Hello from Connecticut!

I'm back in my (current) home state tonight after a great trip! I drove over 3600 miles in the last three weeks -- alone! Wow. That Forester sure is comfy to drive. (And yes, it is for sale!)

It is great to see Ziggy again! I think he's happy to see me, too. When I got here (to my friend's where we are both staying) he was hanging out under the sofa, but as soon as I got down there and peeked in he came right out for some lovin'. The next two weeks are mostly about getting him ready to move to Germany. Tomorrow morning I am going out to look for a pet carrier for the airplane.

As I mentioned last time, I am going to New York one last time before I head overseas (well, not counting the day I actually fly out of JFK). This coming weekend I am going to see RENT. I do love New York. I'm so glad we've lived close enough to go into the city regularly. I have a feeling we won't live that close again -- although of course I don't know for sure. So I'm glad I took advantage of the proximity and spent some time there in the last year or two.

Well, I'm yawning, so I'll stop here. I expect updates will become more regular once I am in Germany and settled in the apartment, but until then, they're likely to remain somewhat erratic. But once I get over there, you can expect lots of pictures and accounts of my adventures!

My Big Fat Greek RENT Boy

Well, I finally, finally saw My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It was just as funny as everyone said! My mother-in-law and I went tonight after dinner. She had seen it before, but didn't mind watching it again. And geez! Movie tickets in Athens are only 7 bucks!

I really wanted to see it because of Joey, of course. Joey Fatone, that is. He had a small role in it, but he was great. Turns out that the casting of the entire movie was just brilliant. Every single role. That is quite an accomplishment. I especially loved the aunt who owned the travel agency. She was so funny!

But my big news... I am going to see Joey in RENT at the Nederlander. Oh yes, yes I am. I really wanted to go before I left for Germany, and it looks like I'm going to get to. Oh, joy!

Dude!

I rarely look at my guestbook (well, it sometimes goes months at a time without anyone signing it) but I did just now, and wow! Hey gals! Dang, this is really neat!

I just spent an hour discussing William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" with a college student who lives with my in-laws. When she asked me to talk about it with her, I thought to myself, "Have I ever read that?" Then I remembered... oh, yeah, it's about that old lady who keeps the dead guy in the bed upstairs. Whoo! Sure enough, that was the one.

Good news! I very likely have a buyer for my car! Thanks to Amanda, who hooked me up. I'll know for sure on Monday of next week, if things work out for a test drive. Fingers crossed!

Update from the Road

Greetings from Athens, Georgia, one of my favorite places in the entire world! I arrived around lunchtime at my mother-in-law's house, where I'll be for a couple of days.

It's been such a nice trip so far. I have really enjoyed seeing so much of my family and so many of my friends. I can't remember the last time I ever had this much time to go and see people -- certainly not since I was in school, and maybe not even then. Despite all the long hours in the car, it has been very enjoyable.

I will be back in Connecticut this Sunday. I still have quite a lot to take care of once I get back there, but I hope I can manage it all in two weeks.

Things are progressing in Munich, too. Our air shipment arrived last Friday, and my computer is up and running in the new apartment. Lance is still on the desktop. The sea shipment should reach port around September 1, and may be delivered as soon as September 9, the day after Ziggy and I arrive. I could spend my first few days unpacking.

It's funny to think of being in a different time zone. I'll be six hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. It reminds me of when I used to e-mail a lot with someone in Sweden, and I always used to look at the clock and figure out the time there. Now I'll be working backwards. Most of my friends and family are in EST, although Alicia is out in LA so we will be nine hours apart. When she goes to bed at night, I'll just be waking up. Hee! It'll take some getting used to, to be on a different schedule from the rest of the people in my world.

Marty and I are both ready for this separation to be over. Past ready, I'd say. Well, it's not much longer now.

If you haven't seen it yet, you should check out The Lunchmeat Chronicles. This is my sister Elisabeth's new online journal. She's a smart girl and I think her writing will be fun to read. She's already got several entries up there.

