Maybe I Should Have Settled

words sting

words sting...that is all

The nest is empty

So...I have neglected to mention my current empty-nest status.  In large part...that is why these posts have dwindled in the past few weeks...life was consumed with volunteer projects and getting my little one moved out of the house.
Truth be told...it seems a bit surreal.  I live in a 4-story house by myself...with my three cats and one dog.   But I feel like the crazy cat-lady when I start talking to them.  (My friend, Peter, maintains 'I'm one cat away from being a news story.')  I'm self-employed and have a small office in the attic floor of my house, so my interaction time with people is fairly limited. It's just plain strange, really. AND it brings even more meaning to my blog's subtitle...I'm really living single.  This is the first time in my whole adult life.  I got married three weeks after college, had Ally almost 4 years later and have been with her ever since (with and without the now-former husband).  I'm still getting used to the idea and have this reverse nesting thing going on... I'm in the mood to get rid of everything.  One of my favorite blogs is unclutterer.com...it's all about uncluttering your life...something I feel compelled to do these days.  Let the purging begin.

Panhandlers get more ballsy in Portland

So...how do you spell ballsy, anyway?
In any case...I nearly dropped everything in my arms when a panhandler approached me on the street this afternoon...and asked me if I could spare $50 for a homeless man.  $50???  Is he kidding me?  The thing that's too bad is that I would have given him some small bills...I really would have (as I often do when I stroll down Exchange Street in sunny Portland), but his request left me off-balance.  I mean, what was he smoking?  I had one of those 'wish I had thought of that at the time' moments as I walked away.  Instead of stammering with "I don't have any small bills," I would have come up with..."are you f#@*ing kidding me?"

I feel like I sound like a capitalist snob...but I'm just in shock.  I'm a caring person, but this request was so off the mark...not even I...liberal-Lucy could let this one go.  I'm turning 45 this week (the horror)... does this reaction mean I'm becoming more conservative?  Next thing you know... I'll be telling all homeless people to get a job and buy tickets for the Glenn Beck appearance at the Merrill Auditorium.  Can you feel me twitching, internet?  Can you?