Meanwhile…

Back at the drapery store or ranch…  My workout partner and I went to run today, and there was a class for seniors going on in the weight room until 10:30.  We took a small walk outside and dodged running sprinklers as best as we could.  When we got home, she wasn’t hungry, but I was so I ate about six-servings of the quinoa salad that I had made with roasted asparagus and Italian green olives.  It was a little gross and I will definitely need to run later, but not until after the plumber fixes (hopefully) my floor drain issue.

Our dog had shredded our sun shades in the livingroom several months ago, and the assembly was a nightmare to get taken down, but my intern and my workout partner helped me.  Then I took the cushion whose top has become sun faded and the blind to the drapery store.  This turn is where the mundane gets interesting.

I was asking the guy sitting at the counter in the drapery store how my blinds could be fixed and he told me flatly, “They can’t.”  Nice social skills, pal.  I decided to talk to a white dog playing in the store instead of him, and the woman who I believe owns this store came to help me.  I believe that this was the same woman who had helped me when I recovered my favorite recliner.  She said that I wouldn’t want the old rails on it anyway, so why didn’t I just match the blinds as best as I could.  So, I started working with her instead.

Next this girl probably in her late twenties came into the store.  She was wearing a pink stripped button-down and jeans.  She was a cute, young blond with her hair up.  She decided to strike up a conversation with me, and wound up also helping me see if there was fabric that could be ordered to recover my chair cushion.

We talked about her dog and I showed her a picture of ours who had ruined the blind in question.  She talked about her bull terrier who was throwing her red ball and then retrieving it when it rolled away from her.  She liked my dog, and made pleasantries with me.  I thought that she was kinda looking at my legs, but figured it was because I looked like total shit in running shorts, a sports bra, and a stretched out tank from 1998.  Then she started talking to me about her ex gf.  Interesting.  Then about her current partner and raising this dog who is pretty anxious given that she was abandoned by her ex.  Finally, when I was leaving, she gave me a business card with her personal cell on it.  We have been texting.  Apparently, I’m going to a pool party and she has some “friends” for me Pride Sunday.  Could be an interesting weekend.

Mission Accomplished… Mostly

OK, I didn’t swing my legs over the cargo net because the wind came up too high, and I didn’t do the horizontal one suspended 20-feet in the air, or the leapfrog scaffoldings that were angled, but I will do those in two weeks. Promise. I did everything else and ran 5-miles and all the A-frame fences with just a rope which were super high, and one culminated in a platform 18-feet in the air that you had to run off of to then jump into a 15-foot mud pool. These combined with trail running up switchbacks full of loose dirt were crazy. I’ll be ready for more in two weeks, and have a strong sense of accomplishment right now.

I ate carbonara like a refugee, and I also grilled some NY strip for it medium rare and piled a huge amount of salad on my plate. One of my best friends who I have known for 12-years cooked for me tonight and I got to hang out with a very handy friend of hers and both of her daughters. It is amazing that her daughter is a senior next year and I remember her at 5. She is a wonderful young woman. I love her youngest too–she is just eight-months older than my son.

My son did the quarter mile twice and got very dirty in his new Keens and he stayed to watch me. That was so nice of my ex-husband to do that. I’m proud of him, and I am very glad that he got to watch me jump from the platform into the water. I lost my handkerchief on that one and I looked cute in it, so I’ll have to go back to the Army Surplus tomorrow.

I’m comfy. Lonely girl texted to see if I was around this weekend, and I just called her back. She wants me to call her tomorrow. I’m not sure about her in general. What I’m sure about is that I did a lot of “firsts” today, as did my son. I have wonderful friends. My life is full and happy.

Game Day

So, it’s nearly here.  My five-mile.  Given that I had done my B weights late at night last night, I was sleeping soundly when I got a wrong number at 12:30.  Arg!  Maybe it was divine intervention, but it still made me mad as I was sleeping so well.  I’m groggy right now, and pounding coffee having dropped off my son at school.

Gonna run our dog a little.  She is very hard to run because she is a boxer mix and does a lot of weird furtive movements.  Right now because I’m in a tank and running shorts, she jumps sideways and wags her whole booty when I get up to get coffee and the like.  I was told that she is also German Shepherd–she is very beautiful–but whatever her other half is, makes her FAST.  It is hard to run her.  She outruns all the dogs even at a packed dog park.

It’s cold.  I like it.  I didn’t like biking to the reservoir with my new cycling partner yesterday given the headwinds.  The 21-miles was agony.  Like always though, I’m glad that I do that stuff.  This weather is great for running.  I hope that I feel that way after my 5-mile Saturday!  I was dreaming about my cycling partner when I got the two wrong number calls after midnight.  That doesn’t matter much because she is a str8 girl, and I love her bf.  I just think that I’m ready to sleep with someone, but I won’t do it because I don’t want more of the same.  Sex complicates everything and I want to enter into dating mindfully the next time through and don’t care when the next time through is.  I kinda want to see my psychologist.  I should see if she has had any cancellations today.

I got the most disingenuous text from lonely girl on Wednesday.  I wanted her to bring her daughter to an activity that is unique at my current clinical site.  I’ll be taking girls back there who are clients next week, so I wanted a dry run of the equipment.  The artist is really fun to hang out with as well.  It was cool because the kids got to make art, but it turned out only to be my son.  No biggie.  He loved it.

