Tired of being...tired.

So begins another week of travel. This week I'm all over, from Bloomfield Hills to Ann Arbor to Rochester. I'm currently at the library (where else?) waiting 'til it's time to head back to the city for another visit. Tonight I might go to Jo-Ann's with my mom to look for a Halloween costume pattern, since I'll be dressing up for the first time in years! I guess that's what happens when you decide to host a party...

Speaking of parties, this weekend was Jon's housewarming bash in Lansing. I had a great time hanging out with lots of people, some of whom I haven't seen in awhile. Jen flew in from Minnesota, and I got to pick her up at the airport Saturday evening. Mim, Mel and I brought an obnoxious "Welcome Jen" sign, but she sais she loved it and would hang it up in her bedroom at home. Other than that, we all just hung around, played Catch Phrase and ping-pong, and generally had a good time. The downside of that was not getting much sleep, as well as having to say 'bye to Mitch for the next week. I miss him tons and hope this week goes really fast.

Oh argh, I had another question for everyone to ponder and I don't remember what it was. Oh well - I guess I should hop on trusty Yahoo Maps and get some directions to my next school. Take care, everyone, and I hope you're enjoying the beginning of what is sure to be a gorgeous fall!

A Real Update

Yes, I know it's been a long time. Work was really busy the past few weeks, getting ready for travel season and all that. Now I am officially a road warrior once again, visiting high schools in Oakland, Livingston, Washtenaw, Lenawee and Monroe counties. I've also sort of moved back in with my parents during the week, as South Lyon is not a bad "home base" for my adventures. So far everything has gone well, but I'm finding that Yahoo Maps is not really any more reliable than Mapquest.

Other than work, we've been having lots of fun, mostly with Ray and Kristy during the week. We do movie night (OK, movie, popcorn and Captain Morgan night) with them every Wednesday, and last Saturday we all went out to B-Dubs for drinks in the evening. Which turned into drinking games at our apartment. Which turned into a sleepover. "Never have I ever sat around drinking with three other people on a Saturday night because there's nothing else to do." Well, we all had to drink on that one!

I guess one of the things that's been on my mind lately is a sort of silent falling out I'm currently having with one of my best friends. I prefer not to rehash it over the Internet, but I would love some insight on the concept of "best friends." Why are girls, from a very young age, so obsessed with having a best friend? What does a best friend ideally mean, and what has it actually meant for you or people you know? At what point is it no longer important to have a best friend, or at what point in your life do you find the concept of a best friend irrelevant? What happens when you don't think you can name a best friend anymore? Do "grown-ups" really need best friends?

OK, that's all for now. I'm going to tear down the shop I set up daily in the Lyon Township Public Library, change out of my suit, and think about a mountain bike ride at Island Lake before taking my mom out to dinner. Today is a good day. :)

Mitch's Results

You are a Social Conservative (35% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (63% permissive) You are best described as a: Republican Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

What happened to my friend?

I tossed the ball her way and waited for it to come sailing back. Instead, she looked at it for a moment, pondered what it could mean, and nonchalantly tossed it to the side of the court. Then, with a shrug of her shoulders, she walked away and left me there, still waiting.

What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

A caring, capable wife
A loving mother
A true Christian
A good friend.
A successful career-woman
An independant woman
A compassionate woman
A smart, confident woman.
An adventurous soul
A risk-taker
A boundary-pusher
A world-traveler.
A comfortable homemaker
A safety net
A motivating coach
A community volunteer.

Me.

Quiz I Stole from Ryan :)

You are a Social Conservative (36% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (61% permissive) You are best described as a: Centrist Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

"Good Monsters"

Jars of Clay's new album, "Good Monsters," is out! You can listen to the whole thing for FREE here and buy it on iTunes for $10. I highly recommend it - it's different from any other Jars record I've heard. Enjoy!

For Posterity

I might not have a great "green thumb," but here's proof that I can grow flowers on my balcony:

A gerber daisy - I haven't had many, but it's worth the wait when they bloom.

Some flower growing out of a can. It was a creative Christmas present that I never thought I'd be able to keep alive!



A variation of the morning glory. It has successfully climbed up the lattice-work and blooms like this every morning!

How did it used to be?

We grew up and grew apart.

I guess you could say it’s as simple as that.

I’ve been trying to put it into words, how this happened. It’s about who they’ve become and who I’ve become.

I want to be active, look for adventure, test my self-sufficiency and push some boundaries, whether it’s a rugby game on a chilly beach or a climbing trip down South. They want to hit up trendy clubs, sample vegetarian cuisine and go to foreign films. I’ll take a weekend at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes and take it for the good time it’s worth, but they’d ridicule it for its lack of sophistication. I’ll hop on the back of a motorcycle, and they’d tell me how dangerous it is. I’ll go to church to learn and worship and question, and they’d tell me just how simple everything is, which tells me they haven’t sat down and thought about anything.

They never come out and say it, but I feel their disapproval and judgment as acutely as I did during high school. Maybe I never got past being insecure. Maybe I just pretend.

I feel like an outsider with them. An afterthought. A low priority. “Getting together” when we’re all in town means spending half an hour sitting around someone’s parents’ kitchen table, or quickly exchanging obligatory Christmas presents in a living room where we used to spend hours goofing around.

I love them, though. I miss who we were but accept who we’ve become. I’d give anything for a weekend with my girls, just my girls, to reacquaint ourselves with each other, to discover the how we’ve changed and how we’ve stayed the same. I’d love to know, once and for all, that I don’t have to prove myself or justify my choices for them to love me, too.