Tuesday, March 17, 2009
O the Places I've Been!
I have missed you all so, so much! Seriously. Not having the internet really sucks.
The first couple of days were fine. I kept myself busy and barely noticed that I hadn't so much as checked my email in more than half a week.
But then, around Day 5, the symptoms started: cold sweats, trembling fingers, loss of sleep. The withdrawals had set in and I was desperate to get online.
I came back today to discover 86 email messages (most of them offers and coupons and Google Alerts, of course) and 170 new posts in my Google Reader! Yikes! I have a LOT of catching up to do. But, fear not. I will read ALL of your posts as quickly as I can. I want to get caught up on what's been happening with all of you!
And now, here's a little bit of what's been happening with me:
Monday was the first day of Spring Break. It started off slowly. I dragged myself out of bed around 11 or so, not having slept past 7am in months. Maybe in years. I'm not sure anymore. I had already seen Watchmen the previous Saturday with my brother, but my roommate, Decay, hadn't yet had the opportunity, so he and I spent the afternoon at the movies while Katie stayed home and took a nap or something. (Watchmen is definitely NOT her cup of tea.)
I actually enjoyed it more the second time. Probably because a) I already knew where all the "shocking" moments would happen, and b) it wasn't 10:30 at night. It's still gory and graphic and all that, but I appreciated it more on a second viewing.
I don't remember what else happened Monday evening. I might have spent it in front of the TV. I might have stayed up and played games with the roommates. I have absolutely no recollection. So I guess that means it wasn't particularly exciting. But it was still nice not to have to be anywhere doing anything.
Tuesday went a little differently. I had a Physical Therapy appointment at 8am. (What was I thinking??)
From there, I dropped my car off at the shop and later got the dreaded phone call that it was going to cost one thousand five hundred dollars to fix her up enough that she would "hopefully" pass a smog inspection so that I can get her registered. Yikes!
Being without a car is not an entirely terrible imposition if you live in my neighborhood. I'm within walking distance of a few things. Namely, the mechanic. But it can still get a little boring. So, I decided to get out of town for a little while, since it was going to take a week to get my car back anyway.
I hopped on the train and headed south to Escondido to hang out with Philip. Since he had a few days off, too, we decided to go camping Tuesday night with his nephew, Wes, and then offroading all day Wednesday.
So. Much. Fun.
We got to the campsite around 11 or so, because we had a lot of last minute things to do to get ready for hastily thrown together trip. I only had one S'more and was ready to go to sleep.
I had been asleep for about 30 seconds (although Philip would claim it was at least an hour) when I heard the coyotes howling. (Oh yeah. It was also a full moon.) They sounded close. Very close. Philip assured me that they were farther than they sounded. And then I heard the breathing. He said that was just Wes (we were all in the same tent) but I knew it wasn't. There was at least one coyote. Right outside the door. I just knew it.
Wednesday morning I was still in lazy mode. I didn't get up until after 9. Wes and Philip had already eaten breakfast and done a little bit of exploring. Wes was excited to tell me that the coyotes had been really close. I asked how close. Right outside the door to the tent. I just knew it!
We broke camp and got out onto some killer offroading trails a little while later. I can't tell you how much fun I had putting together the pictures from the day:
Our Campsite
(The coyote was somewhere between the door and that tree!)
The Vehicles
Philip and I rode in his T-100 and Wes drove his Barbie car Geo Tracker.
Our First Stop: The Pumpkin Patch
These round balls of sand and stone were made sort of like pearls are.
Except there is wind involved and they're gigantic.
(We played the game Hot Lava. I won.)
Some of the Natural Beauty:
Wildflowers and Asbestos!
We discovered some of the local wildlife:
A horned toad and a Desert Iguana
And found the beginnings of some amazing arches.
Can't wait to come back in a thousand years and see how closely
they resemble Arches National Park!
An overall view of what we saw.
(Personally, I think this looks like a postcard!)
That was our trip. We got back Wednesday in the late afternoon. It was still light outside, but barely, and we were all exhausted.
Thursday started off late. I had to take the train back and miscalculated how much time I would need. I had a PT appointment that afternoon and somehow managed to convince myself that the 2:20 train (which would arrive at 3:20) would give me plenty of time to walk the 2.5 miles from the train station back to my place, change into Physical Therapy-appropriate attire, catch the bus, and make it to my appointment by 4:15.
It didn't happen.
I walked through the front door of my place at 4:20 and had no idea when the next bus was coming, since I hadn't checked the schedule for anything past 4. Oops!
On Friday, I did absolutely nothing. The entire day. I watched TV, played around with pictures on my laptop, and relaxed. It was wonderful.
Saturday, Philip came up to Anaheim and we spent almost the entire afternoon outside. We went down to the beach and watched a storm roll in. Philip lost a bet regarding that storm and later we drove to three Cold Stone Creamerys before finding on that had chocolate ice cream AND no wait. I got a little bit of time online when we found a WiFi spot, but I knew he was going to want to get back home, so I didn't spend the five hours I could easily have wasted used, but I figured I'd be back to work on Monday, so it wouldn't matter.
It's Tuesday now and, while I'm back at work, I still don't have my car. The mechanic wasn't able to finish it up yesterday, and then this morning I got the phone call that everything is running beautifully except for one little hundred dollar part that is only available from Toyota and that is necessary to getting my car to pass emissions. And there is only one of these little gizmos anywhere in the area and he was "hoping" to get it installed today. They closed half an hour ago, so now I'm "hoping" I can finally get my car tomorrow morning.
Anyway, those are my adventures!
I hope the exceptionally long post helped to subdue the feelings of emptiness you have all endured by my long absence!
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What a busy week you've had! But it looks like a nice one.
ReplyDeleteWow! Indiana Jones'ing it like a pro! ;)
ReplyDeleteHoly best spring break ever, Batman! :)
ReplyDeletesounds like fun! does your laptop have a picture program on it that you used to make those postcard thingys?
ReplyDeleteOh, and I left you an award at my blog! :)
ReplyDeleteKristina and Gina: It was really, really great!
ReplyDeleteAkilah: You have no idea! I had to pee without the benefit of a bathroom!
Em: I downloaded a free program from www.photoscape.com. Let me know if you need some help!
Gina, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI misssssed you!!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a wondderful week. I'll be glad when it's my turn.
ReplyDelete