lice it or not

a few weeks ago i made a casual remark that Xander was in serious need of a haircut. i'm talking a legitimate, sit in chair, let them wash, cut and blow dry your hair kind of haircut. ever since i've known him, he's always just gone in the bathroom, put a bowl over his head, cut straight across, and called it a day - now i know why. he turned white as a staked vampire as soon as i mentioned stepping foot into a salon, and looked at me as if i had just suggested that he gnaw off his left arm. what would soon come out is that Xander has a severe case of Phthiriophobia - the fear of lice.

apparently when he was in elementary school, a girl in Xander's class had a case of lice, and the school sent home a letter disclosing signs of lice, the treatments, etc. imagining little creepy crawlies in his head was too much for young Xander to handle, and from that day forward, Xander vowed that he, and he alone, would be the only person to ever care for his precious coif.

ridiculous doesn't even begin to convey the thoughts that ran through my head at that moment. i mean, Xander's a pretty quirky guy to begin with, but fear of lice? i have a slight fear of clowns that stems from the time i was seven and decided it would be a good idea to watch IT alone in the middle of the night against my mother's wishes, but this alleged esthetician embargo was too much for me to handle. without him knowing, i made an appointment for Xander to get a haircut and would simply take him there. what's the worst thing that could happen?

apparently he could throw a temper tantrum that would put any three year old to shame before passing out, which required help from the shampoo boy to carry Xander back to the car. once again, ridiculous doesn't even begin...

he came to when we were almost home and apologized for his public freak out. i in turn apologized for tricking him into letting some one else cut his hair, and as soon as we got home he grabbed his provisions and headed straight to the bathroom. he really does look cute with a bowl on his head...

rock and roll all night?

my new job has me working irregular hours (at least where nine to five is concerned) which has left Xander with a lot of time on his hands. during the first two weeks i received a nightly phone call, email, text message, or any combination thereof , all telling me how bored and lonely he was. i tried to give him multiple suggestions as to what he could do with his free time. i bought him new books to read, suggested movies he could see, and even tried to get his friends to drag him out of the house but nothing seemed to satiate Xander. he didn't want to read books, and he'd look like a loser if he went to the movies alone (no one said he had to go alone...), and all he seemed to want to do was sit at home and wait for me.

while that may seem sweet at first thought, trust me when i say it's not. because i would get home it's not like he would be happy to see me, or want to eat dinner with me. he would simply bitch and moan about the fact he was "forced" to eat alone, and that my job was really putting a strain on our relationship.

last night was the first night i didn't receive a distress call from my sweetie. i hoped that meant he was out with Buffy or Willow, but he didn't answer his phone when i called him on my way home. i began calling him over and over like a crazy stalker, but he still refused to pick up my call. unpleasant thoughts began running through my head. had he really had enough? was he out with another girl? i pulled into the driveway and saw that his Schwinn was still chained outside to the stairwell, so if he went anywhere some one picked him up. my heart was racing by this point and i was so nervous and upset i could barely get the key in the lock of the front door.

i finally managed to get it open, proceeded to drop everything in my hands on the floor, and was heading straight for the phone when i heard, "oh... hey babe!" from the bedroom. what? he was home the whole time?

"why didn't you answer any of my calls," was all i could manage to say.

"umm, hi to you, too," Xander chuckled. "come in the room, i want to show you something."

still a bit bewildered, i followed Xander into our room and upon first glance it all made perfect sense. there, in the middle of the room right in front of the tv was the makeshift drum kit from the video game Rock Band. "isn't it cool?!! you told me i should find something to do so i did," he grinned. he was so focused on the game he hadn't even heard his phone ring. i was relieved and a little weirded out, but mostly relieved. i proceeded to watch Xander play song after song after song after song until i could barely keep my eyes open. i kissed him on the top of his head (heaven forbid i mess up his high score) and crawled into bed while Weezer's "Say It Ain't So" and Xander's mediocre drumming sent me to sleep.

my funny Valentine

last night i drove home from work like it was any other Thursday because to me, it was. it had been a long day at work, i'd had a shitty meeting with my CEO, and i couldn't wait to get home and crawl into bed. as i walked up the stairs to my apartment, the only question on my mind was where was i going to order dinner from?

when i opened to door, much to my surprise, i found Xander waiting for me with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. there were candles and roses everywhere and he had a million dollar smile painted across his face. "happy Valentine's Day, Cori." FUCK. it was Valentine's day! hot tears immediately began streaming down my face and i felt like the worst girlfriend in the world.

not to sound stereotypical, but girls aren't supposed to forget things like this. girls are supposed to berate their significant others when they don't remember special days or anniversaries. i've always been "that girl" who goes all out and plans and schemes for weeks devising everything from the perfect meal to the perfect gift, and perhaps most importantly, the perfect outfit. but i've (clearly) had a lot on my mind lately, and neglected to remember that Valentine's Day was just around the corner.

