OK. I ditched the pomegranates. What you see above the entries is a piece of a photo I took in Tunisia… at Sidi Bou Said, to be precise.

I played with a semi-transparent color overlay to make things a little easier on me in terms of color scheme and not having too much craziness going on in the banner. There’s a highly helpful color scheme tool around: http://www.colorschemer.com.

It’s OK for now. It’s still not perfect, but I have to play around with some other ideas before I go changing it again. If anyone was browsing the site between 8:00 and 9:30 tonight, you may have seen some funkiness going on as I changed the CSS and whatnot.

Anyway - I’m having a little Vin Diesel double-feature right now. I just watched “Pitch Black” and “The Chronicles of Riddick” just started playing.

I’ve spent today thinking about how possible it is for me to move out again on my own. I think that it might be OK (within the next 3-6 months, let’s say) if:

♣ I can find a place that’s near my train line. I don’t mind walking a bit to the train, but I can’t afford a new car AND an apartment. I’d have to become the chick who relies on public transportation for a bit and eventually get a beater car just to go food shopping, get to the doctor, etc.

♣ I think my little brother might be gearing up to sell his Honda Civic. It’s a 2002, but he just got a promotion at work that means better $$ and might be looking to get himself a “nice” car. I’d have to learn to drive stick in a more functional (as opposed to my currently theoretical) but I can do that. I’d know that the car is in excellent condition… and I can deal with a blue Civic coupe, even though I detest the tail lights. If it really pisses me off, I can get after-market ones… though I would consider that a waste of money at this stage. This is all conjecture; maybe he won’t sell the Honda and I’ll have to buy something used and crappy, although I really HATE the thought of getting another car I’ll have to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars maintaining.

♣ Other than being close to the train line, it would have to be a place I could afford to pay for myself - no roommate this time around. Partially because I really really enjoy my alone time, but mostly because I’m not an easy person to live with and it’s just not fair.

♣ I have to really buckle down and SAVE. I can do that now. I am finally in a position where I am not worrying about whether I’ll have enough money to get me to my next paycheck, and I’m also not sitting here wanting to go shopping because I feel like crap. I allow myself some spending money and buy a couple of “fun” things each month… but nothing expensive. I think it has a lot to do with being more satisfied with my life in some ways - my job, mainly. I’m not finding happiness everywhere, but I don’t have to buy myself a ton of crap to feel better.

I’m not going to hold myself to a deadline, but I need to be solid about getting this done before the end of the year. I have to consider that I will have to pay for the “expensive” cable wherever I move so that I have the internet connection I require. But I won’t need a phone (cell phone) and I can sign up for the PSE&G fair pay plan (when you work all week and are only home on evenings and weekends - they do a whole flat rate thing in my area…). I would have to buy a couch… and a dinner table and chairs… probably more bookshelves, too, but otherwise, I have mostly everything I’d need to outfit a basic apartment.

SO… an Ikea couch is OK for the purposes described above, as is an Ikea dinner table. I can expect to spend between $500 and $800 on a couch (I don’t want something horribly uncomfortable since it would also serve as a guest bed) and a dinner table will be much cheaper… say between $200 and $400. Actually, they have this retro-looking chair and table set for $299.00. Check it out.

I think I can do this again. It’s definitely time for it, but I just have to steel myself for it… stop spending money on lunch at work and bring lunch instead… work out so I can fit into my old clothes and not have to spend money on new ones.

If there’s one thing I value and prize, it’s my independence; a lot of what’s been wrong these last few years has been a side-effect, if you will, of a lack thereof.

I might have to sacrifice some of the things I’ve grown comfortable with - like central air and laundry on-site - but it’s OK. I have a room air conditioner waiting to be put into a new window. I have a laundry bag and a basket I can carry without embarrassment. And a family I can visit on weekends simply to do laundry.

OK. This is a good thing. I won’t obsess over it, but I can start checking out Craig’s List and other such sources to see what I can find and what I have to plan for.

I almost forgot to mention that La Isla was delicious. Amanda and I both thoroughly enjoyed our meals… sooo damn tasty. We went for dinner which is a little more expensive than their lunch specials, but it was well worth the money. The place itself is small and more like a lunch counter or diner than a restaurant, but it’s cozy, not cramped.

Amanda had Salmon Asado (pan roasted salmon served over spinach and grilled red onions, with rum butter roasted sweet plantain and citrus sauce - $17) and I had Tasajo con Boniato (dry cured shredded beef served with boiled cuban sweet potatoes - $15) with two sides included. I had taro puree and fried yellow plantain. Then we got an order of their bread pudding (with rum and raisins) for dessert, but were so full that we asked our server straight away to wrap it up for us. She replied, “No problem, mi amor.” She was a lovely feisty older lady and was singing along to the Celia Cruz song playing in the restaurant at one point.

I sang its praises to my brother in hopes that he and Amanda will go there together at some point since my brother is always a little hesitant to try new cuisines. He’s more of a pizza and Boston Market kind of dude, but he’s grown accustomed to and even fond of sushi, and has discovered that Indian food isn’t ALL curries, and he likes chicken vindaloo (!!) and loves naan. So, bit by bit, he is learning. Cuban food isn’t nearly as “different” from the palate he’s accustomed to, so it should be something he really enjoys. The flavors aren’t completely foreign, compared to other foods out there (i.e. Ethiopian, Japanese, Indian, Basque, Persian… though I think only Japanese really qualifies as different to my tastebuds.)

OK. It’s bedtime-ish. I am going to finish watching this movie, read a little, and get to sleep.