Adventure #6: It's the Little Things In Life

Hello, Dear Readers and Happy Post-Adventure Day #6!

That's right, this is Week Six following graduation (still getting used to the passing of time).  While the passing days seem uneventful to some, I'm still continuing the blog because I'm able to take something from the littlest moments and enjoy them, learn from them, and share the memories with anyone willing to listen.  Willing to listen?  Then it's time for me to share.

Are you surprised to hear that I had an early wake-up?  Because yesterday I did--it's further preparation to get 'on track' with a legitimate sleep schedule for Thumbs Up Camp NEXT WEEK.  There, I said it:  Thumbs Up Camp starts next Tuesday, and it certainly seems to have creeped up on me!  Sure, lots of hours have been spent preparing for camp, but that still doesn't mean that plenty more hours are ahead of me, the other co-leaders, and even our camp counselors.  But hey--it's for the kids, and that certainly makes it worth it!

Flat screen TV in the basement here at home?
Let's just say I enjoy it.  AND I enjoy the DVR.
Because that's how I was able to watch Beauty
and the Beast.  Be jealous.  ;)

So I got up yesterday at 6:30 a.m.  That's EARLY.  The plus side:  I read in bed for a few minutes, took my time making my way upstairs, made myself a delicious sugar cookie smoothie (recipe at:  http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/05/23/sugar-cookie-milkshake/), and spent too much time on the internet, as always.  THEN I felt lazy and decided that I would get my dose of yoga in.  And I decided to make the stretching session even more enjoyable by watching Beauty and the Beast at the same time.  (Yes, I believe in multi-tasking.  Yes, I am good at it.)

But just because I'm good at multi-tasking doesn't mean that I don't get distracted...  I volunteered to be a guest speaker at camp in a couple weeks, so I'll be talking about culture and Japan, since I lived there for six year with my lovely military family.  And after stretching (felt SO good!), I spent the rest of the movie looking through old pictures and gathering together a few things to share with the campers.  I plan ahead--way ahead--but I'm excited for my chance to share and speak on a little piece of my life.

Oh hey, believe it or not, I actually got dressed at some point.  Yup, #AlumBum no more (or at least not recently...) because I was dressed by 11 a.m.  And I thought I'd be a good sister and play with the littest bruddah Jonah for a bit before lunch because he is on Summer Vacation these days.  (Ohhh Summer Vacation!)

So the below game is called Yali.  (I like to thing that they rhymed it with my name, but that's simply not true.)

Basically, it's a balancing game:  My pieces are silver marble-like balls that are on Jonah's side of the board, and vice versa for Jonah.  Objective:  Get all of my pieces to MY side of the board.  It was good times...except I LOST!  I lost by THREE moves!  (Which means that it was a pretty darn close game!)  The game really is all about strategy in moving/balancing pieces and the board; however, I'm apparently not very good at/not patient enough with strategy so:  Jonah won.  Oh well.  We high-fived at the end.  Totally worth it.

After game, I was STARVING!  (Apparently I am on an eating schedule of eat-do something-eat-do something.  It makes for an interesting day.)  And besides, losing board games makes a girl hungry!  So I ate food.  (Celery with hummus, egg salad with avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta in a sun-dried tomato wrap, and gouda cheese).  I ate...and then the sweet tooth kicked in (what else is new?!).

Above is Chocolate Chip Cookie.  Again, I permit you to be jealous of the Adventure.  (Sorry, I just really appreciate the little things in Life!)

So dessert was eaten and it was oh-so-totally-time for me to get in gear and go to a lovely 1 p.m. meeting to finish just about everything camp-related (yes, a scary thought prior to the meeting).  But I was ready.  See?  (Adventure shoes at-the-ready to the right!  Shoes on the counter...Shh!  Don't tell Mom!)

It was quite the meeting--about five hours long, in fact.  But it was ok, I have great co-leaders by my side, and we were quite productive.  Besides, I was able to accomplish a first:  went to LogoMagic and successfully ordered 21 staff t-shirts.  AND the Thumbs Up ones are PINK!  (No, I didn't suggest it initially.  But yes, I totally supported it.)

Venturing around town, making phone calls, and being a Camp Coordinating Machine meant that I was tired and hungry when I got home around 6 p.m.  Binder and Adventure Shoes made it back home safe and sound, but I sure was ready to kick off my kicks and end working for the day.  (Oh hey, did you notice that yesterday was Skirt Day?  Certain individuals will know what I mean by that...)

