Livin in America
I am not apologetic about my 240 lb pile of clothes and junk lying at the bottom of the basement steps. Consider it a badge of honor. I lugged it across an ocean, and due to laziness and errands and a job and friends coming out of the woodwork (hooray), it might be there for a while.
Readjustment to the 'New World' is, as far as I can tell, going swimmingly. It feels, and this is in no way a slap in the face to my Notters or Nottingham or my experience or anything, but it feels like maybe it never happened. Things have picked up where they left off, in many cases more positively, and aside from a churning internal need to spew stories about Florence and Naples and Bath and Stratford and New Maket Square at random points in conversation, it's as if I never left. It completes the whole 'limbo' theory, the liminal space outside of reality that I inhabited with 8 now extremely close friends, and now I'm home, back in The Shire.
Being home has reminded me of the little things that I both love and slightly dislike about this country.
LOVE:
-driving.
-Food Network (I watched Good Eats: French Toast last night at 2am. heaven in my mouth)
-puppies that fit in the palm of your hand.
-naive haircutting ladies who struggle to make smalltalk but try so hard you want to pet their hand and tell them it will be ok.
-family in general. duh. but it's true.
HATE:
-taxes (a 16 dollar pizza becomes 16. something other than what it was? be honest. ask for what you want. I'll miss throwing the penny away after every 15.99 transaction on The Island)
-humidity. Went for a run (don't laugh) and almost died. It's hotter here in DSM than any part of my spring holiday in Italy or France
Today I embark on a journey most would fear and loathe. Work with little kids- 5th to 7th graders, with a boss who hates my guts, to Shrek the Third. The AC will be nice. Meeting new staff and showing up 3 days after the summer has officially started by Johnston Community School District standards will be a bit tricky, but I'll manage. The cohesion of the staff is critical to a non-shitty summer, so here's hoping they don't suck. To be fair, last year my friendship with Stacey and Heather didn't really pick up until maybe late June or early July, but that's easy to forget. I'm crossing my fingers.
Otherwise, the ball is rolling. New phone on the way so people stop calling my mom on the phone she's using with my old number, I got a haircut that makes me look like a dweeb but keeps the hair off my neck, and I was able to waste 4 hours in a coffee shop hanging out with old buddies while running into a random assortment of the Urbandale crowd. God I love Chibs.BBQ tonight? Car Wash with little kids on Friday, followed by a step-cousin's wedding, and a quasi-family reunion (in my honor, ahem) on Saturday complete with a trip to the ICubs. Baseball. put that on the LOVE list as well.
posted by Kevin @ 4:17 PM
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