Janet’s Webpage

For some reason I didn’t think of ordering Internet right away… Now there is none at the apartment.
Anyway, it’ll probably be a few days before I write the next post.

What a hectic weekend. I’m exhausted but I think Jennifer’s worse off since she did not sleep well both nights she was here.
The mover was scheduled to come on Sunday morning, so on Saturday Jennifer and I went to look for a dinning table. It feels like every time I get a new job, I buy a new dinning set. Last time that was the only big furniture purchase I’ve made also. We got a great deal on this trussle table with 6 chairs and 2 leaves at an antique shop. It was marked at $900 and we got it for $300. It looked a bit awkward in the shop, but it fit in real well in my apartment.
Saturday night, we went to Sushant’s part. I didn’t bring the Shiraz in the end since Jennifer forgot my request and bought a red Zinfandel instead. I also had a chance to ask Mike if I can borrow his truck. He said the same thing SO said: you’re awfully popular when you have a truck.
The mover came on Sunday. I felt really bad for him because my apartment is on the third floor and there are no elevators. Then I felt bad for myself since I had to move a ton of stuff as well. Mike came and gave us a hand with the table, and Jennifer and I unpacked about two thirds of the stuff already. If I had packed and moved myself, I would have tossed out a lot more items. Now it seems that I’ve moved my messy room from Michigan to Maryland with no changes.

I sent Jennifer off and now I’m alone again. Not that I had company when I was in the hotel, but at the apartment it feels different. Out of my 27 long years, I’ve only been alone for less than 1.5 years. One year during senior year of high school when I had a single room in the dorms. The other 6 months was when I started working at AEP and had an apartment in Bridgman. Those times hardly counts though; there were always people in the dorms and I dated/lived with somebody during most of those first 6 months. Maybe it’ll get better…
After I unpack, I’ll take pictures of the new apartment and post them up.

I updated WordPress and now I’ve lost my photo album and links!!

I got a call from SO saying that Jason’s been sick all last night I hope they are feeling better.

The nice thing about the Appalachian Trail is that, unless you’re in Maine or Georgia, you would never accidentally walk off the trail. So I was really miffed yesterday when I couldn’t figure out where I ended up at. After coming back to the hotel, I probably spent an hour looking on Google Map, trying to find my turn around point in that corridor. For a while, I was convinced that I hiked through Gathland and was close to the Virginia boarder. Then I remembered that it’s illogical to think I can hike that fast.
This morning, I consulted Barry’s map again. Sadly, I was just short of Lamb’s Knoll which is close to the half way point between Reno Monument and Gathland State Park. Upon close inspection, I think there’s another parking lot close to the shelter and I may be able to start another hike midway, instead of splitting the whole distance two ways only.

I signed the lease today and felt a little bit sad about it. The apartment’s fine, and I have to live SOMEWHERE. Just that paying $1000 in rent gets me down a bit… I can be paying mortgage with that money, or my car loan… *sigh*

After signing the lease, I went hiking.
I started out at Reno Monument. From the map I borrowed from Barry, it looks about 6 miles from Reno Monument to Gathland State Park. So the plan was to hike south about 3 miles to some random point in the middle from Reno Monument, then drive to Gathland State Park and hike north for 3 miles some other day. About 6 miles round trip for each hike.
Well, I was counting on seeing a side trail that looks about the half way point on the map. In the end, I either didn’t make it or passed by it without noticing. Now I have no idea how long I’ve hiked… but it sure feels like a LONG time…
On the way back, I met 3 hikers going the other direction. They stopped and chatted for a while, which is rare. Hikers usually just nod and walk past without saying much. When I was about to leave, one of them asked if I’d like to join them at a pub tomorrow night. I told him I’d think about it, but now that I thought about it, I guess I don’t think I’ll be going.

This is a revaluation from driving in PA on Sunday (yes, driving alone on dark and narrow mountain roads make you think pretty hard about your life) - I should do more for myself.
I’ve always wanted to take Japanese courses or piano lessons, but those are things that I didn’t pursue because they cost too much. I stopped my riding lessons for the same reason.
Now I wonder if I should try and have a more fulfilling life, something more than a career. Since chasing career is the obvious reason why I was driving through forsaken towns in the first place.

