Day 30

It's true. I've been gone for 30 days. In a way, it feels like I've been doing this forever. In another way, I could have sworn I just left last week. Really, I haven't made it very far :P

Friday evening I decided to ride my bike to get Coldstone Creamery in preparation for Vega's Day (the end of Lint). It was 7.4 miles there and back, and on the way back it rained the entire way. But let me tell you, at midnight that ride was soooo worth it.
So you're probably wondering, "I've never heard of Vega's Day, or Lint. WTF?"
Well, this was the 10th annual Vega's Day. It all started in high school when I kept thinking I was forgetting something... I was constantly thinking that April 12th had something big planned. Finally one year my friend Cristina suggested that it was just my day. So it became Vega's Day.
In my first year at Alverno College (a women's college run by the School Sisters of St Francis), I was sitting in the Commons on Ash Wednesday wondering why everyone had all these black marks on their foreheads. My friend Kathleen was explaining to me that it was Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. I misheard her and thought she said "Lint." Which then gave me the good idea to have my own version of Lent. Instead of giving up something like sugar or drinking or whatever it is most people give up for Lent, people practicing Lint would give up something ridiculous. That first year I gave up shaving my legs and washing my hair (I know, it sounds totally gross - but I was really trying to grow dreads). It has continued in that fashion since. Lint always starts on Ash Wednesday, but ends on Vega's Day. Sometimes it is ultra short, but sometimes (like this year) it is an excruciatingly long period of time.

This year I dragged Shana into my Lint celebrations. She grew up Catholic, so of course she wanted to give up something that was bad for her. So we compromised. We each picked a silly thing, and something serious. So I gave up eating Coldstone Creamery for Lint. I also decided that instead of not shaving, I would shave every time I took a shower. I'm going to amend this if I ever choose to do this particular feat again. It is quite painful to shave every day!

Anyway, that's the very long drawn-out story behind why I rode my bike 7+ miles in the rain for ice cream. haha!

Yesterday was beautiful out. I went for another ride and explored the area I'm staying in a little better. Yeah, there's really nothing here. But I did find a very cool shop called Myths & Maidens and was able to buy some cute gifts for people (check your mail!). I made a new friend while I was there. Pete, a big tall hippy boy with super long dreads. He liked my ROOS, and asked where he could find some. Then we ended up talking for a couple hours about traveling and meeting random Craigslist people (he used CL to hitchhike from Portland to Colorado). It was nice to find a human worth conversing with!

I spent the rest of the night downloading music and playing stupid games. (Check out http://www.maniacworld.com/maze_game.htm if you're bored.)

Hope everyone has a lovely Sunday, and I will update more tomorrow!