Moving in, blessed new bed, profesisonal blogging, visiting the Midwest
Moving in with Scott is a slow, painful process, but I can tell it's getting better. We've made at least some progress every weekend. We both suffer from bad habits around keeping too much *stuff*, and it's dramatically obvious right now. Scott's been in his house for 14 years, and no matter who you are there will be accumulation of stuff over 14 years. I've had the &&$&^*&)_(%$&^ blessing of two major moves in the past 4 years to "help" me cull out the unnecessary *stuff*, but I tell ya it's still hellishly hard. As hard as I tried, I still couldn't avoid labeling a box "Misc Stuff" this time. I found that box again this weekend. I still can't come up with a name for it.
This reminds me of a lesson I got on the subject of being a "victim" once while camping with my egroup. (Stay with me now... it will become relevant I promise.) This was my first egroup, lo these many years ago. We went on a camping trip for a weekend in lovely southern Indiana to bond and relax. As we sat and talked that night, we got to the subject of being a "victim." It was the opinion of everyone in the group but me that being a victim was actually a choice. I asked, "But what about people that are victims of...umm.. like... a hurricane?" (This was long before Katrina.) No one can control a hurricane! Anyone who gets hit by a hurricane is a victim! Tell me they're not!
The perspective I learned that night was that even if a person experiences some horrible, life altering, horror that takes away every physical thing they own, it is absolutely possible for that person to see their situation as an opportunity to learn. If you loose every earthly possession in a hurricane, you now get to experience what it's like to completely start over again from scratch. Maybe that person can learn to value beloved people more. Or maybe that person can see deeper into their own spirit after being freed from all physical possessions. That person certainly does have the opportunity to now choose objects to bring into their life that are of a higher quality or are more useful. Or choose to have fewer objects in their life...
I think about the trade offs as I stare at my Rubbermaid bin labeled "Misc Stuff." I'm attached enough to this stuff that I don't want to throw it away, but I have a hard time assigning a purpose to all that stuff. Maybe it could call it "Occasionally Useful Tools" or "Mildly Nostalgic Mementos."
Whatever that bin of stuff is, it is exactly what I would be freed of if I got hit by a hurricane.
AW...
Scott and I made a dent in the trailer that held the "Last Load" of stuff from my Fairfax apartment. We pulled out stuff I wanted in the near term and left in the stuff that I wouldn't need or want in the next few months. I pulled out my dumbeck drum, a huge box of December Holiday gifts I didn't get sent during all the moving hell, my computer printer, a box of books for Jewish class, and of course the box of "Misc Stuff." My study (formerly Scott's guest room) is now full of *stuff*, but some of it resembles computer parts and a table. There is order buried deep in their somewhere.
The big accomplishment of the weekend was settling the issue of our new bed. I'm thrilled beyond words that we have achieved this blessed milestone! This is the first honest to god new bed I have owned since my parents set me up with a new twin bed when we moved to Indiana when I was 8 years old. During college, I slept in whatever dorm room bed Barnard College saw fit to supply me with. After college, I used the super old queen bed that my parents changed out for a pretty new King bed.
That there old queen bed has only just now been retired to life in a landfill. It broke my heart to do it, but I did everything I could to reuse it. It was just too stained and old for anyone else to want it. So, it's history.
Also, my dear sweetie Scott finally let go of the bed he's been sleeping on for many long years. This one, however, I judged to be of the petrified variety of sleeping materials. Over I don't know how many many many long years he's been sleeping on that futon mattress, it has slowly morphed into a hardened quality seen only in archeology labs. I just had too many mornings waking with horrible pain in my back, shoulders, and arms. So, between the two of us, we let go of our old beds and started anew.
This new start to better sleeping included a great search of mattresses that ended two weeks ago at the Mattress Factory in Cary, NC: http://www.originalmattress.com. They have a factory in Raleigh, so they can reduce the price some. They also had lots to say about the high quality construction and materials and blah and blah blah blah. All I cared about was the sweet heavenly cloud that was supporting my back as I test flopped my hundredth mattress. I was in love. Scott was too. And we would all sleep together in blissful harmony.
Funny thing was that the high bed Scott had built himself to house the painfully thin rock of a futon mattress was not a good match for the blissful cloud of love that got delivered two weeks ago. Scott The Woodworking Master had built himself a bed that would allow big Rubbermaid bins to slide underneath for efficient storage. Brilliant, yes, and functional if you're a hardened manly man who likes sleeping on rocks.
So, fast forward to this weekend when Scott and I cleared out the storage bins, cleaned up all the evidence of kitty cats finding cute little hidey-holes in between said bins, and exchanging Scott's woodworking masterpiece for the metal frame that until recently held my ancient queen mattress and boxspring a mere 6 inches off the floor. Short frame + new half size box spring + blessed new cloud mattress = happy Lara!!! Scott is now planning his next bed frame masterpiece. It will still store Rubbermaid bins underneath, but they'll be the half size ones.
And now onto other topics...
My job has given me a shining light of joy like I have not seen in years! I am, henceforth, spending half my professional billable hours doing that which I never thought I'd get paid to do in my life! Blogging!! (No, not puppets. I know. *sigh*)
But Blogging! I am venturing forth into the world of Wordpress and respectable social media professionals worldwide! I don't want to go into it in detail here until I'm ready to present something, but I'll say that the topic is "Sustainability" and the client is the caliber of client that I came to DC to find. Many pieces of my professional dreams are coming together, and I can sense greatness in the air. I don't want to jinx it, so I'll stop here. Just wish me luck and send me any URLs of good Wordpress support communities.
