Small Town Wren

I finished packing the backpack today. I was very surprised how not heavy it was when I hoisted it up on my shoulders and strapped it to my hips. It was pleasantly surprising, for sure. I also fit all the things I’m dropping off for my sister in, too, without a problem.

This is it. I’m finally leaving the country. I will finally get a stamp in the passport I received four years ago. The thing I’m most happy about is how affordable this trip has become. I’m going to be there and back on less than $1500. I’ll be there 10 days, so less than $150/day to cover all travel expenses, lodging, food, purchases, classes, etc. Who knew it could be so reasonable.

I’m starting to see my mother’s slight agoraphobia as what it is: completely ridiculous. Even money can’t be claimed as a reason not to go. It just makes me sad. I’ve wanted to roam the world since I was a little girl, and I’ve never been able to until, well, tomorrow.

What a remarkable thing that happened today. I know I previously remarked about how the bill should be scrapped because it didn’t do enough, but I spoke too soon. We got a good foundation today. Am I 100% happy? No. But I’m incredibly pleased that we as a country have finally taken a step towards what is right.

What I’m really sick of is people going around saying the American people don’t want this. Bullshit. We’ve wanted this, and deserved this, for a century. Everyone who voted against this bill and is mad that it passed should really reconsider their morals. Be opposed to health care reform is literally advocating for the death and illness of a huge swath of our population. That’s gross. Really gross.

So after being sick and then having Spring Break #1, and then the weather becoming pleasant for a turn….I stopped doing my homework. I just didn’t get to it. I needed some real time off, and then I just couldn’t get back in the swing of things. And now I have found myself in full out meltdown mode. I did 11 hours straight of homework today, about 13 hours of work total.

That is far too much, and I’m really kicking myself for letting me do this to myself. Really, Miss Wren, you should have been doing work for the past two weeks. I shouldn’t have let it get pushed back so far. Now I have three projects due this week and I’ve only just started on them. Ah crud.

And I got all my travel vaccines today (and I didn’t have to get my tetanus after all!). But three vaccines in both arms plus lots of heavy books put my arms completely out of commission after I got home from the library. It was really quite pathetic. I had to ask my father to pull my bag and books out of the car because it felt like my muscles were going to tear themselves to shreds if I even moved my arms. It’ll be totally worth it when I’m in Xela though. I’ve got another 12 hours or so of work lined up for tomorrow, too. At least I got my girl Aurora on my back. We’re library hopping tomorrow.

I just have to make it through Wednesday. Wednesdays are my new night off, so I just need to finish my Thursday project on Wednesday and I’m golden. Never mind the huge Tuesday Project and huge Monday project and presentation. I might actually cry.

I’m going to Guatemala.

Yes, you read that right. I’m going to Guatemala. I bought the plane tickets earlier today, which is incredibly exciting. I’m going to do a week of Spanish immersion with my sister in Xela. This is the first time I’ll be leaving the United States for any appreciable amount of time and to any place that isn’t, like, Canada. I’m psyched! I don’t even know what else to say beyond “EEEEEE!”

Yeah, so remember how I said I was feeling better? That was totally a lie and I got sick again a few days later. I’m still a little achy, but I’m hoping to be triumphant once and for all. I mean, jeebus, this whole mono thing is incredibly lame. I’m so over it.

But I’m still on spring break, and I have refused to let a stupid thing like being horribly diseased ruin that. If I’m going to be sick, I’m at least going to have fun, dammit! So I bought myself a present: new crochet hooks and a bunch of yarn. I sort of have this thing where I feel a thousand times happier when I’m physically making something, so I crocheted up a storm this week.  Case in point:

Those are going to turn into a blanket at some point. I only need to make, oh, you know, 42 more of them. I also made a delightful hat. I’m wearing it right now. How snazzy is that?

So about that Mono…I’m starting to feel a lot better. I’m still having my sicker-than-anything moments, but I feel okay more often than I don’t. I finally have enough energy to do more than sit on my sofa in a sad, sick, stupor watching Law & Order reruns.

Which is nice, because it’s just in time for my first spring break! One of the perks of being in a teacher-education program and working in a public school is that I get two spring breaks. I’m out of classes this week, and at the end of March I’m out of work for a week, and most of my classes that week have been cancelled. It’s nice to have professors who work in the same sector.

This whole mono thing started several weeks ago when my sister threw her birthday party at Delilah’s that she didn’t attend due to having mono. We still had the party though, and I went, and had my last huzzah before I got mono. Well, since we’re both feeling up to being people again, we went into the city for a makeup party at Tavern. This was the first time out I’ve ever had to buy a drink for myself. I guess one out of four is still okay, but not what I’m used to. For record: at the first party, I paid exactly $0 and got 2 glasses of wine, 4 shots, and a gin & tonic. I don’t really drink a lot, but when I do, I drink whatever is bought.

Also for the record: the drinks at Tavern are awful and overpriced. Regardless, we had a good time. Lots of friends showed up, a game of impromptu charades was played, and there was lots of random fake-dancing. I also got to show off the arrows I’ve been drawing on my fingers of late at work to help redirect my buddy’s focus.  They were definitely used in the night to point out random things to a bunch of drunk 20-somethings. I’m just glad I didn’t get groped by the bros who weren’t in our group. Random gropings from bros is probably the biggest reason why I don’t go out very often.