I spent seven hours with friends yesterday morning. Six of them cleaning. The basement came a long way. I think it will take one more days to do the rough and ready reorganizing on the second half of the basement AND cleaning up the tool bench. We just did the big rough and ready work today. Their entire garage area is packed to the roof with stuff that is going. I took a van load away with me.

I think that the cleaning/sorting/organizing/labeling part that we will have to do for every box, bag, and bucket in the space will take about twenty hours. I always feel a little cynical when people are so excited that we got all the big stuff moved and took out so much trash!

Ha. It’s going to get a lot harder before we are done. This is the bitchy, evil part. (insert evil cackle) I once spent a summer sorting hardware. Like nails and screws and washers and bolts. I worked in theatre during college. During every strike after a play people dropped all the hardware into a box. No one had sorted the box in many many years. Probably more than a decade. There was almost eighty pounds of hardware. My boss at the time (who is still a friend) says that since they have thrown them away. No one will ever be willing to go through that again. My hands were ripped to shreds by the end of the summer.

I find this kind of work stimulating, and deeply satisfying. Order Muppet for the win. So I’m not scared of doing this. But it will take about twenty hours. We will break it up. I won’t do all of it on my own. We put in 18 (wo)man hours today. I think being about halfway through the work is awesome. That’s something to be proud of when you have had a hard time dealing with this mess for many years.

I get the cool lumber. Some of them will be used in projects very soon. I think it is funny how much of a scavenger I am given how hostile I am to having too much stuff around.

I’ll use it! And soon!

I’m going to bring kids to my house and give them hand tools and wood. It will be awesome.

I had a great time cleaning. I ascribe this partially to being heavily medicated. I mixed my drugs for once. Pot, caffeine, and ibuprofen. It was awesome. (I didn’t drive stoned. But I was stoned in the middle there. By the end I was getting twitchy from the medication fade.) Mostly we bopped along to Ke$ha and had silly grown up conversation in between slaving away. We were a little crew. Several times I was really bossy bordering on rude but I kept it to log-jam moments and they both said it was ok.

“No go deal with ___. No don’t tell me the history. I don’t care. Just move it.”

So I guess that’s not over the line.

On the other side of that, when I come back to sort I do want to hear the history. Because hearing the history is what helps me sort the keeping stuff. The history does not help me in sorting “go” from “stay”. It’s just a distraction.

But was super fun. I’m glad I went. I am also glad I decided to *not* come back today. I’m fucking tired. And I’m supposed to go dancing tonight. I predict a nap in my near future.

Tonight I’ll be at the DNA Lounge if anyone wants to come see me. If I know any people who go out at night. Caffeine, oh my dear dear friend. And I will have to lay off the pot this afternoon even if I am bitchy. Or I’ll fall asleep.

Later this evening we are having dinner with my friend and his family. Then I go out. I should also find time to run four miles today. Maybe when I finish writing. Then I can come home and take a nap.

Yesterday’s party was a little weird. It was a high school reunion on accident. It makes sense. The school isn’t that far away physically. I’m not surprised that some of stayed close by. There was also a huge college contingent for Noah. One key host is the reason for the overlap. He’s in my first book. He’s the only person who gets a pseudonym. Preserving this ongoing friendship may be one of the reasons why. He committed a crime. And he would be easy to trace from the book. So I made it at least a little harder.

Mostly I don’t try to protect people from the consequences of their actions. In that case… I totally initiated everything and I like him so much and I know what his life has done. He’s not a pedophile and he’s not a serial rapist. It’s ok that he got seduced by someone too young. Even if it was illegal.

Man I’m a two faced son of a bitch on the legality and illegality of actions.

Anyway. I like this man a lot. I like his wife. I like their new son. I had a great time. I got to see lots of people I’ve known for a long time. It is hard hearing about difficulties in friends lives. I hope I listened respectfully. I have no answers. Life is hard sometimes.

I’m always willing to listen.

The kids had a blast. My kids are developing multiple distinct occasionally overlapping friends circles. I feel good about that. They can play with anyone. I like watching them.

Now that our kids aren’t babies we parents stand together and go, “I try not to hover. But they are doing ___!” And compatriots say, “Stay strong!” “Let them fuck up!”

It’s hilarious and wonderful.

I like this side of my friends. Seeing them as parents changes them quite a bit.

Really I’m just enjoying the passage of time. No one stays down forever. No one is all bad. No one is all good. Cycles.

When you’re going through hell, keep on moving. Don’t slow down and you might get out before the Devil knows you are there.

I wonder what that really means. When you live in shitty neighborhoods, stay at home and hide and read and avoid all the bad influences around you?

I don’t know. But it’s time for today to start.