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My first weekend without Andrew here

It's been a rather uninteresting weekend by most accounts, but I'll update anyway.

Since I dropped Andrew off at the airport, I've been holding together surprisingly well. I miss him TONS, of course, but have found that we've been able to communicate quite a bit. Thank goodness for the internet! Between emails, IMs and the phone, we've talked several times a day. It makes it a lot easier that I can stay in close contact with him.

Since my Andrew's return to Oxford, I've spent the bulk of my time getting the apartment cleaned and set up. I'm still missing living and dining room furniture and a desk for the den, but those things are on their way. Right now I'm still sitting mostly on the floor. I have two chairs. One is a comfy rocking chair which almost always holds a sleeping cat (I would move them if I really wanted it, but they love it there!). The other is a kid-sized wooden chair which apparently Andrew used as a kid. His parents refinished it and gave it to us. It's too small to sit in, but it works as a computer table for my laptop while I sit on the floor and work. I also have a coffee table which used to belong to Andrew's grandmother. I can eat "Japanese style" there. But, again, no worries, because several pieces of furniture have been ordered and are on their way.

This week I managed to find good deals on a microwave ($38 at Target!), a toaster and a tea kettle (although it is electric, it's the much wimpier American version of a quickboil kettle. I'll have to explain that in another entry). I've gotten my all-important litter boxes into their proper places, and even got myself a cell phone. So it's getting more homey around here. I spent most of Saturday cleaning and putting away the last items that were still out of place or packed.

Friday I ran errands and then had a "girls night out" with some friends. We had a really nice dinner at a Thai place. I had only had Thai food on an airplane before, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. While visiting my sister, we had tried to go to a Thai place but found there was NO vegetarian entree. So I was a little hesitant, but sure that was a fluke. The menu at the place we went to on Friday was quite extensive for us veggies. I had sweet and sour tofu - vegan, no less! It was quite good and I got the sauce all over the shirt I just bought in Salt Lake City. But I don't really care - I'm not a person who freaks out about clothing getting spots on it. It'll come out.

After dinner, we went to a pottery painting place. I hadn't done this before and wasn't sure what to expect, but it was a blast. There were a ton of different types of pottery to choose from. Once you chose your piece (I selected a toothbrush holder because I need one), you could select different stencils, sponges, brushes, stamps and paint colors and just go to town. I painted flowers on mine in an attempt to match my cute floral shower curtain. You pay a certain price for the ceramic piece and then you pay per hour from the time you start to paint. They also had lots of coffee drinks there, so I was a happy girl. The only bad thing about it is you have to go back and pick up your piece later because they have to fire it and glaze it for you. But I'd totally do it again. And I'm a pretty crappy artist - not crafty at all - but it was fun and social. I can't wait to go with Andrew!

Since Friday night I haven't really left the apartment much or seen anybody I know, so I'm starting to feel a bit lonely. Yesterday I only left to take out the trash. I talked to Andrew, and my mom IMed me, but that's it.

Today Andrew is the only person I have talked to, although I did run some errands out of the house and started on my big project - refinishing a chest of drawers to match my wedding chest. I'm a definite priss and not really into "do it yourself," but I tend to be pretty good at these sorts of projects, so I'm optimistic. Today I just bought the primer and paint and started sanding the drawers. I'm not sure how much I need to sand them, though, so I'm going to wait until one of our friends who knows comes over and see if I've done enough yet.

I also spent a lot of time this weekend looking and applying for jobs online. I applied for 7 or 8 so far and hope to hear back soon. If it comes down to it, several retail places in my area are hiring, but I really don't want to have to do that again. So I'll give these applications a few days and continue to look online before I do that.

Last night I watched Waiting for Guffman, which I bought a few days ago. Andrew and I really enjoyed Best in Show and this is by the same people. It was also good, but not as good as Best in Show. Tonight I think I'll watch it with commentary. Not having cable makes it even quieter around here, so I've been trying to watch DVDs and keep music playing so I don't feel so isolated.

Okay, now don't everybody start bugging me about being lonely. I like being alone, especially with Andrew gone. It gives me time to reflect and get things taken care of, but I wouldn't mind a little more time with friends. But I'm doing okay and keeping quite busy.

Posted by Erin at April 13, 2003 09:08 PM