I'm trying not to give up on this journal. It's just that there are very few things I want to write about, and they come so infrequently that I've fallen out of the habit. I'm trying to make journalling part of my bedtime routine, but lately I've been too stressed even for that. But I'm trying to keep myself involved in this project. I'm a little bit too Type A to readily abandon something I've been building for over 4 years. So we'll see what kind of compromises I can make to keep this site going.

Spent much of today running weekend errands & unpacking some of the last boxes. We're not ready for next Saturday's housewarming yet - not by a long shot - but we're getting closer. Today I came across the Rosetta box; you know, the one box that has absolutely everything you've been needing for months. All of our hardware had been placed in a box, and that box had been stuffed in the bottom part of the linen closet. Now that we have nails & lightbulbs, things have been getting slowly more human around the house.

The next step is cleaning the clutter & deciding what to do with the numerous items that hang around in corners, waiting for a permanent home. It's a little stressful to get this ready for a week, but that's why we set the date; otherwise we'd be stuck in the boxes stage for a year.

So although today was rather Protestant in its work ethic, last night was a rocking good time. The Boy & I met up on campus for the Free Friday Film, as Grey Owl was responsible for putting "Vampyr" on the programme and, well, we're all about support in this house. The film itself was a strange, dreamy experience, the kind of movie that's so far from the modern experience that you have to really work at enjoying it. But I kind of enjoyed the challenge.

Afterwards we met up with Grey Owl & his friend Oscar for some wandering & conversation. We ended up in Sneaky Dee's, discussing Native philosophy, ethical systems & female genital mutilation over nachos & beer. It was the kind of conversation I ache to be in these days, as it's a real intellectual step up from the high school discourse (fun as that may be). It was the kind of conversation that you could have for years, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

In fact, we enjoyed ourselves so much that we agreed to meet Grey Owl at Zen Lounge later. Now, I've never really been all about the Zen Lounge. In fact, I've only been in there once, on the night of the Ian & his sister club crawl, when we stayed for 6 songs before splitting off into the night. But people are more important than location on a weekend, and we were willing to take a shot at having a good time.

There's a rule in play, and that rule is this: the lower one's expectations are, the better the night will be. (Hence the success of Stupid Assassins From the Future Night.)

I mean, not always. But usually. More often than not, when I'm dressed casually or weirdly or upset for some reason, I enjoy everything much more than if I go out with high hopes. This was very much the case last night. For three hours we listened to what passes for alternative these days, and we were on the dance floor more often than not. We got to totally rock out to songs I haven't heard in years, not to mention some of the catchy nurock that's so popular with the kids these days.

Also, we got to spend some more time with Grey Owl, who's really fun to be around. He's one of those people who's endlessly curious about other people, and he collects them the way some people collect pizza fliers. I don't mean to be insulting or trivial; what I mean is that he has a really well developed interpersonal intelligence, and he makes you feel interesting & cool. God knows that's a nice change from 30 students of the bored & sceptical variety.

3 years ago today: all fun, no lesson planning