12pm is as late as i'll sleep. if i sleep any later than that, most of my day is gone and the day seems wasted. still, i think i'd like myself better if i can get my sorry ass out of bed by 10am. that's my unemployment resolution, to sleep no later than 10am. that way i have plenty of time to go through the various stages of depression and figure out what i'm going to be doing the rest of the day. ha ha! i'm just kidding! having no source of income rocks!

i got up today and headed over to the house to do some more cleaning and to be there when eliza hoover showed up because she wanted to see the place. i took the motorcycle, it was a beautiful day for riding. i parked it outside the house and felt a twinge of weirdness as i ascended the steps to the condo. it felt strange because normally at this time i should be at work, and here i was going to my new home in the middle of the day. i looked down the street nervously, like i was doing something wrong, like a neighbor would see me and get all suspicious, "shouldn't that guy be at work or something? i'm calling the cops."

shortly thereafter my father arrived with a set of newly cleansed gas fixtures for the range. gas scared me. i've grown up in a house where we used an electric range, one that has a flat ceramic top. there's no invisible gas, no open flames. the idea of having gas in the house frightens me like the new energy source coward that i am, despite the fact that it's probably very safe. when it doesn't explode the house! the blue gas flame glow is unnervingly soothing and beautiful though...pyro! later, eliza finally showed up. i gave her the tour, the 6th visitor to my humble abode. living room, walk-in closet, bathroom, two bedrooms, kitchen, deck, backyard, and even the basement (i usually don't show people the basement, there's nothing to see). eliza and i are in the same financial boat because we both own condos in cambridge, we both have a mortgage, and we're both unemployed. when we came back into the house i revealed to her the grand finale, which was the washer/dryer unit hidden behind a collapsible door in the kitchen wall. eliza remarked that that was the best thing in the whole house. i can't wait to have laundry parties!

eliza left to go buy fruits and vegetables at the farmer's market, while my father and i left for the cafe. i went back to belmont, only to come back to the house later in the evening because my sister got one of the interior designer/architect guys (derek bloom) from her office to come and take a look at the place and offer up suggestions and advice. after it was over, i realized there's a few other dimensions to the house that i've completely overlooked, which are the lighting situation (recessed lights, here i come!) and getting an electrician to rewire the house for modern living (my lifelong dream of being able to watch television and surf the web in the bathroom is that much closer now).

and finally, some people might know of my irrational fear of washing anything wooden, but tonight i discovered another irrational fear: i can't bear the sensation of licking the fuzz on a peach. it gives me the willies. i can eat peaches just fine, but if my tongue should happen to run along its skin, it makes me cringe. i'm totally crazy, i know that now.

oh, i heard from my upstairs neighbor too. i finally know his name at least, if not the face. he wrote me e-mail saying how he's summering in martha's vineyard, but a friend of his will house-sit for him starting next month. good to know!