Lonely girl wanted to reschedule for Thursday, as she didn’t have her daughter much this week.  When I said that joint custody must be lonely–given that I miss my son by Saturday night on my non-weekends–as I’m used to full custody, she promptly followed-up with why that is not true and how her life has perfect balance.  I found it so lacking in normal vulnerability.  When I told my cycling partner about it yesterday, she said, “Maybe she just wants to be perfect.”  I let my workout partner read it and she laughed hard and said, “Wow!  That’s arrogant!”  She continued to laugh and I probed her a bit, and she said, “Really?  That makes it sound like she wants for NOTHING in her life.”  I said that is probably not accurate, because only last month she was asking me questions about how you meet girls. But, then she said, “I think that she is selling herself as perfect and that her life is one that we all should aspire to because she has EVERYTHING that she needs–enough friends, enough workout time, just everything and doesn’t need anyone.”  Either way, I didn’t like the candor.  I’m not going to make any plans with her unless she sets something up.  There is imbalance about her, and she seems really weird.

I’m hoping to have some new adventures to blog here at some point, but whenever that shall be, will be.  I have a new blog that I’m keeping up with well, and I use my identity as it details some aspects of my clinical work.  I like to write there too, but look forward to someday having some sexy stuff again.  Right now is not the time.  Time to run our dog.  I’m grateful for friends, cool weather, a workable schedule, and our house.  It’s not that I want for nothing and that I think I’m perfect.  I’m simply really good where I am, and trust my journey.  I hope that all who make my day by interacting with me here, enjoy their weekends.

Hmm

I had a wonderful day yesterday, so now I’m reflecting on it.  Now, I’m looking forward to my hump day, which would have started out with a 30-mile bike ride, but it seems really cloudy and like it could continue to rain.  I don’t like slipping around inclines on trails on my very light road bike.  I don’t think that it actually rained much at my house, but there are huge gray clouds, so my new cycling partner and I are going to do an afternoon ride tomorrow.   I did my Day A yesterday, and it combined with humidity and heavy clouds promoted the best sleep that I’ve had in weeks.  However, I had a really somewhat unsettling dream.

I was in my black cocktail dress that is fitted at the waist, and I am not sure why I was because I had a slew of adolescents in a day treatment program with whom I was working.  Lonely girl was there and working with them as well, because she was giving information on psychopharmacology.  It should be noted that I would never be in a slinky black dress if I was working with adolescents or if I was at work, but I was.  She was talking to me, and then when I was talking to a group of boys, I turned around and she started touching my back, and then started tending to a blemish that I apparently had on my low back.  This dress is not backless, but it was in the dream.

Later after the clients were in her huge backyard in a group, she and I were drawing on a white board and talking about ethnicity, and I told her what everyone who just meets me and is somewhat gauche says, and that’s “What are you?”  I get a range.  I think that I look Italian, but I get Greek, Asian, and sometimes get asked if I’m Latina, which is more confusing since I do speak some Spanish.  She laughed.  We talked more and I sat on her back porch.  She sat down and put her legs around the back of my right arm and moved herself against me.  Then she pulled me to her with her legs, and wound up having her lower body completely pressed against my upper arm and her knees were against my stomach and back.  I could feel her heat.  At that point, I was really turned on and she asked if I liked her.  I said, “Well, I certainly find you attractive, but we have a house full of kids.  I’ll have to come back tonight.”

Wow.  I think that all the manifest content of that is that I really do miss sex in general.  It’s been a couple weeks shy of six-months.  I told my workout partner last night that I know that I let my ex say abusive shit to me for as long as I did because she met companionship needs and that I knew that when I stopped seeing her (completely) that I would have a dry spell.

This particular round of celibacy is somewhat self-inflicted because it’s rare for me to be attracted to someone.  I was not attracted to Peter Pan, but thought that she was sweet and earnest and it was really flattering to have someone so into you when your ex was doing more push and pull, and you hadn’t had sex with her in three months.  That was last summer though.  I am not attracted to lonely girl.  And she only texts very rarely.  She has a nice smile, gorgeous dimples, and I like her hands, but she really is not someone who you’d want to date.  I’m done with rich girls too.  I think that I also dreamt about her because one of my best friends just broke up with her bf who slept with his best friend a couple weeks ago.  He had been in love with his best friend his whole life.  She said, “It would be like if you and I got drunk and hooked up.”  I said quickly, “That would actually be a mistake because it would affect our 12-year friendship.”

Sex does affect a friendship.  With Shane and with Bette (my actual exes), I was not friends with either of them first.  So, I’m cool with both of them, but don’t seek them out or makes plans to see them.  This particular girl who I dreamt about and I are pseudo friends.  It’s not a friendship though.  It was odd that I lain in bed for sometime this morning before I got out because I was given pause.  I was aroused when I woke up.  In the dream it was easy for her to pull my arm against her with her knees.  I think that it’s good that if she does get into touch to hang out, I will have my son and she will have her daughter.  That will put a halt on any moves she might have.  Maybe it’s a cautionary thing.  She has a terrible reputation with the 40ish outdoorsy set who I met last September.  It’s all regarding that she is not one that you’d want to get into a relationship with, but I think if both parties are open, that is their business in terms of who they sleep with, but I’m not into open.  I don’t have time for it either.  I also don’t want to have sex with someone who had a relationship with one of my ex’s best friends.  No thanks.

I wonder what I will have capacity to do on Saturday night.  Probably not much.  The race is only five-miles, but it’s got a lot of climbing and lifting combined with water.  My son is doing the quarter-mile, so it will be really nice to see him on a weekend that is not mine.  I’m proud of him for trying.  I imagine that when I get home, I will not be into doing anything but taking a hot bath and using ice and Tiger’s Balm.  My intern and her best friend are going to eat dinner with me, so I am pre-cooking on Friday night.  These are those times when it’s really nice to have an uncomplicated pinch hitter.  Like an ex who you’d never want to be with, but are cool with.  If I’m being completely honest with myself, if Shane were still ten-minutes away, I could see myself saying, “Hey, can we hook up for a couple of hours this weekend?  Is there a window wherein you will not be having a drop?”  That would probably piss her off, but she and I had the most consistent sex of anyone who I’ve slept with, and I would never want to be with her.  It’s rare to have something so uncomplicated.  Gotta eat, clean and write.

