the world is your acorn

Tater tots: no matter how hungry I am, I’m only going to eat about 6 at a time, so there’s no need to empty half the bag onto the baking sheet.

Keeping time: yes, I’m perfectly capable of checking the clock every now and again, but it doesn’t mean I will. Set a timer!

Choosing battles: even if he is annoying, wrong, stupid, and lying, nothing you say will make the situation any better. Just let it go.

Tivo: just because it’s been recorded, doesn’t mean that I have to watch it. In fact, if it gets erased before I get to it, nothing really bad happens. No need to stress out about it.

Podcasts and blogs: see above for Tivo.

Magazines: I don’t ever read them. Stop resubscribing.

Clutter: “just in case” is not a good enough reason to hold onto it. Throw it out.

The Little Red-Haired Girl is home!!
Well, she was home Monday night, but I was up to my eyeballs in this Dance Dance Revolution paper, so we didn’t really get any quality time until last night. It was a really nice night. We went to the grocery store together, and found clams on sale, so we had linguine with clams and Caesar salad for dinner. We cooked together (I made her listen to the Rent soundtrack), then cleaned up together. It was really nice.

I know I haven’t said much about my week of vacation, but it was just so nice I don’t feel like I could do it justice. Probably bits of it will emerge eventually. In the meantime, everyone who I saw (and who hosted me), rest assured that I had a fabulous time and am so grateful that you took time out of your busy lives to babysit me and make my vacation so amazing. So, thanks, friends!

Well, it’s sort of the last day of vacation, except today is supposed to be a working day, so I shouldn’t be thinking of it as vacation at all. Unfortunately I’ve not been too productive today. I feel all temporary being home before The Little Red-Haired Girl is home, like I’m just waiting for her to get back. I can’t seem to settle on anything, which is unlucky because there is definitely plenty of work to be done. I’m thinking about just killing a few hours until I feel panicky about homework, then starting on it then. Great study skills, I know. Oh well. 27 more hours until she gets back

I’m sorry that I left you. You have always been such a reliable part of my life. I always knew that, if I needed you, you would be there, around the corner waiting. I’ve learned to count on your consistently quality, fast, and cheap coffee, bagels, donuts, and other delicious standards. It’s been so good to be able to see you again this past week; have you missed me too? Won’t you consider moving to Nashville? Within the next four to seven years?

I’ve had enough of being here now. Being with my parents for more than about 12 minutes at a time is enough for anyone. Unfortunately I have another day and a half to go. Argh. Tonight I am going to run off to the movies with The Littles, which will be a nice way to get away.

The Little Red-Haired Girl is on her way home to her fam now, and she is super excited. I’m happy for her, but it also means she won’t have time to chat with me on the phone anymore. Whatever will become of me?

15 cent wing tonight. The Photographer picked me up from home, even though it was way out of her way, just so I could indulge in beer the right way at TK’s. How can you beat friends like that? Clearly, evening with The Littles rocked. Fun conversation, good food, cheap beer, and more fun conversation. I did get carded though, while The Photographer is such a regular that she did not. There is talk of seeing Rent with The Littles tomorrow, which I’m totally into. Being home at the rents’ isn’t so bad afterall.

Long time no post, hey friends? I may as well warn now, this is probably going to be a long, rambling entry about my activities over the past few days, so feel free to skip if you want.

Thursday:
Fly into Boston from Nashville, only to discover that my baggage has been left behind. No big surprise, such is my airplane luck. Fanclub Girl and I go to JP to meet Fierce n’ Fiery and wife for dinner and have a great time catching up. Then we hit Queeraoke and met up with lots of other fun people and a great time was had. I tried to stick with beers, but who can resist a cocktail mixed by The Bartender? I was hurting the next day, but Fanclub Girl’s pad is so cozy that it was ok.

Friday:
Lady E. collected me from Fanclub Girl’s place around noon, we went to get my bag at the airport, met up with Upside Down Wall Humper, and headed off to New Haven. It was an ok night. Beers with old college buddies is never a bad thing. At the same time, I felt a little distant and unwilling to go nuts. Getting old, I guess. I managed to stay out until 3 in the morn anyway.

Saturday:
Yale Harvard football game. Mimosas and tailgating starting at 8:30 am. It was pretty fun. We ran into some folks that we did not expect to see, including my old rugby coach. Also Distant Cousin stayed for the day, which was not in the original plan, but helped to make it more fun. That night I tried to take it easy – my body cannot handle the drink and lack of sleep the way it once could. I had a few beers, but mostly water. Spent time with rugby girls – fun, but chill. It was nice to see everyone again. I missed out on hanging out with friends from my class who were dancing at the club, which is sad, but I saw most of them this past summer at reunion anyway. Came home a little after 1, only to find that Party Girl Doctor was already back and passed out. Apparently she doesn’t even have the steam to close down the bars anymore. Woah.

Sunday:
Nice goodbyes with some folks, then to see Harry Potter with some other folks. Ben and I were silly and spiked our coke. That evening I went to see The Trainer and company. It was so great to see them and the baby and hang out, like old times. I miss getting to just sit around and shoot the shit with them. It was too bad The Little Red-Haired Girl couldn’t be there, she would have enjoyed it. Came home and played We Love Katamari with Lady E until all hours. I’m now obsessed with it.

