Graduation Weekend

Hello everyone, it’s the other half of the dynamic Strunk duo, coming to join the wonderful world of blogging. I’m really excited about getting to share our trip and times in the great state of Hawaii with all of you. Well, the journey officially begins tomorrow, but before we look forward to that let’s take a trip back to the weekend. My, not so little, brother graduated from high school on Saturday. The day was, well, rainy with sudden downpours and tornado warnings around the area, but the ceremony and reception went off without a hitch… unless you count the 15 minute power outage at the hall where the reception was. It really was a fun day, a bit surreal to see your little brother on his way to college, but it was good to see the extended family before we leave town and get to hear how everyone is going to come see us… you all better make good on your word now, you hear?

Yesterday we met Ryan’s mom in Norfolk to take us back to Fremont so we can do the final preparations before we leave tomorrow. I bought a brand new digital camera so I should be posting pictures soon. We ate some good ole fashioned BBQ before leaving the Midwest… I wonder what Hawaiian BBQ is like? Anyway, the fateful time came to say good-bye to the family, I think we all handled it pretty well… though it’s always harder than you think. I have to look at it like I approached spending a summer on the NFB Corps or my six months in Louisiana so I don’t get too sad about being gone for so long, but time really does fly and I’m sure we will be back on the mainland to visit before we know it. I think I’ve rambled on long enough for now, but I will post again soon, amongst the palm trees and pineapples.

Randi

Houses and Homes

It’s a surreal experience to be leaving behind a place in which you lived. Leaving a dorm was one thing–I had time to prepare for the move. All of my friends had left for the Summer, and I was ready to be out. Leaving my first apartment was that same sort of thing; I didn’t really mind moving away, but mainly because I didn’t much like it there.

Leaving 1301 Lincoln Mall was something altogether different, however, and I can’t think of quite how to describe it. When I came into the empty apartment on Sunday after Randi had taken almost everything, I found it comical, but as the days went by, I found myself growing more and more melancholy. As mom and I were emptying everything today, I kept getting an odd feeling about the whole experience. I suppose it’s because this isn’t just a move across town; we’re actually leaving the continent for a state to which we’ve never been before. The first time we see Hawaii, we’ll be residents.

I had a place I really loved (well, except for that lady upstairs with her squeaky pipes), and I had to leave it. I know it’s something that everyone goes through, but this may be the first time I’ve felt such a parting so acutely. Sky Park, you will be missed.

But how do you define that difference between what is your home and what is just a house? When mom and I got back to Fremont tonight with all the luggage and such, I was struck by the sensation that my house isn’t really my home anymore. It didn’t make me sad, but it sure was a weird feeling. The place smelled different. The carpets were all torn up. Mom had a dog. All the upstairs doors were closed. My room had been stripped. I knew about all these changes a long time ago, but seeing them tonight struck a strange chord in me (a French augmented sixth, I think).

I used to run around the backyard all the time as a kid, and I knew the place like the back of my hand. I could navigate every inch of it in the dark without flinching an eyebrow, and did so any number of times while taking the dog out or just going out to take in the night. Mom built the deck after I left for college, though, and now the backyard is different. I know the deck is there when I pace the nighttime yard, but I can’t sense it. I have to feel along it for the steps in order to climb it. A big deal? No, not really, but it certainly makes one think.

I can’t quite put my finger on what I’m feeling–not depression, certainly. I think I’m just naturally contemplative as a result of being on the cusp of a major life change. What is your home? Is it a place where you live? Is it a place that invokes a certain emotion or other? Maybe I should read that Edwards book about home (Home, I think it’s called). That might explain the matter.

So we’re not there yet …

Every great work of literature begins with a great line–or maybe it’s just that we remember the first lines from great literature. “Call me Ishmael.” “It was the best of times …” “In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.”
What will be the first line of my great work of literature? We’ll have to discuss that later, because this certainly isn’t literature in the literary sense, and its greatness is up for discussion.

Anyhow…

I’m terrible at mass emails, and worse at staying in touch with people. Thus, it occurred to me that if I just wrote everything down here and gave people the address, I wouldn’t have to worry about sending this out to people; I could tell them it exists, and watch the comments roll in–or maybe the hate mail (this is all new, so we’ll see). In this weighty e-tome, my goal is to inform everyone about the status of our move, and perhaps shed some light on the supposed paradise of Hawaii.

Trip status: Not Started

I’m lying here in my apartment on an air matress. I have a few swallows of juice left in the fridge, along with a carton of eggs. On the counter is an empty box of Easter candy, along with a towel, a fork, a cup, and two boxes of crackers. Aside from a few changes of clothes, my laptop, and some assorted toiletries, there is nothing here to entertain me. Hurray for the internet!

Meanwhile, Randi is hanging out at home with her family and enjoying delicious home-cooked meals–and oh yeah, she got saddled with all the packing and sorting (begin composing hate mail). It wasn’t my fault! I was stuck in Baltimore.

Over the weekend, I’ll be visiting my home in Fremont, attending Randi’s brother’s graduation, and probably reading a lot in my downtime. That’s a teaser in case I have time to write.

The trip officially begins on Tuesday. Let’s syncronize our watches…