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Ah, Thanksgiving.

11/28/2003 /

I have acquired a vehicle. He’s beautiful. He’s a 1983 Ford Fairmont in ridiculously good condition, with a brand new air conditioner and paint job, and only about 26 000 miles on it. The interior is beautiful (minus some dashboard damage from the sun), with no damage to the seats or anything, and that radio should qualify as an antique–it’s completely mechanical; if you press a preset button, the stick that indicates the radio frequency jumps to the frequency of the preset. It’s beautiful. And insurance is el-cheapo, so I can foot it. Which means I can drive it up to Terre Haute after Christmas break (my father needs a three-day weekend, and he insists on going with). Ample incentive to come back (along with my mother’s 40-mumblesomething birthday). Now I just have to get a license…

I’ve been spending my days sleeping in until about 09:00 or so, surfing the Internet a bit, shopping, working out, watching moobies, and (on one occasion) having a late night with mes amis. I haven’t spent any money on my shopping sprees, although I’ve acquired some new running shoes (I snagged a pair of Saucony Grid Auras that are making my year compared to my old cross-trainers), and some St. John’s Bay “Stay at Home Socks”–very fuzzy-wuzzy and comfy. Tuesday night I got to hang out with Jenny, Michael, and Cameron. Hanging out consisted of driving all over Charlotte and Concord (a nearby town) and pushing Jenny around in a shopping cart in a 24-hour Wal-Mart. We probably stayed in that store for something close to an hour with Jenny in the cart, and it was only as we were leaving that an elderly lady standing where you get shopping carts at the entrance said to us “That’s for children. Only children are supposed to ride in those. It’s not for adults.” So Jenny climbed out of the cart and we left. The whole thing was just sort of like, “…Oh…kay…”

I’ve managed to get down to our little “gym” everyday while on vacation, and I’m trying a new running program, so I’m all energetic and pumped and will probably get shin splints again from overenthusiasm and overtraining (although this time I’m being more careful about stretching the ol’ calves). One nice thing is that I get to take back an entire “new” wardrobe of pants, because of the weight loss. “New”, of course, because they are pants I owned before and can fit into again.

Thanksgiving is never a big deal in our house, but we just fixed up a big salad (I’m in love with a Ranch with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Feta dressing, although I’m usually an Italian-only girl) with lots of veggies and chomped on it. There wasn’t any vocal “I’m thankful for” stuff, but I’ve sort of been composing a list in my head. Some of the things I’m thankful for are:

  • The chance I’m being given to become educated (scholarships, loans, acceptance into my school, etc.);
  • My youth, and my physical… durability, I suppose. I’ve put my body through shit, and it still seems to be willing to recover for me;
  • My friends–they’ve given my life (and my vacation) spice and meaning and reminded me that 800 miles isn’t enough to really separate us, even if I’ve been shy (or just flat-out a lazy bum) about keeping in contact;
  • My family–they’ve given me what I’ve got (in a genetic and environmental sense). Can’t ask for much more;
  • The availability of information–most notably, the Internet in all it’s… glory. If that’s the word;
  • The fact that I have a steady job that pays well enough to support my lifestyle;
  • My professors–they helped me pull that 3.75 GPA this term. Particularly my Logic Design prof, who helped me understand what in the world the class was supposed to be about, although, quite frankly, I never want to see that woman ever again;
  • Music–Right now, Seal’s latest is rocking my world, as are Les Nubians, Randy Crawford, and Alien Ant Farm. Music has kept me sane and moving when I wanted to do nothing other than just crack like a fucking egg. My life’s not so stressful right now, but I do recall those times vividly, and remain grateful.

And now I’m off for a fun-filled evening with another couple of friends.

[Listening to “My Vision” [Seal / Seal IV]]