Dinner was uneventful.  Post-dinner plans were up in the air and didn't seem to be coming to a reality, so I read for a good long while, which made me quite a bit sleepy. (What else is new these days?  The Sleepies seem to creep up on me frequently.)  I think the book I'm currently reading will be finished pretty quickly.  It's an easy read, it's about a dog (dogs = good reading material), and it's short.  Look for my rating on Goodreads soon!

Lounging and more lounging (accompanied by my pouting for lack of plans for the evening) DID equate to some laptop time for me.  And my Amazing Co, Tyler Hulet was on Skype, and we chatted for a good long while.  We had a couple DMC's, and I'm definitely glad it happened!  Nothing like sharing a bit of you with someone while they share a bit of themself right back.  Tired Ali called it quits with the Co around 10:30 and gave Fish a chance to catch up with me for awhile.  I'm pretty sure most of what was discussed was completely ridiculous, utter nonsense, and absolutely hilarious.  But we are ok with that.  It's what happens with lack of sleep and good company.

Chatting with a couple of my favorite people makes for a good end to my night.

What would I do without these lovely people?  What would I do without you, Dear Follower?  I don't know...but I don't wish to find out, either.  Stick around and hear more about Life for Ali in these post-grad days?  I think it'll be worth it.  And I think you'll enjoy it.  Or...I certainly hope so!

Adventure Day #5: Believe Me When I Say It Was A GREAT Day

How is it already Week Five?  Yet how is it not August already?  Strange how I can't seem to decide where time really belongs with the month and the day (let's not even talk about the timing of morning versus afternoon these days...), but yes, I have come to the realization that it IS Week Five of my lovely Adventure Shoes blog.  Stand back a second and consider what that means when looking at the Big Picture:  there are about five weeks in a month (I graduated a month ago?!) and 52 weeks in a year.  With some quick calculator math and a lil rounding skills, I'm 10% finished with a full year.  (I feel like this calculation is wrong--feel free to correct my math if anyone is paying attention enough because one month of 12 months isn't equal to 10%...but whatever.)

So yesterday's Adventure Day happened in its entirety, and it was a great day (as hinted above in the post title).  Ready to hear about all the Adventures?  Because I'm ready to tell about them!

Waking up before my alarm (happens frequently but that's just an ALi characteristic) was actually ok.  I got up, checked my phone, and had a voicemail already!  If anyone knows me well enough, they would know that I really get excited over voicemails, and yes, I know it's a bit ridiculous, but I'm ok with that.  So the day started off on a high note, and I practically jumped out of bed, well-rested and ready to tackle the Adventure Day, with quite a few things planned before me.

Did I mention that it was 6:55a.m. when I woke up?  Yup, because I needed the van to transport myself around on my Adventure Day, Big Sister ALi drove the littlest brother to school for his last Monday of his sophomore year of high school.  (It sounds pretty epic, but I was in my pajamas as I usually am when I drive him to school, and I was still pretty groggy from waking up, so I'm dissappointed to say that I probably wasn't the best company on the morning drive to school.)

Back at home--and I needed breakfast.  That always means tea, fruit, and some kind of substance.  Yesterday was Numi Pu-erh Chocolate Tea, purple grapes, 12 grain bread, mixed nuts, and I think some Greek yogurt, too.  I really love breakfast.  (Random fact for ya!)  Following the morning meal and plenty of computer time, I got my stretching time in as I jammed out to music.  The problem:  I thought I was alone in the house.  Brother Zach actually hadn't left for work yet and was causing a ruckus in the laundry room upstairs.  Sister ALi was quite a bit thrown off by the sudden noises from above and began calling out to whoever was in the house.  No response.  But...no barking from the dogs?  Strange.  Cautiously, I crept upstairs and saw six foot tall figure illuminated by the light in the laundry room.  Immediate reaction?  Heartbeat increases and immediate feeling of panic absorbs my thoughts.  However, I did quickly realize who it was, and I scolded him for scaring me (Big Sister duties).

Me on the left and Cherie
on the right.

Fast forward time a bit, and I did eventually get showered/dressed for the day so that I could ready myself for lunch with my high school guidance counselor Ms. Mack (who I now call Cherie, although that still seems so weird to me, four years later).

Littlest Brother Jonah joined us both for lunch, too, which was a treat, since I've never had lunch with him at school before.  Jonah chimed in every now and then with some commentary on topics of interest to him, but mostly Cherie and I chatted about life updates, shared stories, and future plans.  It was wonderful to see her after so many months away, and I had been looking forward to our lunchtime catch-up for quite awhile. 

