My first flight was really short. Charleston to Washington DC. The lady I sat next to didn't say a single word to me. She did homework or something. Not much to report there....
The DC airport, Washington-Dullus, was huge! Like, I came in gate A1. I checked the board, okay, gate C17. That shouldn't be too far, right? WRONG. I kept following the signs to get to the C gates, and after awhile I was at gate A34... what the hell? I had to get on a train to get to the right gate. That just seems crazy. I thought our airport was big. It goes from A1 to A5....
Also, in DC there was 4G!!! It's faster than wi-fi! Damn, I wish they had 4G in South Carolina.
Anyways, I called my mom, got some Starbucks, and got on the plane.
I promptly showed everyone what a klutz I am. I couldn't really figure out how to get my overhead bag up without spilling coffee everywhere. Basically I almost made a huge mess and the person next to me had to help. And of course I held up everyone trying to get on the plane. Because I am graceful. Even without my Starbucks, when I got off the plane, I had some problems too. Holding up the whole plane again. Good times good times.
The girl next to me was from France and spoke very little English. The guy next to me smelled bad. However, overall the flights were as good as anyone could have hoped. Very smooth, quiet, and nice. I decided that I liked ginger ale over ice. Flying in during the sunset was awesome. We were flying lower and all the clouds were pink. It was so pretty. I wish I had taken a picture. It was gorgeous.
Also, I decided I want to ride shotgun in those planes that do tricks. I can't be a pilot because of my vision and psychiatric conditions. Also, I want to go skydiving (if I'm allowed). Will anyone come with?
Then, my aunt picked up me and my dad at the airport. We booked our flights separately so our flights up were different. We're leaving on the same red-eye though. Once we started driving it seemed so weird. The streets were so big. There were four lanes on each side. Or more. They said if you drive at the wrong time it can takes hours and hours to go just a few miles.
Then after we got to my aunt's house I had a lovely breakdown. In which I cried about not knowing what to do for about two hours to my dad and my aunt (my uncle heard it start and left). So that was fun.
The time zone here feels normal. We stayed up until about twelveish, and it actually felt like how twelve is supposed to feel. So that was cool.
Day Two
First of all - the weather.
It's amazing here. They don't use air conditioning or heating. And, they have solar panels, so they actually feed back 100-200 watts a month into the grid. It's all breezy and nice. They leave doors and windows open, and it's actually cooler outside. It's kind of hard to imagine. They sort of live in the ghetto though, so I walked around for a few minutes but stopped because I felt like someone was going to grab me. When we're up on the hill we can see Mexico from here.
I slept on and off in the morning. My cousin once removed was here, and I was on the computer while she did school work for fun. I like that.
I guess I'll give a few fake names here. My cousin once removed is now named Mia. My cousin (who's her mom) is named Charlotte. And my cousin who lives here is Ella.
One thing about my aunt is that she doesn't know how to talk. She can only yell. And that is an understatement. When she whispers she is still talking louder than any normal person talks. And it's contagious. We start out talking in normal voices with her yelling. And then we just escalate until everyone is yelling at everyone else. It was funny when she stopped talking because there was "no one listening." My dad said, "I'm in the same house as you - how can I not be listening?" Mia and I laughed and laughed. I guess no one else says that to her? Except for her brother. And she talks to herself out loud when she does anything. Nonstop. I thought I was bad. I try to contain it if I'm around other people.
We went to Coronado beach with Ella (she runs), and my dad and I walked around a lot. The water was really far away from shore. Also there were like no shells. I don't even know how that's possible. My dad says they might sift it, for the rich people who live in Coronado. We saw a few houses that were worth at least $30 million. Yeah.
Then we walked around the stores a little and stuff. And went to Starbucks, of course. Ella got a free coffee from the guy behind the counter. My dad asked if she got a number, but she said she thought he was gay.
Another thing that happened this day was that my therapist (who I adore) sent me a message telling me she took another job. I've taken it kind of hard. And I didn't want to have to deal with it while I'm on vacation. I took xanax several times to sort of push it away.
Day Three
Today I hung out with Mia a lot. All day actually. She was there when I woke up (Charlotte uses this house as a babysitter, she can stay home alone, but she's very accident prone and still pretty young) and decided to spend the night. My dad took me to Vons to get toothpaste and peanut butter.
Then we went to Starbucks. Earlier that day he was getting on me for taking sips out of his cup, saying he wasn't going to have any the whole time he was away. And we went right after. And he put his cup in the fridge. He has such a problem with that even Mia makes fun of him for it. My mom hates it. He only buys ventis because soymilk is $.60 extra in a tall cup or a venti cup. But he gets them at least once a day, saying he'll drink it for several days. And then he puts them in the fridge. At home we usually have five or six cups lined up in the fridge.
Anyways, after he left, Ella and I went to Trader Joe's (and Target, and a hair store, and Wendy's) so I could pick up food for myself for the weekend. She left that night and my uncle had to work a lot. My aunt left for Florida the day before, too. Everyone comes back Sunday.
I went out to eat at Coronado Brewing Company with my uncle, Mia, Ella, and Charlotte. I got a calzone, it was very yummy. At one point Mia just cracked up. It was because she remembered what my dad had said to my aunt. It's good knowing other people do that too! Usually I laugh about things way after they happen. But no one else seems to.
Then Mia and I hung out. She's 12, but she acts a lot older. I never remember until I swear at stuff (or she turns on the TV - Disney channel, bleh) and she gets like really quiet and freaks out. Like, even saying "ffff" is soooo bad to her. And it's just different. I'm not used to being around people where you have to watch what you say. And I keep forgetting she's only 12.
Since I've been here everyone has come to me with all their technology problems. My dad bought my uncle a new computer because he gave us a car awhile back. I was put in charge of setting it up and moving information and teaching everyone how to use it. It's a Windows 8, which I had never used before - but technology comes naturally to me. Now I have my aunt in Florida calling me about wi-fi problems, and Charlotte talking about me fixing Mia's laptop screen. Sigh. Mia doesn't even like using a computer. She likes her iPhone. I don't really get it, but we're all different.
Also, I think I came more to turns with my therapist leaving. I am still devastated. But having close friends to talk to really helps.
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| cactus sex |
Come back later for part two!
Edit: I forgot to explain the title of this post! Haha. In the airports the news is always on. And that was the headline I kept seeing.
