The Silver Lining to Being Sick…If One Exists

If you aren’t a total jerk when you’re sick, people are really nice to you. I mean, go-out-of-their-way nice. I’ve experienced this before, so I shouldn’t really be surprised – I was pretty sick most of this past week (and still am, unfortunately), but I managed to stay fairly pleasant with people (or so I think). And as a result, everyone has been fantastically nice to me, including total strangers.

A few of the biggest highlights:

* I didn't have to pick up my own suitcase ONCE all day yesterday - normally I get people offering some of the time because I'm a small lady, but not every minute of a trip...but everyone heard me coughing (and probably took one look at me) and took care of it - the rental car guy, the hotel desk guy, the flight attendant, the approximately 70 year old man on the plane, and even one random dude in LAX who offered to roll it for me (um, no thanks weirdo...I can at least drag this thing by myself)
* A random man in the waiting room at Urgent Care brought an extra chair over to me and set it up so I could put my feet up on it - I think he was there for an appointment and not in need of urgent assistance, so I allowed it...and it felt nice
* Another random man in Urgent Care brought me cups of ice water, twice - I did not ask for these, but gratefully accepted, as my throat was pretty much raw
* The flight attendant on my 5+ hour flight checked in on me, no joke, twice as much as she did on everyone else...asking if I needed more pillows, more blankets, juice, wine, anything at all? (it probably didn't hurt that I was sitting in first class, but still)
* The guy at the sandwich place offered me free chips and a cookie because my voice sounded so "painful" - I turned them down, but thanked him profusely for the kind offer
* A girl at the grocery store offered to carry my bag to my car for me...it was only one bag, and not very full, so I said no...but again, a very nice offer
* And I think my favorite - everyone, guys and girls alike, calls me sweetie or honey or dear...and I kind of love it! I get that sometimes in normal life, but when I'm sick it's across the board - and it makes me smile!

So I guess the lesson is that when you're sick (and let's be honest...this should just apply to life ALL the time), even if you're feeling miserable, there's no need to take it out on the people around you, strangers or not. There's definitely no benefit to being a jerk...and very often, there IS benefit to being nice. I'll take those odds any day.

28...and Feeling Grrrrrrrrreat!!

Big day yesterday. I turned the big 2-8. Hhhmmmm...that's starting to get a little too close to 30, isn't it? Scary stuff!!

But seriously though, I had an amazing birthday weekend. I was a little anxious since my birthday fell on only my second weekend in my new home, and I'm barely even settled in yet, but I'm fortunate enough to have fabulous friends in LA who made it a weekend to definitely remember. I feel like I celebrated for almost the whole, entire weekend! And that's certainly not a bad thing. Thank you to everyone (you all know who you are) for a totally kick-butt 28th birthday weekend!! (hopefully pictures will come at some point...none of them are on my camera though...I guess I was a little distracted and forgot to take any...)

In the, I don't know...maybe 2-3 hours that I was alone this weekend, I did a little deep birthday thinking. We all do that on our birthdays, don't we? I had more to think about this year than I have in awhile...the changes in my life from 27 to 28 were much larger than my past years. And I am certainly not where I thought I would be on September 19, 2010...but you know what? I think I'm right where I'm supposed to be. It's definitely been a crazy couple of months, and I have a fair amount of settling in (and down) left to do yet, but somehow things feel right. Right for me. Right for now. That feels pretty incredible. And I can only imagine what the year from 28 to 29 will bring! I can be pretty impulsive...you all better hope I'm not writing my post from China next year...huge phone bills then.

Cheers to another year! I'm excited and ready for whatever is next!

Wait...What Time Zone Am I In?!

I was in Charleston, WV for work this week...and I learned a very important lesson regarding my move across the country...I am pretty much never really going to know where I am or what time zone I'm in, and my body will most likely be constantly jacked up. Why is this, you ask? Well, it's because of a little something I like to call the "reverse commute" - and it's a stinker.

