Ohio Weirdness

Or, more generally, not being in NYC weirdness. The first thing I noticed that clued me in to our transmigration from the city to the country was at Arby's. Old couples! Eating Arby's after attending church on Sunday! Also I overheard some mother comment to her husband as she hoisted her little child on her hip and they left their table, "Thank Gawd for fast food." Note: they were not fat, but I still found the comment ironic.

The next revelation came at Dairy Queen. 2 dollars and some change for a shake?? Are you kidding me? Dairy Queen, where have you been all summer? Clearly you have Mister Softee beaten, but then how is he on every street corner in the city, selling dipped cones for upwards of 2.50?? Alas, I must get used to not eating ice cream or froyo everyday, since it won't be so readily available in China.

Lastly, I just drove home after dropping Cheng back off at his house. That's right, I DROVE. TO CHENG'S HOUSE. Thanks to my mad google maps skills, I have found the calculated distance to be 1.8 miles. Interestingly enough, that is the same exact distance that J and Amy's place is from my apt in the city. And I used to walk that almost everyday, there and back, no big deal. NBD. 1am on a Monday? Eh, kinda late, but there would still be people out. But here, it's like a ghost town. We were driving through eerie fog and along a dark road, and I was just waiting for some deer to jump out. WEIRD. The same distance, yet such a different scenario. What can I say about the suburbs versus the city except that... it's different.

There are more things: I just killed two bugs in my room. Gross. Glad I don't live in the basement in NY; I don't even want to think about that situation. It was only in the 80's here today and yet sitting outside in my backyard I was SO HOT. I'm pretty sure it was the same temp when we had that picnic in central park, so why was this so much worse?? Maybe that extra layer of pollution in the city actually keeps the sun from burning so badly, haha.

On an end note: Cheng and I caught up with our old fencing coach tonight. You might say she's the unwitting instrument of fate who brought us together. Actually, she pretty much is. She's also an amazing person who had the terrible terrible luck of being in an awful car accident in January. She was rear-ended and smushed between two other cars when a drunk driver rammed into her as she sat at a red light, only a block from her apartment. Even after being in a coma for two weeks, on all sorts of meds and through physical therapy, she has come out 8 months later seeming like her old self. I am just amazed, floored, flabbergasted at what she went through and how she is today. I might be a failure at fencing but I'm so so glad that I met her and that we've stayed in touch.

We ended up having a long political discussion tonight (because she's originally from the area of Russia near Georgia and has lots of thoughts on the conflict) that I won't really go into here. Suffice it to say, I've got a lot to think about in terms of my own world view, political knowledge, and how I frame my life in comparison to the movements around the world. Whew, weighty topics for sure. All I know right now is that I forgot to send in for an absentee ballot for when I'm in China so I don't think I'll be voting come November... it would be my first chance to vote in a presidential election and I'll be watching the election unfold from abroad. From former Communist China, no less. I usually have an outsider's take on politics anyway, preferring not to get involved because usually the more I know the more depressed about the entire messed up system I get. So I feel guilty for not exercising my freedom to vote, but also relieved that I won't half to pick between two candidates that I'm not totally sure about.

Wow what a long and windy post. Did you actually read all of it? I don't believe you.