Did Lewis and Clark stop in Vegas? Because I did.

Okie shmokie, here we go. I know you've been salivating over the thought of reading about my drive out west, and I'd hate to keep you waiting any longer than I already regrettably have. Hopefully nobody is suffering from a bout of hysterical blindness as a result of my departure. I'd sure hate for you to miss out on reading about my spiritual experience in the Texas panhandle.

Let's start with Thursday, since the whole experience really did begin with Steven's Last Night in Town. Ashley said she could drive me to the train station, but first she had to give blood. I'm not sure if anyone knows that Ashley gave blood on Thursday. She's been quite discreety about it. She barely mentioned it to anyone. So she comes to pick me up and unfortunately we didn't get to the train station in time. I missed it. Had to leave Friday morning instead. I really wasn't that upset. It meant I got to watch my Thursday night comedies with Jeff one last time, and I could hang out with my friends without the sadness of goodbyes or the stress of packing, since all that had been done.

Friday morning I got up, got my stuff together, and went outside to catch a cab. This took about a half hour. I called my mom to tell her I'd probably miss the bus (I got a bus ticket this time) because every cab was full. For over a half hour, I waited in the freezing cold, waving unsuccessfully to every cab that drove by. At this point, my fingers (we all know how Steve's fingers get) are in excrutiating pain, I can't even hold my suitcase handle. I'm leaving Chicago and I'm stressed and I can't figure out if I want to burst into tears, punch a wall, or go throw a brick through Ashley's window. I decided on the brick, but a cab finally showed up and took my to Union Station. I almost missed the bus, but it all worked out. The rest of Friday included dinner with family, scouring Craig's List for apartments and jobs, and unpacking my stuff from Chicago. Then my Dad told me that he wanted to leave at 6 am. Now, it's midnight and I'm still unpacking everything in my life that I had in Chicago. Now, I have six hours to pack my life for California. Of course this takes an unnecessarily long time because I keep going online and there's a Growing Pains marathon on, but I managed to finish packing and tear myself away from the Seavers at 4am for an entire hour of sleep.

EXPEDITION AMERICA: DAY 1

My Dad woke me up and we drove, drove, drove...for an hour. We got to Jackson and the roads were bad and the Focus is swerving and fishtailing all over the place. We can barely go 40. Trucks are passing us. This is not good, and since the car is new, we assume of course that something is wrong with it. It takes a good two hours or so to get to Fort Wayne, where we decide to have the car looked at. We pull into a Ford dealership and they look at everything and guess what they find? Nothing. Apparently the roads are just THAT bad. Black ice, people. Ever heard of it? The road where we had the most trouble was now closed because of a jack-knifed semi. My car was fine. Good to know. We end up making our way to Springfield, Missouri, a good 400 miles short of our goal, which was Oklahoma city. Here is a collection of every exciting thing we passed between Novi and Springfield.



That's the long and short of it. We got to Springfield, ate at Pizza Hut, where my parents couldn't get over the three foot mohawk this girl had (which was pretty out of place in Missouri), and I marveled at how much I love southern accents.

DAY 2

We got up super early and drove. This was probably the best/worst time I had with my parents in a long time. The bests included: Noticing that the book my Mom bought to keep track of miles and the trip says "I got your mom's digits" on the front and having to explain to her why that's funny, as well as call everyone I know to tell them. Listening to mariachi on AM radio. Listening to a call-in talk show for truckers on AM. Basically anything on AM radio in Texas. Driving across the Hoover Dam at 3am. My mom asking if the giant spinning things were wind or solar power (hint: they're spinning).



What you are looking at is the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere. We drove by it and the sign says that this is the spiritual experience of a lifetime. So, naturally, I had to share it with you. Sidenote: there is a giant cross exactly like this in Missouri. But that one doesn't have a sign or a giant stage for plays, so I guess it's not as spiritual. It doesn't even have a gift shop to buy a T-Shirt that says "my parents went to the largest cross and all I got was this lousy t-shirt"

The worst parts of Day 2 include but are not limited to...Being in the car for almost 24 hours. Driving past miles, miles, miles, and miles of nothing. Not getting to Vegas until 4 am. Not finding a place to stay in Vegas until 5 am.

Day 3. Vegas, baby.

Vegas isn't exactly my cup of tea. I had fun, this much is true. But it just wasn't all I expected it to be. This could be related to the fact that I went with my parents, who weren't all that interested in drinking and titty bars. I gambled a bit, drank a bit, watched Heroes, drank and gambled some more. We went to downtown Las Vegas which is where the trashy locals go and I think I found it to have more character than the Strip. The strip is like Disney World and downtown Las Vegas is like...a strip mall, essentially.


As you can see, the people flock to downtown Vegas, where the cocktail waitresses are as loose as the slots.

Is this where the new James Bond movie was filmed? I'd say...no.



So the day after Vegas, I think we're on to day 4, we drove to Huntington Beach, where I am now. I had an internship interview, which went well but I can't work until the end of March after class, and the position may be filled by then. The lady said to stay in contact with her about other internships and possibly even something with writers, so that's cool. Someone just called while I was writing this from another production company that works on 24 and did Felicity. It's exciting, but now I have to call and say "sorry, not available until March. Do you love me enough to to call back?"

Last night my Mom's cousins came into town with their kids. I still couldn't tell you who I'm related to, whose name is whose, and who brought the chihuahua, but I do know there were twelve of us. It was a good time. I like getting to know family that I don't know that well. It's like meeting a stranger but already having a bond because you know you're of the same blood, and that they probably sent you money when you graduated High School.

When they left, my mom's cousin gave me a hug. Normal, since she's one of the few people that I actually know. She hugged me pretty tight and for a little bit longer than a normal hug. I was kinda confused but I didn't think much of it. He daughter just moved out here and I am now too and she knows how tough this is for my mom, so it probably had something to do with that. Then I realized that she had lost her oldest daughter in a car accident a few years ago, and that this long hug might have something to do with that. Just kind of makes you think.

The parents left today, so I'm a little glum. My mom was a wreck at the airport. I tried to think of something inspiring and emotional yet clever to say, but instead just shouted out LOOOOOOVE YOOOOOUUUUUUUUU across the street as they went inside. If anything, I embarrassed her enough to stop missing me. You'd think it would be easier since I moved out in 2002, went to Kalamazoo, then Orlando, then Chicago, but I guess not. I got back from the airport just fine, now I'm sitting around. I need to work a LOT on my Earl spec (as in...write the whole thing) because my application for Nickelodeon is due next week. I also want to run. I need to return the blank CD's I bought at Ralph's since they cost like twenty bucks and that's ridiculous, and then I'm going up to Glendale tonight for a barbecue to meet the people I will most likely be living with. So, that's where I am right now. Any questions? Comments? Concerns?