Run with the dogs tonight in Suburbia
Well, I’m still planning on moving back home at the end of the summer. I’m a little nervous about that, but not too much. It may have been a hasty decision, maybe an unwise decision, but you know me. Once I’ve made a decision I just stop thinking about it and take what comes. I wish, though, that I was more sure that I’ll have the money required in a couple of months. We’ll see, I guess.
On the money front: I am still deciding where to live until I leave town. Huey has offered to extend my lease month-to-month ‘til I go, and I would prefer that. But Mama has offered to let me stay at her place. That would save LOTS of money. Plus, her shower works, and her kitchen is big enough that I can cook fancy meals for myself in it. And since Huey is still showing the apartment, Jeannie can’t be in it, so she’s out at Mama’s too. This is an arrangement that makes NOBODY happy. The family doesn’t want the crazy-ass cat around, the crazy-ass cat doesn’t want children and other animals around, and besides, she misses me. I don't understand that, ‘cause she doesn’t have much use for me when I’m around, but she pines for me when I’m not. And I suppose I miss her, too. Inexplicably. So, Jeannie and I would be together, and that’s a plus.
But Mama lives out in Suburbia, and I really and truly hate that. Nothing worth going to is within walking distance. And there’s no place to walk at night period, because there’s no sidewalk or shoulder along her road. So, if I make myself a big thing of whiskey and water and start hiking down Pea Ridge, I’ll get killed. That’s not a bonus. I am a city boy, and Barboursville is no kinda city (not that Huntington really is either). The idea of living out there, even briefly, fills me with dread.
And I’ll miss my little place. I mean, yeah, it’s a hole, but I’ve been there for four years and it has become really homey. I’ll miss my little alley, too. And I like having Amy and Gerlach readily available. In particular, I dislike the idea of no longer being just a couple of minutes away from Amy. I like not having to drive to work at the library. I like not having to deal with finding a parking spot every morning. I like that, if I go to a bar, I don’t have to worry about how I’m gonna get home, since all the bars I frequent are within three or four blocks of my apartment. I like sitting on my front porch listening to music and drinking rum. And I like being alone: even with the cousins gone, it’s still Mama and the Biscuits in that house, and that’s too many people, too much noise, too much drama, and too little peace for me.
And she keeps the place freezing cold. I guess it’s hot flashes or something. And I’ll be in the basement, which means that if it’s chilly upstairs, I’ll be able to see my breath downstairs. I’ve got a very low tolerance for the cold.
And there’s no smoking. I like having my first cigarette before I even first sit up in the morning. Having to get up and go outside doesn’t work for me. I like to relax, watch a movie, drink a glass of whiskey, and enjoy a movie. How am I gonna do that? Writing will be harder, ‘cause I will have to keep getting up and leaving my computer. And I hate to use the bathroom without having a cigarette (if you’ll pardon me for being indelicate) to cut the smell.
Also, I’ve recently rediscovered how much better life is if you have a cold beer first thing in the morning. I used to do that all the time when I was younger, but somehow I got out of the habit. I picked it back up while I was in Richmond, and I’d forgotten how much it improves your outlook as you start your day. It eases the morning aches and pains, settles the stomach, fills you up so you don’t get hungry at work (I never wake up early enough to eat before work) and gives you a good wholesome “top-of-the-world” feeling before you head out to face your day. But Mama isn't gonna let me keep beer in her fridge. I’ve just come back to the habit, and I’ll have to give it up. In fact, all of my vices will suffer.
Plus which, of course, I would have to move, and then move again in three months. Still, yeah, the money is a major consideration. If I go to her place, I’ll have that money by August, no question, and that certainly might be worth it. So, it’s something to think about. My lease doesn’t run out ‘til May 15th, so I assume my month-to-month thing doesn’t start ‘til then. I’ve got that long to decide. We’ll see what happens.