The USS Quad Damage

See the pun there? It was supposed to be "A week of no interest", because I haven't posted anything here for a week or more, but in reality it's because I had no internet until last friday. Sometimes life changes so much that to figure out what actually happened, catalogue it, and make it available for everyone to see is quite a challenge, and one that I'm happy procrastinating about and then doing a half-arsed job at it.

Apologies in advance, but this is going to seem more like a journal entry than something debatory, or otherwise interesting.

The reason I've had no internet is because I've moved to a new place. This is not only expensive, but it's rather uncomfortable and extra work & hassle. The reason why I'm doing it is (largely) to prove to myself that i can do it, but also to be close to the city where the "action" is "happenin'", which mainly means I don't have to go home so early (even though in practice that won't be the case). I'm still asserting an authority over my parents' house, which means I can stay up late in either C/Town or C/Wood.

Another reason I wanted to move was to free up more time during the day (since I work up city way), so maybe I could get some exercise in. The exercise part hasn't happened yet. I have no one to blame but myself. It's interesting though, that even when you take in the fact that one of us has to cook each night, we still seem to have more free time. I think this is in part to the fact that I'm not tired, so I still feel like doing stuff close to 7, whereas before I'd get home at 7 and not feel like doing anything.

Oh yeah, I'm living with two others. One is Paulo (paulo), and the other is a man named Matthew, who's Paulo's girlfriend's brother. I'm hoping that's not too specific. Anyway, this is not nearly as bad an idea as it seems (so far), because Matt is probably less likely to put up with crap from his sister than I am, and Paulo's mature, so we expect no issues there. Also, we're all boys, and this means we're all cool and unlikely to destroy the house because of our "feelings".

Paulo's an excellent bargain hunter, and already has a lot of house-stuff and Matt's agreed to take care of the "accounting" for us, and all I have to do is take care of the utilities (which is all pretty much automatic). That's a huge load off my shoulders, except I suppose if I were living alone, I'd have no "accounting" to do, and I'd just end up buying the extra stuff, but it's still good. Everyone here is responsible and we haven't had too many hiccups in our lives, save for the lack of a TV and lounge.

And microwave. And a table in my room. And I didn't have a towel when I first moved in, but that was my fault.

Anyway, I didn't want to live alone, and it's not just because you can afford a better house with multiple people. Part of it is the fact that I'm just not used to being alone. It's wierd not talking to someone in the evenings, or having a house where the only activity is your own. The other thing is mitigating risk. It's likely that one of you will forget something, but it's unlikely that all of you will forget it, or not notice it. It feels more secure, somehow, hearing random activity (like the shower) knowing there's someone else in the house.

I like how we don't just cook for ourselves, but we take turns and share food. I think this is probably a bit tough for Paulo (because I'm a vegetarian and he ain't), but I think Matt doesn't mind (he says as much, at least). Anyway, it's good because it gives us some time together so we can chat and eat, and I spose it's just a bonding thing. It's a bit screwed though because there are a lot of asian places near work (so I often eat thai and chinese) and Paulo and Matt tend to cook asian food, so I'm starting to get a little sick of it. I'm hoping I can learn to cook some stuff from a bunch of different cultures to bring some variety into it, but knowing my cooking skills, it'll all be the luck of the draw. Italian and Mexican are interesting foods to me, because of the amount that's vegetarian.

It's really cold here, in the mornings. I can imagine that summer here would be beautiful, but winter is not great. Worse, no central air-con means we have to use inefficient heaters which cost more to run. We mitigate by only heating our rooms (at least, I do). Even then, going into the bathroom is a rude awakening, it's that bloody cold. I find that I'm waking up later because of this (that's my excuse anyway).

I'm hoping life chills out and becomes less hectic after this. I want to look at going to Hapkido again soon, but to say my fitness is lacking is an understatement. I did 15 situps yesterday and I couldn't do any more. My stomach is still hurting. However, I find I'm missing the mental benefits of Hapkido as much as the physical benefits. If I can get back into a rhythm again, I'd be very happy.