Oh yeah. I'm definitely moving here.

Okay, so sorry for saying “stay tuned.” I should’ve known that I wouldn’t update this at all until the end of the trip. But I’ll do my best to make it worth your wait. If you were waiting at all. Which I’m going to go ahead and doubt. Anywho...

We left Galva around noon on Sunday. Our goal for the day was to get to Little Rock, where Steven wanted to check out one of his grad school choices. However, once we started passing signs and exits for Fayetteville, we discovered that the school he was interested in was actually there, and not in Little Rock. But I was driving, so of course, any sort of spontaneous exiting is out of the question so we continued on. Turns out, Little Rock is a long way from Fayetteville. It’s also a long way from Oxford. And it’s not a very nice town. We found a super cheap and moderately sketchy Motel 6 for the evening, and Steven in a sudden spurt of manly fear for his lady, gave me a knife for my keys and told me how to escape if I ever found myself in a horror movie type situation. All of these things, of course, made me feel ever so much better about our 35 dollar hotel room. We got out of Little Rock without any sightseeing.

Along the way to Little Rock we stopped in Tulsa for some much anticipated Jamba Juice. It was just as delicious as I remembered, but I’m glad there’s no Jamba Juice in Oxford. It’s just so expensive, and I know that if I lived in a place where it was I would either go broke or eat it so much that I got sick of it- both of which would be very sad. So we took our smoothies and headed on, through the massive state of Arkansas. Also on Sunday we found out that Steven’s Dad had another emergency at the hospital and wouldn’t be able to meet up with us for any part of the trip. Super sucky, and I think Steven was pretty unhappy, so I let him pick where he wanted to eat. Apparently that was the wrong thing to let him choose, because suddenly Long John Silvers sounded good to him and we both regretted that decision immediately after. Turns out, Steven’s stomach doesn’t really like the combination of interstate food and 600 mile a day driving. After listening to him vomit everything we’d eaten in the past two days, while sitting in the Motel 6 watching the Weather Channel at 2 in the morning... well... I knew we had reached the low point of our trip. Just like with Betsy and I last year- we had to listen to the bum puking in Austin before we could really start to have a good time.

On Monday we learned that Arkansas is truly the biggest state in the entire universe, and drove for days to get to Memphis, which we did not enjoy. We got to Beale Street just after the St. Patrick’s Day parade, and the whole place just looked dirty and deserted. Then we scoured the town for a Wal-Mart, where we had to pick up the money that Steven’s Dad sent him so that we had money to get home. Once we got through the line, there was some sort of Code 4 with the moneygram, and we had to wait another 45 minutes to get it all straightened out. Turns out there had been some problems with moneygrams in the past with a different Steven Miller. Yet another reason why children with common last names should have freakish first names like pudding or jelly bean.

When we finally crossed the Mississippi state line, everything started to feel better. The roads were less crowded, the scenery was varied and beautiful. Oklahoma and Arkansas were full of crazy semis and dead trees. As far as the eye could see. We got to Oxford and immediately got lost, but were rewarded by finding the “SnoBiz”, Oxford’s own sno-cone and smoothie shack. We refueled and then promptly got lost again, trying to find the Bed & Breakfast. Then we got stuck in some guy’s driveway and finally called the B&B to get real directions. I have no idea how my directions were so bad, but they were the exact opposite of everywhere we were supposed to be.

The B&B, called “The Colonel’s Quarters” was massive and Southern and beautiful. After the day of driving and the Little Rock adventure- it was like a dream. We had the whole place to ourselves and ordered sushi for dinner and took pictures of the insane four poster canopy bed and flat screen TV and double vanity jacuzzi tub bathroom. It was so sad to leave. They didn’t have a full breakfast, but we had all the muffins, sausage biscuits and cereal we could eat, along with cranberry, apple and orange juice. It was a good thing that we only had the reservation there for two days, because if we were there the whole week, we might never have seen the town. Also, the first night, the mother who showed us our room, had some major fight with her home from college son in the yard about responsibility. It was a good bit of Southern domestic drama to help us get situated in our new environment.

