Being Hot and All That is Going On

I haven't been posting as often as usual because it's hot.  And don't even try to tell me that's not a good excuse.

It's so hot in Louisiana that I become drenched in sweat from the time it takes to walk from the house to the car.  It's so hot that when I leave my purse in the car for 20 minutes, my chapstick melts into a gooey mess.  It's so hot that we drove by a front yard today with two little kids sitting scrunched up inside of a long, white cooler full of water.  Their knees were pulled up to their chins so they could both fit.

So yeah, it takes me a bit longer to do everything here.  Like blog.  Or shower.  Or pretty much move at all.  The only thing that brings any relief are my afternoon, frozen treats from the drive-through daiquiri places that are somehow amazingly legal and only exist in Louisiana.

Don't judge just because you're jealous.

But I realize that y'all still want to know what the heck is going on, and whether I'm on plan A, or plan B, or plan Q for my journey.  There is still more of what I don't know than what I do, which seems to be the theme for my life lately.  But it's ok because I'm starting to really dig living that way.

So to review, I spent two weeks in Pennsylvania, getting spoiled by my parents.  Then, I spent ten days in Louisiana, getting spoiled by Oldman's parents.  I've had lots of sleep and home cooked food.  I'm a happy camper.

Oldman and I during a recent bike ride through a state park
(aka the swamp)

This weekend, Oldman and I will head to Virginia Beach to spend a week with my Dad's Italian side of the family.  I'm looking forward to beach lounging, deep sea fishing, and feasts of seafood and authentic Italian food.

The week after that (we're up to July 15th now, people, try to keep up), we will head north to the Catskill mountains in New York to housesit for a friend for another week.  We'll get to crash in a hip, mountain cabin for free in exchange for caring for a cute cat and some plants.  We plan to hike, bike, tube down a river, jump into some swimming holes in the woods, check out the local farmer's market, visit a nearby Zen monastery, and climb at "The Gunks" (which, for those of you who don't know, is the premiere outdoor rock-climbing spot on the east coast).  Bonus!!

Following our vacation in New York to recover from our vacation at the beach, I don't really know what will happen.  We're back to planning our move west - maybe Montana, maybe Utah, maybe Arizona, maybe New Mexico.   Figuring out car details and packing details and audiobook details.

I still haven't heard back about the fellowship in Nepal, and time has almost run out for that.  Which is fine, because I'm not even sure that is the right thing for me anymore.  I should have known that a two-month waiting time is too much for someone like me.  I have changed my mind and made new plans six different times since sending in that application.

So that's the for-now update.  And now I gotta go because it smells amazing downstairs and I'm desperately needed to help eat whatever yummy Chinese food Oldman's mother has just cooked up.