Mix it up

I’ve gotten really good at this single thing.  I like it too.  Oddly, I do especially at night.  I can work out.  Read and write.  I can drink a beer or two after I’ve worked out, or I can determine that my walk is enough cardio and not work out extra.  I don’t have to worry about anyone’s moods or do I have to explain my client schedule or have feelings of guilt when it goes into the night.

I did have clients through the night, which I won’t anymore!  Woo-hoo!  (My class ends June 30th and my job is open 8 – 12 as of next Tuesday.)  I was at the art studio for about an hour on Wednesday, and when I’m not working with my girls on projects, my son and one of his friends can make art.  That is going to be amazing.  I think life is going to be keen.

I’m doing my scary obstacle half in three-weeks, and then two weeks after that I’m learning how to rock climb.  Everything else for the last month of my partial vacation will be easy, and I just have a little 10k, but I’d like to have some social stuff in between all the writing that I must complete.  That will start tonight.

After I had my dinner party with the women who are in longterm relationships (We can’t have marriages in this state.), I have kept in touch with all of them.  I’ll see at least two, if not three, of the couples tonight, because one of the couples are going on a year-long vacation.  They don’t have any kids right now, so it’s a good time to do it.  I invited lonely girl and church girl.  We will see who shows.  I don’t really hustle for newer friends.  It just has to have a good show-up factor, and if it doesn’t, I don’t add them as friends to my life.

Being out and about tonight is something that I’m really looking forward to though.  I’m going on a 35-mile bikeride with my supervisor this morning, and then am eating lunch and having two beers with my colleague who is my new cycling partner.  I only have one client before the party.  Summer is getting in full swing.  I’m lucky.

Zeitgeist

There was another natural disaster that killed 24 people this week in the US.  It left a lot of debris and devastation.  Like many people, when weather tragedies occur, I wind up thinking about wars, because they are tragic too; although, entirely human made.  I’m thinking of those families and will do so in church.  For some reason, I don’t talk about war or weather extremities with my son, and he doesn’t ask.  I guess not having a tv with reception does shield him from scary thoughts in his seven-year-old head. Anyway, I wanted to reflect on tragedies a little this morning, and thank people going into this long weekend.

My Dad is a Vet.  He didn’t see combat, but he decoded conversations which were intercepted.  He doesn’t speak Vietnamese, but it was easy for him to pick up German in school and he spoke it well enough to transcribe phone conversations.  He can’t really hear much now though.  That’s ok though, because he doesn’t really like people.  I know that he likes his grandson though.

I thought that I should say thanks before we come up on a weekend–and mine is actually a four-day one–to people who believe in God and country.  I know that I don’t have those kind of convictions, but I do think that there are many people who don’t see things as I do and believe in this type of service.  That’s following your passion.  Now, I will tell you that my heart skips a little beat when some of my more concrete high school kids who I know enlist, because they will not test as officer material and will probably be on the front lines in various imperialistic and capitalistic ventures.  Scary.  I don’t like dwelling much there tbh.  May God and well wishers keep them.

I read a post today, which was old, but was surprised that my opinion was not included in the 60 comments.  I know that I’m weird.  Some of my odd approach is the courtesy of dear old Dad, but I was actually shocked to not see anyone elude to what I think is behind many slow recoveries after a national disaster.  The writer wrote about the earthquake in Haiti, which I knew killed hundreds of thousands of people.  I knew too that it killed people who were indigenous to the island.  They are extremely poor.  The irony is that the hotels on that island are apparently unparalleled.  Scary contrast, but much like the way of the world.

My Dad is a Marxist.  I think that posting something like that could cause an onslaught of rage.  Socialism and Communism are threatening topics about which to blog.  People have in their heads that the country China is Communist, but it’s actually an Oligarchy of rigid control.  Anyway, the purpose of this post is that I’m really just thanking little people who follow their passions, and people who have deep convictions to serve an entire country.  Thank you for your beliefs.  Thank you for your commitment.  And with Father’s Day coming up very soon, thanks to my Dad for always making me think.

Shift

So, of course Shane would send my son a package yesterday.

One of my clients got called into her job last night, and another one moved her session, so I decided to move my on-going family who I will be referring out to a couple of providers to late afternoon tomorrow.  Last night, I ate dinner WITH my son–he only saved me half of a biscuit though–and talked at length.  We walked our dog, cuddled, and seemed really connected.  He is awake now, because our dog already busted in his room, but I am staying home with him until his father picks him up for the weekend.  My son’s school has a planning day for teachers and so there are no classes.

I had a good shift today.  I think that because lonely girl has been contacting me and she is really pretty, I was thinking about an FB again.  She is a quick bike ride away.  However, it is not good to sleep with someone who you know has done shady things which have resulted in losing friends.  That is pretty complicated sex.

Shane and I had the uncomplicated thing for a summer.  When she told me around Labor Day that because she had been sleeping with one of the girls from work for 7-months, that when she said that they should be exclusive so she just agreed, I was like, “Peace out.”  This was four-years ago.  She was shocked.  I think that I meant more to her than 1) I had thought, and 2) She meant to me.  I never contacted her again, and we reconnected four-months later on NYD.  At that time, I figured that I maybe meant a lot to her, and it was flattering.  That’s really all lonely girl is.  It’s flattering, but it needn’t go down the sex road.  So, it won’t.

The funny thing about roads that you travel is that they can become circuituous.  I don’t want to circle back to an FB.  I do think that lonely girl will either put the moves on me or proposition me for sex, but I can just go home.  I had an FB last summer when my ex and I were on a summer hiatus, and I just don’t want one.  Even if the new prospect is super gainfully employed and independent.  It means a lot to me that the women who I met that she hung out with over a year ago don’t speak to her now.  Begs the question…  What did you do?  I know that lesbians are cliquey, but damn.

