Home again

I was slightly too warm in bed this morning, so my first thought was to open the window and let in a little breeze.

Then I saw the condensation on the window, quickly remembered where I was, and nixed the idea.

I'd forgotten what a hothouse Birmingham is this time of year. It's been a rough summer over here, too, though in exactly the opposite way to what's been plaguing Britain. We've had little rain - the grass isn't happy, and the country club has posted big signs saying they water with well water, as residents are now only allowed to water two days a week - and the temperature was into triple digits for a few days before I arrived. Now that the rain has begun to return, stepping outside feels like walking into the tropical plants building at your local botanical gardens, all of about 95 degrees with 90 percent humidity.

At least you never have to steam your clothes.

It's currently 7:30 AM. My body's still wondering which time zone it's supposed to be in, and why the sun is rising so late and setting so early. I'm also hurting in muscles I'd forgotten about in my arms and back, as I've spent the last two days either hauling luggage or unpacking it. My troubles began at the airport, when the nice man behind the Continental counter informed me that my bag was overweight.

I asked if I could just pay the overweight charge.

No, he informed me, my bag was 32 kg, which was legally too heavy for them to carry.

Thanks to a bit of adjustment, I left my two 70-lb bags with the airliner and carried my 40-lb backpack onto the plane. The clerk, being a nice guy and accepting my "I just got out of Uni" excuse, didn't charge me extra.

When I got to Newark, I had to reclaim my bags and go through Customs. This was a pain for several reasons, most notably because Jersey charges $3 to rent a cart, and there was no way I was parting with cash for one of those. I ran over and into people, but I made it through Customs and on to Nashville, and my luggage, magically enough, made it. Wonders never cease.

I also had a Chick-fil-A nugget stop at glorious Exit 351 (Athens) at 9:30 PM on the way home, because my mother is awesome like that.

My interview was at 9 AM the next day, but surprisingly, I had no problem rising at 6 to prepare. The interview itself seemed to go well - I was with the interviewer for an hour and a half, and I'm being brought back next week to meet more people - and then it was off to the DMV to become legally licensed once again. I ran into my grandmother, of all people, in the line, and had to yell her name to get her attention; she was too busy telling the woman behind her about her granddaughter, who was home from Scotland, to notice me. She then told me that her dog had to have fluid taken out of its neck. Good times.

Following this, it was off to Brio for lunch, but first I met my mother and sister at their usual Brookwood hangout, the shoe department at Gus Mayer. My former bosses there are awesome, and since Mom realized I'd been in my three-inch heels all day and was not the happiest camper about that, she insisted we buy a pair of flats for me before lunch. Breaking my new shoes in, I followed them across the street, then indulged in lobster bisque and a Bellini (heaven) before heading home to begin the unpacking process. I managed to get the contents of my two suitcases onto my bed before it was time to get coat hangers and drive to Mountain Brook for my pedicure.

We're going to the beach tomorrow, my mother explained. I need a pedicure.

I wasn't going to say no.

Due to a little confusion, my pedicure turned into a mani/pedi, and my nails are now this burgundy shade better known as "Frostbite". I told Cyndy that they would match my skin tone well after my first day at the Gulf. We shall see.

Dinner was barbeque - one of my mom's coworkers has an enormous smoker and makes briskets for people. He's amazing - and then I began to put the mess into my closet and unpack the other two suitcases in my room. Around 10:30, back and knees aching, I'd had enough and crawled into bed.

It's off now to take the dog for a walk, finish filling out my application form, and go to a choir audition this afternoon. In the meanwhile, thank God for air conditioning.