Xander held me until i stopped crying and put his hand over my mouth as i attempted to profusely apologize. he told me not to worry because he had everything under control. and he did. dinner, desert, flowers, champagne, cheesy love songs, candy - the whole nine yards. and after dinner he slipped a ring onto my finger. calm down, we're not engaged. it is a sterling silver ring that says "LOVE" and it sits on my right ring finger. despite my lack of planning and attention, it turned out to be the best Valentine's day i've ever had.

i'm the luckiest girl in the world.

red or blue?

Vice President Dick Cheney predicted today that the next president would be a Republican, but steered clear of commenting on John McCain's front-runner status or efforts by some conservative activists to deny him the GOP nomination. Being the outward Obama supporter that he is, Xander was naturally infuriated by what he called a "pompous windbag prediction". He started running around the house throwing things and waving his arms in wild protest. He's so cute when he gets upset...

This has been quite an emotional week politically for poor Xander who was just crushed on Super Tuesday when he learned Clinton had won the popular vote in California. While I tried to assure him that I sincerely felt Obama still had the upper hand on a national level, Xander just couldn't grasp that we lost California. Not even my ten minute long speech about how Clinton's lackadaisical views on immigration likely conjured California's Hispanic/Latino community to the polls seemed to satiate his rage. And Cheney's declaration this morning was the last straw.

He put on his favorite hat and said he was taking it to the streets. I wouldn't be surprised if you see him marching in front of the Capital Building on Wilshire sporting an "I heart Obama" t-shirt... that's my Xander.

when it rains, it pours

literally and figuratively it's pouring down on me in multiple facets...

i'm cold, it's raining, and all i want to do is curl up in bed for days and days on end. work is a jerk, and some one broke into my dad's van last night so i've been dealing with all of the bullshit that ensues today. no matter how much money i make/save, it always feels like i spend in excess. i'm fucking tired and cranky and thank goodness gracious almighty Xander has been so sweet to me (and PATIENT!) these past few days.

he's ordering us dinner right now, and after we eat i think we'll get snuggled and watch "Waitress" which arrived via Netflix this weekend. i heard it was cute, a bit of a chick flick, but he doesn't really care. actually, he probably does care to some extent but at this point will do anything if he thinks i'll stop whining for a bit. smart of him.

for those of you who've been wondering how the family meet and greet went, all went well! dad really took to Xander - i think they bonded over their previous blue collar construction jobs in their younger days. to tell you the truth, i don't really care what forged their friendship, i'm just glad all ended well. it took Jake a bit longer to warm up to Xander, but that was to be expected. by the end of the day the three of them were cracking jokes left and right.

food is on it's way. Cori and Xander, out.

the honeymoon is over

for those of you who don't already know, i made the big commitment and decided to let Xander move in with me. last night he brought all of his things over, i made space in my room for him, and my house became "our" house. i ran out to the grocery store to pick up some ice cream and a bottle of wine to celebrate our first night of living together, but when i came home i caught him red handed with Lindsay in her bed!

though they both claimed "nothing happened", i was furious with Xander. this was definitely not the way i envisioned the night unfolding. we talked about the situation for a long time, and his bottom line excuse was he was simply over exhausted from his afternoon romp with a few vamps at the dog park and was "waiting" in Lindsay's bed until i came back from the store. you were just waiting in her bed?!! give me a break. why didn't you wait in OUR bed?!! i decided to let him stay, but we slept on opposite sides of the bed, and i haven't spoken one word to him yet today. i'm afraid that i made a mistake.

this is to be a weekend of many firsts. today Xander will meet my family for the first time. i'm not going to lie, i'm a little nervous! not only do i have introduce him to dad and Jake, but the entire Quinones family and Ray and Karen will be there, as well. i will try my best to put last night behind us, and i hope today pans out better than last night did, or i'm not sure how long i'll be able to do this...