She Loves You, Ya Ya Ya

Okay. I've covered my trip to Sweden. I've discussed other small things that have popped up, so, I guess I need to update on my love life.

I was looking forward to Sweden so I could judge for myself if I was in love with S or if it was just wishful thinking (hoping?) like it was with K. By the time we had gotten to Sundsvall, I knew it was real.

When I flew back to the States, S met me at the park and ride to give me a ride back to the office so I could get my car to head home. She was taking off work the next day to spend with me, heading up to my house when her day was done.

I had just enough time to get home, take a much needed crap and get some stuff cleaned up before she got there. We went out to dinner, then back to my place to watch some TV. We started making out, and we just kept going, eventually heading back to the bedroom.

As we lay in bed, I told her about my inexperience (only woman I had ever slept with was my Ex), then I dropped the bombshell.

Me: "Before we continue, I need to tell you something."
S: "What?" (look of trepidation in her eyes)
Me: "I love you."
S: "Did you just say you love me?"
Me: "Yes."
S: "I love you too."

SHE LOVES ME TOO!!!!

Did you hear that? Lemme repeat:

SHE LOVES ME TOO!!!!!

We've been inseperable since. We went to visit my parents for my birthday. They love her too. I asked my father after the visit via email what he thought. His response?

"You continue to have a horseshoe up your ass."

He likes her.

We've been looking for a house together and are making plans for the future. We've talked about marriage, having a family, a home to call our own.

I love this woman, and she loves me.

December 10 - 15 we're going to go to Washington, DC, to do some tours, see the sites and meet some of my friends. Next April or so we're going to be going to Ireland with her family. Probably crash at a cousins house for a few days and spend the rest of the time on a chartered boat going up some river.

This is the reason why I took such a long break in blogging. We've been wrapped up in each other and alternating between staying at my house and staying at her house. Given the personal nature of this blog, I've been a bit hesitant to write it while home with her there. As we're always together, that doesn't leave much time.

I'm actually writing this from the 6th floor of 45 Broadway in New York City at the moment. I'm here taking an IBM training class on Java. Had a couple dirty water dogs for lunch.

At work Christian has put in his 2 weeks notice. This Friday is his last day. Gonna miss him. He's left me a going away present, though - a job posting for a Perl programmer near to where I live. I'll be sending in my resume this evening.

The company I work for is going down the tubes fast. Management changes like crazy, constant rumors of outsourcing, selling off large portions of the company and a general reduction of expenditures have all destroyed whatever morale was left by the employees. In the last 6 weeks, we've had three technical people in critical positions resign - Mike (Windows Admin), Bill (Exchange Admin) and Christian (UNIX Admin).

Let's just say the future of the company doesn't look the greatest at the moment.

So, let's recap.

Personal life - everything is grand.
Public life - work sucks.

And I'm Leaving, On a Jet Plane (Pt. 2)

Okay, where did I leave off...oh, yeah - Sundsvall.

So, Torak (aka Erucolindo in case I didn't explain that one before) had us going the wrong direction for a while.

Oh, well. Shit happens.

So, we drive up to Sundsvall in Fieldstar's car and it took a long while. Fieldstar started driving, then Torak, then me. Stopped at a liquor store to get some "essentials".

Damn, alcohol is EX-PEN-SIVE! I bought two 750 ml bottles of Absolut (a product of Sweden) and a litre of Kahlua. Total bill? 700 :-! That's about $100 US!

DAAAAAAAAAMN!

That's an espensive bottle of vodka, that is.

Anyway, we were then fortified and we went on to Torak's place to drop him off (he lives in Sundsvall), after which we continued to Shrike's mother's house (Shrike and Torak grew up together), where she was kind enough to offer us a place to crash.

Sundsvall is a bit different than Linköping. For one thing, it's a few hundred miles north of Linköping. For another, it's a coastal city with a sea port. This means a lot more traffic. Both were quite beautiful.

