Friday, January 8, 2010

reflections...and vegas

Time based at home - 4 months.
Road trips taken - 3
Visitors to the Miller homestead - 2 out-of-state and the usual motley crew.
Beers consumed - significantly less than previous trips home!

And so it begins again. Everyone says at the end of Peace Corps do spend some decompression time at home. I finally did it. I am so decompressed my head just might float off my body. It's been great to do the holiday thing with my family but nothing like a solid dose of good ole American consumerism to chase me back on the road...or sea rather.
It's true, I am off for round two of fishing... and don't feel bad about it either. The more experience I can get out there, the more I will learn about the issues facing our oceans. And, let's call it like it is, this job also allows me to avoid that panicky feeling I get when I pay my bills. But isn't that the point of having a job in the first place, to pay the bills? I'm finding that to be true and yet it never fails to incite a rebellion in me. Employment is not a purgatory! Looking forward to another season of physical labor, biting cold, and the genuine camaraderie found only among those kept in tight quarters for a long period of time. And then there's that whole fish smell thing...
Currently sitting in the Las Vegas airport on a 4-hour layover. Won $20 in the slots and never need to do it again. Though it did pay for my exorbitantly priced bagel sandwich. I looked like a monkey pressing the buttons until I got something to work. Nothing like giving the token booth woman her daily chuckle. Was supposed to fly to Seattle yesterday but Mother Nature just was not having it. Mom and I braved the highway today in our little black Nissan that drove like a roller skate the whole way there. This is by far the most luggage I've ever taken as I don't know when I'll be back and Heaven forbid I require my "foxy grandma" t-shirt and not have it! I will say I am impressed with SouthWest Airlines! No baggage fees and I got plenty of updates right to my cell phone alerting me to the current travel conditions. Not to mention the WILDLY cheery and slightly silly flight attendants... though did get a little creeped out when Pam the southern bell whispered over the intercom that we were all "getting very sleepy and didn't want those peanuts that give us gas anyhow"...
On to Seattle where I plan on tackling the public transport again until I get close enough to the docks for an affordable taxi ride. Occupiers of the handicap/elderly/pregnant bus seats beware!

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