Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Road Trip: Vermont and Back

After leaving Montreal, we typed my friend Kelsey's address into the GPS and headed back to America. After buying souvenirs, we crossed the border. At the border, they pulled us over and interrogated us and searched our car. But we we passed and they let us into America where we then mailed postcards to our friends and hosts.

KELSEY!!! 
Vermont's lakes were flooded. A lot. It was unbelievable how close the lake waterline in all the lakes we passed were to the road. Apparently, they are having extreme floodings due to all the snow melting from the rain they had after the crazy winter. So driving was cool because the water was really close to where the road began.

We got to Burlington around 1 and since Kelsey was at work we decided to visit the Magic Hat Brewery. You can give yourself a self-guided tour or you can wait for a guide to give it. We waited since we showed up right before one started. They also give you unlimited free beer samples (omnomnom). The tour we could have just done by ourselves without the guide. They didn't say much (Sam Adams was much better with their tour) that was really important besides their history. But their gift shop was fun and they had crazy artwork and Magic Hat is delicious and super cool and they love music and arts so I like them too (: Also I loved our tour guide's beard. He was a hipster to the max and I loved him. I wanted to touch his beard but I didn't.

The Steamboat.
After Magic Hat, the next stop was the Shelbourne Museum where Kelsey works. It appears I had neglected to inform my fellow roadie how awesome it was. (Basically, when I suggest a place to visit, there's an 89% chance it will be amazing and 100% chance that we can make it be amazing so no more doubt and skepticism please.) The Shelbourne Museum is a super cool, former estate of this rich lady who loved collecting things and art. They have lots of really old buildings from the estate in addition to the ones they moved there by helicopter and train. They even have a gigantic steamboat sitting on their lawn (SOOOO COOL)!!

Kelsey was the bestest and got us in for free since she works there (: We spent 2 hours frolicking about and looking at circus exhibits and gun exhibits and blacksmiths working and printing presses (and how they evolved over time, amazingness). Afterwards, we met up with Kelsey and went to dinner.

By that time, I wasn't feeling the greatest but I thought maybe it was because I was hungry. We ate at an amazing place that served quesadillas and food and I scarfed mine down really quickly because we had our most important part of the trip ahead of us: The Avett Brothers.

Even Sarah Palin went to hear the Avett Brothers!
I love Vermont because they invited the Avett Brothers to their state and gave us free ice cream during the concert. As I said before, a large reason why I wanted to visit Kelsey and drive up north was because I knew that she had a ticket that I could use for this concert (: Which was sooo very very good. I only wish that I didn't feel so sick during it (I really felt miserable and that put a damper on things for me but I tried so hard to look not sick for everyone else) But the Avett Brothers were amazing and so good and sexy and I love them and you should go see them in concert if you ever get the chance!!!

After the concert, we crashed in Kelsey's awesome apartment. I really liked her place, it's cute and she has a nice room and wonderfully large kitchen. Kelsey's roomie had a huge air mattress for me to sleep on that inflated like 2 feet thick (I've never seen one so thick). I fell asleep almost instantly and didn't hear anyone get up to turn off lights or doors nor did I hear her roomie walk past me to get to her room. I DID however wake up when the dog tried climbing up on the mattress at 6am. That brought a short shriek out of me since I forgot a dog existed and I wasn't expecting a hairy dog-face in my face. But that was a fun surprise.

Vermont is awesome becasue they have large farmer's markets in walking distance and so we went there to watch Vermontians protect and sell their rhubarb and let their babies play in the fountain. We ate breakfast at a place sorta like NDB but they have more selection and it was incredibly good (and I wasn't sick in the morning yayayay)

After roaming Burlington for a while and getting Vermont maple creemies, it was noon and we had to start heading back towards home. (Booo. It was soooo sad leaving Kelsey but she's very happy in Vermont so that makes me happy.) We drove. Correction: Michael drove. I rode. He still wouldn't let me drive. For dinner, we showed up in the Bronx in Denise's neighborhood and ate real New York pizza. [Side rant- everyone claims NY pizza is amazing but to me it tasted like normal pizza and wasn't as special except that my slice had lots of veggies in addition to chicken]

Real New York pizza
Denise met us at her favorite local place and we ate pizza with her and her friend and then we went to her house to say hi to her family (I think they thought we were crazy for randomly showing up in the city without really making plans that morning to do so because they seemed a bit confused as to how we got there). Denise's dog loved Michael though. I think it was because the dog's fur is a blonde version of Michael's hair. 

