Must have made a wrong turn in Albuquerque

Last week I flew out to my old home town of Albuquerque, New Mexico. This was the first time I had been back in twelve years. My best friend Megan was kind enough to let me stay with her family while I was there. (Thanks again Megan.) It was great fun.
I flew out the afternoon of the second, and other than a bumpy flight, everything went smoothly. I rented a car and drove to her house and we spent some time chatting before we went to bed. The next morning I woke up and had to do some work for school. (Long story short, I had to watch some training videos in order to be a grader this semester and there was a problem with the video feed before I left so I had to fit it in while on my trip.) In the afternoon I went to the first sessions of the conference and got oriented to the resort. In the evening we had a banquet which had good food, but my chicken was slightly undercooked so I didn't finish the first course. After dinner we were required to attend a delegate session which didn't end until 9:45. This wouldn't have been too bad except for the time difference and the fact that I had to drive a half hour back to my friend's house.
The next morning I had to wake up early and get ready in order to be there for another delegate meeting. The rest of the day was filled with paper presentations and another delegate meeting. They had a President's banquet, which also had fantastic food, and then a reception. I left early in the reception because I had to drive again, but then I ended up staying up until one reminiscing with my friend about Junior High and Freshman year. It was a lot of fun to sit and talk like we used to back when we were younger. I am always amazed and how good friends last forever and no matter how much time or distance their is between you, you can always connect and feel comfortable with them.
Saturday I woke up and went to the last session and then came back to the house. We went to a party for a two year old that Megan's daughter knew. It felt a little odd to be there because I didn't know these people, but also because I was the only one without a child. But I had fun despite that. Then Megan and I went around town visiting the city. It has grown so dramatically that I hardly recognized it. It looks a lot better though now that the economy has picked up there. We went to Old Town, and saw the Candy Lady who has treats for the young and old. (There is an adult section in the shop.) I got some amazing turquoise earrings for a cheap price, which was my one shopping goal of the trip. We drove by my old high school, which didn't look all that different, but the area sure did. It used to be in the middle of no where and you could see it from my house on the mesa. Now it is surrounded on all sides with subdivisions and shopping complexes as far as you can see. There is also no break now between any of the cities of Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, or Bernallio. They have just merged into one big blob that stretches across the valley.
The mountains looked gorgeous though. They were dotted with snow when I got there so I got some great pictures. I sure do miss my mountains, and not just for their ability to give me driving directions. If there was anything I would change about SC, besides the humidity, it would be to give it some REAL mountains.
That night we went to my favorite restaurant, Gardunios. It was this amazing Mexican place that had huge portions and free sopapias. The food was good, but like my friend had warned me, it had turned into a chain and had lost some of its flare. The worst part though was that I had gotten my food with green chili, which they said was medium that day, and I had forgotten the difference between southwestern medium and other mediums. It was uncomfortably hot and I wasn't able to eat all of my food. (Cause my stomach still hurt from the resort food.) But I sure did scarf down that sopapia! Oh those things are great. I think I am going to have to make some homemade ones this weekend. We were also serenaded by a mariachi band that played "It's a Small World" for M's daughter.
We went home afterward and danced around with Megan's daughter who is just the cutest two year old. She is so well behaved too. My relatives kids are great, but this kid does things I have never seen a kid so young do before. Every time she threw a fit, Megan would give her three chances and if she kept on, she would send her to her room. The amazing part was, she would walk there herself without anyone having to force her to go or checking up on her. And then when she was done, she would come back out and apologize. I know have a trick I will have to learn when I become a parent.
After the daughter went to bed, we played some board games and sat and chatted. Poor Megan fell asleep before too long, and her husband and I had a long chat. We were again up until one, and I had to get up to go to the airport at four in the morning. I didn't care though. I wanted to spend however much time I could with them cause they are great fun.
The next morning I drug my tired bones out of bed and got ready. I quietly slipped out of the house and went to the airport. I was all set to fall asleep on the plane, but the lady next to me had another idea. When she first sat down I knew she was going to be bad. She stunk of garlic, cigarettes and some odor I couldn't even name. She thudded onto her seat, shaking the whole row and immediately took over the seat between us with all her Enquirers, US magazine, and other tabloid junk. (The flight had some empty seats.) I was so tired I started to fall asleep and so I stretched my legs into the space in front of the empty seat. Well when the movie started, which was Rush Hour 3, she woke me up so she could move into that seat and get a better view of the movie. Then throughout the movie she laughed so loudly it woke me up, even with my iPod on, and she shook the seats with her movements. So I did not get to sleep much on that flight, which was the longest. I didn't have much of a layover, but I did have to go from one end of the Atlanta airport to the other, which is over a mile long! So I got lots of exercise. On the second leg of my trip, I sat next to two former frat boys who were drunk and chewing gum. (You all know how much I love that.) As soon as we were in the air (literally) they turned on some Dave Chappell DVD but didn't have headphones. They also laughed loudly which kept me awake. So after I arrived back to Charlotte, I had to drive the hour and a half home. I was really tired, so by the time I got almost home I was speeding just to get there faster. I did make it home, with no ticket, and was so happy to be back. I slept for hours on the recliner and then spent the evening with T. I am still trying to catch up on sleep it feels like.
It was a great trip though and I am glad I went. It is always had to be home from T, but it was a good rehearsal for this summer. I wrote more about the trip below, so feel free to keep reading whenever you get bored.