So this weekend was probably the most amazing four days I've had in a while. (Save for several birthday celebrations that were pretty fantasically awesome in their own right!) It started with a relaxing evening spent with my bff Jess and her family, which involved coloring, cookie dough ice cream and Beerfest on Comedy Central (aka waaaay too many of the same commercials). The next morning was even better because FINA World Championships were on NBC and I got to see Reezy in his finest as the US Men's team kicked @$$ in the 4x100 free relay and beat the French, who should have won hands down. I guess that's the power of Phlochte? Onto that afternoon when Jess and I went to go see the Orphan. To my surprise, the movie proved to be much better than I think either of us had anticipated. It was a little less horror and little more suspense/thriller with this crazy orphan girl on the loose trying to kill everybody. I won't give away any spoilers, but the ending did lead to a thought-provoking discussion on the drive home.
Speaking of driving, the next part of my weekend involved an almost two hour trek up the summit to vist my hetero life partner (copy-right pending) and her hubby in Lake Tahoe. Even though I had just been there for father's day, it had been my first time in years really getting to experience what the lake had to offer. Despite the fact I left with a pretty nasty burn on the bottom of my left shoulder blade, only adding to the color discrepancy between my arms, I had a blast rafting down the Truckee River (see photo below) even though we nearly died several times and Brad may have ended up injured due to my lack of avoiding the bushes... and playing on a remote beach with the Mabies.
By far the best part of this weekend was sharing a room with Chelsea and staying up late catching up on the gossip and laughing about our time spent living together in Portland. On the drive back to Sacramento I got to spend a lot of time mulling over my friendships I've made in my short 23 years. Being an only child, you come to appreciate the friends you have so much more because they truly do become like family. All of my girls back home in Sac and up in Portland are my sisters and I don't know where I would be or the person I would be without them. I've said this before during a drunken love fest with two of my besties, who shall remain nameless, that I truly feel blessed by the women in my life. After losing my mother to cancer in '99, my dad did the best that he could to be there for me and I love him beyond words for the sacrifices he made to keep our family together, but there's only so much girl talk that can be had. I floundered most of my way through high school without that feminine influence, not knowing a thing about make up or tweezers (can we say yikes to the insane eyebrows I had back then?!). But then I solidified friendships with some of the most amazing girls during my last two years along with the first two at uni and there is no way that I can deny that my mom sent them (and their families) to me to serve as strong female role models in my life. Beyond the superficial shopping trips and boy talk, these girls taught me what it meant to embrace being a woman and to stand up for our identity as double-x chromosomes.
Okay, I'm going to climb off of my girl-power soap box now and tell you guys some exciting news about my trip to Korea. So, now that I have my VISA issuance number, I had to deal with the Consulate in getting the actual VISA stamp added to my passport. Well, after being transferred around the Consulate's main switchboard I found out that I had to send in all of my documents, including my passport, ahead of me before they could set up the interview date. Apparently a vital part of my packet was missing as I found out yesterday afternoon. Included in the list of VID (very important documents) was a return envelope for them to send my passport back in. Well, figuring that I would have to drive into SF for my interview anyway, I didn't bother including one. Surprise, surprise! My documents all checked out and they decided that they didn't need to interview me after all *does happy dance* So now I have to wait another week to get my passport back and then everything will be ready for me to go!
On a less exciting note, my swimsuit has gone to crap and I would like to get a new one before I leave. Anyone know of some good sales?
My dear Maggie,
ReplyDeleteYou are a truly beautiful person, and I am so happy to have you in my life.
I love you!