That threatening cloud I mentioned earlier, about our apartment being condo-fied, and us having to move again, well, that cloud burst a little over a week ago. We received 60 days notice to quit, or the option to buy our current apartment "starting at $320,000" It's a nice place, but there's no way in any version of reality it's worth 1/3 of a million. If it were a free-standing two bedroom house of the same size, with a bit of a yard...maybe, and then only because I live in San Diego and the world of real estate has gone collectively insane.

On Friday we found out that a notary public who lives in our building had gone to a lawyer and had a letter drafted to the new owner, pointing out his complete lack of legality in ousting us with 60 days' notice. Apparently we're supposed to get 90 days' notice of his intent to file for city approval of his conversion, then two more notices, the final one being 90 days' notice to quit (or buy). It all adds up to nearly 11 months worth of notice. We were given 60 days. Ooopsie, naughty new mister landlord evidently thought he could pull a fast one.

So mister corporate bigwig is going to have to backtrack and start again with the whole condo thing, but we're still leaving. I don't want to be providing this guy with a nice fat rental income while he plans to oust us all, and in the gap between being given notice and hearing we might not have to leave so soon after all we found a new place we love.

It's tiny compared to this apartment, but it's a tiny little 3rd floor penthouse with a private roof garden, hardwood floors, wood beamed ceilings, wrought iron decorations in the archway to the kitchen, mellow colors on the walls, a window in the bathroom...did I mention the private roof garden? It's rather important, because it's our new dining room, the indoor living space doesn't have a dining area.

Moving will be a pain in the ass, we'll have to learn to be a lot more neat and tidy in a smaller space, there's no dishwasher, and only one washer and one dryer for the while building, but it's one of those places where "charming, cute two bedroom" means that yes, it is ridiculously small, but it's got the personality to make up for it. Plus it allows kitties. KITTY! I've been missing having a pet more and more. Two years catless is quite enough thank you. Lori and Glen's beasts have made me realize how much nicer life is with a pleasant furball around.

Haitus. Maybe.

Every time I come here to write about what's going on I can't think where to start, or how to express how I feel about what's going on. I've been feeling somewhat in a rut, probably based on the plateau in my weightloss and fitness, and there's nothing drastically wrong that needs fixed. This is somewhat new to me. There's a lot of things that I do...but I'm not really sure why any more. They don't mean the same thing to me any more and I can't tell if I'm continuing out of habit, a sense of obligation, or a genuine wish to continue. This site is one of those things, karate is another, actually those are the main two. I know I enjoy karate, but it's no longer some sort of refuge for me, because I don't need a refuge any more. I need to come back to it knowing why I'm there, or it will continue to feel like something I'm supposed to keep doing for no real reason other than to just continue.

So I think I'm taking a haitus from blogging, I know I'm taking a haitus from karate, though I suspect the latter won't last very long. That handfasting log is probably coming down too, I don't have any significant issues that I need to work out in print regarding my marriage, so it's already degenerating into a list of sparkly objects I want to involve in the ceremony.

The world is coming to an end.

Starbucks is no longer agreeing with my innards. The last two times I've partaken I've ended up with some interesting efects in the lower gut region. Odd, since my morning espresso that I make myself doesn't disagree with me, nor does brewed coffee, but it seems I am not to have espresso based drinks during the day any more. Wagh! Oh well, I suppose it will save me some money.

I never did get to see the tiaras last weekend, I got about 30 minutes away from the studio and Matt called from San Jose to say his trans pacific flight had arrived early enough to allow him to get an earlier flight into San Diego...so could I pick him up around noon. OK sweetie, I might be a little late...I'm north of Anaheim right now but I'll get off at the next exit and head straight back to San Diego. A complete waste of half a tank of gas, but at least I knew what my "something's going to go wrong with this escapade" feeling had been about. It wasn't that I'd get stuck in La and miss picking him up, it was that I wouldn't get to make it to the studio in the first place. I didn't care at all, because it meant I got to see him 4 hours earlier than expected, it meant we got most of Saturday to catch up instead of just Saturday evening.

We're still catching up, making up for two weeks of not being able to hang out and blabber at each other, not to mention two weeks of no snuggling. We've got lots of plans to be made, much plotting, for the Handfasting and for our lives together. Some of it serious, some building toy castles in the air, it's all fun.

There is a slight cloud hanging over us at present that involves our apartment building being sold, which could mean a hike in rent, or even being ousted in favour of converting the building to condos, but we don't know for sure yet. We could be allowed to continue just as we've been, or we could be presented with 30 days notice and yet another move. Que sera, sera. I'm willing it to turn out to be a false alarm, I really like our place as it is thank you very much.

Damn this sleeplessness.

I was such a zombie this morning I ended up submitting my car to the $50 special wax and polish thingy I talked myself out of last week. The oxidised patches on my car are still dull and oxidised, the rest of it is pretty shiny I suppose, but the guy didn't even bother to wipe off all the streaks, that's shoddy service.

This monetary stupidity was a result of me being too lazy to try waxing the thing myself first, the assumption that they've got some magically super effective waxy stuff, and the all important zombification. Oh, and being way more than ready for Matt to be HOME already dammit. Oh Lord, I just comfort-bought car maintenence. That $50 could so much better have been spent on lacy underwear, or a fuzzy sweater, or a purse, or something more frivoulous and, well, comforting!

At least I got the important task of replacing my engine coolant done as well, I've been meaning to do that for a couple of months, and considering I'm plannning on driving to (and from) LA on Saturday it seemed insane to put it off any longer.

So now I feel tired, crappy and really stupid for the whole car wash thing. It's only $50, it won't kill me, but it's still a significant amount to have wasted. It's official, I'm pining. Pity I can't pine by having a reduced appetite, I feel I've been pigging out in excelsis for the past two weeks.

I have achived one of my goals for while Matt's gone: I successfully ordered my dress for the handfasting. I went to September War and hung out with Peldyn for a while, looking at the swatches of fabrics. It's going to be a deep green velvet irish style dress, with a damsk insert in the front of the bodice, and silver trim. I'll have a fitting at May War, which seems a long way away, but this way I don't have to drive all the way to the central valley to try it on at her shop.

It was a new experience to be ordering a custom made dress, able to pick and choose my colours and fabrics and say "make me this!" and know that it's going to come out the way I want. She's an excellent seamstress, and has a good eye for what works too.

Matt will be home soon! Before he gets back I'm going to: go try on modern traditional wedding gowns, just because I have an excuse to, go to Costco to restock our cupboards for his return, and drive up to Pasadena to look at a tiara. Yes I'm crazy, but it's less crazy than ordering a custom made headpiece over the internet without looking at any examples in person first.