Ponderous

While I was washing my face tonight, I looked at my hair. I got it cut quite short at my last appointment with a brand new stylist, and she definitely gave me my money's worth. I' m pretty sure I won't have to have it cut again before the wedding.

But as I looked at it, I noticed highlights. I thought this was odd, considering I haven't been outside all that much. And then it dawned on me.

Those aren't highlights. They're white, not gray, hairs. Stark white.

It's time to start the all-over coloring.

Hot in the City

Well, after 9 hours in the car yesterday, I finally made it to Arkansas to see my Wiley.

For those of you who have iTunes, you can download an audiobook called The Alchemist - very good story, about 4 hours long...it REALLY helped me pass the hours by in the car (especially when the AC started blowing water vapor into the car and I thought I was going to end up on the side of the road).

Today has been wedding, wedding, wedding. We got a sample of our bottom layer - very tasty - and decided on the other three layers. From there it was over to the hairstylist, where my hair was teased and done all up like it would be for the wedding. Pretty good, but we'll see what I can do once I get the headband (any ideas for something that DOESN'T look like a tiara?). After that it was dropping the engagement photo off at a store in town and checking out the china and flatware I'd only seen online (I have great taste), then on to lunch to sample the BBQ we'll be having at our Friday night feast (if you like pork, you'll like this, but I got chicken strips and those were also excellent), and then on to the florist,who unfortunately didn't have anything for us because her computer crashed and her images were all on there. But we went through price and she said she'd make a sample bouquet out of artificial flowers so I could see the colors together. Out: terra cotta roses. In: Chinese red roses.

Now it's on to see the officiant, and then off to try to find a nice black suit.

But not before I grab one more sliver of cake.

it'shereit'shereit'shereit'shere

The Golden Egg arrived today. I heard a door open. A man's voice said, "Hey there." The secretary up front answered in kind. "Have a nice day," the male voice said. And with that, the door closed.

Deflated, I went back to work.

Five minutes later, the door opened again, and a male voice said, "This was in the back of the truck. Looks a little beat up." My ears perked up. It had to be my dress.

My little red light on the phone lit up. "It's here."

I bolted the 12 steps to the front of the office and looked at my package. Poor wrap job. Can see inside. Where the hell is my dress? I rip open the package, and sure enough, there's my dress, all folded up and ready to be worn.

I tried to try it on in the bathroom, but with a corset back, that's difficult to do when you're the only one. It's not like putting a bra on, where when you were a kid, you were so inexperienced that you had to fasten the damn thing in front of you and then twist it around and then put the twins in. So I waited until tonight, when I could go to a friend's house, and she pulled and strung the lace in the eyelets, and a half hour later, I was strapped in and not going anywhere. It looks fabulous. I'm going to be one hot bride.

Tracking.

My dress left its point of origin in Ohio on Thursday. It sat in another part of Ohio until today. Then it showed up in Hodgkins, Indiana. Google Maps said, "WTF? There's no Hodgkins, Indiana." Kinda funny when Google Maps spazzes like that. An hour later, my dress showed up in Hodgkins, Illinois. A half hour ago, it left Hodgkins, Illinois.

Yeah, I'm a little anxious to get this thing...it was only promised to me a month ago! And I'm a bit worried that I've not seen any pictures of it yet, which is not what was supposed to happen.

So, if this doesn't work out, anyone got a spare wedding gown?

UPDATE: Now my dress is in Davenport, Iowa. I do not understand why it keeps going north and west from where I am. Anybody know exactly how this UPS ground shipping works?????

Twiddling.

A day can go so slowly when you are waiting for something to happen. I'm waiting for Wiley to call and tell me he's landed, but his last flight of the day has been delayed. In an effort to keep myself preoccupied all day, I've picked blueberries, taken a nap, talked to family (though I would've done that anyway because during the weekend my minutes are free), done a little online shopping, watched various movies and episodes of Nip/Tuck, ripped off a toenail that had it coming, read pages from a book, and checked to see if I knew anyone new on Facebook. It's this last preoccupation that has prompted me to write.

High school wasn't exactly a glorious time for me. I fared pretty well - was a cheerleader for a couple of years, played volleyball, dated a guy, was the principal 2nd violinist, seemed to have a fair number of friends....but I have only kept in touch with a handful, and I really could care less about the rest. My best friend and I had a parting of the ways, my mother died, my father continued his quest down the bottle, and I ended up living with my grandparents, who were cool, but I missed having a shower and air conditioning. But hey, I got a cat.

I noticed quite a few of my former friends on FB, and I'm faced with the option of pretending they don't exist or perhaps contacting them to see if they want to get back in touch. Many of them have children now, though some don't. One of them has what looks like a nude picture of Magnum P.I. as his picture, but I honestly think it's him. Many of them stayed in town, which is something that puzzles me - not just about my classmates, but people in general - I was never one who wanted to stay in my hometown. Jiminycricket, I'd been there for 22 years. Time to get out and see the world! You can always go home and visit - but to stay? Maybe I have it backwards and should've stayed home and visited the rest of the world.

And while I'm looking through their pictures, I wonder where some of them are (as the profiles don't say), and when looking at others', that competitive drive stirs.

Where does this come from? Here are people I haven't seen in well over 13 years (ohmygawd), probably will never see them again, yet there's this little voice that says, Well, look at what some of them have done. What about you? Look at your pathetic number of friends! Loser!

Can someone please shut this voice up? Apparently my booze of choice isn't working.

The Day Before

In 15 minutes, I will wake Wiley up for the last time this year in Sarajevo. He will be on several flights tomorrow, navigating through airports and security, to come back to the U.S. It is very bittersweet.

I enjoyed my time abroad, even though I had my share of difficulties (language barrier, not a fan of lamb, stinky, slow trains and long busrides to get anywhere else in Europe). I enjoyed hearing about Wiley's adventures, though I hated the fact that I wasn't still there with him to experience everything first-hand. And I have an online diary of our relationship, which is always nice to reread.

On the other hand, after a couple of months, I got tired of the online relationship. Bloomington isn't the same. I miss my partner. We're facing a move at the end of this month (this will be the third time this year I've moved, not including one more at the end of August into our new digs), and Wiley's muscles will be a welcome sight. It'll be nice to snuggle up again, or take a nap, in Wiley's arms.

So tomorrow, while he is fighting sleep and stressing out that his 2 bags may be over 50 pounds each, I'll be stressing about him making his connections and if he was able to take his carryon and personal item on board with him. I hope to sleep late and then to work to keep my mind somewhat distracted until he arrives safe and sound at the airport near his parent's home. And then in 6 days, I get to claim him as mine again.

This week better go fast.

In the meantime, Scribblings from Sarajevo will probably undergo a few changes, maybe take a hiatus, as neither of us will be in Sarajevo for quite some time.

Time to wake the man.

Envy.

Look at my blueberries. I picked over six cups today. That makes 12 cups in my freezer. Do you want some? Are you jealous of my berries? Mmmhmmm, I think so. I know that look. I know you are. You want my berries.
Tough noogies.