Life Without Cable

There are advantages and disadvantages to not having cable. Here are a few:

Advantages: I actually get work done, and I watch less TV. I've been a TV addict for too long, and I'm glad I've drastically curved that habit. I think it really does rot the brain if you watch it too long. Plus, I read a lot more, which I couldn't be more thrilled about. Cable TV has always gotten in the way. I've already made my way through several book series', and am about to start another one.

Disadvantages: What I actually do want to watch, I have to wait until it posts on the show's page, YouTube, Hulu, etc. I miss watching General Hospital with my mom, too. I know what you're thinking.... A soap opera, Erin. Really? Um, yes. This one has my cute mobsters (Jason, Johnny) and cute cops (Dante, Lucky)... fans self with hand.

Boyfriend and I have discussed actually getting a cable package set up once his move is official, but we're both so broke right now that it makes sense to continue going without. I'm getting to the point where I don't really miss it that much. It also helps that I've got a membership with Netflix, so we're currently flying through Season 1 of Fringe. Lurve it.

Best of Boyfriend

There are a lot of things about my relationship with Boyfriend that make me happy. Here are a few:

1) Food: He loves to cook, and I love that he loves to cook. He's especially brilliant when it comes to meat. His grandmother gave him this collapsible propane grill, which kicks charcoal butt when it comes to time and efficiency, which we use at least once a week. For instance, tonight we're having homemade burgers. His are to die for. We've worked out a system where we one of us cooks one night, and the other cooks the next. Same rule applies to the dishes :)

2) Naps: I've noticed that it's very easy in college to get so completely caught up in everything that you're doing until you've suddenly reached the point that you're running on complete and total empty. I'm currently juggling three upper level English courses, a foreign language course, the impossibility of finding a job (I'll get to that later), and a brand spanking new position at the college's newspaper (I'll also get to this later). Had it not been for Boyfriend, I would have kept going and going until my body decided that I would be forced to take a break, which has happened before. Thus, the bi-, sometimes tri-, weekly nap session. For instance, I just woke up from one. We aren't heading home to the Families this weekend, so we took advantage and just kind of collapsed onto the bed. :)

3) Drugs: He's not into any of that crap. Cigarettes, alcohol, whatever... none of it, and I love him for it. Granted, we have a celebratory drink with friends on occasion, and we're making margaritas tonight, but neither of us ever drink with the sole intention of getting trashed. I think that makes all the difference. We've got friends that are borderline alcoholics, and in a town this tiny I almost can't blame them.

4) Music: Long before Boyfriend and I got together, we were just friends. Even then, however, I was calling him my music soul-mate. We've got the same taste in music, and some of our best nights have been spent or have started out with just jamming out to some great album.

5) Movies: He helped me buy the whole Harry Potter series to date, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and we're now looking at investing in either the Mel Brooks Collection or the Star Wars series. Oh, and watched Julie and Julia with me the other night. Bless him. As if I needed to say more. Right now, we're on Season One of Fringe, and we're totally hooked.

6) Books: No, he's not a reader, but he lets me be one. I'm currently in a contest with myself to see how many books I can knock out before the end of the year.

7) We take care of each other, and still let each other grow both together and outside the relationship.

8) We take each other into consideration. I'm entering my last section of my English major requirements, and then I'm jumping into my Methods and Student Teaching blocks for my Secondary Education minor. He's going to graduate in three semesters with a degree in Criminal Justice, while I've still got 5, including the blocks for my minor. We had a long discussion last night about what that means for us. We've made it clear that each of us is in it for the long haul, so we came up with our first semi-concrete plan. I say semi-concrete, because nothing in life is definite in terms of employment, especially right now. I think that we're both going to get jobs in this town, or one or two over, which will allow us to continue to support each other until both of our financial and educational requirements are fulfilled. I think that's a huge step for us.

9) We love and trust each other unconditionally. We've had ups and downs just like every other couple, but we still put our love and respect for each other first. I think that this is the first relationship that I've ever been so sure of. It's scary and wonderful all at once.

As I type this, I'm kind of relieved that a) he's still asleep and b) he doesn't know I started this blog. His neck and ears would be so flushed. He doesn't like to have the focus on him hardly at all, but I couldn't help sharing a few details about why he makes me so happy. Sometimes, I don't think that we, human beings in general, focus on enough of the good things in life, so I've been trying to do so more often. Just part of the Project.

Domesticated

The Boyfriend and I are living together, sort of. We're at the in-between stage, where half of his stuff is at my place and half is still at his. He's trying to find someone to take over his half of the lease, which is tough considering that his roommate is a pig. We think we've found someone, who is about to move from his place because his lease is up at the end of this month. If he does decide to move to Boyfriend's place, then Boyfriend and I will be home free. We're so excited.

On the news front, we just got fish! Not nearly as exciting as a dog or a cat, but we're still learning to shelter our responsibilities of simply being adults. We'll get the dog (he's allergic to cats) when we're ready. I think we made a good move with the fish. Besides, they're too cute. We got two GloFish from Walmart, one pink and one lime green. Mine (the pink one) is named Stella, and the Boyfriend named his Tito. He originally said the name as a joke, but it kind of stuck because Tito is so much smaller than Stella. They're really frisky, and Tito keeps chasing Stella around their fishbowl. We're now semi-parents :)

From the beginning...

I suppose that's the best place to start, after all. For now, the basics:

I'm a 21 year old college student living and learning in southeast Texas. I moved from a huge city to a tiny town (where apparently the only thing to do is either light up or get drunk), for the sake of bettering my mind and sense of self. I love my classes, save one. The one has another two semesters required of it in the same line, just because I'm a liberal arts major, English in case you're wondering. Why, may I ask, does an English major need 4 semesters of French? No logical reason. I'd rather take another two semesters of Calculus. Oh, yes, I went there.

Likes: movies, music, vintage posters (movies and album covers, mostly), green stuff, books, and food

Dislikes: broccoli, brussels sprouts, poor grammar, blatant ignorance, and dirty dishes

To be honest, I'm not too sure why I started this thing. I think I'm looking for a little life in the world outside of my own, or something like that.