Three Months

Well, my contract is half over now. I’ve been working here for three months - three more to go before it runs out. It’s still weird, having a job. School has started back...all my friends are talking about classes and professors - homework and exams. It’s...different. To not be a part of that anymore. But exciting. I’m finally starting to feel like maybe I’m an adult. Shhh... Don’t tell anyone.

Mr. T and I have finally been able to save money. In three months, I’ve gotten my savings account back to where it was...oh goodness...it must have been about four years ago. I never had to take out a student loan, praise Jesus, but if I had stayed in school for another year I think I probably would have. Or grown to really really REALLY love ramen.

We just had our two-year anniversary as well - you may have heard that rumor. Things are going great. It’s hard to have two totally different lifestyles under one roof, though. The hours a tattoo artist keeps aren’t the same hours an office worker with a nearly-one-hour commute can keep and still function. But we’re making it work. Mr. T might actually start getting to bed at a decent hour! I was especially weird last night and got all mopey about always having to sleep alone. I didn’t even realize it was an issue myself until just then. I was trying to fall asleep and couldn’t. Which never happens. Then I was like I really hate going to bed alone every night and went to get Mr. T. :) He was a great sport about it and said he’ll start trying to move up his bed time (you know, from 4:00 to maybe 1:00 or so :P).

That elusive five-year mark is getting dangerously close, too. The five year anniversary that we said we’d start trying to have kids. I feel like I’m starting to mature enough to be prepared for that. Then the animals do something to piss me off and my reaction makes me think What if that had been a child?? and I think maybe I’m not. lol! Children learn better than animals, maybe. They learn to communicate with you. And I’ll probably love them a little more than I do Splinter or Chairman... I mean, maybe. I know my niece has never upset me as much as the animals, even when she’s less cute than normal (hardly ever happens). But since I’m not around her 24/7, who knows? ;)

So, yeah. All that to say I’m starting to feel a little more mature, I guess. I mean, most of the time not really. But does anyone ever really feel grown up? You wake up one day and suddenly you’re 60 and you think Where did the time go? That scares me sometimes. Life on this planet is so fleeting. I mean, what - at best you get around 100 years? But if you last that long, the last couple decades aren’t going to be great. It’s a fact. People just...fall apart. Mentally, physically...it’s scary.

Speaking of... My uncle just found out he has lymphoma. THAT is terrifying. He’s in his late sixties. Always been healthy, as far as I know. He’s just been feeling bad the last few weeks and went in to get it checked out. “Oh, hey - you have cancer.” Those are words no one EVER wants to hear. (I’m sure those exact words have never been told to a patient, but you get my point.) I think he was going in today to find out how extensive it is. It just...it sucks.

I’ve been thinking about age a lot lately. And death. All my grandparents have passed away now. When I was growing up I always knew I was lucky that all four of them were still alive. Most of my friends had already lost one or two, or more. Then my grandmother passed away after my freshman year of college. We lost both my mom’s parents in a car accident the winter before Mr. T and I got married. And then finally my grandfather and pseudo-grandfather (Mama N’s dad) followed in the next couple years. One day it hit me - those were my parents parents. I mean...you know that, logically. But then you start thinking about how when your kids’ grandparents pass away...those are your parents. And I just can’t imagine a world without my parents in it.

omg - what’s happening!? I need to change the topic fast. This is too emotional for me. I think it’s because I started journaling again, and then misplaced my journal. All my feelings leaked out onto my blog. Ewww, gross.

So, right. Job. Money. Savings. Suddenly: Mr. T and I bought a house. If you know me, and all my readers do, you should probably already know this. Just in case you don’t - we did. We went for a house that will work for us for the rest of our lives. So it’s...a bit expensive. I mean, not terribly expensive. But we could definitely have gone for a smaller, more appropriate for us now house. But then we’d have to sell it and buy a new one in five or so years, when our kids are more people and less baby. Gah - in five years we’ll more than likely be parents...

But, if you’ve read my OTHER BLOG you would know Miss C is moving in with us. I offered her $100 less than what she would be paying in the apartment she was going to move into, and thanks to her love of the finer things in life she will be paying about half our mortgage. Woo!! :) Now if we could just find another roommate to pay the same amount... Nah - I don’t want a house full of people.

It’s scary, though. I mean...I just have a six-month contract. And even though I’m about 95% sure I’ll be offered a permanent position, it’s still not a guarantee. And if they don’t, I’m about....98%...sure the contracting firm can get me another contract/permanent position pretty quickly, but that is also not a guarantee. So...December could be a very bad month for us. But I’ve been able to save about $1k a month since I started work, and we’ve got another 3-4 months to go. So if I don’t have a job for...about a month...we should be fine. “Should” being the key word. That is if the pipes don’t burst, or a tree falls on the roof (I don’t think there are any trees big enough to do that, actually.), or or or... Buying a house is scary!!

Oh, but I can’t wait. I already started packing! Mr. T and Roommate were making fun of me, but it’s so important to start early and take your time! When I moved out of my last apartment before we got married, I got like five boxes done a few weeks early, then didn’t pack anything else until the day before I had to be out. It was a disaster! We were up until nearly 4:00 getting everything out. We ran out of boxes, crap was just getting thrown everywhere. Then I lived with my sister for three months, followed by nine months with Mr. T’s grandparents. I lost sooo much stuff. THAT’S NOT HAPPENING TO ME AGAIN.

We bought twenty of those fancy Bankers Boxes from Walmart. The ones you assemble yourself. They’re so sturdy! I love them. Everyone’s all “Don’t buy boxes - get them for free!!” But then you have to deal with all these weird sizes, and some aren’t all that sturdy anymore. You usually have to tape them back together, and then take them off to recycling when you’re done, because they’re useless. These boxes don’t require any tape, and you can break them back down to store and use later. I have one that I’ve been using for years to hold shoes. It’s still in excellent shape. They’re magnificent. And I definitely want a paycheck for my advertising, Bankers Boxes! I should get at least a nickel.

With DVDs, books, knick-knacks, giraffes, stuffed animals (I’M AN ADULT - LEAVE ME ALONE!)...I’ve filled up about eighteen of them. lol! But that’s eighteen boxes we don’t need to worry about packing anymore. And it’s eighteen boxes of things we don’t need for the next month. It could be argued that maybe we don’t EVER need them, if we won’t need them for an entire month. But to that I say “Suck it.”

I am terrified, though, that I might not get offered a permanent position. Have I already mentioned that? I think I did. What else was I going to say, then? No clue. But! HOUSE!

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(That was for Exum.)

I guess I’ll go now. This post is already so long no one’s going to read it. :P