Today

Despite going to bed at 2 am last night, I woke a little after six this morning. Why, I don't know. I laid in bed for a while, then got up to pack a lunch for my hike with the Baltimore Adventurers at the National Arboretum.

There were six of us on the hike, myself, George, Jim, Dave, Bruce and Jack.

We first hit the Mitchell Azalea Trail. My family had azaleas around our house in Florida, but I never realized that there were so many varieties! The weather was almost perfect — it was overcast and threatening rain, but it really didn't rain very much or for very long. Best of all, the colors of the flowers really jumped out in a way that they wouldn't have on a brighter day.

After lunch, we wrapped up by walking through the bonsai collection, which was fabulous. Some of the most intriguing trees were the ones that had dead wood, which had whitened, providing a nice contrast with the rest of the tree. If I had a tree that started dying, I'd remove it, but it's neat to consider the attitude of the artist that incorporates that into the piece.

While wandering through the bonsai collection, there were a couple of men walking together, taking photos of each other, so I offered to take a photo of them together. They were pleased, and introduced themselves as John and Joon (I'm guessing at the spelling). Joon is an artist — a potter — visiting from Taiwan. He's working at the Baltimore Clay Works in Lutherville and he's going to have a show July 16. We had a pleasant time chatting as we walked along.

As soon as we got in the car to head home, I curled up in the back seat and fell asleep holding Jim's hand. When I woke up as we were approaching downtown, I noticed I still had his hand and I playfully advised him that he could have retrieved it whenever he wanted, but he replied that he enjoyed holding my hand. :-)

I stripped off my clothes and crawled into bed and slept for a couple of hours. Then I made a round of phone calls: my parents, Kirk, Louie B., Fluffy, Tom D., Gene R, Louis K., and Maurice and Christopher.

I was calling Tom, Gene, Louis K., Maurice and Christopher to make sure they knew about the upcoming joint picnic sponsored by the HOPE foundation and the Young POZ social groups on the 21st. Tom will be working, and I had to leave a message for M&C, but I've arranged a ride with Louis.

I also arranged to have Louis over for dinner on Tuesday and to visit Tom for dinner on the 23rd. Then Fluffy reminded me that we're celebrating his and Chris's birthday on that day, but he's going to check to make sure Louie B. can make it. If it's a go, then I'll have to break my date with Tom.

Yesterday

Dennis came by with his friend Steve to pick me up. We went out to some huge indoor flea market, then hit a plant nursery and had lunch at Golden Corral. Then we stopped at Value Village, a big thrift store.

The rest of the day I napped, read and played with my computer. Oh, and I borrowed Latter Days from Dennis, so I finally got to watch that. It was a sweet movie.

Habits

Habits are fragile things — at least, my good habits are. I'm miffed that I went for a week without posting anything in my journal. There was a heart circle at Doug M.'s on Monday, and I really should write a little about what I shared, but I don't feel like getting into that now.

I'm continuing to track my expenses. I've spent $35 eating out this month, and $30 was spent going out after the tour at the Walter's Art Gallery. Doug M. and I joined Kirk, Chris and Mary at Tapas Teatro here in Baltimore and we spent a lot more than I was planning on. Add to that the fact that I had to plan ahead with Doug for him to pick up my tab because my paycheck hadn't arrived.

I did reimburse him on Monday after my deposit. He initially refused it, but it was a significant expense, so I pressed it upon him. As a rule, I don't agree to do things that I'm not prepared to pay for myself. This was an exception.

I'm actually getting a little freaked about how generous my friends are. Every time I turn around, they're picking up the tab. For instance, I saved $15 all week to make sure I could pay John for the baseball ticket, and he wouldn't accept it, saying I could buy him a beer at the game. Then he bought his own beer. :-\

Nobody seems to be avoiding me, so I hope I haven't gained a reputation as a freeloader. I won't pretend that I don't appreciate the gifts, but I want to make sure they know I'm not counting on it. I make sure I have cash to cover my share, or I don't make plans. Louis K. is coming over for dinner so I don't have to spend money on eating out. George and Jim invited me to dinner this week, but I put them off until I get another paycheck.

It's important that I don't get myself in over my head financially because I don't want to give any indication that I can't afford things. I'm learning to be more up front about my finances, and I feel that my friends don't care if we eat in rather than going out, so long as we get to see each other. I'd rather make plans with folks when I can afford things, rather than pretend and spend when I shouldn't.

This entry was supposed to be about habits, not finances. Final habit update: housekeeping! The apartment is still clean, with the exception of the dirty dishes in the kitchen. I have dishes stacked up since Thursday. I'm going to go clean the kitchen right now!