Settling In

Well, I've been back in Coeur d'Alene for a week now, and it still feels rather like I'm just visiting. I think by this time next week it might feel slightly more permanent, since that will mark two weeks, which is longer than I've been here since I've been married. Michael and his dad arrived safely last Sunday morning around 5:00. Since then I've gone to a baby shower, a Christmas party, and a girls' night out. That's the most socializing I've done in over six months! Ah, it's nice to be amongst friends and family again. For the girls' night we went to the movie, The Holiday. Very good, I recommend it highly. I was thinking about it, and I can't actually recall the last time I went to a movie with a bunch of friends. It's been quite a while, though. Of that there is no doubt. Right now we're house sitting for a family from church. They're spending the holiday in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (Mexico at Christmas? Sure, it's nice to be in warm weather, but Christmas just isn't complete without snow). So, we're watching the house and taking care of their two schnauzers, Schautzi and Misha. They're goofy little dogs. Schautzi's old and rather deaf, so she just kind of hangs out most of the time as long as she gets fed, petted, and let out when she needs to she's fine. Misha is still a bit of a puppy and she was rather depressed when we first got there on Thursday. She wouldn't come out of her kennel until Michael actually pulled her out, then she refused to eat for a little while. She did come around rather quickly, though, which is good. Now she won't leave us alone for a second. She's constantly jumping up and begging for attention. It's the most fun when they've just come back in from running around in the snow and their both soaked. Misha will jump up on your legs, or jump on the couch and crawl all over you, smelly, wet, and all. I've never had a dog before, so this is a new thing for me. They're fun, though, and we're glad for the excuse to not live with parents for at least a little while, as we will be living with them plenty soon enough. I keep having to remind myself that we're staying and I won't have to leave in a few more days. What a nice thing to have to do.

"The course of true love never did run smooth"

And neither did the course of moving. I'm here at my parents' house, but it wasn't easy getting here. Thursday morning we got up bright and early and walked about two miles to a place called Bee Zee Auto to pick up our Penske truck. Michael had called on Wednesday to let them know we would be getting there about 10:00 to pick it up. We arrived promptly at 9:58 by my watch. We told the first guy we saw why we were there and he referred us to another guy. We told him we were there for the truck, whereupon he disappeared behind a door for about five minutes. When he came back he said, "Do you need the truck right now?" We kind of looked at him, then each other, and Michael said, "Well, yeah. That's why we're here. We called yesterday." We were then told that only one person handles the Penske rentals (the owner) and he wasn't expected for another hour. So, we went to IHOP for breakfast, and Michael called the Penske customer service line. We got in touch with someone in the office in Braintree, which is the next city south of Quincy, who said that when we got back to the place he could register the rental over the phone, then fax the paperwork to be signed. So, we finished eating, went back to find that the owner had still not arrived, even though the designated hour had elapsed. Michael called the Penske guy who did all the stuff and faxed it. We heard the fax machine ring shortly after Michael got off the phone. After waiting for another 15 minutes or so, the guy told us that the fax machine was in the locked office and only the owner (who still had not arrived) had a key. Michael called the guy in Braintree yet again, explained the situation and the guy said someone from there would come help us out. At this point it was about 11:15, and we were expecting the guy from Comcast to come pick up our DVR between 11:00 and 2:00 and we also had people coming to help us move around noon. I left to take the T back to the house in hopes of beating everyone there (we hadn't realized when we walked to the place that it was past the next T station). By the time I got back to the apartment it was 11:45 and Michael had already gotten the truck and got there less than ten minutes later. The Comcast guy did try to come while we were gone, but Michael was able to call him back and he came back about half an hour later to pick the box up, so that wasn't too bad. The movers got there a little late (which was really okay) and we got everything loaded up in under two hours. The rest of the day went pretty well. We went and got Mike from the airport. His flight went without a hitch. He took us out to dinner, then we went back to the apartment to clean and do all the last minute packing. After very little sleep, we all got up at 4:00 am and the taxi picked me up at 4:30. When I got to the airport, I got to wait in what I thought at the time to be the longest line in America. I didn't actually wait through the entire line, because at 5:15 they started calling for passengers on the 6:20 flight to Chicago to come to the front to be checked in (I was supposed to fly from Boston to Chicago to Seattle to Spokane and get in around 4:00 PST). I got checked in, went through security, bought myself a book (The Devil Wears Prada) and waited for about 15 minutes to board. When I got to Chicago my Seattle flight wasn't on the monitors, nor did I have a gate number listed on my boarding pass. I finally found someone to ask, they looked up my flight and informed me it was canceled. At O'Hare airport they have "Rebooking Centers" in the terminal, so I had to go there and call an 800 number to get rebooked on a different flight. I was put on the 4:40 pm American Airlines flight to LA, then the 8:50 pm Alaska Airlines flight to Spokane, arriving at 11:35 pm. The fun part was that it was only about 10:00 am. Also, I had to leave security and go talk to a ticketing agent to have paper tickets reissued. The American Airlines person could only give me the tickets for my flight to LA and told me to go talk to Alaska Airlines to get my boarding pass to Spokane. When I got to their counter there were two agents helping another man, but when they saw me they said "We're closed." I quickly explained my situation and one of them told me to just get the boarding pass in LA. I guess I looked pathetic enough, because one of them decided to help me after all. I figured it would only take maybe five minutes to get it taken care of, but they were apparently confused, because it took them about a half an hour and then I ended up with the wrong thing (I didn't find that out until I was trying to board my flight from LA to Spokane, but we'll get to that later). I went through security again (for the second time that day) and hung out at the airport for about eight hours. Fun stuff, let me tell you. At one point I realized that the book I had purchased in Boston was not going to last me all day, so I bought another book (Angels and Demons by Dan Brown). This was good thinking on my part, as the first book gave out less than halfway through my Chicago to LA flight. Let me just pause a moment to say that LAX is the stupidest airport in the Free World, and perhaps even in all the world. I have honestly been in better airports in third world countries. The airport consists of several different buildings that are not at all connected, so if you have to change airlines, you have to leave security, go outside and walk to the next building. When I arrived at LAX at about 7:45 (remember, my next flight was supposed to board at 8:20) I followed the gate numbers down, trying to get from the mid-40s to gate 31. The gates ended at 40 and I was faced with the security checkpoint. Confused, I looked around and then asked someone how to get to gate 31. He explained that I would have to leave the building and walk to the building two away. Now, airport buildings are not small and I had already been lugging around my heavy violin and a carry on bag (which wasn't particularly light either) for 18 hours. I then had to go outside, walk for ten minutes or so, and get in another ridiculously long line to go back through security. By the time I got to the metal detector it was 8:15 and I was kind of freaking out. Then, I got searched. Fabulous. After that minor ordeal I arrived at the scheduled gate to be met with the announcement that my 8:50 flight had been delayed until 11:15 with an expected arrival in Spokane of 1:30. Let me just reiterate: 11:15 and 1:30. I had left my apartment at 4:30 am EST. They nice woman had just unknowingly informed me that my trip was going to take more than 24 hours to be completed. I sat down on the floor, called my parents and had a meltdown. A complete meltdown. Fortunately, it was not delayed any further. I got something to eat and read, played Sudoku, and called my mother-in-law, successfully passing the nearly three hours I had to spend in LAX. After waiting in line to board the flight, the gate agent told me that my boarding pass wasn't good enough and that I had to go talk to the person at the desk. I must've looked like I was about to freak out again because she reassured me, "No, it's okay, you're okay, I just need something else. When you're done don't wait in line again, just come straight back to me." So, I did and I did get on the flight. I actually managed to sleep some, being completely wiped out. I have never been so relieved to get somewhere as I was when I walked off the plane in Spokane and met my parents just outside of security. My luggage even made it with me, which was pleasantly shocking. We got home around 3:00 am and I got to bed about 4:00 am. Michael and his dad should be arriving in the wee hours of the morning, and things seem to be going well for them. We already have a crew lined up (I think) to unload the truck tomorrow afternoon. It's good to be back at last.

