Life with Lyle

Life with Lyle is awesome.

Who knew it could be so much fun to live with someone?

Lyle's great at sharing. Sharing space, sharing chores, sharing meals. And sharing his opinion!

LOL!

Lyle has some pretty strong opinions and does not mind sharing them. Many of them I agree with, yet it was really something getting acclimated to all the "candid-ness." I'd mention something about food or the environment or music, and Lyle would start to orate with passion on the subject. After a while, I'd just start waving my hands in the air—calling out, "Preach it, Lyle! Preach it!" ;)

Lyle's good at cleaning the kitchen and keeping it neat. He prioritizes the kitchen a lot.

I'm better with the bathroom. Bathroom cleaning duties seem to just naturally get delegated to me.

We both agreed to no shoes in the house. So we set up a bench and shoe rack near the front door.

I have consumed the vast majority of closet and storage space. While poor Lyle gets one tiny closet and several cabinets in the kitchen. We laugh about this all the time. I need help getting rid of stuff from time to time. I accepted this about myself a looooong time ago. LOL!

I really like that Lyle likes to cook and will prepare meals with me. I also really like that he'll grocery shop with me. Lyle has pretty much forbidden frozen vegetables in the house. We are now only eating/cooking fresh veggies.

Lyle also really likes to bicycle. I tried to tell Lyle that L.A. is a "car town." But he insisted that after years of living in NYC and SF, he did not want to drive. So we agreed to share my vehicle for long distances and split the cost of insurance with Lyle mostly riding his bike everywhere and sometimes taking the bus.

I can usually ride my bike to acupuncture school and for local errands, so sharing one vehicle really seems to work for us.

One of the things I really love about Lyle is that he's cool with us not having a tv. I love tv and anyone who's known me for a while, knows that I love tv. Let's just put it this way: I love tv too much. It's best that a tv not be in the house where I'm concerned. So every now and then, I catch a show on Hulu, and we watch DVD's or download flicks from iTunes on the laptop and hook up the speakers. Lyle's a big fan of art books, and Santa Monica has one of the best libraries around. He'll often hang at the library and bring back these enormous coffee table books for us to sit on the couch are peruse for fun.

Lyle is also a creative/obsessive like me. He coined the term, however. I may stay up until 4am working on a Flash program or photographing Chinese herbs, but Lyle is just as nutty. In a good way, of course. Lyle is passionate about music and composing. About 8 months ago, Lyle finally got a new keyboard to replace the one he gave away in Brooklyn before the cross-country move. And it was like a 50 watt lightbulb got replaced by a 100 watt lightbulb. SO much enthusiasm! Once Lyle puts on his headphones and pulls up a chair to the keyboard, he pretty much goes in to a composing trance that may take anywhere from 10 to 12 to 14 hours to come out of. And that's just for the day. On weekends, he'll go the distance both days sometimes. Occasionally, he'll let me hear a piece he's working on, and ask for my thoughts. I don't know why. The last time I did anything musical was on the French Horn in 8th grade. Regardless, he wants to hear my thoughts. Actually, Lyle likes to get feedback from all his friends. We recently put up a music blog for him at LyleBeers.com, and his friends leave him comments that he often integrates into what he's working on at the time. I love the music he creates. It's so catchy and fun. He writes amazing melodies. 

Okay, time to wrap it up on the Lyle worship for now...

Here's the essential skinny on life with Lyle.

Lyle's a really caring person with a lot of heartfelt convictions. He's also got a great sense integrity and an awesome sense of humor. I love how he lives in the moment, and is open to life. It's an honor to get to live with Lyle Beers. 

Let's face it...clearly, I have amazing karma—I get to wrestle Lyle Beers on the couch or snuggle him in the hallway whenever I want. 

And have I mentioned his amazing (and I mean a-m-a-z-i-n-g) morning bedhead?



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