Monday, June 8, 1998
Noon
I'm back, dd you miss me? I'm curled up on the bed in Jev's room, still damp from a shower, and too lazy at the moment to move my suitcases so I can turn on the computer.
Jev's been gone to work for about four hours now, and he should be back a bit after five this evening. I did a little more work on the fringe for his afghan -- I'm a little more than halfway done with the fringe now, then the afghan will be complete) -- and then I worked on clearing a little more floor space to move around in.
It's rather cramped quarters in here. I guess the room is something close to 9' by 9' and has a full size bed, a small side table, a floor lamp and a tall oscillating fan, and then there are two chests and a 25" console TV taking up the wall at the foot of the bed. Jev's as bad about putting things away as I am, putting thigns away on the floor for the most part. I sorted out some of the clutter, but there's still one section over by the closet that needs help, and my two suitcases are taking up plenty of space as well.
The trip here was uneventful for the most part; we didn't get lost at all this time, getting to the east terminal at Lambert, and check-in and boarding weren't much of a walk, now that they have the front facade completed. Mom was a bit of a nag, but not near as bad as the mother of three younger boys (ages ten to sixteen or so) who were sitting across from us at the gate.
My flight got in a few minutes early, but Jev was waiting at the gate in Baltimore, and after a few hello hugs and kisses, we headed down to get my bags. I hadn't had much to eat -- a handful of garden strawberries and three chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, a soda on the way and another and munchies on the plane. I wasn't hungry, but my body started complaining about the poor fare on the way out to the parking lot. A quick Chilito at Taco Bell (now called a chili cheese burrito) took care of that and kept me going for a few hours, while we drove around and tried to decide what to do.
We settled on heading back toward home and having dinner at The Cheesecake Factory at White Flint. Well, we would have, but the wait was nearly two hours, so we headed up to Dave & Buster's and signed in on their list. Only a 45 minute wait there, or thereabouts, and that gave us a little time to look around and see what they've added since I was there last, and for me to remember to call my mom and let her know I'd arrived safely.
Dinner was great -- better than I had expected from a place that I knew mostly for their arcade stuff -- and even though I only ate half of my meal, I was too stuffed to even want to look around in Borders' Books downstairs, afterward. We made a quick stop at a drug store so I could get some enteric coated aspirin since I'd forgotten mine (I'm supposed to take one a day but I'm good at forgetting sometimes), and then came home. Jev introduced me to Darrell, the guy he's renting from, and Prince, the dog who met us at the door, and we came upstairs. I took a shower and got comfortable, and we spent the rest of the evening catching up on some much-missed cuddling, and much-needed backrubs. Okay, so I didn't ask for a backrub until the middle of the night when I hadn't fallen asleep yet, but Jev was awake enough to give me a bit of one and I finally fell asleep some time after that.
Yesterday (Sunday), we headed out around 10:30 or 11 and went to IHOP for breakfast; I hadn't been to one in ages. I had a Belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream, but I was a little disappointed with the berries after eating the ones out of my own little garden plot. Jev had an ultimate steak omlette, and I stole a bite of that, as well as a few stray mushrooms that fell out onto the plate. It was pretty good, but I thought $17 for breakfast was just a bit much.
Eudora's getting mymail, and I think not checking for two and a half days was a bit of a mistake! 26 messages on my main account, and another 198 on my GeoCities account. Ouch!! Over halfway done getting the 198 though; I won't complain at all about Jev's modem (33.6) even if it's only managing a 28.8 download at the moment. Only 30 messages to go....
3:15PM
Only a couple more hours til Jev gets home. I've been going through some of my mail, replying to theimportant ones, deleting the spam. The way Jev's got the computer set up, I can either sit on the edge of thebed and try to read the screen, or sit closer on the floor and have my feet fall asleep. I've opted for the former, but my eyes were getting tired and I decided to take a break.
After breakfast yesterday, we headed to the Rio, an entertainment and sports complex nearby, and saw "The Truman Show" at noon. I don't like Jim Carrey's typical movies, but this one wasn't bad. Jev thought it ended a little sooner than it should have, but I thought the ending was appropriate for the way it was begun and presented. Of course, everyone's entitled to her own opinions. ;)
By time the movie was over, I felt more like walking around and doing something, so we set out driving. We ended up at Potomac Mills in Northern Virginia, which, for those who haven't heard of it (I hadn't before I came out here last year), is a large indoor Factory O utlet-type mall. On the way into the mall itself, we ran into two of Jev's hallmates from last semester, and they talked for a bit and he introduced me. Potomac Mills is a good distance from Virginia Tech, so running into them was an interesting coincidence, to say the least.
Once inside, we only covered a third or so of the mall, and really didn't look in more than three or four shops. I was wearing overly-tight shoes (the only ones I'd brought, and not the ones I'd intended to take), and my feet were too sore to do much more. I found a comfier pair at a nearby Wal-Mart, and then we went to Best Buy to look around, and Taco Bell for dinner, before heading back up into Maryland. We should have gone to the grocery store before heading home, but I was limping due to my hip and feet on the way out of Taco Bell, and really didn't feel up to it.
Because of my scoliosis, one leg is slightly shorter than the other, and that causes undue strain on the longer leg and hip. I should wear orthopedic shoes, or a lift in the shoe for my shorter leg, but I don't, so my right hip takes the extra burden. When I haven't been doing much walking lately (like now), this much exercise pushes it a little too far. The left shoe of my new pair is quite loose, so I think I'll see about doubling up comfort insoles and seeing if that helps matters any.
Anyway, we came home and traded backrubs, then I soaked in the tub for a while and when I got out, we spent the rest of the evening playing improvised games with my Boggle set and cuddling. We went to sleep early (for me) and woke up around 6, which gave us more cuddle time before Jev hd to get ready for work. While I do wish we had our own place again this summer, I have to admit that things are turning out pretty nice.
Among the almost 225 messges (thank heavens for filters!!!) came one from my newsgroup friend Karen. She and her foster daughter are going to be in DC this weekend, and are the reason I made the trip last weekend rather than next. She's invited us to come visit and go sightseeing with them Saturday afternoon and out to dinner that evening, and then stay the night in the extra bed in their hotel rom and have breakfast with them the next morning. I'll have to talk it over with Jev, but I think that would be nice. Besides, Jev and Emma, Karen and another member from the same newsgroup who will also be there will be only the third and fourth people I've met online that I'll get to meet in person. I'm excited about it, and hoping I'll get to meet more net friends down the road.
Oops, I take that back! Jev and Emma were not the first net friends I met in person! Back when I was visiting Delina and family in the spring of 1994, I met a young man on AOL who went by the name of Mooney. He found me from my user profile, and we started chatting online. Since we lived fairly close, we talked on the phone a fewtimes, too.
He was about seventeen, and I was twenty-two (what is it with me and younger guys?!? *wink*); I pretty much knew we were from different worlds, but I never complain about finding new friends. He wanted to meet in person, and though I tried to chicken out, Delina and Michelle wouldn't let me. A group of us -- including Brian, who made me feel safer just by being along -- went and picked Mooney up at his place, and we all went to a movie, and to Taco Bell afterward. I think he came to Delina's home with us for a bit of a visit, too, because I remember her mom asking me where I'd found him, later. *chuckle*
We really didn't hit it off that well, and we lost touch before long, but it was an interesting experience. I hadn't thought about it in years though! It's funny the things keeping a journal can help you remember...
It's nearly four now, and I think I've rambled quite enough for one day. Time to get these past few entries together and online. but a nap sounds sooooo good; if I didn't have to take out my lenses, I would be out in a minute!
