Belated Blogoversary and More

Bock in Secondlife turned three years old on August 25, 2012. During these past three years 1,594 posts have been published, 3,711 comments have been made (a few more but I don´t allow spam and filth) and 82 lovely and sexy followers have joined.

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday, dear Bock in SecondLife

Happy Birthday to you!

May you have many more,

May you have many more,

May you have many more, dear Bock in SecondLife

Happy Birthday to you!

The reason I missed the actual day is of course my special project which is now reaching it´s successful end. The team of cleaners - well, two persons can be a team too - are coming tomorrow morning and I am just doing the final touches, shoving stuff into cupboards and drawers or throwing. I will be finished in time to get a good nights rest, well deserved even if I say so myself.

Some days I have been so exhausted that I have gone straight to bed after work and slept all night, but most of the time I have been my proud pedantic parents well-behaved son and have clenched my fists and jaws and just gone ahead and done what had to be done ignoring my momentary weakness.

Love you all and miss you! Think of my sparkling clean and decluttered apartment tomorrow and share my joy!

With A Little Help From A Friend

Today I threw my feelings of shame overboard and talked with a friend, the most non-judgmental guy I know, and explained the situation that had arisen.

He of course already knows that I am suffering from depression and that I am being treated for it. On previous occasions when I have hinted at the reason why I did not invite him or his family to my home, he has always offered to help, but I have told him I wanted to handle it myself.

When we had talked he just told me he had to check with his wife and kids if there was something special that needed his attention today after work, otherwise he was going to my place to help me out. There was nothing going on so he came over today after work.

We have been working together, with him focusing on the heavy carrying and me doing the less heavy work. He was great because he made no comments or jokes but just focused on what had to be done. In an hour and a half we with joint forces managed to empty the apartment from all the junk that had gathered over two and a half years. The apartment has already regained some of it´s previous charm.

My friend is coming back on Sunday evening, with a drill, to help me get some stuff up on the walls that has been laying around waiting for just that since I moved in here close to four years ago.

Until Sunday I am going to vacuum and do a bit of lighter cleaning and then on Wednesday there is a professional cleaning crew coming to do the rougher work, like washing down the nicotine stains from the kitchen cabinets, washing down the tiles in the bathroom and kitchen and give the floors and carpets a good cleaning.

From now on I also am going back to my original plan when i moved to this apartment of no smoking indoors, however sad, tired, cold or lazy I may feel.

I feel very tired but am also happy and relieved. I am wondering why I ever waited this long before accepting the help that has been offered. I am off to bed for a nap now, hope to wake up in time to get into SecondLife.

Can't A Guy Get A Break?

The title of this post could also be, "The best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry". As this mouse told you in the post "Progress" two days ago I have just started on a project of decluttering my home and had set a generous time limit for myself until mid-December.

Well, today I received notification that my landlord wishes to carry out maintenance of all the windows and window frames in the building. He therefor requests that I leave access to carpenters and painters to perform their jobs next Thursday. Knowing what gossipmongers such craftsmen usually are I have to revise my plans and increase the speed significantly.

At first it felt like a heavy blow- I was stressed out and got discouraged and just wanted to sit down and scream, but after thinking about it a few hours I am starting to think it may perhaps be a blessing in disguise. I will of course need to hire someone to help with throwing the heavy stuff - as I am not allowed to lift yet after my surgery ten weeks ago - and a cleaning crew.

Tomorrow I will book a cleaning crew for Tuesday or Wednesday next week and after work I am going to buy garbage bags and get going with the work I need to do. It should work out, hopefully. I will follow the Nike slogan and

"Just Do It".

Belgian Heat Strikes Sweden

Sweden has been hit by the Belgian heatwave I posted about yesterday. The heat in combination with my usual problems with falling asleep allowed me only four hours sleep last night so I am going to bed now.

Take care of yourself and the ones you love!

I hope to see you all tomorrow.
XOXOXO
"The hotness that is Bock"™

Progress

Today I took out my vacuum cleaner from the cleaning cupboard for the first time since March 12, 2010. I even used it and cleaned up the living room. It felt very good!

Art by Eugène Jansson  - "Male nude, sitting model" - 1906-1914

The antidepressants I started on shortly after Ars´s death made me able to function well at work, but when I came home I was mostly extremely tired and only able to cope with the most essential household chores.

Since that day I have only been doing the bare necessities to be able to exist, go to work or move around other people. I have been maintaining my personal hygiene, doing laundry and using the dish washer when the kitchen sink was too full or I had no plates or cutlery left to eat from or with. I have however managed to keep the toilet and the washbasin clean - or sort of, my mother wouldn't approve - but no one has been let into my apartment since that day.

Before the depression I was a rather fastidious and tidy person, an inheritance from my perfectionist Lutheran parents. I thrive in ordered and clean surroundings, so the growing clutter and dust around me has not been helpful. Not since I lately started noticing it, which I did not do the first years. So during my last vacation I slowly started on decluttering, step by small step.

Slowly but surely now my home is starting to come back to normal. There is still very much to do, but I have set a generous time limit for myself. Everything should be finished and my home presentable again by mid-December, because then I intend to have a get-together at home with my team at work.

Please, keep your fingers crossed for me!

"I Am So Hot!", He Said

It is not easy to be a single parent - and a stepparent at that - to a young man in his zesentwintig weer (26+), when the hormones are carousing wildly in his veins.

The cuteness that is Guyke™
Photo by Kent Hutchinson of KH Photography

Yesterday when I was in Instant Messaging with my son he suddenly blurted out, "I am so hot! My beautiful tan skin is glistening with pearls of salty, sweet, sweat."

Red alert! Red alert! All the warning signals sounded off in my mind. "Uh oh, what is wrong", I thought to myself, "is he really making a pass at me? Better pretend you do not understand and play it down!"

"Well, yes of course you are hot! What do you expect with Ars´s genes running in your genetic makeup." ("Good one!", I thought this would remind him of his father and my relationship to him.) "Besides, I already know you are hot, I have know you for close to five years remember?"

Guyke started laughing at me, can you imagine? "I was talking about the temperatures in Belgium", he said, "We have had a really warm day."

Sighing with relief that it was a misunderstanding I laughed with him at myself and my paranoia.

Biking With Ziggy

I reentered SecondLife today. The main reason for doing so was that my buddy Ziggy Starsmith had promised on his blog to open up a keg of beer and I was in a good mood so I thought, "Why not!"

Well, once I got inworld our plans changed. First I looked around at the work Ziggy had done at his home, as you can see here it looks fabulous.

After a while Ziggy asked me if I would like to go for a ride on his bike. Of course I jumped on the chance to get a bike ride around the beautiful Second Norway in the safe hands of Ziggy.

At the behest of my son Guyke I asked him, "Do I need a helmet?" Ziggy answered, "No, I will drive carefully and slowly". When I told Guyke his response he said sardonically, "Yeah, that's what my brother told me - and then he didn't!"

Anyway I started out without a helmet and felt quite safe.

The feeling of safety and after the first sim-crossing when we were both thrown sky-high and after a bit twirling around were stuck in the sky and had to re-log to get anywhere.

So, for my personal safety's sake, I donned the first helmet I could find in my Inventory before rejoining Ziggy to continue the ride. Not because I did not have complete trust in Ziggy´s skill as a driver, but because he after all did not control all aspects of our ride.

 I had a great time and enjoyed myself all lot with my charming and always so sweet-talking buddy!

Photo by Ziggy Starsmith

For more pictures from this thrilling adventure please visit Ziggy On The Edge Of Second Life: Fighting The Lag Storm With Bock McMillan