Mark is in Phoenix right now and I miss him bunches! I would’ve gone, but I’ll be in Baltimore next weekend for my BFF Lauren’s graduation. She is getting her Master’s in Social Work and I’m soooo proud of her! So many graduations are on Fridays, and Mark and I are already missing work the Friday after next for my brother’s graduation… so, I had to forfeit the trip to Phoenix because it wasn’t in the budget or in the time-off-from-work plan. It’s hard to ask for more time off when you’ve just been in China for a month!
Actually, I feel like we’ve been so busy since being back here that I haven’t really processed everything we experienced in China. I’m going to make some time this weekend to at least privately write down my thoughts. People keep asking us, “So, tell us about China!” And we both sort of falter…because we haven’t had the time to put the stories together, to pick and choose from the many that never made it on the website, and to find the right words to accurately convey what China is like.
I think a part of it, though, is that our life is so fantastically awesome right now that we’re more in the moment than ever before. We had a wonderful time in China, but we’re having a great time here, too, so there isn’t the need to look back and go over all of last month. Because then we’d miss out on enjoying all of this month!
Tonight I’m meeting up with some Yelpers for a Chinese Feast at Frank Ma’s in Chamblee. It’s a large-ish restaurant in this big Chinese shopping center area and the owner, Frank, is always zipping around the restaurant greeting and talking to all of his guests. Mark is bummed to miss out, but he gets his mom’s amazing cooking, so it’s sort of a wash.
My life would be lacking in:
Gnomes
Lumpia
Bling
Panda Bears
Asian Warrior Men
Road Trips
Kitties!
I love you, I love you, I love you!
Happy Anniversary!
So, as you probably noticed from all the China pics (oh goodness, we still have sooooooo many to go through! But we’re sleepy! And busy! I do hope we get around to that, though. In little bits’n'pieces….tangent much? anyhow…) the best travel hairdo for me happens to be pigtail braids. Yes, they make me look 10 years younger and I already look waaay younger than my 26.666 years. But- they’re easy and they get all my hair out of my face and when my hair is all dirty and gresay, you can’t really tell. And unlike a ponytail, pigtail braids don’t make my head uncomfortable when I try to recline on long bus, train, or taxi rides. Ponytails always create a bump in the back, y’know?
Convenience and comfort will almost always win out over fashion and style with me. But I did get really tired of having the exact same hairdo every. single. day. Because I prefer variety to all things, even comfort! It’s not just the spice of my life…it’s like oxygen. I can’t live without it.
Okay- now on the school front. I received some très awesome news today! I’ve been offered a coveted GRA (Graduate Research Assistantship) which means that GSU will be paying ME to go to school there! And work on a really awesome project with the Center for Restorative Justice, to boot. No loans! No debt!! No worrying!!! There’s even a slight chance that in addition to the GRA, which will only be around 12-14 hours per week, I might also be hired to work additional admin hours for the project for even more income. If that happens, I won’t even need to look for part-time work anywhere. How fan-freakin-tastic is that?
Yeah. Life is so good right now I just can’t stop smiling. Time to wake my fiancé up and get some dinner!
(Fiancé….heehee….)