Monday:
KFC and movie marathon, followed by little hugse/tie reunion. White Debs put together a nice dinner, inviting everyone who was still around from school last year. It was awesome – everyone made the effort to drop by, even if only for an hour or two. I’m pretty sure we had 100% turnout. The food was amazing, the conversation was fun, and I felt super loved. A nice way to finish off the weekend, I think.

Tuesday:
That’s today. Lady E. went to the airport early this morning; I didn’t even wake up when she left. I hope she made it ok. She’s letting me borrow her car to drive home, where I’ll meet The Littles for wing night. Then a couple of days of family time, followed by Dykenight on Friday night, then back to Nashville on Saturday. It’s been crazy and fun and hectic so far, and I’m lovin’ it. The next couple of days will have to be homework days to make up for all the fun. I’m not really psyched to get back to Nashville; I fear it will be hard to adjust again, now that I’ve spent all this time here at home. However, I can’t wait to see The Little Red-Haired Girl again. I miss her lots. That’s the recap. Sorry so long and boring. Details may emerge later on.

Ooh, did I mention that I had a doodle burger for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday? YUM!

Lady E. and I are spending our day productively: Indiana Jones marathon with KFC and Magners.

Some drinking cues for today’s game, which we are personalizing from a site we found (link below):

• Both: We hear the theme song
• fap: A Nazi dies
• LE: Map/route appears
• fap: Someone’s knocked off a moving vehicle
• LE: Someone jumps on a moving vehicle
• Both: We hear a new accent
• Both: A woman yells at Indy
• Both: Someone onscreen drinks
• fap: Indy almost gets impaled, crushed, chopped up
• LE: A bad guy gets impaled
• fap: Indy hangs from a rope
• LE: Indy gets shot at
• Both: Laws of physics don’t apply
• fap: Indy loses his hat
• LE: Indy defeats a booby trap
• fap: Something is on fire
• LE: A skeleton is on screen
• Both: Yankees cap
• LE: Bad guys is shot in forehead
• fap: Old man gives Indy advice
• Both: Indy uses his whip

Indiana Jones Drinking Game

Lately I’ve been somewhat unlucky when flying. In the last few years it has been rare that every leg of my trip has been on time for some reason or other. I don’t know if I’ve gotten unluckier or if the airlines have gotten crappier. The Little Red-Haired Girl points out that it could be way worse. Leave it to her optimism to ruin my grouchy fun.

Anyway, obviously my flight was delayed this afternoon. The good news is that my layover in DC is 3 hours, so I was not worried about missing my connecting flight. There’s no bad news, really. Annoying that you have to pay for wifi in the airports, so this post won’t be live probably until tomorrow. But worse things have happened to me. And you can probably wait. Actually I might be with you tonight. In a couple of hours, even.

I just wanted to share some things that I saw and heard in the airport (both in Nashville and here in DC) while waiting:

Some ladies sitting next to me chatting: “Memories of a Geisha. I can’t remember, was it Amy Tan who wrote that?”

Foreigners talking animatedly near me with so much emotion that they sound like Sims. I just giggle quietly to myself.

A toddler wandered out into the middle of the hallway between gates, and got clipped by some guy running (presumably to catch his flight). Coulda been ugly. Parents did little to prevent it from happening again.

The line at the McDonald’s stretches down the hallway. Is it the only option or are we all slobs? If I weren’t so lazy I’d walk around to see if there’s anything else to eat. Instead I’ll just be hungry.

ps – It’s Friday now, and I’ll have to write about my awesome night later. But, the airline lost my luggage. big surprise. I’m such a victim

So, I’ve spent the last week and a half somewhere between hysterical glee and anxiety attack. I’m ridiculously excited to go home; so much so that the travelling and being away from my house and The Little Red-Haired Girl isn’t making me tense (unlike any other time I travel). I can’t wait to see people and hang out and go places and take the T and eat good sushi and have The Bartender and Fanclub Girl make me drinks and all that good stuff.

At the same time, good lord, it’s stressful! Trying to figure out when I can spend time with whom, and who will be offended if they don’t get enough time, and who should get solo-time as opposed to group time… Apparently not everyone is taking ten days off like I am, and have lives and schedules that we have to plan around.

Then I have to get my school work together so I don’t come home on Saturday screwed and panicked. I also have to make sure that I don’t leave The Little Red Haired Girl swimming in my piles of junk, and that bills get paid before I go, and that the Tivo is programmed properly (very important).

Packing is another thing. I’m mostly packed, but I’ve already been spoiled by the weather down here, and have no idea how to pack for the cold. In addition to which I have to strategize about how much to bring given that I can do laundry while at my parents’, and how I can portion things out for the different phases of the trip (Boston, then New Haven, back to Boston, then New Haven, then Boston again before coming back to Nashville). Oy.

I think I will be exhausted after this vacation. I will also miss The Little Red-Haired Girl very much. I’m not sure we’ve ever been apart this long before