Later in the evening we went to visit Casino Cosmopol, where Torak works as a dealer. We went in for dinner, then spent some money gambling afterward.

None of us were particularly lucky, so, we left and walked back to Torak's pad. In the meantime, his friend Jim had arrived for the Sundsvall Gatufest, which was the main reason we went to Sundsvall.

The Gatu Festen is a 3 day street fair with several stages and lots of music.

Where was I? Oh, back to Torak's pad.

Once there I hoarded the computer to send emails to family and friends and S. And I proceeded to start making White Russians and drinking lots of vodka and beer.

Eventually we left and walked back into the city to see the setup for the festival which was to start the next day, just wandering around and shooting the shit with people.

We were tired from our early start, so, we eventually went back to Shrike's Mom's house to go to bed.

Thursday we got up around noon, as was our usual for this trip. Once we all finally got ready, we went into the city to get some food, then wandered over to Torak's place again. We then started to drink - heavily.

We played a drinking game where you place a deck of cards on top of a bottle. Each person blows on the deck to get some cards off of it. Whoever blows teh last card off the bottle needs to take a shot.

At this point I've already had a couple white russians (heavy on the vodka), a beer or two and a couple shots. Over the course of the game, I had another 5 or 6 shots, then another white russian when we were leaving to go to the festival.

Shrike, Siryn & Fieldstar - I'm sorry for that evening, I really am.

Torak and Jim disappeared into the masses, leaving the four of us to fend for ourselves. I was feeling really, really drunk. I managed to get to a public urinal with Shrike as my wing man to drain my bladder a bit, where I struck up a conversation with some drunk Swedes. They liked me. I liked them. We were all drunk together. They wanted to meet the next day in the park before the festival started.

Me: "Shuuur! Shuuuur! Shee you tooommmmor. Row."

I did mention I was drunk, right?

Anyway, we were kind of camping outside of the gates in a grassy area. I then laid down in the grass and I became an immovable object for several hours, on the verge of passing out.

The others were using me for a pillow.

Siryn was drawing stuff on my face and arms with her eyeliner.

I was saying things that are better left unsaid.

I vaguely remember a cop coming by to ask us if we were okay. The three semi-sober members of out party deflected the cop away from me. They then decided it was time to get me up and moving around a bit, so, we moved over to a picnic bench to the side.

The world was swimming and I was drowning in it.

Me: "I'm gonna puke."
Shrike: "You're gonna puke?"
Me: "Yep."
Shrike: "Can you keep it in?"
Me: "Nope."
Shrike: "Okay, come over here."

He lead me over to this metal box sticking out of the ground. I leaned next to it and just started letting it all go. He helped me out by grabbing me around the waist and squeezing every time I vomited.

This went on for a while.

Again, I'm vaguely aware of a cop coming by again. Shrike told him they were going to take me home.

They didn't.

After I had a drink of some water, Fieldstar took one side and Shrike took the other and they led me into the concert and over to a couple of stages. I managed to slip away and sat down to the side. The grass looked so cool and inviting, that I laid down in it again.

I got used as a pillow again.

Siryn said it was amusing that I appeared to be asleep/passed out, but I was tapping my foot to the rhythm of the band on stage.

When they got me up to leave, we had gotten about 100 feet when I declared "I need to puke again."

Off to the side someone led me - Shrike? Fieldstar? I dunno.

I did my business, then we caught a cab home, with me hating the world in the back seat. I managed to get downstairs without killing myself, then the other three helped undress me and get me into bed.

I did say I'm really sorry for that night, right? I am. Really, really sorry.

Surprisingly, when I woke up the next morning, I didn't have a hang over.

Once again we went into town for some food. My throat was raw and I had a sniffle from the night before, and I eschewed all manner of alcohol that day. We ultimately went to the concert after another drunk fest (which generated some truly funny footage with Torak).