I’m fine with friendships with lots of different people.  My father had us move about 13-times as I grew up.  I was in 7th grade when we bought a house and stayed, and that stability lasted a year wherein my brother was killed and I was seriously injured.  I knew mobility and then debilitating loss.  Those were my frame of reference for my first 14-years.  It was my journey though.

The lessons from that is that I can easily make friends, but that it is more difficult for me to give myself away.  I’ve gotten really good at the latter over the last six-years.  I can tell new people my story, because I have worked through it.  The biggest shift for me is that I know it’s critical to be vulnerable when you are making a close friendship and that it is a foundational attribute when you are with a partner.

I was vulnerable with my coming out affair, Shane, and then really very much so with my ex.  That is where I am.  I’m ready not for an FB, a conversion of FB to a gf, or a woman who flips and flops and never really settles on committing to me.  I’m shifting for being ready for that real thing whenever the time is right, and it will be with a woman who I know well and have already spent lots of time hanging and connecting.

Change

I know that I will just be meeting girls this summer and hanging out.  I get how to do that and how it’s different than 1) taking a girl home from a bar, or 2) emailing someone so different than any woman than you’ve been exposed to previously, and getting caught up in the elixir of passion.  I can do that.

However, I don’t know what to do about work.  I need to talk with the state regulatory board today and see what supervisors would have to fill-out when they sign off on my work.  I think that I would like to talk to the professor who has been mentoring me.  I talked with a licensed clinical social worker on Saturday and she told me that licensing boards are actually more interested that your supervisors actually work where they supervise you so that they understand the system.  She said that it’s less about the hours that they work and more about if they have adequate knowledge of the system.  I still think that I’m gambling though.  I can’t really do that.

Part of me wants to stay so I can more accurately control the gathering of my data.  That has to take place in August, which is both scary and sad.  I do have a phone appointment with the boss of this department on Wednesday so I can talk to her.

Again, I need to speak with the manager of our dual diagnosis program too, because I need some more experience that is purely clinical.  I think that given that I’m 2/3 done with practicum that I get community mental health, but I would like to see a different day treatment.  I am familiar with this setting given that I tested for it 2004 – 2007 and worked in one up until I moved most recently (2010).  However, I think that ours, given that it contracts with a large mental health corporation, is run differently than ones that don’t have that component.  I need to talk to him this week too.

I don’t know how I feel about the new setting.  When I screened, it seemed like the boss was just neutral.  I think that many administrators are that way.  Then it’s getting used to a brand new set of rules and two new buildings.  That is a lot to deal with, but I certainly have done it before.  It’s been since 2009 that I really thought seriously about moving, and then did at the very beginning of 2010.

I AM SCARED.  I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

I am here… Again.

Reflections

Even when I wake up while I’m dreaming, I love my coffee and headlines and then maybe a blog entry in the morning.  I’m so, so looking forward to the migration to working 30 – 45 hours a week instead of 60.  The latter number starts to make you feel only semi-human after a couple of months.

My friend’s bf was sweet.  Her neighbor needed a rescue and came over and then her actor friend and roommate also came over to pick up something that they had left at my friend’s house on Saturday, so it turned into an outdoor dinner party.  The risotto with tomato, garlic, and basil was phenomenal.  I had flash fried zucchini and summer squash and did my tomato trick.  The trick is that you take a tablespoon of basil and pinch it (like to hand grind it) and then put it on sliced tomatoes and add liberal amounts of garlic salt to them.  It’s incredible.  So, we had salad, risotto, and grilled chicken.  I don’t know when Italians started grilling chicken breasts, but my cousin did that last weekend too.  We never really ate boneless breasts of chicken growing up, but we did use meat mallets and a sharp knife to make cutlets that were washed, salted, floured, egged and then given a light coating of bread crumbs.  That sounds good for this week one morning when I cook for the boys at five am.

My ex texted on Saturday.  I didn’t get it until over an hour later, because I was on my morning bike ride with my colleague.  This was the same colleague that I ran the 5K with recently.  It was odd.  It was recommendations for a couple of things to do with my son in her town in June.  No thanks.  I already have to spend two nights in the mountains in June, so I will stick around home and things to do minutes from my house while I finish up this course and my client load.  I wrote, “Thanks.  I hope that you and _______ are well too.”  I have this weird intuitive thing wherein I know that although her son won’t consciously remember me that our bond will have a heart connection.  That makes me feel better.  I guess that although the chess board is shelved that I will get these weird text recommendations from time to time.  It’s highly unlikely that I’ll take her recommendations either.  My friends don’t shell out unsolicited advice.  We have heart connections and don’t need to force friendship.

I don’t want to build a friendship with her.  It doesn’t make any sense to do so either.  She’s an ex and is not family.  I don’t want to drive 80-miles roundtrip to hang out for a couple of hours.  It’s bad enough that my first cousin and her two kids who my son adores live 42-miles away roundtrip.  It was funny, when I was still seeing my ex in August, my cousin drove up to one of the lake happy hours that my ex hosts in the summer time and the first thing she HeyTelled me was, “If you two stay together, you got to get her to move further south to civilization.”  She doesn’t know my ex well.  My ex will not only never leave her town, but she’ll never leave her house.

I’ve crossed over this part wherein I know that I will meet a girl, but don’t know if it will be this summer or two years from now.  You get to a point–I’m at the five-month mark–where you are very good at being single.  I do want to go out and have fun with new women, but can wait a few weeks for that one.  I’m looking forward to my friends’ going away party in two weeks.  I invited lonely girl and church girl too.  Friendships mean the world to me and make realize how lucky I really am.

Balance

I’ve had a really great weekend.  It was fine to see clients yesterday too, because I wasn’t just working.  I’m lucky.

