And I'm Back

Huzzah for returning to the blogging world. And, I suppose, returning to the world of New Zealand again. Unfortunately, I think one of the major things I brought back with me to home sweet New Zealand is a big, fatty cold. Well, it's pending anyway. If precedence is any indication, I will lick this thing before it gets too underway. My first big attack was taking Nyquil last night before bed. No, it didn't make me sleepy then. Now however? Yeah, tired as could be, with the added bonus of a medicine-induced stupor to go along with it.

But the oddest thing about coming back to NZ is not the pending cold, it's the general transition. I shifted flats right before I left, so I have been a busy little bee preparing my new place. Plus, the treacherous expedition from Madison to Dunedin (which will be funny someday. Not today, but someday.) disoriented me a bit. But here are some fun little things I learned while away and returning, list style:

• SuperWalmart is a scarily large thing: "But, Mom! I really can't see the end of the store!!"
• Everyone told me it would be so incredibly weird to be back in the States, and it really wasn't. It's kind of like how Christmas loses its magic as you get older.
• I can't drink as much beer as I used to. I can, however, still sleep on the bathroom floor like a champ.
• Americana can be defined for me personally in three words: greasy spoon diner.
• There is never, ever enough time to be spent with family and friends.
• United Airlines can kiss my buttocks.
• Eating your weight in vegetarian corndogs several times over in a two week span can make you feel uber-fantastic.
• I like to pretend that I'm not materialistic, but not having a dryer might be the end of me. I was not meant to hang clothes on a clothesline; it's unnatural.
• Going to the hospital alone on Christmas Eve morning? Not as bad as you might think.
• Having a constant and simultaneous phone line and internet connection makes me the happiest girl in the world.
• Starting your day off right, with an Annika breakfast (2 eggs overeasy with hashbrowns, mixed all together with a ton of hot sauce and rye toast on the side), will change your whole perspective on life.

And I'm spent. There are more stories, or at least in depth stories that I will write beautifully at a later date. :) But moral of the story is that I'm back, I'm moving in slowly but surely, and it actually feels pretty freakin' good.