Ahhhh, That's Better

I just got back from a long weekend in the City of Light. I feel like I went on a vacation.

I left as soon as I got back home after a stressful day of taking a poorly written Spanish exam and finishing my Copyright paper. I got halfway through the paper and realized that I was arguing both sides of the question and wasn't really sure which side I meant to be arguing. I turned it in approximately 30 seconds before the deadline and hightailed it out to the bus stop, then on to home, where I threw a bunch of clothes into a suitcase and hit the road.

Really, I would have liked to take a nap before setting out on the long drive, but it was already after 6 pm, so I took a big mug of coffee and resolved to take my time and be careful. The drive up was uneventful, except for the fact that I had to pull over several times to go to the bathroom, thanks to that large mug of coffee. I made it to Finbar's soon-to-be-old apartment without a problem and soon I was ensconced on the big blue couch with a big honking glass of cabernet and a greasy pizza (object of intense craving for the past two weeks) was on its way. Monsters Inc was on Disney Channel and much to my delight, I had arrived just minutes after it began. I love that movie and was soon giggling hysterically, prompting Finbar to remark, "It's not that funny, but I understand."

Aaaand then we spent Saturday looking at apartments. It was actually good and we found three really great options. You really could have flipped a (hypothetical, three-sided) coin and it would have been a good choice. This was a huge relief for Finbar, who's been understandably on edge since moving into the Horrible Terrible No-Good Very Bad Apartment. And a great load off my mind, as I worry about Finbar when he's on edge.

After finishing the bottle of wine and taking a good cabernet-induced nap, we went to the ballet. I'm saving that experience for it's own very special post. Suffice it to say that the Hammer of Thor was invoked numerous times.

Sunday, I got my IHOP fix (why, oh why, can't we get an IHOP or at least a Perkins here??). We took a long, meandering walk in my old neighborhood, soaking in the sun and talking about everything and nothing. I love those walks. When I lived in the City of Light, we took a long walk after dinner most nights starting as soon as the weather got warm, right up until Fall truly settled in and it got too dark to walk before dinner was over. Last summer, we were both here in Our Fair City, and we continued the habit, though the walks were somewhat abridged, limited by geography and the demands of law school. This is the first summer in four years that we won't be able to take our summer walks. That makes me so sad. Somehow, it just makes the ache of missing Finbar all the more acute. That night, we made nibblies and opened a bottle of chardonnay. It was good to have a baked Brie again-- too expensive and too many calories to make for just me, but just right to share for a decadent treat.

Monday, I had a nice leisurely morning, sleeping until 9 a.m., getting pastries from the local bakery across the street, taking a bath... Then I got dressed and headed out to Finbar's place of employment to meet him for lunch and meet his collegues. I was actually quite looking forward to it. Finbar is so happy there and talks about the people he works with all the time, so I was really interested to meet them and be able to picture a face and some part of a personality when he talks about work. And everyone was really nice and friendly. I ended up talking to his boss-boss about public interest and volunteer work for quite some time. She seems like a very articulate, opinionated, but nice person. After lunch, I trawled the huge Amvets store for work clothes. Monday night, we went to Sears to look at washers, which may not sound exciting, but actually is when you're as sick of renting as Finbar and I are, and when it symbolizes a concrete step toward becoming "real grown-ups". A good long snuggle on the couch capped it off. I miss that: being able to just lay my head on Finbar's chest and listen to the sound of his heart.

Today, I drove home and did the speed limit the entire way down (or at least 93% of it). It took more than half an hour longer than my normal speed, which is slightly slower than Finbar and a lot faster than my mom. It was kind of fun to set the cruise control and watch the drivers swing impatiently into the left lane to go around me-- how dare I do the speed limit?-- and even more fun to watch them all slam the brakes when we came over the crest of a hill and into the view of a state trooper with his radar gun pointed at us. Not fun enough to make me stop speeding on the trip in the future, but an amusing change of pace, anyway. I also got stuck in a massive traffic jam just north of the city, caused by a big wreck with at least four cars involved, one of which was flipped. The police kept having to stop the traffic entirely so that the emergency crews could pick up the things that had come flying out of the cars (laundry, books, etc) in the accident. I was so glad that I had left early enough to avoid the beginning of rush hour. Otherwise, I'd probably still be sitting on the highway, waiting for my turn to go.

I miss Finbar already. But I feel about 1000 times less stressed than I did this time last week.