NYC To NC and Back to NYC in 80 Hours

I sit tired at my desk here at work. 1000+ miles driven, 4 bottles of wine consumed, even more beer, many hours spent in laughter and fun, less than 5 hours of sleep each night. . .yeah I am wiped out. So, I have a bunch of stuff to comment on about this weekend. However, since my brain is so fried right now I am having trouble with linear thought. Therefore there will be no connecting material between ideas.

1. I love driving. I love that my Metro gets 32+mpg when I am on the highway. I love driving fast. For this trip, I cruised between 70-75 mph. Once, I even got up to 80! Betcha didn’t think a little rice burner like that could go that fast. Neither did the Mustangs I blew in the dust. “You got beat by a Metro, Ha-Ha!” *said I my best Nelson voice*

2. Add to the things I miss about the South. . .barbecue. Hmmm. . .(Note to the Yankees who read this and don’t know what barbecue is. Barbecue is pulled or shredded pork in either and vinegar or vinegar/tomato based sauce.) My friend made barbecue for lunch on Sunday. I can’t wait to try making it myself.

3. I had that “I’m Home!” feeling for a fleeting moment this weekend. How bittersweet it felt.

4. The sky seems so much bigger and bluer in North Carolina. Maybe that’s because there are not so many big buildings and skyscrapers so close together to eat up the sky. Also, it helps that God made the sky Carolina Blue. He/She is obviously a Tarheels fan.

5. GO HEELS!!! UNC Chapel Hill is playing in the NCAA National Championship tonight. Watching the game Saturday night with my friend and her family was a lot of fun.

6. Random things that were said that I never expected to hear when I woke up in the morning.

-“Damn, my ass is rotten today!” –said by my dainty, elven-like friend. I did not need to know that.
-“Whoah, check it out! That woman is feeling up that man’s titties!” –Said by my best friend while we were in a club watching a kick-ass cover band.
-“Ahhh, Suki, Suki” –said over and over again by the drummer for that band.
-“You know, Alexander the Great took it in the ass.” -said by same elven friend as we watched the History Channel Sunday afternoon. Really didn’t see that one coming.
-“It’s not a lie. It’s a bluff!” -my sister quoting me from a conversation I had forgotten.

7. My sister Katie has the best new word. “So I got this term from Cosmo. I admit that there is a lot of drama in my life. But I don’t cause the drama, which you can admit Jim, it just happens around me. Right? So I am not a “Drama Queen”, one who causes the drama, but a “Drama Mama”, one who is the center of the drama.” Yup, Drama Mama fits my sister.

8. I love my sister Katie very much. I am glad that as we have gotten older that we find we have a lot in common.

9. Sometimes, some dreams, no matter how inspiring, how beautiful, need to be let go of . . .even if just for a little while. (Like my dream of calling Carolina home again.)

10. When hugging a loved one good-bye, always let them let go first.