Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

Well, I was going to blog and ask if anyone else was having trouble with GMail and Google calendar, but I decided to IM "Bostonist Jon" first. He said it was happening all over the Comcast world. It always cracks me up when we’re IMing about something that seems not all that significant, and then there’s a story on Bostonist. I feel like I’m "in the know" or something.

Happened the other day with Lifehacker, too. Because of a conversation on Ask MeFi, I sent an email to Lifehacker asking about how much they test software they recommend. Very next day, there was a very detailed explanation of their software policy posted.

That’s what I love about the internet. It’s run by real people. You can "get at them", befriend them, and even be one of them. It’s not the anonymous and dangerous place some people make it out to be. You just have to know how to use it. In my experience, most webby people are like me: a little nerdy, a bit too enthusiastic about their interests, and really helpful.

OK, So back to the Google thing. The outage today makes me realize how Google-centric my life has become. I really need to export all my email addresses so that the next time I can’t access Google, I won’t be stuck without my most important contacts.

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Update: Bad Google + Comcast interaction was a very popular topic today in the blogosphere.

Up early and making lists:

• Categories of items to pack
• What to take with me for the next two months
• Cases that are still open
• What to work on next week while Boss Lady is gone
• Prescriptions to fill
• Food to get for my friends who I’ve roped in to help me pack on Sunday
• Calls to make to bill companies about shutting off services
• Things to do before I leave Boston
• Items to sell and how to deal with them
• How to spend each of the next 4 days before the movers come
• Communications to make in Raleigh about the change in plans
• This meta-list of lists to post on my blog

Pay attention to that Michael… He’s TALENTED!

ATL REPREZENT, Y’ALL!

Just about every day, I reconsider my move away from Boston to Raleigh, and just about every day, I redecide that moving is the right thing to do. Yet, in my head, there are a few repeating thoughts and questions: Since I made the decision to leave in the middle of a very dark time, was my decision influenced by the lens of that time more than it should have been? I wonder if my questioning myself about this has to do with the fact that the weather is nice right now – the time of year that makes it easy to forget about the short, dark days of winter. Do I question myself because I’ve met a delightful boy to spend my time with? Because I’ve reconnected with another old friend who is going through many of the same things I’m going through? Is it that I can’t bear to move away from Kristin, my "boyfriend" when I think her life is about to start getting really good? Can I really leave Linda? Jon? Sooz and her game nights? All the friends I’ve met through Kristin, through Friday karaoke, through blogging? The hope of actually seeing Scott and Michelle? I ask myself, "Was my skin REALLY that bad all winter?" and then I remind myself that it indeed was. Will Bostonians stay out of their caves all winter? No, I know they won’t. This level of fun doesn’t seem to happen year ’round, despite what people say. It does if you look hard, but on the whole, it’s really cave time.

Is Raleigh a better match of a place for me? I think it is, but it’s an unknown, and unknowns are hard, especially when leaving a known place where I feel so loved. I’m glad I have Christopher and his mom down in Raleigh, egging me on. I’ve started making contacts and have some phone appointments set up, but I do notice that sometimes I drag my feet on this stuff, and that’s surely because this is hard. I never got traction like this in Memphis. I’ve been missing that sense of belonging since I left Bloomington. To uproot myself again seems so stupid in so many ways, but then, do I really want to spend more time in a place that doesn’t seem like THE place? It’s like staying in a relationship that you know doesn’t have longevity. When you’re "of a certain age," remaining in those relationships isn’t smart. My relationship with Boston is a complex one. Has been from the start back in ’92 when I first arrived. Boston is where I come when I want my life to change a lot. Works every time.

For context, here are all my posts about moving, starting in January just before my breakup:

• Travel Eludes Us/Finding Home
• Great News
• Considering Climates
• Slidy Relocation Tool Thingy
• Raleigh: First Look
• Climate Question on Ask MetaFilter
• There and Here

I didn’t get obsessed with Arctic Monkeys until about a month ago, which means I missed the part where I knew to buy tickets for their gig tonight. Here. In Boston. I hate that I’m missing that.

Instead, I’m back from the office party (not as bad as I’d feared), and I’m watching this Britney interview with Matt Lauer. She’s just referred to “finding her neck.” Um, do you mean “niche”? And then she said, “I love funny people. Funny people are great and so hilarious.” Um… OK. And who didn’t fix that eyeliner blob? And the tits are on display. Man, is this supposed to make her look competent? Cuz it’s not working.

What a long day. I soooo can not wait until Kristin’s birthday tomorrow. It’s going to kick ASS!