The Other State

I thought this blog post would be one of the easier ones. I mean, I think trip posts are usually pretty easy to write. You say what you did. Tell funny stories. Done.

But there’s something about this trip that doesn’t seem to be coming out. I don’t know what all to say about the trip.

It was both a vacation and not all at the same time.

I guess it was a vacation for me, but Mr. A still had to work during the days, so I was left to finding things to do on my own and exploring a new city is not nearly as fun when you’re by yourself. I think maybe that’s why it didn’t feel like a vacation to me.

But I did have a good time.

I got there on a Thursday night and was pretty exhausted. I don’t like to fly and the stress just wears me out. We grabbed some dinner at a BBQ place close to his hotel and just kept it simple.

Since he worked during the days, I was going to take him to work and pick him up so that I could have the car during the day. Except I was fairly terrified of the driving there. I love driving in the city, but the drivers there think they are the only ones on the road and have no consideration for anyone else driving. No idea how there aren’t more accidents and that more people aren’t seriously injured. Mr. A basically had to Tokyo Drift down the highway one day so he wasn’t slammed into the guardrail.

Mr. A also didn’t know anyone there, so the whole time he was there, he didn’t do much, so when I showed up, I wanted to do some of the fun touristy things.

We went to the aquarium, which was really neat. They had a cool rain forest island with monkeys and other creatures and there wasn’t a barrier between you and them. The island was situated so that they couldn’t get out, but it was cool to feel like there was nothing stopping them from jumping over. They even had a sloth in a tree that, technically, was close enough you could touch and absolutely nothing stopping you from doing so other than sign that said “Do Not Touch the Sloth”.

They had some really cool fish and the shark tunnel is always fun to walk through. We also love sea turtles, and they had a couple huge ones. They also had penguins that were outside, which is just amusing since I always imagine penguins in the cold, not the 100+ degree weather.

The city is basically a lot of eating and shopping. We found some truly delicious restaurants. Ones that I am craving from home and so very sad that I can’t have it.

Of course, I went to Sprinkles Cupcakes more than I ever should admit to anyone. But ZOMG those things are the best cupcakes that I have ever had. Too bad their cake mixes you can buy have gotten bad reviews. I would give anything for one of their red velvet and a chocolate marshmallow. Nomzzzzzzzz

We also learned that this city has probably one of the highest concentrations of rich people, at least that I’ve ever encountered. Never seen so many Range Rovers and Panameras in one place. Also realized that a lot of the stores in the malls that I couldn’t even step foot in without them requesting to know my checking account balance. One day I can shop there, just not now.

And then we went to visit our friends in another big city in Other State, about 4 hours away.

We had a great time. I hadn’t seen them since January and it was great to spend time with really good friends for a weekend. A and Mr. A lived together for 3 years in college and P and I went to high school together. P and A got together about 6 months after Mr. A and I, so the 4 of us spent A LOT of time together. We talked about the fact that if we had to live with another couple, it would be them since we basically did it through most of undergrad.

P and I talked about their wedding plans for next fall. The boys were boys and talked about boy things. We just had a truly great time.

Too bad the trip had to end on a sour note.

We were heading to our car in the parking garage of their apartment complex. The garage is locked and you have to have a clicker to get in. Guests are supposed to park on the top level, sot hats where we parked. But when we got up there, we saw that someone had broken into our car.

They completely ripped out the window and some of his stuff was sitting on the ground around the car. Mr. A was so pissed off. I was mad and just didn’t know what to do. Mr. A has had one hell of a time since he’s been in Other State, and this was about the 4th thing to go wrong involving his car. Guy had only been there a month.

Thank heavens they didn’t steal anything other than an envelope of receipts he was keeping for tax purposes. And receipts don’t have full credit card numbers so it should be fine and I’m keeping an eye on our accounts.

We think they were either looking for drugs, a laptop, or a stereo system since they left all sorts of expensive things in the car. They left the gps and his expensive radar detector and hiking stuff worth well over $400 and other various things. They definitely went through everything and tore stuff apart.

