So! Happenings since September:
- I had visitors! Was incredibly nice to have friends and people my own age, at a time where I'd been somewhat lacking in company. Was my first really good look at San Francisco, and was lots of fun to go around doing all the touristy stuff. Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, Chinatown, Haight-Ashbury, Alcatraz, all that fun stuff. Didn't really get all that much sleep, but it was a lot of fun.
- Joined Open Circle, a young adult group connected to one of the local churches. They are highly awesome people, and it has been a great way for me to get my butt out of the house on a regular basis. Many aspects of the group rather remins me of my own Ink community back home.
- Went to Chicago! Spent three days there, staying with a friend of mine, who showed me all about the place. Took many photos, some of which can be seen on facebook (still have a few to sort through...), along with a few little stories of what we got up to.
- Acquired a boyfriend (Yes, such things are acquisitions). He was promptly summoned off to Oklahoma for three months to complete some very important training.
- Did an American Halloween. Didn't end up dressing up, due to a few problems with a haunted house mission, and didn't go trick or treating, but I did carve a pumpkin!
- Lost a toenail. I was accidentally kicked in a rather unfortunate way, and the toenail on my left big toe was brutally separated from the toe. It hurt. A lot. Also meant that I was hobbling around and unable to wear anything but jandals for quite some time. Less than ideal, especially as that was just before the next one...
- Went to Yosemite. Yosemite is gorgeous. It's also a little cold for camping, when there's snow on the ground and you are stuck in jandals for the first day. It was also an interesting experience, camping in place where you had to store everything in a big, metal, bear-proof box. I have never had to worry about bears while camping before. That and the mountain lions.
- Had an American Thanksgiving. Family, good food, and none of the mass consumerism that comes with Christmas. I rather enjoyed it. That weekend we also went back to Yosemite, so more incredible gorgeousness. Seriously, words cannot possible describe the sheer awe-inspiring wonder that is Yosemite.
- Broke my arm. Apparently people with my coordination should not be allowed to ice-skate, as I went and fractured the elbow in two places. My right arm, too, so I was rather incapacitated, and am still not completely recovered. It really was quite a downer, as it took me five times as long to do all my work, meaning I had less time to do all my personal things, which also too twice as long, at a time where all I had energy for was sleeping, because having your arm at a funny angle makes sleeping comfortably and well a whole heap trickier, even though you really need it. Needless to say I got very behind on all my letters, postcards, emails and the like. I'm working on catching up now, but it's taking time. It was a stable fracture, so I had it in a splint for just over a week, and was then into just the sling, which I have now almost done away with, except for sometimes in public, mostly so that other people are aware of it and don't accidentally make it worse again. I can straighten it out pretty much all the way, bend it however I like, and turn my wrist over without insane amounts of pain, now. Currently I'm just not able to do any heavy lifting, or physical activities, which is a bit of a pain at times, but nowhere near as bad as it could be.
- Went to Dallas. Flying with a broken arm is a bit of a pain, but also handy for getting pushed through lines faster. Dallas itself was not all that interesting, Fort Worth was nicer, what with all the cowboy stuff and the history, but the company definitely made the trip absolutely fantastic.
- Christmas! We had family staying with us for the week leading up to Christmas. Was a rather nice time, but also quite strange for me, this being my first Christmas away from home and all. Being a day behind everyone else was also a little strange, although it did mean that I was able to Skype home for a bit, which was really nice.
- Went on a roadtrip. After Christmas, my host mum went to Mexico, and my kids went to stay with family in Illinois. This tragically meant that there was no work for me to do, so I got a week off over New Years. I took this opportunity to book a ticket to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to see my friend Steph, who I took on a roadtrip around New Zealand at the beginning of last year. This time I got to see her part of the world. We started in her hometown of Gallup, New Mexico, where we spent a couple of nights, then drove up through Arizona, stopping at Canyon De Chelley, to Durango, Colorado, where we spent the night with her aunt and uncle. We did a loop through the Rockies, staying a night in Ouray, before going back down to Durango via the lovely little ski town of Telluride. After New Year's Eve in Durango, we drove down to Santa Fe, the capital on New Mexico, and then back to Albuquerque, where I had to fly out. Very awesome week, and I'll do my best to write more about it at some point soon. Maybe just with the many photos I plan to put up sometime soon.
- Going to Oklahoma this weekend! And potentially tripping out to Arkansas, too. Hugely looking forward to it.
And that's just about it for the main stuff. Consider yourself up to date with what I've been up to! Sorry I couldn't go more in-depth on more of the details. Maybe next time, when I have less stuff to cover. Hopefully it won't be quite as long to the next one.