Packing, For Real This Time

Well, we're leaving the day after tomorrow and the apartment still looks like something blew up. This is largely due to the fact that I haven't felt it necessary to actually put papers and things in the trash, since I'll have to clean tomorrow anyway. Also, I have spent much of the day packing while Michael has been lounging on the couch. Still hurting. Pray for the drive, it won't be much fun for him. My father-in-law arrives tomorrow afternoon around 5:00. We have confirmed our people to come for tomorrow and load our stuff into the truck. One nice thing about moving with a truck versus shipping everything is that when you run out of boxes you can always grab a duffel bag, or, when those run out, a trash bag and stick everything in them that hasn't been stuck somewhere else. Most things are in boxes, but I decided I didn't need to go get anymore boxes, that what we had would be enough, and failing that I could improvise. And improvise I have. I did purchase some bubble wrap for framed photos and dishes, but ran out of bubble wrap before I ran out of fragile things. So, there are several mugs and plates wrapped in towels. Our remaining bowls and plates are packed in a small trash can. It was going to come with us anyway, might as well put something in it. Other things, such as cleaning supplies, I'm sure will go in the other trash can once it is emptied. That will be among the last things to be loaded, as I will need said cleaning supplies to clean the apartment. I complain about having to do all these things myself and Michael not being able to help, but really, I don't want his help. I'd just get frustrated with him. I'm a control freak, what can I say? Also, he did do a good bit of packing prior to hurting himself, so all I really had to do was pack the kitchen stuff and throw the last bits in the back room into a box. The only things that aren't packed yet are our electronic things, as we are still making use of them. Tomorrow morning I predict a frenzy of unplugging and wrapping up extension cords and various other things in preparation for our imminent departure. In approximately 31 hours I will be taking off from Boston Logan Airport. I still can't believe that I will be leaving. Even though I've spent most of the day packing, it hasn't sunk in that I will soon leave this apartment and not come back. I'm still excited about being home, it just doesn't seem real. Of course, it never does. Not until it's actually happened.

The Boston Public Garden

Today was somewhat more eventful than yesterday. Michael seems to be doing a little better, though nowhere near his normal self. I had some errands to run today and some Christmas shopping to do. I got some Boston ornaments to distribute to our family and a few other things. Also, I finished the rest of the Freedom Trail. Unfortunately the USS Constitution was closed (I don't know why) and the Bunker Hill Monument was having some construction done around it, and was fenced off. I got to see it and took some good photos, but couldn't go right up to it. After that I went and got Michael's stuff from the Four Seasons. His last day was supposed to be today, but due to his neck problems he hasn't been to work since Saturday. He still had a few things in his locker, so I went and got them for him and gave them his doctor's note. I also got to walk through the Boston Common and the Public Garden for the last time before we leave. The Common has Christmas lights in the trees, and the Frog Pond is open for ice skating. The Public Garden is a little sad looking with all the trees bare, no flowers, no swan boats or ducks on the duck pond. The pond was actually iced over, even though it was in the 40s. I remember the first time I saw the Public Garden when we came to visit Boston last year. It was September and the leaves hadn't started turning yet. I remember seeing it out the taxi window on our way to the hotel and thinking it was gorgeous.

All the weeping willows around the pond...I like sitting on the bench and reading. This year there were swans nesting on the bank of the pond.

It's a lovely place in the spring and summer. In the winter it's just sad. But, as I will be leaving in three days, I thought it would be nice to bid farewell to one of my favorite spots in Boston.

Pain and Packing Woes

After yesterday's slothfulness, today was slightly more eventful. I did a little more packing today, though not nearly as much as I should have. Instead, I spent the day taking care of Michael. He's still hurting a lot. We went to the doctor this afternoon. He got some new drugs, which was nice since the old ones have expired. The doctor, however, left something to be desired. She didn't really explain much, didn't even introduce herself, rambled unintelligibly for a while, then left. So, Michael will not be going to work tomorrow, either, on what was supposed to be his last day of work. I, on the other hand, really need to get to it. Luckily, there's really not that much that needs to be packed. I just hate packing, so I don't want to do it. Plus, I've had to do way too much packing in the last year, much of it by myself. Now, I have to finish the packing by myself because Michael can't really do anything. We're hoping and praying that he'll be feeling better by Thursday so that he can drive the truck on Friday. Only four more days until we leave, and at that point all the packing will be done. I can't wait.

