Off I go…more along the way. See you soon! :3

Okay, I thought yesterday’s entry was going to be the last one but I decided I need to post the last dream I’ve had in America.

I was in Seattle with Brian for some reason. I think he was going there to look for a job and I tagged along to check out the place. In any case, I was sitting around the hotel room and he came in and said, “Looks like we’ll be here awhile. I gave a friend a call, so we might be meeting up with someone you know!” He said it in a sort of mysterious way and I assumed it was Will because he’s the only person I know in Seattle, but it turned out he was talking about some guy named Bob. I was still excited to meet up with the person so I suggested we go out for a walk to explore the place while we waited for the guy to call back.

We went walking and got to this shopping center/restaurant area. I asked Brian if he wanted to get some dinner and he said sure so we went up to this restaurant at the top of a skyscraper that had this spectacular view of the cityscape. I could see the space needle off in the distance. For some reason we got a private room and it was rather large, and just as the waiter came by, I saw 3 HUGE katamaris go rolling across the city. They weren’t full size ones either, they were the original shape of the katamari before you’ve rolled anything up, sort of like a dog toy, but they were as tall as the skyscrapers. (katamari is Japanese for “clump” from what I gather, and is taken from the game Katamari Damacy that we’ve been playing so much of recently.)

The thing is, they weren’t real, I could see they were digital images projected. I was a little confused so I yelled “Katamari!” and started making a big scene. I ran to the window to look around and I could see other things sort of hovering around the katamaris. They were all manner of things like towels and people and doors, and I was able to read the name “Arthur Dent” on a placard on one of the doors and it was then that I realized that this must be Will’s company doing a game test because they were playing Katamari Damacy and they’d been working on this animated game for “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and they’d gone largescale. It made perfect sense and I thought it was so cool that I’d gotten to see what Will’s company was working on. :-D

I woke up with a grin on my face. XD

Last night was absolutely incredible. I was scanning some stuff and my mom poked her head in my room and said, “Ever seen the northern lights?” (I hadn’t.) So we grabbed our coats and went outside and watched with what I can only describe as pure, innocent awe at the undulating dance happening across the sky. A huge band of ebbing and flowing white silky light covered the sky from west to east, as far as I could see in either direction. It was absolutely amazing. I watched for about 15 minutes until most of the show was over, then went inside with a happy grin plastered over my face. That was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. :3

Earlier in the day we’d gone to visit my brother down in Madison. I drove both ways in my car, which I didn’t really mind, but it’s a pretty long drive (~2 hours). We basically had lunch and toured his apartment before we had to head home so Dad could milk the cows. Joe once again told me I’d better come back from Australia. I think he believes more strongly than most people even, that I won’t come back. ^^;;

I spent most of today shopping for some last minute things. After all the driving I did yesterday, my back was a bit sore so driving all over the place didn’t help. When I got home I found out that I could go and sign my new contract so I ate lunch then went back into town. So I’m officially hired on until June 12, 2005 for the same job I have been doing the last 7 months. Yay for contract extensions. So this means Portland/Seattle will have to wait until summer. That’s cool though, since I’ll have more money to move then, and I won’t have to do it in the dead of winter.

We had our combo party on Saturday night. (bon voyage, Jon’s birthday, and Peter’s birthday) We went to Nakashima’s and had the hibachi and afterwards went back to the guys’ apartment to play a bunch of Katamari Damacy. A bit of alcohol was consumed and a good time was had by all. Peter had grown this freaky beard and looked like a contestant on “Who’s More Grizzled?” I felt a bit left out as I was stuck on the end of the hibachi table during dinner and couldn’t participate in any conversations without needing to yell (which I don’t like doing in the first place) then feeling somewhat isolated from people after dinner as well. It seemed like any jokes I made were not well-received and people were ignoring me somewhat, so I was tempted to just shut up completely. We went our separate ways at about 2:30 and I got hugs from Peter and Mel so that made me feel a bit better but I went to bed feeling a bit sad. ~_~

I’ve been feeling strangely calm the past week…contemplative. My usual reaction to excitement and the unknown would be utter freaking out, but for whatever reason I haven’t been inclined to act that way. I’ve just been going about my business as usual, keeping myself as busy as I normally do, and living my life. I really do not feel like I’m about to cross the world. It feels like a day unlike any other. Very strange indeed. I wonder if this will continue on the airplane or if by then it’ll actually feel real.

The next time I write it’ll be in the travelog, so say goodbye to the Blahg for the time being.

The time draws near; mere days remain. So much to do, so many people to say goodbye to, so much good food and good company. Spirits are pretty high despite the rather shitty week I’ve had so far (no comments necessary.)

I’ve created a weblog especially for my trip called Ann’s Australian Adventure. I will be updating that one while I’m gone and will pay little to no attention to this one, so please check that out if you’re interested in what I’m up to.