Big Sur

I decided a few things while I was in Miami last week:

1. I hate Miami


2. Going to the beach in the rain is absolutely no fun.

3. If I ever have to spend an extended amount of time in a hospital I'd like to do it at Mercy Hospital in Miami:


4. Hibiscus flowers are literally the only flowers I like.

5. Driving in Miami is possibly the worst thing I've ever done.  For those of you who live in Boston imagine Rt. 1 as it is in MA - A three-lane divided highway with every store/restaurant imaginable on the side of the road (no exits, just turn in and out of parking lots straight from the highway) .  Now imagine a traffic light every 500 feet.  No left turn lanes or signals (but left turns are allowed).  Then imagine the volume of cars we experience during rush hour, but lasting literally all day (8am - 8pm) and you will have something close to what it's like to drive in Miami.

6. Cities are beautiful from a distance. 


7. Palm trees are beautiful up close.  (Also, private islands are AWESOME).

8. One day I will live in Italy and this will be my house:

"--Men say 'We are men... we think wise thoughts, we make lunch, we look around, we make a great effort to realize everything is the same'"

Sometimes There's Airplanes You Can't Jump Out

This is where I've been living for a while.  It's kind of lonely, but the view is awesome.

I was in Missouri last week for 5 days.  I thought it was never going to end and BONUS I had terrible allergies the entire time I was there.  As it turns out, I'm desperately allergic to grass pollen.  My eyes kept watering so it looked like I was crying during the entire training and I couldn't see very well so I couldn't see the screen I was presenting on.  As it turns out, I can literally do this job blind-folded.  You'd think this may be comforting, but I was much more than mildly horrified.

The best part about the trip: I got to cross Missouri off of my list of states to visit which now brings my total count to 30 (only 20 to go!)

To the right is a picture of the town the hospital was located in.  Population: 45 people.  Yes, this is a picture of the ENTIRE town.

In order to make up for such a painful trip I decided to have fun over the weekend (instead of doing laundry and re-packing as usual).  I went to see the Chihuly exhibit at the MFA:

According to the signs most of the pieces (all made of blown glass) were designed to look like a flower garden.  Personally I thought they all looked like sea-plants.  I pretty much felt like I was trapped in a bizarre combination of Finding Nemo and Avatar the entire time.  Although, I did actually really like this piece to the right: Purple 'Reeds'.

I also made chocolate eclairs, for lack of a better dessert in my apartment when I wanted dessert on Sunday night.  They were fantastic - I don't mean to brag, but if there's one thing I know I'm good at, it's baking.

Only in Mis-sippi...

... do you need to hold your breath outside because the air is so hot it will kill you if you breathe it in.

... will you need to swerve off the highway to avoid teenagers hauling a fallen mattress out of the middle of the road at least a mile from their parents waiting at the truck.

Note the dead bug splatters...

... can you see a police officer driving down the highway in a golf card.

... is 70mph too slow on the highway and 25mph too fast everywhere else.

... is there graffiti on the road signs that go across the highway.

... does literally EVERYTHING start with the prefix 'miss-'

... will your rental car be duct taped together.

... will a mall cop offer you a ride to your car because the parking lot is just too big.

... do the billboards say "Chicken salad is gross on donuts" and nothing else.

... do you frequently need to clean dead bugs off your windshield.

...