So we got to drive 4 hours on the interstate without a window, which is pretty darn miserable. Luckily Mr. A’s boss was a saint and let us park the car in their garage since our other option was going to be taking turns hanging out in the car all night to make sure no one stole the whole car. I had to move my flight to the next day since we weren’t sure if we would get back in time. No real complaints about an extra day with the husband, but we spent 2 hours at the window place waiting while they replaced it. So happy Mr. A’s insurance covered it all or we would be out about $500. Insurance is awesome.

All in all, it was a good time. I was so very happy to see Mr. A and to get to spend some time with him. We missed each other and I know it was good for him to have someone there to get him out of that hotel room. We went to a ball game. We ate at delicious restaurants. We endured 100+ temperatures every single day.

I also got to meet some blog friends which was truly amazing. All three of them were great and I am so very sad that I don’t live closer so that we can hang out some more. I won’t say who because I don’t know how anonymous they are and I wrote all over Twitter where I was, so I will respect their privacy. (But ladies, you were all AMAZING and I hope one day we can meet up again. SO MUCH FUN!)

So that was Other State. I’m sure I’m missing something, but my brain feels like it’s a bit in a fog and I can’t quite think out this whole thing. I will write better. Probably about things that I have been seeing in educations systems that are ticking me off. Hello, soapbox!

Magic

Last night, I, along with some friends, lined up in front of the movie theater at 5pm to see the very last Harry Potter film.

We’ve had our tickets for weeks. We weren’t lining up to buy tickets. My mom did not understand the point in getting in line 7 hours early.

But everyone does it. Everyone wants the best seats. Everyone wants to be a part of the whole event. A movie like this isn’t just a 2 hour cinematic feature. It is an event.

This whole series has been unlike anything else for me.

I have read these books from the beginning. I waited in line at midnight for the release of the newest book. I would stay up until I finished the books because I couldn’t imagine going to bed without knowing what happened. I’ve reread them and found something new each time. I noticed mentions in the first book that become so important in the end. These books were written so well that I can’t believe she was able to weave such an intricate storyline that the first scene ties in with the end.

Call me a nerd. Fine. I’ll accept it. But I truly love this story.

And last night?

It was magical.

Anyone who has been to a midnight showing of a movie that they have been anxiously awaiting knows this feeling.

You can feel the excitement in the crowd. Every person there is just as excited as you are. There is a common thread running through all those hundred of people. People you wouldn’t normally talk to or interact with or think that you have anything in common with, these are the people you are bonding with.

You make so many friends while in line. You get to know those around you. People will share food and drinks and snacks. People will ask if you need anything when they run across the street to Wendy’s or the gas station for more snacks. People bring games and before you know it, 20 strangers are laughing and and joking while playing Taboo or Catch Phrase. One group even brought chalk and was decorating the sidewalk. They even played foursquare for a while. One group had a tent set up and grilled burgers for people who were towards the front of the line.

In this day when people are less willing to help strangers and you have to be more cautious, it’s events like this that show me there is still some good in people.

And then you finally get into the movie. Everyone is talking and antsy because we’ve been waiting hours for this to start. I normally get so nervous that the people around me are going to talk during the movie. It is my biggest pet peeve.

But as soon as the lights go down, everyone cheers and then a silence settles over the entire theater.

My favorite part of these midnight showings of movies that people know so much about is that when a bad guy dies, everyone cheers. When something happens to a favorite character, you can audibly hear everyone gasp. The entire audience laughs at jokes that maybe casual watchers wouldn’t catch or wouldn’t find it as funny.

And since this was a movie based off of a beloved book, we are all waiting for those scenes that are our favorites. We want to know how they put it together. Does it look like how we thought? Are the emotions portrayed how we expected? Are those lines that are so crucial kept in the script? (And let me say, King’s Cross, in my opinion, was spot on. I couldn’t have imagined it any better.)

It was so fun to clap and cheer with 300 other fans was amazing.

