My apartment is mostly furnished, minus a few end tables and such. Mara (one of the English grad students) drove Prakash and me around on Saturday, and among other things, I bought a stereo. That was supposed to be my last electronics purchase; I had pretty much decided that I was at least going to try living without a tv. But.
Kevin's back in town; he came to my brunch yesterday, and then went off to work for a while. We had thought about getting together in the evening, but he called to say he wasn't feeling well. (You're probably wondering what all this has to do with a tv, but wait. All will become clear). I proceeded to fall apart on him over the phone, somehow making it clear that I was bored, miserable, and depressed, and that a true friend would ignore his illness, drag himself off his sickbed and come and keep me company. (Why didn't I got over there? Mostly 'cause it didn't seem wise; if I did, I knew I wouldn't want to leave, leading to more upset and depression, rather than less). I managed to guilt him sufficiently that he came over. But.
He brought me a present. His smaller tv, that had been in the bedroom, was now mine, to do with as I pleased. This was a good idea in some sense, since he really was feeling too ill to do much more than sit on the couch and stare at the tv. I felt much better with him there, and he stayed, watching Star Trek, until I fell asleep. I got to sort of pretend that he wasn't going away; yes, it's pathetic, but I'm going to have to do this in small stages, I think. Overall, the evening went okay, though I stayed pretty wobbly for much of it. But.
Now there's a tv in my living room. I don't know what to do with it. I'm tempted to stick it in a closet. But I also know it will be helpful in staving off loneliness (and may keep my phone bill down; I spent three hours talking to Arthur yesterday afternoon). It looks goofy and ugly (to get any reception, we needed to do weirdo things with the antenna, and if I get cable, then I'll really be caving) and is now the focus of the room, if only because it so clearly doesn't fit. I just dunno.
In other news, brunch (mostly with my writing group) went decently, though I probably should have made a little more standard American fare, and a little less foofy French stuff (crepes with fillings and quiches). At least the less adventurous ate the fruit salad, and the bagels Prakash brought. It's going to take a bit to get used to the eating habits around here. Lots of meat. Little pepper. Nothing too weird.
Today library orientaton at 10 ('til 4 -- there must be a lot in that library!) and then I will, I must give Jacques the critique I promised him. I also need more plants and office supplies; I'm planning on sending "Esthely Blue" to Ploughshares as soon as I can print out a copy. Need paper, envelopes, stamps.
Living alone is weird. I'm sure you'll be hearing more on that in the weeks to come.