Lessons on big city living

Sorry for the blogging hiatus! It's been a CRAZY few weeks. I'm actually typing this from our new temporary home in Omaha. On Wednesday we brought down the last of our stuff and worked on putting it in storage Wednesday and Thursday. For the past few days we've been busy unpacking and preparing for our LAST summer of classes! Nate is taking six hours to finish up his MA, and I'm wrapping up my thesis and co-facilitating a Nebraska Writing Project course at UNL that starts on Monday. By the end of the first week of July, we will be DONE with our Master's Degrees! We've been hard at work on these for the past four years....needless to say, we're ready for a break. Anyway...despite the chaos of moving, I've managed to learn a few lessons about big city living.

Lesson number one of big city living: always bring your phone. I never thought I'd live here because it's such a big city. I've preferred living in smaller cities/towns mainly because I have no sense of direction in order to navigate my way through these places. Prime example to illustrate this point: On Thursday I set out for a three mile run in our neighborhood. I didn't take my phone with me because I was confident I knew where I was going. My goal was to find the Papio Trail, and then head back. Like a small child, once on the trail I became distracted by all the pretty houses, flowers, and trees. Before I knew it, I was in an unfamiliar neighborhood with incredibly windy roads. I found my way back to 156th street thinking I could find my way back from there....that was ambitious thinking on my part. After running in circles for two additional miles realizing I had no idea how to get back to our new home, I finally swallowed my pride and headed into a nearby Walgreens to call Nate. He was sleeping when I left, and because we recently changed our phone numbers, I wasn't even sure I knew Nate's number. An irritated looking woman handed me a phone receiver and dialed the number for me (since the phone was behind the counter) and waited. The phone rang four or five times, but luckily my husband sleepily answered, obviously confused by the random number that just came across his screen. "Uh...can you come pick me up? I'm at Walgreens on 156th and Maple. I'm lost," I muttered. Of course, he laughed. For the past few runs, I've taken my phone and stuck to trails that don't require me to turn. I can't get lost if I'm running straight ahead, right?

Lesson number two: pace yourself...and drink decaf after five. With a coffee shop on nearly every corner in Omaha, I've consumed massive amounts of caffeine in the past three days....this explains why it's after midnight and I'm still going strong. I haven't slept much in the past three days, but I have been productive!

I'm sure I'll have more lessons to write about as we continue transitioning from small town living to urban dwelling!