As for Oxford, it's wonderful. There are giant old houses everywhere, and hills and little winding streets and antique stores. The historic downtown Oxford square is beautiful and old and full of fun places to eat, little boutiques and wonderful bookstores. Other than food and gas, we’ve only spent money on books, because the selection is insane. I bought three books from the used bookstore for 15 dollars, and three books from the full price store for 45. Also, in the bookstore the guys working talked to us about Denis Johnson, Joy Williams, Padgett Powell and Susan Minot. It was unreal. We tried to go to a reading/concert at the used bookstore tonight, but it was already full to capacity when we got there 15 minutes early. I think that’s a good sign.

Today we went to Rowan Oak, to see Faulkner’s home and take pictures. They still have the whole thing intact, including his study, where he wrote outlines of his notes on the walls. We also went to the library on Ole Miss campus, where they have Faulkner’s Nobel prize, and a copy of his acceptance speech and first editions of all his novels. The literary history of the town is just insane. There was another room dedicated to a Mississippi publisher who discovered everyone from Pablo Neruda, to Barry Hannah, Tom Franklin and Susan Minot. I would love love love to work in that library.

And now, we've reached the end of our journey. Tomorrow we drive back to GC for Easter weekend and I'm kind of dreading facing Arkansas again. But the Days Inn is starting to get depressing and the people next door are smoking weed and filling our room with the smell, so I think it's time to say goodbye. Tonight we ate dinner at the Volta Taverna and it was fantastic. It was Greek food that actually tasted good. I had a falafel wrap and Steven got a chicken gyro and we had spicy hummus dip and these warm cinnamon pita chips. So good. It will be so sad to go back to interstate food tomorrow too. Also, when we driving around trying to find the Wal-Mart last night, we discovered a Dippin Dots store! Hailey would've been on cloud nine.

It's been a great trip, ending with a K-State win in the first round of the tournament! What a great day. Happy first day of spring, everyone!

Day one... sort of

Okay. So Steven and I are officially on our way to Spring Break adventures.

We're just a little... stalled.

The original plan was to get to Galva last night, leave with his Mom this morning for Little Rock, drive to Oxford on Sunday, then his Mom would head to Florida in a rental car, and we would driv to Memphis to pick up his Dad and then spend the rest of the week in Oxford.

Instead, I'm updating from a coffee shop in McPherson. A very nice coffee shop called The Button Hole, with spotty wifi and english toffee steamers. It's also directly connected to the big quilt/fabric store and it's all I can do to keep from buying yards of reproduction fabric to make a hundred skirts that I will inevitably ruin. Anyway, we're here in McPherson, because Steven's Mom decided to fly to Florida on Monday, and Steven's Dad has some emergency at the hospital where he works and may not get to Memphis until Tuesday.... if at all. But, good news- we have reservations at a B&B in Oxford for Monday night, and a car to get us there and back.

So far, it's been even more of an adventure than I could've hoped for.

On the drive to Galva last night we played several movie games, listened to music, and drove through a massive thunderstorm, just in time to see K-State lose to A&M in the last minute. So frustrating to be a fan this year. So. Frustrating.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be updating from Arkansas. Or, at the very least, a different coffee shop in a different town. Perhaps I can convince Steven to move in to the Jamba Juice in Tulsa...

Stay tuned.

Attention Project Runway fans...

I found a new blog. Through Jenna Fischer (aka Pam, from The Office). We're MySpace friends. I'm that cool. Anyway this new blog is by Jennifer Eolin and provides hilarious commentary about our friends on Project Runway. She even writes the blog as Heidi, or Michael Kors, or Nina sometimes. Love it.


http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=82230642&blogID=362984530

That's my big news. I passed all parts of my GRE so now I can get to work with the rest of applying to grad school. I'm so glad I never took a semester off before finishing undergrad. I'm dragging my feet just getting grad school applications done. Blech.