In Defense of My Blog

I have recently come under some criticism for not posting on my blog religiously every day. Let me explain. When I started my blog it was National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo for short). While I was not an official participant, having started partway through November, I decided to keep my blog in the spirit of NaBloPoMo and post daily for the rest of November. We have now moved into December. Thus, I have so far missed two days (gasp!) of posting this month. Two days! Everyone deserves a break, particularly when nothing worth writing about has happened. One or two of my loyal readers (whom, by the way, I love dearly) seem to think that my brain is teeming with witty anecdotes and clever stories. Sadly, disappointingly, this is not always the case. My defense? I did nothing yesterday! The question in response? "So, are you going to post twice as much today?" "Don't count on it," was my reply. "Besides my post the day before yesterday was long with all those pictures." He scoffed at my mere four pictures of penguins. I would just like to note that there are twelve pictures altogether (it's an aquarium, after all...they have fish and other creatures, too). I would also like to note that I spent quite a while on that post, though I didn't write a lot. It takes quite a bit of time to upload twelve photos and arrange them to my satisfaction. You try it and see how long it take you. So, for the curious, here is what I have been doing for the past day and a half. Yesterday I woke up around 10:00 am and spent the morning with my husband. He managed to tweak his neck somehow, but went to work anyway, because they really needed him. I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching TV, packing, reading, and doing dishes. At midnight I met Michael at the T station so I could carry his backpack for him, as he was in intense pain. We also stopped and got some food from CVS on the way home. Then we went to bed. This morning I woke up around 10:00 again, finished the book I was reading, got up and watched A Knight's Tale and The Princess Diaries on television. This was interspersed with helping Michael do things like sit up or have a drink of water. He's still hurting really badly. Fortunately, we still have the pain pills and muscle relaxers that he was prescribed the last time this happened. He's been taking those since he got home last night, and is currently napping on the couch. Those drugs sure can knock you out. Anyway, that is the excitement that has been my life since Friday. Thrilling, isn't it? Highly worthy of writing about, don't you think? (Yeah, I didn't really think so, either.) Fortunately, we only have five more days until we leave. Unfortunately, Michael's hurting and there's still packing to do. Does anyone want to come do it for me?

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Holy monkeys, is it cold out today! It is currently 19 with a windchill factor of 4. When I left this morning to go to work, it was 1. I was all bundled up with my wool coat and fleece accessories, which I am again thankful for. Even so, my earlobes were peaking out from the edge of my cap, and by the time I got to the T they were so cold I thought they might fall off! Obviously they didn't, but still, they were extremely cold. Poor little earlobes. Thus began my last day of work. It was mostly uneventful. I went through my drawers and threw away all the random stuff that needed to be tossed and organized the rest for the next person, whoever that may be. They still haven't found a replacement for me. One of my (now former) co-workers has his birthday today, so the boss-lady took him and me out for lunch. We went to the steakhouse around the corner from the office. It was nice and I got to have prime rib. Mmmm. An hour or so later we had cake for the guy's birthday, and it was really good. There's a little bakery across the street, and that's where they got the cake. After that, I just finished cleaning up and organizing a bit, played sudoku a couple times, and got ready to go. My boss assured me a couple of times that she'd give me a good reference for my next job if I need it. That's nice, at least. I was a bit hesitant to use her, for fear of what she would say. There's no telling with her, sometimes. But she said three or four times to definitely use her as a reference and gave me her business card, just to make sure I don't forget her contact information (as if I would. I had to say the phone number a million times over the last four months). One of the guys told me that I had to email him updates. So, I guess I'll be missed, at least by a few people. I'll definitely be missed on Monday when there's no one to answer the phones! (Perhaps I shouldn't be so gleeful about that. I can't help it, though. It cracks me up.) The boss isn't too concerned. "They'll just have to answer the phones for the month of December until I can find someone else," she said. "It's just a few weeks, and I want to find the right person. I don't want to rush into anything." Ha ha...good luck to them. Anyway, it's back to the lovely warmth of blankets and my book. One week from today and I'll be home!

Penguins!

As promised you can all see the photos I took of penguins and other aquatic animals at the New England Aquarium on Sunday. Above is a picture of some Rockhopper penguins enjoying the sprinklers on their rocks.



This is one penguin enjoying the sprinkler. They use the sprinklers to clean off the "rocks" (they're fiberglass) periodically. Apparently the penguins enjoy standing in the spray. I can relate...I enjoy taking showers as well.



These are African penguins. Aren't they cute!



This is a Little Blue penguin swimming around. They apparently only go up on their rocks early in the mornings and at dusk. During the day they spend all their time in the water. This prevented me from getting as good of a picture of a Little Blue as the others because we were there in the middle of the day.



This is Myrtle. She is a Giant Green Sea Turtle, is about 70 years old, and weighs around 600 lbs. There are a few other turtles in the Giant Ocean Tank (as well as about 600 fish and four or five sharks), but they're a different variety and nowhere near as big.

Here are some more interesting creatures of the deep.

Tropical fish tank.


Mandarin Fish


Scuttlefish


Starfish and Sea Anemone


Lion Fish


Sea Dragon (from the back)

Well, I hope you all enjoy the photos! I have some more, but these are by far the best. Only 1 more day left at work and 8 days until I leave!

Thoughts On Moving

Well, I'm sitting in my living room and it sounds like there is a washing machine strapped to the ceiling of the apartment below mine. A washing machine with an unbalanced load. I think it might actually be the ceiling fan, because when I was going up the stairs the door to the apartment below had a wet paint sign on it. The ceiling fan might help speed the drying process. Nevertheless, it's a bit annoying and the TV doesn't really drown it out. I'm comforted by two things: a) I can't hear it in the bedroom, therefore it won't prevent me from going to sleep, and b) I'm leaving in 9 days and won't have to deal with any emanations from dwellings below mine, as none shall exist. Since we are rapidly approaching the big Day, I've been thinking more about moving, and comparing this move with the last one. For one thing, I'm way more excited about moving back to Coeur d'Alene than I was about moving here. It seems kind of strange to me for this to be the case. When I wasn't accepted into graduate school for this fall we considered moving back there, but I didn't really want to because I was afraid I'd feel like a failure. I already felt like a failure and that seemed like it would just be admitting defeat and taking two giant steps backwards. It no longer feels like that. Also, when I left Abilene I was sad. I had friends in Abilene. Granted, most of them had moved away already because they had graduated, but I still had a few people that I did stuff with. Also, I enjoyed what I was doing for that semester that I wasn't in school. I got to teach private lessons and I helped out at two school orchestra programs. I was actually doing something I had studied to do. Now? Not so much. Leaving here isn't very sad. I know two other people in the entire city that I might actually ever do anything with, but we don't see each other ever, and, though we've known each other forever, it's always been an effortless friendship. We didn't have to try to see each other, we just did in the course of our normal lives. Now, here, we have to try and neither of us do so. That's kind of sad, I guess, but it happens. Other than that, I'm not leaving anyone behind here that I might actually miss. I don't like my job, and haven't for a while. Instead, I'm going back to where I have friends. I have family. I have people that currently miss me, and whom I also miss, and I am incredibly excited to be able to see them again. I will get to see my dad on his birthday. That hasn't happened since 2001. I will get to see my mother-in-law on her birthday, which has never happened. We can throw Michael a birthday party this year, and actually invite friends. It'll be so nice.

