moving day (I of III)

What a shitty day to be moving.

The rain’s been incessant, not good for a car with bad wipers.

“When are you going to get new blades?” Blake asked.

“I’m getting some for Christmas.”

“You know they’re only like five bucks, right?”

I took the day off work and so did Blake, and we went to town on moving out. Room by room we packed up boxes, loaded them into our cars, and sped off to our new place in Norwood. We signed the lease and handed the landlord a fat wad of cash. We kinda felt like drug dealers. Or at least I did. We worked from 10 AM to 7:30 PM, and we were feeling pretty beat afterwards. The house had been gutted, top-to-bottom, with only the major furniture and appliances remaining (and countless loads of junk accumulated from us and the previous seven tenants). Mandy, Andy, Brandy and Ams came over for our last night in the Claypole House: lots of laughter, NBA Jam, and reliving those old winter nights of last year before Rob and Mandy moved to Portland, before the Claypole House began to tear apart at the seams. Damned nostalgia.

a foggy morning

Driving into work this morning was quite scary. The fog came so thick that my lopsided headlights could barely cut it (no pun intended; kudos if you got that). Fog covered the 8th Street Viaduct to such a degree that I could only see two or three streetlights ahead of me, and more than once a truck came barreling through the fog on the other side of the lane, shooting past me before I could even register its passing. My alma mater posted the picture above; thankfully once I got downtown, the blanket of fog completely lifted. You could even see the stars, it was so clear. 

This weekend should be pretty crazy: Friday Blake and I are packing up the whole house, and Saturday we're moving into our new place. Hopefully the move will be swift, for that night there's a Hoos in the House party at the Loth House: Rob and Mandy, back in town, a party like the olden days. I simply CAN'T FUCKING WAIT. And then next weekend... Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

December is busy.

So fucking busy.

Hopefully things settle down after Christmas.

The future at T.M. is looking quite convoluted at the moment. Brandon's on his way out, hopes this will be his last month. Bob said he's going to be looking for an outside hire, someone with lots of restaurant management experience, but we'll see if that happens: it'll be interesting to see if anyone with such credentials would be willing to work for what he's offering. The meantime could be a bit tricky: I've been trained on most managerial duties, to "fill in the gap" so-to-speak, and if this temporary situation becomes drawn out, well, I don't want to think about that. I don't want to run the store, not with Grad School *hopefully* starting this March.

Regarding Grad School, I'm going to be working on the first essay once we settle down in the new house. The essay is an analysis of two books regarding whether the American Revolution was a social or political movement. In the interim, I'm trying to nail down a survey of Spanish colonization in the New World. It's interesting, the stuff good--albeit sad--stories are made of. The brutality of the Spanish coupled with their insistence of Catholic conversion makes one wonder what benefit the natives had in conversion. Sure, there were benefits, mostly material and psychological; but the benefits weren't long-lasting, as the natives (especially the Pueblos to the north) realized that their lives were far more peaceful and harmonious under their "pagan" ways of living. 

On a sad note, and this is worth mentioning, Mo and I broke up. Sure, we didn't date super long. But it was a good relationship, and she's a great girl, but we just wanted different things out of life. It wasn't a matter of one of us "falling out of favor," rather it was a matter of us realizing that our lives are going in different directions and we'd best acknowledge that now, and suffer the pain, than to continue in denial and become traumatized, bitter, and resentful towards one another in the future. So, yes, I'm back on the market; but the price is high, unless you're Blake, and I'm thinking a good dose of singleness would be profitable for where I'm at in life right now. 

All that aside, I miss Mo. I really do.

Sometimes, with dating, this happens.

But that doesn't make it any easier.

Amanda's waiting for me in my room.

She locked herself out of her house when she came over to shower.

I'm going to close this laptop, gather my books, and head home.

"Where am I now?" At The Anchor of course!

Ta-ta for now.

(Tigger)

(from Winnie the Poo)

tazza mia christmas tree

Tiffany threw this together Monday morning.
The tree's coffee-themed, spotlighting our Brazilian #4 Select.
I'm not like a huge fan of Christmas trees, but this one's off the hook.
Cat took the photos; I stole them.

from mars

Check out that beautiful martian landscape.
It's been confirmed: water's been discovered on Mars.
And, from what Blake tells me, Mercury has it, too.
Seems that little "necessary ingredient" isn't unique to earth.
And just last week I was mocked for believing aliens to be possible.

the 76th week

heeeeeeere's johnny!

