God I love seeing that I haven't written in over a year. That really makes me feel like I'm giving it my all...

Some news, some big news, and some mildly unimportant news. In no particular order:

First of all, for any and all that read this, I am married. To the very same Lynn Reilly that I dated in high school (It sounds so funny to say that)! We went away to Traverse City, Michigan and got married at a vineyard called Chateau Chantal. It was truly a beautiful ceremony just for the two of us.

I also have decided I am done with Grey's Anatomy. I have washed my hands clean of the stench it has provided last season.

And, we are having our first "families together" meal this weekend. We are eating at the House of Kobe, which, I am a fan of.

So there. I've updated.

I need some help...

If you are currently my friend on Myspace, I'd love to give you all an offer you can't refuse.

Ha ha...


You should all consider joining my mob. Our numbers will be great and we shall eat pasta and whack people!! Woo!

My thought for the day is this:

Scottish/Irish (or perhaps Celtic as a whole) people have really damn cool accents. I wish I had a Irish or Scotsman best friend just so I could hear him talk all the time, and then perhaps I would pick up the accent by association. I would be pretty cool then. People would hear me speaking and they would ask me where I'm from and I would say "Indiana", and they wouldn't believe me.

It also seems like they're always portrayed in the movies as carefree, rebellious, and good at parties. Which... might be why I like them so much. Hmm...

No, I'm not pledging a fraternity.

I'm mired in this week from hell, which thus far has included 5 great hours of sleep spread out across the past 72 hours. It all started over the weekend when my television (which I bought brand-new 5 years ago) decided to blow a fuse and a transmitter... effectively ending its reign of viewing enjoyment on my life. I saw so much great stuff on that television...

• The 2003 Cubs making it 5 outs away from the World Series


• All 10 seasons of Friends, some live, eventually all on DVD


• Endless hours of Gamecube, Playstation 2 & 3 games

All gone. Because a freaking transmitter decides to die waaaay too soon.

So Monday I'm suggesting to Lynn that maybe we go look at some sweet new LCD televisions as possible replacements. And then... our internet dies suddenly. It was the weirdest thing, both our computers were on, the modem and the router were powered on and the icons on our computer said they were connected and working properly. Freakin' Comcast even said it showed everything was working just fine. We just had no internet. Nada.

I came home from work that night, and found out our subdivision was planning to reseal all the blacktop on our street first. So, in the morning I woke up reeeeally early to move my car... and not knowing exactly where I could park... I went to work for an hour or so to let them get started. When I got back our ENTIRE street was roped off and they wouldn't let any traffic anywhere on the road or separate parking areas. So I parking in BFV and walked my way home, somehow thinking they'd be starting and finished within hours of that time... so by the next morning I'd probably be able to park in my own neighborhood again.

Yeah. Sure.

I couldn't even sleep that afternoon, so my two hours would have to do for me. Work that night sucked... especially when Lynn called and told me the upstairs neighbor was getting a new air conditioning unit installed and they needed access to our crawl space to get underneath the building. They would be coming at about 8:30 am.

I got home about 2 am.

Inevitably, I couldn't get relaxed and sleepy until about 5...

So I got about 3 hours of sleep last night until Lynn was shaking me awake this morning for the guys to come "do their thing" so to speak.

I'm picturing in my head that they needed to get to an existing pipe and install a new one or something. I'm thinking... one hour, two tops. Then I can go back to bed and "catch up" on some sleep.

Well now it's 12:30 pm and they're still... STILL... here. There's no way I'm getting any sleep now. And I don't think I can function like this at work again!

So that's how it is. All I really have to say by this point is, with all this negative bad shit happening lately, I'd better have an amazing television to watch by the weekend or something. Frickin' stupid circumstances...

For those peeps out there willing to try a new artist/song out there, give "Good Arms Vs Bad Arms" by Frightened Rabbit. I promise you it's a good one!

good arms, versus bad arms, will win hands down
they are built to hold and fit
look how far they go around

you don't need these now that you've found another pair
and the difference astounding, i should expect
except
leave the rest at arm's length
keep your naked flesh under your favorite dress
and leave the rest at arm's length
when they reach out, don't touch them, don't touch them

i decided this decision some six months ago
so i'll stick to my guns, but from now on it's war
i am armed with the past, and the will, and a brick
i might not want you back, but i want to kill him

and leave the rest at arm's length
keep your naked flesh under your favorite dress
and leave the rest at arm's length
when they reach out, don't touch them, don't touch them

and leave the rest at arm's length
don't brush with him, he might have diseases
and leave the rest at arm's length
steer clear of the grasp, girl -- run, run, away

and leave the rest at arm's length
just roll over boy and don't make me do this
and leave the rest at arm's length
i am armed to the teeth and i'm heavy set
and leave the rest at arm's length
i'm not ready to see you this happy
and leave the rest at arm's length
i'm still in love with you (can't admit it yet)

Excellent new Scottish band, I'm even getting into some of their other songs on the album The Midnight Organ Fight

I don't really feel like talking. I'm depressed.

