And thanks. It's been some ride.

As much as I have been bitching about the sorting and packing that I've had to do lately, I must say it feels really liberating to unload some of the baggage I've been carting around the last few years.

When I moved here from Michigan, everything got thrown into a truck... just whatever of mine we could fit in there, went. A lot got left behind, and I was just sick about it for a while. Then once I arrived in Boston, the majority of that stuff went right into a storage unit, where it sat. For over a year. For my last move, the storage unit was cleared out and all of my possessions moved to my new place in Somerville. At that time, I finally got the opportunity to go through some of the boxes to see just what I had. I found that some things I had wanted to hang on to hadn't made it from Michigan. But even more of the stuff made me wonder why the heck I had kept it. And I purged some of it, but most of it just got re-boxed and stored.

Over this past weekend, all my boxes were brought down from the attic. I spent a good chunk of time going through it all. I had come to a decision: I was going to be merciless. If I hadn't looked at it by now, hadn't needed it for any reason, it was gone. Out to the curb. I threw out two huge boxes and 5 trash bags full of stuff, just... JUNK. Junk I had accumulated for lord knows what reason. Junk I couldn't let go of. Until now.

Letting go of all the crap and junk from my past feels incredibly good. I feel light and clean and ready to move forward, to start fresh. And hopefully, my days of dragging around so much baggage are over.

Cat killer gets 4 months in jail

NEW BRITAIN -- The woman convicted of beating her roommate's cat to death will be spending four months behind bars.

Surprisingly, she said she was glad this part of the ordeal was over. Animal rights groups, she said, have been harassing her family. She said she hopes that stops when she finishes her sentence.

[Full article]

Yeah, honey. I really, really hope that people leave you alone after this is over. Because, you know, you deserve it.

NOT.

Tonight. Dinner at Orleans. Two icy Grey Goose martinis with big, plump olives. Sauteed filet of striped sea bass, with a roasted tomato and leek relish. Silky mashed potatoes. Perfectly crisp-tender, bright green broccoli rabe finished with a bite of cracked black pepper. A glass of pinot noir. Reading Tony Bourdain in the candlelight, listening to the couple next to me (butternut squash ravioli in a roasted garlic cream sauce, curried mussels, bottle of red) talking about their friend Jim Behrle, sending text messages to my guy. The only thing missing was him.

And thinking about what lies ahead, what is so very close now. Dinners when he is not the missing part, when we're eating together, talking about friends and food and books and anything and everything.

Walking up the street I still live on, seeing the glow of the flashing blue lights of the traffic cops on Powderhouse, lights flashing at another stopped speeding motorist. Smiling at the faces of the people who pass by, them smiling back, a few saying hello on this warmish, windy early Spring night. Taking it all in, appreciating it all, and all this place has led me to, and feeling a little bit sad... missing it already, a little bit... but looking forward to what lies ahead.