When we got to the concert, Torak went berserk. We managed to follow him into the huge crowd there, where he proceeded to just jump, sway and sing, regardless of who was around him.

As a side note - concerts in Sweden are a lot tamer than here in the States. I didn't see one person crowd surfing, for example.

Poor Siryn, due to her height, was getting pressed on and crushed by the party goers around us, so, Fieldstar, Shrike and I managed to herd Torak into a circle, then the four of us surrounded Siryn to keep her protected from the crush.

It worked in an interesting manner, but, ultimately, it worked.

We kept the crowds off of Siryn and we kept Torak off the crowds. Sympatico you might say.

We eventually made it back to Shrike's Mom's house after Torak made his escape from us. All in all, it was a fun evening.

It's now Saturday, the last day of the festival. We head into the city and then over to Torak's, as per normal.

Torak and Jim decide to make some Absynthe drinks. I reluctantly try one, then decide I don't like it. Or maybe that happened on Friday. I don't really recall anymore.

Anyway, we did our usual drinking, then went out into the city. We stopped by a friend of Torak's house, where I decided to spike my orange juice (my sniffle had become a cold) with some, surprise, surprise, vodka! After a little while, we went on to the concert.

At the gate, I had the orange juice in my hand. The security guy looked at it (no alcohol allowed to be brought in, btw), then asked me what was in it (as iff the big orange on the side didn't give it away).

Me: "Orange juice."
Him: "Anything else?"
Me: "Nope." (I lied, so sue me.)
Him: "I need to smell it. Do you mind?"
Me: "Nope. Go ahead."

I hand it to him, he takes a whiff.

Him: "Okay. Have a nice evening." (he hands the OJ back to me)
Me: "Thanks!"

As I get into the venue, I just started laughing my ass off. I handed it to Fieldstar, who takes a whiff and announces "I can't even smell orange juice in that! Just the vodka!"

Wheee!

It was a bit more subdued evening. We stuck to the side of the concert this time, Torak disappeared early, then the remaining four of us eventually went back to Shrike's Mom's place again.

It's Sunday. My last full day in Sweden.

We went into town to do some shopping. My Mom wanted a "Swedish teapot" and I was looking for other little keep sakes I could get, which culminated in getting these 2' long plastic shoe horns from Ikea. Which were made in Spain. Oh, well.

We were wandering around downtown, looking at different places. Fieldstar and I had moved on ahead of Shrike and Siryn while on the way up to Torak's place and had taken a break to wait for them to catch up.

While we were sitting there I was lamenting about not being able to find this damn tea pot. That's when I noticed the place across the street. It didn't register immediately because it was in swedish, but it finally dawned on me.

An antique shop!

I went in and sure enough they had a collection of tea pots. I bought one for about $100. My Mom loved it when I gave it to her, by the way.

So, with that out of the way, we went up to Torak's for a while, then returned to Shrike's Mom's house for dinner - she wanted to make us something.

All in all it was a nice, leisurely day of doing nothing. I believe Fieldstar even bought a copy of Kingpins and we watched it that evening.

We ultimately got to bed early, then the next morning we hit the road (with me driving) to Stockholm so I could catch my flight home. Fieldstar drove the rest of the way to Linköping, then he drove himself home to Malmö, several more hours to the south.

My flight was uneventful, except for a baby SCREAMING FOR EIGHT HOURS!!!!

So much for sleeping on the way. It sucked.

On the good side, S. was picking me up from the airport shuttle, so, I had that to look forward to.

More on that in the next installment...

And I'm Leaving, On a Jet Plane (Pt. 1)

As promised, I'll start updating. I'll pick up from where I left off.

The following weekend was the party at Christian's. I invited S. to come up on Friday after work and spend the weekend. We'd go to Christian's on Saturday, then either spend the night at his place or back at mine. On Friday night, we were on the couch late together. One thing lead to another, but it didn't go "all the way". We did sleep in the same bed that night, though. It was really nice to have someone beside me again. Particularly with someone who likes to cuddle and doesn't complain about my arm wrapped around them.

