Arizona and Cars

I just returned from the Title box. I was trying to figure out what to title this entry but then realized I haven't even written it yet so how can I accurately title it? I can't. Even if I know what I want to write about, how do I know that I won't get off on a tangent? Unless I know EXACTLY what I'm going to say and I know I'll stay focused, I like titling at the end.

Well, these past two days have been chaotic for me. Ever since my friend and I "started our business," we've been swamped with work. It's actually very encouraging to know people are so willing to use us, amatuers that we are, yet I suppose we really aren't in what we do, just moreso in the whole "business" thing. We have learned a TON over the past week, though, and it is definitely a practice in organization and prioritizing!

We have about 6 or 7 projects in all, but only 3 of them are due towards the end of this week and weekend. They all require a lot of creativity and time, so it's been interesting working together and learning from it all. It's a great experience, and it is actually quite exciting. At least, it's exciting when I have time to sit and think about it.

Anyway, I see sunshine in the future. Literally. Friday night (if my bags maange to pack themselves by then), my parents, my friend Heather, and I are driving to St. Louis to spend the night and get up early Sat. morning to leave on a plane to ARIZONA! I'm so excited. I don't care if it's 112 degrees there every day, I'm still excited. Why?

On Saturday when we get in at like 10 in the morning (yeah, crazy, makes me wonder how early we're actually leaving), we're going to drive with my aunts and uncles to Sedona, or aka Oak Creek Canyon. This seriously has to be one of the most beuaitful drives. When I drove there with my uncle in his convertible jag about 5 years ago with the windows down and some of his dramatic play music playing, I felt like I was in an Omnimax. A huge expanse of mountains, canyons, and bright blue sky stretched out before me as the road wound up, down, through, and out of the side of a mountain. Absolutely beautiful. Once you hit Oak Creek, it's always important to roll down the windows to smell the rich, spicy, piney smell that envelopes the air. And, of course, to hear the creek. Our cabin sits practically in a mountain, with the creek five minutes away walking distance for fishing. A lot of memories lie in that creek... going down there with Grandpa Schupbach and fishing, blackberry picking, hiking the trail, going to Slide Rock (a big, slippery rock in the creek that flushes you down it like a slide).

Anyway, in the cabin's backyard is a patio set up on some steps with a creek running by it. You can walk on a trail that leads you who-knows-where, I've followed it many times but you can only go so far before you tell yourself to come back. I'm just looking forward to relaxing there for a weekend and basking in God's beautiful creation and nature away from everything... God is so good.

We'll drive back to Phoenix for the rest of the week, then. I'm excited to stay in my aunt and uncle's new addition (guest houses). They also have a large pool and some tennis courts, so maybe I'll try my hand at tennis. I have a feeling I won't be very good. Ah, well. It's good exercise. I'm sure that will be a fun-filled week, nonetheless.

My mom's whole side of the family lives out there, so it will also be good to see both my aunts and uncles and all my cousins and first-cousin-once-removeds. Sadly, I am probably closer to my first cousin once-removeds than I am my actual first cousins, but that is what happens when you are the baby on both sides of the family.

Anyway. Tangent on Arizona. Sorry. You shouldn't have gotten me thinking about it.

You know what I feel the most sorry for right now? My car. It has been through so much. First my mom, then my sister, then my brother (I'm surprised it made it through HIM), now me. I'm not complaining, really. It gets me where I need to go, and it flies around like a little go-cart. The license plate says TRK1974. No, my middle inital is NOT R and no, I was NOT born in 1974. That's how consistent we've been with updating that plate. Oh, well. Anyway, back to why I feel sorry for it, mostly because it's been having so many difficulties lately. About a month ago, I was driving to pick Heather up a street away and i turn onto her street RIGHT in front of her house and all of the sudden, as if in slow motion, my car suddenly stops driving. The brakes lock up on me so I quickly shift into park and my car dies. Figures. I got Heather and we sat on the hood of my car and waved people by on 3rd street until my dad came to my rescue and somehow got the thing in neutral so we could glide to the curb. It was the timing belt.
THEN, I don't know, just dumb things have been going wrong since. The air conditioning broke but then "magically" started working when we took it in and has been working ever since. But tonight I left my car in the driveway for like 5 minutes and came out and onto the driveway was leaking green fluid. Confused, I leaned over and peeked under my car. Yep, it was definitely leaking from MY car, not some hot spring erupting from the driveway or from melted lime popscicles. My dad waved it off as leaking anti-freeze fluid.
"It's needs to be fixed," he commented. I feel like I hear that phrase often about my car. It's also really loud. One of my guy friends who definitely could pimp out a car suggested that it is my cadillac converter (is that right? probably not, I know zero about cars).
Anyway. Enough on my car. A picture of my car and me, distraught on 3rd street, is included in case you were wondering what this treasure looks like. I love it. I really do. It's my friend. Until it dies and then I'll just get a Volkswagon Beetle. A green one. Or buy my brother's black Jetta.
Enough on cars, though. I'm a girl, and I shouldn't be allowed to talk about them for so long when I really don't know much about them, anyway. We'll just label that section a tribute to the Kaiser Prism.

Well, I just got rebuked by my mom for not packing, so I should probably go do that. I'm pretty busy these next few days. I just wanted to get a quick post in while I felt like it. Sorry this was kinda long but get used to it, remember, I'm a writer.

-T