At Home Again
Mar. 22nd, 2008 09:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
la_samtyrSo the trip to Omaha went ok. Not a lot of fun by any means but thanks to the wonders of online driving instructions, I managed to find my way around w/o too much problem. The only problem I had was when it was time to find a place to stay. Did you know that most places will not take cash, only plastic? Well you probably do but I sure didn't. Cash has always worked fine before y'know. But now? The only place I could find was a Travelodge on 72nd that would take cash (plus a $20 deposit because it *was* cash...) It didn't help that I arrived during the NCAA tourney either. ::eyeroll:: Anyhoo, I did manage to snoop around Best Buy and a few other places so I can get a newer computer. Mine are just getting old and I have way too much "fun stuff" on them to risk them being lost or something. At least I didn't have to spend the night cruising the Evil Empire's Super Store or something of the sort.
Other highlights included the discovery of a coffeehouse named Scooter's at the corner of 72nd and Dodge. (Yo, Maggie!) I didn't get any pics but since it's right across the street from a Borders and the Crossroads Mall (which has a Barnes and Noble store) I will definitely be going back when I get a chance, if only so I can take pics of Scooter's. :) I didn't have time for Borders but I did stop at B&N, where I picked up a pb copy of "Candy" by Luke Davies -- and yes, the movie "Candy" is based on the novel. I haven't started it yet though because by the time I got back I was too tired and I want to be able to read it and not fall asleep.
All that driving pretty much clobbered my back and neck, yuck. I need to remember to get some pillows or something and see if that helps. Most of the time I'm not driving any distance so I don't notice it much. And surprisingly, the Blazer gets better gas mileage than I would have guessed. One way was less than a quarter-tank, and even with all the driving I did, when I filled up for the return, it was above a half-tank. Not too shabby. And I got lucky w/the gas -- the station was only $3.02 (8 gals. cost just under $25).
What fallows is a lot of personal stuff about family history, etc. so it's under the cut. You can read or not, as you choose.
For those of you just joining me, I should explain a few things about my mom's family. My mom came from a large family; she was the youngest child. So by the time her older sisters started their families, Mom was just enough older than they were that the nieces and nephews seemed more like younger brothers and sisters. By the time Mom had me (I was *thisclose* to being a change-of-life baby), most of the grandchildren (my first cousins) were having families of their own. So I am actually closer in age to my second cousins, since most of my *first* cousins are old enough to be my parents. I have a bad habit of referring to all of them as cousins and not differentiate between first and second but when you read my posts carefully you can usually guess which is most likely.
The family tree is compounded by the fact that the Omaha branch has stayed in Omaha (they might move away for a short time but they always come back) and they have a lot of old friends and neighbors they have stayed close to over the years. Add to this is the fact that most of them have large families of their own (including step-families and assorted step-in-laws), so that there are always a lot of people around. Plus, surprisingly, most of the ex-wives are on fairly good terms with the current wives. ::shrugs:: Go figure.
At the funeral, I intended to sit in the middle of the room so that I wouldn't be in the way but Aunt Lee wanted me beside her, so that's where I sat. (You know where this is going, right?) I met *so* many people -- only a very few of whom I actually knew -- and they all seemed to know me. Gah. It is so frustrating for me to meet all of these people, because they always seem to think that I should know/remember them. Not likely when you consider the fact I met them once or twice when I was in elementary school and haven't seen since. So I ended up doing a lot of smiling and "Of course I remember you" when I really didn't know *who* I was talking to. (I also have a bad hearing loss, which means you have to make sure I catch your name or I will probably never figure out who you are other than "green hoodie", "purple Converse", "big f'n diamond" or something similar.
One thing I found odd was that some of the younger cousins (third by now, I guess) haven't been to any funerals, or very few. My mom and dad started taking me to funerals when I was two, not quite three and while I don't enjoy them, they don't really bother me. Weirdly, I have gone to very few weddings -- I guess that should have been a clue for me early on. But no.
Ok, enough of boring you if you've bothered to read this far. Time for bed; see you tomorrow. Happy Easter or Blessed Ostara or whatever holiday you happen to celebrate.
Other highlights included the discovery of a coffeehouse named Scooter's at the corner of 72nd and Dodge. (Yo, Maggie!) I didn't get any pics but since it's right across the street from a Borders and the Crossroads Mall (which has a Barnes and Noble store) I will definitely be going back when I get a chance, if only so I can take pics of Scooter's. :) I didn't have time for Borders but I did stop at B&N, where I picked up a pb copy of "Candy" by Luke Davies -- and yes, the movie "Candy" is based on the novel. I haven't started it yet though because by the time I got back I was too tired and I want to be able to read it and not fall asleep.
All that driving pretty much clobbered my back and neck, yuck. I need to remember to get some pillows or something and see if that helps. Most of the time I'm not driving any distance so I don't notice it much. And surprisingly, the Blazer gets better gas mileage than I would have guessed. One way was less than a quarter-tank, and even with all the driving I did, when I filled up for the return, it was above a half-tank. Not too shabby. And I got lucky w/the gas -- the station was only $3.02 (8 gals. cost just under $25).
What fallows is a lot of personal stuff about family history, etc. so it's under the cut. You can read or not, as you choose.
For those of you just joining me, I should explain a few things about my mom's family. My mom came from a large family; she was the youngest child. So by the time her older sisters started their families, Mom was just enough older than they were that the nieces and nephews seemed more like younger brothers and sisters. By the time Mom had me (I was *thisclose* to being a change-of-life baby), most of the grandchildren (my first cousins) were having families of their own. So I am actually closer in age to my second cousins, since most of my *first* cousins are old enough to be my parents. I have a bad habit of referring to all of them as cousins and not differentiate between first and second but when you read my posts carefully you can usually guess which is most likely.
The family tree is compounded by the fact that the Omaha branch has stayed in Omaha (they might move away for a short time but they always come back) and they have a lot of old friends and neighbors they have stayed close to over the years. Add to this is the fact that most of them have large families of their own (including step-families and assorted step-in-laws), so that there are always a lot of people around. Plus, surprisingly, most of the ex-wives are on fairly good terms with the current wives. ::shrugs:: Go figure.
At the funeral, I intended to sit in the middle of the room so that I wouldn't be in the way but Aunt Lee wanted me beside her, so that's where I sat. (You know where this is going, right?) I met *so* many people -- only a very few of whom I actually knew -- and they all seemed to know me. Gah. It is so frustrating for me to meet all of these people, because they always seem to think that I should know/remember them. Not likely when you consider the fact I met them once or twice when I was in elementary school and haven't seen since. So I ended up doing a lot of smiling and "Of course I remember you" when I really didn't know *who* I was talking to. (I also have a bad hearing loss, which means you have to make sure I catch your name or I will probably never figure out who you are other than "green hoodie", "purple Converse", "big f'n diamond" or something similar.
One thing I found odd was that some of the younger cousins (third by now, I guess) haven't been to any funerals, or very few. My mom and dad started taking me to funerals when I was two, not quite three and while I don't enjoy them, they don't really bother me. Weirdly, I have gone to very few weddings -- I guess that should have been a clue for me early on. But no.
Ok, enough of boring you if you've bothered to read this far. Time for bed; see you tomorrow. Happy Easter or Blessed Ostara or whatever holiday you happen to celebrate.
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no subject
Date: 2008-03-23 12:35 pm (UTC)i don't like both weddings and funerals.try to avoid them mostly.
glad you had a safe trip.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-23 10:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-24 10:44 am (UTC)Hope you're having a good Easter. :)
no subject
Date: 2008-03-24 06:06 pm (UTC)