Well, I'd say nearly a year and a half is well enough of a break that I could probably start blogging again. If not for me, then for my dad who, every time I visit home, reminds me how much he likes to read my updates. The only thing really keeping me from blogging is that I can never really think of anything interesting enough to write about. My life is just interesting enough that I can fill the 140 character void on Twitter and maybe even come up with a snarky enough Facebook status to make people laugh. But an entire blog? Maybe I'll just ramble off topics that have recently been brought up in my life and see what I can come up with.
Growing up: Finally! At 25 (almost the dreaded 26, come summer)! I managed to put that off for quite awhile. Moving to England after college, working silly jobs when I got back. But now, I have a job that has no advancement whatsoever, where I get yelled at on a daily basis. But it's 9-5 five days a week and I have health insurance. I also have a boyfriend who actually takes me into consideration when planning the future. It's all big kid stuff, and I feel as though I've adjusted fairly well. But the change seems to really be taking effect within the next 5 weeks.
I've lived in Lawrence, KS since 2005 (with that small bout of the travel bug in 2008-2009 when I was in Europe for 7 months). Regardless, it's been a good 6 or so years in a college town that I can't seem to say 'goodbye' to.
When I say 'good', I really mean amazing, of course. It's the hometown of the Jayhawk, mostly, but I've also taken part in many of the city's eccentric activities. The Busker festival, where street performers line Massachusetts street and juggle fire balls, or shove knives down their throats, and twist and bend metal. They walk on glass, tear phone books in half, and make balloon animals for all the kids. And then there's the more classic townie happenings, like the Saturday morning flea markets, buying fresh bread from Harvest Bread Co., riding my bike along the trails out to Clinton Lake, celebrating amazing basketball seasons....oh. that last one? Really is something we get to do a lot.
I was born in 1986, and I've been a Jayhawk, not since birth, but since conception, which I realize is a gross thing to say. But I can hold my own in a conversation about Hawk basketball. I had a crush on Ryan Robertson before I even knew about Justin Timberlake. My high school crush was Nick Collison, who now plays for the OKC Thunder (more on him and a restraining order in my foreseeable future later). I cried harder over NCAA losses than breakups, and I used to watch a VHS of the '88 championship before bed when I was 10. When I was 14, I told a grown man that it wasn't Jauque Vaughn that played in '88, it was Scooter Barry. Idiot. I loathed Roy Williams for leaving, but loved Bill Self for taking over. When people try to tell me "wait until football season" I say, "Why? It's all about basketball....Idiot."
Now, back to Nick Collison. I will embarrassingly admit to making a build-a-bear in high school and naming him Nick-Nick. I will also admit that I've been the number 4 for almost every basketball team I've played on. I cried after Collison lost the NCAA finals to Syracuse in 2003. And I was overjoyed when his number was hung in the rafters in Allen Fieldhouse. But it's been quite a few years since I've really thought about my old crush (he's old. 31, I believe). Last year, my boyfriend Jake and I made it a point to watch OKC through the NBA finals and I was reminded how much I love him (Jake and Collison).
Jake, a future pharmacist of America, will be graduating in May, passing some tests (knock on wood), and getting hired on as a full-time pharmacist with the grocery store chain Dillon's. We found out a month ago that in Kansas, jobs near big cities are few and far between. So, Jake's destination? Ark City, KS! 10 miles (ish) from the Oklahoma border! However, the things we've heard about Ark City aren't super enticing, so we've managed to find a home to rent in nearby Winfield, KS. Jake asked me what I thought about moving with him. I, of course, emphasized a strong "I go where you go" reply without the cheesy "Titanic"-you-jump-I-jump-can-we-see-this-movie-in-3D?! feel to it. So, here we are. A mere 5 weeks from moving away from the city I've loved every day since I've been here. Maybe I haven't loved the jobs, but the fact that I can get a good marg, beer, or double tall gin and tonic, just about anywhere after a tough day as a lowly pharm tech, makes living here all the better.
So, I'll quit my job, pack my things, invest in a relationship, experience small-town life, and, hopefully, become a regular at a bar where everybody knows my name. I'll start to know what 'season' it is for farmers, be able to tell the difference between a tractor and--some other farm equipment, and I'll probably buy a gun of sorts. I'll find things to do, find a job (hopefully a career), oh, and probably drive an hour and a half to watch-yep- the OKC Thunder and my love Nick Collison. I never knew if I could fully get into NBA, but two Jayhawks (Collison and Aldrich) being on the same team will certainly grab my attention. It helps that they're good, too.
And every time I get scared to leave, this afternoon for example, Jake's there to reassure me we'll be just fine. We'll make our rental house a home, we'll have a washer and dryer, but no dishwasher, we'll unpack all our things-his video games, my guitars, we'll have two of everything and no matching dishes, and, yeah, we'll be just fine. AND he promised me a puppy one day. Actually, 2 puppies, because he wants a bulldog named Spike, and I need a mutt named Gromit to help me invent mechanical trousers and visit the moon for cheese (you know, like the movies "Wallace and Gromit"?). But the main point, my avid readers (dad), is that we'll be just fine.
......even better if we beat Kentucky tomorrow night. :) ROCK CHALK and JAYHAWK.
