Sorry it's been so long, but I've had some stuff going on -- primarily OSC's Literary Bootcamp.  Due to popular demand, I'm going to semi-seriously chronicle what I did.  So... here we go:

Day 0

I had gotten home from my dad's the night before at about 11:30 pm.  Up until this point, I hadn't actually done anything to prepare for my trip to Virginia.  So I packed, and I gathered, and I cross-referenced some lists I had made and been given, and got my things together.  It was now about 1:30 am.  I consulted Mapquest online and saw that the total trip time was supposed to be about 16 hours of driving.  They're usually a bit off, but still – to be in Virginia by the 10 pm check-in time, I set my alarm for 4 am.  Obviously, I didn't get much sleep.

I left the house around 6 am, just a couple hours later than I expected.  Last things came up that I had to handle (for example, I had forgotten that I needed to bring my own sheets, etc. for my room… oops).  I drove that day.  Sweet Mary, did I drive.

It wasn't entirely awful.  I had some good tunes. (I long since had given up on trying to listen to the radio in favor of CDs I brought with.  I hate nothing more than having a great radio station only for it to start blurring and being lost in static a few minutes later.)  I drank the cappuccinos at an alarming rate; I'm pretty sure my liver is still reeling from it all. 

The majority of the drive was pretty boring.  Iowa: nothing.  Illinois: nothing.  Kentucky: a few hills with some nothing.  It wasn't until I got further East that the scenery actually started to be impressive.  Right about then, it got dark.  There is nothing quite like driving through mountain-ish roads in West Virginia, at 75 mph, in the dark, whipping around corners just slow enough that your wheels don't scream and just fast enough to make you not feel like a grandpa.  At least I have the drive home to look forward to.  I should be able to see the mountainous area and have Iowa mercifully shrouded in darkness.

Driving through the mountains, though, not being able to see very far ahead of you, I realized how very trusting we as drivers are.  If a sign says you turn left, you turn left.  If you don't, you go sailing off the road Thelma and Louise style.  At one point, there was a sign that said "Left Lane Closed" which is no biggie because I had seen my fair share of construction driving cross-country, but then – there was no construction.  For ten miles, I saw signs that said "Merge Right" or big, flashing arrows pointing me over to the right lane.  Construction never came.  As far as I could tell, that left lane was just taking a breather.  But you know what?  I stayed in the right lane anyway.

That night, I collapsed onto my dorm bed (I'll talk more about the dorms later) and was so tired, I could feel the relief coming off my bones.  Yet, I couldn't sleep.  I sat there wondering why.  Then it hit me.  You know how when you're in the car, driving somewhere, and you start talking to yourself?  Not really talking, but you start thinking about something or another.  What am I going to do tomorrow?  Did I remember everything?  What will life be like in five years?  Then, before you even notice it, you look down and fifty miles have gone by.  In long car trips, this is a blessing.  In even longer ones, it is a curse.

You see, I realized that I actually do the same damned thing when I try to fall asleep.  I think of something or another, talk to myself, until I – usually without noticing – slip off into nothingness.  Well, I had already used up all of my conversations in the car.  As a matter of fact, somewhere around Kentucky, I had tried desperately to think of something to think about – to distract myself from looking at the odometer every 30^th of a second – and I had nothing to think about.  I had run out of topics. 

But then, I realized that while I was laying in bed thinking about not having anything to think about because I already had in the car, that in and of itself was thinking about something and I graciously passed out a few minutes later.

 

WoW!

I'm so glad you're writing again.

HEY O!!!! Happy to read your stuff again, and a once more HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I just wanted to say that I fully agree with you about falling asleep. I usually think about all those things you mentioned - what will i do tomorrow is the most common. Then, like you, I don't even notice myself falling into a happy, or not so happy, sleep.

And I wonder why it takes me at least a half hour to fall asleep each night! That is also why I can't take naps during the day - my mind is just on overdrive all day long!!

Missed you!! Glad to see you're back and that you had a great time

MUAH!

Well you getting ready at the last minute is nothing new, but I am surprised that YOU actually got ready. I would have thought your mom would have had your bags packed, at least, and all you would have to do is get in the car and drive.