I don't feel like admitting that to myself either, but I'd love to know where I went wrong.

I fight with Lynn all the time... it's never about anything meaningful, just nitpicking. I might even start 80% of them.

Somehow I followed my instincts and they led me to believe I would be happy being on my own with someone, preparing to start a life of my own.

All my instincts have gotten me so far is stupid, lonely, and depressed.

*insert dumbest thing I've ever done saying here*

I was sort of admonished to write more often here, and it's obvious that I've been slacking on my lj'ing duties... so... hello! I'm alive all you peoples out there.

Barely.

Sometimes I'll have aches and pains that stick around for awhile and I'll delude myself into thinking, in paranoid hypochondriac fashion, that I have some kind of condition. Well now I'm talking myself into that I have a pulmonary embolism. Good stuff, right? If only the sharp pain in my upper side would cease... Ugh.

Also... now don't freak out on me all at once... there are times that I think I jumped into everything all too soon. Moving, sure... it needed to happen and it has been mostly a good experience. But I suppose you should be careful what you wish for... there are no happy endings... look before you leap... a penny saved is a pen- oh you get what I'm trying to say. This is hard, and we are two very stubborn people. I'm not saying any statuses... stati(?) have changed, just that I'm still getting used to... the times where I want to just walk out the door.

That said, I will try to update more often. I'm trying not to become too dependent on my computer lately, so that's a bit of the reason why I take weeks and weeks to update. Admonish me now Renée!

My posting has been rather slow of late. I guess when it comes down to it, living on your own is hard work! Between washing dishes and keeping cats and dogs happy, watching On Demand and working, there's little time for anything else.

But a couple days ago was April Fools day, which holds meaning for me deeper than the usual pranks and merriment.

( Two years ago I posted this. )

So much can happen in two years huh?

I've been keeping this one a secret for awhile now... only because there was always the chance that Lynn would see what I was saying about any of it the past two months.

Big news everybody. Tonight (last night) I asked Lynn to marry me.

And she said yes!

It was fairly simple, I had been waiting for the ring for about 2 months... so I didn't have a lot of time (or money) to make a huge blown proposal. However, I came up with something that was still surprising and memorable... not to mention romantic. I took all my candles and lit them around the living room while she was in the shower. Then when she got out, I knocked on the door and asked her to come out with me (I think she was a bit perturbed at wearing only a towel) and as soon as she stepped out into the hallway she could tell something was up.

After I put her in a good spot... and started to speak... I fully realized just how hard it is to actually get those words that I'd been mulling in my head for the past two months out of my mouth. I had to stop a couple times to collect myself, because... here I am over 13 years after Lynn and I started dating the very first time and I'm finally saying the words. Heavy stuff. I got really emotional... But I did it. I am sure this isn't word for word, but it's close so I'm writing it here for posterity.

Very few people are lucky enough to know the person that was their first love later in life. So I considered myself fortunate when you came back into my life. I considered myself lucky that you became my best friend. I was luckier when we fell in love with each other again. Now I hope you'll make me the luckiest...

Lynn Ann Reilly, will you marry me?

It's probably not much, but I think it's sweet. I almost didn't get through it either...

So don't even ask when the date is. We just got engaged. :) But there just may be a party in the works soon... and in case anyone was wondering...

( Picture of the ring )

Of unpacking. It sucks pretty bad. I'd say somewhere between getting your toenails yanked out by an elephant or having a thousand foot freefall without a parachute.

That said... I am only two boxes away from being unpacked! HA! Shame on you Lynn! I've seen your piles of stuff in the bedroom!

Well, it's not a race to unpack. It is, however, a tedious process.

My computer is all hooked up now, with printer and sound. It only took three weeks... Next up is the gaming systems so that the entertainment center does not look bare.

I also have something kind of cool to report. Everyone that knows me well enough knows about Caralee. Her and I am maybe mending some fences a little. Who knows? We're friends on myspace now. It is a good thing I think. Time will tell!

Well I'm happy to report that either I figured something out and the internet is working right... or...