The next day we went to Christian's. Had fun. Christian made us play pool with him before we left. He was so trashed he didn't even notice how bad we were cheating. We got back to my place and just went to sleep that night. The next morning she had to head home and I had to head to Maryland, but, it was a very nice weekend together before that.

Did a crabcake run on the day I came back from Maryland. Traffic was HORRIBLE. 7 hours to do a trip which normally takes me 4 hours, loaded with $1000 worth of crabcakes in the seat behind me and several thousand dollars worth of hardware, which proceeded to scrape up the back of my car. More on that in another blog.

Eventually got back to the office around 7 that night, then just went over to S.'s place. We made some of the crabcakes for dinner (there were 6 of us for dinner), then S. and I vegged on the couch for a while afterward. Left there late, went home and got some sleep.

The next day at work was uneventful. Got my ducks in a row and prepped everything for vacation. Went out with S. again that night. Went shopping for some jeans for Fieldstar's kids, then back to her place where we had dinner with Mom. Nice evening.

Friday I came by the office to make sure everything was cool, then S. dropped me off at the Park and Ride to head to the airport. Didn't really want to leave her.

I packed HEAVY for Sweden. Two bags, a garment bag and my laptop. Took a pill and drank a beer before getting on the plane, hoping it would knock me out - no go.

Spent 7.5 hours being drowsy and not able to sleep. Ended up in an aisle (I prefer the window - gives me something to rest my head against) about 6 rows from the bathroom. High traffic. Blech.

The chicken meal on the plane sucked. Gave me bad gas pains. Went through that for 6 hours before getting to Stockholm. When I got my bags, I couldn't leave them to use the facilities, so I sat in agony until Torak showed up.

We recognized each other immediately.

We killed some time at a coffee house at the airport before getting on the train to Stockholm proper. Once we got to Stockholm, we had to find the right train to take us to Linköping (pronounced something like "lin shau ping"). Then the fun began from the sleep deprivation.

I had the garment bag strapped to my large suitcase. I needed to stow the case up above, but there was no space above Torak and me, so I went to put it across the aisle. This is where the sleep deprivation really started to kick in. As I'm heaving it up (with the garment bag strapped to it), my hands are full. And it is heavy. And the woman I'm right behind has no clue that certain death is lingering over her head.

Luckily, only the garment bag swung free and REPEATEDLY HIT HER IN THE HEAD! All I could do was keep saying "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Oh, God, I'm sorry!" because I couldn't let go of the suitcase without crushing her under it. Reminder that I'm in Sweden speaking in English here.

I finally got it into place (while getting many, many dirty looks from her - can't say I blame her), then sat back down with Torak. A little bit later, I realized I could use the restroom finally. Even though my colon was back under control, my bladder really needed some release, so, into the bathroom I went.

Couldn't figure out the damn lock on the door. I fiddled with it for a minute before I finally shrugged and hoped I had done it right so I could relieve myself.

I was just about to zipper up when a woman opened the door, stared at me wide eyed, then quickly closed the door again.

I was so tired at this point I just shrugged and started chuckling to myself.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. We got to Linköping a little while later where we met up with Siryn, Shrike and Fieldstar. It sounds odd, but it's a great feeling to meet friends for the first time. I've known these people for years without actually meeting. It's a wonderful experience.

We went back to Shrike's place where we got to know each other in person and started drinking beer. We eventually got up and went into the town proper to find dinner. We ended up at this place which was really hot and the service was slow. Torak had only had 2 hours of sleep before flying to Stockholm and I was over the 30 hour mark myself, so, we're all waiting and the two of us were nodding off.

After dinner, we all played in a fountain (someone [not us] had thrown a bottle of dish liquid in it) and ran around acting like idiots. It was around 11 PM at this point. For those who have never been in the northern climes, it is a bit odd to have that much light at night. The darkest it ever got all week was a kind of twilight - around 3 in the morning. We walked back to Shrike's place, where we drank some more beer, then I went to sleep.

