Arrival in Memphis airport: I have approximately an hour and a half until my final flight to Columbus, Ohio. I decide to get a sandwich for lunch. As I am walking I notice a vending machine that is holding Ipods and other Apple products associates with Ipods. I thought "hmmm, I can get an Ipod the same way I pick out a Snickers bar." .oO(I also felt a little uncultured for being amazed at this vending machine.) I continue on to my gate and eat my sandwich while reading more of my USMC book. I overhear several interesting tidbits of conversation which distract me from my book-things like one mom traveling with a child berating some woman for being "snarky" about the fact that the mom was taking up a few chairs with all her stuff and the snarky woman should be nicer to her b/c travel with a child is difficult (they both boarded the same plan...bet that was a fun flight) and that Etta James made some colorful comments about "the President, you know the one with the big ears" and "the Great Beyonce singing "her" (meaning Etta's) song for the President." Wow. Travel can be fun I guess. Finally it was time to board my plane to Columbus. At this point I had been sitting for approx 4 hours or so total.
Arrival in C-bus: I am overjoyed to be able to stand. My butt hurts from sitting all day. Who knew? I proceed to baggage claim and on my way there I see signs saying "Welcome Home Sgt. XYZ" and "Welcome Home Dad" and a family (I know it was a family b/c they all looked alike) gathered patiently awaiting the arrival of their soldier. (I forget how I determined he was in the Army, but I did.) I passed and nearly started crying. Why? Because I get emotional over things like a welcome home. I know that family had spent probably months waiting for their loved one to get home and were anxiously awaiting his return...which finally occurred that day. I don't cry though my eyes are a bit misty. I go to baggage claim and find my gigantic green suitcase that is so heavy I can barely lift it. I call Katie to see where she is along the way. She and Jess (her roommate and best friend for 4 yrs now) are approaching the airport so they picked me up at the curb. We head to Easton Town Center to shop for an outfit for Jess' interview with Teach for America, see if the Loft there has anything that my store doesn't, and to eat some dinner. We are able to accomplish all of those things and we head to Athens. (The Loft did have a shirt that we didn't get and a pair of jeans in my size-my store was out of my size and I almost had a fit. The Ohio store also had a lot of clearance merchandise that we have sold out of already.) At this point I am exhausted.
Arrival in Athens: We drag my stuff up to Katie's apartment, which is located directly above Casa Nuevo, called "Casa" for short. Casa is a "hippie" type bar/restaurant/bodega (the sign above it says so). It isn't a bad location. At least not until 10-11pm ish when the music and the booming starts. Thursday all you can hear is a slight hint of loud music. Katie shows me her apartment. The kitchen, living room, and bathroom are all a normal 65-70 degree temperature. As soon as Katie opens the door to either her room or Jess' room there is a slight breeze in the room. Their rooms are an arctic temp despite the plastic covering the windows and the space heater to help heat the room. Katie sleeps under three blankets and wraps one around her head in an attempt to stay warm and healthy. I meet Jess' hamsters, Winston and Theodore. I fall in love with the furry Winston and decide I must get a hamster. (Not until we are out of the in-laws house though...the zoo is nearly out of control here.) My husband has promised to let me get one as long as I take care of it. .oO(Considering I take care of the other two animals we have I'm thinking this isn't a problem.) After a lot of talking and laughing I tuck Katie into bed in her igloo bedroom and go to sleep in the living room on the futon. I drift off to sleep listening to the quiet thumping of music and the smell of some neighbor's pot drifting under the crack at the bottom of the door to Katie's apartment. Whew!
Winston-He's so cute!
Middle of the Night: I am uncertain as to what the time is b/c the living room is windowless. I hear a boy yelling obscenities. I debate going to yell at him myself, but determine I don't want to deal with him and I don't want to leave my warm covers. I grumble and drift back to sleep.
