My Kind of Town - CHICAGO!

I took my first trip solo on the Subway this morning, and managed to get to my destination without turning around one time! Its a record! Pat O'Brien was kind enough to print out a map showing the place I needed to go, and also marked on the map where the train stations were. It worked out pretty well. And, the more important thing, no one manged to grope me on the subway like they did in New York. Hooray!

I'm waiting right now for my spanish class to begin. I'm pretty bummed out. I really thought I had a pretty good head start on the language, and that I would test as an intermediate level. But, to no avail. I tested into the level 2 class, whcih means I'm just a 2nd level beginner. Its a pretty big blow to my ego since I thought I was at like a 4. (Berlitz puts you into levels - 1 - 10) Bummer. Well, at least I know that the class will be benificial, even though I can see myself resisting only talking in Spanish. I just hate doing things that I'm not good at, which also means Pat O'Brien is going to find a very crabby girl at his apartment this afternoon!

Obsessive Compuslive Procrastinating Fatalist

I've determined thats what I am. An obsessive compulsive procrastinating fatalist. I have merely two working days left in Ann Arbor, and I'm convinced that I'm not going to get anything I need done. So, I'm obsessive compulsive thinking about everything that needs to get done, but I'm a procrastinator so nothing ever really gets done, and I'm a fatalist because I'm SURE none of it will ever get done.

So, I procrastinate more and enter posts into my blog.

Today I got my Hepatitus A, Tetanus, and Typhoid vaccinations, along with a lecture about Malaria and Dengae Fever. Really, its enough to make you not want to go to Mexico. But I suppose its better to be safe than sorry. The nurse was rather thourough in her descriptions of things I need to be on the watch for to stay healthy. I also got a perscription for some drugs incase I get a mean bout of Montezuma's Revenge. Its good to be always thinking ahead.

Homeless

Its wierd being back in Ann Arbor when I really don't have a place to call home. I did check into a really snazzy Residence Inn for the week - and could really get used to this place. They have breakfast and dinner prepared everyday by local restaurants, and cleaning service to boot. The room I have is a little studio, maybe 400 sq feet. But its cozy - and I could totally live in a place like this. My plan in life is to not live in a 2500+ sq ft house again......unless I have eight kids :)

The weekend was fun - Pat O'Brien and I had a wedding to go to in Chi-town and we also saw the Bears play the Ravens on Sunday. Soldier Field....way cool. Sitting outside in the rain when its 40 degrees out.....not so cool. Freezing. Really freezing.

The wedding was also very cool. Reception had top shelf liquor and the DJ played pretty good music, despite looking like a complete dork-o. And, I had a great dancing partner all night. Yes, despite my first outing in heels (3 inch heels, mind you) I managed to bust out some little moves Pat O'Brien likes to call "The White Man Dance". Hey man, can you blame me? I'm working not biting the big one while I try to walk in heels here, and he won't let me sit down for more than a minute because "Let Me Clear My Throat" is blaring. Overall though, worth the pain the following morning :) Yes sir, Pat O'Brien is the life of the party :)

Empty House, Full of Memories

It is done. The movers left my home last night about 8:30PM with my life packed away in brown boxes. To be honest, it was a lot tougher than I expected it to be. I think I've been so busy with details, cleaning and getting ready that I had not had any real time to think about what that house meant to me.

(insert sad music here.....think Fix You by Coldplay)

This house was my first real home since I graduated from high school. Sure, I lived in a lot of places, but never for more than a few months or a year at best. I lived in this house for over three years. I poured my heart into painting, fixing, digging, laying sod, decorating. It was a place of some really great memories. As I wandered through room to room, making sure the movers didn't miss anything, a flood of great times came flashing back. Like, the dining/living room filled to the brim with boxes shoved in the middle so Troy and I could paint around them, or when our house was filled with friends trying to be adult and drinking wine before the Mad Dog was busted out, or my Grandma coming to visit and telling me what a beautiful home I had, and that I could fit at least three kids in each of the rooms upstairs. Or, having the entire Mayer family over for Christmas sitting around a tree that took up half the room.

Yes, it was my home. A new chapter of my life is officially beginning, and I'm honestly petrified, but in a really good way. I just have to remember that the house doesn't hold the memories, but rather my heart. Where they will be safe for a long, long time.

As the last box left and I got ready to leave my home for the last time, I wondered if I should leave a light on so it would look like someone was home, as I often did in the past. But I realized it was kind of silly. There was nothing to steal - and nobody was home.

Good bye house! Thanks for the memories :)

My Family!

Here's a great photo taken by Pat O'Brien featuring the whole Mayer Clan, plus Grandma Medel.....it really came out well! I love my family, and I will miss them terribly while I'm gone in Mexico!

¡Amo a mi familia!

Racing Mind.....

Ugh. Its finally catching up with me. I'm doing my best not to stress out completely, but I'm not sure how good of a job I'm doing! There are a trillion things that need to be done, and although I'm chugging through them, I always feel like I'm missing something. My mind is continually racing. In order to cope a bit, I have a pad of paper with me at all times so I can write things down as they pop in my brain. At least that way I won't feel like I'm forgetting anything! *whew* Its intense! Quite frankly, I'm beginning to feel a little crazy.

On a happier, less stressful note - we had a great time Halloween camping! Gumby was a big hit, and our Mad Scientist Lab won the Staff Prize for most creative site! It adds hardware to the awards last year which were Best Decorated and Spookiest site. I think the coolest part this year was the cow tongue we had out on the lab bench that people could actually touch. I just hope that we didn't give anyone mad cow disease or TB.