Yes, it was 2:30am before I got home, but there was so much adrenaline and excitement that it didn’t matter. Not once during the movie was I concerned with what time it was or felt tired. My eyes were glued to the screen. I watched through misty eyes during those scenes that just broke my heart. And for once, I was the only one crying in the movie. I could hear a girl behind me crying and I passed her some of my tissues.

I’m not doing justice to all of the emotions I had last night. I know that. I can’t seem to focus while writing this, but this has been such a big deal for me that I want to write this. No, I wasn’t one of the people that dressed up, but I definitely was just as excited on the inside as those people.

I’m a little sad that it’s all over. Actually, I’m really sad. Since I was 11, this has been a part of my life. For 13 years. That’s unreal.

So for now, I will relive last night. I will go see this movie a couple more times. I will reread the movies. And a part of me is very sad that I have no more Harry Potter to look forward to. Excuse me while I go cry in the corner. And look up how hard it is to take care of a snowy owl.

My Other Life

A few months ago, my migraines kicked into high gear. I had 9 in a month and a half, and for those of you who don’t have migraines, that is NOT normal. Or acceptable.

I found a doctor here and we adjusted my medicine. We lowered one medicine that I have been on for the last 4 years and we added another one. The doctor wants to wean me off the first medicine since it’s a beta blocker and if I can be off of that since I’m only 24, that would be best.

[[Side rant: New medicine is an anti-depressant that is also used for controlling migraines. I am on the lowest dose possible and it is working like a charm. Not one single migraine since I’ve started it. Also, remember when I blogged about how upset I was? Well this happy little pill has a very nice side effect. It has leveled me out. It has made me calmer. It has made me ME again. And I’m not a zombie. I do care about things. I do get mad or frustrated. I still get upset, but I’ve always been like that. I’ve always been really emotional, but I’ve also been a very friendly, outgoing, bubbly person. This little pill has brought me back to that. I am a full believer that people need to talk about their mental issues because it still seems to have a stigma. So yes. I am on medicine. Was it prescribed for this? Nope. But it’s helping and I couldn’t be happier. End rant]]

Now when I started the first medicine, they wanted me to take it at night since it lowers your blood pressure and often makes people sleepy. Me? I got the super rare side effect of insomnia and vivid, lucid dreams. So when I did sleep, I felt like I had just run a marathon. So we switched it to mornings and it’s been fine.

But now that we’ve added this second medicine, it’s gotten a little strange.

I have the most vivid dreams EVER. Strangely, I still feel rested, which is good because if not, then I would have to be switching medicine because I don’t do without sleep very well.

But these dreams…

I remember them too. I remember them for days. Weeks.

Some are very strange. Like, my friend A becoming the President, I got lost in the White House and then Obama found me crying in the basement and let me take his dog for a walk to cheer me up. WTF?!?

But the weird ones are those that are so incredibly realistic. The ones that I spend HOURS trying to figure out if they happened or not. The ones where I sometimes have to call the people in the dreams to see if they happened. The ones where I ask my husband, “Did I do such and such?” He usually laughs, tells me know, and says I’m crazy. (But the good kind of crazy…)

LIke the time I dreamt that I called my mom and said that we would be spending the night at her house when we came for the weekend. We stay there 99% of the time just because it seems to go better and my step mom drives both me and my husband insane. But she told me that we couldn’t stay there because she had a bunch of stuff on our bed and didn’t have the time to move it all before we got there. Since it is common for my mom to use my room as some extra space, I thought that we would just stay at my dads. I was a little bummed because my mom is usually so open and welcoming.

Now, we were REALLY going home that weekend. And I REALLY thought we were going to stay at my dad’s.

My mom called me a couple days after and we were talking and she mentioned washing the sheets for us. I asked her why she did that since she told me that we couldn’t stay there.

Turns out, that whole conversation NEVER happened. She asked if I had been mad at her for those few days and I told her that I was a little hurt, but just figured she was too busy.

She still teases me about this.

Also, these dreams last all night long. And sometimes, they will last nights in a row. And not just repeating the same dream. It picks up where it left off the night before. Again, incredibly vivid and life-like. Even the bizarre ones.

