The Scrolls

Posts Tagged ‘wisconsin’

No Thank You

It’s been quiet around here, sorry. Things in my life are still turbulent but in a weirdly boring way and not very entertaining. Except for this conversation I had with Wendy regarding Lego Batman:

Me: You can use the Penguin’s umbrella as a gun and it makes him float through the air, too.
Wendy: That doesn’t make any sense! He’s too heavy to float.
Me: Out of all of the unrealistic things that could possibly bother you in this game, you pick that?!

Anyway, we hung out at Mom’s on Thanksgiving and despite her feeding nearly 20 people, it went really well–for the most part. There’s always some family drama and this year was no exception but I was able to help Mom out a lot and spend time with Samantha and that’s all that counts.

I have adjusted quite well to the weather, despite having a persistent cough left over from a cold my second week here. We had some chilly days that week, in the single digits, but it’s surprisingly warm tonight and rained all day today. It’s amazing to me that it could be warm enough here for rain at the end of November. It’s also more than amusing when I want to go for a walk and Wendy or someone else whines because it’s too cold. Hello?! Who spent most of the year in Texas? That’s right, bitches. I’m hardcore like that.

This post is winding up being rather incoherent but writing it has made me smile. I just want to say that I hope you have been well and I am grateful for you to be reading this. I’ve probably never been as thankful as I was this Thanksgiving.

Remember, Remember the fourth of November

As I type this, Wendy and I are watching V for Vendetta. We are a day off, oops. It’s actually the first time I have watched the movie. It has been several days since many of you have heard of me and I assure you that I am not avoiding you–simply been busy moving across the country, cleaning my former apartment, applying for a new one and making all the calls that are necessary when performing a major life transition.

In between, I’ve been trying to spend time catching up on sleep, catching up with work and meeting up with friends and family. To be honest, I haven’t seen many people but there is no rush now.

So how is it, you ask?

Pretty awesome. I’ve adjusted to the cold better than I thought I would have. I bought an awesome new coat. It’s actually been warmer than expected. I walked a couple places yesterday and it was quite enjoyable. People I passed greeted me and drivers even yielded to me!

The kitties were amazing. They weren’t happy and I certainly wasn’t when I had to hold them in the San Antonio airport while the TSA agents scanned the carriers but, all in all, things went well. My last flight on Monday night actually got in 10 minutes early! And they haven’t killed Wendy’s cats or vice versa.

So now we are just waiting to see if we can get an apartment and them moving her stuff over there. It’s a lot of stuff and I’m not sure if I am ready to move so soon. My body has just gotten over being exhausted and I’m still bruised all over. I shaved my legs this morning and it only makes the bruises stand out.

Anyhoo, I’m alive. I miss you guys. I’d update more but I can’t access the Internet or send/receive picture messages on my phone right now. I’m trying to get that figured out.

Local colour

Being away from central Wisconsin has allowed me to grow unaccustomed of the way things are done here. On the one hand, that means I have had an opportunity to see how things are done differently elsewhere and by people other than my family. I have and continue to grow away from bad habits. And when the way we do things has proven effective, I can see that, too. Really, there’s almost no negative to growth.

And there is nothing really awful (although, it is quite dramatic and stressful; I wouldn’t be remiss to call it dysfunctional) about being back here in what I used to call “home” and, yet, there’s nothing I really want to return to, either. The local culture just isn’t me, anymore. It’s blue collar. It’s small town/city. It’s everyone-knows-everyone else. It’s a situation and a place which I can respect. People work hard to take care of their families. They make do without complaining because they know that what they have is better than having nothing at all. And there is nothing wrong with that. It’s just someplace I don’t want to return to after having gotten a taste of the world.

And. having had that taste, I want to give it to everyone else, too, so we can all be motivated to do better.

Something’s missing

The fact that having no winter means I don’t get to break out into a crisp spring day. There is no freedom or release from the frozen atmosphere. No green shoots popping up from beneath the snow. There is no first day without a coat. There is nothing to break up the monotony of this weather. It’s pretty much the same 50 – 75% of the year. It’s not just a lack of snow. It’s a lack of life as I know it and it’s disheartening.

I’m sorry Texas, I could never love you.

Here I Am

Back home. I awoke yesterday long before the sun would be up after too few hours of sleep. Not to mention late. I had enough time to hop in the shower, pack up the rest of my things and we were off to the airport. Samantha’s coat and snow pants were pulled over her fuzzy Spongebob pajamas and during the course of the ride, she dozed a bit and held onto my arm the whole time.

It was only 9 days and it went amazingly fast. On the other hand, most of those days Samantha did not have school and she was plastered to my side. I felt suffocated by the time I left. Still, seeing the tears on her pudgy little face in the airport made me cry as well.

On the other hand, I had an adorable little kitty to go home to and he’d been on his own – for the most part – a couple of days since Ryan left. I missed my kitty terribly yet part of me wondered why I should go home when no one would be there.

I felt more at home with the colder weather and it snowed a bit the last few days. It definitely felt more like winter weather and it didn’t seem so strange to hear Christmas music. Nevertheless, it was cold and I knew the weather in San Antonio would be much more enjoyable.

I enjoyed seeing almost all of my family and friends, some of whom I had not seen for years. We hung out and went out and I got to know a few new people as well. However, my time there was so packed with acitivities that I felt really tense by the time I needed to leave.

I was exhausted and slept a bit on the plane back. Both physically and emotionally, I was ready to return home. But after I entered the door, it wasn’t long before I was heading back out to check the mail, open packages and return to unpack my bags. I checked e-mail and completed tasks that had been put on the back burner for over a week. All in all, I didn’t head to sleep until after midnight – over 7 hours after I had headed home.

And I suppose the best way to sum up my return home is that I was conflicted. It was bittersweet, after all.