Life Is Good

After a late night fixing my PC, I wound up sleeping late -- the office was closed but I originally had intended to go in, but of course I never made it. Kaia let me sleep late as she did some work -- today being Friday -- and then woke me up. We agreed to do some work -- cleaning up the apartment -- and then do something fun.


Around four we spoke to a friend who had been out of town but had just gotten back, and he wound up swinging by the apartment around six. Since we had about two hours, we finished with the major overhaul of my place -- which it sorely needed -- and by the time we finished we were both schvitzin' and tired. We opened a bottle of wine and chilled out on the couch for a few minutes before he walked through the door and we all hung out for a few hours. We didn't have any real plans so him coming by was a nice, if overdue, surprise; so we just relaxed, cancelled our original (and follow-up) reservations and after he grabbed a cab in the rain, we did a quick run to the store to get some provisions (cash, drinks, dessert and some goodies for my doorman).

We got back in, gave my doorman his impromtu care package, ordered some eats from a restaurant nearby and fired up Most Haunted at 10 on the nose on the Travel Channel. Most Haunted is somewhat of a guilty pleasure; it's a show which follows a group of between five and ten people throughout the UK and elsewhere as they visit sites (real-world, physical locations, not websites) that are rumored to be haunted by ghosts. On the surface, it couldn't sound more ridiculous or stupid; however, their approach is so proper and scientific -- they use motion-sensitive cameras, highly-sensitive recording equipment (audio and video) and infra-red cameras -- that it's impossible to watch an episode and not wonder if the existence of ghosts, life after death and paranormal activity is, in fact, possible. Kaia's been watching the show for awhile; I began watching it in the last year or so. The group of people that visits these various places include psychics who get a feel for the location, whether it's a hotel, a bar, a house or an institution (eg a prison, a courthouse or a farm), and usually wind up describing things that have happened at the site in the past (say, in the mid-1800's). Invariably, the ghosts -- and the previous occupants of each site -- are described in gender, age, and, sometimes, in name -- which is bizarre, because the psychic(s) is not given any prior history about the place which is the focus of the show.

At any rate, when we're spending time on opposite coasts, we usually watch "together." Normally, the show is broadcast at 9PM and midnight on Friday nights (although tonight it was on at 10 and 1) so I usually come home and watch the midnight showing, which for her is 9, so we get to absorb the show and then discuss it during the commercials. Invariably, we both have the same reactions -- "did you hear the noise when he said 'if you can see us, please show yourself by banging on the table?'" Holy shit! -- and despite the distance, it's another device we use to instill some normalcy in an otherwise geographically-challenged relationship. For the most part, each episode is a bit chilling and, within twenty minutes of being on the air, is worth the price of admission and memorable. But the real reason why it is so special for us both is because it's something we share, even from opposite coasts.

We ordered dinner rather than head out in the rain, and by the fourth commercial break the eats had arrived. We ordered an eclectic-ish but tasty variety of goodies: guac, salsa and chips; a salad with pine nuts, diced veggies and butter and arugula lettuces; two chicken dishes -- one grilled, the other roasted -- and a side of smashed potatoes. We did a slow work-through on the guac/salsa/chips and the salad -- which, by mistake, I hit with gravy instead of honey mustard dressing -- and we did a lazy, slow couch dinner. The gravy/dressing thing wasn't my fault -- they gave us six small containers, and even now, after realizing the mistake, I can't tell 'em apart unless I give each one a good sniff. And while I noticed the gravy's viscosity wasn't exactly like honey mustard dressing, I wasn't grossed out. It was sorta like a salad with chicken left over from a previous night's dinner, only without the actual chicken. Kooky.

As 11:30 approached, Kaia got tired fairly quickly -- we shared two bottles of red earlier in the night with our friend -- and I put her to bed with the only light in the apartment being a couple candles and the TV's faint glow dancing on the ceiling. She got a call a few minutes after we crawled into bed, so she spoke to her friend in San Fran for a little while and then she hung up, I tucked her in and she fell asleep. While we both worked ourselves silly cleaning the place up, she really worked hard, and while we're planning on hitting Soho to do some walking around tomorrow, I'm not sure if she'll be wanting to do anything due to soreness and fatigue. But either way, we shall see -- we have plans to meet a friend for brunch downtown; the rest is up in the air.

As I got ready to head to bed to join her, I looked around my place -- it looks a lot better than it has, for sure -- but as much as I saw the lack of clutter and miscellaneous crap around me, what really made me smile was knowing she was in bed, the candles going, the ocean breeze in the background (thank you Sharper Image) and knowing that tomorrow I'll be waking up next to her.

Life is good.