All hands on deck!

I remember that on this day, one of these last years, (1st April, April fool’s day. . .) my beloved one woke me up in the morning and told me she was pregnant.  –  She stuck with it too.  A long conversation, through to the point where I said overwrought but supportive boyfriend things like, “This can be good, we can make this work!”  She then dropped the giggling “April Fool’s Day!!!!” bomb. 

I didn’t murder her, she’s still alive and well.  Moreover, for all intensive purposes it seems we are again, moving in together.  {Insert sighs of relief and exhaustion here.}  I say “seems”, yes, there are still a few chinkylinks to add to the chain before our heads are on the pillow.  However, we were given the keys earlier this afternoon, so, if “for all intensive purposes it seems”, it seems intensely, with some evidence. 

Those of you who know me a bit more personally, know that this apartment has been a long time coming…  And for the first time in my humble existence, I will not be living in Gresham, but bursting through the bubble and taking up residence in Portland. 

In some three months time, her eldest will be joining us.  Again, those of you who know Victoria and I more personally already know the story there.  If you’re not one of the lucky one’s who knows us more personally, well, I’m not going to go into it here and now, so it’s your loss, boo-hoo, have a cup of tea and walk it off.  Regardless, in some three months time, her eldest will be joining us, and we will be happy to receive him, for now, in this apartment, we have space to allow him to do his own thing, grow, flourish, and all that sort of thing that you want children to do.  Hopefully he’ll move fast to doing it, too!

During that three some months, however, it will be lovely to do things like cook meals with my old cooking equipment, make use my espresso maker, sleep in a bed instead of on the living room floor, hang pictures, take them down, hang them somewhere else.  I’m very keen to have those lovely nonsense arguments about how to decorate the place.  I can honestly say that yes, we both have good taste, it’s just that I consider my own a bit superior to her’s.  (Who doesn’t consider their own sense of taste superior?)  I want an orchid for the kitchen near the window.  Hopefully the cat won’t kill it.  (That’s a good question to pose to you, my unpopulated community of readers.  Have you cats and orchids?  Do your cast try to eat them?)  Yes, an orchid.  I want an orchid.  Orchids are such erotic flowers that even men can appreciate them.  I want an orchid.  We don’t have a balcony, and the windows don’t provide any lush unforgetable views I could write poetry about, so, I want an orchid.  

Apart from the excitement of discovering how my Beloved one and I can put our stamp on the place, I’m also very keen to get back to all of that spur-of-the-moment boyfriend/girlfriend business we’ve missed out on, what with sleeping in the living room of someone else’s house.  Even more blissful, I have concrete evidence she’s mad keen to get back to doing the same, so, lucky be we. 

It’s been quite rainy these past few days, hasn’t it?  Well perhaps not for you–you might be reading from your sun-tanning chair in the garden of Eden, for all I know.  However, here, where I live, in the Portland Metropolitan area, under the gray curtains of the Pacific Northwest, it has been!  I’ve noticed something that even I don’t understand about myself.  I carry my umbrella with me, as I walk out to work.  I like umbrellas, provided they’re not some god awful pink thing with flowers, I like ‘em, have a soft spot for their shape.  However, as I walk out and about, I never catch myself opening my umbrella up, and using it.  This, I think, is due to the fact that it’s windy, and it takes more effort than I’m willing to part with, to keep it poised against the breezes raping it.  Notice, I said, “it takes more energy than I’m willing to part with.”  –  That means, I honestly believe it takes less energy to do what I actually do:

Carry:

(a) briefcase containing laptop
(b) unopened full-size cane-shaped umbrella
(c) a full Starbucks’ cup of coffee
(d) a cigarette

Whilst:  (That’s “while at the same time”, for you non-anglophiles.)

(e) avoiding puddles because of holes in the soles of my shoes
(f) getting wet

Oh well, I suppose if we all walked around doing things that actually made sense, there’d be no reason for films, books, or music.   

Hold fast!

© Jeffrey Puukka, 2009