does anyone read this anymore?

i've been home for over a month now, and i can tell you this: the newness has worn off. i was so busy seeing people again/traveling around/eating missed foods in this past month that i didn't really think about korea or other things. but that next step of culture shock has hit. i don't miss korea, per se, but i miss a lot of things about it. the independence, the friends, the sense of adventure, MY OWN APARTMENT, etc. it's not just korea, either. i miss a lot about college, too. korea for me felt like an extended year at school and this is really my first time home without that feeling of taking the "next big step."

schaghticoke seemed great at first- a nice, laid back contrast to the hustle and bustle of my past five years. my friends, though i love them, aren't completely on the same page as me... we all have different priorities. jeni's doing her wedding plans (how's THAT for being on different pages?), amy and jude are working and i'm bumming around. but it is great that i'm not the only person who came home to live with their parents while figuring their lives out... amy and jude are doing the same thing. i guess it comes down to how great it was to spend the past year with people who have the same job/schedule/amount of money as me.

it seems like doing anything here takes a considerable amount of effort. going out at night means finding a designated driver. all of the good restaurants are at least a half hour drive away. i can't just walk to the movies by myself if no one wants to see the same movie as me, and although i love going to the movies by myself, it seems strange to do it here.

i'm seriously considering moving to minneapolis in the next few months and doing grad school there. al says i can stay there rent-free for six months while she house sits for her aunt. i just don't know that i can stay around here... my family wasn't surprised at all to hear me say it, they figured i'd come to that conclusion sooner or later because i'm "just not a small town girl."

in other news, jeni's wedding is in two days, her rehearsal dinner is tomorrow at the ripe tomato. last week we took her out for a bachelorette party in lake george, which was a lot of fun. a bit too much fun for jeni, who had a rough night upon returning to my place and a painful day after. we ended up at king neptune's pub, where there was a really good cover band (girl gone bad) playing. this is the first cover band i've REALLY liked, and the only live band i've ever thought would be cool to have at a wedding reception. they played every song i've ever requested at bars, without my requests! i think some esp had a part in last night's activities. i thought it was funny enough that they played paradise by the dashboard light, but when they started shoop, i was in heaven.

a week from today amber is coming and we're all going to the cape. i've been waiting since winter for this, so i'm beside myself at this point. i can't wait to get to truro vineyards, eat at great restaurants, and of course get a good dose of laid-back nautical new england.