Done

So far this month has been what one calls busy. Not just busy, very busy, but at least some progress has been made. So far the apartment is ready for the move, we still have plenty of things we need to figure out, such as where to put stuff, how to make better use of the closet space, and what to do with a box full of binders and a box full of notebooks, folders and random office supplies. The kitchen thanks to the Argentinean is looking ship shape, with everything almost ready, and we still need to send some of the pieces that were on loan from other collections back to their museums of origin. Once that is all done, we can bring in the furniture and figure out the new layout for the dungeon.

More importantly than all these, yesterday I finished my Christmas cards, yes, finally, there are only 2 that need mailing, but other than that I am set to go. Now the one last important thing is I need some suplise for the Argentinean, I have a short list but not sure what to pick. Maybe I will just buy everything.

And also today is M day, or the move day. We have worked like crazy so there should not be many surprises. But one never knows.

That time of the year again

Like the anal retentive fag I am, I send Christmas cards, these year after a failed attempt at ordering in NY – they were too expensive – I visited “The Written Word” and bought 50 cards to start with (the list is made of 60 give or take between now and December when they are mailed). They are lovely cards (3 different motifs) all very minimal and in blue and silver hues. I liked them and best of all they were not as expensive as the beautiful Kate Spade ones I adored, but which came up to 3.50 a piece. Anyhow I went back home and put them aside, while I prepare the addresses of the people I need and I can actually get in the spirit of things and start writing Merry Christmases and Happy New Years and appreciations to all my friends and acquaintances. It takes time, but from experience I can tell that once you get going, it gets easier, and it is really helpful to start with the people you have the least to say, that way you get done with 20 or 25 in no time, and the fountain pen is writing just they way you like it. After this first batch, then the difficult ones start, cuz I like to write something, something that shows I really care and I am not just patting myself in the back for sending cards. So I never send cards with Best Wishes, Pablo, nah.

Well I am getting sidetracked here, yesterday I had to go buy a sympathy card on behalf of the swim team and I needed to buy a new fountain pen. I lost my old one. I like Lamy’s because they are sturdy, I like their medium nibs. Best of all they are cheap. So I found them and I bought myself a new one, and wanted to write a bit that night to get the pen going. I ended up at a store on L St, between 18th and Connecticut. I recommend it to everyone, they have a great service (the space is cramped) they had all kinds of pens and a huge Christmas Card selection. They had tons, and they had some beautiful ones. They also have some humorous, funny, modern ones. Aghh don’t you hate it when you have invested in something and 2 weeks later some better ones come your way. So frustrated, I know how ridiculous this is, I stress over the tiniest details, its one of my neurosis. But not to worry, since I need 10 more cards, I get to buy some of the new ones, and then I have to decide who gets what.

Ok, I think I have given away to much of my personality in this post, oh well.

Trimming the Christmas card list

I am one of those gays that likes to send Christmas cards. It is time consuming, and it is he kind of gesture that probably makes some people cringe and think that I have way too much time on my hands. But as you all know this is not the case, it is not that I have too much time in my hands, it is just that I like to send cards with handwritten messages to the people I care about. I think that they are the best way to say in a meaningful way I care about you, and I want you to be a part of my life. I might not see some of the recipients often, other I see almost every day, but they are all important to me and I want all of them to know that I am thinking of them even in a month when we are all running like headless chickens trying to get shopping done, attending parties and just hanging on to the few threads of sanity we have.

This year, I went and bought cards in November, hoping to start writing during the thanksgiving weekend, well as usual the cards are there waiting. I have started the list of recipients and this year I am trimming down. It is kind of sad when you make a list of all the people you want to write and send a card to, and then you end up putting question marks at the end of someones name. The question mark reflects my thought on where the friendship is, and more, it asks the question does this person even give a damn if I send them a card. They do not mean that I do not like the person or enjoy their company, but ask a real question that in this day and age is important, should I invest 15 or 20 minutes in writing a personalized note to this person, knowing that they will not care. The answer to this is no, absolutely no. If the person doesn’t care, then why bother really. So the hard decisions made, people were definitely nixed from the list.

I feel bad about it, at some level it reflects badly on me, because maybe I have failed to remain close to some, or I have failed to spend time with others. It is worth considering am I the one pushing people away, but then in the end, no is the answer again. I have no t pushed people away and I believe that life is a two way street, and when a relationship with someone becomes a huge one way street (like 15th street for instance, the fastest way to leave the city by the way) then it is not worth keeping. That was the revelation of today, well more of last week when in between breaks and meeting I came up with the list of people I need to communicate with. When time is of the essence, then it is better to spend it on the people who care about you than on the people who do not.

^{PS. A picture of a cute playful otter, to remind us that we are all young at heart or something like that.}