My friend from work who is also my workout partner had a bday party and we went to a Beer Garden.  The only bad thing was that I finished my intern’s pint at her request and was pretty hungover for much of the day yesterday.  However, I dragged my tired ass out and biked to one of the parks with a colleague very early in the morning and then saw my aesthetician.  I saw clients and then came home and rested for 45-minutes and then got ready to go out.  My friend’s 40th bday was really fun, and then my best friend had a performance–she had not done so in 3-years–with two girls who she mentors.

I was confused when I got to the venue.  First of all when I was parking, there were all kinds of lesbians in the parking lot.  Then there were a ton of lesbians in line.  Then there was this young girl who was obviously bi who started talking to me.  Turns out that at the same venue was one of the lesbian iconic slam poets.  She is not my thing.  I don’t get her.  I think that I’m too happy for that approach.  I was worried.

So, I stood in this line talking to this girl and then when I got to the top of the stairs, my best friend was not on the list.  WTF?  I walked back downstairs and entered a side stage.  No one knew my friend.  Then I pulled up the poster on FB via my mobile, and the promoter was looking at it and said, “Another date maybe?  No, it’s May 4th,” when my friend came up and hugged me.  Their opening was incredible.  So was their massive talent.

I went back to my friend’s party and was very sad to see that all the food was now gone.  I should have eaten more.  Red wine makes me really hungrier than I actually am.  I hung out until after nine with my son and friends.  It was such a good Saturday.  Even hungover, I had a blast.  Now it’s time to work, clean, and write.  I hope that one of my best friend’s makes me dinner tonight.  Her bf is in town.  Otherwise, I just need to work hard given such a perfect Saturday.

Inspiration

I’m ok.  Really I am.  I can remember feeling just like this late summer and early fall of 2008, and then when 2009 rolled around I dated three different women within six-months.  I was ferreting out what I wanted during that time.  It’s odd that I wound up spending so long after that with the same woman.  I’m glad to say that I didn’t do that in my recent ex’s holding pattern.  I could have stayed with her too if I hadn’t told her that I couldn’t approximate dating because of the way that it makes me feel…  So here I am four and a half months later, with few answers, but feeling like I put a hard stop on things that I really couldn’t tolerate.

Even if you are within the worse days of your life, it’s not ok to put someone down all the time or is it to make complaints about them.  My shortcomings wound up being mostly what we were conversing about when we finally did see each other.  That and flying off the handle got really old.  The chess board is on a shelf and there won’t be any moves anymore, and that’s fine with me.  I left it at that I agree that we don’t communicate the same, and that we CERTAINLY don’t fight the same.

One of my buddies came to dinner last night, and she spent the night in our basement.  She has been my friend for five-years.  She was in a fairly dark place last night and had actually cried at work, so she was especially vulnerable.  Her relationship is starting the bumpy cycle.  I actually don’t care for her gf much.  She does that competitive conversation thing and she also is completely self-involved.  My friend has put up with the latter a whole bunch.  Apparently, she gets sick quite a bit when she is stressed and then has been blaming it on my friend.  To me, they just don’t sound all that compatible, but the other thing is that you are responsible for your reactions to other people.  Blaming stuff on others is just a way to lack accountability for your part in things.  I think that because my friend loves her, that she probably will just put up with it, but that’s not what I want for me.  I told her, “I just wish that she listened to you, and that she didn’t seem to take you for granted.”  I know that now I will have a roommate for a year.  She is not going to move in with her gf anytime soon.  That’s cool.  I can use the money.

Remember when Tom Cruise’s character agrees with his love interest that he is just looking to be inspired?  I can inspire myself, but I’m looking for a girl who finds inspiration in a hike, a beer on the porch, listening to a song while talking, and hanging out after dinner before putting the dishes away.  I just want to connect with someone around those simple things and enjoy those moments.  I’m looking for a woman who is secure enough with herself, how she presents, and what she wants so that she can connect to me, and eventually, my son.

Fun, yet odd

We went out last night–it was a couple of my colleagues and a couple who I know who is traveling all next year and a friend who used to work with one of my friends when she lived in another state.  Like many people, she has just moved here.  The bartender was happy to see me, which struck me as odd.  I had not been to that bar in five-months and she obviously remembered me.  She has an awesome haircut, huge blue eyes, and a really incredible body.  Even my colleagues were saying how hot she was.  I flirted with her just a little bit, but in a respectful way too.

Afterward we were sitting in some straight back chairs that really could be in someone’s living room right by an open window (Yay, springtime!), I noticed a fairly butch woman sitting at the bar chatting quite a bit with the hot bartender.  I was shocked.  I told my colleague her name and said that we had a falling out about four-and-a-half years ago.  Then I was like, “This is really stupid.  Especially given that there are 58 lesbians in ______ .”  So, I got up and said, “Hey, aren’t you _____ _____ ?”  And she said, “______ !”  She embraced me a long time.  Her partner is 6-months pregnant and they bought a house in that district.  I was really impressed with that.  It’s a trendy area.

She texted me a few times too.  I need to text her back today.  I’ll be just south of there today conducting some testing in executive functioning with a client for a private boss who I have.

The other girls got there about 20-minutes later and we were laughing so hard and being obnoxious and bizarre.  We have tons of inside jokes and always create more.  The one couple is one that I hung out with all last fall through now.  I wish that they were not moving, but it’s an adventure for them.  We had a great time.

Later, they were giving me a lot of shit about not getting the bartender’s number.  Finally, I said, “You guys, she is at work.  She is swamped with drunk frat boys.  And I just saw a woman who started an orgy in my house in 2008 with a bullwhip.  I’m just not into non-organic development anymore, or just sex with no attachments where I live.”

