It's so lonely just sitting and dreaming of that girl a thousand miles away

[austin_dern]

So a year ago, as of this posting's dateline, I believe I was in my car, wondering if Ohio ever came to an end. It was bad enough driving forever across I-80 in Pennsylvania, but even when that state was through I'd have hour upon hour more to go. I'm not a long-distance driver, by inclination; the longest drive I believe I'd ever had before was from Troy, New York, back to my parents' home, in grad school days, and that was a decade or more in the past however good I got at the ride down the Northway to the Thruway to 17 to the Parkway to the Turnpike. Driving from New Jersey to Michigan would be more than twice that longest-drive-ever, and I really wanted to do it in one day, if I could.

The point of this was to leave behind my old life and come to live with bunny_hugger, just in time for the whirlwind ten days that would culminate in our wedding. Perhaps I'd have been safer if I'd stopped somewhere in eastern Ohio and slept overnight; I was getting pretty exhausted by about this hour back then, and I know I missed some landmarks I shouldn't have, such as the wrestling bears in Dundee, Michigan. (They're harder to spot from the highway going north than you might think.)

Sometimes bunny_hugger expresses worries that I'm terribly homesick, or that she's done violence to my character by moving me from a state that has been so very much my home. I wish she didn't. My only regret about moving out a year ago is that I took so very long to do it. I should have come home sooner.

Trivia: The Continental Congress's 1775 election of Benjamin Franklin as first Postmaster-General for the nation was unanimous. Source: The First American: The Life And Times Of Benjamin Franklin, H W Brands.

Currently Reading: The Temperature of History, Stephen G Brush.

PS: Where Do Negative Numbers Come From?, a partial answer to a question I'd gotten about the history of understanding and acceptance of negative numbers.

Comments

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

FSM, indeed - Pennsylvania takes some time to traverse. Though, at least it's rather scenic - contrast that to going through Texas, where those lights in the distance might be over a hundred miles away. O.o; (Thinking of which, you might enjoy The World's Most Dangerous Roads (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Most_Dangerous_Roads) - some stunning camerawork involved, over some dramatic vistas. The snag, of course, is that they tend to be often rather high up, narrow, and with a politician's promise as a barrier)

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Pennsylvania takes forever to get across --- particularly from the perspective of this proud New Jerseyite, since we've got a state that's like 200 miles north to south and 40 miles across, just big enough thank you kindly and I was always living in the middle of it. Also, Pennsylvania last maintained a highway in about 1966, so there's all sorts of surprise lane closures and whatnot.

I admit not having been to any really, really huge states; I suppose Michigan's the biggest that I've driven in at any length.

[moxie_man]

Not much worse than driving from the southern tip of Maine to the northern tip. When you and Hugger came up for your visit, keep in mind that it's another 4.5 to 5 hours north of "The Squirrels' Nest" to the northern border of the state. :)

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of that, yeah. Your mention about Maine alone being as large as the rest of New England combined startled me.

Mind, I think of New Jersey, compact as it is, as being about the right size for a state. Four hours' driving north to south is plenty.

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

At leas Texas has billboards along the highways. Holy crap, Iowa.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Iowa is, I admit, among the states I've never set foot in. Texas too, come to think of it.

One of my brothers back when he was young did a tour of nearly all the contiguous states. He and his friend deliberately skipped Texas, though, allegedly for fear of the snakes.

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

To sum it up for Bunny: Remember, this guy moved to Singapore, and had intention of staying there for theoretical decades. You're worried about taking him to Lansing?

[bunny-hugger.livejournal.com]

That's why I'm worried about keeping him in Lansing.

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

Well, you'll just need to make sure Lansing gets a Snoopy Place and a ban on chewing gum, and you should be fine.

More seriously: I think your concerns are less about keeping him in Lansing, and more about keeping you in Lansing. The two are now obviously intertwined.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

You know I got chewing gum in Singapore, right? (It was a cute little gift from a friend who'd popped into Johor Bahru for the day.) And the Snoopy Place, alas, closed in early 2005 I think it was. Never knew just what happened either; it was one of those ``wait, it was open last weekend'' things.

And, yes, I intend to be in Lansing as long as bunny_hugger is.

[bunny-hugger.livejournal.com]

No, I think you have that wrong. I love Lansing and don't want to leave. I worry my job may eventually force me to. But there was a time when just about all Austin wanted was to figure out how to get back to Singapore and I still worry about that. I remember a time when I was afraid to tell Austin that there was no way I would ever live in Singapore, because I thought that might be a deal-breaker.

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

I think it's obvious to us all Austin wants something quite else now. :)

As for Lansing.. you've obviously got a home, a job there, and leaving would be hard. That's a worry, but I have little doubt that any change of locale for you two would be arrived at by long and careful consideration of financila, emotional, and other factors.

Also, this is Austin, who can find neat things about everyplace, even if he will oft drily mock then on LJ. He's assuredly finding Lansing enjoyable.. just like Singapore, New Jersey, Cedar Point[*1], RPI, Admsterdam, Britian, and North Carolina when he stopped there to put gas in his car on his own for the first time, and had the disastrous experience with Valomilks[*2].

--Chi
[*1] No, you can't move there.
[*2] This is entirely fictitious and yet it wouldn't surprise anyone.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I don't have any doubts about staying in Lansing, not as long as you're in it.

Lansing has charms abundant by itself, but with you it's incomparable.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Mind you, Singapore offered me a decent-paying job, a partly furnished apartment, and a teaching position. It could have been University of Missouri, Kansas City, if the connections I had worked out that way.