Well, Mom and I are leaving on the "
NEVERENDING ROoAD TRIIIIIIIIIIP" tomorrow (it works best if you sing that to the tune of
Neverending Story). I'm very excited and keep getting
jitteries in my stomach! I'm really looking forward to the time with my mom, seeing the sites, and moving in to my place. My mom likes to play the part of a delicate old lady, but I think she'll be just fine on this long trip. She's really not old and is tougher than she gives herself credit for (and plus we're not really roughing it anywhere we stay). I think we're going to have a fabulous trip.
Its funny how whenever I travel I get all anxious about leaving something behind. I have to remind myself that I'm not embarking on an expedition through an uncharted jungle. If those anti-giant-chain-store documentaries are to be believed, I should be able to find SprawlMarts all across the fruited plains should I need Listerine or batteries. That is a comforting fact. I'm also encouraged in that the car has been packed for almost a week now, and I haven't come across too many things I forgot to include. Hopefully that means I did a good job. BTW, my dad is a hero when it comes to packing a car. I was convinced he couldn't get everything in, but somehow he managed. In fact, Mr. Engineer packed the thing so well that nothing even shifts if you brake kinda hard. What a guy!
I've accomplished some big things this week in prep for the trip. The biggest is that I finally am the owner of a cell phone! My sweet brother and sister-in-law offered to add me to their plan and share the cost. I am so thankful for them, its such a big blessing! Thanks to them, I'll now be able to leave the "I'm too poor to own a cell-phone" Facebook club. Obviously that's high on my list of priorities. I had fun going with my brother to get the phone: he's kind of a bad-ass. When we arrived, our sales-person showed us the two free phones that could come with the plan. The first was very cheap looking, and the second was only slightly better. My brother grimaced at the first one, brusquely flipped the thin plastic cover up and down a couple times, then muttered to me that they are both pieces of shit. We went and talked with the lady some more, and then he asked, "Can we see your other phones? Do you have anything inexpensive but durable? My sister just needs to be able to call and text, we don't need anything that can launch a space shuttle." The lady thought that was brilliant and kept refering to space ships throughout the rest of the transaction. It was great. I was touched when I got home that night and read my first-ever text message. He wrote, "Welcome to the future. I love you. Best of luck at Northwestern." Is he sweet or what? Aww.
Beyond the cell phone, I also bought a mattress today. Exciting I know. Sears has free nation-wide delivery on top of their 50% off mattress sale, so I couldn't pass it up. I got a very comfy plush full, and I have to say, I'm looking forward to doing homework on a bed actually big enough for my darn science books!
In addition to the mattress, I also went to the dentist yesterday. Its been over a year since I don't have insurance, but it was worth the out-of-pocket money. No cavities for me, thank you very much. I know you were wondering about that...
My librivox.org audio books are done downloading to my iPod now, so I guess its time for me to get off. I'll write about my trip when I can, but it will probably be 3 weeks! Don't get too eaten up with jealousy!