Many times in my career I've done the east coast to west coast commute, and while tricky, it's really not all that bad. Body gets a little confused, and you get tired kind of early in the evenings, BUT you spring out of bed early in the mornings - so it's a decent balance. The reverse of that, however, is much worse. Body definitely gets confused, you can't fall asleep by any sort of reasonable hour in the evenings, AND you can't get up without pain in the morning....alarm set for 6:15am? Nope! Body says, "Hell no, it's 3:15am lady! Go back to sleep! Are you crazy?!" But get up I must to get in to the office and do my job! I think I'm going to be consuming about 3 times as much coffee as I usually do while doing the reverse commute...which will probably only keep me up even later at night...darn you, vicious cycle!!

The other kicker about this? I'm not sure if it's the same for anyone that does it, but my body also is hungry pretty much all day long while this confused. I don't just get hungry 3 hours later than everyone else, as you may expect. I just am hungry when I wake up, and all day, and nothing really seems to satisfy me. How in the world am I going to deal with that?! I guess I'll have to be logging lots of gym time...because I refuse to be sleep-deprived AND 10 pounds heavier. That won't work. Definitely not.

We Crossed the Finish Line!

Sooooooo yeah…I kind of dropped off the radar there for a bit. My apologies to those who were waiting for more updates – I already felt bad enough about it, but I got a bunch of questions on my whereabouts and updates, so I’ve felt even worse. I should have kept up better. I don’t really have a great excuse, but my closest attempts would be 1) driving a moving truck 9-10 hours/day is exhausting, 2) moving across the country makes for a bit of a blur by the second half of the journey, and 3) 2 days in Vegas is SUPER distracting.

Anyway, the biggest update item? The eagle has landed…In Santa Monica, CA…holy cow!! We officially arrived and moved me in on Thursday 9/9 – total end mileage count from Chapel Hill, NC was a cool 2,699. I know. Exhausting just to read that, right?

It’s definitely been a bit surreal since arriving. I’m not quite to the point of believing that I live in SoCal now. Almost seems like I’m just on a little vacation or something, and that I’ll be headed back to NC anytime now. But no…this is the real deal. I’m staying….and SO happy about it. It already feels like the right place for me right now. You know how sometimes you just get a feeling about something/someplace? I got that feeling here. And it feels fantastic.

End points of interest/vital stats from the last leg of the journey out:

* Number of Budget moving trucks in the Las Vegas Westin parking lot - 1

* Money lost overall in Vegas by Lindsay - $100 (boo)
* Money won overall in Vegas by Matt – a TON (not sure he wants me to share the amount…but it was pretty amazing!)

* Lucky number on the roulette wheel at the Paris casino – 19 baby!!!

* Number of lovely drives over the Hoover Dam – 0 (apparently trucks are no longer allowed over the Dam…damn)
* Number of actual cities passed through between Albuquerque and Las Vegas – 3 (maybe 4…seriously, there was NOTHING on that leg of the trip!)
* Number of furniture pads rented in NC for the truck – 36
* Number of furniture pads turned in for the truck in LA – 39 (um…I guess they mated back there??)
* Number of my credit cards that were frozen due to irregular activity and locations – 2 (don’t worry – I made the calls and I’m back in business – thanks to Amex and Visa for having my back)
* Number of best brothers in the whole world – 1, and only 1
o Matthew, I could NOT have done this without you…thanks for hanging in there with me through the nonstop emotional rollercoaster (“I’m happy and excited!” “I’m so tired.” “I’m feeling conflicted.” “I’m hungry….AGAIN.” “Darn that new Nelly song! Makes me tear up every time!”), too many hours in the truck, seemingly endless pit stops to fill up the gas guzzler and get coffee, never really understanding when we actually qualified as a “truck” and therefore me asking every 10 minutes as I saw scary signs, building pretty much all my furniture, and more Mexican food than you probably ever thought you could eat in one week. What a trip. You’re the best, I love you – I’m so lucky to have you.

So that’s that….the journey is complete. I have arrived. Deep breath…and let the “SoCal Experiment” begin!!

Lack of Scenery = 3rd Day of Journey

Day #3 of the journey to SoCal is complete - we landed in Albuquerque, NM for the night.

Apparently it's the "land of enchantment" around here...it's pretty, but I think "enchantment" might be overshooting a bit. (I remember thinking the same thing when I was here for work 5 years ago...a little full of ourselves, aren't we NM?)

