A Bright and Sunny Monday Morning...

I don't think there's any way around the fact that Monday mornings are...Monday mornings. No matter how much sleep you try to get the day before, no matter how good the weekend, a Monday is still a Monday, even if you pretend it's not.

Today is a beautiful Monday morning here; there's no humidity in sight, the morning air was a little chilly, the sun is shining and the grass is gleaming with dew. Even my grass at home is gleaming with dew, freshly mown, I'd like to add. I'm still not a fan of mowing, but I've discovered if I just do it, it's not so bad. Though I did get chased by a swarm of gnats the entire time I mowed. I felt like a horse. I hate gnats.

When I drive to work on mornings like this, the scenery is beautiful. The road I take cuts through some hills and its just the most glorious shades of green with all of the grass and trees and plants. Today, as with most of the cooler summer days, there's a spot that's foggy; it lasts for less than a mile and it seems to come out of nowhere. It's thick fog. I think it actually comes from the river that I pass over daily but it masks the countryside before and after. When I emerge from the fog, the world is clear and green again but for a few brief minutes, it's another world entirely; one that's chilly, slightly murky and a little eerie.

In the office, Mondays start slowly. People stumble down in search of coffee, stop to chat and then go about their business. I like that; I like the peace in the mornings. Lately, it hasn't been peaceful around here. There's been a lot of social activity, cleaning and other events that make our normally-quiet office a little hectic. Office politics are a little odd around here; it's not what I'm used to. It's not a bad thing but I've never worked for a company where the personal/professional line is quite so blurry at times where managers are friends with the employees outside of work as well as in the office. I think it's because I've worked for much more structured companies in the past. As I said, it's not necessarily bad but it adds a certain complicated layer to a company that's already a little lacking in communication.

Today, though, it's a nice day. I had a very nice weekend; I did quite a bit of unpacking. The house is starting to seem like my own. I set up my 'office' yesterday. This will be my writing room and it was important to make it feel right. I bought a couple of new bookcases and so while I write, I will be surrounded by books. That seems perfect to me.

As a result of my unpacking, I got to behold the powers of craigslist.org had a ton of empty boxes which I folded flat when I was finished. Having inherited them from someone at work who'd recently moved, I didn't want to recycle them because they still have some use in them. Thus, I placed an add on my local craigslist for "Free Boxes". Less than three hours later, the boxes were picked up by someone who needed them for their own move. Now I have a lot more empty space and they have their boxes; everyone's happy.

The one thing I've noticed about moving into my own home is that people tend to be pessimists. If I say, "I don't want to mow the grass," someone inevitably says, "wait until you have to shovel snow!" When I first became a homeowner, I had many people say variations of "Welcome to the headaches of homeownership!" As a first time homebuyer, I was hoping for a few more, "Hey, Captain Monkeypants! That's pretty cool. Congrats!" than the more practical "You need your own screwgun now" comments I got. I know people are trying to be helpful but sometimes a little encouragement goes a little further than inspiring a slight sense of dread.

That aside, I'm enjoying being a homeowner. I turned in my apartment keys on Friday and I'm still experiencing the joys of knowing that I'm now only responsible for my house, I'm not 'living' in dual places. Everytime I walk in my house, I feel this sense of rightness, of knowing that I made the right decision. When I do my laundry, I still get a small thrill that I can do it whenever I like, no quarters required. Even when I mow the grass, I know it's my grass and if I want to extend my patio out eventually to cut down on the grass, I can do that.

So, while it's a Monday morning, it seems like it's a pretty good one so far. It's a beautiful day, I can go home and relax without having to stop by my apartment to pick up more boxes. That's a lovely feeling.

Happy Monday.

All Moved in...Finally!

It's Monday morning after an insanely busy weekend and all I have to say is...I'm tired. It's nice to have a break from work but I think, sadly, work tends to be more relaxing than this last weekend.

I can't complain, however. The move went smoothly which made life easier. As soon as the movers showed up, I felt a huge weight fly off my shoulders and I knew that from there, things would be fine. I watched them effortlessly carry my heavy furniture down the stairs, load it up and then unload it at the other end. As soon as the furniture was out of my apartment, I realized I had been stressing for no reason: There was hardly anything left to move. As soon as the furniture was placed in my new house, it felt like a home already.

Since then, I worked diligently; I unpacked the kitchen so that, at the very least, I could cook and make food. I set up the computer, I set up the TV. I unpacked the DVD's. I put up some paintings that have been waiting to be displayed since I moved from Los Angeles. Now, I don't have to worry about being 'fined' for nail holes in my walls the way I would in my apartment.

The house looks....good. Don't get me wrong: There's still a magnitude of boxes that I've been ignoring but the beautiful thing is that there is a place for everything already. I don't have to worry about where to put things because there's room for everything. It'll take some time to get fully unpacked but it's feeling pretty nice to have a house and to be able to call it home at last.

Of course, naturally, there are a few slight drawbacks. My neighbours have those yappy dogs I mentioned before. Well, I've been going to the house for other three weeks and yet still, every time I go outside, they go ballistic. Now, I've discovered they also go ballistic if I'm in my room which just happens to face onto the neighbours house. If they hear me move, they bark.

I'm used to yappy dogs. My parents have a few of them. I love dogs so I'm not visualizing tossing them off a balcony or anything because they're just doing their doggy thing. Yet it is a little bit frustating to go outside, hear the dogs and then watch the neighbours have to shepherd the dogs in because of the noise. It almost makes me feel guilty for going in my own backyard which seems a little...silly. I'm hoping they do, eventually, settle down. I don't want to not get along with my neighbours. I'm wondering if I ask if I can give them a treat, that'll help. I have a few left over from Sausage's visit.

Aside from that, the only downfall is the fact that I'm unfamiliar with the 'noises' of the house. During the day, they're no big deal. At night, lying in a rather unfamiliar room, those noises can be...a little creepy. The water heater especially is a little unnerving; it has this rather odd groan to it that sounds a little like the Titanic did in the film when it started sinking. The ceiling creaks a little too which at times sounds like someone's moving around in my attic. Naturally, I try to move past that thought quickly because otherwise my overactive imagination will start working twice as fast and I'll never be able to sleep.

Now it's Monday and I'm finally in the office. I had to commute this morning and I timed it pretty well. In future, I'll have to remember to make coffee and toast to eat on the drive but I didn't get time today, unfortunately. It just means my tummy will make some peculiar noises until it is fed. I'm going to drink some tea to appease it since there's absolutely no coffee in the office. This is not a good thing. It might be my turn to get coffee too. Oops.

However, even though today will be busy at work, compared to my weekend, I think I can handle it. The rest of the week is also going to be busy after tomorrow as the San Diego trip to Comic-Con looms. I'm looking forward to it; I only wished I'd planned better so I could find time to see some of my California friends but, alas, when you books something on the spur-of-the-moment, it's hard to think of these things.

I'm a tired Monkeypants today because of the weekend yet...I'm also a happy Monkeypants. Being a homeowner is exciting and, at long last, I'm starting to appreciate that fact. I still have a lot to do but now I'm there...it feels like home. And that feels pretty nice to me.

Happy Monday.