back to basics
Well, today's DLU will be a fraction of the length of yesterday's just by default, given that yesterday's post was packed with information about a wildly eventful weekend, and I have comparatively very little to update you on today.
I can tell you that Shobhit and Ivan and I watched a movie together last night. For the second evening in a row, soon after I got home from work—but before Shobhit got home from work—Ivan asked, "Are we going to watch something tonight?" I said sure, we can, but I struggled to find something to watch. He went into his bedroom for a bit while I prepared dinner, and I messaged him to ask if he had any interest in the Marvel movie Doctor Strange, which Gabriel keeps telling me is actually good and I still haven't watched. Ivan never responded, though, and so then I went searching for classic movies for ideas. I finally knocked on Ivan's door and asked if he likes classic movies, he said sure, and I suggested the Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy romantic comedy Adam's Rib from 1949. Again he said sure—although, just as on brand for him as has been for years, he spent most of the movie just looking at his phone. Shobhit was far more engaged by the movie than Ivan was.
I've still decided to give both Ivan and Shobhit a Social Review point for this. When Ivan is actually officially living with us, this is the kind of thing I never give Social Review points for: as a general rule, whoever is living with me needs to either go out of the home somewhere, or participate in the visitation of a non-household visitor to get a point. But, even though there is (for now) a good chance Ivan will indeed make the definitive choice to move back in, he is also, for now, only officially visiting. Thus, this qualifies as "social activity," with Ivan himself falling under the category of non-household visitor.
This will make Shobhit happy, given that the three of us watched a movie together both of the last two evenings in a row. That gives him another two points. He has his Project Management class tonight, though, and tomorrow evening will likely be working. Ivan wants to get pho' for dinner sometime this visit and I suggested we shoot for tomorrow night for that one.
It's been interesting having Ivan back, in a somewhat surprising way: he has slipped right back into the very same, comfortable presence he had before leaving the country two years ago. I mean, he actually hasn't lived with us for three and a half years; he left for his three months in Eastern Europe in February 2018, followed that with a year in Bellingham, followed that with a year in New Zealand; and has been mostly in California the past year. But, in the year between Europe and New Zealand, he came for brief visits several times, and since no one else has lived with us in the interim, I really never stopped regarding that guest room as Ivan's room. His posters are still on the wall, and even Tommy's dried rose, which Ivan never took down, remains on the wall above the head of the bed in there. The only notable difference is that I have our old TV in there, along with a few things in the closet (where some of Ivan's stuff has remained all this time, ditto his several boxes in the storage unit), which I'll happily remove if and when it officially moves back in.
In any case, the only time that felt different in any way was when we picked him up at the airport on Saturday evening, and it was just so great to see him in person for the first time in fully two years—and he seemed even more delighted to see me, which was nice. He and I have been in regular contact, mostly on Facebook Messenger, all along; I don't think we've ever gone more than, say, a week with no contact at all, and it was usually not that long. I might have wondered if he and I might grow apart after he moved away, but I now have established history proving that I don't think he and I will ever lose touch. And now that he's visiting again, honestly within about a day it was as though he'd never been away at all.
We didn't get the movie started last night until around 6:30, which meant it ended at around 8:30. Shobhit moved to his news programs and both Ivan and I went back to our respective bedrooms. I captioned a few photos on Flickr and otherwise it was really not that long before it was time again to just get ready for bed.
It was rather warm in there overnight last night. The high forecast today is 81° and I am in shorts, as I have been every day since before the massive heat wave two weeks ago. We're looking at highs as low as 70° later this week, which honestly thrills me, and I'll finally be back in pants again.
It was still in the low sixties over lunch, and although I might have still sat out there in the sun (which would have made it comfortable), there was pressure washing done out there this morning and all the furniture was pushed back against the windows. So, I sat inside the lunch room with Scott and Tracy. Then Tracy had "a work related" question she wanted my perspective on and we chatted about that for a few minutes, which is the only reason this is getting posted as late as it is. Now time to get back to work!
[posted 12:44 pm]