D - 10 days and Counting

We're now in the official countdown mode. Only 10 days left until we leave. And only three days left of work. I could stand it if it were Friday already, though. Today has been slightly less boring than usual...I actually had a few things to do today. (But, Jessica, I hear you say, if you have things to do, then why are you blogging at work? The answer, dear friend, is that I had stuff to do, and it is done.) My boss yesterday was acting all sad that this is my last week. Oh, puh-lease. Just a few weeks ago she was all ready to fire me, and now she's sad I'm leaving? Give me a break. It just confirms my earlier diagnosis that she is chemically imbalanced. Also, she's a racist. A girl came in last week and interviewed with a recruiter who thought she'd be a great candidate for my position. So, she had her take some computer skills tests while we waited for the boss-lady to arrive. When she got here, she took one look at the girl, didn't even look at her resume, then went up to her office. She called down to me a minute or so later to tell me she wasn't going to meet with this person. She didn't "have the right image." What, you ask, was wrong with her image? Nothing as far as I could tell. If anything, she looked more polished than I did that day. She was wearing a suit, a nice top, her hair was pulled back - I've never worn a suit to work. Occasionally a blazer, but not a suit. I don't even have one. The difference? She was black. You do the math. This makes me yet more glad that I am leaving.

On a happier note, Michael heard from the Post Falls PD today about the dispatch job. It looks like he has a very good chance of that working out. The person in charge just got his application yesterday and called him today, and he is supposed to call as soon as he gets into town to set up an interview. I can only hope that I get something good quickly. (The key word is "good." I don't want a crappy job like the one I currently have. I would actually like to do something where I might be able to use the skills that I've spent so much time and money developing. Wouldn't that be nice?) Anyway, only about an hour left of work today, so I will update everyone later on the things that require updates.

Birthday

Today was my birthday. I am now 24 years old. Today Michael and I went to the New England Aquarium. They have a penguin exhibit there, which is currently their main attraction. In it they have three species of penguins, the African penguin, the Rockhopper penguin, and the Little Blue penguin. I took quite a few pictures, which I will post at a later date. Let me just say, for now, that I have a wonderful husband who buys me fun stuff on my birthday. I like gift shops way too much for my own good, and, today, my desires were lovingly indulged. After the aquarium we headed to the Cheesecake Factory, where we stuffed ourselves with Hungarian Goulash, then ordered cheesecake to go. I got the Godiva chocolate kind, which is extremely rich. I only ate about half of it, but that leaves half of my birthday cheesecake for tomorrow! We ate at about 4:00 and it's now 11:30 and I'm still full. I suppose this makes up for my lack of gorging myself on Thanksgiving. Well, I must go to bed, as it is rather late and I still do have to go to work tomorrow. However, it is my last week of work, and, as my brother put it, what better birthday present could I ask for?

Bafflement

There are things in this world I will never understand. Racism, blind hatred, random acts of violence, politics, mullets, and why it takes CVS two hours to fill my prescription. I understand that they are occasionally rather busy, but two hours to fill a birth control prescription? It comes from the manufacturer in a little foil package all ready to go. All they have to do is slap a sticker on it, put it in a little paper bag, and staple it closed. I understand that the automated thing allows an hour for the prescription to be filled. It's computerized and has no way of knowing how busy the pharmacy is, so it automatically allows an hour. That's fine. But in order to use the automated system, you have to have the prescription number, which apparently got thrown out in the last four weeks. So, I ended up speaking with someone in the actual pharmacy. I called at about 5:15 and asked for it to be ready at 6:30, thinking that and hour and 15 minutes should be more than enough time, to which she replied, "Oh, it'll take at least two hours." I just don't understand how a process that should take five minutes, tops, can take two hours. When I finally went, there were no other customers anywhere even near the pharmacy counter. Why, exactly, does it take two hours to put a ready made thing in a paper bag with a pre-printed label? I just don't get it.

Happy Friday

We've reached the two week mark. I actually left work early today. My stomach's been hurting all week, and today it was hurting really bad. Not much was going on, and the boss lady was out of the office today, so I didn't feel too badly about leaving early. Only one more week of work left, and then I am home free. Literally. We still have a good bit of packing to do. I keep putting it off. I'm planning on packing the kitchen next weekend. I will need to go by the liquor store and get some boxes and go get some more bubble wrap. FedEx did a nice job of breaking most of my dishes. I'd like the few that remain to make it to Idaho intact. So, I am looking forward to a rather leisurely weekend of doing not much. Sunday we're going to go do something, since it will be my birthday. Yesterday my brother turned 27 and in two days I will turn 24. Well, back to lying on the couch watching CSI reruns on SpikeTV.

Mystery Solved?

Michael and I were discussing the origins of the mystery thong today over lunch. I repeated my puzzlement over where it came from, since I had, after all, looked in both washers and dryers before using them. Michael's response was, "It came from wherever my socks went to." While we were living in the apartment in Brighton two of Michael's socks disappeared. Not a matched pair, however. So, now he has two different socks with no mates. We noticed this while we were still living in that apartment, and we assumed that they'd gotten stuck under something and would turn up when we moved. But they didn't. They've disappeared completely. And now a thong has mysteriously appeared in our laundry. There is only one possible conclusion. Dryers are a portal to an alternate reality. Only stray pieces of laundry are able to cross between the two. Someday, perhaps, Michael's missing socks will turn up. Probably not while we still have the other halves, but, I guess that's how it goes. Or perhaps they're enjoying their new life of unattached sockhood in their alternate universe. What has become of the thong? It went in the trash.

Books!

I did another load of laundry today (I wasn't able to do all of the laundry on Sunday, so this was a bit of holdover from the weekend - I usually do three loads, and Sunday I only did two). I'm happy to report that no mysterious thongs or other items of clothing materialized this time. Other than that, today was quite uneventful. I went to work, did boring things, then came home. I finished my book today, which was nice. Although, the ending wasn't quite what I had expected. It was a good book, though not spellbinding. It's called The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason. The library here in Quincy has a service called "What to Read Next" that I signed up for. They have you fill out a little questionnaire about the kinds of things you like to read, and then send you a list of suggestions. This was one of the suggestions. Not a bad one. It's about a piano tuner who is requested to go to Burma during the British occupation during the 19th century in order to tune the grand piano that an officer has at his remote jungle outpost. It's about the journey of the piano tuner, one Edgar Drake, from London to the fictional village of Mae Lwin and what happens when he finally arrives. It's interesting. If you're looking for a good bit of historical fiction, you might want to check it out. I would recommend getting it from the library rather than purchasing it, personally. I'm cheap, though. The list they sent had five or six suggestions, and this is the first one I've read so far. I did read a book by one of the authors on the list, but not the book they recommended. I've put that book (Another Shore by Nancy Bond) on reserve, and hopefully will get it next week. The book by Nancy Bond that I did read is called A String in the Harp. I enjoyed it very much. It is considered a young adult book because it is told from the point of view of a 15 year old girl, but don't let that make you think it's juvenile. It's the story of a family, a father and three children, who have moved from Amherst, Massachusetts to a small seaside town in Wales called Borth. The mother died in a car accident, and the father, a professor, accepted a year-long appointment at the university in Wales, partly to escape all the sad memories associated with their home. Very good book. I recommend it. Another fun one (though not on the library's list) is The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. I also recently read Can You Keep A Secret? by the same author. They're light and fun and easy to read. Definitely check them out. (Unless you're a guy, in which case you might not like them quite as much.) So, there are some book recommendations for you. Enjoy!

