Investigating the cabinet and personal update

Things are slowly attaining a new normal here at home.  Thomas does not move until until next weekend, but he's barely spending any time at home.  We are all happy about that!  It's truly amazing how much happier everyone is when he's not around.  His negative attitude was so pervasive and we'd gotten used to it, so having him gone is like a breath of fresh air!

Max was wandering around the counter last week, and climbed up on my honey to investigate a bit.  Under the cabinet:

Thomas's coffee bean grinder:

Back to under the cabinet:

It's been several days, and she hasn't been back, so she must have gotten her fill that day!

Personally, I am just amazed at how well things are going.  I went to therapy last week, and my therapist told me I'm such a "glass half full" person which is how I survived so many years with Thomas and didn't even realize anything was amiss.  She said that if I were in a concentration camp, I'd find ways to rationalize why it wasn't that bad!  Which is un-PC, but it really drove the point home to me.  I need to work on trusting my gut more and not being so quick to justify the actions of people who treat me poorly.

I've been thinking about trying to keep Beeps.  Since Thomas has been gone, his behavior has improved markedly.  He's been extremely loving, following me around the house.  I think it would be hasty for me to rehome him now.  I'd thought about rehoming him since he didn't seem to be that bonded to me compared to Max and Calypso, but I realize he just shows his feelings in a different way.  I'm hoping I can find an apartment that will allow me to keep my three remaining parrots.

I didn't get the job I interviewed for last week, which was probably a blessing in disguise since I didn't really want to work there, but I do want to get a job so I can get an apartment near work and start my new life!  The problem is the timing.  Due to severance and bonus due to me, I need to stay at my current job until the end of March.  Many places don't know what openings they'll have April 1, and the ones with current openings aren't willing to wait so long to hire me.  However, every day gets us one day closer to when they would consider hiring for April.  Until then, I stay in the house.

I had another full weekend.  Thomas was so antisocial that he insisted I not befriend our neighbors.  I waved and we were superficially friendly, but that was it.  (Not surprisingly, Thomas never waved, which they remarked upon!)  Last Friday, I told her what was going on so that she wouldn't be surprised when a "For sale" sign went up at our house.  They invited me over for dinner Friday night, and we had a fantastic time!  I have so much in common with them.  We discussed the animals that inhabit our yards (they were watching the squirrel with no tail as well) and our travels -- we'd been to many of the same places, like Turkey.  They invited me to go kayaking with them, and it's possible we will forge a friendship that survives my move.  What a waste that we lived next to them for over 5 years and only when I'm moving is when we become friendly.

On Saturday, I went out with friends and had a fantastic evening.  Today, I went running with my normal group and then rushed home to get ready.  I met my family for a classic movie (Hitchcock's Rear Window) and then a late lunch/early dinner.  I have movie plans with a friend tomorrow night (A historical thriller from Tudor times - Anonymous) and am going to an NCAA basketball game with my dad again on Tuesday evening.  My goal had been to go out at least two times per week so that I didn't sit home feeling sorry for myself, and I've exceeded that.  Not sure I'll be able to keep going at this pace, but it's been a lot of fun.  I have many years of missed outings to make up for!