Whittling down...whiling away...
A quick look around our living room right now would lead you to believe that we're moving. In? Out? Hard to tell. Stuff everywhere. Saturday the boyfriend began searching for a particular document. When it wasn't in the third, fourth, fifth place we looked, we decided it was time to start going through all of the stacks of papers stashed in various spots. Boyfriend quickly decided that we need a shredder, so off to Office Max we went. It's not that we're COMPLETELY unorganized--we do have files...it's just that nothing had seemed to find its way into the files in the last, I don't know, year? It did feel good to get rid of all the hidden stashes of papers. Next up: magazines. We bought two of those magazine holders. I told the boyfriend that we each need to whittle down our mag's to fit into those holders--one for him, one for me. He laughed. I think the laugh meant, "Yeah, right. That'll be the day..." Just watch me, pal.
The thought of moving next year (that's still the plan) seems daunting when I think about having to go through everything and sort out what we really want to ship. It's not that we even own that much stuff compared to most people (we rent a fully furnished place), but being limited to mailing or shipping as the only available mode of transport makes you really focus on what you really need and want to keep. (It's so different than being able to pile stuff into a car or U-Haul.)
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Yesterday we spent about 8 hours at the beach. Unusual for us to spend more than 4 (or 5, max). Boyfriend's been lobbying hard for some sort of watercraft, but given that we bought round-trip tickets for my mother to celebrate her birthday here (and we'll be hosting her for 10 days) and that we just spent an exhorbitant amount on round-trip tickets (eegads, tickets in peak summer travel season are HIGH!) for his son to spend 3 weeks with us in August (and the small fortune we'll spend on the little guy while he's here)...well, we just can't see dropping another $600 (at least) on a dinghy. So to appease the old man, when we were in K-Mart about a week ago, we bought an inflatable raft for $50. He really just wanted something to paddle around our neighborhood beach. Yesterday we took it with us and once the tourists started heading back to the cruise ships, we drove to the eastern edge of the beach, inflated the raft and decided to paddle out to a side beach. This baby was advertised as a 4-person raft. Four very little people...maybe. Even more laughable are the oars that came with it. They're puny and too short and made us feel like we were trying to row with teaspoons. It was pretty pathetic. We each had an oar, but because he was doing a lot of short, quick strokes and I was doing a lot of long, slower ones, we found ourselves going in circles. Which of course led to arguments: "What are you DOING?! Which way are you trying to GO?!" It doesn't sound funny, but it was. But a few minutes later, we reached the little beach (in spite of ourselves) and lounged on the rocks and sand in the late afternoon sun. I went for a dip--the water was perfect. When we got ready to head back, he decided he wanted me to ride in the raft and he would push me, so he hung off the end of the raft and kicked us toward shore. We stopped short of the beach and bobbed in the bay for probably half an hour while we watched the wonderful sunset. It dawned on us that it was the first time we'd ever watched a sunset at our neighborhood beach. Insane! We've lived near this beach for three years! Part of it's the bugs though--we tend to be inside by the time dusk rolls around. And we did start getting bit by the no-see-um's as the sun was setting. But it was pretty...and romantic. And there was a sea turtle nearby keeping us company.
I tease my love that he's not romantic. He is--sometimes--but not in expected ways. Here's an example: He arrived here two months before me. He wanted to make sure that we could make a life here and he came down early to get everything in place. Our neighborhood beach is the most scenic, popular one on the island and his friend drove him to the breathtaking lookout above it right after he arrived. It's a stunning view--the turquoise bay below and St. John and the British Virgin Islands beyond. But my man told his buddy that he didn't want to go to that beach...until he could go with me. So for two months, every time his pals (including visiting musicians) went there, he stayed home. Awwwww. That's romantic, right??
The thought of moving next year (that's still the plan) seems daunting when I think about having to go through everything and sort out what we really want to ship. It's not that we even own that much stuff compared to most people (we rent a fully furnished place), but being limited to mailing or shipping as the only available mode of transport makes you really focus on what you really need and want to keep. (It's so different than being able to pile stuff into a car or U-Haul.)
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Yesterday we spent about 8 hours at the beach. Unusual for us to spend more than 4 (or 5, max). Boyfriend's been lobbying hard for some sort of watercraft, but given that we bought round-trip tickets for my mother to celebrate her birthday here (and we'll be hosting her for 10 days) and that we just spent an exhorbitant amount on round-trip tickets (eegads, tickets in peak summer travel season are HIGH!) for his son to spend 3 weeks with us in August (and the small fortune we'll spend on the little guy while he's here)...well, we just can't see dropping another $600 (at least) on a dinghy. So to appease the old man, when we were in K-Mart about a week ago, we bought an inflatable raft for $50. He really just wanted something to paddle around our neighborhood beach. Yesterday we took it with us and once the tourists started heading back to the cruise ships, we drove to the eastern edge of the beach, inflated the raft and decided to paddle out to a side beach. This baby was advertised as a 4-person raft. Four very little people...maybe. Even more laughable are the oars that came with it. They're puny and too short and made us feel like we were trying to row with teaspoons. It was pretty pathetic. We each had an oar, but because he was doing a lot of short, quick strokes and I was doing a lot of long, slower ones, we found ourselves going in circles. Which of course led to arguments: "What are you DOING?! Which way are you trying to GO?!" It doesn't sound funny, but it was. But a few minutes later, we reached the little beach (in spite of ourselves) and lounged on the rocks and sand in the late afternoon sun. I went for a dip--the water was perfect. When we got ready to head back, he decided he wanted me to ride in the raft and he would push me, so he hung off the end of the raft and kicked us toward shore. We stopped short of the beach and bobbed in the bay for probably half an hour while we watched the wonderful sunset. It dawned on us that it was the first time we'd ever watched a sunset at our neighborhood beach. Insane! We've lived near this beach for three years! Part of it's the bugs though--we tend to be inside by the time dusk rolls around. And we did start getting bit by the no-see-um's as the sun was setting. But it was pretty...and romantic. And there was a sea turtle nearby keeping us company.
I tease my love that he's not romantic. He is--sometimes--but not in expected ways. Here's an example: He arrived here two months before me. He wanted to make sure that we could make a life here and he came down early to get everything in place. Our neighborhood beach is the most scenic, popular one on the island and his friend drove him to the breathtaking lookout above it right after he arrived. It's a stunning view--the turquoise bay below and St. John and the British Virgin Islands beyond. But my man told his buddy that he didn't want to go to that beach...until he could go with me. So for two months, every time his pals (including visiting musicians) went there, he stayed home. Awwwww. That's romantic, right??
posted by Marilyn at 8:24 PM
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