So the road trip that everything was leading up to has finally come and gone. The deserts of Arizona and New Mexico were pretty but monotonous. Oklahoma City was surprisingly large, and we got to cross the Mississippi River right into Tennessee, which was kind of fun. Everything got super green and the trees grew larger each day until we were in the Great Smokey Mountains on the winding mountain roads getting to see the gorgeous color that has just started in the area. It's definitely not fully autumn yet on the East Coast, possibly due to the fact that it's been cloudy since the 3rd and I've heard speculation that the lack of sunlight tricks the trees into staying green. Whatever it is, it was pretty neat to see green trees just barely starting to tinge red, almost as if the tips were painted with a paintbrush.
In all, it went very well and I'm glad to be home. Here's a Newsweek-like roll-up of the numbers from the trip:
2620.2 miles driven
70 average speed limit
~42 hours of driving
~36 average miles per gallon
10 gas station stops
3 podcasts completed
2 traffic jams
2 detours (Santa Fe and Asheville)
1 instance of yelling
1 near accident
0 items broken
Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
16 October 2013
22 September 2013
Weekend Countdown: 3
Got to see a couple friends in Pasadena on Saturday night and may have hit my social stimulation quota for the weekend. I couldn't wait to spend all of Sunday holed up in my room packing things and watching TV. I even found some leftover yarn and started knitting a scarf. I forgot how much it hurts my left hand! Totally worth it though. I just wish I could wear wool.
Last week I spoke with a woman with a university counseling program (they offer cheap counseling sessions) and she informed me that due to the fact that I'm leaving relatively soon, they won't be able to fit me in for even a couple sessions. I figured it was no problem, and I'll just try to see someone when I get back to NC.
Today definitely threw me though. Maybe it's the first weekend-day I haven't had plans, and it really hit me how much my life is changing. I used to have plans every weekend--not always specific ones, but at least I knew who I would be around and had a general sense of what I'd spend my days doing. But now I feel like I'm back to what I used to do two years ago; that is, waste time and hide in my room all day. There's nothing really wrong with that, but it's not the life that I want to go back to. I like feeling productive, and I like knowing that I did something with my weekend (especially when work is busy). I did do some packing and managed to clear a few more items out of my room, which was good, but not nearly up to par with what I expect of myself on a lazy Sunday.
It's like I'm realizing what kind of person I am when I'm alone, how I work, and how I don't live up to my own expectations. It's a little disconcerting, but I have to remind myself that if I don't get a handle on things now, I could end up in my late twenties in a dead-end job just praying for the weekends when I can do whatever I want but usually end up doing nothing. I mean, that's kind of what I've spent my early twenties doing...
In more exciting news, I successfully removed my oversized chair from my room with minimal damage to the door frame and walls. Did end up busting a chair leg when I set it down in the living room, but I already knew it was broken and did my best to align it with the dowel, hammer it back in, and tighten the screws. That things going to suck to get rid of. Ugh.
I also macguyvered a bottle of Shout out from behind the washing machine using a piece of cardboard and an auxiliary cable. I feel so proud.
Last week I spoke with a woman with a university counseling program (they offer cheap counseling sessions) and she informed me that due to the fact that I'm leaving relatively soon, they won't be able to fit me in for even a couple sessions. I figured it was no problem, and I'll just try to see someone when I get back to NC.
Today definitely threw me though. Maybe it's the first weekend-day I haven't had plans, and it really hit me how much my life is changing. I used to have plans every weekend--not always specific ones, but at least I knew who I would be around and had a general sense of what I'd spend my days doing. But now I feel like I'm back to what I used to do two years ago; that is, waste time and hide in my room all day. There's nothing really wrong with that, but it's not the life that I want to go back to. I like feeling productive, and I like knowing that I did something with my weekend (especially when work is busy). I did do some packing and managed to clear a few more items out of my room, which was good, but not nearly up to par with what I expect of myself on a lazy Sunday.
It's like I'm realizing what kind of person I am when I'm alone, how I work, and how I don't live up to my own expectations. It's a little disconcerting, but I have to remind myself that if I don't get a handle on things now, I could end up in my late twenties in a dead-end job just praying for the weekends when I can do whatever I want but usually end up doing nothing. I mean, that's kind of what I've spent my early twenties doing...
In more exciting news, I successfully removed my oversized chair from my room with minimal damage to the door frame and walls. Did end up busting a chair leg when I set it down in the living room, but I already knew it was broken and did my best to align it with the dowel, hammer it back in, and tighten the screws. That things going to suck to get rid of. Ugh.
I also macguyvered a bottle of Shout out from behind the washing machine using a piece of cardboard and an auxiliary cable. I feel so proud.
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