The End Is Near

Well, the countdown has begun. D - 8 days of work left. I moved my quit date up from December 13 to December 8, ostensibly to give myself more time to pack and clean. It would be quite difficult, after all, to work all the way up until two days before I leave (at the crack of dawn, perhaps even a bit before) and have everything packed and ready to be loaded by Thursday morning when the college students we're hiring are coming to load the truck. This way I'll get to take my time and finish packing and start cleaning and do last minute laundry and everything. But, honestly, I really just want to get out of there as soon as possible. If I could, I'd stop going altogether. However, that would be bad. We need the money, for one thing. And I want whoever hires me next to be able to call here and not have them say, "Well, she gave plenty of notice that she was leaving, but she stopped coming a week and a half before she was supposed to be leaving." It wouldn't look good to a potential employer. Unfortunately, it matters. So, back to work I shall go again in the morning, where I shall add to the official job description for the next poor sucker, I mean, the next person to read. Additionally, I shall play endless games of Sudoku on the internet, check my email approximately 1,000 times, and answer the phones. You can see why I often post while at work. There's not really a lot to occupy my time. Thus the reason why I wish to leave. I play Sudoku in order to prevent as many brain cells from committing suicide as possible. I think it works. It's funny, though. People are starting to realize that I will be leaving quite soon. They've known for a little while now, but it's starting to sink in that the end is near. The recruiter manager came up to me this morning (or was it yesterday?) and said, "We're going to have to train someone new all over again now, you know that?" To which I simply said, "Yup," but secretly thought, "Not my problem, buddy," and laughed maniacally. A couple people have said they're going to miss me, though I doubt many of them will in all honestly. I will soon just be another story of the many receptionists that have come and gone. But, I only have to go back eight more times, and then I can just put it behind me. Only 17 more days until I fly back to Coeur d'Alene. I could only wish it were sooner.

The Mystery Thong

Yesterday, despite my best attempts to only leave the couch for food or bathroom breaks, I was forced off the couch in order to do laundry. Laundry is never a particularly exciting chore, but it is made less fun by having to carry a heavy basket along with detergent and quarters down narrow windy stairs (where I have hurt myself several times) from my second floor apartment to the basement. I was motivated by the fact that Michael was dangerously low on clean clothes, and I needed a few things washed myself. I managed to make it up and down the stairs without sustaining any injury. My usual modus operandi is to wash and dry everything, lug it back up the stairs, then leave it sitting in the laundry basket until shortly before bed, when I realize that if I don't hang up my clothes, they will be wrinkled and I'll have to iron them in the morning. This is a huge deterrent for me, as my ironing board is one of those little tiny ones that I had as a college student living in the dorm, and have unfortunately regressed to again. (Aren't I supposed to get more grown up things as I get older?) Which normally isn't so terrible if you have a table to put the ironing board on, but the table that was in the second bedroom, on which the computer used to reside and which I used to put the ironing board on, has been sold. Therefore, ironing is much more difficult than it was only days ago. Plus, I don't leave myself much extra time in the mornings for silly things like ironing. So, as I was folding or hanging our clothes I happened upon something that did not belong.

It was a thong.

A black cotton Victoria's Secret thong.

And it's not mine.

I don't own a black cotton Victoria's Secret thong. I do own several thongs, but the ones that I wear the most are from JC Penney. (Michael once made fun of my Supergirl one, so we went to Penney's and bought some nicer ones on sale. Is that an overshare?) I'm not really sure what to do about this mystery thong. I assume it's clean. I'm just not sure how it got mixed up with my laundry. I mean, the only normal explanation is that it was in one of the machines I used and just got mixed up with my stuff. But, you see, I looked in the machines before I used them. I always do. Maybe it was kind of stuck under the agitator in the washer. It's not very well lit in the laundry area, and the agitator's black, the underwear's black...perhaps. Or, maybe someone threw them in one of my machines after my stuff was in it. Why? I don't know. But stranger things have happened. There was an underwear bandit at ACU in the laundry room of the University Park Apartments where I lived my junior year. I'd heard of several girls getting their underwear stolen out of their dryers. Then, one day, I went down and all but a couple pairs of white cotton panties were gone. I was very upset, because whoever it was stole almost all of my underwear. Fortunately, I had a few that weren't in the wash, but I had to go to the store and buy replacements. At the time, I had enough underwear to easily last two or three weeks, and this was essential to my laundry schedule. While I can think of no reason why someone would put their underwear into my laundry intentionally, as I've said, stranger things have happened. So, the mystery thong is languishing in a corner of the front hallway by the closet. When I realized it wasn't mine, I kind of flung it away in disgust, then later kicked it into the corner.

Eeeww...I touched a stranger's thong.

That's gross.

And it touched my clothes.

It almost made me want to go wash them all again. But it was late and I needed to go to bed, plus I didn't have enough quarters to do all the laundry again. So, I just tell myself that the thong must've been clean if it came out with my laundry and that makes me feel a bit better. Still...in some countries they call thongs floss...you get the idea. I think I might just go take it back down to the laundry room and leave it there. Maybe someone will realize they're missing a thong and then go looking for it. I just hope they wash it before they wear it again. The corner of the hallway isn't terribly clean.

"God only knows what I'd be without you..."

