It feels weird at the age of 28 to refer to the house I grew up in as "home", but it's the closest I have right now, and it really feels nice to come home to Monson. Mom is still on summer vacation and I have no plans, so I'm just hanging out, reading, watching tv, and sleeping a lot.
Today mom and I went swimming at a little pond in the woods with her friend and her friend's daughter. It was tiny and a little mucky, but just for us. I loved it, even though I was a little muddy when I got out. Apparently I prefer solitude over cleanliness. There were hawks near the pond, which were pretty much amazing to watch.
I came home and went to sleep at 7:45 or so, and I'm up for a few minutes before I go back to bed. I've been exhausted, but I can't decide if it's from the traveling or the stress or what.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
It's 4 am, I must be quoting Matchbox 20 incorrectly.
I'm at Grace's beach house, up hours after everyone else. It all started innocently with trying to get the Marketplace podcasts onto my iPod an devolved into a full on music refresh. So I'm blogging while I download a BitTorrent client. /sigh. And here I thought the beach would get me to bed early.
I've had a pretty awesome week, with Dave, Grace, and Marc lending hefty amounts of moral support in what was a harder than expected transition out of Tucson. Once all my stuff was packed and shipped and I made it to my flight, the reality of leaving a place I've lived for four years and that I feel really connected to started to sink in. I don't want to wax overly nostalgic about a place I've always had mixed feelings about, but at the very least, the last four years have been an important time in my life, and Tucson will always be a part of that. Plus I'll miss the sun, my awesome apartment at Sirena's, the year round cycling, Bicas, and the mexican food. Especially the mexican food.
Yesterday, via bus and ferry, I arrived in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Today was a much needed lounge on the beach day, complete with ocean swimming and falling asleep in the sun and turning a bit pink. Tomorrow Grace and I drive to West Virginia for Chris' wedding via an airport pickup at Dulles for Ted, who is flying in from Japan.
In the midst of my iPod refresh, I downloaded several relaxation and "self-improvement" podcasts. Sirena and I had a brief but interesting conversation the other day about the constant desire to improve your life and accomplish things versus the ability to slow down and just be with yourself. We both felt a bit like it was impossible to escape our "should" voice: I should be doing this or I should be doing that. Even relaxation to some extent feels like a should. I guess I've always found it hard to find balance between the two...I seem to either be "off" or "on". Something to think about.
I've had a pretty awesome week, with Dave, Grace, and Marc lending hefty amounts of moral support in what was a harder than expected transition out of Tucson. Once all my stuff was packed and shipped and I made it to my flight, the reality of leaving a place I've lived for four years and that I feel really connected to started to sink in. I don't want to wax overly nostalgic about a place I've always had mixed feelings about, but at the very least, the last four years have been an important time in my life, and Tucson will always be a part of that. Plus I'll miss the sun, my awesome apartment at Sirena's, the year round cycling, Bicas, and the mexican food. Especially the mexican food.
Yesterday, via bus and ferry, I arrived in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Today was a much needed lounge on the beach day, complete with ocean swimming and falling asleep in the sun and turning a bit pink. Tomorrow Grace and I drive to West Virginia for Chris' wedding via an airport pickup at Dulles for Ted, who is flying in from Japan.
In the midst of my iPod refresh, I downloaded several relaxation and "self-improvement" podcasts. Sirena and I had a brief but interesting conversation the other day about the constant desire to improve your life and accomplish things versus the ability to slow down and just be with yourself. We both felt a bit like it was impossible to escape our "should" voice: I should be doing this or I should be doing that. Even relaxation to some extent feels like a should. I guess I've always found it hard to find balance between the two...I seem to either be "off" or "on". Something to think about.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
going to sleep now
Marc and I just played a rousing game of "Life". In this particular case, he wins at life, and I lose. I'm going to go to sleep now, more tomorrow!
What a Week!
Monday: Pack. Go to the doctor. Tell him I'm 8 weeks post op when I'm really almost 12, resulting in him being confused by how well I am healed. Boobs are all good, don't need a follow up.
Tuesday: Pack more. Don't sleep enough, start to freak out about how not packed I am. Still think I can get everything done. Have chicken escape while feeding them, followed by a 20 minutes session of trying to reason with a chicken. Give up, chase chicken around like an idiot, catch it and put it back in its cage.
Wednesday: Supposed to be the big move day. Sick to my stomach. REALLY sick to my stomach. About 1 pm realize that even if I get everything packed, I still am in no shape to fly. Call Orbitz. Try to rebook ticket. Have the following conversation:
Orbitz woman: So with the $119 credit minus the $150 change fee plus the $208 ticket and the $25 booking fee, your total is $264.
Me: Isn't it just cheaper for me to book a new ticket?
Orbitz woman: Maybe.
Me: I'm fairly certain "Is $264 more or less than $208?" cannot be answered with "maybe"
Rebook new ticket on the 15 minute internet computer at the public library. Return library books. Ship my bike. Go to the bank. Try not to lose mind. Get plenty of sleep that night, thank God.
Thursday: Finish packing. Mail a huge number of boxes parcel post and media mail to General Delivery in Ann Arbor. Special shout out to Mark, THE nicest postal employee I have ever met, at the Silverbell post office. Run errands: food bank, goodwill, Target and Performance for returns of stuff I didn't use yet and didn't want to pack. Drive to the airport in the rental car, realizing that screaming down Alvernon at 55 mph is going to be my last memory of Tucson. Return rental car, check in 44 minutes before my flight leaves. Befuddled when it tells me there are no seats available on my flight. Clear up issue with US Airways, pay them $15 to check my bag. Enter security. Get secondary screened. Since it takes them 20 minutes to go through my stuff (they opened up my packs of gum! seriously!) I get interrogated (albeit a very friendly interrogation) for 20 minutes. It was hilarious enough to warrant its own post, actually. Board flight for Vegas. Delayed in Vegas but don't care. Get on red eye for Philly, sleep like a champ for the 4.5 hour flight.
