usa: indiana: bloomington

Every time I come back to the States, of course I spend time in my hometown. This ended up being the longest visit in quite a while. I think the total time was 9 days?

Dad picked me up at the airport, and we stopped for food on the way back to Bloomington. Since the portion was American sized, I took home at least half of my food.

When we got home I brought my bags up to my room and went about figuring out everything I would need in my Russian work visa application.

(I already knew I should've had this figured out, and sent off as much as a week earlier, but I didn't get my act together.) I called the visa company at least twice.

We drove to Kinkos/FedEx so I could print something and mail everything, it all went smoothly. From there we drove to the mall and stopped in a couple stores. Then we drove home.

After getting home, I called my sister to figure out when we could hang out. In the middle of the conversation I somehow realized I had forgotten to sign the dotted line on my application. Eeek.

I knew my application would be denied for forgetting that, so I started running to Dad to ask if I could borrow the car to get back to FedEx.

I rushed around, and in my haste, tripped and fell down the stairs. Immediately I knew something was wrong. It was the same feeling I'd had when I'd tripped over nothing in particular a bit over a year ago in Kyiv. Something felt like it had popped, and my foot HURT. Dad helped me stand up, and I was able to walk (not easily, but it was possible,) so I knew it wasn't broken.

That didn't solve my signature problem though, so instead of me driving the car, Dad drove me while I put a bag of frozen vegetables on my foot. Even with the frozen vegetables, I hopped from the car to the store, rather than walk. (I could walk, but it hurt, soooo...)

It turned out I had just missed the chance to catch my packet, so I had to print out the page of the application once more, and pay for another envelope to be sent. Argh. After this disaster we went to the supermarket to get another bag of frozen vegetables, and an ankle brace.

When I got home I propped my ankle up on pillows (it had already swollen quite a bit) and stayed there the rest of the night.

The next morning Dad dropped me off at my sister's house. I got to hang out with her all day, and my nephew. He is awesome, of course. I always love spending time with my sister, I wish it got to happen more often.

For dinner that night I met up with more Gappers. They're everywhere! Kristy is originally from Indiana, though we didn't know each other in the States.

She married a guy she met there, this was the first time I met him. We had good food, and more importantly, good conversation. I love gappers, I'll never get tired of saying that, or with meeting up with them.

The next day Dad had a rotary club something or another, so I went with him to campus, then walked around while he had his meeting. My ankle was still swollen, but I wanted to do some walking.

I went through parts of the Union, looking for a specific spot to take a photo. I'd seen it in other photos, and wanted my own photo.

I found it, but there were people studying there, and I didn't think it would be cool to say 'hey, can you move so I can take a photo?' Studying definitely takes priority.

I also walked through parts of the building that used to be known as HPER. (In my head that's how it will always be known, but the powers that be changed the name.) The intramural basketball courts were empty, which seemed strange. I'm used to there always being a pickup game or two going on. Royer Pool was empty (not just of people, of water too,) so I"m assuming repairs are being done.

This pool is where the science and sport of swimming as we know it today were invented.

Next to HPER is the fine arts museum, which apparently is closed for a while due to more renovation work.

From there I walked next to the 'new' global/international something or other building, which did not exist when I was a student at IU. Given my life now, maybe I should've had a major along those lines? I also walked through the arboretum, which is a lovely green space on a campus full of green spaces. I still find it hard to believe a sports stadium used to be there.

After meeting back up with Dad we drove to another side of town to visit a coffee shop I love. Needmore Coffee is owned by a friend, who does all the roasting herself. She sources her beans from ethical, organic farms in Central America. Someone complained to me once that the place is expensive, and my answers were that you pay the same amount at Starbucks, and this is a local business. The only way you get cheaper coffee drinks is to make them yourself at home. I will always support a local business, even more so when I know the owner!

Dad and I went home for a few hours, I'm sure he did something productive with the time. I'm pretty sure I took a nap, or browsed social media sites. That night we went to dinner at Janko's, a steak place in town. I've loved it for years; they aren't fancy, but the steaks are great. Dessert was at an ice cream place. No, I did not need dessert, but it's soooo hard to resist.

On the way home we stopped by the gridiron (football,) stadium because the lighting was fantastic and I noticed I would be able to take a photo without any cars or people in the photo. I grew up going to games at this stadium, and though the team hasn't been very good for years, it still brings back heaps of good memories.

The next morning I had breakfast with my old boss KGB at a local place called the Village Deli. They're known for the ridiculous size of their pancakes, and generally having good breakfast food. It's always good to have a catchup with KGB, and to hear what the latest plans are for Rec Sports at IU.

