Developing a New Domesticity

Pinko is joining the NYC Light Brigade for this action tomorrow (thedaywefightback.org).
He was with the Light Brigade last fall for the Living Wage thing, and he enjoyed it so much he's stayed in touch to volunteer.  He'll probably be holding a sign again.

I'm proud of him.   It hasn't been three weeks since he moved in for good on January 22nd when we got back from Reno, and he's building connections every day.  He's more involved in the NY Burner community, and he's been regrouping to start up his blogtalk show again.   The Pinko the Bear show has been erratic, at best, since he got back to Reno from Burning Man last September - I suppose being in New York disrupted his pattern, too, not only with his show but also with his habits.  For example, this year he didn't watch the super bowl which he's watched for years and years and years even though he is always sure to reference Noam Chomsky's opinion on sports - which has something to do with millionaires entraining hundredaires and thousandaires for the profit of billionaires and killionaires as well as the whole Bread and Circuses thing.

We took a long walk up Broadway, pausing occasionally at the windows of bars or restaurants where the game was playing loudly.  It was romantic.  Last week, we went to the launch party for the International Socialist Review.  They've been publishing for a long time, but recently updated their format.  While we were there, Pinko bought a book called Leon Trotsky: An Illustrated Introduction.  It's a graphic novel/biography by Tariq Ali.  I suspect that when it comes to couples, we're about as Red as they come, although I confess that every time he reads to me from the Trotsky book, I fall asleep.

We've been having fun, and now it's time to start focusing on his job search.  Right after we got back from Reno, we went to a party at a night club where the DJ was enough of an amateur to convince Pinko, known as ABear when he's a DJ, that he should be able to find a DJ job easily enough.  There's a bar downtown where he'd like to work but there are so many youngsters DJing for free out there that he couldn't get on the schedule until April.  So he's going back to the idea of being a part-time night doorman.  Something should turn up soon, but as much as it would be nice to have the extra money, there's no reason to take some stupid job just for a few bucks.  To me, the most important thing right now is to get clear about the kind of job he'd like to have.  It's easy to run off half cocked and find yourself running around in circles getting nowhere.

Meanwhile, he's been making himself useful by taking out the trash, meeting me at the store and carrying home the groceries and sealing up the draft around the window unit in our bedroom.  He opened the apricot jam jar too.  This week, he needs to wait around on the building super to drain the radiators and let ConEd in to read the meter.   I love this enhancement to my lifestyle.  Whenever I have a domestic dilemma that I can't solve on my own, I can simply Leave it to Pinko.

Naturally, there have been small shifts in my routine as well, most notably my pattern of Early to Bed, Early to Rise.  Now, I'm staying up later and sleeping later although it looks like he may not be staying up all night as much as he used to. I imagine that will shift again once he gets a job, but for now, we're very cozy.  It's especially nice since he tucks me in at 10:30 or 11:00 to make sure I get enough sleep since I'm the one with the day job.

To tell the truth, my ass has been dragging a little.  It took a lot of energy to spend over a week in Texas, have surgery that turned out to be more major than anticipated the minute I got back from Texas, and then fly out to Reno ten days later to meet Pinko's parents and bring him back to New York.   I loved Reno, though.  I loved having dinner with his best friends and driving around town with him to see the taxi stand and other points of interest, like the Morris Hotel for Burners.  His family was delighted to see me, which was a lovely experience compared to how Vagina Dentata and I cordially detested each other the whole time I was married to Buzz Kill.

When Pinko's mom dropped us off at the airport on Wednesday, she clasped her hands together and said, "I finally have a daughter!"
I was touched and replied, "Oh good! Next time I'm here I'll start swiping your stuff," since, you know, swiping the good stuff is what daughters often do best.

I loved the big sweeping sky in Reno, too, with the mountains on the horizon.  Pinko's mom pointed out her favorite colors in the sunset - some lavenders that only last for a few minutes.  She's been outnumbered by rowdy boys her whole life, and I'm looking forward to getting to know her better.

For now, Pinko and I are getting to know each other better, too, in a pleasant, companionable, domestic sort of way.  In most ways, it feels like we've known each other forever - but I'm beginning to loosen up although I will always, always close the door when I'm in the bathroom.