I'm back, bitches

Yes, the truth can't be denied any longer- I'm back in Claremont and my vacation is over. While I'm definitely sad to have my vacation over (and what a vacation it was, more on that later I'm sure), its nice to be home. I know it probably sounds cheesy, but I really feel like Claremont is my home (for the next year, at least). My friends all live within a couple of blocks from me- its a real community, and one which I feel really lucky to be a part of.
Okay, enough sappiness; I think I'm still somewhat tired from the drive down/the past week. My vacation was full of unexpected things, and most of my plans went awry, but it was still a really really good week. Technically in my mind my vacation started on Thursday (because that was my last day of teaching, and while I went to my office job on Friday, we all know that that doesn't count for numerous reasons, the most prominent being the fact that this blog is so well stocked with posts). That night I saw Flogging Molly at the Orange County fair, which was such a good show! I also learned that supposedly this is the year of the Avocado- who knew? The weekend was spent exploring Mount Baldy's many critters and learning that trees can apparently "grow like a bat out of hell." The next few days were spent in the lovely town of Livermore, where I think I saw every site to see. Okay, so I only saw three things, but that pretty much was all of Livermore. What did I see, you wonder? Only the oldest burning lightbulb (since 1901, not kidding) and the totem pole, which at one point was the cause for a curse on the town. Don't believe me? Check out "Livermore: the Movie" for the complete story. I know, because I was forced to watch it not once, but twice- thanks Sean. Oh, and I got to spend an hour drifting out on Lake del Valle, when the boat we were on died unexpectedly. No matter what anyone says, I had nothing to do with it, nothing. One moment, I'm sitting there, the motor merrily going along. The next- silence. After spending some time, unsuccessfully trying to get it restarted and mooring ourselves on the shore, we had to be towed back. Another wonderful Livermore experience. After that pinnacle, I knew nothing else the city had could compare to the wonderful sites I had seen, so I left for the wonderful sights and sounds of Sacramento. Of which there were many, believe me. I acquired an awesome arrowhead from the State Indian Museum and I finally got to visit Sutter's Fort (hence the picture of me with the old west rifle on myspace). Lots of random adventures were had by all. I also got to see some of my good college friends, and almost eat it (ie: fall down) in multiple locations. I got to pull a "wait, you're not my friends" moment, and also learned the difference between men's and women's breasts. Oh, and somehow I acquired a salt and pepper shaker set (which now resides in my car, so if anyone ever needs to add some spices to their food, feel free to check out the hyundai). Sadly, my trip up north ended on Saturday, when I drove back down the ever-lovin' Interstate 5. Of course that was not before I got to wake up and help Paige and Norman move out of their house. Nothing gets me going for a six hour drive down the 5 like moving heavy furniture.
All in all, it was a totally great vacation, chock full of randomness and good memories. It was really nice to see friends up north, I always forget just how weird I can really be until I hang out with them. And now I'm back in Claremont, trying (and probably failing) to tamp down on the weirdness, and generally enjoying my last few weeks of freedom before classes begin. But I'm not going to think about that just yet.