My last Hurrah! in the States

So I guess I should preface this by saying I am simply going to ramble in this post. I don't have an outline, I don't have set points to make, I am just sharing some observations I've made in these last few days. With that said, you may continue...

I've come to realize that as much as I crave adventure, and seeing new places, and trying new things, I love being able to come home to my own comfortable surroundings and winding down. I just got back from the Portland area after spending 4.5 days seeking adventure, seeing new places (and many old ones!), and trying new things. Now that I'm back in Hermiston and it's after midnight, I don't feel the least bit tired; unlike these last 5 days of being absolutely exhausted by 11pm. Adventure sure takes a lot out of a person! I'm sure after flying home to Bangkok, I'll want to sleep an entire day away, but once I get that out of my system, trying to get to bed before midnight is going to be a challenge.

I had three -- maybe four -- definite plans while on the west side: Timbers game on Wednesday, Yang's/Lincoln City on Thursday, Portland Saturday Market/evening wedding on Saturday. During and in between each set of activities I had a variety of people to meet up with -- basically my extended effort to see people in the States since I'm leaving in 36 hours for another year in Thailand. I've made this comment before, and I'm going to now put it in writing: I came from around the world (a 30 hour plane ride and $1200 later) to make it back in the same time zone, the least people could do is make some effort to drive a few hours to see me. I mean, IF I'm truly a priority. It just grates on my nerves when people hear I'm back they have the audacity to ask me when I'm coming over to visit them. So my typical response is, "If you really want to see me, then come to Hermiston and see me!" Sure it'd be nice to see a bunch of people, but if it's simply a convenience for you, then why should I bother? Some friendships are meant to remain solely electronic, and some require personal contact. If you don't really care to see me one way or another, don't make a big deal out of it, and then expect me to go the distance (literally and figuratively). Trust me, I've heard all the excuses -- from no time to no money; but quite frankly, I have little sympathy.

There are other people with whom I want to make the effort to see, and I certainly did make every effort to connect with people on the west side, who didn't make it out to Hermiston, that I wanted to catch before leaving again. Most people I was able to see, and some I didn't; but at least I tried. I guess it really comes down to priorities. It'd be presumptuous of me to tell people to make me a priority, but I do ask for people to take a couple hours out of their day to see me (yes, unfortunately for some, it had to be on my time schedule since I drove to the west side to begin with). If someone is important to me, I'll see them. I only ask for the same regard. If I'm not a priority, then I take no offense -- I just
don't want to be misled otherwise. Okay, that guilt-ridden rant is through. All that is to say, I appreciate from the bottom of my heart those dear people I was able to visit with, for however short the time was. They were what made my Portland adventure well worth it! I have much to reflect on -- thank you!


This mini vacation almost changed my mind about my trip back to Bangkok. For the last few weeks I've actually been anticipating going back to what has become familiar with a certain amount of relief; however, after visiting with friends, I am more than tempted towards feelings of sadness and despondency over going back to my new home.


Adventure highlights:

*Going to my very first national sports event with Karissa (Portland Timbers vs. West Bromwich)
*Getting my Yang's fix in Monmouth, then watching Russell fall in the ocean and Diana get smashed with a giant wave at Lincoln City
*Shopping with my sis at Lloyd Center and reminiscing with the girls at McMenamins
*Standing in an outrageous line for Voodoo Doughnuts and realizing we could theoretically make more money begging on the streets than working a regular job if we could scrape by with people donating at least $9 an hour

*Exploring the Portland Saturday Market with Karissa, Aisha, Zach, and Omar
*Getting my tragus pierced!
*Having Joelle as my impromptu date to an old friend's wedding in Junction City -- the location and decorations were amazing!
*Realizing it's a small world after all when an old college friend came to the wedding as a guest's date
*Visiting with Jeff and talking shop about teaching, living/moving outside our comfort zone, and our struggles with writing fiction