All over the map

Yes, again. 
That's how life is these days. So much is happening, of so many flavors, my mind is full of a bazillion things that all matter. 
No particular order, welcome to my therapy session. 

As a start, because it's at the top of my input dump, I noticed a view on a post from a couple of years ago, "an acknowledgment"...
I'm very happy to report that while most of my concerns regarding my age and situation are still what they were, I have discovered that men of my age group are quite amazingly, wonderfully young inside, meaning that they are as full of hopes and dreams and life and love as I could ever wish for them to be. As far as the strange African statues and 95 cats...the 95 cats are still likely, but I'm not as open to the strange African statues these days. More metal sculptures, which, as far as I am aware, don't talk. ;) The cats will still, of course, all be named. K. Just moving on. 2 years makes a big difference in sculpture tastes...as well as many other things. Thank God. for that. 

Younger daughter has been interested in a young man that I'm not crazy about. He's not a bad kid, just not...oh, I don't want to say it, so I won't...but it's true. In my book. Anyway, I wanted him to be gone last night by 11 (i wasn't home, so it was honor system), and damned if he wasn't. He also, so I hear, got kicked out of his house for pot smoking and she asked if he could stay a night. WOW. Have I heard this before in the past couple months? Hell yes, I have. So I said,1 night, period. Not a moment more, no way. 
He's not here. AND, I've been worried about her education. She had been wavering between GED and U3, which we had planned on. Thing with her is to give her unemotional information, stand the line, give her room to think and make up her mind. She's got a good head, thank God. Today she decided U3, we've moved on it. I'm done with waiting on shit, when it falls into line I'm moving on it. 

House: Planning on having it on the market by the month's end, by my birthday. I'll be 49, that's all I want to say about that age thing right now. So, house on the market and ready to head out in case it moves fast. Or slow. It'll be how it is. Still working on the job angle, but I'll have the other seasonal here starting the end of December for as long as I need it and since the house has no mortgage, that'll give me wiggle room. In talking with my realtor friend, who's known me through it all, I'll be able to take care of a couple things and put a little smidge aside and hope it'll earn a little toward a retirement thing. Looking at areas to live, kid is on board, even though at this point it wouldn't matter if she wasn't, it's the right thing for us and I'm not waiting. Hearing a theme?
There are things and times when waiting is absolutely appropriate and I'm beyond willing to do that...in fact, there are things now. But for what i AM in control of, I've been waiting and it's time. 

Work: Oh hell. Hours cut back to less than bare bones. I'm excited to move on. I love the bakery, i really do. It's not always fun, but I will miss the people. I like working in a place where "regulars" come in. Seriously. 

Steinbeck...I have not been a fan of Steinbeck. I don't hate him the way I do Hemingway, not at all. I recognize that he is an extremely good writer...he wouldn't be able to get to me the way he does if he weren't. But a dear someone suggested Tortilla Flat. I was so hesitant, because Steinbeck's writings, that I've read previously, have made me hurt inside. But, I trust this someone absolutely, so try had to happen.
"It was purple dusk, that sweet time when the day's sleeping is over and the evening of pleasure and conversation has not begun. The pine trees were very black against the sky, and all objects on the ground were obscured with dark' but the sky was as mournfully bright as memory. The gulls slew lazily home to the sea rocks after a day's visit to the fish canneries of Monterey.
Pilon was a lover of beauty and a mystic. He raised his face into the sky and his soul arose out of him into the sun's afterglow. That not too perfect Pilon, who plotted and fought, who drank and cursed, trudged slowly on; but a wistful and shining Pilon went up to the sea gulls where they bathed on sensitive wings in the evening. That Pilon was beautiful, and his thoughts were unstained with selfishness and lust. And his thoughts are good to know."
And I am now in danger of falling under the spell of Steinbeck. 
Thank you, dear someone.

Next.
I've somehow forgotten how to do something. Something that I used to do quite well and am having problems with now. I can't even believe that there's a youtube video about it, but damn I'm glad coz I've got to get this back. I'm probably just over thinking something that shouldn't be thought about at all. It's embarrassing, for me, especially since I used to be pretty damn freaking good at it. What the heck. Oh well. Hope there's another chance.

The poetry book is almost ready. Excited. Nervous. 

Other parts of life...oh jeez. i don't even know what to say. I don't even know what it is. I only know that I smile more now than I have in a long, long time. 
And I say Thank You, for that. Whatever else, it's all okay. 

I guess that's it for now, for this post.