Middle of the Night a Bit Later: Not sure how much later, but I awaken to the same boy yelling obscenities. If I had a baseball bat I would take it out in the hallway to yell at him. I ponder this for a few minutes. He finally yells some more and then a door slams. All is quiet on the second floor. (I had forgotten there was a giant wooden fork hanging on Katie's wall that would have served as a nice weapon to invoke come intimidation.)
Friday Morning: I awaken to a phone call from my husband asking me about the amount of money he needed to transfer from one account to another to cover our bills for the month. I inquired as to whether or not he read the paper I gave him with all the info written down. He has seen it, but wanted to confirm what the final amount should be. I determine that if I were to be gone for a long period of time (say 6 months like a deployment) he would require a babysitter. .oO(This is further confirmed upon my arrival home, but you'll have to wait for the rest of the story tomorrow...)
Shortly after my phone call from the husband Katie arrives home with breakfast for us. She has purchased fat free strawberry cream cheese, weight watchers approved bagels, and strawberry banana orange juice. This is a big departure from her normal diet. I'm impressed. My bagel was yummy.
Friday Afternoon: Katie goes to class to take a midterm. I decide to get out of my pj's and take a shower. I love Katie's shower. It has great water pressure and a lot of hot water. Water that gets so hot I have to turn the temp down a bit so I don't scald myself.
When Katie arrives home from class we go shopping. Katie and I pick out some lovely gifts and she finds a Vera Bradley backpack on sale that she simply must have. I found a wallet. We then proceed to the liquor store to see if they really do carry Duplin County Wine like the Winery's website proclaims. The minute we step inside the door I am asked for my id. I was slightly surprised, but quickly remember I am near the college campus. Of course they are ID'ing everyone. They scan my id into a fancy machine to determine it is legit. It doesn't read my id. I am just about ready to produce my military dependent id when the guy checks the birth date and realizes it would be stupid to fake being 27 on a college campus. (This won't be the last time my id gets a double take.) We get beer for the evening. The store does not carry the Duplin Wine. I am sad. We head back to Katie's apartment to wait for the evening to begin. Katie has invited "the boys" over to her house so that I can meet them. (The boys are a few guys Katie and Jess know that are their great friends. They frequently have dinner together and hang out.)
Friday Night: The boys haven't arrived at the scheduled time. Text messages are sent and received. They will be on their way shortly. We wait. Finally we decide to leave Joe, Jess' boyfriend, in the apartment in case the boys arrive and we head across the street to Tony's, a local bar. Katie would like me to try a shot called a Hot Nut. The guy at the door examines my id very well and finally determines I really am me and I am more than of age. I instantly feel younger as we enter the bar. Most everyone in there was probably in their mid 30's at least. (Which really isn't old, but when you find a bar full of people that age on a college campus it is surprising.) Katie, Jess, and I drink our shots and head back out the door and to Katie's apartment. Still no boys. We wait. Finally they begin arriving. We talk a bit. A few games of beer pong are played. A few more games of survivor flip cup are played. (I stink at flip cup and only made my teammates put up with me for one round.) At some point we determine we are hungry. We go downstairs and across the street to O'Betty's. O'Betty's has amazing hot dogs and french fries. Their fries are like fair fries, but wider. It was the best food ever. I am slightly tipsy at this point. Katie walks me up to her apartment and sits me on the futon. She instructs me to lock the door and not to leave the apartment. (She acts like I am 7, not 27.) I calmly tell her that I am more than familiar with campus and uptown since I went to the same college. I also tell her I won't go anywhere. I don't. I wash my face, put on my pj's, and go to sleep. I once again listen to the thumping music from below.
Me, Mark, & Katie (Mark is one of "the boys")
Survivor Flip Cup - Arguing about OU Football and Who is Going to Start the Flip Cup Round
To be continued...
1 comment:
1st, I can't wait for "The Rest of the Story" (Paul Harvey, tyvm for the call b/c "Mom will know this"!!). 2nd, I see THE fork on the wall behind you guys in the picture with Mark. That fork has been the source of many hours of entertainment for "the boys", so I'm told. 3rd, I can't wait for you to come back!!!
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