Sunday morning I got up at 4am, decided I didn’t care enough to shower, and drug myself around until super shuttle showed up. Everything went fine. I got to Vegas…early. I wanted delays. I wanted us to circle before landing. I wanted us to at least be right on time, not early. I had 6.5 hours ahead of me before my connection.

We landed right along the “Strip,” so I got to see all the cool casinos from the warm comfort of my plane. Signs of the record snowfall were basically gone. As soon as I step off the plane, I’m greeted by rows of slot machines and big men in cowboy hats. My heart sank as I tried to imagine the next hours here in this horrible place.

It got worse when I realized I had to leave security to get to my departing gate. I learn this after I buy my gigantic water, so I’m now restricted to public airport areas. If you’re wondering, what you’ll find here—it’s a bunch of big flashy screens advertising area shows. One of these had audio. Audio that did 30-second cycles through 3 clips: Phantom of the Opera, Cher, & Mama Mia. It did this all 6 hours. Yes…

I read an issue of Spin & Rolling Stone and felt my brain collapsing in to mush. I was so tired. I looked around to people sleeping in corners on the floor. I decided I was going for it. I put my backpack against the wall, used my messenger bag as a pillow, and curled up for a nap. Every sound startled me. I had this fear I was sleeping in a place that I’d be in someone’s way. I must have eventually crashed, because I woke later in a panic, ripping out my phone to check the time. I didn’t set an alarm, because it seemed impossible that I could sleep 3 hours in an airport. Sure enough, it was only an hour, but it was the most refreshing hour ever.

I grabbed some food and worked on my photobook (which I forgot to order…). So I finally got on a plane and made it across the country. The pilot was nice enough to let us in on the 3-degree temps we were approaching. At least lie a little. Throw out a double digit. It’s cold either way. We don’t need to know exactly how cold. By the time we’re approaching Indy, he comes on with more good news. “Hey guys, looks like a windchill of -15 here at Indianapolis.” Yay.

The descent was the only scary part. It had been a marvelously peaceful flight until we started dropping through the thick layer of clouds. It got rough, but the guy pulled off a pristine landing. We arrived nearly an hour early, so it worked out that my parents got there early to see the airport. The flight was just long enough for me to finish the final issue of RS and another chapter in Bird by Bird.

It was my first time seeing the new airport. I really like it. I thought the old one was easy to navigate so I can’t speak to much improvement on that front, but it was all light & sparkly. Impressive.

It was a stressful ride home with the ‘rents. The excitement of seeing me after 7 months wore off in about 20 minutes and then it was just like old times. Yay for people stressing out over little things and getting in fights about it!

But the dogs made up for it. Milo nearly knocked me down. Poodle nearly knocked over my shoe. And Snippy, she had become quite the little poofball and was ready & waiting for some petting. She’s like a new dog. It’s pretty amazing.

Weather has been pretty crap. Ice storm right now, which resulted in my dad sliding down a hill despite his 4-wheel drive. I haven’t even tried to leave, but I have a jam-packed schedule of seeing people next week, so the weather better cooperate. But for now, I’m just playing dog sitter and getting stressed out by parents. I think I’ll come home for halloween next year. Less stress and better weather for exploring. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with the dogs, though. Milo has been my buddy. Sharing a bed with a pitbull is a lot like sharing with a deaf person, because saying “move over” does absolutely nothing. He’s pretty awesome that aside.

So yeah…tomorrow is the start of extended family time. Should be fun.

I need to make my best of lists soon!

* all photos courtesy of iphone. One day I’ll be able to take clear photos with it