SSB, stolen from Sex & The City, meaning Secret Single Behavior.

Due to social calendars TDH and I have spent the last few nights at our own respective residences. While it’s unusual I am slightly pleased I have two extra nights at my apartment since I have a feeling things in the habitation department are going to change in the next six to eight months. Might as well soak up all the “me time,” I can.

This is also when I can let loose any of the strange behavior I take part in when TDH isn’t around, such as…

• Streaming a movie online from Netflix, on my laptop, as I fall asleep. As of late I’ve been alternating between 30 Rock and old musicals.
• Cleaning up and reorganizing the top of my dresser: jewelry, perfumes, lotions, hair stuff. This sounds like simple tidying up, but I’m so weird about what goes where I’m not sure what TDH would think.
• Late Night Ritual which takes place when I can’t sleep (which is any night I’m not with TDH): a snack of pretzels or cheese, a Sex & The City episode, sitting on the edge of my bed as though I’ve never seen the episode before.
• Looking at Real Estate. This is less of a secret since we toss around the idea of buying a house (not now, but in general) and I occasionally email him some listings I fall in love with.
• Eyebrow plucking/pore observation. I find these two things while necessary extremely unsexy so I try not to let TDH see me do them. I also do face masks when he’s not around. There are some things I don’t even think a guy with three sisters (TDH) would understand.
• Spread out all my recently paid bill stubs and important mail and file away in each tab in the fil-o-fax.
• From time to time I’ve been known to serve myself a small bowl of ice cream and eat it standing up in the kitchen, staring out the window.
• Talking to Jack in the “baby” voice. Why do humans talk to dogs and babies in a weird/funny voice? I don’t get that.

Any “secrets” you don’t want your husband/roommates/fiance/boyfriends/family to know about?

I just watched four episodes in a row. I can come up with a Friends reference for almost every real life moment (hair straightener paranoia). And I know far too many lines by heart (They don’t know that we know that they know. Joey, you can’t tell them. Couldn’t if I wanted to.) Seriously. It’s ridiculous. WW will tell you. It’s no fun to play the Friends version of Scene It with me. I’m not totally alone though. It’s even less fun to play with me and my friend e-beth or my sister. And RR will tell you the good old fashioned board game with me and D is just as bad. Except even she and I were stumped at times because the trivia game questions are MUCH more obscure than the Scene It questions. It’s shocking that I don’t own all of the seasons on dvd. And that I’m still single.

Do you remember an episode of Sex and the City where Carrie introduces the idea of her “Secret Single Behavior?” I realized last night I have a few secret behaviors of my own, unbeknown to anyone until now. And I did all three last night. The first, is that I love sitting down and eating a home cooked dinner while watching Giada De Laurentiis. I love her. She is so damn cute and happy and playful and cooks the yummiest food. I think I have a small obsession with her! If you don’t know who she is – check out her website or set your tivo to record her on Food Network: (http://www.giadadelaurentiis.com/page/page/show?id=2325794%3APage%3A226).

The second, is I like to dance and sing in my room. I have to be alone. I rarely subject others to the one-two punch combo of my dancing and my singing simultaneously. Because baby, I go all out. We’re talking Neil Diamond “Cherry, Cherry” sing-a-longs at the top of my lungs while doing my best Cameron Diaz circa Charlie’s Angelsbooty shake dance in the mirror (I have three doors of closeted mirrors – which is about how much space I need for my booty shakin). It is fun, it is fabulous, I even get Labrador all hyped up and dancing.

And finally, I love to fall asleep watching Pride & Prejudice. I have an obsession with that movie (both the BBC Series w/ Colin Firth and the new movie with Kiera Knightly – which is the current version in the DVD player). My mother raised me on Jane Austin so I’ve had an obsession with the books since childhood. I’m usually a fall asleep reading type ‘a gal – but on the rare occasion I treat myself to falling asleep to the beauty of the cinematography, musical scores and story of that wonderful movie.

And that, my friends, is a look at how I spend my enjoyable nights off. You can see now why I would chose to stay home so often. But alas, my healer told me I have become too sequestered, too comfortable in isolation. I have let my hermit nature take over and he has advised me to get out in the world. So I had dinner Wednesday  with a friend and am going tonight to see my friend Jason’s opening performance in a play. 

One last thing. I love reading my horoscope. I don’t swear my life by it or anything, but I think they’re fun and fascinating. So if you feel like reading what’s in store for you and the world at large, check out this great spot on the Omega Institute website. I love all things Omega, and I was particularly impressed with their horoscope bit. Maybe because I’m a Taurus and this month’s Taurus bit he talks about writing – so I felt really connected to it! (http://www.eomega.org/omega/enews/horoscopes/?source=ENEWS)

I hope that some fun and rest are ahead for your weekend. I’ll send you blissfully into this great day and weekend with a quote from Aristotle.

“Happiness belongs to the self-sufficient.”

*It’s my niece’s birthday today – so Happy 8th Birthday Monkey! I love you!

Today, I did not leave my apartment. Hell, I barely left the couch. I woke up far too early for the one day I had to sleep in, watched some Lipstick Jungle and old school 90210, and spent the rest of the day organizing, watching football and eating leftover dumplings and sesame chicken.

I purged tons of paper, finally unpacked my suitcase from Christmas, got to work on finishing what I can for Oregon and Washington PT licenses so I have options for when I get back, set up new bank accounts with lower international fees and made the master everything I need To Do before I go on my trip list.

I’m on track and the Eagles won! Couldn’t ask for a better lazy yet productive day.

I’m sure this isn’t exactly front page news, but I just heard Jason Segal is dating Drew Barrymore. I thought the fact that I’m not famous might be the only thing standing in my way. But now, my go to person who would play me in a movie is also in the way! I guess it’s a good thing I was already thinking of moving on myself.

I don’t like to think of myself as a busybody. I have my own life with its own set of dramas and concerns. I have learned in the past six years, however, that your life is never quite your own if you live in an apartment.

It’s not intentional. Most apartments in the price range of an early to mid-20 something, especially if you’re still wallowing in the dreaded world of roommates, have thin walls and snake-like ventilation systems that act more like a rudimentary intercom.

I’ve heard break-ups and make-ups. I’ve heard wives lie to their husbands about cheating, when their moaning hours earlier while their hubby was at work told a completely different story. I’ve heard sweet marriage proposals, fights between siblings, and people swearing revenge against their tampon-thieving roommate.

It reminds me of that Will & Grace episode where their lives practically stop due to the drama from their downstairs neighbors. They miss work and plan their lives around the drama coming from their floor vent. Infidelity, love, heartache, etc… they were hooked.

While I’ve never gone to such extremes, I’ve found myself a few times brushing my teeth a little longer than usual… meaning I would sit there on the toilet, mouth full of toothpaste, with my toothbrush dangling out, listening in on someone else’s business. I’ve proclaimed “Oh no he didn’t!” while leaning against the shower wall, soaking wet, because I could hear better with the water off.

I’m not proud of this, especially since I can barely have a phone conversation in public without feeling worried that someone was listening in. Sometimes I can’t help it. I turn into that batty old cat lady who lives down the hall. She glares at me. A lot. Seeing as I’m turning into her, with my eavesdropping tendencies, who knows what she knows about me.

It can be entertaining, though. Since you can’t hear everything, you can make up stories. Fill in the blanks with your own imaginative options. “Maybe you wouldn’t be so mad at him if you knew he has only been distant because he’s a spy, and it’s hard to deal with the pressure of saving the world, and having to keep secrets from your wife!”

I guess everyone has their secret habits when no one is looking. Mine are not so secret anymore.