the thin line between optimism and delusion…

–  Have a mosquito bite on the inside of the wrist. 

–  Put a heavy overnight bag on a sunburned shoulder.

–  Get into a car that has been baking in the hot sun.

–  Need to put my hair in a ponytail because it is making the back of my neck hot and sticky. 

–  Walk barefoot on hot pavement.

–  Drink beer quickly before it gets too hot. 

–  Eat homemade strawberry ice cream directly out of the churn. 

–    Feel hot water run on your toes from a garden hose that has been laying in the sunshine. 

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Hey kids.  I know I’ve been sort of MIA – and I apologize.  But unfortunately it is going to get worse before it gets better.  For tomorrow I leave for the first of my post bar travels.  I haven’t had a chance to tell y’all about my trips, which is sad because I am traveling a few places I’ve never been and I love advice on things not to miss.  Maybe the internet will work where I’m going.  Who knows. 

Tomorrow I am going to Blue Hill Maine with my mom.  Neither of us have ever been to Maine, so we are excited.  It is somewhere on the coast – we are flying into Bangor – and from there I’m not real sure.  Some friends have rented an big old farmhouse and we are going with a group of my mom’s friends and their daughters.  The daughters are all old enough that I didn’t go to high school with them and only know them in passing at best, even though I would have known them well if we had been closer in age.  I’m excited – I think it is going to be tons of fun.   We come home from Maine on Saturday. 

A week from tomorrow my parents and I are going to Montreal.  From Montreal we are renting a car and driving to Saratoga Springs, NY on Thursday.  I have never been to Canada or upstate New York.  Our trip to Saratoga is for the purpose of attending the Travers Stakes.   I love horse races.  My brother and his girlfriend are going to meet us in Saratoga Springs, along with a few of my friends from the City.  The Stakes are Saturday, but I anticipate being at the track on Friday and Saturday. 

Sunday I am flying out of Albany early in the morning and going to Denver for a Grand Lake Lodge Reunion, and will spend the whole week, until labor day, basking in the glow of the rockies.  I will be in the place where the sun always shines unless it is raining or snowing, where the beer flows like wine, and the elk play chicken in the street with pick up trucks.  Where the Rope is only two swerves and a curve from everywhere, and the never summer mountains await.   

All I can say is – Get ready. 

Oh – and did I tell you I got a job?  I start the Monday after labor day.  And I’m 90% sure I found somewhere to live that I’m super pumped about. 

See?  And you were worried I might not be able to get my life together.   Under. Control.

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The title of my post is a quote from the pilot episode of JAG which I watched monday afternoon.  I’d never seen an episode of JAG.  The first season came out in 1995.  Let me tell you about these special effects.  They are awesome.  So believable. 

What I think is so hilarious is that these JAG lawyers are the investigators.  Awesome.  The first episode was on a carrier and the second was on a submarine.  The episode I’m watching right now – the JAG lawyer just punched a marine in the face. 

It is really hot outside.  REALLY REALLY HOT.  Ice is melting.  I am melting.  Actually – as it turns out – the whole country is melting. 

It is too hot for Bella to stay outside for very long.  Me too. 

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is the kind of day where you MUST wash your feet before you go to sleep – even if you don’t have  to tak e a shower.  Even better if you don’t have to take a shower.  It just means your last couple of hours awake were good ones.   But then again – I think shoes are optional from may to september.  Even in walmart. 

I know – what ev.  Kill me.  As mama would say – I’ll lay down and you can kick me.  As Travers would say – I’ll go up the road.  Feet are good for getting dirty in my world.  They wash well. 

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We are sitting on the beach, it is around 4, and everyone is starting to consider putting on more sunscreen. 

Me:  "Do you think I’m getting burned?  Do I look red?"

Bubba:  "Naw, you’re still white as hell."

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You know, it isn’t my idea of a good vacation unless you come home with bruises, bug bites, a sunburn and a headache. 

The waves at Folly beach today were exceptional.  I haven’t had that much fun since Myrtos. 

I just have to say that my patagonia bathing suit once again came through in the clutch and that the roughest wave was no match. 

Let my tell you how fun it is to play chicken in the crashing waves.  More fun than you could handle.  But whoever is on bottom is sort of likely to drown. 

Sunscreen is so much less effective when the waves are throwing you into the ground. 

I have sand in my ear.  And my hair.  And my belly button.  Oh, and my teeth. 

Overheard today –

"I heard that Clemson graduates didn’t know how to light a firework and just ended up burning themselves."

"When playing horseshoes, giving advice to the other team is against the law.  I’ll hurt you if you do it again."

"You lucked out.  You are getting boogie board lessons from a myrtle beach native.  I usually cost more than you could afford."

"I really liked shotgunning that beer.  I kind of want to do it again."

