Emuzines

Here are some pictures from my visit!

[View with PicLens]

I’ve spent the weekend back at home, and had a great time!  At first, I didn’t tell anyone I was visiting home, because I had so many plans and no free time, and didn’t want to say, “I’m coming home, but won’t see you” to anyone.  I feel a little guilty about that but really, I didn’t have time! 

On Friday, my mom picked me up and, although she tried to keep it a secret, she had a secret Indian food feast in the trunk.  I smelled the garlic naan yumminess and the secret was out!  We came home and Logan got a lot of love, and then we dug into the food, which I’ve been craving for a couple of months!  Friday night was pretty relaxing.  I studied a bit…couldn’t avoid it completely…and hung out with Logan, and went to bed nice and early…with Logan in a ball at my feet!

Saturday was spent with Mark and Noah, who just gets cuter and cuter and cuter.  His language has exploded.  I got into the car and turned around and said, “Hi, Noah!” and he waved and said, “Hi!”  Last time it was work to just get him to wave at me!  He was quite entertaining, demanding (”More,” “Doggie,” “Other doggie”) to see Logan and JoJo pictures.  I loved being with Mark…wish I could see him every week, or twice a week again (didn’t realize what a luxury that was, eating sushi with him twice a week!)  Saturday night, I attended Danny’s fabulous Halloween party, dressed in bat antlers.  Mandi and I carved a pumpkin.  Despite Mandi’s cutting off of the pirate skeleton’s eye and nose, we sort of won first place in the contest (we got second, but it was rigged to let the only kid win).  It was really nice seeing everyone there, and Mandi and I solidified our next week plans (yayyyyy…she’s coming to visit!  Downtown Sacramento!  San Francisco!  Napa!  Spa!  Food!  Chocolate!).

Today I went to Oak Glen with my mom, a yearly tradition which I always enjoy.  I was a little disappointed before I went, because I knew I couldn’t buy food to eat for weeks, like I usually do from there (apple bushels, apple pie, etc.).  However…I thought of how awful Safeway produce is anyway, and conviced myself that I could squeeze some apples into my suitcase!  They’re still sitting on my bed…I haven’t tried to pack them yet…

I’m leaving soon for the airport…and want to go spend the last hour with Logan!!  It was a great weekend!!

I’ve written a lot of posts in my head, both during my week home and since we’ve been back here in Davis.  When I was home, I was too busy with fun to want to sit down and post, and in Davis, I don’t have internet except for the time I want to spend in the apartment Club House using their slow and oft-breaking wireless (in which case, I’m frustrated trying to send out work- and school-related e-mails, looking into LCSW licensure, trying to save web pages I need to print onto my desktop so I can come home and print them later…).  In other words, life without internet is sort of a pain.  Now, I’ve organized a free afternoon, and am using the time before our dining table gets delivered to write a post in Word, and I’ll somehow post it later.

As I usually say, things here are good.  They really are.  I haven’t started school yet, but I’ve been to some orientation activities (optional, how great is that?…hence my free afternoon…), had some TB testing, physical stuff at the UC Davis Medical Center (Employee Health Services, which makes me feel special), and yesterday I went to meet with my mentor at the MIND.  She introduced me around to everybody, showed me my office (!), and told me a bit about what I’ll be doing, or what my options are.  I talked to her about gaining hours to get my LCSW (clinical license as a social worker), and she’s really excited about making it happen for me.  She has no doubt it’ll work there.  So basically, I’m an employee at the MIND, getting paid to work there, getting my LCSW hours, getting course credit, earning my Ph.D., working on projects and papers and chapters (I can’t wait until I’m published) with some incredible people, and looooooooving it there.  I am so honored and so excited.  They do such great work and have really positive far-reaching impact on the autism field.  I love, love, love it.

School is there in my mind, too, but almost as a backdrop.  I’ll only be taking two courses this quarter and getting the rest of my credits through research at the MIND.  I begin classes next Thursday, late-night classes.  Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve been going to some orientation activities, the ones that I think would be helpful for me.  They really have been, for the most part.  And on the first day, I found myself lost in a building on campus, trying to navigate its twists and turns to find the correct lecture hall.  I saw another lost person out of the corner of my eye, turned around, and realized it was one of the two girls I already know.  Since this week of orientation is for all graduate students, masters and Ph.D., in all fields, to find her right away was pretty lucky.  She’s been my buddy all this week and that feels nice.