I've had this song in my head for most of the evening. It's a catchy little tune, and I rather like it, but it's been ruined for me. It's on a new commercial. A creepy commercial. The song is playing and when I'm doing something else while the TV's on and I'm not looking at it, I start humming along. It's when I watch it that I'm creeped out. There are several scenes with people just standing next to large things and smiling fixedly at the camera. It's creepy. It reminds me of the music video for the song "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden, which I also found creepy. (If you haven't seen the music video, imagine creepy people smiling fixedly staring at the camera while engaged in somewhat strange activities, then a black sun coming closer and closer to earth, while a psychedelic grunge song is playing....it's strange, and always kind of disturbed me.) This creepy commercial is for Sam's Club and MasterCard. I suppose the creepy smiling people are happy because they got their random large things from Sam's Club on their MasterCards, and they're thinking that God only knows what they'd be without both Sam's Club and MasterCard. Well, for one thing, they'd be a lot less creepy. God's not the only one who knows what I'd be without Sam's Club or MasterCard, as I've gone without the latter for my entire life, and I've only entered a Sam's Club twice, both times with other people who have cards. For those of you who don't know, Sam's Club is the Wal-Mart version of Costco. (If you don't know what Costco is, I can't really help you.) However, the only times I've been to Sam's Club was to purchase food for the receptions of recitals/concerts. Once was for the reception at the end of the Abilene Summer Music Festival, where I was a counselor, and the other time was for the reception of my junior recital. Aside from that (both visits were also at the suggestion of others) I have happily lived my life away from both advertised products. In fact, I don't even know where the nearest Sam's Club is. There are only two or three Wal-Marts in all of Massachusetts, so I'm not sure why we're getting commercials for Sam's Club. I guess because it's partnered with MasterCard, and they're everywhere. Anyway, I'm just curious about why marketing people think that creepy commercials are the way to go. Sure, it sticks in my mind, but it doesn't make me want to use whatever they're advertising. In this case, I'm glad I don't have either Sam's Club or MasterCard available to me, for fear it would turn me into a creepy smiling lunatic, fit only to appear on creepy commercials! Another example is the Starburst ad campaign of a few years ago, which featured a teenage boy showing a teenage girl a bust he had sculpted of her entirely out of Starbursts. He then proceeded to gnaw on the face of the Starburst bust. Can we say "wow, that's creepy"? I have not purchased Starburst ever since. Although, I haven't seen that commercial in quite a while, so maybe they realized that freaking people out wasn't the way to go. One can only hope. Anyway, I will finish my creepy commercial rant, and make my way to bed. My four day weekend has drawn to an end, and I must go back to work tomorrow. Unfortunately, that means I won't see my husband until Thursday, because I'm working in the day and he's working from 3-11:30. I am in bed before he gets home. I will get to see him on Thursday and Friday because he has those days off. One happy side effect of his messed up schedule, however, is that we will get to spend time together on my birthday next Sunday, since he's working the overnight shift that day, and so doesn't have to be at work until 11:00pm. Only 19 more days until I leave!

Confession

I have a confession. I can be childish sometimes. I've mentioned previously that our downstairs neighbors tend to play their music too loud. They seem to be having a party today, going on now for five or six hours. Five or six hours of loud talking and loud music emanating through the floor and coming up the stairwell and through the door. It gets old. Fast. We have tried to approach their loud music problem in a mature fashion, asking them politely to turn things down, and, when that didn't work, trying to involve the landlord. To no avail. We were told, basically, that it was our problem because we didn't have a rug over our hardwood floor, and if we were to get one it would make a remarkable difference in the amount of sound that transferred through our floor. We were both rather skeptical about this, but went ahead and bought a rug anyway. Has it made a difference? Not a bit. Have our downstairs neighbors ceased their loud music playing ways? Well, as I've already said, it's been going on all day. So, since I live above them, I've taken to stomping every time I get up if their music is on. Sometimes I hop around the apartment on my way to the kitchen or bathroom or bedroom. Sometimes I just get up and jump up and down in place out of sheer frustration. Not on the rug, either. When I'm wearing my dress boots after work I make sure to stomp around a bit before taking them off (they're louder than regular shoes or bare feet). Is it a bit childish? Sure. Do I care? Nope. Nothing else seems to work. Not that stomping has had much effect, either, but at least it makes me feel a bit better. Slightly spiteful. A bit vengeful. Hopefully it annoys them at least half as much as they annoy me. Since they are so incredibly inconsiderate, it doesn't make me feel the need to be considerate to them. So, that is my confession. I'm a bit childish, spiteful, and inconsiderate when faced with profound inconsiderateness myself.

It's Official...

The packing has begun! Exactly three weeks from right now I will be home in Coeur d'Alene with my parents, and my husband and father-in-law will be in a moving truck somewhere between here and Chicago. So, today I started packing. Fortunately, we don't have too much to pack since we never fully unpacked from moving here (a bit sad isn't it?). Anyway, I wrapped our framed photos and began to put them in boxes. I didn't accomplish all that much, but I at least started. I plan on doing more tomorrow, but we have to get all the boxes out of the closet so we can put stuff in them, then we will get a few more boxes so that I'll have something to put the dishes and things in from the kitchen. I plan on waiting to pack the kitchen until closer to time to go. It's nice to have dishes and silverware (even if our dishes are somewhat reduced from what they used to be). Three weeks will come and go before we know it, and then we will be there. I can't wait!

A Non-Traditional Thanksgiving

Well, today was Thanksgiving and I did almost nothing. We slept in today and just generally hung out. After Michael went to work, I made myself some pasta that we had in the house. Later, I wanted something sweet, but didn't want to walk to the 7-11 to get anything because it was raining, so I figured out that I had enough ingredients to make butterscotch bars, and that's what I did (was that a run on sentence or what?). Other than that, I watched movies on TV, and eventually washed a few dishes. I did keep one of my traditions, though, of sleeping late and doing nothing more than watching TV. Last Thanksgiving was the first that Michael and I spent just us, and I cooked a traditional dinner, but he had to work this year, so what was the point? Prior to that, every Thanksgiving was spent at my grandparents' house in Dallas, where it was my privilege, nay, my duty to sleep late and do nothing. Anyway, I hope everyone had a happy time with their families, and I can look forward to spending Christmas with mine.

Happy Day Before Thanksgiving

Today was rather interesting. I went to work, as usual, but not very many other people in the office did. It was pretty dead all day, and at any given point only about half the people were there. Nearly everyone had left by 2:00 in the afternoon. We don't actually close until 5:30 normally, and Mary (the lady that owns the place) was planning on letting everyone go a bit early anyway, but not quite that early. Anyway, I did get to leave by about 4:00. I also got to practice my Spanish today. It was nice. I haven't really gotten to in quite a while. The guys that clean the building speak Spanish and they were talking to each other in Spanish and it made me start thinking in Spanish, so when they asked me a question (in English) I answered in Spanish. Anyway, we started talking and it was fun. It was also nice to be able to get off early. Michael didn't have to work today, so I got to spend some more time with him than I otherwise would. Also, I don't have to get up early in the morning, so I can stay up late with him, too. And we can see each other in the morning, sleep in late together, and just generally behave like a happily married couple. I've been looking forward to this all week.