We left New York City and headed home for realsies. The only traffic we EVER encountered on the trip was in Newark, DE (go figure) on our way back to my house (in MD). We got to my house around 11 and Michael dropped me off so he could go back to DE so he could wear his Canada hat to church in the morning. (I love Pastor John Groth).

And that was the end of the trip ):

Pretty much that was the 1st and best vacation I had ever had. A 6-day road trip was a good choice. 6 days was long enough that you weren't exhausted or annoyed or whatnot from being on the road for too long away from home but it was still long enough that I was ready to go back to real life by the end. I had lots of fun and learned a lot and finally finished reflecting from it. Yay!

My favorite quotes were "We're in Canada!" and "Green means GO!" and "Cow I win!" and anything that Kelsey said. And I still wear my Canada trucker hat every time I drive my car.

The end.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Road Trip: French Canadia

Canada. Also known as Canadia. Home of my future husband, Corey Vidal. Unfortunately, Corey was in California the day we decided to visit Canada and we visited Montreal- not Toronto. So no Corey for us :(

"Bonjour!"
Driving up to Montreal was a decently far drive from Portland- I think it took us like 5 or 6 hours to get there. In order to get to Canada, we drove through Vermont. Traffic signs in VT were very nice, bilingual signs in both French and English. We crossed the border into Canadia at a not-busy border crossing and then magically, everything changed. The moose signs were happier, the speed limits were in different units and the language was not English.


Snowmobile crossing!
In case you hadn't figured it out, we weren't entirely prepared for this culture shock. The mere fact of being in Canada was exciting enough, but the language barrier was entertaining. Also, somehow we must not have crossed at a common tourist area because there were no visitor information spots. Another thing we didn't think of was planning ahead. Our usual plan of using the internet on Michael's phone to find us a campsite/hotel didn't work when you cross country borders and turn off the internets because of roaming fees.  The phone was also being used as our GPS. Luckily, I had a Garmin which also had Canadian roads and maps in it. Also, I have Sprint which doesn't charge outlandish fees to text people from Canada to America so I texted our brother, Ben, to look up a campsite for us. He did a very good job and found a KOA site. (Side note: there is a KOA site on my way from Downingtown to Kennett Square and it makes me very happy inside.)

We drove an hour before we found anything remotely like a visitor/rest-stop. We walked in and asked where we could exchange our money. In unconfident English the lady wasn't sure how to describe where a bank was so she asked another lady who called the bank to make sure they were still open and they directed us there.

Once we were at the bank, only one guy spoke English well so he exchanged our money for us. I was supposed to do the talking and I did... but I only spoke in English. Michael wanted me to use my French but I wimped out (oopsies). We got our funny money and drove to the site.

Our campsite yay!
The camp we stayed at was very nice. We were the only ones tent-camping though; everyone else had RVs. But that also meant we were the only ones in our area so we could take up more than one site while trying to get the tarp up. While we were checking in, a guy in the office made a really bad joke to one of Michael's comments about a bag of firewood. I dumbly smiled because I had no idea what the guy meant (neither did Michael) but because I smiled, he thought I got his joke and then harassed us and called me smart and it was awkward. Michael told me that I shouldn't smile so much to old men because that's how I attract creepers. Which is probably true (excluding my pheromones). But we did get our firewood yay!

Canada is cold. Even in June. Not as cold as it usually is most likely, but I was cold. Storm clouds were also brewing so it looked like it was going to be a miserable night. Fortunately, God loves us and He cleared the skies (: After we set up camp and ate American beef hot-dogs, we decided to try to head towards Montreal.

Once again, we did not plan this adventure out (which is always for the best). I typed in "Montreal" into the GPS and we tried heading that direction. What is in Montreal that we should see? I still have no idea. We did see a college campus that we walked through and found a microbrewery/sports bar. The beer was delicious. It took us a very long time, however, to find that microbrewery. Downtown Montreal is very European whereas the rest of the cities we had been in were very hipster. We weren't dressed for any of their fancy restaurants or bars. No pubs existed as far as we could tell. Montreal does have an exuberant number of coffee shops however. Probably of the same caliber as Seattle.