For a grand finale, I'll announce that I'm coming back to the Midwest for a visit! I owe my aunt and uncle in Cincinnati some quality time, so I'll be headed out there the second week of March. Email me if you want details.
PS: In two weeks, I'll be leading dancing at Ymir! Anyone in Atlantia who is willing to be a gentle audience for my first time back in the saddle of Dance Mistressing in over 4 years should come!
This reminds me of a lesson I got on the subject of being a "victim" once while camping with my egroup. (Stay with me now... it will become relevant I promise.) This was my first egroup, lo these many years ago. We went on a camping trip for a weekend in lovely southern Indiana to bond and relax. As we sat and talked that night, we got to the subject of being a "victim." It was the opinion of everyone in the group but me that being a victim was actually a choice. I asked, "But what about people that are victims of...umm.. like... a hurricane?" (This was long before Katrina.) No one can control a hurricane! Anyone who gets hit by a hurricane is a victim! Tell me they're not!
The perspective I learned that night was that even if a person experiences some horrible, life altering, horror that takes away every physical thing they own, it is absolutely possible for that person to see their situation as an opportunity to learn. If you loose every earthly possession in a hurricane, you now get to experience what it's like to completely start over again from scratch. Maybe that person can learn to value beloved people more. Or maybe that person can see deeper into their own spirit after being freed from all physical possessions. That person certainly does have the opportunity to now choose objects to bring into their life that are of a higher quality or are more useful. Or choose to have fewer objects in their life...
I think about the trade offs as I stare at my Rubbermaid bin labeled "Misc Stuff." I'm attached enough to this stuff that I don't want to throw it away, but I have a hard time assigning a purpose to all that stuff. Maybe it could call it "Occasionally Useful Tools" or "Mildly Nostalgic Mementos."
Whatever that bin of stuff is, it is exactly what I would be freed of if I got hit by a hurricane.
AW...
Scott and I made a dent in the trailer that held the "Last Load" of stuff from my Fairfax apartment. We pulled out stuff I wanted in the near term and left in the stuff that I wouldn't need or want in the next few months. I pulled out my dumbeck drum, a huge box of December Holiday gifts I didn't get sent during all the moving hell, my computer printer, a box of books for Jewish class, and of course the box of "Misc Stuff." My study (formerly Scott's guest room) is now full of *stuff*, but some of it resembles computer parts and a table. There is order buried deep in their somewhere.
The big accomplishment of the weekend was settling the issue of our new bed. I'm thrilled beyond words that we have achieved this blessed milestone! This is the first honest to god new bed I have owned since my parents set me up with a new twin bed when we moved to Indiana when I was 8 years old. During college, I slept in whatever dorm room bed Barnard College saw fit to supply me with. After college, I used the super old queen bed that my parents changed out for a pretty new King bed.
That there old queen bed has only just now been retired to life in a landfill. It broke my heart to do it, but I did everything I could to reuse it. It was just too stained and old for anyone else to want it. So, it's history.
Also, my dear sweetie Scott finally let go of the bed he's been sleeping on for many long years. This one, however, I judged to be of the petrified variety of sleeping materials. Over I don't know how many many many long years he's been sleeping on that futon mattress, it has slowly morphed into a hardened quality seen only in archeology labs. I just had too many mornings waking with horrible pain in my back, shoulders, and arms. So, between the two of us, we let go of our old beds and started anew.
This new start to better sleeping included a great search of mattresses that ended two weeks ago at the Mattress Factory in Cary, NC: http://www.originalmattress.com. They have a factory in Raleigh, so they can reduce the price some. They also had lots to say about the high quality construction and materials and blah and blah blah blah. All I cared about was the sweet heavenly cloud that was supporting my back as I test flopped my hundredth mattress. I was in love. Scott was too. And we would all sleep together in blissful harmony.
Funny thing was that the high bed Scott had built himself to house the painfully thin rock of a futon mattress was not a good match for the blissful cloud of love that got delivered two weeks ago. Scott The Woodworking Master had built himself a bed that would allow big Rubbermaid bins to slide underneath for efficient storage. Brilliant, yes, and functional if you're a hardened manly man who likes sleeping on rocks.
So, fast forward to this weekend when Scott and I cleared out the storage bins, cleaned up all the evidence of kitty cats finding cute little hidey-holes in between said bins, and exchanging Scott's woodworking masterpiece for the metal frame that until recently held my ancient queen mattress and boxspring a mere 6 inches off the floor. Short frame + new half size box spring + blessed new cloud mattress = happy Lara!!! Scott is now planning his next bed frame masterpiece. It will still store Rubbermaid bins underneath, but they'll be the half size ones.
And now onto other topics...
My job has given me a shining light of joy like I have not seen in years! I am, henceforth, spending half my professional billable hours doing that which I never thought I'd get paid to do in my life! Blogging!! (No, not puppets. I know. *sigh*)
But Blogging! I am venturing forth into the world of Wordpress and respectable social media professionals worldwide! I don't want to go into it in detail here until I'm ready to present something, but I'll say that the topic is "Sustainability" and the client is the caliber of client that I came to DC to find. Many pieces of my professional dreams are coming together, and I can sense greatness in the air. I don't want to jinx it, so I'll stop here. Just wish me luck and send me any URLs of good Wordpress support communities.
For a grand finale, I'll announce that I'm coming back to the Midwest for a visit! I owe my aunt and uncle in Cincinnati some quality time, so I'll be headed out there the second week of March. Email me if you want details.
PS: In two weeks, I'll be leading dancing at Ymir! Anyone in Atlantia who is willing to be a gentle audience for my first time back in the saddle of Dance Mistressing in over 4 years should come!