Brrrrrr, it’s cold in here
Posted by Gypsy on Nov 15, 2010
It’s astounding how much can happen in less than two weeks. After leaving Charleston, I drove straight up I-95 to the Hudson Valley area to visit my brother and his wife for a few days. For the most part, the goal was to relax and chill while I was there. At five months pregnant, Amanda isn’t exactly up for being out and about the entire weekend after working all week. However, we did have a couple fun events on the agenda. First up was Rock of Ages on Friday night. I caught the show back in October when I was in New York for a comic book convention, however I got tickets through the lottery, meaning they were very cheap but offered a limited view of the stage. This time around I ordered the tickets ahead of time, getting us seats in the center of the mezzanine, three rows from the front. While the tickets were more expensive than the lottery tickets, it was definitely worth the expense. I hadn’t realized how much I missed the first time around by sitting in seats with an obstructed view.
The other event planned for the weekend was West Point’s last home game of the season, against the Air Force Academy. Football is a sport that wasn’t offered at my high school and wasn’t watched by my family, so I missed out on that particular American past-time. As an adult, though, I’ve watched enough to at least understand the rules and recognize when something exciting happens. Even so, I was very excited for the game. Since Jason and Amanda live on post, we were able to avoid the nightmare of parking by just walking to a shuttle stop and hopping on. We got there a little later than intended, the result of our own laziness, but luckily made it in time to watch the Black Knights, West Point’s parachute team, drop in before the game started.
The rest of my time at West Point was spent mostly just relaxing and hanging out. On Wednesday I finally drove the last 5 hours home. Since my arrival I’ve been focused on getting settled in and staying on top of my schoolwork. With less than 4 weeks left, my main concern is ensuring I finish both classes with a B or better (though I’d obviously prefer an A in each) so I can get my degree and finally be done with it.
There’s no place like home (again)
Posted by Gypsy on Nov 4, 2010
Short version: I’m moving back to New York.
The longer version I’ve been meaning to write about for a couple weeks now, but as usual time got away from me. So now I’m actually in the middle of this move and finally getting around to writing about it. Shortly after Andy left for Japan, Joe and Nicole were awesome enough to invite me to stay with them for a couple months while I looked for a job and a place to live. However, a couple months turned into eight as I realized finding a job was far more challenging than I expected and finding a place of my own to live in was less exciting when armed with the knowledge that I would be sitting alone in it all day with no one to talk to. So after eight months of living with Joe and Nicole, I decided it was time to impose on someone else for a little while and my loving parents drew the short straw.
The decision was made in mid-October after we returned from a comic book convention in New York and since then I’ve just been focusing on school and getting this move taken care of. A week after the decision was made, I hopped in my car and drove it up to Maryland to put it into long-term storage since it’s not exactly practical for a New York winter. The next day I flew back down to Charleston to finish tying up other loose ends. Honestly, there was really no immediate need to rush. Joe and Nicole weren’t kicking me out on my rear or anything. It was really a practical decision. I already had plans to drive up to West Point this weekend to visit my brother and go see my first football game ever and it really made no sense to drive up there, then back to the south, only to go back to New York a couple weeks later. Might as well just visit Jason and Amanda and then head right up to mom and dad’s after the weekend.
So at this point I’m getting ready to hit the road. The car is packed (with the exception of a few minor items) and gassed up. The iPod has been updated with some new music and podcasts. And my parents have been warned. I’m not completely sure what the plan is when I get there. I do know that my immediate concern is finishing my last five weeks of school and getting the grades I’m required to have so I can graduate in December. Especially now that the cap and gown are already ordered, the announcements are just waiting to be addressed, and the plane tickets to San Antonio have already been bought.