The day started with a bit of a sad note...before heading out of Oklahoma City we made a stop at the memorial and museum for the Oklahoma City bombing downtown. It's a very somber place, but the memorial is absolutely gorgeous. It was really well done - a beautiful tribute to those lost on April 19, 1995. Seeing something like that definitely puts a little perspective on things...being worn out from driving across the country is not actually something to complain about, but rather to be grateful for.

The rest of the day was a bit...how shall I put this...lackluster? We really drove through the middle of nowhere for the majority of today, or so it felt. Oklahoma, northern Texas, and New Mexico do not have much to offer in terms of varied landscape. At times it felt as if we just kept driving through the exact same super flat, brown field over and over and over again. Not super exciting, but had to be done. And if that wasn't bad enough, it was CRAZY windy for most of the day...meaning the truck was all over the road, no matter how much I tried to keep control and not swerve endlessly. I'm just glad we didn't tip over...not sure how Roadside Assistance would have handled that call....oh wait...nevermind. There also wasn't any cell phone service for a good portion of the day either. Sigh...

Vital stats for day #3:

• U.S. states covered = 1 full state, 2 half states
• Number of unidentifiable white plastic things that hit the windshield on the highway = 1
• Number of times "Dynamite" was listened to and sung along with in the truck = 7 (definitely beat out "California Gurls" today)
• Number of dead armadillos seen on the side of 40 West = approx. 20 (there were SO many of these today...poor little guys)
• Number of Texas cops seen in cowboy hats = 2 (both at the same gas station, but not together)
• Number of pieces of the truck that fell off as a result of the crazy wind = 1

• Number of amazing tshirts seen in Albuquerque Walmart = well, too many to count (but this was my favorite)

• Miles done today = 558.9
• Total miles done of trip = 1803.1

And finally.....number of FABULOUS cities we will be hitting up tomorrow night = 1.....VEGA$ baby! The goal is to gamble enough to win the money to pay for this move out to Cali - come on, roulette tables...mama needs to pay for a Budget truck!

We Heart Elvis = 2nd Day of Journey to SoCal

Is there a better way to start the 2nd day of the SoCal journey than to pay our respects to Elvis Presley?! Nope. Definitely not. So that's exactly what we did.

We began the day with a return trip to Graceland in Memphis, TN. (we went there somewhere in the vicinity of 20 years ago on a family trip) Fortunately we were raised right, to be big Elvis fans, so we could appreciate how cool of a place Graceland is...but honestly? As much as I love Elvis, I think I was actually more entertained by/in awe of the people watching there. Wow. It's quite the....um...interesting crowd. Seriously! So many different types of people to observe. Loved every minute of it. (see "stats" below for more specifics)

After lots of fun was had at Graceland, it was time to hit the road for the rest of the day. A few minor setbacks, but we did just fine. We ended up in Oklahoma City for the night.

Vital stats for day #2:

• Number of curbs taken out by moving truck = 0 (I'm getting better!)
• U.S. states covered = 1 and 1/2
• Number of Taco Bell stops = 1 (I have a weak spot for "thinking outside the bun")
• Number of minutes spent in stand-still traffic on the highway for no apparent reason = 55

• Number of Budget moving trucks parked in Graceland parking lot = 1

• Number of guys at Graceland wearing Harley Davidson tshirts (with OR without sleeves) = 14 (that I was able to count)
• Number of amazing mullets spotted AND photographed at Graceland = 1 (not visible here, but the pony tail actually went all the way to his butt)

• Number of souvenirs purchased = 0 (they only had the Elvis sunglasses in kids sizes...what?!)
• Number of times "California Gurls" was heard and sung along to in truck = 5
• Number of times I accidentally veered off of 40 West onto something else = 1 (the goal here is really 0 every day...)
• Miles done today = 508.7
• Total miles done of trip = 1244.2

Last Night in Chapel Hill = Tough 1st Day of Journey

I would highly recommend NOT going out until 3:00am, only to get up at 6:30am to begin a long journey across the entire country. My last night in Chapel Hill was...a tad bit rowdy. But ooohhhhh so much fun.

