Christmas plans
Posted by Gypsy on Nov 30, 2005
Living here in California has many high points. But now that it’s the holiday season, the low points are starting to show. The main low point is the fact that all my family is 3,000 miles from here. Last holiday season, it didn’t bother me too much because at least I had Jeremy with me, but with him deployed, the thought of Christmas alone has been pretty depressing.
Until the other day when I had a very uplifting phone call. It turns out Jeremy’s aunt, who I’ve never met, lives in Modesto. It’s about a five and a half hour drive north of me. Well, she called and invited me to spend Christmas with her family. I accepted, of course.
I’m a little nervous about it because I’ve never met her or her family, but she sounds really nice on the phone, so I’m sure it will be fun. And it’s better than spending Christmas alone, something I wasn’t looking forward to at all. Even though I would rather spend it with my own family in New York, I’m really excited to meet Dora and her family. It should be a lot of fun and it was so great of her to invite me.
So here’s to a better Christmas than I thought I was going to have. Finally I’m looking forward to the holiday.
What a wonderful break
Posted by Gypsy on Nov 29, 2005
Ok, so I returned from my cross-country trip home for Thanksgiving safe and sound. This was definitely my best trip home since joining the Army. All my other trips have had agendas. First was my brother’s wedding, then planning for my wedding and then my wedding. This time, there was no agenda, nothing I had to do. I was able to just relax and visit.
While in
My parents also hosted a big dinner for family and friends, which was wonderful. It was just like before, when we would have a dinner at the house and all the men would be in the living room watching a race and talking about hunting and all the women would be in the dining room gossiping and drinking wine. I’ve missed those nights.
And on top of it all, even though I had to leave Thanksgiving Day, I still had a great dinner with the best turkey ever. We just had to eat at noon so I could catch my plane on time.
All in all, it was a great trip and even though I froze my ass off while I was there, I’m really glad I went. And I can’t wait to go home again.
Ahhhhh, so much legroom
Posted by Gypsy on Nov 21, 2005
For a girl who hates to fly, I’m writing this on my third cross-country trip in less than three months. This time, I’’m doing at least one leg of it in style.
That’s right, I’m writing this from the roomy comfort of business class. First off, how I got here. This wonderful low cost carrier, AirTran, has this wonderful deal. Buy a coach seat and there is a chance to upgrade for a small fee, per leg based on distance. For instance, on this trip, I’m flying from Vegas to
Unfortunately, my flight to
And what have I gotten out of business glass, you ask? Well, first off, I have actual room to cross my legs. Or lean back and sleep. Or use both armrests without stealing any space from my seatmate. And instead of stale pretzels, I get yummy chips. I got to board first and had a (complementary) drink prior to take off and another while in flight.
But there is one thing I’’ve gotten out of business class that makes everything else just icing on the cake. This one thing makes me willing to spend the money on business class. For the first time, I was able to make it through take-off without panicking, without help from my seatmate and without white knuckling the armrests.
There are other things I could contribute this to. For one, I’’ve been taking Vicodan all day to relax me for flying (and it’’s definitely working). Also, this is my second flight of the day (and it usually gets easier after the first one). But I think finally being comfortable in an airplane has greatly increased my flying experience.
Too bad Jeremy will never go for always flying business class. And I don’t blame him, it does get expensive. But you can bet I’’ll be trying for the upgrade whenever I fly.
Oh, and how did I get my free upgrade you ask? I just asked for one. Simple as that.
Home sweet home
Posted by Gypsy on Nov 17, 2005
Well tomorrow I’m off to wonderful upstate New York to visit my family. Of course, in true East Coast fashion, the weather will suck. At the moment, it’s looking like it’ll be 30 degrees and rainy when I get off the plane. I’ve been needing some time away from Cali, but I’m not looking forward to being wet and cold.
However, I am looking forward to seeing my friends and family. Already I have a busy week planned full of nights out with my friends and big family dinners with people I haven’t seen in well over a year. And it will be a nice little break from all the stressors of here.
It does mean missing a weekend of partying here with my crew, but the bar scene is getting old anyway. A weekend off will do me good, though, as I have no intention of drinking at all while I’m in NY. My liver is profusely thanking me as I write this.
I don’t know if I’ll have time to post while I’m gone, not that I post a lot while I’m here, but I’ll try and get one in halfway through the trip. If not, there will no doubt be lots to report when I return.
