Long trip update

I’ve been in Indiana since Sunday night. Everyone seems to be asking how the trip here was, and all I can say is fine? I went on 2 planes, that’s pretty much it. On the first flight I had a window seat which was good because staring out the window provided entertainment, but bad because the man next to me smelled weird and was crowding my space. I spent a good amount of time willing my bladder not to fill, because he slept most of the time and I didn’t want to have to climb over him (and one other woman as well) to get to the restroom. The second flight was better; it was from Chicago to Ft Wayne (only about a half hour), on a smaller plane, and wasn’t crowded. Noone was sitting in the seat next to me so I had some room to spread out.

I got to Ft Wayne at around 10pm Indiana time and my mom was waiting outside to pick me up. We drove back to Auburn and I’ve been experiencing some mild level of culture shock, specifically in regards to the landsape (no mountains!), the change from large city to small city, and the lack of ethnic diversity. It is somewhat comforting to know I can come back though and everything will pretty much be the same as it was when I left.

Hanging out with everyone has been fun. I’ve done a lot of stuff with mom, including bowling, sock shopping, watching hours of Animal Planet, and restaurant hopping (I’ve gotten her to try both Indian and Thai cuisine for the first time–my sister also tried Thai for the first time). I’ve also been hanging out with Renee and Autumn (and sometimes Tami) a lot, and that’s been good too. It’s nice to be around people I’m comfortable with and have known for a long time. We all went for sushi the other day and it was a good experience, much better than when I went with folks from work. I actually ate some stuff I liked too, and also learned things I shouldn’t order in the future (I’m not a big fan of copious amounts of cilantro). We’ve been hanging out and chatting mainly, though I did recently play Guitar Hero for the first time.

I got to hang out with 2 ladies I went to college with, Darcy and Jamie. I ran some errands with Darcy and had coffee (well, chai tea) with Jamie today. I had fun with both of them and am glad I got to see them. Last night Renee, Autumn and I headed out to North Manchester (or more specifically Chad’s place) for a party that was technically thrown in my honor. I got to see three of my good friends from Pizza Hut again–Chad, Logan and Tony. Briana was also there, as well as a lot of people I didn’t know. Autumn and I ended up drinking a lot thanks to Renee’s lethal drink mixing skills, and the fact that there was only one restroom led to Autumn and I peeing out in the snow a few times. Geesh, looking back I’m not quite sure how we pulled that off.

We took a lot of pictures that probably look really silly now… they are on Renee’s camera though, and I’ll try to steal them from her. It was a good time though and I’m glad I got to hang out with all of them. We played guitar hero for a little while and I ended up falling asleep by Logan on the floor upstairs. Lots of people slept there overnight and there wasn’t really room for all of us, so most people ended up on the floor. It was kindof uncomfortable I guess… oh well. I never actually got sick today but I did feel quite queasy. Renee bought us Gatorade, and once we got back to Auburn I ended up sleeping until 130pm or so. I still felt crappy, but having chai with Jamie (and gossiping!) made me feel a lot better.

I tried to invite my bro Josh to the party but he didn’t like the idea of driving that far (2 hours or so) in the snow. I also originally invited Craig, but we kindof had a falling out and he wasn’t able to make it. The falling out: I told him that I knew he was expecting something romantic to happen between us if we hung out, and I told him I wasn’t interested in making my life (specifically my romantic life) any more complicated than it already is. I didn’t tell him this, but I know I could never be in a serious relationship with him again. It wouldn’t work, and I wouldn’t be able to trust him. I also know that my friends really don’t like him, and there must be some reason why they feel that way (I know what the reasons are, sure, and they’re reasonable).

Hmm.. not sure what else to update on now. I leave very, very early Monday morning and head back to work at OCF. Not quite sure how I feel about it. So it goes.