Hiatus

Well it's been quite a while since I posted. Life has been really crazy. I had to move on a couple of weeks notice. Our landlord gave us one month, but Lance and I were out of town on alternating weekends, so there really was only one week to move. I took a Tuesday off, found a house that day, and we moved that Saturday. That Sunday I spent sitting among unpacked boxes writing a short story for my fiction class. Unfortunately, I didn't finish. Work kept me busy until Wednesday when I flew back to Illinois for my five-year class reunion. Illinois is beautiful this time of year. The air was cool, the grass was a lush green, and the trees were just beginning to change colors. It was my first real vacation since before China, and I was finally able to let down. Nothing is more relaxing than having lunch with my family on the back porch and watching the wind sway the grass and leaves. It was great to spend time with my family. My dad and I hung out at my bother-in-law Tobie's bike shop in DeKalb, North Central Cyclery. I received some education about mountain bikes and purchased a Giant Rainier. My coworker Ali has already scheduled our first expedition for next Saturday, although, as I'm writing this I'm remembering that I have a retreat next weekend. Suck. That night Tobie was riding from the bike shop to my parent's house for dinner and collided with his good friend Luke coming from the opposite direction. That the two of them would run into each other in the countryside was such a bizarre scenario that my sister didn't believe Luke when he called her. The only injury was Tobie's dislocated clavicle, which was not as severe as we feared, but a huge inconvenience as he runs a bike shop and does book binding. The reason for my trip was Wheaton's Homecoming. I got to see some old friends, some newer friends, and make some more friends. I realized that my real family at Wheaton was the Cross Country team, and was thankful that I got to see a few of them, but wish I could've seen more. I went to the football game which I must admit was only third Wheaton game I've been to. We won in triple overtime which made for a good ride, but the best part is that I watched it with Ena who having grown up in Hong Kong and Canada had only seen a football game once before. I never realized how complicated and bizarre it is until seeing it through her eyes. The players constantly stop, they only get a certain number of turns, going out of bounds isn't always a bad thing, some kinds of contact are okay but others aren't, the variety and consequences of penalties are completely bewildering. Homecoming ended with a late night concert with classmate Jake Armerding. He and his father on violin, guitar, and mandolin were brilliant. It was a beautiful way to go out, although I was totally exhausted by the end. The only down side of the last month is that between unpacking and work I felt that I needed to drop my fiction class. I really enjoyed it, but simply didn't have the time. Maybe my life will calm down now. Last night we sent off our Costa Rican employees who have been training here for the last two months. We've been impressed with them (although I did have to fire one--an awful experience the Monday after I moved). My boss is suggesting that I may go down there soon. We'll see if that pans out. I'm sure I'm forgetting a million things, but so much has happened lately. I hope I've captured a sliver of it.