Snapshot of February

In homage to Sarah H. at Death Wears Diamond Jewelry, who is no longer blogging but is missed.

Listening…The Telepathy Tapes, podcast. I think autism is the next set in human evolutionary development.  Give it a listen.

Reading…Just finished reading Dave's latest book, The Body In Time. 

Watching…All 13 seasons of Supernatural, again. 

Playing … I have been playing Last War on my phone. It is very intense. You must join an alliance, get on Discord, and spend money.

Building... I built Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs cottage while waiting for the Lego show this weekend.

Buying… Try not to purchase anything.

Loving... Just received a Lego-produced limited addition Forestmen's Hideout from Bricklink. It is a massive set. I haven't decided if I want to build it or save it.

Planning… Gia is planning to come here for a week at the end of April just to vacation with me. I can't wait. We still chat every day. She is back in Rhode Island with her family. 

Missing…  Gia, she is not dancing anymore so she doesn't come to Michigan to work, just to see me. 

This weekend is the BrickFest Show in Novi, Michigan. I have all my displays packed and ready for set up tomorrow.

Lego Update

 I took a nineteen-day vacation from work over the holidays. I spent some time with the boys.  There were days when I did nothing at all, but mostly I built Legos for the upcoming Brickfest Live show in Novi, March 1 and 2.  I have three new and three remodeled creations I have never shown at BrickFest.

This is a Troll/ Goblin Mine

This is an Old West Ghost Train

I made the Subway Hazmat Team Twice as Large

I redid this Stronghold that I showed at the church last year

This is a Creature From Toxic Waste scene

The scene was not complete when I took this photo

I really enjoyed building. I can work eight to ten hours straight on a project. I am getting better at planning and building. Often I found myself thinking, "If only I had an assistant to do the repetitive parts :)".

Pictures do not do the displays justice, but I haven't moved any of this downstairs for better photos yet. I really am starting to think I could retire. I don't plan on retiring for seven more years, but I feel like I could.

The Difference

 I picked Gia up from the airport Friday around 6:30 p.m. To say she traveled light would be an understatement. She didn't bring anything with her. She warned me she didn't have a Winter jacket. The weekend before, I had picked one up for her at Khols for $40. I also picked up some tops and pajama pants for her at BJ's while grocery shopping. I figured anything she didn't wear I would just take back. 

We had a great weekend together. Gia is the perfect house guest. She even gets along with the cat. After the airport, we ate at Ford's Garage and then went to Rochester to see the lights and get dessert Friday night. It was cold Friday night so we didn't do much walking.

Saturday we went back out to Dearborn and went to the Henry Ford Museum, had lunch, and then spent the rest of the day looking at the lights in Hine Park and Gross Point. Gia is content as long as we are doing something. Gia never complains and we never argue. I don't have to go out of my way to please her and she is always appreciative. I like that about her.

Sunday the weather was much warmer. We went to a fleamarket inside the Masonic Temple downtown and then we went to the Greektown Casino. Gia was a bit negative about the slot machine we were playing. "Give it a chance," I told her. At first, we were down about $45. The casino was a spare-of-the-moment choice, so I didn't bring any gambling money. I went to the ATM and got out $200. I end up putting $100 into the same machine. We played for another twenty minutes. At one point we were up to $250.

I whispered into Gia's ear, "What do you want to do? This is yours." 

She decided she would keep playing until the total was down to $200. We cashed out when the total was $200.15 and I told her to keep it. I don't go to the casino expecting to win anyway. We had lunch in Corktown and wasted a few more hours in the suburbs before heading to the airport.

We discuss how we communicate when we are apart. "I don't want to bother you," she tells me.

"I feel the same. Why don't we both agree that we aren't and stop thinking about it."

It was a good weekend. Our time together always brings us closer together. We understand each other. Which is to say we are fine with each other's quirks. Gia let me prattle on about useless knowledge. She plays along when I get her to sign Barenaked Ladies in the car. I can tell when she lets herself cut loose and I can tell when she is getting stressed (like when we were getting close to the airport). I don't mind that she only cuddles in the mornings, never at night.

We were talking on the couch Saturday night. Gia doesn't like her apartment in Tampa. She is having problems with the maintenance company. Her air conditioning went out in the summer and now her heat went out just before she left. "It seems like whenever things start looking up, they go to shit."

"Look how far you've come. A year ago you had nothing and were sleeping on the floor in your sister's apartment," I reminded her. "Now, you have a roof over your head, a car, and a steady income. you have people you can count on back in Rhode Island and me here in Michigan. It all depends on what you focus on. Just keep taking baby steps in the right direction and stay focused on your main goal."

I don't have any expectations when it comes to Gia. I am sure we will have a few more adventures in the future. "You are always welcome to stay here," I told her. "Whether you want to come up for a few days to work, or if you just need to get away." I think, in the future, she will.

Argumentative

On Thanksgiving, I made a turkey burger on whole-grain bread and a broccoli and macaroni casserole. I set the computer up on the coffee table and had a Zoom dinner with Gia. Gia ate eggs with ketchup. she didn't want to fight the crowds and go shopping.  It was fun. 

Gia and I have come a long way since we first met. The woman who wouldn't get in the same car as me the fourth time we went out is now coming up to stay with me next weekend, which was her idea. She has even started mentioning going to Utah with me next year. It all depends on how her dog does with the dogsitter this weekend. I've learned with Gia, that everything works out once she thinks it is her idea.

On Monday, I met Sam for dinner at Green Lantern. I had been avoiding going out with Sam, and I was feeling bad. Sam arrived first. Kay, my favorite waitress was our waitress. Sam seemed like she was trying to be cordial. Like the conversation was forced. We discussed Gia's upcoming visit. I told Sam after I picked up Gia from the airport I was thinking of taking her to Greektown Casino downtown.

