Wild Wild West

This blog entry is coming to you all the way from my Dad's kitchen table in Arizona, where I am watching him and Lynn play cribbage- card game of the Carters, apparently. Have been here since Saturday evening, and so far have successfully avoided all and any mention of essays, reading, and the like. Which is nice. Am definitely feeling less stressed than I was last week, and am sleeping better. Not sure how well I'm going to cope with this whole '3 square meals a day' thing though.
Lovely Laura (and Siobhan, and Annemieke) dropped me off at the airport Saturday morning, on route to a day out at Ikea (as you do...), which was amazing- although of course the problem with making new friends is that they always seem to result in more people to miss...
Since I've been here I've mostly been chilling- played at an open mic night in a wonderful coffee shop (not-for-profit charity for the victims of domestic violence) on Saturday night, went to a 'Wild West' festival on Sunday and ate 'fry bread' which is yummy, but probably will result in an early death, took the written component of the AZ driver's test on Monday, and today took the practical component of the test and went to see HP7.1 for the second time. On an IMax screen. Close ups have never been more terrifying. And yes, I approve- yes, it was severely cut, but at least we didn't end up with another 'burning of the Burrow.'
And yes, I'm proud to say that I passed my drivers test- again. Slightly worried by the ease with which I obtained my license- arrived at the MVD at 12.20, and was on the freeway home an hour later. The test itself consisted of a 3-point turn (with cones, of all things!) and driving around two blocks. And yes, I tried to drive in a bike lane- dem got big bikes out here in the West- but somehow still passed. Must say that I was terrified by our return to the MDV within 10 minutes of leaving- was pretty sure I'd managed to pull an 'illegal' and was about to be fined...
Still not sure what I think of the test here- on the one hand, as my Dad says, they actually look at how you handle the vehicle and how you interact with other road users, rather than on whether you physically turn your head during 'mirror signal maneuver,' but on the other hand, they are practically giving the freakin' things away! Darwinism is all well and good, but not when it puts other people at risk...

Still trying to get used to the further time difference as well, but am hoping that with this week off I'll not only be able to get my essays completed (it's getting to that point now...) but also will actually be able to have a proper chat with certain people from home who I miss a great deal and who I haven't talked to in far, far too long. Plus, Cora and I have a party to arrange!

JJ