After roaming Montreal for a few hours and parking in the most expensive parking lot in the city, we got tired and headed back. I was cold. Perhaps I was coming down with a bug or something that night because while it was in the 40s, it wasn't weather that I should have been freezing about. I wore both my jeans and my pj pants to bed with my socks and my sweatshirt with my sweater and a t-shirt on (i told you i was cold). Oh yea- and I wore my Canada lumberjack hat!!!! But halfway through the night, I took the hat off. I was freezing though.

After uncomfortably sleeping on a rock all night, the next morning was warmer (more like 60s) and beautiful. We headed back to America via a Canada-trucker-hat-and-souvenir-buying stop.

Two Weeks as a Grown-Up

It's been 2 full weeks of me being an official grown-up at my real job (and not an internship). And I've learned some things.

  1. People are much more self-aware about what they eat and consume than they are in college. Both the family I'm staying with and my coworkers freak out when they eat something 'unhealthy'. It's hard being new and yet wanting to eat 3 plates of bacon and fried chicken without them sending me funny looks.
  2. Having ADHD sucks when you have 10-20 different projects going on.
  3. There is no such thing as a good commute in Pennsylvania.
  4. There is no such thing as a good driver in Pennsylvania. I have witnessed 3 accidents already and I don't even drive on the turnpike or any highways that get insane. Just Rt 113.
  5. Having families adopt you is a nice way to start out living in a new place.
  6. Finding a roommate in a random place in PA on Craigslist is very difficult. Especially when you're not allowed to live with boys and don't know anyone. 
  7. Travelling for work will either get old very quickly or stay exciting. I think if i do that FourSquare thing, I could rack up points very quickly. Driving out to somewhere this Wed but they haven't told me specifically where.
  8. I now understand cat ladies. Cats are the best company outside of best friends. 
  9. Don't move and change your life when you are PMSing. Unless, of course, breaded chicken and sushi is promised. (Sorry boys for the insight. But it's important.)
  10. Type A personalities are not my friend.
Tomorrow I'm checking out 2 churches and I'm really excited. One will be in the morning and another will be in the evening in West Chester (that Patty is convinced it's an awesome church that I'll love). I think it might be the highlight of my 2 weeks here (not the highlight of my month since I went on a road trip (: ). I'm very excited. 

Also, somehow today I'll have to be in Newark to pick up a computer desk and a coffee table. Not sure how that's gonna work since my dad wanted to take the truck up to the river. Hmm...

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Road Trip: Portland, Maine and Homeless guys

Ok... after we left Boston, we headed to Portland, Maine. I was excited to visit because rumor had it that lumberjacks and hipsters live there (: We decided to drive through Salem just so we could see witches. That was fun.We got to Portland probably around 5ish. Michael wanted to play at another open mic so he called the bar and asked what time it started. It started at some ridiculously early hour, like 6:30, which we weren't expecting since our campsite still had to be setup. The campsite we chose was really nice. They had a lake and firepits and a playground and paddle boats and French-speaking babies in the bathrooms. And sand. My feet were very dirty so I felt like a hipster.

There was a little bit of a misunderstanding I think when I started explaining my history with camping to people. Yes, I had been camping (in tents) before. However, I was not a boy scout (shocking, I know), and the men in my family get feisty and grumpy and don't let women touch anything so I never helped SET-UP camp. I was worried that Michael was going to hate me but he didn't seem that frustrated with my inadequate tarp-putting-up abilities. (Ben would have judged me though.) The sky looked like it was going to storm, hence the tarp, but God made it clear up and be a nice evening without rain so it was a good day to camp.
Our campsite!
After we set up camp, we went into town to find this bar. I think this bar was my favorite because of all the random types of people. First, the lady running the open ic was really nice and chatty and the waiter, although pokey, was cute. Then, there was this really bad gent who played who loved Jesus, which is nice, but my ears hurt after him (even though he had 9 albums out). When he left the bar, he screamed " *insert his name* is leaving the building!!!" and I lol'd. 
But the most epic man was the homeless guy. When Michael and I got there, we wanted to eat and so we found some seats at an awkward bar in the back corner (where there were only 3 seats). We only took up 2 so this gruff older gentleman came and sat down and was eating/drinking and he had a pad of paper with him. I thought he could be homeless or he could be a crazy yet important man (like the owner or a music person). He was homeless.

