Good morning, everyone! I'm back.... - Democratic Underground

NewWaveChick1981

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Tue Oct-10-06 07:44 AM
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Good morning, everyone! I'm back....

...at least until tomorrow morning, when I head out to a professional conference. :( I had a good trip to see my dad and help him celebrate his 75th birthday. The relatives we stayed with don't have internet access (they're in the Dark Ages :cry:), so I had no chance to jump online while I was there. Internet access in the Philly airport was very, very sucky, and even though we had a four-hour delay due to weather, I got to post ONCE on DU... :cry: So, needless to say, I'm suffering major withdrawal symptoms that are just now easing. :) Got back late last night and just had time to unpack, see my husband and my dogs, and then crash. I'm making up for lost time now and starting to catch up on DU.... :bounce: :woohoo: I'll definitely have internet access where I'll be over the next few days (starting tomorrow), but I won't have it Saturday until I get back from the wedding.

Oh, and I had "Fun with Fundies" while I was there. :P My aunt (the one we stayed with) is a very sweet woman and is a Baptist fundie (although the two are usually mutually exclusive :rofl: ), so she dragged my nonreligious heathen ass to church. :P I thought I was going to burst into flames or something when I entered the door, but I'm still alive to tell about it. :P My sister and brother also came along, although they're somewhat religious to begin with. The good thing is that it was not a bible-thumping kind of service; it was pretty laid back and casual, which was a relief. Oh, and haruka, it happened again----my thoughts turned MUCH naughtier when I was sitting in that church. :rofl: :evilgrin: I had to do SOMETHING to occupy my time there... :P

"Fun with Fundies Part II": One of my other aunts hosted Dad's birthday party on Sunday afternoon, and there I saw aunts, uncles, and cousins I had not seen in years (at least 15 years, since that was the last time I was there). Almost ALL of them are fundies of the highest degree---the only exception is one of my female cousins who has been married and divorced twice and caused a huge uproar in her family for getting divorced. And it was double since it was twice. :rofl: I talked to her for well over an hour at the get-together, and I really enjoyed that. :) She's about five years older than I am. Oh, and just to show you how fundie and intolerant the rest of them are, I got to hear a discussion between the host aunt and one of my uncles (her brother) about how black people and basically anyone but white people would never be raptured because there was no way they could be true Christians. :wtf: I didn't even know where to start with that one... :yoiks: And then one of my cousins got in on the discussion (he's a fundie minister), and a big argument ensued about whether or not Hispanic people were really white or not. :evilfrown: Now you know why I don't see these relatives any more often than I do. :yoiks: I love my father and am thankful he's not a fundie, but it's hard to deal with his relatives that are. It was important to my dad for us to be there, but I'd never do it on my own. Ever. They're filled with such hate for anyone who isn't like them.

I had a decent trip overall since the majority of the fundie fun was Sunday afternoon. We went to Mennonite and Amish country near where Dad lives, and there was a great Mennonite general store that we visited. I bought some local stuff (maple syrup and preserves) to take home, and they survived in my suitcase just fine. :) We also went to an old hotel where my grandparents (now deceased) honeymooned in the 1920s, and the hotel is fully restored and functional with a lot of lovely antiques. We ate lunch there, and it was really good.

Anyhow, it's good to be back. I missed you guys! :hug: :hi: :loveya: