Walking Down a Different Street

[Not Quitting]

Brad Pitt? Russel Crowe? Hughe Jackman? Robert Downey Jr? LOL

Mmmm, Hugh Jackman can move my furniture in his underwear any time of day or night LOL

I forgot about a little victory I had yesterday. While making the long drive to the movie theater, twice W changed the radio station from a song I really liked. The old me would have fussed about it, figuring the one who does all the driving should get the most say in the music choices (and heating/cooling!). But, I just reminded myself that I have both of those songs on mp3 and could listen to them any time, and enjoyed what was on and the peaceful drive.

Well done, keep up the good work .

[RosaLinda]

Good for you DMR, for not fussing over W changing the radio station from a song you liked. Little victories add up over time. I thought it was a man thing, my H is in charge of the radio station AND heat no matter which of us is driving. And the TV remote.

"that being one of our biggest problems in our life together. Other than the... uh... you know.." Have you tried any casual touch with your wife? My DB coach Chuck suggested it - just a casual hand on H's arm or friendly pat on the shoulder, to get him used to me again. I felt like I was trying to tame one of TSquared's feral cats, but had finally gotten him to not flinching away from me. I have not attempted it since BD#3 last week, but if he doesn't leave me, maybe will start over. Maybe it would help your sitch too, not sure, but you could try it once then drop it if she freaks out!

If you're still in still in a cleaning-house-in-my-underwear mood, please feel free to come on over here to Long Island and move all the furniture you want

[TryingToDo180]

lol now I have visions if you cleaning the house in your underwear and wearing an apron MH I didn't congratulate you either for letting your W get her own way in the car, well done

[Not Quitting]

Hopefully they're better than visions of Frank Skinner dancing in his underwear to the Benga Boys "Going to Ibiza" - every time I heard that song for weeks after that episode I got that image all over again LOL.

[MileHigh]

RL, I'll have to try that. Never occured to me to start smaller than a hug. Duh. Go, Chuck. Glad we have pros on the job.

Let's see, how far to Long Island.... Have dolly, will travel.

W called me today because she still felt tired from her cold and wasn't up for the drive over to go to dinner. We had a nice chat - way, cool, for us. Even pre-BD we sucked at phone calls. She felt bad because I had to pay take a cab home from my "retreat" for my stress reduction/mindfullness class.

She was texting me several times until I got home. Must be worried I was prowling for babes in town today.

Speaking of touch - today at my class we did some exercises that involved touching (not anything innapropriate and not always opposite sex) but it was amazing how starved I was for even just the touch of someone's hand. I should book a massage. A *legitimate* massage! . And for now, a cold shower. Then maybe I'll drag some furniture around. <sigh>

[TryingToDo180]

I've got someone coming in for a full body massage on Weds. I was going to have a bloke come in, but I chickened out of that one. They can still get aroused you know and I'd get totally embarrassed (so will he I think!) I was going to have my gay friend come in, but I even chickened out of that one, lol. NQ, I don't remember that one of Frank Skinnner:)

[Not Quitting]

NQ, I don't remember that one of Frank Skinnner:)

It'll be on YouTube - I can't actually watch it at the moment as I've got parental controls in place on YouTube on my computer and I haven't figured out how to temporarily override them LOL. S13 is fairly sensible so I might turn them off altogether on YouTube - just leave the internet controls on for now.

[Not Quitting]

Let's see, how far to Long Island.... Have dolly, will travel.

Don’t forget you’ve promised to help out TTD and I – although we are a bit further away LOL .

W called me today because she still felt tired from her cold and wasn't up for the drive over to go to dinner. We had a nice chat - way, cool, for us. Even pre-BD we sucked at phone calls. She felt bad because I had to pay take a cab home from my "retreat" for my stress reduction/mindfullness class.
She was texting me several times until I got home. Must be worried I was prowling for babes in town today.

Positive signs MH – she’s feeling bad about letting you down.
Love the bit about “prowling for babes in town” .

Speaking of touch - today at my class we did some exercises that involved touching (not anything innapropriate and not always opposite sex) but it was amazing how starved I was for even just the touch of someone's hand. I should book a massage. A *legitimate* massage! . And for now, a cold shower. Then maybe I'll drag some furniture around. <sigh>

Sometimes it’s the littlest things we miss the most.

Take it easy moving furniture – you don’t want to strain something. Especially if you haven’t managed to get your massage booked yet .

[RosaLinda]

Well DMR, I just struck out with casual touch We had a gorgeous sunset and H and I and S28 went out to look at it. I lay my hand on H's arm and he jerked away and said "heeeey" Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow. Have you attempted it?

[MileHigh]

The vacation continues. So far it's all a blur, and I have't even had a drink!

Sunday and Monday proved to me that making real changes is a long, hard process. Something like beating an addiction or losing weight and keeping it off. I've heard that if you can make it 5 yrs, you've got it... or something like that. Anyway, Sunday was the retreat for my stress management class. Sadly, it wasn't a retreat like we went to some nice place - it was the same place, just 4 hrs of silence, meditation, yoga and a vegetarian pot luck. Sounds awful, but it went fast (the instructors talk, and the meditation and exercises are guided). So, I left there feeling relaxed and at peace. As I was walking across the entrance of a parking lot, a guy driving towards the exit flipped me off and called me an a**hole for exercising my right-of-way. I was talking on my cell phone, but I was aware of what I was doing, not wandering like a zombie. And I had the right-of-way. Anyway, instead of ignoring it or laughing it off, I responded in like manner, and even escalated the yelling and gesture. To make it more embarrassing, I was on the phone with my mom! What would she have thought if that had escalated into street brawl over such a stupid incident.

I also was getting very impatient with the cats running all over my desk as I was having an epic battle with my mp3 collection. It's sad when something that's supposed to bring pleasure becomes a source of stress. I have put hours and hours into organizing and tagging music (and pictures) and I had a program pretty much mess up my entire collection and cause me to restore from backup. Besides the worry and stress I wasted a good part of 2 days of vacation! At some point, I childishly pushed a bunch of papers off my desk. Sigh.

On the upside, in both of these incidents, I caught myself, evaluated the situation, determined to do better next time, and let it go. I've thought about it a couple times to analyze it for improvement, but haven't obsessed about it or let the incidents themselves bother me further. Today at my regular class, I brought it up to amuse and enlighten others. Or at least to serve as a bad example.

I notice when I'm downtown for an evening, my W frequently texts. Tonight she seemed to be fishing to see if I was home yet. Sunday I had a nice walk around town, visited the library and had dinner out. I was going to go to a movie, but I had my backpack, and it had "contraband" food items in it and I didn't want to have an incident at the theater. So, tonight I splurged. I had my class, then spent some time at the library. Then I went to dinner. After that I had a nice coffee at the coffee shop and pondered how cool it would be to live in the apartments above the shops downtown. Then I went to the brand new theater (still has that new theater smell!). Flirted shamelessly with the lovely, friendly, talkative lady at the concession stand (yeah, I've still got it! LOL). I'm going to go over and help her organize her closets. Totally kidding. Anyway, after that I got the cats some of the very specific kind of food they want (fussy little critters!) and got myself a few things. And, of course, got a lot of walking in!

The only thing marring the experience was a growing headache. I need to make a Dr appt to sort out my migraine meds - and I forgot to take an over-the-counter pain reliever before heading out. So that got worse and worse until I got home and took some meds and tried to sleep. But, overall, a good night, anyway.