A-to-Z with D

The concept of home  has been keeping me up at night.  It seems simple enough. For many it's as easy as home is where the heart is  -- as in a physical location. The place they were raised; the place their family lives; the place they feel a deep sense of belonging; the place they plant their roots; the place their partner and/or kids are. But home isn't that easily defined for me, because my heart (and therefore, according to the saying, my home) is scattered across the world. Is home Kansas City? Whether I like it or not, I have deep roots in KC. Beyond the familiarity, it's where my sister and her partner live. It's where the love of my life is, and will be for no fewer than 16 more years. It's where my grandma is, where some aunts and uncles (blood or otherwise) are, where dear friends are, where a large community of love and support fostered over 34 years resides. The environment is not my vibe and I've said for years that I would never move back, but reg...

Another recent find from when I was convinced I was going to be the next Tyra Banks. --- 2-15-04 Today was the coolest day!  Well, I'll start out with yesterday... Dad and I went down to Bartle Hall in downtown KC to go to an audition. Mom couldn't go because she had to set up for the renewal of vows service, but that's a different story. So, we got there on time, but couldn't find out where we needed to be.  After finally getting directions from a fellow student (later known as Reah), we bought tickets to the world of wheels auto show, which was hosting the JRP Audition. We had to have the tickets to get upstairs, which stunk, cause they were $14! Oh well. So, we got up there, having no  clue where in the enormous place we should go. We walked around aimlessly for awhile and found some more JRP students who were just as lost. We all spread out and I found a JRP booth with no sponser person there. We figured this had to be it so we waited for about 20 min. At 11:30, M...

A while back I found my journal from Presidential Classroom - the week-long trip to DC that Honeywell sent me on in high school. It's nice to revisit these day-of writings for a few reasons. While I definitely have memories of this trip, they're admittedly fuzzy. Reading the raw thoughts of your teenage self is always entertaining. Yesterday I hung out with one of the people I wrote about 15 years ago. I wouldn't live in Scotland right now had Maria not peaked my interest during the week of March 2nd, 2008. Butterfly effects are nuts. --- DAY 1   Sunday 02 March, 2008 We got on the plane at 1:00 and I found that, despite our early ticket purchase, I was 4 rows from the back of the plane. The seats were leather and pretty comfortable, though, and there were only two seats on each side, leaving lots of personal space. Our on-board snack was two fresh-baked hot cookies (chocolate chip)...oh-so yummy. Our flight pulled in at 4:30, but our bus to the hotel couldn't come un...