Thursday

I generally hate Thursday. I know its close to the weekend, but I still have to get through all of Thursday and all of Friday before I can sleep in. The tiredness of the work week has caught up to me by Thursday and I have class until 9 PM. But this week, I spent half of Tuesday thinking that it was Monday, so the fact that it is already Thursday is wonderful. And the semester is almost over.

Homesick, sort of

It's funny, the things I have ended up missing about the cities I have lived in. None of them are the things that I expected to miss. Of course, I miss my family and friends and even acquaintances, I have found, but I planned for that. In Columbia, I really miss our cute apartment. I think we just had so many good times there. We were living there when we got married and when we got Daisy. I also miss my drive to Rosewood Market to go to work. In Charlotte, I miss morning. I used to get up and walk my dog around the apartment complex when it was still cool outside, then Nick and I would fight over the one bathroom in our one bedroom apartment (Note: couples need more space than a one bedroom apartment, no matter how compatible and in love you are). Then we would ride to work together since we both worked downtown, err uptown, or whatever they call it. The ride to work gave us time to talk and complain about our jobs, and it gave me time to eat my breakfast and do my makeup and do some backseat driving, which Nick LOVES. Our ride to work was pretty. There were nice houses on a residential street all the way to downtown. I also miss downtown. Nick and I would try to wait as long as we could before we went to lunch, then we would meet at one of the many non-chain eateries Charlotte has to offer on a weekday. It was the hottest summer of my life, neither of us had ever experienced summer in full work attire, but I miss it. When we left Dallas I expected to only miss my house. We didn't fall in love with much in Texas. I did cry when it was time to leave our house, we did a lot of work on it, plus it was beautiful. But now I realize that I miss the vast array of Mexican restaurants, there was cheap mexican food, fast mexican food, bad mexican food, really good mexican food, expensive mexican food and trendy mexican food. It was great. I also miss the Arboretum. If you are in Dallas, you should go, it is an oasis in a concrete jungle. I think most of all I miss the open, sunny sky. The ground was so flat and the sky was so big that possibilities really felt endless. And now, here I am in Richmond. I love it. I think we found a really good fit for us. I almost wish we hadn't so we could move back to Charlotte or Columbia and be closer to our friends and family, but, darnit, we like it. All of this moving has taught us a lot about ourselves and what we are looking for in life. First being, that we will never commute more than 30 minutes. It just isn't worth it when what we really want is to be at home with each other. Second, we like scenery. Trees, hills, green stuff. Third, we can't live in a city with 5 million other people. We like open spaces. I wonder what Richmond will show me that will stick with me.

Oh yeah! Columbia!

My trip to Columbia was great. As soon as we got there, we dropped off Daisy with my father-in-law and Nick dropped me off at Hunter-Gatherer on his way to USC. If you haven't been to Hunter-Gatherer, you should go. I had always avoided it in college by accident. The menu looked good, sort of mediterranean. I had a delicious hummus plate, plus, they brew their own beer and that was good too. I sat outside with various friends from 5:30 until 10:30. It was wonderful to see everbody. And the next day, I spent the whole day with my mom. You can't beat that.

Camping!!!!!!

Nick and Daisy and I went camping this weekend at a beautiful lake in the foothills of VA. We had a wonderful time. We cooked some of the best brats I have ever had, sauteed in sliced onions and beer. I even toasted the buns. I told you I do spoiled camping. The weather was perfect, not too hot during the day and chilly at night, but we both had trouble sleeping. After reading all of the signs warning about camping in Bear Country, waking up to critters walking around your tent is a little disconcerting. Nick's imagination went a step further. The next morning he asked me if I had heard all of the animals peeing outside of our tent. Uhh... NO.

Tomorrow, tomorrow...

I am going home tomorrow. Columbia will always be home. I remember how bad I always wanted to leave Columbia, mostly because my parents didn't give me the choice to go away to college. Its funny now, I long to go back, just not for good. The weather tommorow in Richmond will be 63 degrees and very windy, but I will be in Columbia, and the forecast says that it will be 76, sunny and slightly windy. I can't wait.

Camping

A lot of people don't understand my need for camping. Nick at least supports it. He took me on my first camping trip, outside of the girl scouts, so he only has himself to blame. I can't live without camping. I can make it a month or two in between trips before I start obsessing again. And obsessing is almost an understatement. I research places to camp for weeks on end and start checking the weather forecast as soon as it's available. I plan the menu weeks in advance and make my shopping list. I pack and repack all of my camping supplies. I think I like the preparation as much as the actual camping. Nick jokes that I just like to pack the car with all of my camping supplies, but its more than that. I still have to set up our campsite and hike around the area, search for alligators, and look at all of the RVs. Then, my favorite part, I get to make dinner outside on my little propane griddle (we had burn bans in Texas, so I gave up cooking over the fire). Camping is good for me. I think that, despite all of the work, it is the only time I truly relax. Nick and I pop open our camp chairs and some ice cold beers and we talk. All Night. No interruptions. Well, there is the occasional raccoon or armadillo, which gets Daisy barking, but other than that, there is just us talking. It is wonderful. If we were at home, we would be watching movies and I would be doing the dishes and the laundry and sweeping or mopping or any of the other chores I have convinced myself are completely necessary to do over the weekend. Camping keeps me from all that, of course, I have to catch up the next weekend, or on Sunday evening. But for a whole night, we just camp.

Looking for...

Giddy. I want to laugh for no reason, maybe even joke a little. I'll keep looking. A couple of years ago, people needed to tell me, "get it together, buckle down, pay attention." These days they should say, "lighten up." I wonder how.

Crazy Weather

This was a couple of weeks ago.

This was last weekend.

Getting Old

I am turning 27 this week. I remember a time when birthdays were fun and I looked forward to them. Clearly, that ended a few years ago. I can barely say 27 without it getting caught in my throat and I almost cry everytime I think about what a bad day my birthday will be. I don't really know anyone in this city well enough to get together with them on my birthday. I always thought I would be in a career by now, at the very least, have a job I cared about or one that was getting me somewhere. I am going to Columbia for 2 days next week, so I will get to see my family and some friends, I'll pretend we are celebrating my birthday.

Now What?

Ok, So I decided to try this blog thing. I read so many of them. Maybe writing one will keep me entertained. I have been moving around the United States for 2 years now, and I am not in the military. I am always lost, always the new girl, always trying to find my place and always trying to make friends. How do you do that at this age? I don't go to bars much. I am not a fan of driving intoxicated or being at bars sober, and I hate being saturated with cigarette smoke. Besides, isn't everyone there single or on the prowl? I am neither. So, how do you make friends in your late, late twenties in a new city?

"And still this emptiness persists Perhaps this is as good as it gets When you’ve given up the drink and those nasty cigarettes Now I leave the party early at least with no regrets I watch the sun as it comes up I watch it as it sets Yeah this is as good as it gets. " Colin Hay- It's a Beautiful World