A friend in need, is a friend indeed...

This afternoon, since I had off work and since the schools were still closed, I went with A Local Celebrity, Mr. David ParisPeking on a voyage of shopping and eating in Frederick.

Before all that, I did manage to get most of the remaining ice/packed down snow off my sidewalk finally. And I got Miss Cleo out of the parking space for the first time since Friday night. She did fine in both alleys, I was a bit concerned, but I should have known better, she's always quite good in the snow.

So ALCMDPP and I went to this place called AKA Friscos. Unique decor to the place, but expansive menu (both of which you can check out on the link I provided). I got a ham and cheese sub that was out of this world delicious, and quite a large portion, I actually had to bring half of it home. I also got an 'exploded potato', which was good as well, but did not, as ALCMDPP proclaimed, taste like God's vagina....however THAT would taste. We also did some shopping at various places (none of which I'll mention because I've been told MRS. ALCMDPP does in fact read the blog, and I don't want to give anything away. And in addition, I want her to note the fact that I did not infact call her Butters in this or any recent post. Not even once).

While we were eating, naturally we talked. And we talked about a lot of personal stuff going on around me now, which is kinda unusual, cause ALCMDPP is not one I usually think of when I think of listening to and getting advice on personal issues. But he's the one that brought the whole subject up. And I really glad he did, because talking it through with him made me realize what's been going on.

See lately, in the last half year or so, I've been feeling....existential angst? A mid-life crisis coming on? No, I've just been feeling like I'm not grounded, like I don't have control over my life. And what with AJ's suicide, and the process of looking for and buying a house, and the stress of moving and getting settled here, as well as some relationship issues, and times at work when I've felt it was all out of my grasp, I've just been feeling very...tossed about. I don't regret buying the house at all, but the apartment, since I lived there for 12 years, was kinda like an anchor, something to keep me steady. And now, even that's gone. And so, because of this feeling, little things have been made bigger and built up into big things that have been adding to this feeling of....discontent, unsettlement, directionlessness that I've been feeling lately.

Our talking hasn't made everything all shiny and rainbows, but what it HAS done is point out to me what might be the root cause of everything. And that might help me to get a handle on it, get my head wrapped around the issues, and start dealing with them. Today, as I sit here and type this, I feel the least worried and the least amount of underlying undercurrents of stress that I've felt in a long time.

And I know he's not one to take compliments well, or deal with them in a classy fashion, so I'm not gonna go over board with this, but David, thanks for all your help. Thanks for bringing the subject up, which I'm sure was awkward and uneasy for you, and thanks for saying the things you did and helping me see what was going on.

You are a true and good friend.

POLT Listening to "Uprising" by Muse

Sometimes, I just pray to God there IS a hell! - Apollo, Jenny Sparks #2