Beastmomma

Here I am at the end of my visit with Sonja and Tom.  It was great fun catching up with them.  Tom is so hilarious.  I am afraid I offended him sometimes though with my humor, but I think he is catching on.  I had many adventures in Pittsburgh, and enjoyed great food and saw great art.  I also visited Duquesne University which had been on my list of potential law schools, but after visiting, I have decided I do not want to spend my future in the TWILIGHT ZONE!!!  It was such craziness.  The tour guide was trying to get me to attend the University of Pittsburgh. When I asked the Secretary of Admissions what the Catholic association meant in the mission statement of the University, she told me it was not "Catholic" ideals, but assured me, it just meant "Christian."  Still, I did not see how I would fit.  I asked about the diversity of the student body, and she conveniently could not provide numbers or percentages of minorities.  Needless to say, after I made Sonja drink the worst pumpkin latte she ever drank, we left never to return. 

Pittsburgh though was very charming, and I have not crossed it off my list of potential homes.  I also have a new understanding of Andy Warhol.  He is not just a pretty face.

Speaking of pretty faces, Sonja saw Sunday's picture and said she was surprised that he was "not a mean, cocky looking  jock", but looked like a nice guy.  He does have a nice smile.  I am uncertain for the future, but sure whatever happens will be the best thing for us both. 

Tom and Sonja took lots of pictures they will send and I'll post later.  Now I am off to the airport for home!  I still have to tell you about when I fell. 

The sound of the dryer running combined with the CD player creates a sense of unexpected peace.  The occasional heater rum adds a nice backdrop.  We gave in last night when it dropped into the thirties and turned on our heat.  Tonight, they are expecting the first frost of the season.   I am waiting for my clothes to dry so that I can pack for my trip to Pittsburgh to visit Sonja and Tom. This is my first visit to their town since they got married two years ago. Hard to believe that it has been that long.  I am looking forward to seeing them, but feeling nervous about the cold weather.  I think this will be good practice for my other trips to cold places.

I am trying to get in the Halloween spirit. So far my contribution has been to get into a zombie like state. I have had trouble sleeping and I am stressed out at work. The result is a blood shot eye look which says SCARY.  I am glad that it is October when this look is more socially acceptable than say spring.  I feel like I am caught in a trance between sleep and the deju vu. I have been thinking a lot about the randomness things. For instance, I was thinking about how I could feel more secure in my relationships.

With several friends, I get these feelings that they hate me or some minor disagreement is going to be the end of our friendship.  I found myself remembering how when I was a little kid, I used to cry because no one would play with me in elementary school.  My parents would try to say that I had friends.  I really do not think that I did; I mean people thought that I was okay, but I was never the trend setter or the one people looked to in order to find out what was cool.  Pretty frequently over breakfast or while my mother was combing my hair, she would list out all the friends I had-- I did feel better because we managed to run out of time before we ran out of people.  In retrospect most of the folks were family or friends of the family and did not really count as my schoolmates.  The classic line from this exercise was when my brother heard he was included in the list and my mom asked him point blank, "Isn't that right?" He thought about it seriously and then shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess you have to be friends with your sister. "

In November, I have two political fellowship weekends one where I will present "Why I am a Democrat" and the other where I will be recording my thirty second television commercial and interview with an anchorman.  Additionally, I will visiting Anshu in Boston and see Crissy for a short stint in New York all while NOT whining about the weather.  Additionally, I am going to be in MD for a whole (gasp, is it really true) week where I will be subject to interrogation and suggestions about weight and marriage.   Simultaneously, I will be attempting to put together applications to law school and possible other graduate programs.   That sounds like a lot of stuff, huh?

I am still thinking about participating in National Novel Writing Month.  You can learn more about that here.  Basically, you write a 50,000 word novel in one month. According to Jef, this comes to six double spaced pages a day. Seems like an intense journey.  I do not know if I can commit  On the other hand, I have ALWAYS wanted to write a novel and it might be good to have this as motivation.  I might just create an outline to see what happens.  I do have a few ideas about what to write, but the best part about this contest is that you do not have to write anything good to win.