Pack it up. Pack it in.

I grew up in So Cal and always knew that I would end up back here. I do not handle winter well. Here is one such story about me and winter. I was on the university campus. I just got out of class and was walking to my car. I was bundled up in my long sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, gloves, and hat. The wind began to blow. I tried to distract myself by spelling the things I saw in sign language. Tree (T-R-E-E in American Sign Language). Sounds genius, right? Surprisingly, it didn't work as well as I had hoped. You know what? I am having flashbacks. Lets just end it here by saying I cried. I was so cold walking on campus that I began crying. Like, the ugly cry. And it happened more than once. I stayed for years after graduating from school. I have fantastic friends and I really loved my job. These aspects of life kept me living in the extreme seasons for longer than I may otherwise would have.

After a trip to India, I made the concrete decision to move to Southern California. Being in India helped me to realize and appreciate all of the options that are allotted to me in my life. And I felt a need to act on the options I had been thinking about. (India is a novel of experiences in itself, so I will just keep it at this for now.)

My friend, Nessy, did the first half of the drive with me. We were packed in my car to the max. It was ridiculous.

How she was able to get some shut eye, I do not know. We did some car dancing. We sang at the top of our lungs. We listened to Family Guy and The Hangover soundbites and laughed hysterically. It got a bit dangerous because it is difficult to laugh that hard and concentrate on the road at the same time. (As a side note, Nessy is hilarious. Sometimes when I see funny things I think about how Nes would react if she were there. Many times it makes the same event even more funny. Most of the time I just call her and she laughs like she is witnessing it first hand. Its AWESOME.)

I stopped and hung out with the beautiful Pettigrews. I met their brand new little girl, Claire. She is adorable and I am so proud of Chrissie and Chris and the people they are. I love them and how loved they make me feel. I am sad that The Bean and Rom Rom were not there, but hopefully I will get to see them soon.

I woke up the next morning at 5am. Laying in that bed is literally the most comfortable I have ever been in my entire life! I headed the rest of the way to Cali...and here I am... The drive was beautiful!



Rocking the parents' house... every 29 year old's dream...