the next morning my train left on time for newport news, VA...the train arrived slightly earlier than it was supposed to, but krista was already there waiting for me..she brought fiona with her, fiona was 7 weeks old!!! sooooo cute, and so small!!! i know i've seen babies that young, but i don't think i'd ever held one, or spent more than a couple minutes with one..fiona is a perfect baby..well, almost perfect..she had no problem accepting me, a total stranger..she doesn't mind being naked when it comes to diaper changing time, she likes baths, the dog doesn't usually bother her, etc..
spending the week with krista and her husband rob was great..previously i hadn't spent much time with rob, it was really good to get a chance to know him..and i hadn't had much time with krista in years..while i was there i also started playing a lot on web pages, looking for job adverts for korea..
my next visit was to another high school friend..i've known don since my last year of high school, we've been through a lot..days hanging out with him and his dog gypsy were fun..he has found a number of great restaurants, yay:)..he was kind enough to drive me all the way up to indiana as each of us were going to spend the holidays in bloomington..it's an 11 hour drive, and gypsy rode on my lap most of the time..she's a happy dog, full of energy, and always willing to give you kisses..(even if you don't want them, lol)..
we arrived in bloomington the evening of 21 december, my first time in my hometown in about a year and a half..i ended up with the house to myself for a few days, as well as having a car to run around doing a few errands..i spent christmas eve and christmas day with mom, awesome to hang out with her again..during the time i was in bloomington we had several opportunities for real quality time, which we both appreciated..new years was quiet for me, which is generally the way i prefer it..i was asleep by 2130, woken up at 2230 by a phone call, then back to sleep by 2300..the next morning i woke up, and bobs your uncle, 2010 had arrived..just before the new year i had interviewed with several schools in korea, received offers from all of them, and accepted one of the offers..since then, i'd been working on what has turned out to be a really long visa process..i got myself fingerprinted, and sent the prints into the indiana state police..somehow, it took them two weeks to get back to me and tell me that i had to do it again, as they hadn't been able to read my prints..ugh..anywho, i finally got things all figured out, and have been sending paperwork every which where, just waiting for each step to be completed..it's more complicated and time consuming this time around..
among the people i got to see while in town were several adults who mean the world to me..(i'll always think of them as "adults" and somehow different from me, even though i know i'm one of them now!)...my old swim coach, (along with her ridiculously hot husband...don't worry, this is a joke that's been going on for yeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaars)..
two old bosses, one of whom now lives on 12 acres connecting to a state park, so we hiked for a few hours...one of the chicks i saw in germany..a guy with whom i went to primary school..i didn't get close to seeing everyone i should've, and i was disappointed when i didn't hear back from the girl who had been my best friend in high school..(despite a couple emails and a couple phone calls)...i got to go to indiana university mens and womens basketball games, all of which i loved..i grew up going to those games, and, like all hoosier fans, miss the days when we were really good..so much tradition, so much school pride..anyone who has ever been to an IU game knows what i'm talking about.. 
...one of the best games was the day i got to see my old flattie from uni, i hadn't seen her since uni..she has since married, so it was great to finally meet her husband..that day i also got to see my friend scott, i knew him when we both lived in germany..his brother lives in indianapolis, and that weekend his family all got together in indiana, they came down to bloomington to see the game..(he didn't even know it was an IU basketball game, he referred to it as "some sporting event" which made me laugh..i love him anywho)..one weekend i got to spend with my friend (from uni) kelley, and her boyfriend jon..i hadn't met him previously, but it was easy to see how happy they are together, and that made me happy for her..she hates the town in which they live, and i don't blame her..he's super super smart, so as soon as he finishes school, they plan to move somewhere much cooler..we had tons to catch up on, and i got to meet their new dog..
another fantastic aspect to being in bloomington for a little while was the chance for quality time with my sister..when we were growing up, we didn't get along particularly well..we both recall hitting, slapping, pulling hair, kicking, yelling, crying, etc..since i moved out for uni, we've become close, we've become real friends..i treasure her..one day while we were at a local bakery, having hot chocolate and yummy desserts, the guy working there asked if we were sisters..then he asked if hana was older!!! i don't think that's ever happened..both of us are often told we look younger than we are, but hana is almost always assumed to be quite young..he thought she was 25, people usually guess 21 or so..so how old did he think i am? (we never found out, but the whole episode is still a source of humour:)...since hana and i are rarely in the same place, we don't often get chances to spend time together..
i left bloomington 5 february, and spent the night in a hotel in indianapolis, as a major snowstorm was coming through and no one was sure what the morning would bring..my flight out of indy was over an hour late, due to how long de-icing and whateva else took, which meant i missed the connection in atlanta by just 10 minutes..so i got to hang out for 6 hours..ugh..grandma picked me up when i finally landed in california..the last time i saw grandma in california was 2001, which seems like yonks ago..this visit was fantastic..absolutely fantastic..i got to meet a number of her friends, most of whom are aging more than gracefully..
one of her friends is 95 and still works full time!! grandma and i went to a couple beaches, enjoyed quiet reading time, ate good food, watched the super bowl, watched the bachelor (thanks hana and ann!) and talked about family and travels..all over her house she has family photos, it was neat to see what all of us looked like while growing up..i can't wait to go back and visit her again:)my next visit was to a friend in clarksville, TN..thankfully, this time my flights were fine, i was on time..he picked me up at the airport in nashville (TN, not IN) and before going back to clarksville we walked through downtown nashville..as many of you know, nashville is known for country music, and on the main downtown street there are lots of country bars..there is a lot going on in nashville, and tons of stuff in the area..i would probably really enjoy living in that area..(though i'm not so sure about how conservative the area is)..i got to meet some of erik's friends and his sister, and had a lot of fun..a great visit, though because it was generally cold we didn't get outside nearly as much as either of us would've liked..i want to go back..i was supposed to leave on an early flight out of nashville on a friday morning, so we got up really early and drove to nashville, only to get there and find out that my flights had been cancelled..due to a forecasted snowstorm, delta had decided to be proactive and cancel a bunch of flights in and out of atlanta..nevermind that there wasn't actually any snow yet..i was supposed to arrive in augusta at 1030, it didn't even start snowing until 1500, there was no need for cancelling me!..so we drove back to clarksville, i checked my email, and found that i had been rebooked for the next day, same times..the extra day in clarksville meant i got to go to a work dinner with erik..it ended up being really long, considerably longer than either of us had expected..the guy being honored was a good speaker, but he did go on and on..(and on and on and on and on)..anywho, the next morning when i woke up, i had another email..yet again, delta had rebooked me..but instead of just going the next day at the same time, they had rebooked me during the afternoon and evening of the next day..that wasn't really acceptable..erik, being the totally awesome guy that he is, volunteered to drive me part of the way, if don would meet up..so that's what we did..drive..thanks to both of them for driving so much for me..
my last days in the states (during this visit anywho) were in augusta, just hanging out with don..finding good restaurants, catching up on this blog, laughing at his ridiculously cute dog, etc..cleaning too! believe it or not, i was a bit of a domestic goddess:)..most nights we stayed in and cooked, which was fun..while home in bloomington i learned a few good salads from my sister, and don's pretty good with meat..i gave serious consideration to dognapping gypsy, but her cage wouldn't fit into my pack..
