home

oh, america, i am home.  joey picked me up at the airport last night (hooray!), and we went out for drinks with some friends.  i was perhaps not the best company after about half an hour because i was EXHAUSTED, but woke up this morning at 6:30 ready to go.  sheesh.  my body needs to get over this time difference PRONTO.

kelly asked me last night what the first things i wanted to do now that i was back in the us.  here they are, in no particular order:

1. see my friends (half a check mark - still more to see!)

2. eat mexican food (dinner with Q is planned at la fonda tonight)

3. get a pedicure (check - and soaking my feet in the hot water was GLORIOUS)

4. sleep (check)

5. watch tv (i haven't watched any - not one hour - of tv in the past eight weeks.  and while that was wonderful while it lasted, it was so fun to reprogram our tivo to record my favorite shows.  hooray!)

6. sleep in my own bed (check)

7. cook (haven't done that in eight weeks, either!)

i didn't forget how to drive after not using that skill for eight weeks...though when i got in the car i had this moment of panic that i was going to be a horrible driver and forget how to shift gears.  needless to say, that did not happen.  whew.

and OH THE SUNSHINE!  when i stepped out of the atlanta airport last night and it was 86 degrees and the air was thick with humidity, i actually smiled.  at no point in the last eight weeks was i anywhere where the temperature reached 86 degrees.  so far, i'm loving the temperature and the sunshine, but ask me how i feel in another week.

also: i never thought i'd say this, but the sink in my bathroom is the best sink in the whole wide world.  why?  BECAUSE THE HOT AND COLD WATER COME OUT OF THE SAME FAUCET.  when you use the sink you don't have to decide between cold water out of one faucet or hot water out of a separate faucet.  YOU CAN HAVE MEDIUM TEMPERATURE WATER!  europe has not mastered this yet.  AT ALL.  oh america, i love you.

i'm planning to post one last time tomorrow - so stay tuned for some final words!