On the Road

1,110 miles from home. 912 miles to *new* home (!?).

Random questions from the road:

Semi's are not equipped for off-road travel. Why is it that they always have huge clods of dirt falling from beneath them?

Is stopping to run in, go to the bathroom, wash and dry hands, and put your hair in a ponytail really long enough for snow to accumulate on your car? Yes, yes it is.

Why does Coldplay always make me think that my cell phone is ringing?

Dear God, why does Gwen Stefani spell out bananas? Why is she even singing about bananas? Why do people enjoy that song?

What is the logic behind NOT posting the toll amount?

I headed out about noon on yesterday, about an hour behind schedule. This is not unusual. However, it is unusual for me to get on the wrong highway. It really doesn't bode well for a whole cross-country trip (alone) when I can't get out of my hometown without hopping ignorantly onto the wrong highway. In my defense (this is tenuous, at best) I wasn't really focusing on the whole "where am I going" thing. I couldn't really get past the whole "aw, crap I'm going" part. So, I just got on the highway that was going in the direction that I ultimately knew I needed to go. Too bad that added at least a half hour to my drive. Auspicious beginning, no? I only realized this when I called home freaking out (calmly, I must add here) that I had left my pillow (I'm obsessive and snobbish about my pillow) and book (the horrors) behind, as I didn't recall stuffing it in my car (and I mean stuffing) and my dad asked where I was. When I told him, he was surprisingly cool about it (for him) just mildly commenting that it was an interesting route to take. He must have called mom, because not 10 minutes went by before she called me laughing, no, chortling heartily, actually, she could barely get words out between guffaws. She assured me that her assistant, Lisa (whom I adore) was laughing hysterically at me. Thanks, mom. I eventually found my way to the correct interstate.

I stayed the night with my cousin Jamie and his wife Angie. We have a kinda large extended family, so there isn't a whole lot of one-on-one time. It was really nice to see them. Makes me sad that I will now be so far away that I won't be able to visit. I wish that I had visited more (read: at all) when I was a mere 5ish hours away.

Anyway, the above musings tells you, in their own way, about the drive today. I really felt that I could go a bit further, but mom tricked me with the bait of Grey's Anatomy, saying that the conclusion was on tonight. It was so an 'encore' (real people call them lousy reruns) of Sunday's episode. I stopped, and went with the first hotel with free wireless internet. I have a king size bed. I'm so sleeping diagonally tonight! (you are allowed to shake your head in confusion on that comment).

Before I left I asked several people to create playlists or CDs for my drive. So far, they have all come up with very clever 1st songs. It's been very amusing thus far. In order of their listening order (also the order in which I received them):

Rachel - I hadn't heard that Fiona Apple (Extraordinary Machine) song before. It is now my theme song. At least of this trip.

Angela - Bowie was brilliant. You didn't know it but some of those songs actually have things associated with them. Way to go.

Melissa - Cat Stevens made up for Gwen Stefani. What was with the Spanish and the Hindi? They totally made me laugh. You also had the Fiona Apple song. I must have played it 30 times, conservatively.

Sarah - You had the most framework - we've listened to a lot of music together. Most everything connected back with our shared history. Thanks for Etta and Louis, OTH and VM. I still hate stupid banana song, which you knew, so I laughed and quickly hit skip. Thanks for not putting the lecherous Barbie song on that I hate even more than the bananas. Although, I do have to say that it is easier to spell bananas now...hmm.

PS - At some point I will tell you about I, Coriander and Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, the latter which I'm listening to in the car, the former having been read before I left.