughout our last few months living together. It was the right end for a good day.