Updated schedule re: leaving for Peru

now til 6/30: North Carolina
6/30 til 7/3: Washington, DC (but I probably can't see many people b/c I'll be separating my things into piles for the movers)
7/3-7/11: Massachusetts
7/11-7/13: New York
7/13-7/17: Washington, DC at the Hotel Helix
7/17: depart for Peru

If you're interested in seeing me before I go, take a look at the schedule and try to plan accordingly. I'm not sure that I can fit in everyone or everything or even anything, but I will try.

Driving to North Carolina

A family that travels together, stays together, right? So we drove down to North Carolina with both Grace and Pookie. Grace is a veteran car-rider, but Pookie? Well, let's just say he survived a few drives to my office to pick me up from work and had no lasting trauma.

The drive from DC to Charlotte takes approximately eight hours, when Anthony isn't allowed to drive 100mph all the way. And the furry kids are packed in the backseat of Bubba (our very beloved Jeep), along with our luggage, two plants, a bag of kitty and puppy crack (i.e. their toys and food), my backpack full of library books and my computer, and whatever else we could stuff back there. Basically, there isn't much room in the car.

So we start out the ride with Pookie on my lap, wrapped up in a beach towel, kitty-sausage style. Although his eyes never shrink below the size of a mid-sized potato, his full-on paralysis eventually weakens and he is desirous of some hiding. He hides in that tiny area between the seat and the door, then moves to the area where my feet go but so far up that he is practically touching the underside of the dashboard, and then he moves to the backseat with Grace. Grace isn't so desirous of his company so she keeps sitting on him. (I can hear her thoughts now, "Squish the kitty! Squish the kitty!")

After a few minutes of "Squish the kitty!" Pookie starts to pant, which is the tipping point for me to lose my ever-loving sh#!, yell at the dog, and forcefully move Grace across the seat by injecting my thumb up her butt.

This goes on and on for hours, when I finally get the bright idea to pull the kitty out of Grace's tush and set him back on my lap. Silly me, I think this will be COMFORTING to Pookie.

Instead, Pookie is still terrified and keeps shoving his head in my armpit. Like those five-year-olds that think that you can't see them just because THEIR eyes are closed, Pookie feels completely invisible with his whiskers tickling my underarm.

Yet just as he begins to feel all safe and warm, a semi drives past, making that special noise only semis can make. The terror races through the cat, causing him to get warm - or so I think. I let Pookie go, and he crawls into the backseat, right under Grace's butt again.

Then I realize. MY CROTCH. STILL. FEELS. WARM.

That damn cat! He peed on me. We are officially no longer friends.

Our new home, but with someone else's stuff in it.

The following are a few pictures of our new home in Lima, Peru. Boy, do I EVER hope that single roll of toilet paper is still there when we arrive.

Feels like forever

Anthony and I celebrated our four-year anniversary by going hiking in Shenandoah National Park. I don't know if it means anything, but .25 miles from the parking lot, the heavens opened and we were totally deluged with rain.

Crossed fingers

I hope no one is waiting breathlessly for an account of the past few weeks. There has been much to do, and there is still much to do. And in the blink of an eye it appears we will be in Lima. I am still working on nailing down my Spring semester so I can finish graduate school, and Anthony and I are attempting to figure out what the hell it is we are doing with this whole move, but visit our families first schedule. And Saturday I leave for Colorado to try to relax – you know, by climbing the Rockies or something (whatever it is that Eric has planned for Marilyn and I). Then I have less than 2 weeks of work, we travel to NC for almost 2 weeks, we pack out of our condo, we travel to MA for almost 2 weeks, we spend some time in the NYC area so we can see the Dropkick Murphys and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and then we drive to Miami to catch our flight to Lima. If you have magically, mystically been left out of the schedule, I am SO SORRY, but the planning has been left up to Anthony and by that I mean, very little planning is being done and we are flying by the seat of our pants. Perhaps you could call me to tell me how much you love me…? While I still have a telephone, that is.

So if you missed me, here’s the quickie update: I am well, Anthony is well, the furry children are well, and the extended family is well. All’s well.

Great, now I can get back to work….

