Thursday, June 14, 2007

Another Long Day

My weekend is over, and it was a good one. I already posted the rundown of my Tuesday with Sticky, and after I dropped her off, I came straight home, made the update, and promptly fell asleep for about 10 hours straight.

I really needed it, too.

Yesterday began with me spending the morning doing chores and housework, and then watching all the Tivo'd Deadliest Catch episodes I slept through the previous night. I don't know why I'm so addicted to that show, but I really enjoy it.

Rob showed up around noon, and we made our way down to our new place. It was lease-signing day, and we finished up all the paperwork and such. I pick up the keys tomorrow morning at 9:00 and will hopefully drop off the first truckload of stuff at that time. Rob will be working until noon, but we're going to try and get a few loads of stuff moved in before it gets just too damn hot.

We also did our 'drawing' for the rooms. The master suite is much nicer and bigger than the second bedroom, so we had to come up with an equitable way of deciding who got which room. Of course both of us wanted it, so we figured that the best solution was that we'd still split the rent half-and-half, but that the person who got the master bedroom would be responsible for paying the water/garbage bill every month ($24 extra) and that whoever had the second bedroom would get the covered and assigned parking spot (there is only one--the rest is uncovered guest parking). We both thought that was the best solution, with neither person getting an advantage, so we let the cards decide. High card got the master and the extra expense, low card got the second bedroom and the covered parking.

So we shuffled up a deck of poker cards, then spread them around the kitchen table. I drew the Eight of Diamonds, and then Rob put and exclamation point on the exercise by pulling the Ace of Spades. The gambling gods have spoken, and I get the covered parking. I'm cool with that. When I leave for work, it's hotter than shiat outside, so I need it more. Rob leaves for work at 3:30 in the morning, so covered parking is not an issue for him. Besides, I don't have enough nice bedroom furniture and bathroom accessories to really enjoy that master suite without coughing up all kinds of cash for new stuff.

Anyhow, the deposits were paid, papers were signed, and afterwards we did a little exploring of the complex. The pool and the clubhouse were very nice, and we found out something that made my whole day--the pool and jacuzzi are open 24 hours! I cannot *wait* to come home at 4:00 am after a long night at the tables and be able to enjoy the cool pre-dawn weather while soaking in the hot tub. Seriously, you have no idea how much I'm looking forward to that. There is nothing more rewarding to the tired feet and sore shoulders caused by eight hours behind the tables.

We also realized that it was after noon on a weekday, school was out, and there was not a single kid running around the complex or playing in the pool (and there is no playground there, either, thank god). That's always a good sign. And we also chose an apartment as far away as we could get from the four buildings where the pet owners live--no yapping dogs like at Rob's current apartment. It was very cool, quiet, and serene. But the coolest thing was the fact that our unit faces northeast and has a couple of huge shade trees right outside the windows--no afternoon sun blazing down on us and heating the place up.

We are pretty satisfied with our choice, and both are looking forward to getting in there ASAP. Luckily the electricity gets hooked up tomorrow, and we'll have gas on Monday afternoon. We won't have cable or internet for another ten days or so, but I can live without that until the last minute. That's it for the utilities--we're not hooking up a landline telephone--both of us are sticking with the cell phones. If it's just hotter than hell this weekend and my roommate isn't down at the lake, but instead sitting around here at the house guarding the thermostat, I'll move my bed over there on Saturday and start sleeping there under the cool breeze of an air conditioner I can actually use.

Anyhow, once we finished up our walk around the complex, we hopped back in the truck and did the home-to-work drive just to see what kind of commute we'd have. It's only five and a half miles from parking spot to parking garage, and even a few stoplights less than I'm hitting now. Once that measurement was taken, we headed back over to Green Valley Ranch with the plan of seeing Oceans 13. We got employee discounted tickets at the gift shop, but had a few minutes to kill before showtime. So of course we had to hit my favorite dollar machine again.

I'm sad to say that the streak is over. I put $20 in and got nothing. Not even a single cherry for two bucks. I got up, but then Rob put a twenty in, and made a quick ten bucks and immediately cashed out--movie tickets paid for!

Ocean's 13 was actually very enjoyable--and so much better than that horrid Ocean's 12 sequel. This one is much more Vegasy--even more so than the 2001 'original'. And there are quite a few great laugh-out-loud lines, too. We both really enjoyed it, and it's definitely going to get a place in my collection once it's released on DVD.

After the movie ended, we considered sneaking into seeing Pirates of the Caribbean, but the thought of sitting for another three hours was just too much to contemplate. Besides, all I'd eaten since my lunch with Sticky the day before at the Elephant bar was the popcorn and Coke I got at the concession stand--I was really hungry! So we drove over to Metro Pizza for dinner, ordering a large Gotham (the pizza with everything!) and a couple of never-empty Cokes.

As good as it was, it's still not quite as good as New York Pizza & Pasta as far as I'm concerned. Hell, I even let Rob have all the leftovers, instead of getting two boxes to go. I mean, that's serious business. Usually there aren't leftovers unless we order extra, and I *always* want to take a couple slices home after the fact. I just wasn't feeling it yesterday. I think it's because I realized that I might be a pizza 'minimalist'. I prefer thin crust with just two toppings. The one we ate yesterday was basically a 'garbage pizza' and weighed a ton. Still good though--I'm certainly not complaining.

Anyhow, we were both pretty tired--Rob had worked all night before our adventure, and spending the day running around out in the sun had pretty much sapped our energy, even before hitting that big meal at Metro. We got back to the house, firmed up the plans for Friday and Rob took his pizza and headed home. I spent a bit of time chatting with Sticky, Doc, Dougie, and Marty on T2V for awhile, then finally hit the bed, hard.

But I'm awake now, and once I get some coffee and breakfast in me, it's time to start packing.

Mikey

No comments: