Just a quick update as life is moving at warp speed these days…

I’m in my new place and loving it! It’s funny, here I am sitting at work, just anxious to get home so I can luxuriate in the fabulousness that is…my kitchen…my big open living room…the central air…the walkability…the proximity to DD…the etc etc. It’s been a long while since I’ve been so excited about my home.

All the boxes are unpacked and everything is set up. All that’s needed is some pictures on the walls and some rugs on the floor. Though those last details will probably take weeks, if not months, to get done. I’m just happy I’m here and no longer ashamed to show off my home.

This must be what being an adult feels like.

There is one major missing component; my Internet, which is coming on Friday. So until then, posting will be limited (what else is new) and the gReader will just have to wait.

Pictures will come at some point, probably when I get Internet, or just get sick of sitting around luxuriating. Or when I come up for air from making out with DD. We live so freaking close we can see each other every! single! day!

Though that, too, will probably get old sometime soon. Ah well, the world has to come crashing back to normal at some point.

I’m in the final countdown to move day. Three days from now, two men (and their truck) will be here to haul boxes, lift my fabulous red couch, and in general just uproot my life to somewhere new.

It’s all a bit bittersweet. As much as I hate my landlord and wish I lived somewhere nicer, I feel like I’ve made a home here in my little neighborhood and I’m sad to see it go.

Then again, I’m already working to create a new “home”. Today, I hauled my high-heeled self to the Secretary of State and changed my address so that I can vote in the City of Detroit. After all the scandal our local government has seen, I decided that if I was going to move downtown (and pay the exorbitant car insurance rates that come with it), I wanted to be able to have a say on things. I’ve always kept my parents’s address on my driver’s license and voted in that district, but it’s no longer representative of who I am. Finally making the change is a big deal.

So while I’m sad to say good-bye to one way of life, I’m anxiously embracing a new way.

I’m also anxiously awaiting the whole moving thing. It must be the Army brat in me, but I love to move. I hate the transition of being half packed and half unpacked, but I love the act of packing and unpacking. In fact, it’s the only time my stuff gets a good cleaning as I dust all the shelves and pictures and trinkets before carefully wrapping them up. Then on the other end, I love unpacking and starting fresh. Re-organizing my stuff and finding a new place for everything. I’ve gotten this whole move thing down to a science, so for me, it’s a finely orchestrated plan with nightly goals, labeling protocol, and checklists. And oh how I love to check things off!

Only three more days.

Within a 4 week time frame ending next Friday, I will have:

• Decided to move (after only a year of hemming and hawing about it)
• Looked at apartments
• Picked an apartment in a neighborhood I swore I’d never move to (though I’ve hemmed and hawed about that, too)
• Signed a lease
• Moved

So, contrary to what everyone else picked, I went with Option 2, the downtown loft. I really am looking for something with a bit more modern look, and with this Midwest summer heat beating down, the central AC was calling out to me.

I won’t lie, I’m having a bit of a freak out. Mainly because I went with a neighborhood I’ve spent the past three years saying I’d never move to, even though it’s three blocks (that’s $120/month in gas that I just saved) away from work.

But things change. I don’t know anyone in my current neighborhood, I know lots of people in the new one. My social life will hopefully be a bit more exciting.

Safety is still a bit of a concern for me. People are choosing NOW to tell me all the crime they’ve heard about. But, you know what? I’m no Sally Come Lately. I’ve worked and hung out there for the past 5 years. I know what I’m getting in to, know what to watch out for, and I have a personal escort in DD. Truthfully, downtown Detroit is no less safe than any other major city (don’t believe it when the media tells you otherwise), and bad things can happen any place you live. My parents have lived all over the world and were robbed in the smallest town they ever lived in. So I’m taking the plunge and indulging in my inner city girl.

Really, I think my freak out is just because this is a fairly big change for me and it’s happening fast — like next week fast.  I don’t do things this fast. I don’t pick up and move in a month. I hem and haw and ultimately decide to stay put. I suppose you could say I’ve done that — after all, it’s taken me two years to get to this point. I guess when I finally make a decision, I move full steam ahead!

For the past month or so, I’ve become fed up with good ole Landlord S. I’ve finally decided I’m moving.

But then becomes the question of where. I LOVE my current neighborhood. I can walk to coffee shops, restaurants, my nail/facial salon, etc. However, given the trendy nature of it, I can only afford an old apartment. And I’m kind of a modern gal. But, the modern hip and trendy lofts in my neighborhood start at $900 and up/month — and that’s for small ones.

Then there’s downtown Detroit. Where I work. Where DD lives. Yet, it’s not quite as walkable. Still somewhat walkable, but not as much as my neighborhood. There’s also less foot traffic downtown. Which makes me feel ever-so-slightly less safe. But on the flip side, I can afford a more modern apartment because it’s not as hip and trendy.

So I’ve looked at two places, an old place in my current neighborhood that’s a slight upgrade from my current locale…and a modern-ish loft downtown.

Now comes the decision process. Here’s a list of pros and cons to each neighborhood/apartment. Asterisks indicate the reallly important things.

Option 1: Current neighborhood

Pros: walkability*, things open at normal hours, familiarity/enjoyment of  neighborhood*, central to entire region (which is important when your region lacks mass transit), cheaper than Option 2; walk-in closet

Cons: new apartment would not be much of an upgrade from current sitch; several hundred less square feet than Option 2; hate the kitchen

Option 2: The D

Pros: walking distance to work (save on gas $$)*; walking distance to DD*; more potential for making new girlfriends (I’d actually be starting from scratch in current neighborhood)*; modern appliances and loft-style look; central air; washer/dryer in unit; open/spacious kitchen

Cons: Some businesses operate odd hours/closed on weekends; slightly less walkable; less general foot traffic; feel slightly less safe walking alone at night; no window in apt. bedroom; more expensive both in rent and utilities

There’s a part of me that feels I should look at more than two places. But I feel like I know the rental market in both neighborhoods and have picked the options that would be comfortable for me. Plus I really don’t feel like dragging this process out for a month.

So, where would you live?

I’m sure that title will garner quite the Google hits.

Oh, wait, my blog already gets those hits.

I don’t know if it’s the name (apparently the superhero Supergirl was quite the pornographic hottie), or my awesome ability to attract oddities. Either way, I get some odd searchers here at the House O’ Super.

Here’s a taste:

A search for my bra shower dancer strip club stage led someone to the post about when I was mauled by a stripper. So did strip club pole pulled on stage. Apparently people are quite concerned about being pulled on stage. Or having showers with their bras at a strip club. Whatever that means.

Several searchers seem concerned with my perils, searching out things like perils of supergirl. Since perils is one of my tags, it links to a few posts. However, I think they were probably searching for the real supergirl…who apparently prefers perils related to bondage and erotica. Because that’s what comes up first when you search that topic. Who knew a superhero could be such a porn star?

There also seem to be an inordinate amount of people interested in bras. Searches like super bras, supergirl bra, sticky bras (that doesn’t sound pleasant at all), pictures of bras, and my favorite super picture in bra sites (the searcher apparently couldn’t settle for a good picture, he/she wanted a super picture!) I’m sure they were all disappointed when they found me lamenting about a lack of suitable strapless bras. Then again, maybe those searchers were looking for the perfect undergarment and my review helped!

It knocks me out how many suggestive searches I get. Even the most innocent sounding have related posts that are oh-so-far from innocent.

If there’s a blogger award for Best Way to Unknowingly Attract Soft Core Porn Addicts, I should be at the top of that nomination list. I’m sure this post – and its subsequent search attractors – will only solidify that nomination.

Yesterday, I turned 28. Another year down, many to go.

As I’m sure many of you can relate to, the birthdays seem to hold less meaning with each passing year. I remember the years when I had gift lists a mile long and friends took me out to celebrate the big day. When I counted down the days as if it was the biggest holiday of the year. Because it was!

This year, I couldn’t come up with 5 things I wanted and the only “friend” I celebrated with was my boyfriend.

It was a low-key weekend. We watched the Wings lose Lord Stanley on Friday and then met my parents for breakfast on Saturday. We checked out a loft in Detroit that I’m thinking about renting and then lounged the afternoon away. DD took me to the traditional fancy dinner we do for birthdays, this time to The Rattlesnake Club on Detroit’s riverfront. Today, we spent a lovely afternoon with his family, playing cards and enjoying the good weather.