Last night Nik and I headed to downtown Sacramento to go to dinner at the Melting Pot.  We had tons of food in the fridge at home, because we haven’t quite figured out yet how to shop and cook for just the two of us.  Anyway, we still went, and it was delicious as always.  We missed our Melting Pot double date partners, though!

Something else that is still on my mind is my week of fun back in LA.  My aunt Sharon came to visit and we took her to Santa Monica and Pasadena…where we got stuck, literally, in the middle of a fight between an Apple Store security guard/police officer and a thief.  It was a long struggle and eventually a failed arrest (unless they caught his getaway car later), but we were really stuck in the middle of it.  We actually had to flee down the sidewalk, being at most 5 feet from the struggle, and run into another store to avoid getting held as hostage or shot or stabbed.  We decided to watch the fight play out from the store windows, risking the gun thing, when the police officer threw the assailant against the window right into our faces!  It was quite entertaining but pretty scary.  This all came right after Sharon was talking about how, despite its reputation, she didn’t really think LA was too crime-ridden.

Also last week, Mandi had a lot of really fun birthday celebrations.  I had sooo much fun at them and I hope she did, too.  Happy birthday! 

Time to wrap it up.  Just a side note to praise JoJo, who is being quite exceptional in good behavior in her new home.  I don’t know what to make of it.  She’s being so good.  She’s learned all the new rules (stay OFF the bed, stay OUT of the kitchen when Mommy and Daddy are in it, potty on the leash, be QUIET when Mommy and/or Daddy leave, NO trash, etc.).  She’s calm and she listens and she hangs out or plays quietly.  Maybe she’s growing up, or maybe all the walks every day are good for her.  In any case, I’m so proud of her.  Such a good girl.

So…Nik and I spent the past few days moving in.  The drive up wasn’t bad…actually, it was sort of fun.  I played games with myself such as, “How many miles can I go without having to alter my cruise control?” and “Can Nik and I match our cruise controls EXACTLY, leaving neither of us having to brake?”  I found some good radio stations, I watched tomatoes fall off of tomato trucks, I saw some baby cows, and I talked to Mark and my mom with my Jawbone.  We made a few stops, which helped the body aches immensely, and we arrived happily.  We stayed in my favorite Davis hotel the first night, and got up early the next day to get our keys.

The apartment is really cute.  Certain rooms are a lot bigger than I remembered.  The bathroom has a double sink and is huge, and the living room is going to allow us to get a gigantic 3-piece sectional.  The bedrooms aren’t quite so huge, and we are splitting up the Pottery Barn furniture throughout the apartment in order to get it all.  We’re hoping to move into a bigger place (a house?) after this year, so we’ve been buying with that mindset.  Make it work this year, so we have it for the future.  Speaking of buying, we’re nearly done with purchasing all of the furniture.  We just have to get the nightstands and find some bookshelves.  Like Nik said, our couch won’t be delivered for awhile, but we really love it!  We have done a ton of work on the place (especially Nik), and it’s looking good.  He has been very busy putting furniture together and his hands are covered in blisters.  He got a bit of reprieve when Sarah and Foti came up to help (our first visitors and huge helpers, thank you!!).  I tried to help a bit but I’m better at…washing the dishes…and…coordinating colors in the bathroom towels…than using a screwdriver.  Oh!  And then he bought an electric one, which made his day.

We spent the evenings going out to eat and watching Sex and the City.  It’s been quite fun.  We are now back in L.A. for the week.  My fun Aunt Sharon is coming into town tomorrow, and we have a lot of plans.  I have been cuddling with Logan a lot and he’s such a LoveBug.  And today is my sister’s birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MANDI!), so we’re doing a few fun celebrations.  I’m so excited for my plans.  We leave again on Saturday with JoJo.  Hopefully we JoJo-proofed the place (i.e. picked up spare screws and nails from building desks) enough so that her initial exploration of the place goes well. 

Oh, please send me letters at my new place!  They would make me so happy