I’m currently moving house. My brother nearly had our landlord by the collar the other day. Guy (read: landlord) must have been absolutely PO’ed with having to hire a plumber for us only to uncover a host of other problems. We’re talking close to $10,000 out-of-pocket expenses kind of problems. That doesn’t exactly explain my sister’s shattered photo cabinet, broken house plants, smashed picture frames, and riffled through underwear drawer. But we had to rule out a burglar because my room would have been ripe for the picking: A flat screen TV, a brand new Blu-ray player, dozens of TV and anime collections invitingly displayed on their shelves, out in the open, none of which were taken.
The better part of my Valentines Day was spent sitting quietly listening to my family harp about their issues – you know, like how those “[evil] landlords are going to pay for their injustice” – my thoughts churning toward freedom: Myself on a plastic boat in the middle of the Pacific rowing toward the snow-capped mountains of…
My sister snapped her fingers impatiently at me. “Are you listening?”
“It could have been an accident and they were afraid to let us know so…” I said.
“Mimi, you need stop giving people the benefit of the doubt!” That was my nephew, voice cracking from puberty, eyes rolling like hard stones in their sockets.
“Listen to yourselves,” I said. “You sound like horrible people. Oh, they’re going to pay? Oh, they’re dead if I find out they took this or that? It’s way too tiring to be upset at people. We were going to throw it out anyway. Now that we’re moving out, just let it go.”
And that took care of that. It wasn’t until midnight when my head hit pillow that a niggling feeling wrapped itself like a boa constrictor around my weary head. Then my eyes popped open.
The butter! I left the butter sitting on the table! I tip-toed out to the kitchen and secreted the melting stash of Kerry Gold into the fridge, and then tip-toed back into bed…when my eyes suddenly wrenched open once more!
I fumbled in the dark for my phone and blinded by LED lights, pressed my way through the call log. A dozen missed calls from Blond Guy With Sad Eyes. I cradled my phone to my ear as I struggled to shimmy into my jeans and a pair of socks.
He picked up after a few rings; I apologized profusely, socks limp in my hand; He replied in a strained voice, “You can be pretty wrapped up in yourself sometimes.”
“I know, and it shouldn’t have happened,” I said.
“No, it shouldn’t.”
“But…what I need right now is not for you to get on my case, and just let me make it up to you, OK?”
There was a long pause.
Then in a voice as gentle as a spring breeze tousling a young schoolgirl’s hair on her first day of school, he said, “OK.”
And this is exactly what I’m asking of you guys. What the team needs right now is not for people to get on our case, and just let us make it up to you, OK? But I know our readers, and I know you’ll be patient. Last of all, it’s really me who needs some extended time to catch up, and I want to apologize to my teammates for having to put up with all my RL drama. I know, it’s like one thing after the other. Another week will see me settled. I have releases waiting to be, well, released.
Until then, much love,
Hatsumimi (Stiletto Heels’ Admin)
I always imagine you as a girl born in 1999 when I read your blog posts… It makes for a hilarious image.
God. I’d be so annoyed with my own life if I was that young!
Good luck on the move. It’s a bummer that your sister’s belongings were manhandled so callously, but hope your pragmatism settled things (and hope karma bites that SOB in the face in the end).
Real life first! “Blond Guy with Sad Eyes” makes me think of Ryan Gosling in Drive. Better dispel that notion soon… We are all a-flutter to hear the details!
I love your writing style! It makes every entry so pleasant to read 🙂
Hope everything gets better for you! Take your time.
is that romance I hear?? romance?? /always keeping up the salacious interest, me
the move must be stressful, but I hope you still get something out of a new place… there’s something about the novelty of a new place that makes it feel like maybe you make a new start 🙂
Someone broke into your home? It must be kind of scary. It’s weird that they didn’t steal anything though. Maybe it was just kids. Who knows… Is that why you’re moving out?
You must be so busy. Moving is always complicated. I hate packing. I have moved several times in the past few years and every time, I had to throw out several boxes of useless stuff. I accumulate it without even realizing.
Anyway, best of luck with the move and everything. I’ll be there when you get back.