Mmm...Hot Cocoa

I would just like us all to take a moment to meditate on the wonder that is hot cocoa. Specifically, in this instance, Land O Lakes Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa. It's yummy. Perfect for a day such as today. Winter's icy breath is blowing across New England. This morning it was 28 degrees when I left the house, and felt like 22. It's been near freezing in the mornings for a while, but this was the first day that I was out in weather below freezing. Luckily, it was sunny, so that helped a bit, but it was still cold, and I was glad for my wool coat, scarf, hat, gloves, and the extra layer I wisely put on while getting dressed. So, this evening after dinner, hot cocoa seemed to be the perfect thing. The heating around hear is a bit temperamental (for temperamental read we don't actually have control over when it's off or on) and the apartment has been a bit on the cool side. Not cold, mind you, but a bit cooler than I would actually prefer it. But, that just makes hot cocoa all the more appropriate. So, I encourage all of you to turn down the heat a notch or two and cuddle under a blanket with a mug of cocoa and the person of your choice.

A Short Week

In the tradition of Thanksgiving, I would just like to say that I am thankful that this week is a short week. Today is Monday, and I already have only two work days left this week. Tomorrow at 1:00 pm I will be officially halfway through with my work week. (1:00 pm is exactly halfway through my workday.) Also, I am thankful that I am getting paid tomorrow, as that means my check will clear before the holiday. (Normally I get paid on Thursday.) I am also thankful for my wool coat and fleece scarf that will keep me warm in the morning on my way to work, since it is only expected to be 34 degrees outside, with a real feel temperature of 28 degrees. And I am lastly thankful that there are only 25 days until I can return to Coeur d'Alene.

Very Little to Report

I didn't do much today. In fact, I only left the house to go to 7-11 to buy essentials like bread, cheese, cereal, and milk. I wouldn't have minded getting a few more things from a real grocery store, but that would've required walking a half mile, buying everything, then lugging it back the half mile in the dark and only 40 degrees out. Which, granted, isn't terribly cold, but isn't much fun for carrying groceries in. So, 7-11 it was. Yesterday I did a bit more. I went sight-seeing. It was sunny out, and who knows when it'll be sunny on a day off again. I walked most of the Freedom Trail. It's a trail around Boston delineated by a red brick line (sometimes it's painted, but mostly it's brick) that goes past major historical sights such as the New and Old State Houses, Faneuil Hall (aka The Cradle of Liberty), a few burial grounds (note: the difference between a cemetery and a burial ground is that in cemeteries you know exactly where people are buried, and how many of them are buried there, in a burial ground you don't.), Paul Revere's House, The Old North Church, and a few other interesting things like the Bunker Hill Monument, and the USS Constitution (the oldest ship in the naval fleet). I didn't make it out to the last two, but I did go by the others, taking photos and things just like a tourist. I'm planning on going out to the last two places, but I think Michael wants to go, too, so we might do that next week on one of my days off. We'd both seen most of the rest already, but neither of us have been out to the last two.

I did think of a couple more things that I will miss:
7. Having built in reading time during the day, because I read on the T.
8. The Boston Public Library. It's enormous, has tons of books, looks really cool, and also houses the John Adams Presidential Library.

I also thought of a couple more things that I won't miss:
13. Having to make sure I have enough quarters to do laundry every week.
14. The 50 minute commute to go 7 miles.

Only 26 more day until I leave.

Things I Won't Miss About Boston

1. Ridiculously crowded trains on the T. I hate wedging myself between people just to get somewhere.
2. Walking everywhere when it's rainy or cold or just generally unpleasant outside.
3. The stairs at work that I've now fallen down twice.
4. The back stairs to the basement in my apartment building that I have to take to the laundry area, but are too narrow to comfortably carry a normal laundry basket down, and they're windy so the actual steps themselves are too narrow. I fell on those stairs once, too.
5. The downstairs neighbors that have their bass turned up too loud and we can hear it over our TV when we're just trying to relax.
6. The landlord who won't do anything about the downstairs neighbors, and tells us we need to get a rug to help cut the noise. We got a rug. It didn't make a bit of difference.
7. The upstairs neighbor who sounds like an elephant when she walks around.
8. The fact that we have no real control over our heat.
9. Having no friends.
10. Having no church.
11. Lack of street signs. (It's true. Street signs are a rarity around here. It can be very frustrating at times.)
12. Getting nearly run over on a daily basis. Leaving the house is always an adventure.

Hmm....that's all I can come up with for now. I'll let you know as I think of more. Only 27 more days.

Things I Will Miss About Boston

As we are preparing to leave Boston I am starting to think about the things that I will miss and about the things I won't miss. I'm sure I'll be adding to this as my time here draws to a close, but to start with here are

Things I Will Miss About Boston
1. Not needing a car to get everywhere. Public transportation is really pretty cool. It's a lot cheaper than owning a car, too.
2. The benefits that come with having to walk nearly everywhere. Michael and I have both lost some weight since moving here just because we walk all the time.
3. Being surrounded by so much history. It's everywhere. I work next door to the meeting house where they held meeting during the Revolutionary War, and the Old State House (the center of government for Massachusetts as a Colony and for the first bit of its statehood) is the subway stop I get off at to go to work. Literally, it's underneath the Old State House.
4. The fact that the New State House was built in the 1790's. (It's been added onto since then, but the oldest part is over 200 years old, and it's the New State House.)
5. The Public Garden. It's so pretty.
6. The neat architecture.

That's it for now. Tomorrow we will see what I won't miss about Boston. Only 28 more days!

"You Can't Fire Me! I Quit!"

Well, that's not exactly what I said to my boss yesterday, but it pretty well sums it up. Let me just say that my boss is impossible to please. She is unclear about what she wants and then gets upset when things don't work out the way she wants. (Hmmm...perhaps if she could articulate cleary exactly what she wants she would save herself and everyone else a lot of frustration...just a thought.) So, she asked me to do something for her that actually has nothing to do with work, but I'm her assistant so I did my best. Basically I had printed out a couple of lists for her for something on Monday, then on Wednesday she told me she never got one of them. I, trying to defend myself, tried to tell her that I had given the list to her, told her what I had said as I handed it to her, what she had said when she looked at it, and she just responded, "You never gave this to me." That's all she would say. "You never gave this to me." I, of course, said "Yes, I did!" But she apparently thinks I was lying, and just said, "No, you didn't." She then proceded to tell me that things weren't working out "for the long-term," to which I replied, "That's fine. I'm moving back to Idaho next month anyway. I was planning on talking to you about it later. I had planned on having December 13 as my last day. Is that okay, or do you want me gone sooner?" She said the 13th was fine, so now I don't have to worry about giving my two weeks' notice. I'm still so mad, though. I can't believe she thinks I lied to her! And why would I lie about that?! It's just a stupid list, it's not the end of the world. But, everything that doesn't go exactly right around here somehow becomes my fault. I've beat my brains out since August trying to please this woman, and I've come to the unavoidable conclusion that she is impossible to please. Then, later in the afternoon, she had the audacity to ask about the move and what Michael will be doing, etc, trying to be all nice. Right, that makes it okay that you called me a liar earlier in the day. I really wish I could quit even sooner. I really wanted to just leave right after that conversation. I found this job working for Google reviewing websites in Spanish, so I'm going to apply for that. If it pays well enough, I might just quit sooner and spend lots of time doing that. I guess this is just another sign that we've made the right decision to move back to Coeur d'Alene. I can't wait. Only 29 more days until I leave.