At the time, 2008, I was super attracted to this one girl who was a childhood friend of a girl who I went to middle school with, so I engaged in some of the debauchery, but that was the year that I had remained celibate.  It was a really weird party, and an odd time for me in general.  I had only been out just under a year, and was really dealing with that I was always gay, so I did whatever occasionally.  That party was probably the oddest thing that ever happened when I was in attendance.  It was just some weird stuff and making out that went on.  We were all wasted.

This girl, who was now sitting at the bar, wound up naked sleeping in my bed.  I had to tell her that cuddling was fine, but nothing would ever happen between us.  I’m picky about who I sleep with.  The exception was Peter Pan last summer.  I just needed to have sex with someone other than my ex, and she really presented as a solid person until her lies unraveled after I hung out with her for two months.

I know where I am with respect to relationships.  I would have some flingish stuff, but it would have to occur out of state.  I would prefer to build foundations with some nice girls.  And I am gun-shy too, so it’s unlikely that I will be having intimacy with anyone around here for awhile.  I’m fine with all that too.  Time to get ready, buy cleats, watch my son, work this afternoon with a client, and then do my Day C.  At least a best buddy is making me dinner tonight.  I have a great life.

Lucky lessons

Church was cool and like a culmination of things, which is probably what it should be like, on Easter Sunday.  I had a pretty damn busy Monday with two acute cases in addition to my regular afternoon caseload.  I think that I finished set A, but I can’t remember, because the weight room was packed when my partner and I got there and I was not in the mood to keep good count.  (I mean my workout partner, and not my partner-partner.)  I was angry yesterday, and the weights helped, but I know that I didn’t spend what should have been my last 30-minutes of my night wisely, because I drank beers and chatted two of my work colleagues who have become friends.  I stayed up way too late and had pretty shitty sleep.  The nights that I have class can be long if I don’t get down time in between.  I will think about tonight, which is only 11-hours of work including a run, as a gift as is getting home at 6.

I was thinking about the message today, rather than yesterday or even in particular during church.  (I had a lot to do during the service.)  Our pastor told us that the gifts that we have been bestowed were freely given, so they are to be used as an extension of our hearts and our true selves.  Meaning that we can express them in a manner of our choosing.  That gave me a lot of clarity this morning.  I figured if you get anything from a relationship with someone that is actually a gift if was freely learned.  You simply cannot make someone understand or get something from you, but if you come out changed, it is ultimately a good circumstance for you.

I’m ready to date again.  I know that I am.  I wish that it was simple to meet nice girls.  I also wish that the bar scene was a bit different, but it’s not, and I don’t think that I will meet a wonderful girl in a bar, but I could.  It will have been four-months since I have kissed anyone in just two weeks.  That is a good amount of space.  I had heard that half the length of your previous relationship is optimal, and interestingly, that would be during my evil mud obstacle race.  Can you meet your one when she is covered in head to toe with mud?

Runs together

I think that I’m actually still sick.  Last night I took my son and his best friend to a musical presentation and story hour for kids, and it was actually overrun by toddlers and preschoolers.  They were good for over half and hour and then the running, jumping, yelling, and crying while they were trying to listen to the stories and songs got to them, so they wanted to look at books.  Such sweet 7 and 8 year-old boys–they wanted to sit by each other on the couch and read books.  They are so innocent, and sit right by each other and hug and talk close.  I swear when the inevitable happens and some stupid kid calls him, “fag,” in 5th or 6th grade, because he loves his best friend, I will have trouble not coming unhinged.  My little guy is sensitive and sweet, and I would prefer him to stay that way and not become sexist and homophobic.  I loved watching them watch the musician last night; although, I realized that I was still very sick.

When I came home, my head was pounding and I felt like complete shit.  This thing hangs on even through 1700 mg / day of antibiotics.  That is one scary infection.

Coffee seems good.  I’m not coughing when I drink it.  I’m only supposed to drink two cups instead of 3 – 5, and that pisses me off.  I went and had my annual on Monday and the Nurse Prac gave me some shit.  I felt like saying, “I parent.  I work constantly.  I’m writing a book.  I haven’t gotten laid since 12/15.  I’m going to drink as much coffee before 10 am as I’d like.  Thanks.”  I just said, “Well, I’m doing 60-hours a week right now and don’t have any that effects my night sleep.  I also like to drink beer and won’t cut that out either.”  I think that it would be one thing if I had health problems and was hefty–neither of those things are true.  For my age, I look smaller than nearly every woman who I see with the exception of runners.  I’m muscular though, and people under-guess my weight by 20 – 30 pounds.  I just don’t want to be sick with a head and chest thing any longer.  I’m all set.

I keep thinking how the ocean air and sun would knock that out.  I can’t afford to fly though, and I’m not positive that I have a place to stay in reality.  My best friend from grad school (Well, my first round of grad school.) called me and was shocked that we had the same break.  Her “I don’t want a relationship, and I have made myself fall out of love with you because we are open, guy,” is in town all weekend.  He’s introducing her to his kids.  They have slept together for a year.  It will be interesting to hear about how that stuff goes.

I feel badly, but I wonder if I could handle one of my best friend’s from middle school live-with bf either.  He seems like a misogynistic pig from his posts.  Like a southern-guy GUY.  I can’t stay with my ex because I don’t want to be in party central and her parents live with her.  I also don’t want to have sex with her ever again.

I guess that I’d have to stay with the biker ;).  Sometimes she has a gf, so I’d have to see…  My ex has two motorcycles, but when I say “biker” in this case, I mean beach biker and urban cyclist.  She actually looks a lot like my ex, but is way thinner and lankier–that’s what I like too.  Gigantic muscles, mostly blond, and huge light eyes.  The difference is that this one has great legs.  That is a good fantasy while I wake up.  We have amazing chemistry too.  I’ll text one of her best friends who lives here next week.  I should actually feel that sitch out a little.  That’s a safe hook-up if she is single, and I know that since everyone tells me everything, I can get her best friend to tell me if she is currently single.  I sure as hell am single.  Good Lord, I have not been this single in almost three years.  Sex seems good.  I run the risk of turning into a pig.

