The Journey: Part I

Sooooooooooooo.

First of all, i don’t know how to comment on things or reblog or any of that stuff. which is sad, because i wanted to do it for one of my besties, margaretr, (which i also want to make into a linky-thing to her blog….) OH MY GOD I DID IT!!!!! i just clicked that tiny button, and i put in the address, whoooooohooohoooooooheeeeee!

TECHNOLOGY: YOU SHALL BE CONQUERED.

so there.

okay, back to the point of this entry. i made the first part of my trip! well, it’s not really that big of a part, it was just me driving from medford, OR, to fresno, CA. from my mom’s house to my dad’s. they are divorced, you see. and so i wanted to spend some summer time with my dad, so i came down two weeks before my plane to australia. which means an eight-hour car ride down into cali. uuuuuugggghhhhhhhhhhhh

on top of that, i had to say goodbye to my fish, my dog, and my mom. i wouldn’t see my mom until mid-september, when she’s going to visit me in melbourne.

:(

i criiiiiiiied, and cried and cried some more. first in the morning, when i was saying bye to my puppy, cleo. she’s not an actual puppy, she’s full-grown. she still looks like a puppy. anywho, i don’t get to see her or my fish, todd, until december. (that is, if todd lives that long. … he’s already two. that’s like, 120 in fish years. i have dropped him twice and he has still lived on. so maybe he will be alive when i get back, i would like that.) and THEN i cried when i had to say bye to my mom, because my parents do this thing where they both drive halfway, so we end up meeting in willow or williams to get lunch and then i get shifted to the other car and both cars go back to their homes. so i had to say bye to my mom after lunch, and i bawled my eyes out. i don’t really do the choking sob-style crying, i do the silent weeping style crying. my face gets all scrunched up and tense and i stare at the ground trying to calm myself.

so then i realized that i would really like to have my mom at the airport when i leave. because this is a really, really big deal for me. i have never been out of the country, i have never gone somewhere i have never been before without my parents, i have never moved into a place without my parents’ help. well, i mean, with one parent and/or the other. i hate having divorced parents. it means having to choose one of them to experience something with. i don’t want to choose for this experience. i need them both. it’s a super big time and effort commitment for my mom, though. it’s a 12-hour drive to los angeles, where i am flying out from, or an expensive plane ticket for just a day. so when i asked her to come see me off, mid-weeping and staring at the ground, i didn’t want to spring it on her or make her have to drive so far or anything, it’s just that i want her there. way more than i realized before i had to say goodbye.

i’m trying to be okay with her not being there, though, because it is a really big hassle for her. i’ll see.

and then i drove the rest of the way to fresno, in dad’s car, crying in the backseat for a little while, then stopping and realizing, if i don’t get to see my mom at the airport, i will get to see her in september, in australia, and be able to show her all the amazing things i will have seen by then.

and that is part I of my journey.

Danielle's First Post

Awwww! My first post. I just created this blog, literally 5 minutes ago (it took me a long time to figure out how to customize it, or whatever you say in blogspeak) so I thought I’d put in my first post! In case you don’t know me, I guess, I am Danielle, I am turning 20 in a week, and I am going to Melbourne, Australia in 3 weeks. This blog will cover my entire trip, including the insanity, the jetlag, the fear, the nervousness, the giddiness, the hugs, the giant bugs, and the Australian men (hopefully that one will take up the majority of the blog. No, not the bugs, the men).

So, Hallelujah, this blog will keep me in contacts with my American amigos! And anyone else who wants to read, you are welcome to. I love new friends!

Oh good, this thing has spellcheck!