Update Schmupdate

While bullets would be interesting and definitely more organized than this entry will probably turn out to be, I’m still not going to use them.

Did you know that there is absolutely nothing on television at the noon o’clock hour?

Okay, so the "Entirely Too Much" Update Entry begins……..NOW:

Went to Michigan a couple weeks ago.  My aunt passed away.  We had been waiting on it for a while at that point.  It was bittersweet because, while it’s always sad to lose a family member, when you know it’s their time to go, it’s not as easy to be miserably depressed about it.  And also, it would be the first time we’d get to go back to the motherland in five years.  And no one has construction like Michigan.  Pictures will come at a later date.

For Sunil (Someone give him a heads up to read this):
I tried like the dickens to go to The Beefcarver.  50% because I wanted the food, the other 50% because I wanted to take a picture of the sign for you.  There were three listed in the yellow pages online and the one that we always used to go to on Woodward was closed.  The next one down Woodward, I think, was in Royal Oak and my dad was too lazy to drive that far.  I still haven’t resigned myself to the fact that I probably won’t ever get to eat at the Beefcarver again.  Ever.  In my life.  It was hard to make my weekend rise above this fact.  So, Sunil, you got to see the Beefcarver.  If you ever get to see it again (and especially if you get to eat there), just….just really enjoy it for me, okay?

Moving on:
Went to the old church.  It blows my mind how much they’ve done with the old place.  They’ve added on a whole buildling of classrooms, and closed in certain parts of the old building.  The things that really frosted my cookies (in a good way) were that they still lock the front doors with these little chains that they hook around the handles.  The old playground, complete with the equipment I grew up on, is still there.  It’s vague, but I could still see the mark where I hung on a coat rack and ripped it out of the wall.  The downstairs kitchen is still the same, as are the pews, the carpet, and the piano in the old sanctuary.  With some things I laugh at myself because why would they change it?  Things don’t always change completely in five or ten years.  But with other things, like the chains on the doors, I laugh at myself because I remember it.

Change Like This:
They tore down the old elementary school in my neighborhood and rebuilt it.  (I didn’t go there, but I would have if I’d gone public instead of private.)  They also added on like crazy to the middle school (where I did start going public), the places that were neighborhoods and wooded areas are now shopping centers, and Meijer’s are popping up all over the greater Pontiac area.  Speaking of Meijer, they’ve put one in at Great Lakes Crossing.  Sweet Good Grief.  Listen, I know that Walmart is the biggest supercenter around, but seriously.  Meijer blows Walmart out of the water.  This particular store was at least twice the size of the old Meijer’s that we used to go to.  So, it was easily twice the size of your typical Walmart Supercenter.  The prices were pretty much the same as Walmart’s prices, they have a gas station just like Walmart, and it runs along the groovier, more up-to-date, modern type of style like Target.  However, and you’ll see a picture of this soon, my favorite thing about Meijer is the Bulk Foods aisle.  No, not like Sams Club.  When I say "bulk foods", I mean get your bag, and scoop out your flour, nuts, oatmeal, candy, or what have you, as you desire.  LOVE IT.

Change NOT Like This:
When we left Tennessee, the temperature was roughly in the low 80s.  When I stepped out of the car in Kentucky, it was breezy and probably in the mid 70s.  When we got to the hotel, I was clearly underdressed in my shorts and t-shirt because the temperature was somewhere around 62.  62, people.  For those of you not too quick with the numbers, that’s SIXTY-TWO DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.  I looked at my mom and said, "Mother, I did not pack my parka."  I remembered very quickly why I’m glad I don’t live there anymore.

Good to Be Home Again:
We came back just a couple days after we left.  It was a quick, whirlwind trip.  I remembered that it’s good to be with family, but not for too long.  I missed my stuff.  I missed my house.  I missed my life here.  I’m ready to get back to what I need to do and get started on building my life outside of my family.  And on that note…

Coming soon:
Looks like I will definitely be moving to LA come July 2006.