Trains, Planes, and Automobiles - The first day of my vacation:
4:30 - i woke up because i was cold and melanie didn't give me a blanket to sleep with even though she did make a special trip to the store to buy me an air-mattress. so i got to lay there and be quiet as i filled with excitement and anticipation. I couldn't wait for the day to start.
5:30 - still waiting for the day to start
6:30 - melanie jumped out of bed and beat me to the bathroom even though i was a good five feet closer than she was. so i had to wait for her to shower and 'put her face on' before i could get a turn.
7:30 - showered, dressed, talked to amy, and repacked. melanie reclaimed her bathroom as i tried persuading her that we needed to leave because we had to be at the airport by 8.
8:30 - we're at the airport, just arrived. we park in 'satellite parking' which means we have to take a bus back to the airport. As we are pulling our bags out of the car melanie thinks she sees the bus starting to leave (and like a dumbass, i don't question this because i have a pounding headache at this point due to a lack of caffeine). so we start sprinting towards the bus. this must have been a pretty funny sight for anyone other than us: watching two young twenty-something girls running with one big suitcase/bag and backpack each. it does make me kind of glad that i'm a sturdy girl, i wouldn't have been able to manage such a feat if i wasn't. oh well, needless to say, the bus wasn't leaving for another five minutes, so we got to look like crazy women for the entertainment of the other passengers.
9:30 - we are checked in with our respective airlines, having breakfast, and reading the newspaper together. afterwards, we say our goodbyes, wish each other well and head out to our respective terminals. mine is boarding when i get there so i join the line. a family joins the line right behind me. the parents are in their fifties and they are accompanied by a daughter in her late twenties and her husband/boyfriend. The father and daughter were bickering and i couldn't help but listen. the daughter noticed earlier that a heavier person was boarding our plane. she wanted to know if that person has to purchase two seats in coach, a first class seat, or a coach seat that is automatically upgraded to first class by the airline. i always seem to get caught listening to the oddest of conversations.
10:30 - i'm in the air. i think i'm a pretty patient person. i have to be when i'm working at the preschool. but now, i'm on vacation so i have zilch in the way of patience with children that i don't know and who don't know how to respect the space of others. i had a little girl behind me kicking my seat for the entire flight to baltimore. i tried to think of the situation i was in as special, as in, i was the only person on the plane lucky enough to have a vibrating seat and these vibrations are supposed to be relaxing, no matter how erratic they are. the part that i really don't understand though is why didn't this girl's mother, who was sitting right next to her, stop her from constantly kicking my seat...
11:30 - we land in baltimore. i get off the plane to walk around for a few minutes. thank goodness the seat-kicker did not get back on the plane for the next leg of the trip.
12:30 - reading the 'count of monte cristo' while on route to boston
1:30 - still reading but also periodically glancing out my window. this is the leg of the trip where i could finally start noticing changes in the landscape below. as we flew closer to boston, we were flying right above a layer of bright white, fluffy clouds. just looking at the clouds made me want to try to jump on them as i would in a moon walk. another interesting optical illusion i had the pleasure of noticing was the shadow of the plane on the clouds, now that may not seem all that interesting in and of itself, but... it was encircled by a rainbow.
2:30 - i've landed in boston and made the trek down to claim my luggage.
3:30 - after examining several maps, i determined that i had to find the correct courtesy shuttle bus to take me from the airport to the T-station (this of course made no sense to me in the beginning because i knew that the metro maps on the internet displayed a T stop at the airport, not a mile away from the airport by bus). so i maneuver my large camping/hiking backpack onto my back and got on the bus. i purchased my T-token at the stop and made it down to the correct train. this was the easy ride, i got to sit down. it got off at the appropriate stop and walked quickly to the next stop. i had to ride the next train for exactly one stop before getting off and i practically ran to the next stop to board the third train, which i had to ride for exactly one stop. i was very proud of myself for having gotten myself safely to the commuter train station through the chaos of public transportation.
4:30 - i bought my commuter train pass, a cup of coffee, and found a chair so i could sit and watch the trains arrive. i was able to make my obligatory phone calls to (mom, amy, and my cousin) let them know that i landed safely and i would reach my final destination in an hour.
5:30 - met up with T at the train station. she then whisked me off to have dinner with her friends
6:30 - dinner was fabulous even though i wasn't very adventurous in my choices (vegetable noodle soup). i didn't talk too much but was thoroughly amused while i listened and observed the interactions between the friends
7:30 - spent two hours listening to stories from the friends. moving stories. i didn't say much of anything myself and i wasn't expecting to take anything away from the stories. i'm a little scared about the fact that i did. food for thought.
