Bon Voyage!

Today is my last day at work prior to my vacation. I'll be back and posting the week of June 18th. I doubt I'll have a chance to post before that, but perhaps. I'll have plenty to share once I return! Stay tuned.

Love,
Mona

Travel Details...

Thanks to everyone who is helping me out during my travels. This posting is purely practical....for those who are helping but forget what they are supposed to do or when they are supposed to do it, here's the info:

5/23 DROP OFF: Mona dropped off at the Indy Airport - Tyler to take her at around noon

5/24 PICK UP: Mona to be picked up in Tirana - David and James to get her at 11:25pm, AlItalia flight number AZ0530 coming in from Milan (MXP)

6/15 DROP OFF: Mona dropping herself off in Milan on June 15th at 10:00AM

6/15 PICK UP: Mona to be picked up in Indianapolis - Terralyn to get her at 8:30pm, American Airlines flight number 1609 coming in from Chicago (ORD)

Andy, Jeff, Terralyn and Jeremy to take care of my cats while I'm gone. The schedule is as follows (click on it for a larger view):

Searching for rentals sucks

So, a few weeks ago, as you all read in a previous post, I met my new roommate. She and I have been house-hunting for a rental and man, it sucks. I forget how stressful this process can be. It wouldn't be so bad, except that there is a big time-limit since I'll be gone for three weeks on vacation. We're hoping to find a place before I leave, but that's proving to be quite an endeavor....and with only a week left before I leave, it's getting a bit close for comfort. But, if we wait until I get back, that only leaves me three weeks before I have to leave my current dwelling, so that's a time-crunch, too. Pain in the ass!

So, the places we've looked at so far all seem to be a piece on the inside. A washer and dryer from the 70's, an oven that looked like it could have been originally built by the Pilgrims, bathrooms with tubs in them that are damn scary, floors that look like they've been danced on by professional cloggers. OH, and the house I saw yesterday. The current tenants had 3 dogs and 4 cats. Except that I couldn't find any of the animals with all the stuff piled up in their place. OH, and I can't forget the one place with the land-lady that yelled rather than talked (and in broken English).

But tonight I'm supposed to look at a place that looks promising on the outside. Wish me luck!!!

Mother's Day

What did you all do for Mother's Day? Anything special?

I sent my mommy some flowers (roses, to be exact). On actual Mother's Day, I had dinner with Terralyn and family, though. I called my mom and chatted with her, however.

Exciting Times

I'm such a neglectful blogger-person. An update of exciting new things going on....

I found a roommate! I want a cheaper living arrangement and found a wonderful person also looking for a roommate situation through Craigslist. It turns out that we have a good mutual friend (my friend, Tyler), which we thought was a bit ironic. Anyway, so we are searching for a place together and I will hopefully be moved in by July-ish time-frame.

I am registered as a non-degree student at IUPUI! I hope to start taking Spanish classes in the Fall, depending on how other things in my life work out. It's the first time in my life in which I'm just going to take classes for the fun of it and see what I gravitate toward in a no-pressure, no time-line situation. I feel, after two degrees and several years work-experience, that I can finally do something like this. YAY! I'm excited.

Other things happening at work that I'll talk more about later.

As for the most exciting thing this month and next month, the Europe trip is right around the corner! An update on where I'll be going starting May 23rd:

Country, Cities:

Albania – Tirana, Berat, Vlore
Montenegro – Budva and/or Kotor
Croatia – Dubrovnik, Split, maybe Zagreb
Slovenia – Ljublijana
Italy – Venice, Bologna, Cinque Terre Beach, Milan

I have a feeling I'm going to be tired when I get back. :)