Also, today, a kid in one of my classes was named Darwin. And I was so stressed out about learning everyone's names that it didn't even occur to me how weird of a name that was until I was driving home, six hours later. Surely I'll get the hang of this soon.

New Soul

I love that song on the new Apple commercial. Y'know? The one where they fit the computer in the manila envelope? Ridiculous. Anyway the song is called "New Soul" and it's by Yael Naim, some super cool french singer. It's on my MySpace profile if you want to give it a listen, but all of her others seem to be in French. But I'll take what I can get.

I spent the last week in Manhattan and it was fantastic. Time passes so strangely in my two different lives. Here, weeks seem to stretch on forever, full of work and chores and ferrying Abby around to different appointments and lessons, etc. But I spent ten days in Manhattan, all relatively uneventful, and the time seemed to gallop away from me. Hopefully time will start to gallop here, also. I don't operate well with slow.

Anyway, here are the highlights, so that I can remember how I spent my week.

1. Harvest Grain & Nut pancakes at IHOP. I finally found a pancake I like. Steven and I tried to feed the extras to the ducks, or the birds, but when we got to the lake, we discovered that it was frozen, and the only animals around were hunting dogs. So instead we tried to throw rocks through the ice and ate the pancakes ourselves.

2. Waitress. It's a new release with Keri Russell and it's wonderful. Very quirky funny, and Keri Russell is so sweet and quietly hilarious. I watched a lot of movies over the ten days and it was definitely my favorite. I also watched Feast of Love which was not great, but did inspire me to read the Charles Baxter novel it was adapted from. Movies we watched that you should avoid: In the Land of Women, Suburban Girl and Because I Said So. Poor Diane Keaton is so fidgety.

3. Chipotle Raspberry Bean dip at So Long. It takes a good three times eating it before you like it, but once you do, you'll never order the fried pickles again. It's just that good.

4. Dan Chaon. I'm currently reading "You Remind Me of Me" and it's excellent. I've been reading some of his short stories, and moved on to the novel. I'd recommend either. I've also been hooked on Lydia Davis, TC Boyle, and Alice Munro, as of late. I think you have to be in the right mood for Munro, though. She's great for gray, cold weather days.

5. Big Love. I know I'm three years behind on the show, but I watched the first two seasons in four days. I'm hooked on their crazy lives. And their continued dedication to always making the wrong decision. Love it.

6. Super Tuesday. Steven and I watched Bob Roberts in between all night coverage of the results of Super Tuesday. Then we researched the candidates websites. Seriously, if you're running for President, Hillary Clinton, you'd think you could get a better web designer. I'm officially throwing in my hat as an Obama supporter. This declaration in no way means that I wish to engage in any sort of political discussion. They only end in tears. I'm just excited to see how it all plays out. And if you haven't seen Bob Roberts, it's not bad. If you can get over the fact that it's Tim Robbins.

7. The Superbowl. I didn't watch it. We made jambalaya and watched Big Love and played Phase 10 instead. But we did watch all of the commercials the next day on MySpace. The eTrade baby ones were my favorites. Anyone else?

8. Omaha. Hailey is officially moving to Omaha in August, which means that if my plans remain the same, I will be living on my own for the first time, back in Manhattan in August. If anyone hears of a good one-bedroom, I would be much obliged, since I have to do the majority of my apartment hunting from GC. Also job openings are helpful too. Just if you run across anything. It was really nice to have a roommate again for a week. We watched American Idol and that terrible Moment of Truth reality show on Fox, ate a lot of cookies and giggled. It'll be strange to live in Manhattan without her.

9. Spring break. We decided not to go to New Orleans over spring break, but instead visit Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. We'll probably spend a day in Memphis too, so if anyone has any ideas or suggestions about things to do/see in that area, I'd love any advice.

I think that's the major update on my life. I have three more days at Hastings and then it's back to substitute teaching full time. Unfortunately, the anthropological experiment came second to paying the bills, so I'm giving it up. I'm very relieved to be rid of my coupon signing and cash drawer counting responsibilities.