9:30 - out to T's apartment
10:30 - tea and inflating the self-inflating mattress (which i still want to know how the thing works from the inside)
11:30 - bed and a talk with amy
Tuesday - a day of firsts, namely my one year anniversary with amy
7:30 - amy called (as usual). happy anniversary to us!
8:30 - coffee! called mom, who requested to see me on the webcam. we obliged for all of maybe 60 seconds. it made mom's day. she's so weird.
9:30 - showered, dressed and got ready for breakfast with T's crew.
10 - while T was finishing what she needed to do, she sent me out to start up her car. she had to give me a whole list of instructions because i don't know how to operate a manual vehicle. granted, i did drive a tractor for a summer but a car is totally different. see, steph, you should have taught me before i took this trip
10:30 - fashionably late to breakfast. everyone was seated as T and i approached the table. they had a chair pulled up for T and a high-chair pulled up for me (being as i'm the baby of the group for the week). during breakfast the webcam store was told which moved the discussion to how paranoid i am of my parents, particularly my mom, finding out anything i don't know want them to know. damn, that conversation sure made me feel like the adult that i should be...
1:30 - rode with a friend out to her apartment where we were dropping off her car (the smoking car) and waiting for T and another friend to pick us up
2:30 - drove out to northampton
3:30 - dropped off one friend who was meeting people out there and we parked and mosied around a few shops. i ended up buying a couple of cds.
5:30 - waited in line to get into a melissa ferrick concert.
6:30 - dinner and conversation, inside the concert venue. i was asked how this trip was different from my other trips up. i don't feel like the answer i gave at the time was the exact answer i wanted to give, i just needed a little more time to think on it. honestly, every trip i make to visit T is a little different. She always finds a way to show me what i need to see at the time (whether i know i need to see it or not). five years ago i needed to see that it was okay to be gay. i had no one else in my life that i could turn to, to show me that, and i'm grateful to her for that. This trip is different primarily because i wasn't expecting to be taking as much away mentally and emotionally from the experiences i've had on this trip. maybe, as before, this was all things that i needed to see so that i can deal better with the future.
7:30 - the opening act. i can't remember her name (never a good sign). called amy.
8:30 - Melissa Ferrick. Powerful. Energetic. Intense. Open... I was impressed.
10:30 - drove back and dropped the friends off. called amy. stopped at the store just before getting back to T's apartment. i got to pick up two newspapers. i was very excited about the prospect of having enough time the next day to read both papers and do the crosswords.
12:30 - tea and wrote notes about the trip.
Wednesday - hump-day
7:30 - amy called
9:30 - coffee! read my two papers and attempted crosswords
10:30 - T cooked an amazing breakfast (eggs, corned beef hash, and bagels)
11:30 - newspapers, showers...
12:30 - newbury comics. bought two melissa ferrick cds
2:30 - back at T's apartment to feed and care for her dog. putzed away the afternoon relaxing.
6:30 - sushi with T and a friend. we have good sushi at home but nothing like the sushi i had at this place. it was amazing. there was a deal placed on the table at dinner that night that I don't plan on forgetting anytime soon: if i do well enough on my physics gre to get into the grad school i want for the masters degree i want, i will fly back up and treat them both to sushi. however, if i don't end up doing well enough, they both will fly down and treat me to sushi.
evening - quietly listened to stories over dunkin donuts coffee
9:30 - watched the movie "the closet" with T and ate apple pie. very amusing movie. i was also introduced to the netflix phenomenon.
11:30 - talked to amy. sleep.
Thursday - shopping
morning - coffee, realized i missed amy's call at 7:30, listened to npr news, helped pick up the apartment for game night, and walked the dog
midday - visited the clark bookstore where i bought a sweatshirt. went shopping at the mall for christmas gifts. thank goodness the parking space goddesses were with us that day. lunch in the food court and mini cinnamon buns for later. more shopping at EMS, a great store with fabulous bags and fun little gadgets. T was looking through the winter caps and couldn't decide on one. i wasn't being too helpful with my opinions ("yeah, they all look good"). apparently i value the comfort (and function, although you can't say that about my winter coat because its too thin) of winter clothing over fashion.
afternoon - putzed around
evening - pizza, salad, cookies, and games. i kicked ass at backgammon but so got my ass stomped at chess. as soon as i'm feeling better, i'm going to demand a rematch. talked to amy. watched another funky movie with T.