All was fine with this dear old man until Michael went to tune his guitar outside. Which happened to be where the guy went out to smoke. Apparently they chatted for a few minutes before Michael went up to play a few songs. (Which by the way, apparently he was 'on tour' since they announced that he was, win.) I was in charge of the cameras and recording video and taking pictures. And eating the amazing seafood sliders and Smutty Nose beer (that meal was all win and no fail and was glorious). Halfway through the first song, the man realized that I was associated with the guitarist because of the cameras. So he leans over towards me and starts asking me about the cameras and the lighting and the audio and stuff that didn't really make sense. I didn't really want to talk since I was trying to not record my voice (or his) but that failed. I answered back.

This man then decided to ask me how the tour was and where we were going and what we have seen and where we were from. Teehee- he thought I was a roadie or a manager. When I explained we were headed towards Vermont, he went on about how beautiful Vermont was. Then he said that he'd love to go with us but he had to get dialysis done every 3 days so he couldn't. (Phew!)

Around this time, Michael finished playing his songs. I think this was the first (that I remember at least) and last time I will ever see him come rushing back while I'm interacting with a creeper. Usually he stands back and watches me suffer until I come running to hide behind him (I prefer hiding behind Ben because he's taller). Of course, he probably did that because he had no where else to go and the food was next to me.

Anyway, homeless guy told me to stick around after the feature to listen to him recite poetry but the feature was a terrible cover band and I was falling asleep at the bar so we left during it to go make S'mores back at the campsite.

I liked Portland a lot. I think it's a tie between Boston, Portland and Burlington.

Random tangent: I'm still convinced that bringing air mattresses while camping is cheating. But it's very comfy that way so I shouldn't complain.
I came back after showering and
there were electronics everywhere

PS- Is Dan Messick alive?

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Road Trip: Its beginnings and Days 1 and 2

So Michael and I went on a 6-day road trip 3ish weeks ago around New England and into Canadia. And it was amazing! I'm trying to think of how we even began the idea of going on a road trip and I think it started in the Fall when I wanted to visit Swan Johnson out in California. I told Michael and he seemed to want to go too which then transpired into an epic road trip around the country in 2 weeks which then got more realistic as June approached and work dates were given out.

There are some large factors that you need to keep in mind when thinking about road tripping.
1. You will be in a car with the people you are travelling with for long periods of time. Make sure you won't destroy that other person. Luckily, Michael is half-crazy like myself so I think we were fine. (This is your cue, Michael, to agree fervently). No bad arguments outside of whether or not he'd let me drive occurred. Also, we didn't drive nearly as much as we were originally planning on had we gone to California.
2. The music you listen to in the car is a big deal.
3. Price/affordability.
4. The US dislikes when you try entering their country.
5. Not making an itinerary that is planned out down to the second but instead having cities to drive towards and figuring out the rest on the way there is a good idea. Always.
6. Boys with smartphones like their phones better than old-school Garmins to use as GPSs. The rest of the world will never understand why. (My friend Davien is another example.)

I wanted to go to Vermont because my friend Kelsey moved to Burlington in January and I missed her and wanted/promised to visit. Also, I claimed her 2nd ticket to see the Avett Brothers with her in Burlington on June 3rd. Travelling around New England seemed to be logical and practical yet still could be epic (especially with the amount of breweries and beer they have yay but i'm not implying we're ridiculous alcoholics lol).

The Monday after I graduated, we packed up Momma Natrin's car (that she kindly let us borrow because she's the best) and headed towards Connecticut. My friend Elizabeth and her parents, Momma and Papa Hanle, live in Southbury and they they wanted to meet us at Stew Leonard's. Michael thought I was insane when I said we were going to an awesome grocery store but a store that has animatronic chickens and cows is fantastic- especially when it serves lobster in their outside cafeteria for less than $13. If you haven't been, you need to take a few hours when driving through Connecticut and stop at Stew's. It's amazing. Do not doubt me.

We left Connecticut very full and happy (I was happy because I got to play with Elizabeth's bunny, Pickle) and headed towards Boston. Originally we wanted to find a campsite outside of the city but that was impossible so we found a hotel that wasn't super sketchy (after a few tries) and then went into Cambridge. Michael wanted to play at the Cantab Lounge's Open Mic. At first I was skeptical of the bar because it looked like no one was going inside (mind you, it was early so of course no one went in at that time in the evening). After he went in and talked to the guy in charge and did all that stuff that musician's do he approved of it and we sat and had Sam Adam's summer ale (omnomnom) and listened to good-looking yet insecure college-aged hipsters and old men play. This girl Evie Ladin was the feature and she was really nice and good and my dad would've liked listening to her so I got her CD to give to him. (Mainly as a present because my dad thought the road trip was a sketchy idea.) The Cantab Lounge actually reminded me of one of the first bars I went to after I turned 21 (it was down in DC and I went with grad students right after my 21st birthday) and so I was pretty content.