Thoughts

My paternal grandmother passed away last night from cancer. She lived in Florida all my life and I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve ever seen her. You could say, without exaggeration, that we were not close.

Gram is the grandmother that walked away from her family of six children when my dad was (I believe) in high school, so the relationship between her and the rest of the family was always strange, and always difficult. She was the kind of grandmother that you didn’t develop intimacy with, who was just as enigmatic as people named Cher or Prince – familiar enough to be called a single, one-syllable name, but so distant as to remain a question mark on the family tree. I really didn’t know her at all, and I can’t say that she knew me either.

Gram remembered my birthday because I was born the year that she vacationed in Germany. Yet if you were to collect all of her grandchildren into one place, she probably couldn’t differentiate one from the other.

Yet I never felt a lack in my life because my grandmother wasn’t there. She just wasn’t. No harm, no foul – things happen; people lead different lives; not all families must be close. So with her death, I don’t feel much personal loss.

However, at the same time, I feel genuinely saddened by her passing. Cancer is a horrible, horrible disease that I would not wish on anyone. And I am sure that she developed close bonds with other people in her life, who are devastated by their loss.

It's a miracle - I'm writing again! (And this time it's not for grad school.)

I spent my last 2 hours and fifty minutes in a classroom on Cinco de Mayo. It would have been ten minutes less, but my professor wanted to keep us late to talk about Aristotle. But the fact of the matter remains – I never have to enter another classroom again. Yes, I still have two courses left to complete for my degree, but I won’t be entering a classroom to complete them. It is a minor victory, but a victory all the same.

My final two classes are electives that I can take in Spring 2009. I intend for them to be an independent study and an internship. Which is why I’m taking an intensive Spanish class when I arrive in Lima this summer. Something about the fact that all Peruvians speak Spanish…

Since the last time I wrote, I also failed a couple of things (not class – three more A’s, thank you very much!): the State Department Foreign Service WRITTEN exam (that was a first for me) and the Boren Fellowship (my application was not selected). My neighbors are going to cohost a FAIL Party with me, since Katie also failed the FS exam. We’re thinking mid-week, and we’re thinking lots of bubbly. And in case you’re overly concerned, don’t worry, it’s not as big a deal as getting that B+ in stats last semester which totally ruined my 4.0 GPA and made me cry. I am still upset about that grade, but the FS exam and the fellowship are hardly a blip on my radar. Neither outcome is affecting my next steps in life anyway.

So, what is next, you ask? Well, let me just plonk myself right down and tell you! To start, my little sister, Preyasha, graduates from UVA on Sunday. Which means that da’ Momma and San are currently fighting traffic to get to DC. They are crashing at my house until Tuesday. We only have to make that hellacious trip out to Charlottesville on Sunday, so the rest of the weekend will be spent eating, eating and eating. Oh, and da’ Momma will be snuggling with her favorite grandchild, Grace.

Then I have two days to clean and re-sort the condo before all hell breaks loose and the entirety of UPenn class of ’01 comes to stay. I’m housing Michelle, Tom, Nicole and Mel (and Estee, once she makes up her mind!), and we have a bunch of wedding and non-wedding stuff to attend. Melanie and Johnny will be representing Florida over at Andrew’s pad, Lisa will be representing Philly (can I get a woot-woot?) over at Ben’s, and Eric will be representing Colorado (in all it’s hippie-ness), also at Ben’s. It will be kind of like our Vegas trip in ’05 (was it really three years ago???), only it’ll be called Reunion ’08. Let the good times (and the bribery photos) begin…

Shortly thereafter I am traveling with Marilyn to visit Eric in Colorado and then things should roll down-hill from there. I finally decided to forsake my Peace Corps dreams to be with my “family” because I feel that I can make a Peace-Corps-like experience happen in Lima – and still be surrounded by the ones I love (not to mention my stuff)! So once June rolls around, I’m quitting my job, packing up the condo, picking up a renter, making the last rounds with my DC crew, visiting my family in MA (and some friends along the way – hiya NYC crew!), visiting Anthony’s family in NC, and then driving to Miami (and probably meeting up with friends in the greater FL-state area) to catch our flight.

So really, nothing much is happening in my life. As things progress, I will try to keep you informed though…