Christmas Eve Eve

Friday, December 24, 2010
12:56 am (so pretending this is still Thursday)

Well, I'm officially home for Christmas break now. I procrastinated about coming. I appreciate my home and my family, but there is definitely something to be said for doing as you please in your own space.

This am, got up late around 10. Had some cheerios and coffee, investigated summer language study abroad, volunteer abroad, and teaching abroad programs. I really want to be somewhere Spanish-speaking this summer. That's something I'll probably have to discuss at some point while I'm home and would rather not. It's no secret I need a new car. My transmission is slowly dying, and to have it fixed would cost more than the car's current value. I'd talked about taking a loan to get a new one, but I'd rather use my loan money to travel abroad. Life's short, I have strong legs, lungs and heart for hiking or running, and there is a bus. I just don't want to be one of those people who has all these dreams and good intentions and then winds up 30-something having accomplished none of it and now in no good position to do so. So... I'm trying.

Played piano for about half an hour then went to the Rec. John was going to come with me but was obviously nervous about his packages arriving. It's been a big thing this year in our area for packages to be stolen. Somehow he thought I was going to be really mad if he wanted to stay and wait on his delivery, but such wasn't the case and so I just had him drop me off. I ran three miles, did three sets push-ups (New Year's Resolution- be able to do 100 in a row, I'm only to 20 right now haha), rear flyes, tricep dips, 21's, and upright rows. Then deadlifts and heel raises. Then ad- and ab-ductors. By this time I'm starving, so I call John, and while I'm finishing up with abs he's on his way. The workout got a little more extreme than I intended it to, but I'll have more than a couple days off over break I'm sure. I went home and ate a big plate of lasagna.

Showered and started to get finished packing. I hate packing to come home. It makes me so tweaky. And then I get ridiculous separation anxiety about leaving John. Today I was actually in tears over it. I probably would have stayed and waited another night with him due to his sister's Christmas gift being delivered late. But I could realize how ridiculous and irrational I was being. I felt a need to defeat that, so I got in the car and drove... despite a few phone calls back to John to make sure he didn't really need me to stay with him after all. I get worried about having loved ones on the road, and now that we aren't caravannig, he'll have to make the trip alone. That worries me. I've never lost a family member to a car accident, so I don't know why I'm so bizarre on this point. When I used to take dance lessons, I remember my mom was often late (it's a family thing... tardiness), and I'd think she'd died. So I would stand in the window, watching for her, sometimes crying, sometimes trying really hard not to. I need to learn to trust that people are going to be just fine without my intervention.

I decided to take the interstate home since it was snowing and getting dark quickly. Due to lack of radio options, I listened to my current Zumba mix as well as Reba McEntire yet again. The trip home was slow because of thick holiday traffic and road/visibility conditions. The car did fine despite a lot of vibration in the front end- shimmy again, maybe? Transmission does better in the cold- keep it up, Global Warming!

Got home. Mom helped me unload the car, of course with a few comments about how much I'd brought with me. whatever. I like to be able to choose an outfit for the day not just dig out the last clean thing from the bottom of the suitcase. Besides, as disorganized as I am, it's easier to just drag the majority of what I own with me as opposed to organizing it all and trying to figure out which pieces I need to take with me.

Then we went to the piano. I played the John Denver ones I'm still working on... hardly had an opportunity at all the last three weeks of classes to play. Actually I don't think I plugged the piano in at all during that time... yay papers! Since flutes are C instruments, she was able to just play the melody line along with me without it sounding weird. We did a couple other ones, too.

Dad came home from work. I cooked up some broccoli to go with the leftover chicken and potatoes. Cleaned up the kitchen, ate my food, helped Mom make fudge. Mostly, just trying to keep busy because being home really does make me tweaky sometimes. Figured I'd try to get tired to doing work, yet here it is 1:30 and I'm still wide awake. Oh well.

Carly and I spent most of the night up here in my bedroom catching up, reminiscing, sharing opinions on the psychic happenings in the world :)- you know... no matter how many people tell me things freak them out, I just don't get it. It's obvious to me. Yeah, everything has some electromagnetic energy, so why wouldn't we be able to communicate with it, interpret it? It's not some new age voodoo... I mean... it's real. Eventually, I think there will be lab tools that can prove it. Anyway...

Our last escapade before settling down for the night was to take a couple of her babydolls and stick them in our sleeping parents' arms. They both passed out in the family room on the couches. Typical. We got away with it. >:)