Movin' and Rollin'

Last month, with copious amounts of help from two of the best friends a girl could ask for, I packed up my flat in London and headed back to the States. There may also have been a horrific amount of Starbucks' DoubleShots drinks consumed...but I'm not going to go into the details. After ten days at my Dad's, my Mom flew in and we drove out to Michigan to get the ball rolling on that whole 'life' and 'going back to school thing. Oh what a drive...

There is a phrase that there are only two seasons in Michigan: winter and construction. Here's a little protip for you - this is actually true for the majority of the Midwest. Particularly Western Pennsylvania, which is also known more commonly as one of the inner circles of Hell. Picture twenty MILES of single lane construction. Hello Barrel Season.


Oh yeah....there was also a gigantic truck with half of my Dad's apartment and the entirety of his storage locker packed in there....


My Father is what one might kindly refer to as a pack rat. Okay no, that's an exaggeration, he'll hang on to *anything* if he thinks there might just possibly be a use for it at a later date.

This includes the coffee filters to a coffee maker that he owned (and got rid of) in 1975.

Before my parents met.

I am not even exaggerating.

Other gems included a 3 foot tall, mirrored plinth (circa 1980, it was apparently very stylish back then), two 12 x 16 bright purple, shag carpets, and a file cabinet that I think belonged to my grandfather before he married my grandmother (and doesn't open). Somehow, despite my vigilance, all of these things ended up on that truck.

....I love my family. But sometimes, they're nuts.

I get by with a little help from my friends...

As previously mentioned, I'm moving back to the States.
Specifically, this Wednesday. This has resulted in all kinds of chaos over here, mainly consisting of 'Oh God, I have to pack my entire liiiifeee'. It is however, going surprisingly well. Mainly due to two amazing friends, who were here yesterday for almost 12 hours helping me pack.

Seriously, friends are amazing.

April Excursions and Decisions

In consequence of the weather moving in the direction of NOT freezing/raining/miserable, I've started to come out of my hibernation and go on various excursions about London. This, in combination with spending most of April out of the country means LOTS of photos, and lots of insanity. Of the thirty days in April, I only spent about twelve of those days in England. First - the remnants of getting caught up in the BA strike and my March trip to New Jersey and Atlanta, then four nights in Portugal and then thirty six hours back in London, and THEN off for what was supposed to be a 3 night trip to Michigan to look at U of M.Except then...the Volcano happened.
Can I just say how thoroughly surreal it was to have to call into work, saying I would be out because of a VOLCANO?? Probably the best excuse *ever*. Nuts. It did, however, wreak absolute havoc with my life. After it became really apparent that I wasn't going to be making it back for at least a week, I flew back to New Jersey for about 20 hours, and then out to Denver to visit my siblings. Honestly, my main memories of April look something like this:
Oh....and this. Waaaaaaaaaaaay too many 6 AM flights this time around, alleluja for Jet Lag finally working out in my favor.

On the whole, however, it was a really good month. In all my travels I managed to hit most of the weather and the blossoms just right. Peach Blossoms in Atlanta, Magnolia in Michigan and ...okay I don't know what they were in Denver, but they were pretty too

At this point, I'm quite set on moving back to Michigan for grad school next year. Specifically, an MPH in Epidemiology and International Health. Moving back to Michigan is never something I saw happening for myself, but I'm surprisingly pleased that it's happening. In some ways, I thought of Michigan as a place to never go back, and a deaden, the economic situation there is absolutely horrible at the moment. The University of Michigan was dead last on my list of school choices, but when I went to visit the U of M campus I couldn't imagine spending the next two years anywhere else. I love London, but I think I'm ready to leave. I am not a Big City person at heart. Now I'm looking forward to new opportunities, and seeing the magnolia bloom next spring....