The next morning (morning is a relative term, btw - it became whenever we all got up, which was typically around 2 or 3 in the afternoon at the end of the week) we walked into town again to pick up a few groceries, then we started drinking again. I arranged to meet an old friend of mine who lives in Linköping from when I used to play NannyMUD, Brom.

The five of us killed some time throughout the day, then went into town to meet up with Brom. We went to a sushi restaurant (I ate raw fish and kind of liked it - weird) then to a theater and watched Sin City. It was a little odd for me at first - they were speaking in English but the subtitles were in Swedish.

By the end of the movie I realized how "American" I am. Particularly with the violence. Torak and I were laughing at the violence because it was so exaggerated and, yes, fun. We were the only ones in the theater really enjoying it on that level.

After the movie we bid farewell to Brom, then Shrike needed to head off to work - poor bastard.

He works in a yoghurt factory.
On second shift.
As a taste tester.

Poor bastard.

Well, the four of us that remained (Torak, Siryn, Fieldstar and myself) went to the bar next door where I drank a few white russians and the others drank their drinks of choice. When they were closing we went to this other bar next door. They had some gambling downstairs and a pool table.

Torak, for all his skills as a dealer at a casino, really sucked at playing the odds. I gave him money and he lost that too.

That's okay - I love him.

Did I mention that I named him as an Honorary American while we were buying movie tickets? He likes violence, so, what the hell.

Siryn and I started playing pool, then Fieldstar joined us. These guys came in and started hitting on Siryn. I noticed her distress, then the four of us migrated upstairs to drink some more.

We got toasty.
I wore lipstick.
I kissed the guys on the cheeks.
Siryn got hit on again.

At that point, I rounded up the guys and we left to call a cab.

While waiting for the cab, I stole a poster for a band.

Hey, it's cheap (as in free to me), somewhat easy to transport and it's something I can have fun with.

So, the four of us head back to Shrike's place, all of us drunk, and having one hell of a night.

When we got in, we were hungry, so, we ate, had a couple more beers, then off to bed.

It's now Monday morning - 7 AM. There's construction behind Shrike's place. They've started working. I'm sleeping in the same room with Fieldstar who snores like he's sawing through a log. Luckily, we're both exhausted, so, we just dose back off to the sound of jackhammers.

When we finally got up we cleaned ourselves up and head into town for some lunch then some shopping. Things are actually a lot more expensive than in the US, which surprised me. The day was mostly uneventful.

After Shrike left for work (again, poor bastard) the rest of us made some kind of mashed potatoes and ate herring.

Okay. I liked the sushi the other day. I didn't like the herring.

Oh, well.

The next day, (Tuesday, July 5 for those who want to know) was my brother's birthday.

But, enough about him.

This was another day of not doing much. We went to see Gamla Linköping (Old Linköping), but everything was closed. So, we went to a coffee shop. I recorded everyone saying "We hate the USA." It was pretty funny.

Guess you had to be there.

Anyway, we didn't do much that day.

On Wednesday we drove to Sundsvall. It was a long, long drive.

And Torak got us lost. Had us going west instead of north for an hour.

And now, my fingers are cramping and I'm tired of typing. I guess I'll write some more tomorrow.

Night, night.

Quick update...

Ex called me back a few minutes ago to ask if I had called her. Chatted for a minute, then hung up.

She just called me again - Chrissy died while we were on the phone.

I'll get a box and bury her next to Malaclypse in my parents' yard.

Sorry...

I know. I've been gone a while. My last post was back in June - its the beginning of November now.

So much has happened, so much has changed.

This will be a quick update. I'll try to continue to flesh out the details in the coming days. Here we go:

S. came up on Friday. Things progressed from there. 'Nuff said.

Went to Christian's the next day as a couple. Our first outing with friends. It was nice. Ex called me - she was a bit peeved that I didn't really want to talk to her while I was at the party with S.

