oceantheorem

I made it to Utah on Thursday. Claire and I are each in one piece, which is nice. The car also seems to be functioning well, for which I am deeply and eternally grateful to the powers that be.

I know I've mentioned this on here before, but in case you don't know, I have about a zillion cousins. My mom's side of the family is Mormon, so visiting Utah is basically like dropping myself into the center of a continuously ongoing family reunion. I am one of those extremely lucky people that actually LIKES her extended family (since they're all basically just totally awesome), so the fact that I am staying with my aunt and uncle for a couple of days is one of great happiness. Claire and I have a room to ourselves, and there has been much visiting of cousins and cousins' babies and whatnot. I always forget just how amazing it is to see family again. They're so bright and funny and loving and supportive... you can't help but come away feeling better about yourself. Even if your cousin's husband does beat you soundly at Settlers of Catan.

They're also trying to convince me to stay here, and I have to say, it's pretty tempting. There's a whole floor upstairs that's a mini-apartment that Claire and I could live in while I look for a job, and then I could find my own place. There's a built-in support network here, it's only a day's drive from Reno, there are several universities in the area creating lots of jobs and I'd have a ton of help getting back on my feet... I know, I know, I KNOW, it's not California. It is, in fact, a step backwards from Nevada. But there isn't really room for me at my parents' house in Reno (I believe I will be sleeping either on a pullout couch in the library or on a rollaway bed in the office... plus there is a dog-door that I'm terrified Claire will escape out of and be eaten by coyotes), and Reno's a smaller area, so getting a job feels less likely.... And going straight to California right now is just out of the question. It's the state hit hardest by the economic slump, and I simply can't afford to live there while I'm trying to find a job. I KNOW, I should have thought about all this before I left Connecticut. But I was terrified that if I stayed too long I'd never escape--and it was hard enough as it was. My friends did not make it easy on me. I seem to be plagued by an overabundance of people who want me around! What a terrible blessing!
On a side note, I've started having nightmares (mostly just sad, not scary) about the people I left behind in CT. Aaaauuugggghhhhh. The problem with choosing something is that you always have a thing you didn't choose!

Anyway. What was I talking about? I got distracted.

I'm heading to Reno tomorrow. Nine more hours in the car with Sad Cat (turns out Claire isn't Angry Cat in the car... she just walks around and cries. It's more depressing than anything else. after about half an hour she'll sit down on her pillow and sleep, but that first half hour or so is hard on the Cat Owner emotions).... Oh well. Wednesday night she actually used the litterbox while we were driving down the freeway, so I think she's finally gotten the hang of being a car cat. Poor thing.

Okay. I'm out of rambling for now. I'm sleepy and confused and all that good stuff. I miss Connecticut (by which I mean I miss the people I left behind, because I certainly don't miss the state), but I really think this was the right decision, and I feel like I have more options open to me now. I guess we'll find out.