Damn Good

I have had an incredible three-days off.  My Lit Review is drafted and turned in, and I gave my prospectus to my professors too so they can make changes before I get it through IRB.  I’ll call the profs on Friday and see when I can get the whole thing reviewed so I can collect data prior to mid-May.  I think that I only have about ten more pages to write and now I really need the guidance part from faculty who have done this kind of thing before.

I have seen clients and completed evaluations for many years.  I think that not including school, it’s been 13-years.  So, my clinical hours, with the exception of being time consuming are pretty simple for me.  However, I have not written a book.  It’s probably obvious that I write all the time, and do well on papers and such, but putting together all of this stuff for what will be 150 – 200 pages is daunting.  I did write 100-pages in a week, but didn’t actually pass my comps without submitting a revision, so I know that re-writing will be paramount.

When I completed my first grad degree, I piloted a survey and then sent it to practitioners in four states in this region.  I published that study on-line; although, it was solicited by another bound source.  I was simply sick of my topic by then.  I had presented it as a paper in Washington DC at my current profession’s national conference and then was done with it.  I’d prefer to get several articles out of this study while I work on my curriculum that I’m developing.  While I do realize that will happen with this current venture, I know that I’m more part of this topic, because I have had experiences with it for at least 10-years.  Naomi Wolf says, “Do nothing without passion.”  I get that.

Space helped the crush on the girl who is soon to be promised to her girl.  Good for them.  Amidst cultural differences too that would tear them apart if they were “found out.”  This fact is apropos given all the media stuff about partnerships and civil unions.

My ex has been in contact.  She did the Pepsi challenge, and I know that even without her telling me.  She dated a woman who she never would have–a blond–and still had the same things come up in terms of her vicious tongue.  Again, that’s not shocking, and looks are superficial.  I do have to note honestly though that I have only ever been physical with two women with brown eyes.  I like what I like too.  I’ll go to dinner with her in a month and ask what she is going to do about her lack of conflict resolution skills.  I have nothing to lose being that direct.

There is some girl that a girl from work is going to introduce me to next month as well.  I asked when her bday was as that stuff is actually important to me.  I have chemistry with some signs, but it’s fine for people to disagree with that.  In fact, I can pick a Pisces out of a room.  I’m done with that though, and know that my journey is for my BFF’s new son.  You see, he shares Shane’s and my ex-husband’s bday.  He is 42 and 37-years younger to the day than they are.  I can dote on that lil’ guy.

I feel springtime.  I need to pack a few outfits for my boy and I.  In just over an hour, we drop off our dog at the day camp / boarding and then head up to the mountains.  I can’t wait to watch him snowboard.  He seemed excited about it too.  I’ll also look at girls in the lodge and in the little city that we are staying in tonight.  It’s time for me to network with women.  I can feel many things shifting and coming to fruition.  Life is very good.

Productivity

There is this piece of erotica that I really like…  The book is based on something real–it’s about sleeping with virgins.  Not full-on virgins for the most part, but female virgins.  (The Gemini musician who was smoking hot, but bat shit insane, used to say, “When I lost my girl virginity.”  Hell, lady, I did that at 15!)  Anyway, in one of the very good stories in it, this woman who works for a firm in which she has to talk to folks in other states, starts flirting with one of the women who she must talk to weekly.  At one point she says, “So, are you family?” and the poor str8 girl says, “Like whose?”  Good shit.  Anyway, the protagonist tells the story of celibacy wherein she works out constantly and gets really buff.  Good ol’ sexual frustration!

I’ve been one productive lil’ girl as of late.  Got TONS of stuff done today and also, sadly, had to fill my script for high-powered (octane) antibiotics.  Sadness.  Draining and coughing up scary things for far too long.  So, I will just write, and write, and test, and counsel.  I know that I need to do someone, but seriously, I melt women’s brains.  Gone are the days of casual sex for me.  I may go to Vegas and do the “No numbers, no last names bit.”  That would be the ONLY option.  There are 54 lesbians in ______, and they all talk.  I wouldn’t want to have two break-ups in three months 😉  (Can’t do that anyway, because I haven’t had sex since mid-December.)

Guess that I’ll motor through my dissertation shell this week.  Thursday my boy and I are going out of town.  He is going to learn to snowboard.  He is a good dancer, so he ought to be pretty good.  We shall see.  I’m excited to get to give him things like this.  My parents just wanted my brother and I to stay out of the house.  Conversely, I love being a parent.

Wonder if “the girl next door” wants to carry a baby ever…  My friend who I don’t have 100% trust in said that per my descriptions, her relationship can’t last.  You can’t be someone’s secret from her family.  However, she warned me not to fall into the role of rebound.  I wouldn’t want that.  I’ve done that before too.  My coming out affair was trying to get away from her volleyball mate who was in love with her when she slept with me and stole my heart.  I wouldn’t want to be a homewrecker either.  Getting shit done and Vegas sounds good at present.

Not shocking

I really thought that she was pleasant on Friday morning because she was getting laid…  Turns out that she broke it off with her girlfriend (ALREADY) and she thinks that she says / does things without realizing their impact although she tells her that she loves her.  That gave me a lot of pause.  She would honestly do her lovers a good favor if the stuff that she says that they do, she’d do.  Wow.

Months ago, I’d have called her and flirted a bit and then would have gone up there to have sex with her tonight.  Those days are gone, because I’m not in love with her anymore, and grew really tired of the three C’s.  Those are critical, controlling, and competitive.  It’s really cool in that song “Hallelujah,” which I do know has been covered three million times, when it says, “love is not a victory march.”  It’s not.  While I do love her, I think that one of my dear friends is correct when she says that she is confused and has lots of interpersonal work to do.  That is independent of me.

