Life on the Gulf

I'm at the beach. It's incredible. I'm staying in a million dollar condo for four nights for free. I'm watching M do what he loves. I'm eating so much seafood mercury poisoning is a real possibility. This is the life.

Fresh Air

I'm back and refreshed. I said more than once over the weekend that when I top Afton mountain coming into Cville I feel like I can breathe again. I went to see Annemieke, and meet her boyfriend of 3 years who I haven't even spoken to on the phone. In a world where people complain about the lack of intimacy in relationships because of the internet, I am so thankful for facebook for making me feel like I'm still part of her life. When we talk about what's new, it's not all a total surprise. Of course it is better to get all the juicy details in person.

Luckily, I got to see her parents and brother too. I love these wonderful people like my own family, and they treat me like I'm one of theirs. I even got to see my mom and dad who came down on Sunday to have breakfast and wander around grounds with me.

Aside from the people I got to see this weekend, the highlights of the trip were:

• Eating my way through Cville (as usual). This means I had Take it Away, Bilt, Bodo's, Southstreet, Mudhouse Coffee, Arch's, and the Tavern. I also took someone to eat at LJ's. I'm pretty sure I gained 5 lbs in three days. I'm pretty sure it was worth it.

• Private tour of Ashlawn in the rain, all because it cost $20 to go to Monticello.

• Apartment party with lots of red wine and salsa dancing. Seriously? When was the last time you were hanging out in a 2br apartment with a bunch of grad students and a full blown Latin dance club broke out? So fun.

• Dusting off my tour guide skills and talking about the history of UVA. I could go on forever, seriously, you wouldn't be able to shut me up.

• Finding M the perfect birthday present from the perfect store!

• Driving through Blacksburg (this is hard for me to type, we're supposed to hate those hokies) and having dinner & coffee with my bro on the night before his first day of classes!

Low lights of the trip were minimal, but:

• Getting rained on all day Saturday.

• Not being able to afford to walk the grounds of the home that belonged to the founder of my university. Mr. Jefferson would not like that at all.

• The driving part of my trip back (18 wheeler blowing a tire right in front of me, too tired, and then too hopped up on caffeine).

Next up? Finding and securing a place to live in my new town. But first, I think I'll go to the beach for a couple of days!

Reunited And It Feels So Good

This weekend I'm driving up to my old college stomping ground, Charlottesville, Va., to see my one of my very best friends, Mieke. My 1st year roommate & all around confidant is in the country for two weeks (she lives in Belgium now) and I was absolutely determined to see her! I'm beyond excited. I know we all have those relationships where distance and time really have no effect. This is one of those.

I told all of my friends from high school that I just knew my roommate would be some tall blonde who the boys fell all over. I was right, she's 6'1", beautifully blonde, not to mention foreign...What I didn't expect was how strong our connection would be. We lived together again the summer after 3rd year, before she moved back to Europe, and I've been waiting for her to come "home" ever since. I miss her all the time. But it is an amazing feeling to know that I have someone like her out there. If I needed her, she would be on the first plane, expenses be damned, and she knows I would do the same. We've been through everything together from the little things (general college stress) to the medium things (major break-ups) to the big things. You don't really know someone until you live with them, but I got to know her by living with her. I was one of those lucky ones who gained a forever-friend out of the random roommate drawing (thanks, UVA).

I'm also psyched about spending three days in Cville (the happiest place on earth). I'm bringing M back a t-shirt, it's about time he get inducted into this part of my life!