M.I.A.

So, not only have I been negligent of my blogging "responsibilities", I've also been neglecting some of my buddies. I've been fussed at so much this past week that I'm trying to reach out and make amends, with folk, while updating people on what's been going on.

I've been doing my fair share of traveling this month, as anyone on Facebook can tell you. I traveled to Los Angeles during the first/second week of October to visit my brother and meet my future sister-in-law. My "quasi-excitement" about the trip dissipated the moment I arrived. Devon, my future-SIL, took good care of me when my brother was busy with school or work. She and I went shopping, out to eat, talked wedding stuff. It was great. The three of us went to Six Flags Magic Mountain on that Friday, and had a freakin' blast. First of all, the park was essentially empty. The longest line we stood in was 45 minutes for the Deja Vu. The park had sooooo many coasters, and I later learned that this particular park is in a constant battle with Cedar Point for the title of "most roller coasters". I believe Magic Mountain surpassed CP this year with the opening of their wooden "Terminator:Salvation" ride. Intense. The scariest thing I've ever ridden, the X2, was the culmination of our day. Never have I ridden a contraption that sent me uphill on my back,hanging off the side of the track, and flipped me continuously throughout the ride. OMG that mug was SCARY, but FUN! In terms of celebrity sightings, I only saw Fabio and Tiny "Zeus" Lister during my time there. I never see, like, Will Smith. Always the randoms.

Another trip I just returned from was a weekend trip to Dallas to visit my friend Jocelyn, her hubby Courtney, and to attend her son's first birthday party. (Note to self: upload the pics!) Another of my friends from back in the day, Kim, joined us from New Jersey, along with Jocelyn's parents from Cleveland. I don't think I've ever gone out of town and not spent a dime. We spent the ENTIRE weekend in the house, from prepping for the party to hanging out in the "man cave" to having an impromptu worship service at the house. It was really nice to see my friends again (I hadn't seen Kim in three years) and catch up. It was a nice getaway and although I was a little hesitant to go at first, I'm glad I had a chance to take the trip.

As a result of these two, I had to cancel another trip to Atlanta that I was supposed to take this weekend for Kat's birthday party. Sucks rocks. I am planning to go to Chicago right before Thanksgiving, and of course there is the big family cruise in December.

I also closed my Twitter account earlier this month. It just made no sense to me. I understood using it in an attempt to keep up with folk, but it became more of a nuisance to check than fun to use. So, I said good-bye.

Last but certainly not least, my biggest distraction this month has been HIM. This still isn't "Facebook Public" and most of my friends aren't aware yet, but I am now....finally....after 10 long years....in a relationship! I'm dating someone that I've known for 9 years and had some past romantic involvement with, effective October 23rd. Although it's new -- we've only been officially together for two weeks -- our long-term close friendship and our dating history has made this all VERY easy. The hardest part,though? It's long distance. It's never easy. He lives in Chicago and I'm here. He came down to see me a few weeks ago, which is when we made our relationship official, and I'm going to go see him in a couple weeks. (I gotta find my winter coat). It's exciting because I know, without a shadow of a single doubt, that this is the man I am going to marry. I'm not being spooky, I just know this. We've talked about it. Where/when/how many guests etc. We've talked about kids. I've known him so long that nothing surprises me. I've met his parents and he's met mine (it was years ago, but still). My folks remember him and vice versa. And we are crazy about each other. It's so nice to finally have reciprocated love, y'all. This is such a foreign concept to me. He's working very hard on getting himself moved to Tampa, praying for a job opportunity to open up to make that happen. At any rate, much of my incognito-ness(?) lately has been due to long long phone conversations in the evenings. Thank the LORD for AT&T's A-list, because all of those calls are now FREE. AT&T FTW! So, keep us in your prayers....ya girl is happy and there is a man involved!