The morning sunrise seemed to ask me why I try to find the strength in people who never thought about a different way of life

My little family's trip to Georgia seems to have turned out to be exactly what I needed to get out of the weird mood I was in. Since we were staying in the old (and funny smelling) house my mom just bought, we were completely lacking internet, computers, television, or furniture, sans three air mattresses, a chair, and a TV tray. And since we were a good 13 hours drive away from anyone I know, I was also lacking social interaction. Except for the times we visited our relatives, I was limited to sleeping, eating, and reading, often going periods of hours at a time without saying a word. On the drive home, I sprawled myself out in the back, listened to music, looked at the sky, and figured out what I was going to do for my next art project. It was extremely relaxing. Not that my summer home life is filled with stress and anxiety, but getting away from people and (largely) electricity for a while had a good effect on me.

It was also funny to sit back and observe my relatives. My grandma, aunt Katie, mom, and cousin Jackie all in the same house. Three generations of generally opinionated women, three of whom lack significant masculine influence, and all of whom had some sort of ongoing quarrel happening with at least two of the others. Highlights include my aunt insisting that my hair tie had some sort of connection with a teenage sex fad, my grandma arriving almost 3 hours late to GA partially because she kept looping around on the interstate (getting off at an exit, driving straight back on to the on ramp, getting off at the exit, driving back on to the on ramp...), and Mark, Jackie's husband, making quiet but witty remarks about how he felt being the only man present.

Updated Goals:

- To accomplish the aforementioned reading goal, I've been asking my friends what their favorite books are, writing down their responses, and I plan to check them all out from the library and read them. So far I've read Night, a Holocaust nonfiction, and I'm starting I Never Promised You A Rose Garden. Next on the list: House Of Leaves.

- Tomorrow I'm planning on going out and buying paper and an exact-o-knife so I can get to work on the art project I thought of on the ride home. If I get really ambitious, I might try to finish the project I started at the beginning of LAST summer.

- Though this seems to have a high probability for faliure, I'm actually going to try to go running in the mornings a few days a week. I've decided to make this plan work, I'd need to get up around 8 and run in the mornings, which is why I've decided there's about an 78% chance this won't happen. I cherish my sleep.