Blog Master G

Finally I had the burst of energy and motivation today that I’d been trying to muster up since moving into our new house. Shortly after waking up, walking the dogs, and enjoying the morning coffee and Sunday paper at the breakfast table now in the kitchen (formerly my way too small work desk), there was talk of diving into painting the dining and living rooms, though we hadn’t yet settled on colors. Then it hit me: It was time to get the house in order.

I realized that in order to focus on everything and feel good about life in general, the house needed to be in order; I needed to get my Chi in check. And that starts at home. So Jen and I spent the next few hours powering through the unpacking and cleaning of one room at a time — the bedroom, the upstairs bathroom, the hall closet, the kitchen, the living room, the back porch, the office. We moved a bunch of shit down to the dungeon, and it feels good. My Chi is now balanced.

Jen did some Photoshop work to see what the living and dining rooms would like like in various colors, and I think we’re close to making a decision. Selecting paint is no easy task. It’s almost like deciding on which wedding invitation to use. We’re hoping to get both rooms painted before our upcoming housewarming party. And, of course, cleaning for the party will be much easier now if we just keep things in order. I took a few boxes of books to the basement since we’re lacking a living room bookcase.

The weekend aside, the past week was pretty uneventful, though it marked the second week in a row of super-business at work (this is good). I got a much-needed haircut on Monday night.

Friday night turned into a wonderful impromptu date for me and Jen. We had some martinis at Nine Maple, went for a walk in Congress Park where we rode the gorgeous carousel (Gabe rides the pony | Jen rides the pony), then had a greasy supper at the Parting Glass.

Yesterday we did our part for the economy, finding and purchasing a new futon with frame for our guest room (to be delivered next week), and a gas grill, which we successfully assembled. (We were planning to cook dinner on it tonight, but it’s pouring outside as I type.) Last night we met up with Justin for some drinks at a local bar (where a student of my father-in-law from 1973 was having drinks and dinner with his wife), followed by Galactic bowling at the local alley. We were the only ones there, so we got to bowl one game for free before they shut it down (I bowled a 151 with four strikes and a spare). Then, following a stop at the Chopper, we hung out the rest of the night at Joe’s pad, playing this awesome bicycle game on PS2 that’s hidden in Mister Mosquito.

All in all, a super-fun weekend with tons of progress around the house.

It makes me so mad that the GOP is attempting to go to the Constitution to restrict rights by trying to make marriage between a man and a woman. That goes against not just the spirit of America, but the spirit of the Republican party. Isn’t the party supposed to be about states’ rights and less government? Except when it’s convenient for them to woo voters in swing states, apparently. Hypocritical bastards.

More kindly put:

Dear friend,

Congress is about to vote tomorrow on amending the U.S. Constitution to deny marriage equality to same-sex couples.

Never before has our Constitution been amended to take away anyone’s rights.
Yet our Senators will vote on this amendment in the next 24 hours.

It’s urgent that we speak up now. This hateful divisiveness has no place in
America. Please join me in saying so, at:

http://www.moveon.org/unitednotdivided/

Equality in marriage is the civil rights issue of our generation. We can’t let
anyone, or any group, be singled out for discrimination based on who they are
or who they love.

Thank you.

Last night at SPAC:

Yesterday in Saratoga Springs:

Bush team: Al-Qaida threat looms before fall elections: “Bush administration officials warned Thursday of possible ‘large-scale’ Al-Qaida terrorist attacks before the November presidential election that are intended to influence the outcome.”

Translation: We’re tired of Kerry and Edwards stealing all the headlines and we want to scare the American people into re-electing Bush because that’s what we do — instill fear.

From the end of an email from John Edwards to Kerry supporters:: “Between now and November, the American people are going to reject the tired old negative politics of the past and they’re going to embrace the politics of hope, because this is America, where everything is possible. We believe the best of America is in front of us and that everything is possible if we just put our minds to it. When John Kerry is president, tomorrow will once again be better than today.”

I was excited by yesterday’s announcement that Kerry picked Edwards as his running mate. I had a very strong feeling about that back during the primaries. I think it makes sense, strengthens the ticket, the southern front, etc.

Electronic voting and Republican attack ads aside, it’s going to be a fun election year.

Despite Happy’s having mastered the undoing of Velcro straps and moving to hair-tie-powered socks, he and Stella have been pretty tolerant of our efforts to guard the hardwood from their dog claws. Strapping them in every time we come into the house is a pain in the arse, but well worth it while our floors cure.

Watch video of Stella & Happy walking in booties

Jen was inspired to write the following poem after the crazy day we had yesterday:

t’was the night after moving, and all though the house
what strange sounds we heard… the wind? …a mouse??
after some detective work we realize in a snap,
the noise we are hearing– it’s a big clog of crap!
no longer can overlook the gurgling loo
when outside in the garden is a huge pile of poo.
out of the air vent and into the roses–
a torrent of waste appears, holy shit- hold your noses.
i grab my shovel and gabe his computer
sweet jesus, where is the number for roto-rooter??

Happy birthday to my bro, Pete, whose birthday was yesterday. His posse’s in Boston with him these days working on a business venture: Foulke the Yankees. You can order shirts online for just 15 bucks plus 5 for shipping. If you’re a Red Sox fan, of course, this shirt is for you (it comes in red on blue or blue on red and the quality is superb). Even if you just don’t like the Yankees and are tired of seeing them win everything, show your anti-Yankees pride.

Go, Keith Foulke, go!

The house is slowly coming together. Still a long way to go and lots of boxes remain, but we’re getting there. At least we don’t have an imminent deadline, and can take our time unpacking.

This being the 5th move in 5 years, we have some experience in this department, but this one is more permanent than the others, this being our first home that we own.

This time, right now, is the longest stretch of time in my entire life that I’ve not been in California. The previous record was probably somewhere along the lines of a two- or three-month span (during my time at Vassar, I flew home often). I realized this probably a month or two ago when I was feeling out of sorts about things in general. Next month will be our first trip back to the Golden State since moving East.

June was a crazy month: Two reunions (Vassar, family), Vegas, buying a house, moving into a house.

The fun will continue in July, as we continue to settle in, have our first two out-of-town guests, have a housewarming party, and face the steep learning curve of home ownership.

We have our first challenge on the table: Some, shall we say, misdirected plumbing that’s resulted from a backup in the pipes. Jen is on her way to the hardware store to buy us a snake. This should be interesting.

In other world news, we did see Fahrenheit 9/11 last week on opening night. I think it kicks ass that it was number 1 at the box office, despite having been in only 800 or so theaters.