when you aren't posting! Two years since my last real post? Holy cow..... I guess even super heroes can make mistakes!
LOL
My bad.....
My last real post was
"Dateline At Brad and Debbie's House." Hmmmmmm.......
I believe at that time I was blathering on about being single, loving it, all that. And I did. I had a ton of fun. I put more than a few notches on the old bedpost.
I had two bedposts--one pink, the other blue. I'd just notch my chick conquests on the pink one and the dude conquests on the blue one!
Okay, time to catch you all up....
I might as well bring everybody up-to-date with what's been going on with your favorite superhero (by the way, Green Lantern's ring is HIGHLY overrated--just sayin').
On the superhero front, I am now a full-fledged member of the Intergalactic Protectors Superhero Society (IPSS). I applied for membership in June, 2011, and after a thorough employment, education, reference and credit check, I was granted an interview with the President of the IPSS, Gar-tone (emphasis on the first syllable--trust me, he's REALLY fussy about this). The headquarters is located on a planet called Myorpha, a couple of galaxies away from ours, so it took me a good twenty minutes to get there.
Anyway, I aced the interview (once I got over looking at a dude with five eyes) and a week or so later, had to go back for orientation, paperwork and all that. I was also assigned my "planet of need"--all of us have one. But I'll explain that at another time.
Now, of course, I have my "mortal" job. That's also going well. I'm now a supervisor of the vet techs at the clinic. I didn't really earn that, so to speak. I only have a few years in the field. But for a long time, it was a tough, tough place to work and we just couldn't keep people there. THAT'S been addressed, but I did end up as a supervisor through the magic of attrition. Again, more on this at a different time.
So anyway, if you read any of the other blogs on the "Super Friends' Blogs" list, you know that in January 2011, a lady named Janey moved up from Florida. Everybody adores her and she moved into a room at R and L's digs.
I get asked about this house from time to time. Here's the lowdown. R and L bought it a few years ago. It was being converted, slowly, into a bed and breakfast. Somewhere during the process, whoever owned it flat-out ran out of money and gave up. So you had a house on the market on some land with some somewhat-completed additions.
Ryan, of course, when he was a young lad, worked with his friend Jim (whom I've met and would gladly show a super time) and knows a thing or two about renovation. So R and L bought the house and Jim flew out and he and Ryan fixed it up--to the point where R and L could move in.
Not long after, Janey started having problems with her girlfriend.
Janey and her gf reconciled and she ended up staying in St. Pete. In November 2010 they called it quits and that woman moved to Texas, leaving Janey in FL. Janey started planning to move up again.
One, she wanted a fresh start and two, she had applied to some schools to become a physician's assistant. She was accepted into a few programs and chose one up in the Atlanta area. She had spent several years as a nurse and wanted to stay in the medical field.
So late in 2011, Ryan refurbished a large room that had been built onto the side of the house. The thing is huge.
So, Ryan flew down and helped Janey pack up and load up her truck. I'm pretty sure they were having some fun down there--they spent several extra days there before they left.
Anyway, Janey moved into her luxury-ass guest room. The space is divided up with a full bathroom; a huge room that houses a small kitchen, living and dining area, and a small laundry area; and a nice-sized bedroom and a small bedroom.
Not bad. I was paying a fortune for something bigger, but not all that much better.
So they drove up and we all helped unload her stuff into this friggin' ass awesome space.
I've said it before: everybody loves Janey. She's super-cool and super-awesome. When I was just starting my vet tech training, I was overwhelmed. Janey was always there when I stared to doubt myself. It was a two-year program, and just seemed so daunting. Any time I needed to hear some cheerleading from somebody in a related-type of field, she was always there--on the phone, on-line, wherever.
And when I went through my divorce, Janey was there (as was everybody else--I had a tremendous support system!).
So, while she was a great playmate (we played some when she originally came up to interview for jobs) and a great friend, that's pretty much all I thought of her. And that was enough.
When she and
started having problems, she leaned on all of us. And I was always happy to lend a sympathetic ear. I was the closest one up here that really know what she was going through.
So Janey moved in and was all settled. Janey, who knew that she wouldn't be working for 28 months while she went to school, immediately began working a gazillion hours. She signed on with a nurse registry and began saving up every penny to live on (she's paying for school with loans and savings).
At least she didn't have to worry about rent, or groceries sometimes, as R and L would often shop and accidentally "buy too much" and leave a few bags by Janey's door or buy her things she needed and forget to collect. LOL
So whenever Janey had a day or two off, they usually fell during the week--nurses work all kinds of hours and days. And it was kind of a bummer that I wasn't getting to see her too much. I mean, she always "got her some", but just not as much as she probably would've liked (or us, for that matter).
Anyway, you have to do what you have to do. I had a great hubby who put me through school when I went. Janey didn't have that, and it was awesome that she had R and L.
June came and it was time for Janey to start her program. 13 months of classroom study, 15 months of supervised clinical work through different rotations. Luckily, she allowed herself a couple of weeks to rest up and recharge before starting. And she had a lot--and I mean a LOT--of fun with all of us. I even had some alone time with her that was awesome.