If all goes to plan, this will be the second-to-last "weekly update": we've found a possible place in Norwood, and Blake, Isaac and I may be moving in as soon as Friday this upcoming week. It's a great location, right next to the highway, just a hop, skip and a jump from Rookwood Commons, and only a few exits south of 1/2 Price Books. So, yes, it's prime real estate. Ok, here's the weekly update:

Monday. The Thanksgiving weekend came to a close with a 6:30-2:30. Blake, Ams and I checked out a house in Norwood. It's quaint and on a quiet street. We're definitely interested. We headed over to the Loth House for an evening of laughter, beer, and The Walking Dead. John & Brandy, Amos, Blake, Ams, Isaac, Clover, Andy and me: quite the crew. Mo made a surprise visit to the house to see me, but I wasn't there. I left the party early to meet up with her, and we watched Psych back at my house. 

Tuesday. Brandon and I opened together, a solid morning. He's looking for other jobs at the moment, is serious about it. "I fucking hate it here. The only thing keeping me somewhat sane is working with you guys." I cleaned my room after work and went to The Anchor to continue plowing through American Colonies. Dinner was Dusmesh-to-go at Amos' place, and we played MW3 and wrestled with Clover to the tunes of "Ugly Americans." Ams came over to do homework. I headed home to help Mo change her oil, but it was too dark and she didn't have the oil, so we postponed.

Wednesday. Sarah and I opened, and after a trip to The Anchor I met up with Mo and we went to the Loth House to watch documentaries and drink beer with John. We watched half of an amazing show on UFOs and then watched a few episodes of Blue Planet. Brandy and Sabrina came home after rock climbing in Blue Ash. Oh, and Brandon officially resigned from S.M. at T.M.

Thursday. I covered Ana's F.P. shift and ran our rental applications to the house in Norwood. I went to Amos' and we played MW3. Isaac showed up, too, and then John came home from work. We picked up Taco Bell for dinner, and Dave Adams, back in town after a long stint in Libya doing photojournalism, swung by, and I gave him a lift home. I knew him from the early C.C.U. years. He's been hired at 600, starts next week, should be cool. I headed home and Ams came by for a bit. We watched the Station Fire footage from the Rhode Island night club back in 2003. Fucked. Up. She went to Josh's, and I spent the rest of my night reading and went to bed early.

Friday. I didn't go in until 10:30, so after hanging out with Blake for a bit, I got some breakfast burritos before heading into work. Frank and I had a great close, and I spent the night hanging out with Blake and Ams before heading over to Amos' to play MW3 and watch the British "Office." Shit went down outside his house: yellow tape, canines, the whole deal. I crashed back home after some NBA Jam with Blake and Isaac.

Saturday. I went to The Anchor for breakfast and spent most of the day hanging out with Blake and playing video games. Mo came over in the evening, and we got Dusmesh for dinner. The rest of the night was spent hanging out with her, Blake, Isaac and Ams. We watched "Requiem for a Dream," always depressing.

Sunday. I went to The Anchor before heading downtown to do End-of-Month Inventory with Brandon. The back fridge shorted out over the weekend and we lost $1000. Awesome. I spent the evening hanging out with Amos, John and Brandy, and I rounded out my night playing NBA Jam back home with Blake, Isaac, and Ams.

the 75th week

hug me, blakey!

Monday. Ana's on vacation, so I did Food Prep all week. I worked 7:30-3:00, had a manager meeting with Brandon, and spent the afternoon cleaning around the house. We've gotta get it looking clean, as realtors will be tramping through here soon enough. Monday Night took place at the Loth House, with Ethan showing our house tomorrow afternoon, and we wanted to keep it clean and smelling good. John, Brandy, Ams, Amos, Isaac, Andy, Blake & I crowded the TV to watch The Walking Dead, and we dined on cheez-its, combos, and some of Brandy's kick-ass brown sugar glazed almonds. And we had a variety of autumnal beers, courtesy John and Andy.

Tuesday. I worked 7:30-3:00. James is working at the 21C Restaurant and Hotel now, and we have Frank from 1215 to replace him. A good trade. Work was slow, and I went to The Anchor to do some reading before jetting over to Hyde Park to see Mo before all the Thanksgiving festivities. She cooked me a dinner of turkey and potatoes and gave me a bag of delicious cookies to take home with me. I think she's trying to fatten me up. 

