As I said before, my apartment is small but is worth it. There’s only one door. No back door. There’s a sliding glass door parallel to the front door. It has blue carpet. There’s just a living room, bedroom and kitchenette in here. The shower has sliding glass doors which is nice for a change. Shower curtains blow all around. There’s plenty of counter space and cabinets even though they don’t come close to the amount I had in S. Deerfield. I have a dishwasher, a garbage disposal, and a nice oven. Outside the glass door is an enclosed patio. With all the clothes, makeup, jewelry and knickknacks I have, I could use the extra closet space and some shelves. Having no furniture means I have to lay most of my stuff out on the floor.

Later...

Now I can begin from the night I first got here, now that I’ve described my apartment, the grounds and updated from the last day or so at Natchaug. I like to go in order of events. I basically updated from May 30th so I’m almost caught up.

Oh! I never wrote about Jeanne at Natchaug, did I? Well, she was super nice, anyway. The nicest one of all. She was very easy to talk to and she gave me some really awesome makeup that she used to sell.

Later...

That show I love, Reasonable Doubts, is on at 8:00. I sure do miss Marlee Matlin. Whether or not they’re repeats, who knows but I’m sure they are. I’m gonna be watching the show upstairs at my neighbor’s.

Later...

When I arrived I took notice of how much Andy looked the same. He’s gained a few pounds within the last year or so but he still looks 17 even though he’s 30.

He told me I looked great. Better than ever and even younger. I still know I look younger than 26 but I don’t think I look younger than I did a year and 3 months ago.

During the plane ride, I felt so shitty so when we ate I felt better for a while. He made an excellent roast with potatoes and corn. After dinner, he took me to the pool which is spectacular! I went into the Jacuzzi, too. All I kept thinking of is, oh my God, these pools and all this beauty are mine to live in year-round! Usually, people only go to such beautiful places for a vacation.

There’s some gorgeous scenery here too, besides where I live.

The bad catch to my first night in Phoenix was that I threw up twice. Being here and out of that project made it a little more bearable, but it was like, gee, welcome to Phoenix! It was no doubt due to being so exhausted, I mean I was only backed up in like 50 hours of sleep. After I threw up I was like, please God, I don’t need this now, I’m too tired and I couldn’t take being up all night throwing up 20 times. But I was able to get some sleep, thankfully.

He has the same plush carpet I do, only in brown and at first, I was gonna sleep on the floor but it was too hard. I slept in his bed with him but it wasn’t easy. He kicked or hit me a few times and left me 3” of space. I had to keep pushing him over. We’re both not used to sharing a bed and we hate it.

Earlier, before I got sick, he showed me pictures of two girls who also live here. They’ve been friends for years and one’s gay and one’s straight. Naturally, the straight one was pretty. However, when Andy said the gay one did not look it, I totally disagreed. She was no downright diesel butch, but you could tell. Typical butch dress code. Short hair and sporty shorts and a tank top at the pool. I liked her name, though, which is Stephanie. The pretty straight one’s name is Leslie but everyone calls her Pez. The first one I met was Stephanie. We met the following day while Andy was at work. When I went to the pool, I recognized her from one of the pictures. She was friendly and when I asked her if she’d ever known a gay woman as feminine as me, she said no. Was I surprised? Of course not!

Later...

Andy’s friend Donna promised me a twin-size mattress and box spring, but I think she’s jerking me around on that one because it never shows up. She’s either playing games, air-headed, busy, or all of the above. Andy said she said maybe this Saturday.

Some guy who lives here is giving Pez his waterbed. She claims that when he does she’ll give me her twin-size bed, but I don’t know. I’ll believe it when I see it cuz I think she may be full of shit, too. She is definitely a bit flaky, air-headed and undependable.

My neighbor upstairs has a truck and he offered to help transport any furniture. His name’s Robert and he’s from Santa Fe. He lives above me and he’s very nice.

I met my neighbor next to me named Mark and he’s OK, too. He claimed a package for me one day and lent me a foam mattress to sleep on. That was a lifesaver.

Andy’s on the 2nd floor and I’m on the 1st. He’s in Building 1 and I’m in Building 3. It’s a 60-second walk to each other’s doors. It’s also a 60-second walk to the pools for both of us. There are 2 pools and 2 Jacuzzis and 2 laundry rooms. Outside of each laundry room, there’s a soda machine and a payphone.

For the July 4th weekend, Robert’s going home for a visit to Santa Fe. I will feed his fish for him while he’s gone. We’ve had some good chats and he’s helped me get started here in several ways just like Andy has. He gave me nails to put up wall decorations and let me use his phone. He showed me some poems he’s written and insisted on reading my songs and seeing my drawings. Even to hear me sing which is nice. People don’t usually ask to hear me sing. I have a few more things to write about Robert, but first I’ve got to have a bite to eat.