And did I mention that I got treated to LUNCH (pictured to the left).  Serendipity, a local coffee shop/bistro has this salad that I LOVE, mostly because the peanut dressing/sauce is my absolute favorite.  If they'd let me, I would buy a full bottle of that stuff and put it on EVERYTHING.  But mostly I have Cherie to thank for my delicious lunch, and she even treated me to a mango smoothie--she is simply too kind, even buying Jonah a Sprite to complement his own lunch.

I returned home after the Lunchime Adventure and made an easy decision to enjoy the 80+ degree weather by lounging outside.  I wasn't initially ready to jump right into the hammock, so I hung out on the back deck reading a magazine.  See the picture to understand why this wasn't the best idea...

Do you see the ink marks on my legs from the magazine bleeding in the heat?  Whoops.



I finished the magazine fairly quickly and had not had enough time in the sun for my liking, so it was off to the hammock for some quality Hammock Bonding Time!

I'd say that the picture to the left is pretty good, and I'm typically not a fan of my own photography, so I'm actually ok with saying that.  It was a gorgeous day, I got the perfect amount of sun and shade by laying in my beloved hammock, and I even managed to fit in the Adventure Shoes, despite the fact that I wasn't wearing them.

And as one might have guessed, I spend most of the quality Hammock Bonding Time reading boooks, most of which are borrowed from Mom.  It just so happens that in the pic to the right, the book I am reading matches my shirt--another photographic coincidence in effective photography?  Sure, why not!

Now, Hammock Bonding Time might have been the typically uneventful yet nonetheless enjoyable occasion of lounging in the sunshine.  However, I did have company yesterday afternoon.

 Yup, this is Duncan.  He made Hammock Bonding Time quite interesting.  He kept going underneath the hammock and STARING at me while BREATHING very loudly.  It sounds creepy--but it cracked me up!  I couldn't stop laughing, especially because:  A)  He would periodically decide that he was my guard dog and would dash from beneath the hammock to bark at/chase the birds in the backyard B)  He has never done any of this around me before and C)  He is so darn cute, and I have a weak spot for a certain Corgi named Duncan.

 So eventually I went inside (*sigh*) and did a whole lot of nothing before picking Jonah up from school.  The stinker was a bit inconvenient yesterday for me because I had a 4pm meeting with the other camp co-leaders, and Jonah exited the high school at 3:49pm.  Let's just say that there was no messing around when I drove him home and headed to Meeting Destination.

And it was a very good, productive meeting!  We were there for over four hours, but time really did fly by, and we ordered all crafts/decor supplies for camp in two weeks and began planning specifics for field trips, too.

Upon returning home, I needed to eat food (let's just say that I was quite hungry), and THEN I was much overdue for a Tara Bell phone call (Sunday was phone tag day with her).  So I FINALLY got to talk to her about anything and everything, which we successfully did for a whole hour!  She is in Virginia these days, having her own Adventures, and it is of utmost importance that we keep up with one another!


But wait--following the lovely phone call with Tara Bell, I had a different kind of phone notification:  A message from a certain Fish!  (See photo right for proof).  Oh wait, you probably don't know him as Fish.  He goes by Brian usually.  He's pretty awesome.  So we Skyped for a long while, and he got to hear a preview on the Adventure Day.

But that was just about everything worth noting about the great day that I had on my fifth Adventure Day.  I love that I still have readers at this point.  I love that I still have a couple followers.  I'd love it even more if you'd choose to follow me from this point forward, but either way, keep in touch, continue to read my blog, and live each day to the fullest.

I'm looking forward to sharing my next Adventure with you!

~ALi

Adventure #4: Too Much Excitement for One Day?!

Yesterday's Adventure Day was like a slide.  It takes forever to climb to the top and then once you're there, you are back at the bottom again in no time.  Basically, the start to my day and what made up the beginning of the afternoon was dull and not-too-exciting.  (But hey, I'll tell ya about it anyway in a minute, so rest assured you'll still hear about it!)  Then, I felt all kinds of Responsible and did things that kept me busy for hours (a rare occurrence these days for such an AlumBum).

Driving ten minutes after waking up means
that sunglasses are basically a must.
GOOD MORNING, SUNSHINE!

