Welp, I will skip over most of the boring GRE stuff. To surmise- in the end, I studied pretty hard, but still didn't do as well as I would have liked. I am retaking the test in 60 days from New Zealand. After I finished taking the GRE and left the testing site where the most rude women I have ever met were employed, Maria, Sarah, and I spent the day together. It was fun and funny to be with them, until about 10:00 pm. At 10:00 pm, Maria and Sarah forced me into a theatre where I "watched" Paranormal Activity 3. Now, I placed quotes around "watched," because the majority of the movie I spent hiding behind my sweatshirt and watching it's blue stitching instead of the pointlessly terrifying movie on the screen in front of me.
The next day I left for West Virginia. I made a little stop in Winchester and had a goodbye dinner with the wonderful Lori, whom I will sorely miss, and then headed to Lars' and Liesel's. This visit was a little different. Liesel was at work all day Wednesday and Thursday, so I got to spend some quality time with Lars. I now know at least 100 more facts about the Civil War (this will impress you: I can now tell the difference between the three types of Confederate Jackets, ha!), and was thoroughly charmed and endeared by him.
I shot my first gun on Friday. I have always been pretty petrified of guns; the mere sight of them used to make my stomach curl. I don't like being afraid of things, so that day, I not only looked at one bravely, but I held multiple guns, and even shot one! Liesel documented the big moment for me. I can pretty safely say that I will never own a gun; I can definitely say that I will never shoot an animal, but I have to admit that it was pretty fun.
That week I went to a few really excellent shows, stood on the roof of an opera house, smelled and watched others consume Ramp Wine, scraped paint off a 100 year old barn, looked at real estate far too expensive for my currently humble means (most remarkably a house on the river built in 1780, that I would love to live in), admired the changing leaves on the tallest of trees, read, and wrote. I love that farm, almost as much as I love Lars and Liesel.
On Saturday, I met up with Carolyn, and we hiked the C&O canal trail. The scenery was just beautiful, and the company was just perfect. That night I drove my little van back to Hampton Roads and went to celebrate Sarah's birthday at a local club. I ended up having a really great night and I even managed to avoid talking about anything intellectual with uninterested strangers.
Lars' Confederate Jackets hanging from trees so that they would weather more naturally
"I could stand here all day contemplating the hell out of these jackets!"
(or something like that)
Lars and Liesel!
a still from the little video of me shootin' gunz!
Lars' band 'The Fox Hunt' in Winchester
The fall in Virginia (or West Virginia) is better than fall anywhere else
The C&O canal trail
Simone was home!
all grown up.
I leave for New Zealand in less than a week from now. I am growing a little more anxious as each day passes, but I am mostly just tremendously excited for my new life to begin.
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