So I have this whole other life. I asked my MIL this morning about a dream I had last night because I didn’t know if we really had the conversation or not. Now the one about helping a girl from high school’s fiancé pick out things for a baby shower? I knew that didn’t happen since I haven’t talked to her in a long time and I’ve never met him, only seen pictures online.

So if I ask you about something that never happened? Just politely tell me that I’ve crazy and I should stop reading Harry Potter before bed because I am NOT going to Hogwarts and dating one of the twins. (But man that would be cool.) Damn.

Hypocrite

I have an admission folks.

I, NewTeacherWife, am a hypocrite.

Why you ask? Well, really, you wouldn’t know.

You see, about 4 days ago I was typing a post about how much I was enjoying my alone time. I was going on and on about how even though I missed him, I was enjoying spending time by myself. I went and got a manicure. I could watch endless hours of Sex and the City. I could eat a late dinner, even if it was just cereal. I slept in the middle of the bed and hogged all the blankets and the pillows. I even went to a movie alone. A movie!! Alone!!

The post was all about spending the time, very clichely, finding myself and learning more about me and what I like.

And this this crazy year and all that I had gone through emotionally and mentally, the alone time was nice.

It wasn’t like I didn’t see him for 6 weeks. He came up on the weekends or I went down to Mville during the week when I didn’t work. So it was a nice balance of alone time and spending time with my husband.

I wrote out this whole, wonderful post and just hadn’t finished it, so it didn’t get posted. I was planning on writing the ending and letting all you blog readers read it.

But then today happened.

And what is so special about July 3rd?

No, I didn’t spend the day on the lake or at a BBQ with friends and family. I was not sunbathing by the pool.

No.

My husband left for Other State, (the REALLLLY big state 🙂 ) at 5am this morning. We woke up at 4:30, I talked to him while he showered. I made sure he hadn’t left anything crucial behind. We loaded the car with the snacks and drinks we bought the day before.

And we said our goodbyes.

I guess not goodbyes, but “see you soon”s and “call me if you’re bored”s and “let me know when you get there”s.

I didn’t cry, but I got a little choked up as he drove away. But it was also 5am, I was exhausted, and I headed back to bed. I said my prayers that he would have a safe trip, set my alarm for 9am and drifted back to sleep.

9am rolled around and I called him to check on his progress. More so I knew he hadn’t run into any problems and see if he had hit any traffic. He was chipper and in Arkansas. It was flying by and he was doing great.

And then it hit me. He was in Arkansas. And on his way to be even farther from me.

This is truly such an amazing and wonderful thing for him. I’ve said it a million times, but this is such a fabulous opportunity for him that there was never even a second where I didn’t want him to go.

Even today. I want him to be there. I want him to get these experiences and opportunities and make these connections.

But today, I’ve been a little mopey.

I’m not crying or balled up on the couch. I ordered some Chinese food and I’ve been watching SATC all afternoon. (Except when I went to Target and then got rained in for 30 minutes since I couldn’t see 4 feet past the door.)

I’m fine. I really am.

It’s just that even though he was in Mville, he was only an hour and 40 minutes away. I saw him on the weekends and he was still very accessible. I think that’s why it was easier to have all that alone time- I wasn’t truly alone.

But now? He’s, at minimum, a 12 hour car ride, away. 5 states separate us.

Other than Skype, I will not get to see him for 3 weeks.

And yes, I’m totally coming off as the whiny girl who apparently can’t be without her husband. And that kind of bothers me because that’s not who I am.

Marriage has just been so wonderful. I do love having him around and having someone to joke with and grocery shop with and go out to dinner with.

I guess these next 3 months will truly show what I’ve got and how much of an “independent woman” I really am.

For now, pass the chocolate ice cream and wine and turn up SATC.

First day of class

Do you remember, whether it was high school or college, the first day of class? After you went over the preliminary “These are my rules and you will obey, or else” speech, you probably had some ice breaker. Get to know your peers. Which always amused me because, if I was allowed to pick my partner, I picked a friend. Who already knew me. And we laughed at the whole event. But hey, good try teacher. (I’ll use it in my future classroom. It makes for an easy activity.)

