My 5 Month Vacation

So its been a long time since I've posted... in the next few days I'm going to try to post more pics from this summer, plus a recap of my last few weeks in Paris... but until then, let me catch you up on what I'm up to.

First of all, I am considering this time in Houston as a vacation. Or exile. Or both - at the same time... depending on my mood. At first it was nice to relax, then it was tedious... now its nothing short of maddening. I am not the kind of person that can take sitting still for long periods of time with relatively little to do without going mildly insane.

The nice thing is that I have realized that I have a lot of friends from college here, and that Houston is not quite the boring place that I once thought it was. So although technically I am living with my parents (for the longest period of time since I graduated high school), I have acually moved into some friends' apartment in West U.  Thank you Liz and Bekah for the key and allowing me to crash on your couch for the majority of the week.

The candy factory (www.sweettasteoftexas.com) is slow. I've watched a lot of movies while doing arts and crafts and waiting for the Christmas season rush. But mostly its just arts and crafts... last week I was playing with glitter. Glitter is the herpes of craft supplies.  It gets on everything and spreads and doesn't come off.  Ever.

But mostly my life is spent waiting. Waiting for... something. An email. A phone call. Time to pass. Its like watching an egg boil... it won't happen if you're conscious of the time passing, because it always goes more slowly when you're aware of it. I'm trying to amuse myself the best I can... reading, movies, friends, and my various other hobbies. But mostly, I feel like I'm just treading water. I can't really start a life here in Houston because I'm not really here. I'm just passing through... on my way to somewhere else. Yet, I am here; and I believe that you need to BE where you are and not looking for or wishing you were someplace else.  It's incredibly frustrating.

So that's my life at the moment.

In regards to my plans, I'm not sure if backpacking before I start work is going to happen. Mostly because of the money thing... but I'm sure that I'll be traveling more than I did last summer. But I will be in Paris from February to November.

Sometimes when I think of that time period I get this giddy excited feeling... and then again, sometime I feel panicked and trapped. I remember the francophone bubble. I remember the emotional breakdown of my last week. I remember the feelings of claustrophobia. But then again, I remember the sunsets and the exploring... the cool air, the breathtaking views.  The ADVENTURE of it all.  So although I'm terrified, I feel like I need to do this.  For me.