Friday: Wait, it's Friday? That clock on the train platform says it is, so it must be. Boy do red eyes get me confused. Purchase world's largest iced coffee. Enjoy how cheap Dunkin' Donuts is on the east coast. Take train to Philly Greyhound station. Take NJ Transit bus to Vineland to visit Marc. Manage to stay awake until 3 pm, at which point I crash for a nap.
Friday and beyond: Hang out with Marc and sleep a lot. It's been good fun, and VERY relaxing now that all that moving crap is behind me.
Tuesday: Pack more. Don't sleep enough, start to freak out about how not packed I am. Still think I can get everything done. Have chicken escape while feeding them, followed by a 20 minutes session of trying to reason with a chicken. Give up, chase chicken around like an idiot, catch it and put it back in its cage.
Wednesday: Supposed to be the big move day. Sick to my stomach. REALLY sick to my stomach. About 1 pm realize that even if I get everything packed, I still am in no shape to fly. Call Orbitz. Try to rebook ticket. Have the following conversation:
Orbitz woman: So with the $119 credit minus the $150 change fee plus the $208 ticket and the $25 booking fee, your total is $264.
Me: Isn't it just cheaper for me to book a new ticket?
Orbitz woman: Maybe.
Me: I'm fairly certain "Is $264 more or less than $208?" cannot be answered with "maybe"
Rebook new ticket on the 15 minute internet computer at the public library. Return library books. Ship my bike. Go to the bank. Try not to lose mind. Get plenty of sleep that night, thank God.
Thursday: Finish packing. Mail a huge number of boxes parcel post and media mail to General Delivery in Ann Arbor. Special shout out to Mark, THE nicest postal employee I have ever met, at the Silverbell post office. Run errands: food bank, goodwill, Target and Performance for returns of stuff I didn't use yet and didn't want to pack. Drive to the airport in the rental car, realizing that screaming down Alvernon at 55 mph is going to be my last memory of Tucson. Return rental car, check in 44 minutes before my flight leaves. Befuddled when it tells me there are no seats available on my flight. Clear up issue with US Airways, pay them $15 to check my bag. Enter security. Get secondary screened. Since it takes them 20 minutes to go through my stuff (they opened up my packs of gum! seriously!) I get interrogated (albeit a very friendly interrogation) for 20 minutes. It was hilarious enough to warrant its own post, actually. Board flight for Vegas. Delayed in Vegas but don't care. Get on red eye for Philly, sleep like a champ for the 4.5 hour flight.
Friday: Wait, it's Friday? That clock on the train platform says it is, so it must be. Boy do red eyes get me confused. Purchase world's largest iced coffee. Enjoy how cheap Dunkin' Donuts is on the east coast. Take train to Philly Greyhound station. Take NJ Transit bus to Vineland to visit Marc. Manage to stay awake until 3 pm, at which point I crash for a nap.
Friday and beyond: Hang out with Marc and sleep a lot. It's been good fun, and VERY relaxing now that all that moving crap is behind me.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Snazzy new features!
<----- Over here is some cool new stuff! I used Twitter to make the "what i'm doing right now" link and added a slideshow of my latest flickr additions. For the record, Darren is the master of self portraits.
I'm still packing, and I'll be running some errands by bike and the bicas bike trailer today. I also managed to post some stuff on craigslist, and hopefully it will sell before I leave on Wednesday. In one of those stubborn ridiculousness moments, I'm not renting a car until Tuesday afternoon, so I'll have 24 hours to mail, donate, and otherwise get rid of EVERYTHING. Then I'm only one red eye and four hours on public transportation away from one VERY long nap.
I'm still packing, and I'll be running some errands by bike and the bicas bike trailer today. I also managed to post some stuff on craigslist, and hopefully it will sell before I leave on Wednesday. In one of those stubborn ridiculousness moments, I'm not renting a car until Tuesday afternoon, so I'll have 24 hours to mail, donate, and otherwise get rid of EVERYTHING. Then I'm only one red eye and four hours on public transportation away from one VERY long nap.
Friday, July 11, 2008
My Trip
I've only included those things that are confirmed right now. The last week of July and the first week of August isn't planned yet, but here's my East Coast trip calendar, along with the answer to the most frequently asked question, "When will you be in Michigan?" (A: August 15th)
Blog by email
I'm not sure why I would be more likely to do this than just sign on
to blogger, since gmail and blogger are a single sign in, but look, I
can blog by email! I also got a nice twitter feed set up on the side
for those who just can't get enough of my mundane life.
to blogger, since gmail and blogger are a single sign in, but look, I
can blog by email! I also got a nice twitter feed set up on the side
for those who just can't get enough of my mundane life.
Blog Reborn
I've totally let this blog fall into disrepair, but I think I'm going to start it up again. At the very least my friends and family need a way to keep track of where I am at any given time. Who knows, I may even set up some geeky SMS feature or something.
Right now packing has taken over my whole apartment, including my bed. Luckily I can sleep in the recliner, because I am FAR too tired to move everything off the bed.
Right now packing has taken over my whole apartment, including my bed. Luckily I can sleep in the recliner, because I am FAR too tired to move everything off the bed.
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