Wednesday. Work was incredibly slow, as expected. It was a decent last day before an extended weekend of traveling and dining. Amos grabbed some growlers of Scottish Ale from Rock Bottom, and our skeleton crew all but had them polished off by the tail-end of the lunch rush. Half the rush I was in the back drinking beer and singing aloud to Old Crow Medicine Show. If only every day could be like that... Amos and I played some MW3 after work, and then I hurried north to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner with Mom, Dad, Ams & Josh. Mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, macaroni & cheese, stuffing, baked turkey and rolls. Mom & Dad visited Antietam this past weekend, asked if I'd ever heard of it. My eyes went global. "Did you walk the sunken road?!" My dad said they did. Am I jealous? It was only the bloodiest day of battle in American military history. 

Thanksgiving. I woke 'round 9:00. Blake and I hung out for a bit, and I went over to Amos' to play video games and to eat Thanksgiving leftovers from last night's meal. The evening was spent in New Carlisle with Dad's side of the family, and we enjoyed yet another amazing feast. "You two live to the beat of your own drums," Mom told Ams and me. We're sorta like the oddballs in the family. Matthew and Megan are both married; Megan already has two girls, Cate who's talkin' and Grace who's walkin', and Shelby's pregnant with a boy. Addison's engaged to a girl named Mandy. There were days when seeing the flourishing life and love of others made my heart bend in jealousy; but, for the most part, those days are over. Every now and then there's an inkling of that feeling, almost like an echo that hasn't quite faded. Call it wisdom, maturity, cynicism, what-have-you, but I prefer it this way. 

Black Friday. I got home late last night; Blake texted me, said he was over at the Loth House with Amos, John and Brandy. I was too tired, and low on gas, so I just went to bed. I woke to a cold morning, the warmth of the last few days being blown away by a cold front. Most of the day was spent hanging with Blake: watching TV, playing video games, even a trip to The Anchor (I got coffee and free toast). The evening was spent at the Loth House playing video games with Amos, John, and John's friend Josh and his wife.

Saturday. Blake, Amos, and Isaac crashed my time at The Anchor, but I didn't mind one bit. It was pretty great. I rushed up to Dayton to get my early Christmas present: four new tires, an oil change, and an alignment for my beat-up Celica. "You could get historical plates on that car!" Uncle Bill quipped; to which I replied, "I always drive classics, but not the kind, like you want." All day was spent with Mom's side of the family watching football, playing trivia games, eating $100 worth of Marion's Pizza, and drinking lots and lots of beer. This was Kennedy's first Thanksgiving, being only six months old, and she loved the dogs. I was home by 10:00, and Blake and I rounded out the night with some NBA Jam before I promptly passed out.

Sunday. Another cold, bleak, dreary day. My Anchor time was spent reading a new book, American Colonies. After running some errands and enjoying some McDonald's breakfast, I spent the afternoon inside and out of the cold. Ams came over once she woke up 'round noon, and Blake joined us around 4:00. The rest of the day was spent much like yesterday: video games and watching TV. A chill end to a busy week.

crashin' the anchor

My Anchor time has been crashed by Blake, Isaac, and Amos.
I don't mind. It gives me time to blow and wink. Amos likes that.

My original goal was to be done with my study of the French & Indian War before the beginning of December, to focus on grad school essays and such. However, I've got caught up in studying colonial American history prior to 1754, and I've been doing lots of study in the realm of English history, since the development of the colonies and the currents in English history of the time are integrally connected. The English Civil War, Restoration of 1660, and the Glorious Revolution of 1688 are fascinating. Equally intriguing is the development of slavery in the south, most notably in South Carolina, where the same type of slavery in the West Indies was replicated. I used to believe that slavery in the south was pretty much the same all across the board, but slavery differentiated in its practice and custom from colony to colony. Slavery in Virginia, for example, was much milder than slavery in the deep south. 

Isaac is sitting across from me in his Praha hoodie.

He's smoking an unlit cigarette, which is... Wait, no, it's lit now.

I'm really looking forward to Mo getting back from Michigan. I haven't seen her in close to a week, or at least it feels like it, and I'll be honest: this little koala heart is quite warm towards the girl. She's super cool, super fun to hang out with, mature, doing something with her life, and for some unknown reason she finds herself irrevocably drawn to me. That itself should be a red flag?

Mom & Dad went to Maryland this past weekend, and they visited Antietam. You've no idea the jealousy that flooded my veins. My top desired battlefields to visit include Gettysburg (for a second time), Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville (where Stonewall Jackson bit a bullet from his own Confederate pickets; his immune system was ravaged and he died of pneumonia). Perhaps next year I'll have (a) a decent enough car and (b) enough money to visit one or two of them? That's a happy thought.