The Village Deli is close to campus, so that's where I walked next. I figured it was early enough in the morning to find that spot in the Union and hope no one was there. I was right, I was the only one, so I took my photo and left.

From there I walked to the office of another old boss and dropped by for a chat. Another good catchup, and this one wasn't even expected!

I walked to the law school to check out their library, as libraries can often be really photogenic. For some reason I thought there was a specific reading room there, but either I didn't find it or it isn't there. Oh well. Not surprisingly, the law library was super quiet.

On the way home I passed the observatory, which always strikes me as really small. How does anyone see anything at night? It's the same height or shorter than other buildings all around.

I walked home, which had me dripping with sweat pretty much the entire way. It wasn't far, at least not by my standards, I just wish I hadn't felt like I was in a sauna the whole time. I walked on the wrong side of one road nearly the entire way because that side had shade, and the proper side didn't. I had no desire to pass out just because I was on the right side of the road for pedestrians.

That night I met up with a couple twins who were also high school classmates. Non stop laughing and smiling for the next several hours. I swam with Julie and had gym class with Jennifer. I'd just missed my 20^th high school reunion, I guess this was a mini reunion of sorts. Jennifer also brought some amazing chocolate, I could've eaten my weight of the chocolate, yum.

We went to a local microbrewery and had fried pickles, which were amazing. There is definitely an art to getting the right ratio of breading to pickle. Too much breading and they're no good. We also had huge burgers, yum. The beers the girls drank smelled good. Our dessert (after the pre meal dessert I'd already had) was from a food truck. Yum! I can't wait until the Chocolate Moose opens again.

The next day was a day trip to West Baden Springs Hotel with Dad. 

Sunday morning we went to church. This was the service where the church officially decommissioned the organ, which we've had for decades. I'm glad I was lucky enough to appreciate the amazing music and musicians with my church.

Who knows if it was originally commissioned or not, but it brought a lot of amazing music into the church for years.

That evening I went to the house of my high school swim coach for dinner. Her husband was there, as well as three other coaches/former bosses of mine. It was great to see everyone, and to hear the stories they all have to tell. They've all been in swimming in the area for a long time, so they know all the gossip, old and new. They were all big influences in my life, whether they'll admit it or not.

The next day I went with Dad to the monthly meeting of the Press Club. It was interesting to meet some of the other attendees, most of whom are older/retired. After lunch we walked through campus to get to the library parking lot, and took a picture of Hoagy Carmichael at a piano on the way. The song 'Stardust' is fairly well known, as is Hoagy, but not as many people know he is from Indiana.

That afternoon and evening I went to Mom's flat, and hung out with her for several hours. After dinner she drove me back to Dad's house.

The next day my sister and I did a road trip to Columbus, Indiana.

Wednesday, 26 July was a day of stress relief. My passport was delivered, with a Russian work visa inside. Getting the passport back meant two things: I was going to Russia, and I was going to Cuba with the tickets I'd already booked. (I was afraid the passport wouldn't come back on time and I'd be forced to postpone/cancel Cuba.)

I'd made plans to meet up with a couple more friends that afternoon. We're the same age, but they went to a different high school, not too far from mine. I hadn't seen Katie and Krista in five years, I think. We met up at 1500, and I managed to do a whole lot of nothing earlier in the day. More good conversation, and I really wish we could see each other more often.

Krista drove me to Mom's flat, she and I went shopping then out to dinner. Mom isn't very good at sitting around and chatting, though she is good at sitting by herself. When she and I hang out I've discovered it's a good idea to be doing something.

Thursday was my last day in Bloomington. I started the day by meeting with a financial advisor, which was surprisingly interesting. Then I met up for coffee with the man who has what sounds like an ideal job to me: planning travel for IU alumni. Totally awesome.

From there I walked up the street and met up for lunch with another of my high school classmates. I don't think I'd seen Mahala since high school, so this was pretty awesome. Who knew the Trojan Horse has such good key lime cheesecake? I definitely could've eaten more. Another really good catchup, and we definitely won't wait another 20 years to do it again.

After getting home from lunch I borrowed Dad's car to do a couple last minute errands, then packed up all my stuff. Dad drove me up to Indianapolis, and checked me into a hotel. Almost across the street was a nice place to have dinner. The reason for the hotel was the timing of my first flight the next morning: at 0525.

After dinner Dad drove back to Bloomington and I tried to get some sleep. It didn't really work, but it never does when I have something really really early in the morning.

Bloomington, I will always come back as long as I know people living there.