And waking up Sunday morning brought me to the end of my trip. I got up around 7:45 and got my contacts in. All my clean clothes were at my Aunt Hila's house, so I just wore my pajamas over there and changed when I got there. I was finally able to meet Harrell. He works nights, so he was never home or awake while I was at my Aunt Hila's. He's very nice, and I'm just sorry I didn't get to meet him more. Aunt Hila made me some toast on sourdough bread (this was really good!!) and I drank Wawa eggnog with it (yeah, probably not the healthiest way to start the morning, but who cares?). And Aunt Hila packed me a sandwich for the plane. That was so nice. And it was yummy. Maybe I'm not a big sandwich fan because I just don't know how to make them well. I'm stingy with the meat and usually only put one slice on there. Aunt Hila put several slices all bunched up so you get a lot of meat in every bite. Anyway, it was a very good sandwich and I thought I would share my observations about my sandwich-making skills (or lack thereof) with you. Then it was time to go. It was very sad to leave.
Katherine took me to the airport in Philly. It was nice to visit and talk on the way, and it was a pretty easy drive. She dropped me off at the airport and I was checked-in and through security in no time. So I sat and read until my flight boarded. The first flight went fine. I slept a bit on it. The change of planes this time was in Michigan and it was rainy and cold there. Which caused us to have to have our plane de-iced and anti-freezed before we took off. Now there's an interesting experience. I'd never been on a plane that had to have that done before. It seems like a slightly nerve-wracking thing, especially when the stewardess says, "We have to get de-iced before taking off, because... well, we can't take off with frozen wings." Haha... And yet I wasn't nervous about it at all. I figure they know what they are doing and that this must take place often. And I've actually heard a story much worse than this one when the temperatures were close to or below zero and the plane had to be de-iced in a hangar and everytime they'd bring it out of the hanger to take off, it would freeze over again, so they had to push it back into the hangar! And that flight made it, because it was one of my old professor's parents. So, I wasn't really worried. Anyway, this de-icing thing did put us a tad off-schedule, but only 30 minutes. April was actually waiting at the airport in Birmingham when I landed, and I didn't see her and figured she was on her way, so I sat on a bench about 40 feet away from her for like 30 minutes. I felt so bad when we finally discovered that we had both been there already. But thanks again to April for picking me up at the airport!
Oh, and just to give you the contrast... you know how they announce the local temperature when you land in a place? Well, in Birmingham when I landed, it was in the 60s. Talk about extremes! When I took off in MI, it was so cold and rainy that they had to de-ice the plane!!!
Once at home (after my hour drive from April's house to Tuscaloosa), I unpacked, showered, and forced Stefanie (okay, not really forced, just offered) to look at my pictures once I'd downloaded them onto my computer. She actually said she liked looking at them. Hopefully she wasn't just being nice :). Stefanie is a dancer, so she was impressed with the Rockettes. Then, sadly, it was time for bed, because I had to go to work the next morning.
Monday
Well, I might as well finish filling you in on everything! Monday was pretty uneventful. I worked all day. I had my final class of the semester on Monday night - my online class. That thing lasted the WHOLE time. Because so many people were trying to cram in their presentations at the last minute.
Tuesday
Okay, Tuesday was pretty cool. I ate lots of junky food. See, the President of the University has an annual Christmas (only they call it holiday) Reception. So all the staff (and I assume faculty as well) are invited at different points throughout the day to go to the President's Mansion and eat food. And you should know my philosophy by now: Free Food? I'm there! I always go over with Annie (and FYI, "always" means last year and this year ;) ). And this year William walked over with us. Which worked out well, since I insisted on taking a picture in front of the mansion and I really do feel awkward in pictures by myself. So William took the picture with me, because Annie didn't want to be in the picture. And if you'll notice in the second picture (taken inside by their Christmas tree), I am alone in the picture and I look goofy. That's my "This smile is so fake because I just want you to hurry and take the picture because I feel totally awkward and conspicuous" smile.
Then, in the afternoon, the Cataloging and Metadata Department had our annual Christmas Student Appreciation Party. So, that was more free food. Well, I brought stuff to contribute, of course. But I still ate all sorts of other stuff. So yeah, Tuesday was an "eat bad food" day. Of course, I was pretty much not hungry for the rest of the day/night. After work, I washed clothes and then Stefanie and I went to Wal-Mart. I was mostly buying the ingredients for the "girls' night" that April, Courtney, and I are having on Friday. We're going to eat appetizers for dinner and yummy dessert (Cheesecake Factory cheesecake, as a 'thank-you' for doing the airport thing for me) and watch Christmas movies: Home Alone, Home Alone 2, and my taped-off-the-TV copy (and therefore edited and CLEAN) of Love Actually. It should be fun! I guess we can call it our end-of-the-semester party!Oh yeah! And then, while I was in the shower, I got a message from my cousin saying she'd gone into New York City again and saw the Naked Cowboy!!! So where was he when I was in NYC??? Not that I particularly was concerned with seeing the Naked Cowboy so much as I just wanted to see something truly odd in the middle of NYC. And I think that would have qualified. Either way, my cousin took his picture and sent it to my cell phone. Haha.
After Wal-Mart, Stefanie and I sat around talking until suddenly there was this loud knock on the door at about 8:40. I looked at her and said, "Who would that be?" So we both quietly walked to the door and I looked out, and there was no one there. So yeah, I was beginning to flash back to last year at about this time. Only this time, because I wasn't alone and because I've lived in Tuscaloosa long enough to feel safe, I wasn't freaking out. And when we opened the door, there was a plate of goodies on our mat. Yep... The Christmas knocker strikes again! Amazing how much braver you can be when you're not the only one there :).
Oh, and I should also mention that yesterday and today's high temperatures was/is in the low-80s. I so totally wore flip flops to Wal-Mart last night. How crazy is that in the middle of December??? Of course, I've also heard that, the last time this happened a few years ago, it spawned a tornado. I guess we'll see what this year brings...
Oh, and I got a phone call a few minutes ago on my work phone. Usually it's a wrong number. So imagine my surprise when the person on the other end of the line asks to speak with Nilla Wafer. Haha. It was Julie!!! I have no clue how she got this number. It made me think of the days back when I was the Ashford Branch Librarian and she would call say she was "looking for a book by Beverly Clearly." I always knew it was her, even if she tried to disguise her voice. And the reason is because only Julie would call and ask for a book by Beverly Clearly when the author's name was Beverly Cleary. And she did it every time. I told her that once and she laughed. Ah... Good times :).
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