The funniest part of the whole weekend was listening intently to the end of the Michigan / Penn State game, which apparently half the campground was listening to as well. After that last 1 second play, it felt like the whole campground erupted in hoorays! It was pretty exhilarating! The other hilarious part was the amount kids dressed up as Napoleon Dynamite. There were at least five or six, most did a pretty good job with I Tots and Pedro for president Tshirts along with really high pants and a fuzzy wig. Pretty ingenious.

Alas, now I'm back to the real world and feverishly scrambling to get my life in order before I leave.....say some prayers that I don't loose my mind in the process!

Crutches be gone!

I've officially been authorized to ditch my crutches - although I've been not using them around the house for about a week or so now. It feels liberating! I will still need them for longer distances, but as long as I can walk controlled without a limp, I can not use them! Hip Hip Hooray! I'm well on my way to recovery!

This weekend is our annual halloween camping gig. I'm totally stoked to be able to participate another year - I really thought I'd be gone by now and not able to take part. We're re-using our theme from last year, which is "Dr. Moco's Mad Laboratory". I'll make sure to post pics on Monday. A new addition - our growth experiment will now include a life size Gumby, courtesy of Pat O'Brien! Spooky!

I think the wierdest thing about this weekend is it will be the last time my family will be together before the big move. I'm excited to see my nephew, Austin, and hopefully meet my brother's new girlfriend. A good time to be sure; pending that it doesn't rain all weekend!

Moving is approaching fast - its a harsh reality! Especially when it just dawned on me that they are packing my stuff ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! That means with my trip to Caseville, I only have five more nights in my house. Which also means I have even less time to pack the items I will need for the next 60 days. Whoa, at least 60 days without a real home. Thats going to be crazy! To tell you the truth though, even though I cry a bit when I think about leaving, I know its going to be one of the best decisions I've made in my life. Seriously. I can't wait for this new chapter of discovery and learning to begin!

I'm a Divorcee

Its done. We had our conference with the judge today and everything went well - the judge and clerk were really nice; which helped because we really didn't know what we were doing. The judge was so adorable! Bald old wrinkley head with a big ol' bow tie. He asked us a couple questions about alimony and pensions and such, but nothing earth shattering. No lawyers and all saved us about $5000, but it makes for a little more leg work. All and all, worth it though.

There were a couple cases before us with kids and lots of splitting up and lawyers and stuff - it was super messy and ugly at times. I think there was actually an Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore reference by a lawyer at one point. Funny.

So, the judgement was entered and I am now officially a divorced person. With an ex-husband. It feels pretty wierd. I did cry a little bit on the elevator on the way down, but other than that, it was pretty much relief. One more thing that is closed, one step closer to waiting for my new life to begin.

Coming together....FINALLY!

With my return to work comes, well, work. I've been putting in some killer hours (killer for marketing folk anyway) and its really been draining. Especially since my knee is still bum. I've been engaging in physical labor, and secretly walking without my crutches at home. Lets face it folks, crutches are not on my top ten list of things I love; I'm anxious to ditch them so you can't really blame me. Its been three weeks.

I was chastized by my physical therapist for being up on it too much, and not icing and elevating enough. So, I shall abide by his words of 5 times of icing a day, and 10 minutes each hour of elevating, and see if the swelling and fluid retention improve. I hope so. I hate feeling scar tissue and other crap floating around in my knee. it doesn't hurt, but it feels really wierd.

Anywho, in addition to how productive at work I've been, I've also been very much working at aligning my move. things really are starting to come together. Here's what I have lined up (tenatively) so far:

• Divorce hearing - October 5 (tomorrow!).
• Movers arrive to pack up the house - October 19 & 20
• Closing on the sale of the house - October 24
• Training the new guy - October 24 - 28
• Last meeting with surgeon - October 27
• Last day o' work - October 28
• Intensive language training - October 29 - November 11 in Chicago
• Leave for Mexico - November 12 or 13
• Start working for Holcim Apasco - November 15
• Return to U.S. to bring cats and brother to the motherland - November 23

I'm pretty stoked about having my language training in Chi-Town. That means I get two whole weeks with Pat O'Brien before I leave! And, after 8 hours a day (for 14 days) of speaking/thinking/listening in Spanish, I will be ready for a good shoulder rub, which I'm sure he'll gladly oblige! The place where I'll be taking the immersion training is about a mile and a half from his apartment, so it will be an easy walk if my wheel is running well then. Otherwise, I'll be all about taking the train. This also works out well because Holcim only pays for one week of temporary housing in the U.S.;so I'll use up that one week after the house is sold and mooch off the Irish/Polish man for my remainder of time in the states.

Its all happening pretty quickly. The big ones are getting divorced and selling the house. As soon as the house is sold, I can pay off all my bills and loans, and travel south of the border DEBT FREE!!!!! Can you believe it? I am totally excited for that. The divorce thing should go well. We have a conference with the judge tomorrow - I'm not really sure what that means. I'm figuring they have some question about our paperwork, since it was done by me and all and not by a lawyer. Troy and I will both be there so any questions that do arise should be taken care of right away. If the judge doesn't finalize the divorce then, we'll schedule another date to take care of it. Hopefully if we do have to reschedule, they will be sympathetic to my leaving the country and take care of it pronto!

By the way, I bought a new outfit for the occasion - including really cute suede boots, with heels. I'm going to wear them tomorrow; sometimes fashion has to take priority over pain. If only for a couple hours.

OK - time to gather paperwork for the Wayne County Circuit Court.