Friday
10:00 - coffee, showered, packed, walked the dog...
12:00 - lunch at miss worcester's diner complete with the signs that read "sexual harassment won't be reported, it will be graded" and "how about a nice hot cup of shut the fuck up". they even made us breakfast, which we apparently arrived too late to order. i definitely want to go back there the next time i visit.
2:30 - drove through MIT to get to the cambridgeside mall where i drooled over the next computer i want to buy
3:30 - found the T-stop i needed to use, said my goodbyes to T, and started my trek home
4:30 - at the airport and checked in with the airline
5:30 - finally through the security checkpoint and now having to wait to board my plane. bought a hat, a newspaper, and a pad of paper while waiting to board. then sat near this cute little lesbian who listened to me sneeze, cough, and blow my nose (just being outright disgusting and not paying attention to anyone) when she turned to me and said "no offense, but i really hope that I'm not seated next to you on the plane." i had to laugh and apologize because i was really doing the best that i could to not breathe on people. we chatted for a bit. boarded the plan. she was seated four rows ahead of me.
6:30 - on route to philadelphia
7:30 - landed in philadelphia. i thought my head was going to explode while on the plane. never fly with a sinus infection. the pressure is magnified to an unbelievable level when on a flight. got off the plane and walked around. found a smoking bar in the airport where i sat and ordered a very expensive soda for the privilege to smoke. i also returned phone calls to rach and lori who both called while i was in the air.
8:30 - back in the air
9:30 - sleeping
10:30 - sleeping
11:00 - landed
11:30 - grabbed my luggage, got back out to my car, paid $35 to get it out of the parking lot and got on the road to go home. called mom and amy to reassure them that everything was fine
12:30 - still on the road
1:30 - in town at the CVS getting medicine
2:30 - in bed, in my apartment cursing jessica who called because she is having a nervous breakdown at her mom's house
sleeping...
i wish i could have written about this trip more eloquently but my head is clogged and my brain isn't functioning properly. my apologies. i'll go to the doctor soon.
That was my vacation and it was incredibly relaxing even thought it was a lot colder than i tend to like. i met a lot of amazing people and was able to spend some quality time with my cousin who i adore above all others. thanks again T.
4:30 - i woke up because i was cold and melanie didn't give me a blanket to sleep with even though she did make a special trip to the store to buy me an air-mattress. so i got to lay there and be quiet as i filled with excitement and anticipation. I couldn't wait for the day to start.
5:30 - still waiting for the day to start
6:30 - melanie jumped out of bed and beat me to the bathroom even though i was a good five feet closer than she was. so i had to wait for her to shower and 'put her face on' before i could get a turn.
7:30 - showered, dressed, talked to amy, and repacked. melanie reclaimed her bathroom as i tried persuading her that we needed to leave because we had to be at the airport by 8.
8:30 - we're at the airport, just arrived. we park in 'satellite parking' which means we have to take a bus back to the airport. As we are pulling our bags out of the car melanie thinks she sees the bus starting to leave (and like a dumbass, i don't question this because i have a pounding headache at this point due to a lack of caffeine). so we start sprinting towards the bus. this must have been a pretty funny sight for anyone other than us: watching two young twenty-something girls running with one big suitcase/bag and backpack each. it does make me kind of glad that i'm a sturdy girl, i wouldn't have been able to manage such a feat if i wasn't. oh well, needless to say, the bus wasn't leaving for another five minutes, so we got to look like crazy women for the entertainment of the other passengers.
9:30 - we are checked in with our respective airlines, having breakfast, and reading the newspaper together. afterwards, we say our goodbyes, wish each other well and head out to our respective terminals. mine is boarding when i get there so i join the line. a family joins the line right behind me. the parents are in their fifties and they are accompanied by a daughter in her late twenties and her husband/boyfriend. The father and daughter were bickering and i couldn't help but listen. the daughter noticed earlier that a heavier person was boarding our plane. she wanted to know if that person has to purchase two seats in coach, a first class seat, or a coach seat that is automatically upgraded to first class by the airline. i always seem to get caught listening to the oddest of conversations.
10:30 - i'm in the air. i think i'm a pretty patient person. i have to be when i'm working at the preschool. but now, i'm on vacation so i have zilch in the way of patience with children that i don't know and who don't know how to respect the space of others. i had a little girl behind me kicking my seat for the entire flight to baltimore. i tried to think of the situation i was in as special, as in, i was the only person on the plane lucky enough to have a vibrating seat and these vibrations are supposed to be relaxing, no matter how erratic they are. the part that i really don't understand though is why didn't this girl's mother, who was sitting right next to her, stop her from constantly kicking my seat...