My Wednesday began with a 7:10 wakeup from my lovely cell phone alarm, notifying me that, 'Hey, Jonah likes to leave for school in ten minutes so that he can read in the library for awhile before classes start and the hallways get crazy.'  So since I do typically need the car on Adventure Days (It's often more difficult to have Adventures without transportation.), I did actually get out of bed and take the lil bro to school  (Only one week left of him being a sophomore--WHAT?!).





Must return the Netflix!
Must get more movies JUST FOR ME
to watch!

I returned home and actually woke up more (tea + breakfast usually helps accomplish this) and then thought I'd practice my multi-tasking skills by stretching and watching a Netflix that came JUST FOR ME the day before (Perk of Being Home:  Control over Netflix).  Ever seen "Love and Other Drugs"?  Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal?  Well, it's what I watched, and with it being the second time I've seen it, I enjoyed it (again).
And then, after an uneventful getting-ready-for-the-day and uneventful eating-of-lunch, 2pm rolled around, and it was time for me to go to my first meeting for my new job.  Here's an update:  New Job is way cooler than New Job was previously.  That's right, Monday I got a call saying that I was offered a position as one of the day camp's co-leaders, and THIS was exciting!  So, off I went to get filled in on all of the lovely information that I hadn't been given at previous meetings, since I hadn't been hired as a co-leader yet.  (Confusing, yes, but just trust me, I went to a Very Important meeting.)

Home from meeting--but just for a short time!

Above you see the bits of paperwork I received that started out my responsibilities as a co-leader.  I was slightly overwhelmed upon returning home but was better prepared for Meeting #2 in just an hour. 



More driving--but I did manage to
carpool with one of my fellow co-leaders
to the coffee shop (not ALWAYS a fan of driving).

So I picked Jonah up from school and dashed off to the co-leader meeting with all four of us in attendance (plus the two program coordinators). 

All kinds of planning and preparation information provided to us and following that was a more specific calendar planning session for camp themes and crafts, which happened at a local coffee shop.  It was fun to get started working on it all and to take part in such a crucial part of camp that starts in just a couple weeks--but it all didn't conclude until around 6:15, so I was certainly ready to head home for some spaghetti dinner (my favorite meal for Dad to cook when I'm home!).

A little bit of down time and I was ready for a Big Project I had been working on for the past couple days.  A Trip.  Yes, a very exciting Trip for July, requiring an airplane ticket.  Playing the cheapest-ticket-game was rough, but I was ready to make the purchase:


Waiting for the ticket to process...

The next screen I got...

EXCITING!!!  Yes, seriously, you read it correctly!  Curious for more?!  Read on...

Wondering why I'm taking the above flights?!  BECAUSE I MISS SO MANY PEOPLE IN MICHIGAN!  Haha, that's totally true, but I had an opportunity to go, a pay raise with my new camp position, and a timeline that fit perfectly--so--looks like I'm gonna be in Michigan sooner that ever thought was possible!

Following the super-exciting purchase above, I Skyped Brian for the rest of the night until sleep caught up with me, and I realized that I was exhausted and not the best conversationalist any longer.  And with that, my Adventures ceased and...I went to sleep.  Adventure Shoes retired until next week, but it'll come around soon enough!

~ALi



Adventure #3: You Drive, I Drive--But Mostly I Just Ride

The day most look forward to the most:  Friday.  Yes, it was Adventure Day.  I had been looking forward to it for this reason in itself.  But let's just say, it was a rough start waking up at 7a.m. yesterday morning after only a few hours of sleep the night before.

Why would I do this to myself?  Adventures were to be had!  Brother to be taken to school, secret errand, and new job fingerprinting, among spontaneous garage sale fun times.  I'm jumping way ahead--let's start at the beginning...

Woken up by Mom 15 minutes before my alarm.  I appreciated her concern for me waking up to take the Brother to school, but with each passing Summer day, I'm appreciating each minute of sleep more and more.  There's always tomorrow, though, right?

And who sets an alarm for a Summer day any way?  Me.  Because in order to have a vehicle for the day, I needed to ensure Littlest Brother got to school for his second-to-last week of class for the year.  So--Mission Accomplished.

THEN, I returned home to reconvene my typical mornings of being a bum.  (I've coined it 'BumAlum.'  It has a certain ring to it.)  Eventually, I did legitimately get dressed (no t-shirt and sweats for me on Adventure Day!) and decided it was time for a Secret Errand.  So that meant:

Time to drive in my van again!  Adventure Shoes at the ready!

