Something in my heart died last night....
 

Well I'm back from my whirlwind trip to and through New Mexico :D

It was a fun time - got to see my nephew in his very first piano recital -and he kicked ass. No mistakes, not nervous -the kid is a ham plain and simple. He ate up the performing and for the next recital he gets to write his own piano piece.

I went back to my hometown after being away from about a year or so. As soon as I pulled into town I remembered why I left.

There is something just, well....just ****ty about that place. It puts me in a foul mood. My anger management issues come a reeling back and I just hate that place. Hate.

BUT I do still have my mom and some good friends there. And a man who I've always held a hope about. It's a long and at times amusing story. I met Scooter when I was a freshman in high school - he had long black hair and was very sweet and funny (he was a drum instructor who had graduated the year before). I, of course, had a huge crush.

Then Scooter sort of fell off the face of the planet...no one knew what happened to him - then we found out he had a brain tumor. Long story short he came out of it and survived...and every year he works at a cancer camp for kids - every year he shaves his head at camp to show solidarity w/ the kids....:o

Fast forward four years and I graduate and go to college and meet up with Scooter again at church..we become fast friends. He asks me out a few times, but I'm a love idiot and don't realize it -and once laughed in his face...sigh.

He didn't ask me out again..for another two years....(though we stayed friends in the interim)

Anyway....that's the short version - there's always been a certain "something" there - and I guess in the back of my mind I have always thought, "well there's always Scooter"

But this visit - I found out he got married recently :( Damn. It really affected me, though I hadn't actually thought about him in quite a while.

And I got together with my ex-boyfriend - and had an extreme "what the HELL was I thinking!?!" moment. Sweet guy but good god.

The visit with my grandparents was good - their health is getting worse and worse so it was important for me to spend time with them -and my grandma's passive agressive behaviour toward my mom the whole time gave me great amusement.

I've got a few random pictures....and I realize this story will probably be amusing/intersting only to a very few...I don't go on exciting vacations :laugh:

Anyway...a few pics to follow...

Sounds like your own personal "Catcher in the Rye" experience! haha...except, not nearly as pretentious! *wink*

Me with the grandparents....and their weird dog.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...andparents.jpg

Their weird dog Jojo:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...nnaRG/Jojo.jpg

Me with the granmda...though she's making a weird face....really I don't smell - she just usually makes weird faces in pictures...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...G/Grandma2.jpg

My nephew after the recital...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../AlexPiano.jpg

Hey, Deanna! Great pics. I love your glasses, btw. I've always wanted frames like that, but I don't think they'd suit me. Your nephew is cute. :thumbsup:

Thank ya..I love my glasses...:nod:

And I can't argue with the nephew cuteness...but I have an extreme bias.

I tried to get more scenic shots (the fall colors in New Mexico are amazing) but my camera sucks for that :(

that IS a weird looking dog!!!!! your nephew is mega cute, tho. glad you're back.

Yeah..no clue what kind he is...and he's got little red lips...it's bizarre...he's quite a sweet boy though and he LOVES my grandparents to death so that's cute.

I'm so happy to be home, you have no idea :laugh: I don't want to go back to my hometown for a loooong looong time. Albuquerque on the other hand, I love. Thankfully that's where my closest family is :)

awesome. i love albuquerque - totally in my list of top 5 cities i'd love to settle down in.

Seriously? You've actually been there?

I do love it, and I really hope to end up there (permanently) in the next several years. Of course that would most certainly mean a career change - but in a few years that may not be out of the question.

I just love that city so much. There's something about it, it's a feeling and I just connect there. I lived there for a year - lots of great memories. Then I moved back to Lost Causes, NM (Las Cruces).

I should also mention that upon leaving LC this trip I felt a very real sort of lightness come over me once I was about 15 minutes out of town...no joke, I've never felt that before- but it was like the weight of that hellish place just lifting from me...and I was so happy to be out of there again. My advice- stay away from Las Cruces ;)

The only down side to that is they really do have some of the best hamburgers in the world there :distress:

yep! i've been there a couple times. i know what you mean about connecting with a city/region. that's how i feel about the southwest - like i absolutely belong there. i swear, if god exists, he lives in new mexico. i just feel like i fit in better in the west - it's more laid back, more beautiful, more in touch with its own history, you know what i mean?

i'll definitely heed your advice and stay away from LC, though. :)

Not my pic - but a great shot of ABQ that I found:
http://www.abqcvb.org/images/abqcity.jpg

I know I belong in the west/southwest. That became very clear to me when I moved back east. Blah.

And duh, Carrie - didn't you know that God has land in New MExico? It's right near Ted Turner's ranch ;)

Satan, on the other hand, prefers Southern New Mexico...you know, the Las Cruces region.

^^ great pic. here's one i took this summer off of rt. 40:

http://carrie721.smugmug.com/photos/81759907-M.jpg

lol. and here is a huge-ass bird that i got too close to in arizona:

http://carrie721.smugmug.com/photos/81759259-M.jpg

sorry, not trying to threadjack. just getting a little nostalgic. i totally wish i could've been in NM this weekend, too!

Yeah..that bird is scary. Birds kind of freak me out.

Great shot - I'm kicking myself at the lack of scenic shots - the change of colors was just amazing...fall in Albuquerque can't be beat!

right after i took that picture, that crazy beast came after me. :lol:

yeah, i'm sure it's beautiful this time of year. sigh!!! i just have to finish school, then i can get outta here. :rolleyes:

Oh how I remember that feeling! And I stayed true to my vow to get the hell out of LC - while everyone kept saying, "oh no - you'll never go..." or "you'll be back" Ugh. It felt good to break away - it feels even better to stay away :laugh:

Now I can't predict what the future holds - but lets hope that if I ever do end up back there that they come out with a wicked powerful anger management drug ;)