Reflections on a week without J-MO

Tonight J-MO will return from her week in the real world. She saw some friends, went to a wedding, spent time with the family, prepped for our own wedding and reconnected with her New England state of mind. I, meanwhile, stuck to my current status quo in LaLaLand…or at least tried to. A few reflections on my time in LA without my fiancé…

• I forgot how to sleep. Seriously, it was like I unlearned everything I knew about sleep. I didn’t know what time to go to bed. I didn’t know where to sleep in the bed. I seriously debated which side to get out of for fear of starting my day on the wrong side. I woke up with headaches. It was horrible.
• My cat is demanding and manipulative. These are things I already knew, but were made all the more apparent without J-MO there to deal with half of them. And I’m a sucker for it. I let my cat boss me around. How sad is that?
• I eat like a bachelor. Last night I had a leftover Turkey club from work. The night before I ate three hotdogs. Friday night I ordered the standard pizza, then spread it out over three meals. It really all boils down to not having to PLAN dinner. Things are more thrown together with less care. It makes for an easier life, if not necessarily enjoyable. J-MO, for her part, isn’t too picky about meals. But when she’s here, I care more.
• The first part of my faux-bachelor week I indulged in a particularly manly slobbery – i.e. the place was a mess, and I kind of enjoyed that. I tend to have trouble relaxing on Sundays when the apartment isn’t clean, though, so eventually I cleaned up. Fun fact – once I got around to actually cleaning, it stayed clean…or cleaner than when J-MO’s here. I can’t stop the crappy L.A. air from spreading its death dust, and I can’t stop PEPPER from turning my carpet into a shag rug (damn, does that cat shed!) but I can cut down on the clutter of shoes, purses, bags, clothes and notebooks tossed throughout the apartment. This is the cleanest this apartment’s been on a Wednesday…ever.
• Contrarily, I ran out of hand soap the day after she left…or at least got to the point where the pump was rendered useless. I survived 4 more days banging the crap out of the container like a ketchup bottle in an effort to get every last drop.
• The most important reflection from my time without J-MO…she’s my best friend, and I wouldn’t be able to survive this place without her.