the year's twilight

lately:
-$4 lip gloss yay
-hugging Trin
-rain and introversion
-facebook albums
-soup
-$15 Manolo Blahniks
-wise housing choices
-ipod sermons
-cliffhanger book ending
-rich dad poor dad
-peaceful, tidy room
-desiring contentment in all things

Thank you, 2006. It's been a good year.
Philippians 4:11-13

home sweet san dog

Just called five people about possible housing in San Diego. Eeee!! Weird how some simple things can be rather exhausting. Though it's possible that the fact that I got up 2 hours earlier than usual this morning and that it's now midnight might be a contributing factor... Well, I really like the sound of this one place and have talked to 2 of the girls living there. It would be great if I got it.

Hugs to all! I'm feeling teddy-bear-ish.

girly frivolities and axle grease

In general I'm not real thrilled with all the chain stores that smother America. I noticed it a lot coming back, that practically all the stores around are chains. Cloned plastic and steel rectangles of predictable and indeed confusingly similar stores. Haven't you ever been in a Target in a new city and had that disorienting feeling that you could be anywhere in the US? Granted, I like Target a lot. Better than, say, K-Mart or Jo-Ann Fabrics. But still... when I have to remind myself of my geographic location while shopping, it's a bit of a turn off.

And yet I have to say that I LOVE Payless Shoe Store. Yes, it smells funny, yes, half the shoes are plastic. But I have been waiting to go to a Payless for 8 months! They had Payless in Australia but it was different. The selection was pretty limited, the styles were tacky, and worst of all, they only had a few pairs of shoes in my tiny foot size. [side note: Australia's got Target too but it's like a ghetto K-Mart. Not just K-Mart. A ghetto K-Mart. So sad.] So today I borrowed a friend's car for a few hours and almost the first place I went was Payless Shoes. Imagine my ecstatic expression when I saw three quarters of a wall of shoes in my size! And more than that, they have varied, cute, trendy styles, and they're cheap without being junky! It meant I was finally, finally able to find a pair of slip-on flats to wear with my skirts that weren't an inch too long. They are berry colored and have a medium-width ribbon threading in and out around the rim with a nice bow at the front of the opening. (Rim? is this what one calls the edge opening of a shoe where one inserts one's foot? 'Hole' was the only other word I could come up with, and it sounds unattractive.)

OH! and as I was writing this blog post I got a phone call from my mechanic who says the first guy who checked on my car had checked it with the engine flooded and was totally wrong, so rather than needing $1000 worth of new engine it just needs some gas and a good service, and that so far what he's done will cost me $20. That is 2% of what I was budgeting for. That's almost the best news I've heard in three months.

cultcha shock

I'm back in the US, back in San Diego. 8 months isn't a very long time in the scheme of things, but it is a long time to be out of your country. All these things that used to be and should be familiar and habitual are not, and it's kind of unsettling. So much for culture shock.
But truly I do love the bones of this city. The hills, the desert, the coast, the freeways. Welcome back, Julie.

in which All Is Revealed

I haven't really said much of substance in the last month. That's because I was waiting to see how things were going to turn out and didn't have a lot to talk about while I was in limbo. But now it's all settled.

On December 13 I will depart Australia to return to the U.S. I have eaten enough mangoes and kiwis to last me for months -- I'm actually tired of them, which I would have said was impossible, and I am ready to come back HOME.

And between now and then I am having myself a vacation!!! I've already spent the last two days seeing all the bits of Sydney that I hadn't been to and wanted to, and on Tuesday I fly up to Cairns to see the rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef for 4 1/2 days! I have never been on a tropical vacation before, and man am I excited. This is one of the great natural wonders of the world, and I get to see it!! I will take lots of pictures for you, but it won't be the same as actually being there, feeling the air and the ocean and the sand and the water, smelling the salt, getting brown, getting back to the hotel at the end of the day exhausted, sandy, warm, and oh so happy.

Then when I get back to Sydney Keryn and I are going bushwalking for a day.

Already I've visited:
-Watson's Bay
-South Head
-Sydney Aquarium
-Royal Botanical Gardens
-got back from the last two this afternoon and was all hot and sweaty so I went swimming in the sea at 5 o' clock. It was great.

I'm also going home to Michigan for the holidays, which is exciting. Time to transition, process, love my family, remember how I hate the cold, see Anneli, re-evaluate, get pointed in the next direction. I'm excited about this adventure. AAAAHHHH!!!!