Then, school hit. And she was hammered. It wasn't an easy transition. Huh. THAT sounded familiar. So did the "I'm not sure I can do this," sentiment she had when I dropped in to check on her one day after work.
She's technically earning a masters degree, but really it's medical school. And it's extremely rigorous in its own right.
Now it was time to repay her again. Much like I was the closest one to knowing what she was going through when she broke up with that woman, I knew almost exactly what she was feeling. Okay, she was studying to become a physician's assistant and I was a vet tech. All medical related!
So whenever she needed some cheerleading, it was my turn to provide it. And I was happy to do it. It felt good to repay her for all the support she had given me when I was going through it. She was kind of scarce the first couple of months. Whenever I would head up to R and L's, I'd check in on her.
Finally, in August, Janey had settled into her routine, had a great grasp on her studies, and started having some extra time. I made sure I got my share of it. I don't even know why, necessarily. Something was just drawing me to her, and I don't mean only physically.
We started sleeping together a lot more (then again, everybody around here sleeps together a lot...) and also going out together. Dinner, a movie, just coffee. A lot of times, we'd just go out to talk. We would talk everyday, either in person or on the phone.
And texts. Lots and lots of texts.
Before I knew it.....we were a couple. And one night we were in bed, all snuggled up, and I said, "Why don't you just move in with me?"
Then I heard, "Moving's a pain. No thanks!"
"You bitch! I ask you to move in with me and THAT'S how you respond?"
Okay, so I was laughing when I said it.
So we talked for awhile and she did have one great point: I was looking for a new place. While the metro Atlanta area is expensive, my place WAS overpriced, especially after factoring in a few rent increases. And it would be awhile until she could help with expenses.
"So, how about YOU move in with ME?" she asked.
"I think Alex and Ryan already have enough people living here, honey," I said.
CG and Mitzie in that garage apartment. Janey in this room. Lori spends a ton of time here. I didn't want to add to that. We ended up dozing off before making any decisions.
Okay....so now we're in late November, 2011. Just to give you a little timeline. Anyway, we got up the next morning and went out to breakfast and tried to figure out where to live. I really wanted out of my apartment. It's a great complex, but I was paying well over 1,000 a month for a small two-bedroom apartment.
Then again, you pay less, you get less.
Janey, who must've figured since she was officially my girlfriend at this point, was TOTALLY nagging me to move in with her. I mean, what IS it with women? SHEESH? Put the "girlfriend" title on them and they just think they can boss you around!
Am I right, guys? WOMEN! SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESH!
But moving in with her would be the best arrangement.....I just couldn't ask R and L, though. They had done a ton for me the past several years. But maybe I could ask and offer to pay rent. That would be fair. And I'd feel better about it.
So later on that day, R was out, but L was at home. Talking to one of them is like talking to both of them. They're one of those married couple who are in perfect synch with each other. They finish each others' sentences, all that. So we sat down next to L.
She looked up from her magazine. "Yes?"
"Alex....Janey and I have been spending a lot of time together..."
"No shit?"
I continued, "Well....we were thinking that we'd like to live together."
She looked at Janey and said, "I'm so happy! When you moving out?"
Janey said "shut up" and stuck her tongue out at her.
Alex looked at me and said, "So....you want to move in together.....need money for a U-Haul?"
Finally, Janey butted in.
"Shut up. She's moving in with me. Got a problem with it? You wanna try and stop it? Bring it."
Alex looked at her and said, "Our little Shelly can move in here as soon as she wants. Kicking your Cuban ass will just be a bonus. Bitch."
Yeah, that's how they talk to each other. It's pretty funny to watch.
"Alex, I'll pay rent. It's not right to live here free when I'm working." She shook her head. "No, no.....we love you. We can't stand Janey, but we love you. We won't take money from CG and Mitzie, we won't take yours."
After a few minutes of going back and forth, I FINALLY convinced her to accept a whopping hundred dollars a month to at least cover our use of water and power. And she said they were going to put it away and give it back to us when we got our own place down the road.
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, ALEXANDRA.
So in January, 2012, I moved in with Janey. We looked at all of our combined furniture and decided to put what we couldn't use in that suite/room into storage.
It's been great. It's an open relationship, but honestly, I could be monogamous with her as well. One day, we probably will be.
After my divorce from Brian (who has recently gotten remarried; more on that another time), I never thought I'd commit to another person. I was a lousy, lousy wife. And while he's always said that he was a lousy, lousy husband, he wasn't. And even if he was lousy, I was lousy first.
But while I'm attracted to both "blue" and "pink", my best romantic relationships have been with women. And so far, this has been the best one (and it isn't even close).
Janey will graduate at the end of the year. She made it through the classroom phase of her training with flying colors and is now doing rotations. I knew my girl could do it! Just like she knew I could get through my program.
Of course....there's always the chance she'll dump me when she graduates for some trophy girlfriend--you know, like that old cliche about guys dumping their wives after they put them through medical school!
But it's a chance I'll take.