Went to our Columbia data center the next day. Dismantled the last of our stuff, then loaded up the trucks to haul it up to our main data center. I put some of the stuff in the back of my car, which then proceeded to scratch the hell out of my hatchback cover. I'm still trying to get my company to pay for it.

Went to Sweden. Met Siryn, Shrike, Fieldstar and Erucolindo there. We had a ball. We went to the Sundsvall Gatu Fest - I puked at it twice from drinking so much.

Got home. S. took off work that Monday to spend it with me and drove up Sunday night. We made love the first time that night. I told her I love her before we did - she told me she loves me too. :)

S. & I became inseperable.

Her Mom instituted a "No Sleepover On School Nights" rule. It was abandoned a week later when she got lonely.

S. & I made plans to go to Cancun in November. The resort (Xpu Ha Palace) was supposed to open November 1st after suffering damages from Hurricane Emily. As soon as I booked them, literally, they changed the opening date to December 1. I then changed the reservations to December.

S. & I got closer and closer. I took her to meet my parents for my birthday in September. They love her.

Got word that Xpu Ha won't be opening December 1st as planned, so, I changed the reservations to the Cozumel Palace instead. We hadn't booked airfare yet, so, it wasn't that big of a deal, except we really liked the first place better.

Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf, making the gas prices skyrocket, which made airfare sky rocket, so, we sat on getting airfare a while longer.

S. & I are now looking for a house together.

At work they put us under a new director, a real kiss ass. Our VP knew of existing personality conflicts within the department with this individual, but he still promoted him over us. Since then 2 techs have left and a third is going to be leaving shortly - he just hasn't announced it yet.

The company is going down the tubes fast.

Hurricane Wilma hit. It parked on Cozumel. The Cozumel Palace is closed until further notice. We're cancelling the trip and we'll figure something else out.

S. & I have slept in the same bed every night save 5 (1 where we each had stuff to do at our own places, 2 nights when we were at my parents' house [they're very conservative] and 2 nights when I went to my parents' house without her for reasons I can't disclose at this time) since Labor Day. We're effectively living together in two houses. We spend a few days at mine, then a few days at hers. Most of her stuff has moved to my place.

We were staying at her place a week or two ago. When we got up in the morning, her carpet was soaked. The North East has had a lot of rain lately, so, we thought it was flooding and coming up through cracks in the floor (her bedroom is in the basement). Just before we left for work, I checked in the adjoining room, and sure enough, the hot water heater was leaking. I stayed there when the guy replaced it that evening.

Turns out her Mom hasn't been too happy with her boyfriend for a while. He was there that day on vacation from work, but he didn't stick around to help with the heater. She read him the riot act a couple nights later. Apparently she really likes me because I'm willing to help out around the house and the like, which has really pissed her off with respect to her boy friend. They've been together for 11 years and engaged for the last 5 or 6. They each have their own homes and neither is willing to sell. We'll see what happens there.

On Saturday, S. & I went to a costume party at Jeff's. There weren't a lot of people there, but it was fun. We stayed for a few hours, then went home (her place). We went as White Trash. I got a mullet wig at Target to really set it all off and she did her hair up big.

On Sunday, Ex was in a bad car accident. Her SUV was struck in the front from a car in the fast lane, then she was hit from behind, putting her into a spin. Witnesses reported the vehicle flipped 2 or 3 times. Miraculously, she only suffered a concussion, a sprained pinky and some scratched from asphalt on her left arm. She's now going through hoops to get back at her vehicle to get her stuff. It's probable totalled.

I just got off the phone with Ex. Apparently, one of her parakeets, the first one we got together shortly after getting married, Chrissy, is dying. She's stretched out on the bottom of her cage. Our second parakeet, Malaclypse, went the same way. When it rains, it pours.

I'll post updates in the coming days.