Perhaps it is in a "good" phase that is lasting longer than a few minutes this time... or...

Hell, it's Saturday. Maybe Saturdays are good for cable internet?

But in any case, things are going ok right now. I have a ton of stuff to do around here though... You can't really say you're moved into a place until you're unpacked completely right?

I might be unpacked completely by 2009.

Greetings all, I'm writing from my new domicile. I realize that it has been over a week since I left, and yet it seems like a year has gone by in that time...

I'm not thrilled with the Comcast internet. Sometimes it seems pretty good and other times it is slow as dial up.

But for now, this was a little hi... coming to you from the other side of Chesterton now.


And... Comcastic my ass.

Well, we're here...

( Let's do it again )

I will dwell in your tent forever. I will take refuge in the shelter of your wings.

I wonder how to get my cat to enjoy living with a dog?

I get the keys tonight... Paint tomorrow... Move in Saturday.

Regardless of the schedule, I am less than 24 hours away from living on my own... with Lynn. I can't begin to describe how that feels, for what seemed like years ago (and really was only months) I thought I stood no chance.

Now I'm living with her.

Un-frickin-real.

In the depths of my junk I came across this very apropos quote I jotted down from a debate contest I helped judge years and years ago...

"The probability of someone watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your action."

Think about it... how very true that is.

It has been some very strange weather this winter. Example? Today it rained almost all afternoon and evening. Tomorrow... snow.

That's how it has been all winter long! In fact, I'm about to give up on the weatherperson and just look outside. Any given day, whatever it's doing... there's a 100% chance that it will be doing the other in the next three days. We've had maybe, maybe three completely clear days this winter. The rest have been snow, or rain... or both.

So, I'm officially, completely officially, sick of winter... and I'm ready for spring. When it can go from rainy to stormy and back.

Oh, and as it stands now they are calling for scattered snow on painting day. Have to wait until tomorrow to see what the early word on moving day looks like...

Lynn has the flu. Yikes! What makes it sad though, is that we're moving in a little over a week... and she's laid out at her mom's house. Not much time for packing when you feel like you're dying I'm sure.

It was late Sunday morning when I received a very distressed call from Lynn saying she was sick, really really sick. She sounded so tiny and pathetic... and she told me she called her mommy. Aww...

So all I can do is keep packing my stuff, and hope that she gets better soon. For her own sake, not just because I want her to get packing.

Ok, well I guess I ought to sleep a bit. Anybody want to tell me what to do or not to do once I've moved in with her? And no, I don't need any toilet seat advice...

Brittany, do you remember your old softball team? Countryside Construction?

Yeah, I have your hat...

Something that I've kept for God knows why for all these years, and I'm half-laughing at myself and also wondering if I should even justify moving with it. Ha, no that's probably not going to fly. But, just to let you know, I still have your hat.

Want it back? You could look rather sporting and softball-ish...

Stop the damn whining already. I'm sick of it. People from every direction wondering just how this-or-that awards show is going to go down without the writers, or how every popular television show of the past two years is suddenly in jeopardy for having no new episodes left. It's a damn strike! You knew this would happen, otherwise they wouldn't have decided to strike!

I've decided I'm done with television anyway. I haven't actually watched anything on a major network besides sporting events in years. I could say "Hey, what about Grey's Anatomy you fool," but I don't even care anymore. They had two and a half pretty good seasons but they've lost me too. Screw it all, the writers really ruined any glimmer of hope I may have had for returning to scripted television. Oh, and those bullshit reality shows aren't going to cut it for me either. I will never ever watch one of those the whole way through. You want reality? Put the Survivor wussies in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of hungry, underfed African lions and we'll see who is smart enough to "survive".

Done. Done, done, done, done, and done. Besides, every show worth watching has been canceled or run its course naturally by now anyway. Television is a vastly terrible wasteland nowadays. And that is why I am sort of glad that the writers had the guts to open my eyes to what I don't care if I'm missing anymore.

Thing 1: We bought a couch and a dining room table tonight. Or, Lynn bought them... she brought me to check that I liked them. I did... but damn, I'm very glad my girlfriend has very good credit. Otherwise, we would be saving a lot of money and using secondhand furniture. Woo! They'll be delivered the day after we get the keys and paint...

Our new couch

Our new dining room table


Thing 2: You remember The Little Mermaid? Apparently they've made it a Broadway musical now... which was just a matter of time I guess, after all they've done it with a couple other Disney classics that I know of. Eh, I really liked The Little Mermaid, but The Lion King was way better by 1000%.