Home and Back

For those regular readers that I did not see while home this weekend, we'll have to try when I am home for Thanksgiving as that will be a longer stay.

It was almost surreal going home for the first time since Easter weekend. While it felt sort of like home, it just didn't feel like it was where I was supposed to be anymore. It was nice to see my family, dog and friends and I certainly did not forget how to get anywhere.

The drive out was long. It took over 3 1/2 hours to get around Chicago. I will admit that I left at a bad time, but that was insane. I have an I-PASS (a pre-paid pass that allows you to go through the toll booths without stopping completely) that should have helped speed the trip. However, construction was concentrated at the toll booths so they acted more like chokepoints than anything else. The other time-waster on the trip (both ways) was pokey service at Cracker Barrel. Losing an hour going back into the Eastern time zone is not appreciated either.

I did get to meet the newest addition to my parents house this weekend; an 8-month old black lab-mix puppy named Buddy aka Bungholio. He is a little boy trapped in a puppy body complete with the curiousity and need for constant attention. Within 5 minutes of being in the house he was all but hanging from my forearm by his mouth--thankfully he has a soft grip. Buddy was on the move throughout the house most of the time and I swear that he only rests to plan for more mischief. The one upside was that it is pretty easy to tell when he is about to attack--the key is not to look into his eyes for any length of time as this is an incitement to play/attack. My 13-year-old dog doesn't seem to be too bothered by his being there but she definitely will put him in his place when he crosses the line.

The only other activity of note was playing 90's Edition Trivial Pursuit with the OA guys. Being the oldest person there by a few years you would think that I would have the advantage. Nope. Evan and I won, but I think he deserves most of the credit for the pie pieces especially the last two. I would never have thought of John Leguazomo (spelled wrong) or Alexander Haig, yet Evan, the youngest of the group came up with them. Go figure.

The ride home was uneventful and long. It was nice to see everyone and will be nice to visit again in November after membership is mostly done.