With the exception that I think I say the wrong thing all the time…

Last week, John told me that he stocks candies in his drawer for everyone. He asked me which kind of chocolate I like, and I told him I like those Lindt ones. Sara, who was also there, said “Oh, I know. Those are expensive chocolates.” I felt HORRIBLE I should have said dark chocolate or anything without nuts…
Then there was today… My supervisor, Sushant, is throwing a party this Saturday and John and I asked him what we should bring. I joked that if he doesn’t specify what people should bring, he’ll end up with 50 bottles of wine. Sushant was taken back and asked, “people… drink in the afternoon?” My look told him that I’d be drinking first thing in the morning if possible. So he politely asked me what kind of wine I drink. I told him that there’s this Australian wine called Shiraz that I really like. Sushant had the same expression that John had when I told him about the Lindt chocolate… Now I feel like I want to dig a hole and die…
This creates the super complicated problem for Saturday: Should I bring a bottle of Shiraz??? Or should I forget the whole thing and just bring flowers?

These Maryland people… I just can’t understand them… Back in Michigan, I’d know exactly what to bring: two bottles of reds for the girls and a case of Guinness for the boys. Here, I have no clue.

When I sat down in front of the computer, I was thinking: “Just got back… Too grumpy… Shouldn’t write blog…” And here I am again…

If I’m indifferent towards the Midwest, then I’m hating the East Coast for its traffic. It seems like I’m constantly running into closed lanes and burning buses. Whenever I try to drive somewhere further than half an hour away, there’s bound to be delays that will keep me within the same 2 miles in one hour. My 9 hour drive turned into a 12 hour on my way back (PA Turnpike closed half way), and I was ANGRY…
There are three folds of realizations that came with this: 1) It’s a bit like college courses. It’s torturous when you’re in it, but afterwards you don’t feel much anymore. 2) When I call people to complain about my misfortunes, the underlying tone is usually “I told you so…” I keep thinking about what my friend said in reply when I told him I’ll try to drive back once a month: “um… no you won’t.” 3) I need to treat myself better. I am spoiled and selfish, but I definitely do not deserve to be driving on Pennsylvania mountain roads with warning signs such as “DUI, YOU CANNOT AFFORD IT” and “HIGH ACCIDENT AREA, CAUTION AGGRESSIVE DRIVERS” on a Sunday night.

Phil invited me to join him and his wife at the Urbana carnival today.
It’s been a while since I’ve been to a carnival (I think the last time was with SO, Jason, Glen, and Katina), but I forget how much fun it is. I don’t go on the rides, but I love watching people who are getting spinned around in fifty different directions.
There was a buffet dinner and a oldies band playing. I stayed for a few songs but then had to go home. I wanted to have some time to pack before going to bed tonight since I’m driving back to Michigan after work tomorrow.

The main problem, for me, is that I want to ramble a lot. Especially lately when I’m just sitting in my hotel room waiting for the laundry to get done. From reading other people’s blogs, I know long blogs are not fun to read. Good blogs usually include lots of visuals to keep the readers going. Some of my audience have short attention span, so I’ve been trying to keep my entries short.
The other problem is, of course, that blogs are public (at least mine is). I remember watching Desperate Housewives and one line jumped out, “Officer, do you know of any woman who loans out her diary?” I’m paraphrasing here, but I guess I’m that woman.
The reason why I write daily entries, aside from the occasional bitching and bragging, is because my family and friends read this. Dad reads it daily during lunch. Mom, Jennifer, and Jason reads it occasionally. SO rarely reads this because we talk everyday, but sometimes SO’s family or Glen and Katina read it. Then there are the high school/college friends who glance through it once in a while. I also keep the site up for my collector buddies who bookmark my page for their hobby (collecting EC).
Now here’s the big problem: I got cyber stalkers…
I know I can’t prove it, but it’s one of those things that I just KNOW. For example, this guy at work TALKS to me about my blogs. He’ll say something like: “Been hiking lately? Me? I just walk under the sun.” This comment was made the day after I wrote about my hike on the A.T. and I specifically mentioned that the whole trail is shaded. He never comes out and tell me he’s reading my web page, but a lot of our conversation references what I wrote the day before.
He should really just tell me. Seriously, I’d understand. Who hasn’t look up a few names on Google before? I usually make it a point to tell my acquaintances if I’m reading their blogs, just to take the freakiness out of it. It’s common courtesy.