Typically, yes, I hate driving.  Seriously, it is NOT an activity that I choose to do.  But after going without a vehicle for so long and being cooped up in the house for days at a time, having the soon-to-be-mine mini-van to use all day was pretty awesome.  I hopped in, adjusted the seat accordingly ('Littlest Brother' is a good two feet taller than me, and he typically drives the van), and set out for my super-secret mission.

It wasn't TOO eventful of a trip.  The shining sun made it well worth it, and since Dickinson is, well, Dickinson, I was able to make the entire trip in about 20 minutes--just in time to return home for lunch:

Above is lunch.  I was pretty proud of the picture, not gonna lie.  Grilled cheese of sorts:  Saute'd mushrooms, Mexican cheese blend, gouda, and avocado and 12-grain bread.  I was pretty satisfied!

It was an extra-awesome lunch because Mom came home for a short bit and ate with me.  I definitely welcome any company throughout the day when the fam is gone at work/school--feel free to just show up any time!

At 1p.m. I had my Big Event of the week:  getting fingerprinted for the day camp counselor job that I'll start in June.  I don't recall ever having been fingerprinted previously, so it was pretty exciting.  Fingerprints were collected electronically, so it actually went pretty quick, but I still felt like I was in some sci-fi movie when the woman was doing it.  Actually, the thing that took the longest during the whole ordeal was the PAPERWORK.  So.  Much.  Paperwork.  I will never forget May 11, 2012.  And that is because I signed my name approximately 1,012 times.  (Yes, I exaggerate...but still!)

It felt pretty good to have done all that prep work for the New Job, and I even got paid for the 45 minutes of my not-so-hard labor.  That meant that I wanted to do something a lil spontaneous (I guess a good mood urges me to do such things), and I stopped at a few garage sales.  The best part?  I got to use my Grad-Present-GPS.  It will definitely come in handy for the road trip to Texas in August, and will especially come in handy once I've moved there--Texas is one giant mystery to me presently.

Nothing was purchased while solo-garage-saling, but the independence to do so on my own and navigate myself to addresses posted in the newspaper was pretty liberating.  I'll continue the apartment supplies hunting on a different day.

Back at home, a different sort of Adventure was continued, one that I had become well accustomed to in the past couple weeks.  See below:

To the left is my family's mini animal herd.  Krumski is the Viscious Feline.  King is the Middle Mutt.  And Duncan (AKA Baby Dunks) is the adorable Pampered Pooch at the right.  (Yes, I play favorites.) 

You may wonder why they look so...concerned?  Paranoid?  Frantic?  The reason is that they are getting a fenced in yard of their very own being put in.  And Adventure Day was full of workmen out back, hammering and installing to their heart's content.  The animals want out.  ASAP.

Baby Dunks loves the sliding door's blinds.  He thinks they are toys.

At least the animal herd isn't making too much noise in their constant waiting around. It's kinda cute...I guess.

But anyway, other Adventures occurred on my Adventure Friday.  Jonah got picked up from school.  I may or may not have been on a bit of a caffeine high from the delicious coffee that was keeping me going, and Littlest Brother thought it was entertaining to take a picture of Big Sister driving: 

So yeah, that's me.  Driving.  It really truly happens on occasion.  And in the future, it will only happen more and more in the future.  Upon arriving at home, it was dog-outing-time.  Dunks (my Jonah-assigned pooch) likes to run.  Or is it a gallop?  Regardless, it is definitely a perk of being home, just being able to take the dogs out for walk around the neighborhood when the weather is so nice and sunny.  May many more walks be enjoyed soon!

Following dog-walking, the parents soon came home and a fun wine-purchasing trip was made (little known fact:  liquor can only be purchased at liquor stores in North Dakota--no Walmart/grocery store carries liquor of any kind.)  Then, Papa Murphy's pizza.  And I'm happy to announce that I got half of a family size pizza ALL to myself, meaning that half of the pizza was BBQ chicken.  As much as I was happy about the pizza, I was NOT excited for the following: 

My SUNGLASSES broke!  I just...pulled them off my face...and the earpiece broke off.  Curse of the Adventure Shoes?  I'm not going to blame the shoes for this one due to the lack of technology involved, but it was still a weird thing to randomly happen.  Luckily, I have a brand new pair previously purchased chilling back at home, but the story behind actually having to USE the new pair is pretty dissappointing in my opinion.