Sycamore Down

Here's a helpful hint, from me to you: never read T. Coraghessan Boyle's, "The Love of My Life" when you are young, infatuated, in a long distance relationship, and currently planning a spring break trip with the object of your infatuation. It's a little too close to home. Instead, read David Schickler's "The Smoker" and indulge those fantasies about your English teacher that you never knew you had. Or just enjoy the detail of Schickler's narrative.

I have now been back home for two weeks. It feels like a lifetime. Time is a tricky devil like that. I'm falling into step here though. Work is going well, routine, the hours of the day are starting to fit together with ease, sleep comes easier, my skin is adjusting to its new role here. It's interesting how geography dictates so much of perspective. I spent the last 3.5 years living on my own, or living with Hailey, rather. And now, I'm here, and in two weeks, this already feels like the norm. The way it has always been. I never thought that I would be a quick adapter. I lived in the same house for 18 years before college. But maybe after the first move, it becomes easier to adapt to the next.

Other than the move, I'm finding other things to fit into my new daily routine. Like tea. I've decided to get hooked on tea, because it's healthy and pretentious, and I can make it at home, since there are no coffee shops open past 6. The tea I'm drinking tonight reminds me of an abandoned crayon in a pack of 64. That weird mix of green and yellow that didn't look good, no matter what you were drawing. I've also started eating yogurt, and oatmeal, both things I tried when I was 8, disliked, and had assumed that I would hate them forever. Turns out, not so much. This revelation had me cheering for Brett Favre and the Packers again, but sadly, they have broken my heart and I am officially off the NFL again.

I've also decided to turn my Hastings job into some sort of anthropological study of Garden City. So far I am learning about the wide variety of people who purchase dirty magazines. The type of small talk in a situation like that is a gold mine of awkward and uncomfortable dialogue. I'm hoping to get some serious inspiration from the job to make up for the lack of decent pay. I'll keep you all posted.

Survivor

I just got home from my first day as a substitute teacher.

I subbed for 8th grade Reading at Abe Hubert Middle School.

And I survived.

I've never been so nervous about anything... ever.

But now, it is over. Until 7:30 am tomorrow.

Also, Steven sent me tulips yesterday. He's kind of spectacular.

Frustrated.

So, I think I've figured out why I haven't been sleeping this week. Part of it has to do with my ridiculous schedule in Manhattan. Stay up til 5am, sleep until 2pm. Not really conducive to Garden City life. Then, when I finally get here, my waking hours are little more than being asleep with my eyes open. I watch Gilmore Girls. I drink tea. I read Lorrie Moore. I drink Dr. Pepper. Occasionally I'll eat some yogurt. It's strenuous stuff. In addition to my sedentary lifestyle, I haven't been working. I'm finally in the system now, but only subbing for high school. Because I earned my degree, and I will not, cannot, refuse to, follow around third graders and accidentally making one of them cry or pee their pants or bite someone. It's too much. So tonight, when I discovered that there were no jobs available for tomorrow, something in my head finally clicked.

I need to apply for other jobs too.

Initially, I was opposed to this idea. Substitute teaching gave me the flexibility to leave for a week at a time, lounge around in Manhattan, enjoy a mini-vacation once a month. Other jobs, even crappy part-time ones, don't exactly grant that sort of schedule and allow you to keep your job.

I suppose one alternative would be to take the crappy elementary school subbing jobs and suck it up, and hold out for the vacation.

Or...

I could sub occasionally AND work my part-time job. This doesn't allow me to visit Manhattan as often, but maybe that's better. I think part of my sleeplessness is stemming from the fact that I keep taking shortcuts. I'm looking for the easier path, the job where I can keep my brain on autopilot while collecting paychecks and refreshing myself before grad school in August.

I don't know. Maybe this is just another short cut. But I'm blogging about this just in case you, the informed populace of Garden City, know of any jobs where I could actually learn something, or use my degree in even the smallest capacity. Jobs paying significantly more than minimum wage are a plus.

At the very least, I'm doing something. That feels better.