Sam thought that was a bad idea. She said that the area was not safe. It has been about six years since I visited the Greektown Casino. I only go downtown occasionally. So I concede to her advice. However, Sam was in a mood. Despite saying, "I don't want to argue." She indeed wanted to argue. She was making a few snippy comments about Gia, which I let pass, but she got mad and said I have been argumentative lately. I wanted to say the same thing about her, but I didn't. It would have just escalated her displeasure.

When someone says, I don't want to argue then proceeds to argue, I am not sure I am the issue. This isn't the first time it has happened recently. Thus, the reason I have been avoiding her. At the end of the meal, Sam had the check. I handed her my portion and she figured out the rest. Sam is always flush with cash of various denominations and she is a bigger tipper than I.  When Kay came to pick up the bill I said we were all set. Sam must not have heard me. I actually think her hearing is going. 

When I asked Sam if she was ready to go, she said she was waiting for change. "I didn't realize you needed change. I told Kay we were all set."  That was the nail in the coffin. I offered to call Kay back. I offered Sam some money to make up what she wanted back, but Sam was over it. She ended up walking out with me trailing behind.

Coping

 I went out with Ava several times but never picked up where we left off. Despite what Ava says, I don't think she has broken up with her boyfriend. She has it in her mind, but he doesn't think so. This is all from my casual observations. At one point, Ava suggested she would need more to come over but could only stay for an hour. I told her that wouldn't work for me. Something tells me I haven't seen the last of her though.

What have I been doing?  Like half the men in their 20s, I have been glued to my tablet playing an online game. The game is called LastWar and it is raking in billions. You can download it from your phone, but I don't suggest it :). I spend nights on Discord chatting with members of my alliance and trying to grow my squads.

I have been secluding myself away from others by choice. I went out last month with Jay, Sam, and Alexis to celebrate our collective birthdays, but for the most part, I haven't even been spending time with them. It just doesn't bring me joy. The only ones I see regularly are Max and the twins.

Gia and I text regularly. She is happy in Tampa again, and far enough away from the coast to have weathered both Hurricanes unscathed. About once a month we get on Zoom so I can see her gorgeous smile. We are planning a Zoom call on Thanksgiving.

I received a drunk call from Tinkerbell late Friday night. She was walking home from the bar. I think her boyfriend Tech doesn't approve of our relationship. I don't blame him. While I consider it more of a father/daughter type bond at this point, I can see how it can be intimidating. Tink wanted me to know that T-Rex is doing good. He is away, at Central Michigan University now. 

I think Tinkerbell is sacrificing her happiness for the T-Rex's future. "Don't ever think, I don't love," Tinkerbell stated more than once. "You are my Luke." This is a reference to a character on the show Gilmore Girls. "Lorelai ended up marrying Luke." I assured her that wouldn't happen with us.

Tink's unhappiness was palatable. More from what she wouldn't talk about than what she did. I do miss her. I miss the days when we would talk for hours on the phone. This conversation just leaves me perplexed.

Are we all just trapped in unhappy lives? Some of us just coping better than others.

Six Decades

 My birthday was last Wednesday. I started defining my age as six decades old. It sounds cleaner than the years. I took three days off for my birthday. On the first day, I cleaned out many scrap auto parts and took them to the scrap yard. On the second day, I rode my bike on the Orchard Trail. 

The twins moved into a new condo on my birthday. Coincidence? Maybe, but given that TheEx filed for divorce on my birthday, I doubt it. Their condo is lovely—nicer than mine. Hopefully, they will take care of it. It is one of those condo complexes entirely of ranch units that old people like. The units are spaced nicely, and the complex is suitable for walking. I have been encouraging them to do that.

On Saturday, Ava and I went to an art fair in Ferndale. I really like this art fair. It attracts artists I can relate to. I bought two prints from Cheryl Baker. Her stuff is terrific. 

This One 

This One

I was unsure where to put them, but I couldn't resist. I wanted the whole series.

Ava enjoyed the show. Like me, she is an amateur artist. We still haven't picked up where we left off. Ava is putting it off. However, we are hanging out, and she wants to continue. I ended up going back to the art show with Sam on Sunday. I didn't want to tell her Ava, and I went Saturday. Sam likes to look at the jewelry. Ava was more enjoyable. She enjoys the artwork, and everything is new for her. 

Flappers and Ava Returns

Sam and I went to a wedding on Saturday. The bride is a mutual friend. The bride and groom are both in their fifties. The groom is about a 4 in looks. The bride is a 6 or 7, but the groom is loaded. They rented out the Emerald Theatre in Mt. Clemens for the wedding. It was a 1920s-inspired wedding, and the Emerald is a restored theatre that opened in 1921. The whole affair must have cost big bucks.

I took some pictures, but my phone broke, and I lost them all that night. Which brings me to Sunday. The screen on my Galaxy Flip broke, locking me out of the phone. I lost all my apps, some of my contacts, and all the pictures I took that day. I spent Sunday getting a new phone and reloading the apps.

I loaded Snapchat back. I wasn't going to. I never used the app, but I did, and I ran through the selections quickly. About an hour later, I received a snap from Ava. I haven't seen or heard from Ava since her boyfriend caught her, and she ghosted me back last February. We met up in Rochester that evening for a walk and dinner.

Ava is the same. She is still a covert narcissist who can't hold down a job or a relationship, but she is fun and wants to pick up where we left off, including trips. I am differently interested. Ava was good in bed and had fun on the road.