Speaking of issues…  Here is one of mine.  Damn crush on “the girl next door” has not subsided and it is SUPER sucky.  I think about her all the time, and have darker thoughts about stuff that she confided in me about the way in which her relationship is going.  Then I think, “Well, this really might not last.”  That is hideous and makes me feel so badly.  If I was still Catholic, I’d stay up in there all Saturday night talking about that.

“Father, I commit sin a lot because I love women and can’t pray out the gay at all.  And boy, have I tried.  I know that I’m telling a celibate this, so probably on a lot of levels it is difficult for you to wrap your brain around it, but that’s not what I’m confessing.  I’m confessing that I am perhaps falling for a girl who is in a committed relationship and I listen to problems that they have and that sometimes makes me happy.”

GROSS!  How did I become this person?  Gotta get back to morality.

I need to meet some girls, dammit!  The snow is gorgeous right now and it’s sunny today.  I think that since it is my turn to pick (and pay for) lunch with my bday twin so we are going to eat in Cap Hill.  There were TWO lesbians at the cool fundraising thing last night and they were snotty and married.  Beyonce says that “all the single ladies” are supposed to put their hands in the air, and they were not doing that last night.  Damn, damn, damn.  Honestly, I had a lot of fun last night though, but they str8 guys were the ones talking to me.  Oh well.  I can work on my dissertation.

Pleasant

I was getting ready to get in the shower very late yesterday–well, late for me, given it was ten of six–and I got a text notification signal.  It was a voice recording from my ex and was pleasant enough.  She said that she wanted to catch up with me on the phone.  So, I called her and we had a good conversation.  My two friends at work asked why I didn’t then send the email.  I said, “Well, it would be apropos of nothing given that I laughed twice and the convo was innocuous.”  I think that email exists as a “Don’t push it,” boundary if I’m being honest with myself.  And she pushed nothing.  She is truly in sales and marketing–even with her social skills.  The conversation was completely business-like, and could have been a couple of colleagues who have known each other for a few years who are warm for the most part with each other.  I still hold that she is glad that I’m not dating, and I do believe that the email will be sent when I am after she is not comfortable with my heart moving with another woman.

I have to intern next year, so I am collecting a few letters of recommendation.  Given that I had just done a presentation for our department two days ago, which is about 25 people, I asked one of the big bosses to do one.  My immediate supervisor had already written one as well, and I talked with my ex about an upcoming interview and gathering stuff.  She said, “I want to read the letter,” and I said, “I actually haven’t read the whole letter because one of the first paragraphs are some of the nicest things that I have ever read about me.  I had to stop reading it.” After I forwarded it to her, I did read the whole thing and it accounted for all the things that I have to do as a professional.  My immediate supervisor had said earlier in her letter that I was the best one in my role that she had worked with in 29-years.  It’s bittersweet to leave next year… I wish that I had two doctoral supervisors in the site so I could just stay.

My former colleague who I don’t have 100% trust in, texted last night that she was with the woman who was my coming out affair for an hour last night.  I tried to call her and she wouldn’t pick up because she said that she couldn’t multitask and was putting her girls to bed.  Very odd that she and my most recent ex had been somewhat in my circle on the same day.  And of course Peter Pan and I spoke after she was texting night before last.  Again, exes seem to come out the wood work at the same time some days.  Of course, there aren’t really coincidences anyway.

Potayto

Are you kidding me?  You talk to me on the phone and argue semantics?  Peter Pan asked if I had sent her CD and said she was moving.  I apologized and asked for her new addy.  She said, “No, I’ll pick it up.”  I said, “Tell me when to leave it in my door,” and then just like her she got all sad sack about it.  For the love of Pete, dude, I haven’t seen you since either the end of July or the first couple days of August–I’d have to check my blog–and you didn’t even miss this CD until I realized that I had it.  She said, “I understand that you don’t want to see me,” and I said, “I just got home.  Give me a few and I’ll call,” and she said, “No worries.  You don’t have to talk to me.”

Sooooo intense and dramatic.  We had sex a handful of times.  You were my rebound.  I told you after we’d done it one night that you needed a nice, young sensible girl who wouldn’t be doing clinical hours next school year.  We had an understanding.

She then started in about how great she is.  I told her, “You are pretty lacking in integrity,” and she said, “I’m the most integrous person that you’ll ever meet.”  Now that cracked me up.  She never finished college and introduced herself to me as a teacher of kids with special needs.  And she let that run for seven-weeks!

Later in our convo tonight, she asked me if I was seeing anyone.  A bit later she asked if she had introduced herself to me as an assistant, would I be her friend and still be dating her?  OMG!

You tell me that what you did was not a lie and that I’m the one with the problem and then it’s obvious that you thought you could date me again.  WhoTF do you think you are?  I couldn’t believe it.  She said that I was wrong several times, and that she is the best person she knows.  Good.  I don’t like untruths or lacking in authenticity.  I’m fine with not knowing the best person in the world.

I told her that I wish her peace and the best, but I am sending her CD (It’s already in a cardboard mailer–photo type one.), but I don’t desire to see her and that she thinks that it’s fine to let someone run with lies of omission for weeks, and then only say after you’ve hung out with someone for seven-weeks, but only just after you’ve had sex a few days, “I have let you believe something that is not true,” is completely lacking in accountability imho.

She said that: “I have let you believe something that is not true.”   How is that not a lie?  I told her that we don’t see things the same way, have nothing in common, and that I’m good on the friends front.  I did also tell her that on the off-chance that I run into her, I will say hello and exchange pleasantries, but we don’t need to prearrange.  After all, it’s me with the problem wanting someone to mean what she says and say what she means, and I don’t know, be honest.