On Tuesday, we checked out of the hotel and parked at my (old) roommate's brother's house and took the 'T' into the city. The 'T' is very clean and nice. I'm very jealous.

Our first priority on Tuesday morning was the Sam Adams Brewery. She was very nice and smelled like beer and we got free samples!! She also lets you fill out postcards and she'll pay for postage herself. Afterwards, Michael asked his many followers on Facebook what we should do downtown and some people told us to go to the Funeil Marketplace (I still can't pronounce that place). Pretty much it was just an outdoor mall that sold lobster hats at souvenir stands but it was nice. The aquarium was nearby so we walked around that and saw sea lions and seals.

We got tired and needed to be back at my roommate's brother's (Brian's) house at a decent hour because Brian has a 5 yr old girl and a 2.5 year old boy and a wife that needs to be put to bed early. It was very awkward at first showing up in their house at their bedtime but eventually it got a little less awkward. In exchange for free housing, I offered free babysitting the next morning for the 2.5 year old while Brian could study some (since he's a PhD student). I was entertained because he was slightly nervous that I wouldn't be able to handle a crying boy but clearly he didn't know my resume. Josiah stopped crying as soon as Brian was out of earshot (and after I made a blanket fort to drive cars through)... or rather he stopped crying until Michael tried petting him like a cat.

Halfway through the morning, Josiah became unafraid of Michael and they became best friends. Brian came home and we left to go on a quest to find rare vinyl round things that make music and are only 3 colors anand to search for Boston creme pie. Fact: just because you are in Boston, does NOT make it easy to find Boston creme pie nor will it be cheap. Especially when in Harvard. After our pie, we left Boston to hunt witches.

And this is where I'm going to stop rambling because I'm tired. Maine and Canada and Vermont will come soon.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

The Road Trip: The Night Before

2 days after I graduated from college, I went on a 6-day road trip with Michael Natrin throughout New England and into Canada. That trip was hands-down the best trip I've been on outside of 2 mission trips overseas. It was also probably the first trip I could ever consider to be a real vacation. (I grew up 10 mins away from a log cabin on a river so we never travelled anywhere and a few times that I can barely remember because I was less than 6 years old we went to Ocean City, NJ while my dad had business near there but that was only for a day or two and was always stressful with my family.)

I left my parents' home on a Sunday night to sleep in Newark because we were leaving early Monday and I live in the opposite direction we were headed. My brother offered to take me so I packed up my stuff into his little red, fancy Honda Prelude and we drove. On 273 near Fair Hill, right before Appleton Rd though, (going like 65-70), a little fancy Camaro passed us while we were going down a hill. At the bottom of the hill, that car had sparks FLY out from under it and we thought they had bottomed out on the bridge. As it was pulling over, we slowed to like 50 mph (the posted speed limit). We soon realized though that it wasn't that they bottomed out but something was in the road. In other words, as our headlights started to light up that area, a portion of the road was not lighting up but was still very dark. Before we realized it was something, we hit it.

A giant tire.

My brother's Prelude tried driving over a giant tire (rim and all). We think that tire fell off a Jeep or a truck. My side of the car was the one that actually went over it (thanks, David). We thought we were okay until we realized that steam was coming up from the hood so we had to pull over too. Basically, the tire destroyed the front of my brother's car. It ripped the air conditioning unit, destroyed the frame, the bumpers, part of the radiator, etc.

Luckily, I had Nationwide which is like AAA and they sent a tow truck out to get us. Unfortunately, David and I had to call my parents to get the number. Worst decision ever. My dad freaked out, drove 40 minutes out, wouldn't let any of my friends pick me up (they were only 10 minutes away and Michael had already offered) so he slowed down the whole process. My mother also decided to be the liaison on calling the insurance company, but she's 68 years old and forgot details so when the police came and asked us questions, we had to call her and not get any answers which frustrated everyone.

But compared to the other car, we were extremely relaxed and chill. The 2 passengers in the other car were freaking out. They were furious and then they got nervous when the tow truck came so they stripped out everything out of their car (I think they had illegal stuff in there and their stereo setup was so expensive and probs exceeded legal limits on sound and whatnot that they didn't want it to get stolen). But they were freaking out like it was their job.

