Fare Thee Well

Well, then. I leave for the church in about an hour; we load up our luggage and drive to Pittsburgh, where we have a 5:40 flight. According to my flight schedule, we change planes in Memphis and arrive in Mobile, Alabama at 8:55, from which we presumably are driven to Pascagoula, Mississippi. 

(By the way, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. AAAAGH! Trying not to panic, but I feel so--unprepared, I suppose. I've never done anything like this before. I'm afraid I'll mess up, or somehow deprive myself of the rewarding experience this is supposed to be. Then again, I am Chronically Paranoid.) 

So, I have everything packed--camera, clothing, towels, 50 SPF sunscreen (I have no desire whatsoever to be tanned), hardcore bugspray (equally adverse to being bitten), Jo March-like gigantic straw hat, music, books (Blue Like Jazz, The Importance of Being Earnest, Americans' Favourite Poems, a few other assorted titles, and the Eliot and Rilke which I take everywhere), and my chocolate mint cookies. I have been showered, brushed, and Naired. I have burned myself four CDs (three mixes, one of Dad's). I suppose this means I'm ready. (Don't panic, Banui.) 

Dad called last night; he wanted to talk to me before I left. He told me about all the restaurants he's been enjoying in Denver--I remember him mentioning a Persian restaurant and an Indian one--and his general successes in locating old friends; and then he prayed with me about the trip. (He also sat in front of a Target while on the phone, out of pure spite. ^-^ We have none here.) 


On the bad news front, my mum's slightly--er--interesting relatives from Colorado are coming for a "surprise" visit. That is, it was a surprise visit until my uncle spilled the beans to Dad, who called Mum to warn her. They'll be arriving just before I get back, and while Dad is still gone. Pray that we do not all go mad. 

On the exceedingly good news front: I mentioned on my Xanga but neglected to post here that we have to move out of our house by the end of August, because we can't be certain we'll be here through the winter, so we can't sign a new contract with our landlord. This sent us for a bit of a spin, as we had no idea where we'd be able to go. But, praise God, we're going to be able to live in our friends the Meholicks' house when they move out (which is before we have to). Father M (also known as Father Jack Sparrow) is an Orthodox priest, and his family's lived in the rectory next to the church for over a decade, but they finally bought their own house, as they have six children (and most likely counting) and the rectory's getting rather crowded. They've been lobbying with their church board to let us stay in the rectory until Dad has a job and we can move somewhere more permenant, and we just got the news that we've been approved! Honestly, I think this is the best possible place we could be moving for a transition time, as it's a place that is very familiar, welcoming, and comfortable, in a neighbourhood we're at least mildly familiar with, so the disorentation factor will not be overwhelming. (Also, it's walking distance from the college library, and there's an ice cream truck that makes the rounds down that street.) 

Well--I'll see you lot on the thirtieth, unless by some miracle I come by a computer in Mississippi (unlikely, I suppose). Shall return with scads of pictures and stories to tell. ♥!