Well this is my getting to you. 4.5 months into it. In blogging, it seemed awkward to start off with a list of my quirks and likes. More like, draw you in, let you believe I’m normal, then hit you with the odd stuff. Suckers.

-I may have been an English major, but unless it’s for a professional purpose, I’m not much for being a grammar nazi. I have typos. I sometimes use cliches. Deal. Now when writing to a boss, or writing a paper, or anything of the like, I try harder. I won’t embarrass the English degree.

– I decided to get said English degree because I loved to read. Yep. I’m a dork.

– Favorite candy in the whole wide world? Chocolate covered gummi bears. I’ll wait for the gasps of terror and the fake vomiting noises to cease before I continue.

Waiting

-Serial killers are fascinating. Not in a “I wonder how I could be like them” kind of way. But a, “Wow. They are really messed up in the head and I’m intrigued how they got away with it for so long, but so very glad they have been caught and are in jail” kind of way.Except Dexter. He’s cool and only kills the bad guys. We can keep him.

– When I was younger, I used to only read R.L. Stein books and Stephen King novels. Now? I won’t even watch a suspenseful drama if I’m home alone. No more scary movies for this chick. It’s my dad’s fault. I’ll have to explain the Carrie incident in another post.

– I read the Twilight series. In a week. Please don’t take my degree away. Does it help that I couldn’t finish the first one because the writing was so terrible? But I did get drawn into the rest. Sometimes you just need a cheesy love story.

– best snack (for me) in the entire universe? My homemade popcorn and a sugar free red bull. I’ve had this combination for meals. On a more regular occurrence than I would like to admit. And by homemade, I mean with oil and kernels, in a pan, on the stove. That bag crap is just that. Crap.

-I can’t sleep with my feet covered. This means no socks and feet outside the covers. I did this when I was a baby. I’d kick the socks put on my feet off almost immediately.

-My dream would be to live in a place that I could wear flip flops year round. (For those of you who do: Does Old Navy sell their flip flops year round? Do they have they sandal sale in December? If so, please let me know and I will buy them then. Thanks.)

– I think I would like to be a lawyer. Or a child psychologist. Probably more the latter. But this chick can’t afford grad school. Damn it.

– I hate the smells of vanilla or cinnamon. They make me nauseous.

– I also hate plain vanilla ice cream. So boring. What’s the point?

– I WILL be going to the midnight showing of the newest, and last, Harry Potter movies. But I won’t dress up. That’s too much.

– The husband and I already have the names of our future dogs and what breed they will be picked out.

– We also have the kids’ names picked out. And how many. And if I have twins the first round, we’re done.

– I don’t understand the Bachelor/Bachelorette. I’m all for some trashy reality tv, but I never got that one.

– I refuse, under any and all circumstances, to go into a bathroom without the lights on. When we had ice-pocalypse a couple years ago? I made the then fiance take the flashlight into the bathroom with me. Dark bathrooms scare me to death.

– I have developed a bug-phobia. I start shaking. I sweat. My heart starts racing. All because a butterfly landed on me. Or there was a cricket in the living room. (Everyone better pray no bugs show up int he apartment next week, or my neighbors will be meeting me in a very awkward way.)

– I like ketchup with my grilled cheese sandwiches

– I’ve never broken a bone. Or been taken to the ER.

– I’m not a cat person. Not only because I’m super allergic, but I think they’re sneaky. I’m a dog person. Dogs need and want your attention. Cats think you should bow to them.

– Going to an actual Broadway show on Broadway is a dream of mine. I would probably pass out if I got to go.

– GLEE? Totally addicted. As I probably tweeted about more than any self-respecting adult should have. In. Love.

– I love the smell of chlorine. The best place? The locker room of a pool, particularly at YMCAs. Because the pool area has its own changing room.

– I would rather eat chips and dip than cakes or cookies. Salt is my addiction.

– I love staying up way later than I should. But only if I can sleep in the next morning.

– My mom used to always let me eat leftover pizza for breakfast (see where it began?)

That’s probably enough for one post. I’ll catch ya with more oddities later.