I'm glad I know how to stay calm in situations. I'm sure if I was physically hurt, it would be a whole other story. I'm also glad that God clearly was with us and protected us since no one was hurt yet the cars were totaled.  My favorite psalm is Psalm 34 and in it, verse 19-20 says,
"The righteous person may have many troubles,
   but the LORD delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
   not one of them will be broken."
 My God is a protector. It's nice having one to run to, especially since I attract a lot of creepy people and can get into some uncomfortable or frazzling situations. Knowing that I have a god that will protect me and that won't let harm come to me that He doesn't will is nice. I was so thankful that David wasn't freaking out either. Apparently he was already thinking about buying a new car (a VW GTI and it's super nice and fancy with plaid seats) so the accident helped him make that decision.

Also, since I'm reflecting back on it, I think that I shouldn't have been so frustrated with my parents. I technically became independent from them but they may not see it that way. And 2 of their 4 children were in an accident and I'm sure that's not a nice phone call to receive so I can't blame them for wanting to help and be present. I supposed I'd be freaking out too.

This accident was the first story on my road trip! And it was techincally before the road trip began too. Stories and thoughts on the real road trip will come soon (: yay!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

My life is crazy.

The past few weeks have been absolutely insane in my life.

Currently, I am sitting on a bed in my friend's family's house utterly exhausted after having moved in temporarily on Sunday. I will be living here until I can find an apartment and hopefully some roommates which hopefully will happen before August. I really, really want to find roommates. One thing I learned this past winter is that I should never live alone- I need company or I become depressed and crabby and sad and mute.

Before I moved in, I graduated; was in an accident the day after I graduated (my brother was driving, not me and we are fine but the car is totalled); went on an amazing, relaxing 6-day road trip with Michael (he still has my passport) all around New England and up into Canada the day after my accident; had my sister and brother-in-law from Ohio with the musically-gifted children visit; visited my grandparents; saw Michael and Kelsey play at the Queen in Wilmington and pretended I was in the Natrin family again by sitting with them (the littlest brother still hasn't talked to me, I'm very entertained); went to a family reunion; moved to Downingtown, PA into my friend's home; started a new, full-time entry-level job at SSC; learned how to use AutoCAD; and flew to Rhode Island to drive to Worcester, MA on my 3rd day of work for a site visit and flew back that same day (with a 2 hour flight delay coming home). And today I played with 3 cats (they love me more than my friend teehee) when I got home and talked to Poppa Townsend (I forget his name so living here is slightly awkward) while waiting for my friend to get home so we could go eat burgers at Cheeseburger in Paradise (they had karaoke tonight and my friend has no sense of humor or compassion). And now I am sitting on their guest bed which is my bed for now.

And that all happened since May 28.

I am very stressed and frazzled at work. They are very overworked, underpaid, and overstressed and I am tired. They told me after 3 months hopefully I'll be used to the workload and stress and busyness of the company. My commute is supposed to take 30 mins but PA roads are terrible and it takes me 55 minutes. I need to move north more towards work when I find an apt but my friends live south so I desperately am resisting that need.

I also need a new phone and my contract is up with Sprint so I'm debating going off of my family plan and going to Verizon but I don't know because going off the family plan is pricier. People tend to like Verizon though and Sprint has been failing me lately (although they are cheaper which is nice).

Basically, my life has completely changed. Monday, I checked on my tax form "independent" for the first time so I guess I am now a grown-up. Every day and night my prayer has been that God protects me and that I remember how much God is with me and loves me and will help me adjust to this region and new phase in my life. I don't think I could have gotten through this week starting my job without Him.

Anyhoo- this post unfortunately hasn't had much reflection in it. I've been in a sort of process-less mindset lately which doesn't make me comfortable at all. Usually I internally process things and then comprehend stuff but it's taking a lot longer to sink in so I sit here mindlessly as if I'm a zombie. I'm still trying to collect all my thoughts just about the trip before I tell everyone about it. But hopefully that will come soon!

Everyone else's lives though have been very insane lately too and I miss everyone and want to see people again some day to hear about their lives. My friend texted me how she got a job in NYC which is perfect for her but I forgot she was even looking; that makes me a terrible friend very focused on my life and not others and now I am sad and will stop talking about myself.

Yay- my brother bought a fancy VW GTI to replace his wrecked car and it's super nice and fancy with plaid seats. The outside is white and the inside is fancy with a Sirius radio and GPS and Bluetooth and technical car stuff.