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…or this year, at least.

Once in a while I make exactly the right choice. This was one of those times. What a great weekend! Had a quite lovely time visiting old friends Dan, Lori, and New York–none of whom I’ve seen enough of in recent years. Pictures and other such things to follow, but probably not until after I get some sleep and get through a really brutal four days at work.

Completely unrelated: Anyone who’s paying attention knows I’m not wild about hot weather. But I’m also starting to get a little alarmed that it’s well into May and I’m still tempted to turn on the heat because it’s only 60F in my living room.

The biggest barrier I’ve had to cross in my parents’ house has been getting it restored to my own standard of cleanliness and order. It may shock anyone who’s known me for a long time to learn that I’ve become something of a neat freak the past few years–a rather neat and tidy housekeeper. I have some thoughts about the psychological basis as to how and when this drastic shift occurred, most of which have to do with my need to find some aspect of my life over which I could have complete control at a time when I felt like I was starting to lose it, but I’ll skip all that for now and say that it’s been hard getting the house to that point but I’m beginning to see the light.

There’s still a fair amount of stuff I need to get rid of here before I start moving some of my own stuff in, but I’m spending three or four nights a week here now and it’s not altogether uncomfortable. I’m seeing less of my dad lying on the floor back in January or my mom being completely paranoid and hysterical the year before, and more of where my books and toys and things might look good. Getting my own furniture in here will be a big help but that will probably have to wait until I sell my current house.

After the jump, see where I am so far. 

Random stuff for a Thursday afternoon:

• At least the city council gets it, even if Rob never will (as usual): I’d argue that very few–if any–urban areas have ever been substantially improved through the addition of a massive casino.
• Amazing what crack will do to a body, isn’t it?
• California moves boldly into 2002.
• Looks like Greensboro is getting a Smithfield’s just as I’m (sort of) relocating here. That’s happy news.
• The Quebecois Tom Waits lives, in case you were wondering.

…how many people stumble accidentally into a Friday night “Hoarders” marathon and are really inspired to spend the entire rest of the weekend cleaning up and throwing things away. It worked pretty effectively for me a couple of weeks ago.

I’d avoided the show like the plague in years past and still pretty much do. The sad thing is that, while I understand there is very selective editing involved, I don’t think this show is nearly as staged as most of the other reality shows. This does not, mind you, make me what you would call a “fan.” But every time I land on it–even for 30 seconds while channel surfing–I feel almost compelled to throw something away afterwards.

Thoughts before shutting down work, visiting Mom, and driving over to my weekend house in Winston-Salem:

• A neighborhood where $1600/sq ft is a housing bargain is probably not one where I want to live. That’s irrelevant, of course, because I couldn’t afford to live there even if I wanted to (link via Dan).
• I’ve loved this song (and its siblings, “I Know a Place” and “Don’t Sleep in the Subway”) since I was a wee tyke. As I grew older, they also represented an urbanity that somehow got lost during the late 1960s and 1970s but was something I really wished I had lived through. It’s interesting to read the back story and even more interesting that I chance upon the link via an urban issues site I frequent rather than via one about music. Obviously I wasn’t the only one who recognized Pet’s whole urban vibe thing.
• On suburban blight, an issue I’ve been intrigued by in recent years, especially since watching it firsthand in East Charlotte when I lived there briefly in 2005-2006. Atlanta has more than its share as well. The big issue, as the author points out, is that discarded suburban strips are less likely to attract the sort of homos, hipsters, and homesteaders that have rehabbed other types of down and out neighborhoods, just because the built environment is so much less flexible.

Next week is beyond hectic for me. Don’t expect much in the way of updates. Not that it matters that much, I guess (David said, kicking a tumbleweed out of his way…)