If I went to school in Florida...

...I never would have graduated. I don't understand how these students have any time to go to class and do homework amidst all the tanning, beach going, fishing, sailing, swimming, etc. Seriously, these schools with dorms right on the beach, who in the administration decided that was a good idea?

You know your in Oregon when...

Your hotel gives you walking, not driving directions to campus.

The usual "healthy" options at breakfast (wheat bread, fruit, granola) are the only options.

No one wears a raincoat in the rain.

Round on the ends and "hi" in the middle (O-H-I-O)

I've been back at home in OH for the past week, and it's been lovely. I've spent some qualilty time snuggling with my dogs, which was, let's be honest, the real reason for this visit to the Midwest. I've also enjoyed my Mom's cooking, my childhood bed (smaller than I remembered), hanging out with friends from high school, and visiting many OH schools that I haven't been to before.

However, there are a few things I forgot about OH that I simply don't enjoy. They include:
- many scary and fairly offensive billboards (examples are too horrible to include in this blog)
- poor radio reception (my choices in central OH are pretty much country or obscure 80s, ie not fun 80s)
- very long drives between places/schools through corn fields, more corn fields, and even more cornfields, ocassionally punctuated by some cows or horses (I will admit OH farm country is quite pretty in fall, though.)
-  my lack of motivation when living at home (I associate home with sleeping late, spending whole days in my jammies, and watching Bravo marathons. Not terribly conduscive to working, but I managed in the end.)

Contrastingly, the all-time best, most amazing, life-changing, unforgettable part of my OH trip has to have been the 50-something year-old man in an American flag button down, dancing on tables/VIP booths like a crazy man at a club I went to in downtown Cleveland last Friday. He is my hero. He's got moves like no one I have ever seen. I am proud to call the same city as this man home. Amen.

The one where falafel gives me a panic attack...

So today was basically the worst day ever. There wasn't one big thing that went wrong but several small ones that just pushed me over the edge. Looking back, it's a bit comical but in the moment, trust me, it was hell.

But let me back up to yesterday to give a bit of context. Yesterday started with me in my cute sundress, basking (aka sweating buckets) in the Carolina sun, and chatting with students on vintage cruiser bikes. Heaven. Yesterday ended with me in Boston having not eaten a solid meal all day, sleeping on a deflated air mattress in my friend's new apartment. Quite a contrast.

Today began with me waking up in a panic on the floor. I had a nightmare that my rental car was towed in the middle of the night and that I didn't even know what color it was or the plate number to retrieve it. Then I showered and dried off with a bed sheet. Not a towel, a bed sheet. Then I headed up to the school I was visiting and after spending $6 on the parking meter, I found out I was on the wrong campus. Found the correct campus and spent another $3 on parking, which only lasted 2 hours. The fair was fine, very slow, but fine. I found out I could get a parking pass from security to move my car to a campus lot instead of refeeding the meter. Parking pass was $10 (total spent on parking today = $19!), only to find out there were no more parking spots left in the lot.

When the fair ended I stayed on campus to get some work done until I was to meet my friend for dinner. I got lunch (cash only) on campus and ordered a falafel wrap. One would expect a falafel wrap to come with some lettuce, tabouli, tomato, yogurt sauce, hummus, something, anything in it. Nope. I got just a piece of falafel in a wrap, that's it. The falafel was the straw that broke the camel's back. I was over it all.

But that's of course not the end of the story. My friend got caught at work and didn't think she could make dinner. At this point now, I would have to fend for myself until about 1am when the friend who I was staying with would get home from work to let me back into her apartment. At that point I quit. I just got into my car and drove back to Falmouth. Literally gave up and came home for the night. I of course hit rush hour traffic, almost got run over by an ambulance, and forgot that my house keys were locked in the office. No way the gods could let me off that easy.

Three hours later, I am now home in my bed, working and watching "Princess Diaries." Much better. Let's pray tomorrow's Boston adventure part II goes better.

Sunday's Activities

So that naval history and maritime museum was $18 entery fee...fail. I went to the outlets instead, which was equally as exciting but ended up costing me more, haha. Although I have no room in my suitcase, which thankfully prevented me from buying too many things.

In other news, I saw a man on a moped trailering a Radio Flyer wagon go through a drive-through at McDonalds.

Rose Bud Thorn

I'm sure you are all familiar with the dinnertime game "Rose, Bud, Thorn," so here are the highs, the lows, and what I am looking forward to on the rest of time in the South.

Rose: There are many including seeing my shipmate and touring a brewery for free, meeting up with my CYA  provider/CC/Mountain School/it's a small world after all friend for dinner and shopping in Chapel Hill, eating Chipotle last night after going through withdrawal this summer, etc etc.

Bud: Later today I plan to visit the local maritime museum here in Charleston and explore the historic district.

Thorn: I had a near death experience yesterday while driving from Chapel Hill to Charleston. After spending hours completely out of my element, driving surrounded by nothing but cotton and tobacco fields, cemeteries, and gun shops, I really had to stop to pee. I finally saw a gas station ahead and pulled over. Bad choice. The whole place reeked of smoke, there were cigarette buts and dip all over the floors, and the bathroom was probably the most disgusting place I have ever been. I will not gross you out with the details, but I had to go so badly I couldn't wait another hour until the next gas station, so I sucked it up, donned some toilet paper mittens to protect myself, held my breath, and then got out of there as fast as I could.

And now for something completely different.

I just saw a lady changing her cat's diaper in an airport bathroom. What!?

Happy Friday, everyone.