I ran the gambit for roommates and apartments. There was my first college roommate in a dorm room at Millikin, who didn't find it remotely innappropriate to get it on with a different guy every other night in the top bunk of our bunkbeds. (If you wanna do it, fine, but at least have the courtesy to get home before me and leave a note on the door, instead of coming in at 3am after I'm fast asleep and me having to wake up half motion sick from that nonsense!). My roommate in a very nice apartment in DeKalb, who turned out to be psychopathic (literally). Then there were my fab roomies over in Suburban apartments in DeKalb (okay, it's not quality housing, but it's cheap, and that's what's important when you're trying to figure out where your next 50 cent draft is coming from!), by far my most nostalgic and fond roommate memories...wine and knitting, fondue and movies, potato soup and Sex in the City, and let's not forget crazy parties with sinks getting pulled off the walls.
Then I moved into my studio for a while...it was tiny (my queen size bed wouldn't even fit through the door), the house was crappy, it wasn't in a particularly good neighborhood, but bygolly it was mine, and I made it cute, and I didn't have to share anything! And while I loved the privacy, I got a job further away in the more-expensive-than-DeKalb suburbs, so I got a roommate again. We both kind of did our own thing...both worked a lot...when we DID wind up in the apartment at the same time we had some drinks and chatted...it was a nice, comfortable arrangement. And then there was the co-habitating at a couple of different locations with the ex, which was sort of different than the traditional roommate situation, but the same in a lot of ways too. I guess the "mine" and "yours" lines get blurred more in that situation...plus, there were less likely to be arguments about who created the dirty dishes and whatnot, which was nice.
The one common thread of having a rommate for me was that I had to let go of my little OCD tendencies, or I would've lost my mind. Remind myself that I should keep my mouth shut when dirty dishes were put on the counter instead of in the dishwasher, or when the shower curtain is left open instead of closed, or when there are shoes strewn all over the house. And whether it's a good thing or not, now that I live alone, everything can be PERFECT. The counter is always clear. The shower curtain is always closed. The shoes are always neatly lined up at the front door or in the closet. There are no piles of random mail and magazines everywhere. It's a beautiful thing. And at the same time, maybe it's not...
I can't focus when things aren't perfect now. The house MUST be clean in order to embark on any potentially creative endeavor, because my mind certainly can't function creatively when there are things out of place. Under very few circumstances can I fathom being able to fall asleep at night with my scrapbooking supplies all over the livingroom or before my luggage is unpacked and put away when I get back from a long weekend. But...meh...I'm indulging myself for the time being. Everything can be perfect for a while longer...I'll live with someone again eventually, and I'll learn to let it go again. Somehow it's a lot easier when someone else is there...like if there's anyone else in the picture, then that is an x-factor that's out of my control, so I can relax about it. At least my dogs are running around periodically shredding toys and whatnot, reminding me now and then that it won't be this way forever. lol.
Anyway, the house WAS clean tonight, and I WAS feeling creative, so I made a little Valentine card. It's inspired by a card I got from my sister last year. I used BoBunny papers, Penny Black stamps (a re-purposed Christmas set), watercolor pencils, the SewEZ tool, and Flowersoft. I like how it turned out...and I'm glad I wound up using that last stamp in my Christmas set that I hadn't gotten around to using yet.
Front:
Inside:
That's all for tonight :) More when I have time!
No comments:
Post a Comment