There were moments when I wished there was more celebration, when I wished my girlfriends had taken me out and we’d enjoyed a long night at the bar like the good old days. But as I was expressing that to DD, I realized that actually wasn’t what I wanted anymore. Sure, I wished I’d had my friends to celebrate with, but instead of a bar night, it would have been nice to spend some QT with them, playing games and sharing a bottle of wine.

But mushroom bisque and pan roasted duck breast, followed by a leisurely drive along the lakefront with my main man was a good substitute.

Here’s to 28.

So apparently there’s this thing going on called the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And apparently my hometown team is in them.

You’d never think I knew that given that I fell asleep during last night’s nail biter. Good news is my nails are still in tact.

While I haven’t been watching much of the playoffs, I have noticed the ads. The NBC ads, to be specific. And you know what? I’m about sick of the whole “Detroit’s putting all it’s hope in a hockey team” crap. Sure we’re down. Sure there’s almost more people out of work then there are in work. But you know what? All of our hopes are not in the Red Wings’ hockey net.

Sure they’re great, and playoffs are always fun to get behind — when you’re not napping of course. But we’ve got lots to be hopeful about here in the Not-So-Motor-City. There’s the prospect of another beautiful summer. There’s a whole other sports team — the Tigers — gearing up for a season of great times at Comerica Park. There’s the summer festivals and patio happy hours.

Things might be ugly right now, but there’s no reason to get all hopeless. In fact, it seems that every person I know who is unemployed has a better attitude about life than I do. I don’t know how they do it, because I know my glass-half-empty demeanor would be all over the pity party if I was out of work. But the fact that many people aren’t is a testament to our ability to look at the positive, which is more than some silver cup.

OK, off the soap box.

All venting aside, there is an exciting Game 7 ahead of us. And just in time for one last rally, I found a new online T-shirt shop selling Detroit wares.

OK, in all honesty, it’s my friend’s online T-shirt shop, and he told me to plug it, so I am. But I wouldn’t be plugging something I didn’t like, and when I checked out the shop, they had stuff I like. So here I am. Plugging away.

Detroit Thread Works has a great selection of Detroit tees, but what caught my eye were the hockey-themed designs. Like this one, that shows a decapitated Penguin. Menacing, yet cute. Just how I like my sports shirts.

So if you’re in the mood, head on over and check ‘em out. And please stop thinking we have nothing better to hope for than the outcome of a hockey game. Win or lose, hope will still be alive on Saturday.

A good friend of mine (we’ll call her N) is getting married, and I wasn’t asked to be in the wedding.

<cue woe-is-me soundtrack>

Not that I’m not happy that I don’t have to buy yet another dress I’ll never wear again, but I am a bit surprised. And yet not.

She and I met each other about 4 years ago at work and at one point we were incredibly close. We initially bonded over life-changing break-ups and even traveled abroad together. There was a time that I would have thought without a doubt we would be in each others weddings someday.

The past year or so has been much different. We both got caught up in our respective boyfriends and lives and lost touch outside of work. Then, both of our work responsibilities grew, and we didn’t have any time to chat during the 9-5.

She got engaged a few weeks ago, and there was a part of me that thought I might be asked to be in the wedding. But I wasn’t. It made all the growing apart we’ve done this year hit home.

Now I know some of you may say that it’s not that I’ve lost my friend, it’s that she has a lot of friends and only so many people can wear 50 yards of satin at one time. And trust me, I get that. That’s why I’m not sad about not being in the wedding. I’m just sad about what it represents.

These days, more and more of my friendships seem to be going down the path to Facebook friend status, instead of real life status.

I know it’s no one’s fault. Lives change. Priorities change. Even I’m guilty.  I met this wonderful man and  got quite wrapped up in my romantic life for awhile. Now, two years later, I’m seeing the downfall. But it wasn’t just me that fell away. It seems we all got a bit wrapped up in our own lives. Take N and I for instance. We’ve been trying to get together for dinner for a year now. We finally did a few months ago, but she got sick before we’d even sat down to dinner and had to go home.

We’ve talked about rescheduling. We’ve thrown out dates and ideas, but four months later, we still can’t seem to get our shit together to sit down for one meal. Obviously if that’s a difficult task, seeing each other on a regular basis is probably going to be close to impossible.

