National Lampoon's Extended Vacation

The weirdest thing about being back in my apartment is that I can't remember where anything is. You would think, since I'm the one who put them there, and since I've lived here for over a year, and since this is a one bedroom apartment, I would be able to find the potholders. But no.

In case anyone was worried that my two month vacation might suck, put your fears to rest. It was awesome. So awesome in fact that it has apparently wiped everything domestic out of my brain. Because I remember where all the fun things in my apartment are, like my most comfortable t-shirts, my bubble bath, and the wii remotes, but I can't remember where anything in the kitchen goes. Oops.

So, there were no bad parts to this trip. I'm so glad I went. It was exactly as productive as I had hoped in the graduate school application department, because as it turns out I am S-P-O-I-L-E-D for wireless internet and basically can't function without it. I did really well on my applications at Jason and Kristin's house because, well, they're like me. I've never really realized how totally helpless and completely CRANKY I am without 24-7 internet access on my laptop in any room of the house. I'm accustomed to being able to look something up whenever I want to, and I'm accustomed to being able to spend long, leisurely hours, HOURS, on the internet doing whatever. I'm not saying I want the internet present in my face at all times (Hello? Tim? iPhone. WIKIPEDIA WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING? AHEM.), I'm just saying I want it when I want it. And not having it made it sooooooooo hard to find the inspiration to work on my applications, when I could have been hanging out with my friends and family instead.

Anyway, I can't believe how long ago I left. I lived with Jason and Kristin for like two whole weeks a month and a half ago and found that basically, their lives are just like me and Tim's lives, only with more dogs, a way better house, and much more Steph/Mikey face time, obviously. Oh, and Kristin has a way cooler job than I do--I still find it ironic that she works at a sweet-ass museum and she lives in rural Arkansas and I DO NOT work at a sweet-ass museum when I live in the sweet-ass museum capital of the country. My jealousy is palpable.

Also, they have vehicles, which makes me envy them.

Honestly, if you're going to pick between coming to visit us and going to visit them... for my sake I say come visit me. But really, go visit them. Beside being the difference between sleeping on the blue couch and sleeping in a real, actual bed in a bedroom with a door, and waking up to cute baby foxes outside or waking up to sirens and homeless people yelling at eachother, Fayetteville etc. is all cute and fun and campingy and DC is just loud and expensive. Besides, Kristin makes these S'mores in the oven that are ridiculous.

After Arkansas, I went to Boulder and stayed at my Dad's house for about three weeks. My Parents bought that house when I was two... the train still goes by, blowing it's whistle early early in the morning, when it snows the whole house is warm but the window in my bedroom is cold... it's just really familiar. I got to the point at the end of the three weeks where I thought "I could stay here, this is just fine." Nevermind that I'm 25 and have responsibilities and no one ASKED me if I wanted to stay there... but still.

I got to see my friend Eben while I was there. This is no small feat. Eben and I have been friends for a long time, we walked together at our high school graduation. We've kept in touch for the past seven years, talking on the phone and always planning to meet up but never quite making it. With some people, I think this is intentional, a way to keep friends without having to see them and realize you have nothing in common. But that's not the case here, I hadn't actually seen his face since 2001 but every time we talked you wouldn't know it. He dated someone for five years and I never met her--this strikes me as completely amazing and ridiculous.

Anyway, we finally got to hang out and we went like gangbusters, nevermind that the last time I saw him I wasn't old enough to buy cigarettes. It's funny how there are some people like that in life. Thank god for them.

I hope that my Centenary friends stay that way. Obviously, not all of them will because there are already people you see and you go "Jesus, do I know you?" but I suppose that ones that matter... Like 96% of the ones that mattered were at Abram and Jessica's wedding in Shreveport, which was the next step on the Voyage Royale. Poor Tim was sick as a dog and completely lost his voice, which I think everyone chalked up drunken yelling in the bar but really was just from being sick, which is way worse. The whole weekend was like one giant reunion which was awesomely Abram-and-Jessica-Centered but also sadly Abram-and-Jessica-Lacking because they were so busy, but that's how weddings usually are. Also I think I have a "celebrity" complex that makes me automatically stay away from people who are supposed to be the center of attention because I don't want to be a pest. So, here's a note, if you're reading this and you're getting married um, ever, and I ignore you at your wedding it's not because I'm being aloof, it because I'm trying not monopolize. Secretly, I want to bother you a lot.

Anyway, it was spectacular to see everyone and as usual I cried in the car on the way into Shreveport from happiness and I cried in the car as we left because I didn't want to leave. Who knew that Shreveport of all places would do that?

Sadly, there's not too much to report about the time I got to spend in Plano because I was trying to work on applications and Tim was writing reams upon reams of papers. This is particularly depressing, because I feel like like I'm always wishing we could just go to Plano for the weekend like we used to do in College. It's not like we did it that often, but it was always so nice to just pack up and go see Tim's family for the weekend. We got a little dose of that, but mostly we just spent a lot of time in the Richardson library. I think I saw both sets of his grandparents about 1.5 times.

Of course, all of his papers were due the day before I left, so since I left for Crawford he's been free to do all sorts of things. :) That's how it goes.

Crawford was the last leg of my trip. If I could finish my education and find a decent job there, I would move back to Crawford in a heartbeat. I miss it so much. I don't know how to make that happen yet, but I'm working on it. It's usually really good for me to be there, but this time I caught some sort of horrid nasty virus that turned into bronchitis and I still can't stop coughing. Mom and I both spent all of Christmas day and most of the week thereafter laying on the couch coughing and moaning.

On the bright side, the snow was deep and for most of the trip it snowed so hard I couldn't see across the road. I got to play with my dogs again, which I love more than just about anything, even though Dixie is fat like a tick and Buster... well, actually Buster is perfect. I got to decorate a real christmas tree that had been cut down in the real woods by real people. And I caught a pinapple on fire. Well... my mom and I made this pineapple flambé thing for dessert at my grandparents' house and only moderately caught the table on fire, unlike last time when they ACTUALLY caught the table on fire.

And I obviously knew before I left that I wanted to get out of DC, or I wouldn't have wanted to take a two-month, unpaid leave of absense. But now I am more positive than ever--even if living somewhere else meant having bronchitis for the rest of my life, or working at a coffee shop, or having to (GASP) get a driver's license, or oh... I don't know... at least it wouldn't be here. Lord help me, I'm going to be paying the bill from this trip forever, but I'm glad I went.