Random Thoughts for the Day

So, I'm kind of a random person, and here are some of my random thoughts from the past 24 hours or so....


Random Thought #1

Happy Birthday, Mr. Vonnegut...


a few days late.



Kurt Vonnegut, one of my favorite authors, turned 84 on Saturday, November 11. I realized this last night as I was lying in bed trying to go to sleep. I know this because in his book Breakfast of Champions (great book, by the way. I highly recommend it.) he mentions that he was born on Armistice Day, which is now known as Veteran's Day. It's kind of ironic that he's made it this long, since he's been admittedly trying to commit suicide by cigarette for the vast majority of his life. But, he's still writing some (his latest book was published last year) and even creating artwork. It's featured in several of his books (including Breakfast of Champions), but on his website vonnegut.com you can purchase prints that he's done, or T-shirts with his drawings on them. I kind of want one, but $20 is a bit steep for a T-shirt, even one with a Kurt Vonnegut drawing on it. If you've never read Vonnegut and would like to, I recommend, in addition to the aforementioned book, Slaughterhouse Five (which has nothing to do with slaughterhouses, really), Hocus Pocus, Welcome to the Monkey House (this is a collection of short stories, but very good), and Slapstick: or Lonesome No More! He has many other very good books that are likely available at your local library. If not, I'm sure your local bookstore will have many of them as well, not to mention the internet. I would be willing to loan my copies to local friends, however, the vast majority of my books, including most of my Vonnegut collection, are still in Texas at my grandparent's house. They kindly offered to store some of our less essential items until we could afford to have them sent to us, and my books were declared non-essential. (I did manage to smuggle some of them with me, but most are still in Texas, where they are likely to remain until June, when my parents will drive down to visit their newest grandbaby and stop through Dallas and pick up the rest of our stuff.)





Random Thought #2





Squirrels Are Good For the Soul





This is not a new thought, really, more of a revisit of an inside joke from my freshman year at ACU. My friend Andrew declared this into his mini tape recorder one afternoon after having witnessed the ACU squirrels frolicking about, digging, attacking people, and various other squirrely things. The squirrels at ACU are among the bravest known to mankind. They have been known to charge people, run up their legs, throw things at them from trees, and one guy I know swore they were out to get him and the birds were helping out as spies. Despite his warnings to be careful around the squirrels, none of them ever attacked or threw things at me, thus I often enjoyed watching them. They're like paranoid little people, running around and hiding things from whoever might be watching, looking around skittishly every couple seconds, covering their tracks in the dirt. That was my favorite part. The frantic swishing back and forth of the front paws over their newest hidey hole. Today on my morning walk to the T (that's what we call the subway here) I saw two squirrels out and about. One was climbing the tree in front of our front walkway. They're so funny! He sort of jumped a couple inches every time, pulling with is front paws quickly and throwing himself up, to get another grip on the bark. The second squirrel was in someone's yard a block away. It had apparently found something to munch on, because after I spotted it, it sat up and scurried over to hide behind a ceramic donkey. (Why anyone has a ceramic donkey in their yard is beyond me, but it makes a good squirrel hiding place I guess.) In any case, every time I see a squirrel it makes me smile, thus reaffirming that squirrels are indeed good for the soul.




Random Thought #3



I Am A Slacker

I'm at work, and I'm posting on my blog. Need I say more? In my defense, my job is pretty boring and I don't have much else to do right now. Fortunately, I only have four more weeks at this job, and in exactly one month from today I am moving back to Coeur d'Alene.

On Moving to Coeur d'Alene

So, I've decided to set up a blog to chronicle the process of moving from Boston, MA back to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. For those of you who don't know, I graduated from Abilene Christian University in December of 2005. I auditioned for graduate school, with the hope of attending this school year, but unfortunately that didn't happen. So, in May we moved to Boston with the idea that I could hook up with a teacher, work, save money, and try again for next year. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened either. I have a job that I don't like very much, I'm not playing at all, and there's no way I could get back to where I was this time last year by February without a teacher. Even if I could somehow manage to become good enough to be accepted to a graduate school, there's no way we could afford it, since the only way we can afford to live here at all is with both of us working full time. So, as of Thursday, November 9, 2006 we made the decision that we're moving back to Coeur d'Alene. Both of our parents still live there, and Boston's just not working out like we'd hoped. Besides, being 3,000 miles from your family isn't all it's cracked up to be.

It's odd, though. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to be able to spend time with my family whenever I want, to have friends again, to have a church home again. But, I feel as though I'm coming full circle, and in so doing, I can't help thinking about memories of growing up in Coeur d'Alene. Now, I had a great childhood, but we all get battered a bit in growing up. Some of the memories aren't the most pleasant. Although, thankfully, one of the central figures in many of my unpleasant memories is no longer there. I have forgiven him for his treatment of me (however unententional, he did a lot of emotional and spiritual damage), but I haven't been able to forget. Most things that truly require forgiveness cannot be so glibly dismissed by "forgive and forget." So, whenever those memories resurface I must make an intentional decision to continue to forgive. That would be much more difficult if faced with this person on a regular basis. I am thankful that I won't have to. Regardless of all that, however, I haven't lived in Coeur d'Alene for over five years now, and not at all since I got married. We'll all have some great big adjustments coming our way. Especially since we'll be living with parents again... Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely grateful for all the help supplied by both my parents and my husband's parents, and for their generosity in opening their homes to us once again, though we have both long since left the nest. In some ways I'm excited to get to stay with them for a little while. I love getting to stay up late talking to my mom, which is something we did regularly when I was a teenager, and still do over the phone at times. But, I'm just afraid of what might happen when a "little while" gets longer and longer. So, we're just praying that jobs and cars and money come through sooner rather than later, and that a "little while" remains just that.

So, here are my thoughts to be sent off into internet land as my first blog post. I'll keep everyone updated on all of the adventures that come with moving for the third time in 8 months. (Yes, 3 times. From Abilene to our first apartment in Boston, from our first to our second apartment in Boston, and now to Coeur d'Alene. Then we'll have to move again once we get our own place. All I know is that once we do we better stay there for a long time!)