On the road with Lizzie

The high points of the trip:

Lots of time to visit with Cincinnati friends: They were all on spring break too.



Wireless internet access: It's a reality in certain rooms in my parent's house now. That made the trip a whole lot better. I never realize how much I rely on the internet until I don't have it. And I think my reliance upon the internet increases when I am in unfamiliar territory. Also nice to be able to update my podcasts while I'm home.

Seeing Mark get married: It helps that I really like the girl he married. I had a nice visit with my extended family and an awesome meal. (Remember my Christmas spaghetti? Same chefs.) Part of Irmghard's family came as well. Her parents came from Venezuela and her cousin from Cleveland drove down.

Our uncle is a judge and that's who married them.

My hair looks awesome when it's straight: And obviously I straightened it for the wedding.

Another use of the awesome brown dress: Best Bridesmaid's dress I ever bought. (Thanks for your help Kelly.) Also, see that necklace? It's a $26 necklace that was on sale for $3. I can see why it was on sale, because it fits my neck in an odd way, but it also looked great with that dress.

Things the trip made me think about:

I live really far away from my family: It wasn't the wedding that made me think that. It was all this really little stuff at home. Like my mom wants a new computer but doesn't really know how to take care of one (we've already begun with the "get a mac" discussion). And if I was closer I could help her with that stuff more. And there's stuff they want cleaned out and organized that if I was closer I could participate (and by that I mean lead) in those activities more.

What's marriage really like? I've got to say I saw a few couples, people who are good friends of mine, and all they do is bitch at each other. And when they're not together, they bitch about each other. It made what I have look pretty good. I don't get help or to spend time with someone at home, but I'm not mad all the time either. There are very few people my age whose marriages actually look like something I would enjoy.

What I came back and found:

The sink: It works now. I'm not asking how it got fixed or why it took them so long. (My mom is betting a rag from the workers was stuck in there.) I just care that it works.

Did I mention my car was busted into this morning? Yeah, I had a nice long drive last night and arrived safe and sound. I even got groceries and made a nice lunch for the week. And then I went out to find my drivers side window all smashed to bits. There are three cars of the same model (though not the same color, year, or even registered in the same state) and only the cars of this make were damaged.

I had this appointment first thing in the morning that a colleague picked me up for and then she helped me take my car to the body shop in the afternoon. Hopefully I'll have it back tomorrow night. Although last time I took my car to a body shop, they found a bazillion more dollars worth of damage once they were able to get up close and look at it. I'm sure I'll keep you updated about that. Also, did you know I can file a police report online now?

And finally, what did I see on the web while I was away?

Happy to see Minneapolis made the cut for wildest traffic interchanges although the one they picked is actually not that confusing, if you can ignore the traffic that appears to be on the wrong side of you every once in a while.

An hilarious look at hippies and the environment. I come from composters but they'd do a garbage disposal if they had one.

Easter was the second earliest date it can ever be and the cycle repeats every 5.7 million years. Who did they pay to figure that out?

Clueless guys can't read women focuses on when guys think girls are flirting and they're really not. I'd like to see the follow up piece about women who want more (ahem) intimate relations and the guys totally fail to pick up on those signals too. Seriously, remember all the married people I mentioned in Cincinnati? Why would I want to get married if I was going to have roughly the same amount of sex I'm having now?

10 websites that may be interesting but if not, they'll be good for a laugh. I didn't get to investigate these as fully as I would have liked.

How to make a very good thing even better?

10 utterly useless things to have in your home. By the way, don't let your mind get into the gutter when you see the banana accessories.

More useless crap. Seems to be a theme today. Mix tapes. Ha. I remember those.