11:30 - we land in baltimore. i get off the plane to walk around for a few minutes. thank goodness the seat-kicker did not get back on the plane for the next leg of the trip.
12:30 - reading the 'count of monte cristo' while on route to boston
1:30 - still reading but also periodically glancing out my window. this is the leg of the trip where i could finally start noticing changes in the landscape below. as we flew closer to boston, we were flying right above a layer of bright white, fluffy clouds. just looking at the clouds made me want to try to jump on them as i would in a moon walk. another interesting optical illusion i had the pleasure of noticing was the shadow of the plane on the clouds, now that may not seem all that interesting in and of itself, but... it was encircled by a rainbow.
2:30 - i've landed in boston and made the trek down to claim my luggage.
3:30 - after examining several maps, i determined that i had to find the correct courtesy shuttle bus to take me from the airport to the T-station (this of course made no sense to me in the beginning because i knew that the metro maps on the internet displayed a T stop at the airport, not a mile away from the airport by bus). so i maneuver my large camping/hiking backpack onto my back and got on the bus. i purchased my T-token at the stop and made it down to the correct train. this was the easy ride, i got to sit down. it got off at the appropriate stop and walked quickly to the next stop. i had to ride the next train for exactly one stop before getting off and i practically ran to the next stop to board the third train, which i had to ride for exactly one stop. i was very proud of myself for having gotten myself safely to the commuter train station through the chaos of public transportation.
4:30 - i bought my commuter train pass, a cup of coffee, and found a chair so i could sit and watch the trains arrive. i was able to make my obligatory phone calls to (mom, amy, and my cousin) let them know that i landed safely and i would reach my final destination in an hour.
5:30 - met up with T at the train station. she then whisked me off to have dinner with her friends
6:30 - dinner was fabulous even though i wasn't very adventurous in my choices (vegetable noodle soup). i didn't talk too much but was thoroughly amused while i listened and observed the interactions between the friends
7:30 - spent two hours listening to stories from the friends. moving stories. i didn't say much of anything myself and i wasn't expecting to take anything away from the stories. i'm a little scared about the fact that i did. food for thought.
9:30 - out to T's apartment
10:30 - tea and inflating the self-inflating mattress (which i still want to know how the thing works from the inside)
11:30 - bed and a talk with amy
Tuesday - a day of firsts, namely my one year anniversary with amy
7:30 - amy called (as usual). happy anniversary to us!
8:30 - coffee! called mom, who requested to see me on the webcam. we obliged for all of maybe 60 seconds. it made mom's day. she's so weird.
9:30 - showered, dressed and got ready for breakfast with T's crew.
10 - while T was finishing what she needed to do, she sent me out to start up her car. she had to give me a whole list of instructions because i don't know how to operate a manual vehicle. granted, i did drive a tractor for a summer but a car is totally different. see, steph, you should have taught me before i took this trip
10:30 - fashionably late to breakfast. everyone was seated as T and i approached the table. they had a chair pulled up for T and a high-chair pulled up for me (being as i'm the baby of the group for the week). during breakfast the webcam store was told which moved the discussion to how paranoid i am of my parents, particularly my mom, finding out anything i don't know want them to know. damn, that conversation sure made me feel like the adult that i should be...
1:30 - rode with a friend out to her apartment where we were dropping off her car (the smoking car) and waiting for T and another friend to pick us up
2:30 - drove out to northampton
3:30 - dropped off one friend who was meeting people out there and we parked and mosied around a few shops. i ended up buying a couple of cds.
5:30 - waited in line to get into a melissa ferrick concert.
6:30 - dinner and conversation, inside the concert venue. i was asked how this trip was different from my other trips up. i don't feel like the answer i gave at the time was the exact answer i wanted to give, i just needed a little more time to think on it. honestly, every trip i make to visit T is a little different. She always finds a way to show me what i need to see at the time (whether i know i need to see it or not). five years ago i needed to see that it was okay to be gay. i had no one else in my life that i could turn to, to show me that, and i'm grateful to her for that. This trip is different primarily because i wasn't expecting to be taking as much away mentally and emotionally from the experiences i've had on this trip. maybe, as before, this was all things that i needed to see so that i can deal better with the future.
