Home Life Frustrations

Home life is in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of working eighteen-day stretches at Helly Hansen without a day off. It's hard to stay busy when there is seemingly nothing to do but this has been my general schedule. I wake up around 9 or 10AM (impressive for me), eat, watch tv, go to some doctor appointment, watch more tv, annoy my dog for some attention, possibly go on a short excursion, and wait for my mom to get home from work. After dinner in the gloomy nighttime hours when I might normally be socializing, I force myself to jump on this thing.

Yes. Say what you will, but the 20-30 minutes I spend on it eases my growing insanity. It's only a short stretch I have to endure at home and it's not all bad; I enjoy having a stocked fridge, free food, zero time constraints. The hardest thing for me is recovering from the best summer I've ever had, constantly surrounded by 6 of my favorite people at Georgetown.

Some of you probably think I should be proactive about this whole boredom thing and I agree. Yes, be proactive. Following my 5-month stint posing as an outdoorsy girl at Helly Hansen, I decided to rough it a little bit. I discovered that Henry W. Coe State Park, only a short drive from my house, is the largest state park in Northen California. I picked out a hike to do with a friend and got psyched. Then I heard sirens one day and saw billowing smoke clouds, signs of the 18,000-acre fire that's expected to burn at least 30,000 acres before it's contained.

Despite the fire and lack of plans, the downtime of home has caused to me to finally get excited about London. Was I excited before? Barely. Did I once tell you that I was? Probably. I lied. I can't wait to step outside my building and see city streets ripe for exploration. I can't wait to be able to walk somewhere. I can't wait until I'm not constantly available. There are still 23 days until my departure from the U.S. Sigh. Until then, I hope that I can come to terms with the fact that my friends' lives are up and running like mine would have been if I was at Georgetown. In the meantime, find me in the garage on the bike... sweating out the frustration.

Also, skype skype skype. I skyped for the first time with my high school friend who is studying in Australia and the video and sound quality are top notch (fo' frizzle!). Download skype or prepare to sacrifice our friendship/family relation for a year. I'm kidding... kind of.

Missing DC

I'm back home for the first time in over 7 months and I'm a little unsure of what to make of it. My dog remembers me and my dad does too. My room is pretty much how I left it. The Target is now a Super Target across the street from its original location. I didn't notice any other significant changes on the drive back from the airport.

I wish there was somewhere I could walk right now. I am starting to fear that I'll resort to becoming one of those people that goes to Starbucks to read or write. Normally, that's fine... you walked to M Street; it took work to get there. But to drive to Starbucks and sit down for a few hours? That seems different. Repulsively different. It feels good to be back home mostly because I can be coddled by my parents and leave my stuff somewhere knowing that it won't be displaced by the rightful owners of the space. But I actually already resent the doctor appointments that are stacking up and disrupting my plans to see the people I want to see when I'm home.

This summer definitely cemented DC's place as my home. I had the privilege of living in gloriously decrepit Darnall, in the even more run-down S Street house, and in the fresh but prison-like New South. California is good, but I miss everyone already. Talk to you soon.