Brain Cleaning

I absolutely intended to write down everything as I was on the train last night, but I just didn't get the chance to. I was basically exhausted, plus I had the Headache From Hades, so I spent most of my time trying to find a way to lay down that kept my head from feeling like it was being ripped in half. The whole ride home was pretty much the definition of bittersweet, especially when, about ten minutes after finally leaving the train station, I realized I was out of Chicago. I dawned on me then that for three months I hadn't been much more than about seven miles from campus. It all passed by in a few minutes, and all of a sudden there was the Chicago Skyway, and I'm like... whoa. That went way too fast, in so many ways! After that, the train spent its time getting progressively colder, culminating in an absolutely horrible hour and a half sitting outside some tiny Indiana town because we were delayed. I have no idea why we were delayed, but I didn't get back to Y-town until 10:30 this morning, rather than 7:10. In fact, we barely were even in Ohio by then. I don't think we got to Fostoria until 6, and we were supposed to get there at 4am. Silly Amtrak. Good thing I booked my tickets back a day early! I'd hate to be late for my first day of classes, and get myself into the same basic mess I was in this quarter. It was so strange that, as soon as we were out of Illinois, there was snow everywhere. And there continues to be snow everywhere. What a strange change. It really doesn't feel terribly colder here, though.

I definitely need to get something written of this paper tonight. I'd like to get at least 3/4 of the way through it tonight before like 11, and then go to sleep, get up and take my sister to school, say hi to a few people, come back, maybe register for classes, and then finish it up. Afterall, it isn't due until 1 tomorrow. The time zone switch is still screwing me up a little. It feels so weird to be back home. For right now, there's no one else around, and there's no chance of someone suddenly walking in and bothering me, which is a rather über-weird feeling at this point. I think by January I'll only just be getting used to no one wandering into my room, and then I'll be heading back. It's hardly worth getting used to anything. It's already weird that this doesn't feel as much like home anymore. Even though the cat has welcomed me back finally. He spent most of the afternoon snubbing me and such, but then he played with the telephone cord while I was talking to one of my friends here, and he seems to have accepted me again. Funny, I think it would feel more like home right now if we'd had a Christmas tree set up already. It just feels like the right time of year. Which it is, but usually my family doesn't get the tree until at most a week before Christmas. This break is going to go so fast... I don't want to have to lug all my stuff back on Amtrak again! (Next time, I'm bringing a blanket, a real pillow, and Tylenol, oh yes). It's only 8 back at the Shoreland (which I just almost called home.. silly confused brain)... it's too late here. I imagine this is going to be a late night no matter what, since I napped during the afternoon. Heh. It certainly doesn't feel late enough to be 9. Is it possible for me to be homesick for someplace that isn't really home? I think part of it is that I have friends back in Chicago that are still in the dorms right now, and will be for a week, and I won't get to see much of anyone for about a week here. Hmm.. Hopefully perhaps tomorrow I'll get to do a bit of visiting around school before I come back to work on my paper. Of course, that all depends on how much I can get done tonight. I'd rather like to just be able to hang out around school and talk to the teachers and such, and I imagine the principal's going to want a bit-by-bit rundown of my entire quarter, and a huge explanation of why I'm not really majoring in physics anymore...