Yesterday was, obviously, a very bizarre day in my life. I'd rank it in one of the top five most bizarre, actually. When my (now former) girlfriend and I broke up, it could've gone many, many different ways, and apparently most of the people I know -- including her -- thought I would go off the deep end, figuratively speaking.
I didn't realize I had that sort of reputation for, as some of you have put it, losing my shit. Almost everyone who described me over the course of the past year or two has used the same sort of terms -- I've most often heard things along the lines of "very laid back" and "the kind of guy who can roll with the punches" and can "let it ride," etc. You get the idea.
I may not ever completely grow up when it comes to my love of comic books, Pokemon, and other nerdy things, but I do like to think I've matured normally in the ways that count, honestly. I'm not in high school or middle school anymore -- I'm not going to get all distraught and cry my eyes out over an ended relationship, especially one that involved both parties seeing it coming for months on end, if slowly. That doesn't help or solve anything, and it certainly doesn't let anyone move on.
The (now former) girlfriend is in Wichita today, looking at several apartments and hanging out with our mutual friends. She showed me several places she's been interested in, and most of them look pretty nice and are in good locations within the city -- close enough to the school, decent rent/utility prices, etc. She's looking at places based on not only those factors, but what will give her enough room for the furniture she is taking with her, including a fold-out loveseat couch from her office/room, the chest freezer, her bookcases, end tables and coffee table, and either the bed or the futon -- but only one or the other. Last night, we worked out mostly everything that she's taking and leaving behind (in a very friendly manner, of course). I told her, basically, to take anything and everything she wants and/or will use, because a.) most of it was hers anyway, and b.) I don't need a whole lot, really, if I'm just here by myself. Duh.
If she wants to take it, I'm also giving her my old TV, as well as the stand-alone DVD player. She's leaving me with a lot, actually, such as the bed or the futon (whichever one she doesn't have room for) as well as some other stuff like the old recliner, a rocking chair, etc. She doesn't even know if she's going to take her old TV/DVD player combo we've had perpetually next to the bed in all of our apartments up to this point. We'll obviously split the dishes, pots and pans, silverware, food, bath towels, etc. She's taking the lawnmower (for the lake house) and vacuum as well, both of which I'll have to replace eventually. No real big deal there.
As for the moving itself, she's getting a truck and one or two of our mutual friends to help load it up, once she finds a place. I'll more than likely help as well; it feels like the least I can do in the situation, really. After all, she is leaving a lot of free furniture here for me, and our breakup is about as cordial and friendly as anyone could possibly hope for. I also reminded her that she'll have to change her address on all sorts of fronts -- for the bank, her student loan info, for the school and her car insurance, and she'll have to get a new driver's license with her new address on it within 30 days. There's a lot of little things involved with moving that we tend to forget until we actually have to think about it.
My parents have both emailed back and forth with me today to make sure I'm okay and see if there's anything I needed or anything they could do to help me out. My mother wanted to see if I'd be interested in transferring back to WVU to finish my graduate school career, but I declined; aside from the absolute nightmare of logistics and paperwork that would be involved with such a transfer, there's also the factor that WVU might not accept me into their program, as well as the fact that I do have a life here, with plenty of friends in the area, and I'm committed to finishing my schooling where I am now. Besides, I'll still have at least two of the three cats, if not all of them, and I'm pretty sure my 1996 Monte Carlo, with misfiring cylinders and 216,000 miles on the odometer wouldn't make it even halfway back to West Virginia, especially not when loaded down with luggage, furniture, and the cats. So, until I finish my education here in two years, a move back to West Virginia isn't exactly an option. After that? Who knows. As I told my dad this morning, two years is a long time, especially when one works in academia. I can't think about anything after that yet -- I have to focus on the present, and the present is paying the bills, going to school, teaching classes, and getting my Master's degree. You just have to take care of the necessities before anything else, you know?
As for her parents -- well, I don't know about her father, but she's not telling her mother about the breakup for quite some time; at least not until she's moved and settled into her new place for a while, anyway. That's mainly to avoid motherly intervention or any sort of ridicule from her, from the most part. Can't say I blame her for keeping it from her.
In other news, I have to make a trip to Walmart at some point over the next day or two to get groceries and other supplies for the house, such as cat food and litter, as well as my coffee and cigarettes, dishwasher detergent, toilet paper, etc. Now that I'm single and working from a single man's budget, I'm going to try to get most of my shopping done in one trip about once a month or so -- save for the stuff I continually need, such as the aforementioned cigarettes and cat food/litter. I will, however, be able to devote less time to laundry and dishes, as I simply won't have as much of that to deal with, and most of the food I eat is fairly cheap.
As an aside to that, other than coffee, my daily vitamins, and water, I haven't actually eaten anything other than a small piece of a plum in about 36 hours or so. I've just not been hungry. This is good. I didn't realize this until a little while ago. No, it's not breakup-related or anything like that. I think it's the heat more than anything else; it's 108 degrees outside right now (again) and that just kills my appetite. Maybe I'll start losing some more weight.
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