"Go big or go home."

Okay – we are heading to cook some low country boil in the low country.  Hate you. 

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I am sitting on my one of my best friend from high school’s second story porch in downtown charleston listening to the radio of the cars slowly cruising by on the street and the screech of the bottle rockets in the distance while the salt breeze blows through and the air sits heavily on the city. 

Be jealous. I had bojangles for lunch, beer with a very perfect representation of my high school experience for dinner, and for dessert I’m having oysters on a half shell and shrimp.

If I wasn’t me, I would want to be.  Happy Fourth of July.  Yay USA. 

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When my plane landed in Denver, I had to catch my breath as  nerves started to build inside my chest.  Already things were not working out as planned, Libby missed her flight in New York and consequently I was sitting next to a man who was not interested in sharing the armrest instead of Libby.  Burger King did his best to cause me to miss my flight as well, but airtran in the ATL is a little more forgiving than airtran in LGA. 

I don’t know why I was nervous, because I hadn’t been to Grand Lake in over two years and because I have very strong feelings about the place.  It is like an ex boyfriend.  Colorado in general shakes me up and makes me feel unstable to a certain degree.   I even gush about it sometimes. 

Friday was not the day I was expecting.  After taking the shuttle three hours to Grand Lake I got into Tommy’s car (I had intentions of taking Matt’s car, but whatdoyaknow, I’m not skilled in the stick shiftness)   and drove back to Denver to pick Libby up – she didn’t get in until 10 that night.  I actually really enjoyed the drive both ways.  Saturday, Sunday, and Monday all exceeded expectation and made up for anything that was lost on Friday (which I think was very little). 

So, wanna see what my trip looked like?  Yeah?  Click on the thumbnail if you want to see it bigger.

We hiked up to Bowen Lake in the Never Summer Wilderness.  I’m on the right, and I’m standing next to our new best friend James, and the guy on the left is Tommy, Libby’s brother. 

 
Libby and Andy found some pretty sweet visors for a dollar in town. 

More later, I gotta run. 

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Right now I am sitting on Cristina’s bed in the ATL.  I got my hair
cut today.  Kinda short.  I can’t tell if I’m devastated or if I love
it.  I always do this – this tragically dramatic haircut thing – only
because I can’t be bothered with getting my hair cut on a regular basis
– and as such, I have to get it cut a lot when I do finally get around
to making an appointment and manage not to miss the appointment. 

But
this is the shortest hair I have had in about a year.  Last October I
had really short hair, and it isn’t that short, but it is above my
shoulder short.  Cristina says she likes it.  She thinks my hair always
looks good.  Except during exams (shut up Cristina). 

Cristina’s
Spanish Great Aunt is in town.  She is going to sleep in the bed I’m
sitting on right now.  She is a nun.  She doesn’t speak english.  I
don’t speak spanish.  But she got her first pedicure today, so I can
tell we are kindred spirits. 

Tomorrow I am going to Colorado
with Libby.  I can’t even talk about it I am so excited about seeing
her.  It has been months and months since I have seen her and I miss
her to pieces.  I also really excited about seeing the mountains in the
summertime.  Hyper-ventilation is in full effect. 

I’m taking
requests and suggestions about what I should do with my life.  I’m not
100% sold on the practicing law thing, and I need some back up
options.  Catherine Anne told me the other night that I need to find a
husband in the next year and then I will have a lot more opportunity
for vague endevors.  Maybe I should start holding try-outs for
husbands. 

As Scarlett would say – I’m not going to think about
that today, I’ll think about that tomorrow (or actually, I’ll think
about that next week). 

love y’all. 

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I had a wonderful week in Costa Rica.  It was kind of rough, the showers were anything but hot, and I mixed concrete on the ground with a shovel all week, but it was an awesome experience.  The other people on the team were wonderful and I made some exceptional friends.  It was so beautiful and the people of Costa Rica were friendly and inviting and great.  And I got to do a zip line through the rain forest!!  It was amazing!

I can’t tell you how much the voicemails and emails meant to me when I got them yesterday, it made me feel so loved and special.  It is so awesome just to get a voicemail that says – I miss you and I just wanted you to know that.  I should call more people and tell them that I miss them. 

But really, if you want to chat I’ll be around the next couple of weeks.  I’m maybe making plans for this weekend, but I’m not sure.  We’ll see.  Right now I’m going downstairs to see what I can find to eat and then I’m going to watch prime time in the daytime.

Sidenote:  Not only was there no internet access, I didn’t see a television or a newspaper the whole week.  But Kallie sent me this – http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8592305/ – Kusadasi is one of the towns in Turkey that Kallie and I visited last summer.  Apparently they are targeting tourists in the Aegean.  Which is terribly scary. 

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