7:30 - the opening act. i can't remember her name (never a good sign). called amy.
8:30 - Melissa Ferrick. Powerful. Energetic. Intense. Open... I was impressed.
10:30 - drove back and dropped the friends off. called amy. stopped at the store just before getting back to T's apartment. i got to pick up two newspapers. i was very excited about the prospect of having enough time the next day to read both papers and do the crosswords.
12:30 - tea and wrote notes about the trip.
Wednesday - hump-day
7:30 - amy called
9:30 - coffee! read my two papers and attempted crosswords
10:30 - T cooked an amazing breakfast (eggs, corned beef hash, and bagels)
11:30 - newspapers, showers...
12:30 - newbury comics. bought two melissa ferrick cds
2:30 - back at T's apartment to feed and care for her dog. putzed away the afternoon relaxing.
6:30 - sushi with T and a friend. we have good sushi at home but nothing like the sushi i had at this place. it was amazing. there was a deal placed on the table at dinner that night that I don't plan on forgetting anytime soon: if i do well enough on my physics gre to get into the grad school i want for the masters degree i want, i will fly back up and treat them both to sushi. however, if i don't end up doing well enough, they both will fly down and treat me to sushi.
evening - quietly listened to stories over dunkin donuts coffee
9:30 - watched the movie "the closet" with T and ate apple pie. very amusing movie. i was also introduced to the netflix phenomenon.
11:30 - talked to amy. sleep.
Thursday - shopping
morning - coffee, realized i missed amy's call at 7:30, listened to npr news, helped pick up the apartment for game night, and walked the dog
midday - visited the clark bookstore where i bought a sweatshirt. went shopping at the mall for christmas gifts. thank goodness the parking space goddesses were with us that day. lunch in the food court and mini cinnamon buns for later. more shopping at EMS, a great store with fabulous bags and fun little gadgets. T was looking through the winter caps and couldn't decide on one. i wasn't being too helpful with my opinions ("yeah, they all look good"). apparently i value the comfort (and function, although you can't say that about my winter coat because its too thin) of winter clothing over fashion.
afternoon - putzed around
evening - pizza, salad, cookies, and games. i kicked ass at backgammon but so got my ass stomped at chess. as soon as i'm feeling better, i'm going to demand a rematch. talked to amy. watched another funky movie with T.
Friday
10:00 - coffee, showered, packed, walked the dog...
12:00 - lunch at miss worcester's diner complete with the signs that read "sexual harassment won't be reported, it will be graded" and "how about a nice hot cup of shut the fuck up". they even made us breakfast, which we apparently arrived too late to order. i definitely want to go back there the next time i visit.
2:30 - drove through MIT to get to the cambridgeside mall where i drooled over the next computer i want to buy
3:30 - found the T-stop i needed to use, said my goodbyes to T, and started my trek home
4:30 - at the airport and checked in with the airline
5:30 - finally through the security checkpoint and now having to wait to board my plane. bought a hat, a newspaper, and a pad of paper while waiting to board. then sat near this cute little lesbian who listened to me sneeze, cough, and blow my nose (just being outright disgusting and not paying attention to anyone) when she turned to me and said "no offense, but i really hope that I'm not seated next to you on the plane." i had to laugh and apologize because i was really doing the best that i could to not breathe on people. we chatted for a bit. boarded the plan. she was seated four rows ahead of me.
6:30 - on route to philadelphia
7:30 - landed in philadelphia. i thought my head was going to explode while on the plane. never fly with a sinus infection. the pressure is magnified to an unbelievable level when on a flight. got off the plane and walked around. found a smoking bar in the airport where i sat and ordered a very expensive soda for the privilege to smoke. i also returned phone calls to rach and lori who both called while i was in the air.
8:30 - back in the air
9:30 - sleeping
10:30 - sleeping
11:00 - landed
11:30 - grabbed my luggage, got back out to my car, paid $35 to get it out of the parking lot and got on the road to go home. called mom and amy to reassure them that everything was fine
12:30 - still on the road
1:30 - in town at the CVS getting medicine
2:30 - in bed, in my apartment cursing jessica who called because she is having a nervous breakdown at her mom's house
sleeping...
i wish i could have written about this trip more eloquently but my head is clogged and my brain isn't functioning properly. my apologies. i'll go to the doctor soon.
That was my vacation and it was incredibly relaxing even thought it was a lot colder than i tend to like. i met a lot of amazing people and was able to spend some quality time with my cousin who i adore above all others. thanks again T.
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