It’s not just her that I feel like I’m parting ways with. Another friend moved across the country a month ago. She was my go-to girl for spontaneous evening walks and viewings of The Bachelor. Other friends fall into the “got lost in a boyfriend” category and now have less time for friend stuff.

I’m realizing that I need to put some serious effort into making new ones. Which is rather daunting, given that it’s hard to meet new people with the same interests as you. Especially when your interests are rather solo endeavors like reading and watching reality TV.

I did get a line on a new book club that I’m considering checking out if I can get up the courage. I won’t know anyone, but I’m hoping it has a larger group of women my own age compared to the one I currently go to. I’ve started trying to bond more with DD’s girlfriends by going to things without him. It’s been nice, but I hesitate to get too close. I’m very much of the mindset that I need some separate friends from his.

Now, I just need to find them.

God I hate dating. Even if it’s dating for friends. Maybe there should be a match.com for this?

Remember that children’s book Alexander and the horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day? I used to love that book.

Probably because Alexander was a glass-half-empty-cynic after my own heart.

Remember how I said on Monday that I wanted to get back to blogging and get back to exercising? Well, wouldn’t you know that I came down with my usual head cold on Tuesday. Since I’m basically a wimp when it comes to being sick, I proceeded to drag myself home from work on Tuesday and curl up on the couch for some TV and recuperation instead of blogging and yoga.

About an hour into said recuperation, I was met with the screeching and scratching of an animal — probably a squirrel — in my attic. I ignored it at first, because let’s face it, this has happened before and I know Landlord S ain’t gonna do anything about it. But after awhile it got so loud that I was afraid it was actually somewhere inside the apartment. I got on top of my kitchen table (because isn’t that what you do when you fear rodents are in your house?) and called my favorite useless drunk of a Landlord.

Landlord came by after 10 minutes of coaxing and heard nothing, giving him no incentive to light a fire under his britches and call pest control.  I spent the next 20 minutes in a very mentally painful conversation with the man and then proceeded to spend the next two nights at DD’s in the hopes of forgetting about my new rodent roommate.

And then I got sicker. Like unable to breathe, up until 4 a.m., sicker. I finally dragged myself home this morning, hoping maybe Landlord S. had made some progress.

Nope still screeching. And no signs of pest control stopping by. It took me no less than 10 calls to reach Landlord S. today, who claims he did call pest control.

I have my doubts. Truthfully, in the two years I’ve lived here, he has not fixed one thing I’ve asked him too.  It’s as if I have battered woman’s syndrome. I keep going back because he tells me he doesn’t want to lose me, he wants me to stay, he will fix things, and I keep hoping he’ll change so I can keep paying my cheap rent in my fabulous location.

But, dealing with his ineptitude while my head is filled with snot has actually provided a moment of clarity.

I deserve better than this. I’m escaping.

I called an apartment building down the street that is a couple hundred bucks more in rent and not that much of a step up from my current place. But, it’s managed by an actual property company instead of some random dude. I’ve learned that some random dude does not a property manager make.

Needless to say, the past couple days have been negativity fests, which isn’t abnormal given my tendency to look at the glass as half empty.  Knowing that this does nothing for my mental health, I’ve been trying to reverse it by thinking positively: Your cold will be better in just a couple days, at least it’s not swine flu! OR At least the squirrel’s not IN the house.

It’s sort of working. But I’m kind of ready to feel better. And then move. Because I’ll bet you $10 that that squirrel outlasts me as a tenant at the House O’ Rodent.

Apparently I forgot this during the past week and a half. To get back into things, here’s what I’ve been up to since last we met:

Done:

• Worked like a crazy person — except not. It’s been odd, really. Work’s been busy, but I haven’t had to work crazy late hours. Must be this new brand of productivity I’ve been trying. It’s called not reading blogs at work.
• Married off my high school friend. Months of planning the road trip to the wedding finally came about and it all went off with a hitch, just as planned.
• Fell more in love with DD. There are days that I look at him and think WTF am I doing?! And then there are days, weeks even, when we spend five straight days together, when he selflessly drives my friends and I across four states to see our friend get married, and when he does it all with a smile on his face that I think thank God I met him.

Not done:

• Work out on any sort of meaningful schedule. I somehow managed to squeeze in yoga a couple times, but cardio and weight training have gone completely out the door.
• Blog. Obviously.

Hoping to remedy the latter two things. We’ll see how it works out.