Yawn...

I have been so tired lately! There have been a few good reasons, but man, last night I crashed hard! I fell asleep sometime around 10:30... and I woke up sometime around midnight, only to stay up for another half hour or so, then I went back to bed and slept until 10:30am! Even at 10:30 I didn't really want to get up, but I figured if I wanted any chance at a productive day, I should start moving my body. I was super tired last night because I had drove back and forth across the state to teach a First Aid and CPR class at the camp I work at. And after all the driving I did last week... it really exhausted me.

So last week, I did a road trip to North Carolina for spring break. Just me, all by myself! I felt like I was up for the adventure, and I was really looking forward to a new locale. Plus, I was going to be staying with my friend Dan, and he had promised to be my tour guide. I drove down on Tuesday, and stayed til Saturday, when I drove home. It was an 11 hour drive each way! I stopped in Cincinnati for a break and was able to hang out with my friend Kelly, but other than that, most stops were about five minutes long. I would literally get out of the car after about 3 hours, stop at a McDonalds, use the restroom, and maybe order something to drink.

The driving was tiring in itself, but the whole trip turned out to be a real downer. Dan had told me that he wouldn't be able to take Wednesday off, but he would for sure get Thursday and Friday off. Seeing as I wasn't making it to NC until Tuesday evening, it didn't seem like a big deal. I would spend part of Wednesday entertaining myself, and then have a tour guide and companion for the rest of my trip. But of course, nothing could turn out so easily. Dan gave his two weeks notice at his job, just a week before I came. Which suddenly meant, guess what, he couldn't really take Thursday and Friday off. So that meant I was on my own, basically for my whole trip.

I was annoyed by this, but more so because Dan didn't communicate this to me until after I had arrived. And to add to it, when I arrived in Asheville on Tuesday night, Dan wasn't even home to greet me! I had made it very clear to him that I would arrive between 8 and 9 pm... and I showed up at 8:22pm. He was out with his coworkers and girlfriend at a bar! So not only could I not find his house, but I was hungry, needed to use the bathroom, and tired of being cooped up in the car. I was beyond pissed! Who invites someone to come stay with them, and then isn't even home when their guest has driven 11 hours??? His roommate was supposed to let me in, but by the time I had found the house, he had went down into the basement to play his drums... so guess who couldn't even hear the doorbell? So I literally sat on the porch fuming for a good half hour before Dan finally showed up with his girlfriend in tow. He came and smiled and was like "oh sorry... hugs?" Let's just say, he didn't get a hug from me. Thankfully his girlfriend had a little bit of sense because she suggested that after I use the restroom that they take me somewhere to grab a bite to eat.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I was again on my own. And I was super annoyed because I over heard Dan tell his roommate in the morning "Yeah... I told her I'd be busy this week... but she wanted to come anyhow, so unfortunately she'll be on her own." He never once told me anything like that, or I wouldn't have come! Even when Dan could have made time for me, he really wasn't. He would make it clear that he was taking time off to hang with his girlfriend, but I was "welcome" to join them. So not only did I have to navigate myself through a strange city all on my own (thank God for GPS) but when I did actually get to spend time with the friend who had begged me to come visit, he made me feel constantly like the third wheel. I normally am very comfortable with being the single person hanging out with my friends who are a couple... but clearly his girlfriend seemed a little threatened by me, and his way of making her okay with me being there was by making me feel like I was the third wheel. Apparently he thought that buying me dinner was an appropriate gesture towards friendship, but I highly disagree. Needless to say, she had nothing to be threatened by, because after this trip I wasn't even sure I wanted to be his friend anymore. Even the one time he did hang out with me without his girlfriend, he made it very clear that she was unhappy that he was choosing to spend the evening with me instead of her.

Come Saturday I was incredibly happy to leave at the crack of dawn and get the hell out of Asheville, NC. And of course, just to add to it, he had promised to get up to see me off and even offered to make me some coffee before I left. Not breakfast mind you, just coffee. But did he get up when I left? No, because his girlfriend had slept over the night before I guess that plan was ditched in favor of sleeping in with her. Anyhow, I gathered my things, knocked on his bedroom door, and told him I was leaving. He came out, looked at me groggily, and was like "oh, let me make you some coffee for the road!" I suppose I could have been a bit nicer, but I just couldn't stand to be there any longer. I had plans to meet my friend Kelly again in Cincinnati for lunch, and seeing as it was a six hour drive to Cinci, I just wanted to hit the road. I tried to be nice, but told him no, I no longer had time for coffee, and besides, I really don't like coffee anyhow. I gave him a hug, and then I left.

So in the end, I had a really craptastic spring break, in which I spent two days in the car, and I spent all the money on a rental car, gas, etc only to have a trip where I was angry and lonely for most of it. As a result, I wasn't overly impressed with Asheville. It was pretty, sure, but I was annoyed by the yuppies who tried to disguise themselves as dirty hippies, and the overall lack of diversity. There may be a ton of health ed jobs in that area, but I am definitely not overly eager to move down there anytime soon! I might have had a better impression if I'd had a better time of it... but in the end I really just wish I had ended my trip in Cinci with Kelly. And of course, to top it all off, I promptly broke my glasses when I got home last Saturday. And because I have awful astigmatisms, my lenses cost a small fortune. So I can't help but think if I didn't waste all my money on a rental car and gas to get to Asheville, I could afford a new pair of glasses right now. Eh.