My incredible brother flew into RDU last night, as he is accompanying me on this crazy trip to SoCal (best brother EVER). I think the plan was to head to bed at a reasonable hour so that we'd be nice and rested for day #1. The kicker to that plan? The Chapel Hill gang had already been drinking for a few hours by the time he arrived, and had no plans to stop anytime soon. So what were the Olsons to do?! Continue/join the partaaaaaay, of course. No other option.

So what did the rest of the night entail? High-level summary = mucho drinks (including lots of delicious tall boys), dancing, Bub's, shuffleboard, Big Buck Hunter, Lady Gaga, "icing," betting, ping pong, trash talking, Time Out, fried chicken, mac 'n cheese, Tar Heel Taxi. I can't think of a better send-off for today's departure...

That's just a sample...for the full line-up of amazingness, check out the FB.

Soooooo...that's the set-up for the beginning of our 2700 mile journey, bright and early this morning. It did not feel good waking up, and knowing what was ahead of us. But luckily I had enough excitement about starting my move to eventually roll out of bed, make a giant pot of coffee, get my brother up, and get us in the Budget truck to hit the road. I didn't look TOO miserable this morning, right?

Vital stats for day #1:

• Number of Olsons involved - 2
• Size of moving truck - 16 feet
• Combined cups of coffee consumed - 10
• Number of curbs taken out by moving truck - 3 (all me...oops)
• U.S. states covered - 2
• Gallons of gas used - approx. 61
• Miles DONE - 735.5 (see proof below)
• Minutes I will be able to stay awake in Memphis hotel after writing this - 3 (at best)

Here's to a good night's sleep and another successful day tomorrow! We will be hitting up Graceland for some honka-honka fun before starting driving tomorrow...I think having Elvis on our side can only be a good thing.

Dear Lalo...

...what can I possibly say? Lalo, my sweet girl...I will miss you. Terribly. Painfully. Each and every day. You are such a wonderful dog. I have been blessed to have you in my life for the past year and few months. You make me smile, even when you're being a stinker. How could you not, with a big, goofy grin like this?!

I will never forget meeting you for the first time...seeing your sweet face through the cage bars at the shelter, having a 'meet and greet' with you, you being so shy...until we fed you hot dogs. You warmed to me immediately, and gave me little kisses. I knew you were meant to be with us. It just felt right. So we swept you off to Copperline Drive!

We had our rough patches together (August 2, 2009 comes to mind), but overwhelmingly the time we spent together was wonderful. And I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything. Some of my favorite memories with you, my girl:

1. The day we brought you home from the shelter...June 12, 2009...I will never forget what a perfect day that was, and how lucky I felt to have you.

2. Mommy and me Halloween costumes...French maids, of course!

3. Seeing how much you loved the 4th of July celebrations! A grand day...aside from when you ran away from me and I had to chase you through 4 yards, screaming...

4. Watching you, through multiple beach trips, grow from being terrified of the ocean to hurling your body into the waves freely! Also, watching you try your first (and last) drink of ocean water. Your face was priceless.

5. Any time I picked you up and carried you around like a baby...I'm sorry...I know you really aren't a fan of that. I just can't help it...you're so cuddly and cute. Thank you for always being a good sport and putting up with it.

6. Giving you a bath. Any of the times I've done it. It's oh-so-fun fighting to keep you in the tub when you're soaking wet and willing to do ANYthing to jump out and run away. Drying you off is always fun too...it's like trying to wrangle a bucking bronco, for gosh sakes!

7. Snuggling in bed with you. Let's remember...you slept OUT of the bed your first and second nights after coming home...and never again after that...

8. You finding pantyhose for the first time...I'm not sure I've ever laughed harder than when I got to watch that spectacle. Un-tangling you was super fun afterward as well.

9. You standing up to get to the coffee table to eat an entire piece of pizza before we could catch you. I've never seen you look more smug, you little sneak!

10. Waking up with you in the mornings, and taking you out for early morning walks. What better way to start a day than to get to see how thrilled you were each time to get out there and run in the grass and sniff everything and prance around....I can't think of anything better.

I'm doing what I think is best for you, even though it means a lot of sadness for me. I can't believe I won't get to see you every day anymore...but don't think for even a minute that that means you won't be on my mind. I love you, Miss Lalo...you mean the world to me. Be a good girl, and I hope I get to see you sometime soon...