The prodigal son...
My last update was back in August... wow... but I've been through just about two lifetimes since then... still no excuse.
Let's see... I'll try to take this in chronological order.
Just after the last post on my journal... only a few days later, I purchased my very first brand new car. It wasn't my first car but it was my first NEW car. When I was 18 I had saved up money and bought a P.O.S (Piece of Shit) car that behaved and looked exactly like that... but after accidents and regular wear and tear, I had to get rid of it and through hard work (80 hour work weeks) and a little help from grandma and great grandma... I was able to purchase the car I own now.
To be honest with you, it wasn't my first choice. When I first started looking at cars, I was going to buy a used car but then I thought maybe I should go the extra mile and get the new one... after all I'm not mechanically inclined at all so a warranty would greatly help should anything happen to the car. So my car has a 6 year warranty, bumper to bumper and free maintenance for those 6 years.
So when I decided I wanted a new car, I went for my first choice... a Volkswagen Jetta... well turns out I couldn't get a deal good enough and get all the extras I needed (plus the warranty was way shorter) so I went to look at Hondas and that's what I ended up getting. A 2004 Honda Civic LX Sedan. I practically had to be bribed to buy the car... I so didn't want it... I love it now but at the time I bought it because it was the practical purchase... not because I wanted it.
Anyway... car business aside... I continued to live away from home... lived and worked in Palm Beach (home is Miami) and then the most unexpected thing happened... hurricanes... 2 hit our area. Dirt and water and mud and no power... I was out of work for a while... it was a bad time but I got through it... we all did safely, thankfully.
A few weeks after that... just when things start getting back to normal, I end up spraining my knee and tearing my MCL. Ugh. Doctor's orders were stay in bed, no weight on that knee... for 8 weeks. Did I listen? Noooo. I continued to work my regular schedule which after a couple weeks turned out to be too much... so I cut my hours down to about 20 per week and even that turned out to be way too much for my knee. At the second consultation with my doctor he gave me an ultimatum... either stay off the knee or face surgery and be forced to go into physical therapy and all that entails. So I finally complied... quit my job, moved back home to Miami, and worked on getting myself healed. God those weeks in bed were torture but I had something to look forward to. I had planned a 3 week vacation to NYC. The reason was threefold... 1. I'd get to see my best who happens to live there. 2. I'd get to get away for a while and decompress and 3. I had European relatives who were planning a vacation to NYC around the same time to get to see me.
My knee healed... well as best as it could... still has a little more to go but at least I can walk... no pain, no limping. Off I went to NY and everything went well... met up with my relatives... my best friend... a gay ol' time was had by all. Sounds great doesn't it? Well it was... until last week... I got back to Miami just 2 days ago... but last week just as the trip was coming to a close... real life steps in again. My best friend, my relatives, and are all hanging around, talking... having fun in the hotel when I get a call on my cell from back home. I answer it to be met with sobs from a family member telling me that the mother of one of the European relatives I was with, had just passed away.
I went pale... cried... all this less than 5 feet away from the woman's daughter. Oh god I hated having to do that... I hated having to be the one to tell her... specially that I had no time to compose myself and ended up telling her in mid-sob. So on that note, our vacation came to an end... I dealt with it the best I could for the last few days... basically shock, anger, denial... numbness. I went through it all... still am to a certain degree but it's getting easier. Life goes on... stops for no one.
There you have it... the last 6 months of my life in a nutshell... with some details left out obviously. We don't need this to look like the constitution right? Anyway rambling and ranting over. Going to eat a little now. Be good y'all.
Arik
Let's see... I'll try to take this in chronological order.
Just after the last post on my journal... only a few days later, I purchased my very first brand new car. It wasn't my first car but it was my first NEW car. When I was 18 I had saved up money and bought a P.O.S (Piece of Shit) car that behaved and looked exactly like that... but after accidents and regular wear and tear, I had to get rid of it and through hard work (80 hour work weeks) and a little help from grandma and great grandma... I was able to purchase the car I own now.
To be honest with you, it wasn't my first choice. When I first started looking at cars, I was going to buy a used car but then I thought maybe I should go the extra mile and get the new one... after all I'm not mechanically inclined at all so a warranty would greatly help should anything happen to the car. So my car has a 6 year warranty, bumper to bumper and free maintenance for those 6 years.
So when I decided I wanted a new car, I went for my first choice... a Volkswagen Jetta... well turns out I couldn't get a deal good enough and get all the extras I needed (plus the warranty was way shorter) so I went to look at Hondas and that's what I ended up getting. A 2004 Honda Civic LX Sedan. I practically had to be bribed to buy the car... I so didn't want it... I love it now but at the time I bought it because it was the practical purchase... not because I wanted it.
Anyway... car business aside... I continued to live away from home... lived and worked in Palm Beach (home is Miami) and then the most unexpected thing happened... hurricanes... 2 hit our area. Dirt and water and mud and no power... I was out of work for a while... it was a bad time but I got through it... we all did safely, thankfully.
A few weeks after that... just when things start getting back to normal, I end up spraining my knee and tearing my MCL. Ugh. Doctor's orders were stay in bed, no weight on that knee... for 8 weeks. Did I listen? Noooo. I continued to work my regular schedule which after a couple weeks turned out to be too much... so I cut my hours down to about 20 per week and even that turned out to be way too much for my knee. At the second consultation with my doctor he gave me an ultimatum... either stay off the knee or face surgery and be forced to go into physical therapy and all that entails. So I finally complied... quit my job, moved back home to Miami, and worked on getting myself healed. God those weeks in bed were torture but I had something to look forward to. I had planned a 3 week vacation to NYC. The reason was threefold... 1. I'd get to see my best who happens to live there. 2. I'd get to get away for a while and decompress and 3. I had European relatives who were planning a vacation to NYC around the same time to get to see me.
My knee healed... well as best as it could... still has a little more to go but at least I can walk... no pain, no limping. Off I went to NY and everything went well... met up with my relatives... my best friend... a gay ol' time was had by all. Sounds great doesn't it? Well it was... until last week... I got back to Miami just 2 days ago... but last week just as the trip was coming to a close... real life steps in again. My best friend, my relatives, and are all hanging around, talking... having fun in the hotel when I get a call on my cell from back home. I answer it to be met with sobs from a family member telling me that the mother of one of the European relatives I was with, had just passed away.
I went pale... cried... all this less than 5 feet away from the woman's daughter. Oh god I hated having to do that... I hated having to be the one to tell her... specially that I had no time to compose myself and ended up telling her in mid-sob. So on that note, our vacation came to an end... I dealt with it the best I could for the last few days... basically shock, anger, denial... numbness. I went through it all... still am to a certain degree but it's getting easier. Life goes on... stops for no one.
There you have it... the last 6 months of my life in a nutshell... with some details left out obviously. We don't need this to look like the constitution right? Anyway rambling and ranting over. Going to eat a little now. Be good y'all.
Arik