Now off to relax a little. Shawn Colvin is playing on the stereo, and life is good.

A Quick Hello

The trip is going great. I'm feeling much much better with a couple of weeks of regular sleep. It's also been wonderful to see everyone on the way down (and pretty soon, on the way back up). My family, Marty's family, and our friends... I'm only sorry Marty couldn't be here with me for the trip. I just spent a week or so in South Georgia and Florida, and pretty soon I'll head back to Connecticut.

I know I'm not updating RW much lately (that should change once I get to Germany, I hope) but here's a treat. A guest columnist -- my youngest sister, Elisabeth. Here's a poem she wrote recently:

Hello hotdog.

I love hotdogs.
Hotdogs are tasty.
Hotdogs are long and wobbly.
Hotdogs can be in a bun.
Buns are on hotdogs sometimes.
Ketchup is good with hotdogs.
Hotdog is a compound word.
Mustard is on hotdogs sometimes, too.
I like to write about hotdogs.
I will call this my hotdog page.
Hotdogs can come in a pack of eight.
Hotdogs are my favorite food.
I like to eat hotdogs for lunch.
Hotdogs are fun to play with on rainy days.
A hotdog is an all-purpose lunchmeat.
I will miss you hotdog.

Goodbye hotdog.

Good news from Munich

Marty writes:

The delivery company that IKEA subcontracts their deliveries to will bring the Shrank between 7 and 10 Friday morning. The telephone company is coming by to hook up our service between 8 and 10. And our air shipment will be delivered between 10 and 12.

He has a busy morning planned for Friday!

The time is going by quickly now. Since I last updated, I've stayed in North Carolina, south Georgia, and Orlando, where I'm writing from today. I've put over 2000 miles on my car since I left Connecticut.

I like Florida. Even with the heat and humidity, I just like it here. This area (central Florida) feels and smells like my childhood in some very real way. I lived in Tampa a year when I was about four years old, and I think there's definitely some kind of sense memory that comes back every time I visit around here. I'm at my friend Joanne's house, and Sonal is here too. It's a treat to get to see them.

My departure date for Germany is set for the first week in September. Today I'm planning to go and look at cat carriers, to try to find one that meets the airline's requirements. It has to be quite small, and pretty light, if Ziggy is going to be able to come in the cabin with me.

The driving tour is going well. Tonight I am in North Carolina visiting my father-in-law and his wife. I drove here today from Richmond, Virginia, where I was staying at Marty's brother-in-law's house last night.

It's fun to be out on the road with my CDs and my cell phone. There's lots of time for listening to music as I drive. I've never been on such a long trip by myself, although when we moved to Pennsylvania in 1990 I did drive my own car all the way there from Georgia. But that was a one-way trip, and Marty was in his car as well so it wasn't really like traveling alone. We were following each other the whole way there.

Today as I came into North Carolina I saw kudzu on the trees and really felt like I was back in the South. Yeah, I know Virginia is the South too, but it's hard to remember that sometimes. For me, anyway. I come from the Deep South, you know. Away down south in Dixie, as you might say if you don't mind getting your ass kicked by my little sister.

I was talking to a friend last week and she said, "I wish you could come to my house on your trip." Well, I wish I could too, because I would love to see it, but she lives in Columbus. Columbus, OHIO, that is. So I had to say, no, I can't go to the Midwest. Because if I do, I will want to go to Detroit, and Cincinnati, and the next thing I know I'll be in LA visiting Alicia. And then Marty will kick my ass. So, no.

However, this friend happens to be coming to the Outer Banks in a couple of weeks, so maybe if I'm coming back through North Carolina then we can see each other after all... but the Midwest will have to wait until I come home from Germany.

The Farewell Tour Begins

I'm writing this morning from Washington, DC, where I'm visiting Rebekah on my driving trip of the east coast. Whoo!

The house in Connecticut is empty and clean. It looks good. Now all we need is a buyer...

I am recovering from the work and exhaustion of the last few weeks. I'm still not sleeping all that well, but I think it's getting better. Last night I only woke up three times.