Enjoying pizza, a bit of wine, and some fam time was a good finish to the week; however, the Brother portion of the fam was M.I.A.  Jonah is a Working Man now!  Yup, if you don't believe me, check out the parents and the Lil Bro in his new Movie Theater Uniform:

I'm so proud of Jonah!  He picked out that tie himself!

My night ended with my regular Michigan contact via webchat.  The late-night discovery of the Facebook game 'Draw My Thing' AKA internet pictionary was super-fun, and Brian, my awesome competitor, kept me at it until the early hours of the morning.  And yes, I'm stubborn and wouldn't be the one to sign off.  So what sounds like complaining was much-enjoyed steadfastness and conversation turned to nonsense and hilarity.

Adventure?  Maybe not to most.  But for me, yesterday was a much-enjoyed Adventure that I would love to have again some time soon.  How about...next week?  I think that can definitely be arranged!

Until next week,

~ALi

Adventure #2: The Technology Curse of the Adventure Shoes?!

I am not superstitious.  In fact, I'm almost anti-superstition.  From 'Unknown Entities' to good luck charms, I ignore, avoid, and discount most related tokens of belief.  However...some strange coincidence has me stumbling on bad luck of sorts whenever I wear the esteemed Adventure Shoes.  Too soon to make any claims at this point--but read on for the details of the day.

Woke up in the morning--to find a well-organized room after much disorganization the prior days.  (Give me a break, I just moved ALL of my stuff from Kalamazoo, MI to Dickinson, ND.  One giant mess is practically expected from a recent post-grad returned home.  Yet I'm still the same ol' me; three days after being back and everything is where it needs to be.)



T-shirts...t-shirts...and MORE t-shirts!
Mostly folded though, so be impressed!

And what is to be noticed when rotating oneself around my newly re-inhabited room?  The following pile of impressive free t-shirts, acquired from much uninvolvement involvement throughout college.

Yes, there are two piles on my dresser.  Yes, I wear t-shirts infrequently.  And no, I don't plan on getting rid of them.  Future project:  ALi's Very Own T-shirt Quilt.  Now...to learn how to sew a quilt...

Moving on with my Yesterday of Adventure, I readied myself for a much-anticipated lunch outing with my best Dickinson girl friend Dinah aka D-Dawg.  Much anticipated because I hadn't yet seen her since being back in NoDak (three whole days went by without a reunion of any kind!)  So by the time she showed up to save me from my day stranded at home, I was pretty excited to see her, chat, and devour some food (the time change has affected my hunger so that meal time feels like ALL the time!)

Guess where we went to lunch?!  I couldn't believe it myself when I was informed that it existed in Dickinson, so having you guess is probably a bad idea...  Picture below to aid your struggles: 

Picture look a little odd?  The shoes needed to be in the picture...and I'm not as flexible as I was hoping, so a lil editing was done to prove the Adventure Shoes' existence during lunch.  Chicken Crave Pita to the left.  Falafel salad to the right.  Adventure Shoes awesomeness at bottom left.

But yes, as shown above, D-town got a Pita Pit, and while I somehow felt like it was slightly more expensive than in Kzoo, it was nice to have a lil touch of Michigan back here in NoDak.  D-Dawg had never had Pita Pit before, so I gladly agreed on it earlier in the week (Did I mention that I suggested it in the first place?). 

That's D-Dawg with me.  ^^^
She calls me Ali Mae.  I don't know why we have those nicknames for each other.  We just do.

So we talked.  And talked.  And talked more.  And then--she had to go to class.  (Downside of being a post-grad?  Best friend isn't for another two years.)

Return home.  Ready for some more quality computer time.  And...computer won't start.  Fast forward 1.5 hours of computer repair attempts...computer STILL won't start.  Technology Curse of the Adventure Shoes?  I'm thinking this may be a possibility.  Phone falls down elevator shaft on the last Adventure Day.  Computer refuses to start on Adventure Day Two.  Not cool.

Hopefully today computer will be fixed at the computer shop I plan to visit this afternoon.  (Fingers crossed, Readers!)

I'll skim over the end of the Adventure Day because it had quite a bit of Unhappy ALi.  Independence was calling, lack of transportation/entertainment/immediate socialization was realized, and pure crankyness ensued.  After a bit of half-dozing and an extended Skype chat with the awesome Brian Church, spirits were replenished and I was satisfied with finally getting some sleep.  And THAT was the end of Adventure Day Two.  May many more Days be shared with the masses.

~ALi