In the beginning, I spent some very much needed quality time with two of the most important people in my life: Matt and Christine. We got to hang out, go out to eat, and a few highlights were going to the Bok Tower Botanical Gardens in Lake Wales and eating a Dunkin Donuts Double Down. Note: originally it was supposed to be a Krispy Kreme Double Down, but due to lack of availability of KK, we used an extra DD. This is where you take a glazed donut, cut it in half and use it as a bun with the KFC Double Down.. It's a doozy, but very delicioso.
The botanical gardens were so cool, because the biggest feature is a tower that would be comparable to Sauron's summer tower. Check it out:
Also, I picked up a new bad habit: Second Life. If you are unfamiliar, it is a virtual world where you literally can create a second life for yourself. You apply for jobs (if you want to work), develop skills, make friends (possibly even a boyfriend/girlfriend), build a house, etc. I think most people just use it as a 3D chat option. Let me know if any of you all get this, I'll add you to my friends. It's free to use, and as long as you don't have a dial-up connection, you can probably play too.
I've gone out to dinner with friends, traveled around town, visited my grandma, picked up presents for all my sugar babies back in Georgia! (Hopefully I didn't forget any!)
My grandma has become quite the character since moving into her assisted living facility. She thrives on the social interaction and activities they put together. She was a cheerleader in high school (popular), and now she is able to experience that again. All the denizens of the facility love her clothes the best and are jealous of her, which she also loves. She has her heart set on a man there, and resources to get the DL on his activities. I got her set up on skype yesterday, but I'm not sure if she's quite computer savvy enough at this point to communicate with me just yet.
As mentioned, I packed like a crazy person before my transatlantic flight, and I am still kicking myself for forgetting my camera! Luckily my friend Christine let me borrow hers while she was in town, and she uploaded all the pics on facebook = w00t!
As far as a health update, it has been one huge roller coaster. I've been trying to keep updates simple and to a minimum, so as not to cause you, dear reader, any undue stress. I had a couple of relapses from some lung problems they couldn't diagnose. My health coordinator with Peace Corps has mentioned me possibly being medically separated, my doctor has suspected I had some rare lung disorder I picked up in Georgia, I've been feeling great, and not so great (even lost a full week of consciousness thanks to codeine cough syrup), but overall, my health is improving. I got released from the doctor this past Friday, and I'm waiting to hear from my health coordinator. I'm sad and glad that my vacation days were not spent as much vacationing as they were healing from all this, but I am glad that as of yet, I'm not being medically separated (and would have, had I not used the vacation days).
In my resting time, I was able to reconnect with the internet and max, unlimited bandwidth to download a good amount of movies. I was able to watch seasons 2 and 3 of True Blood!! Awesome series. There was also an article and raucous about the new cover of Rolling Stone being a little too controversial. Parents were calling for it to be deemed a mature magazine cover. Take a look:
Personally, I think it's a hottt cover. Ok, I'm sure a lot of you are thinking it's vulgar and inappropriate. Maybe it shouldn't be next Country Living, but it's not blood to my knowledge. I'm pretty sure it's chocolate syrup. If you haven't watched True Blood, you should check it out. It's a vampire show on HBO.
I've collected a lot of things to bring back, but I think I am pretty sure I am pushing the weight limit! We'll see how that goes. I just want to go back and finish my service. Things I still need to do: go to Harry Potter World at Universal- Orlando!!!
I think that's about all you need to know to get by until the next post. Love you all! Thank you to everyone who has expressed/provided support through all of this. It really means a lot. <-- Cheesy to the max, but it's true. :)
