parents have left

i didn't know this picture was being taken of me at the time. my mother is famous for these. i particularly disaprove of the one she took of jesse and i sleeping on the train. which will not be posted. but...anyway...this is me at the roman baths. which are beautiful and one of the best laid out tourist attractions i've ever seen. they're laid out well with out anything needlessly flashy, just enough to keep the artifacts from deteriating. i reccomend it.

the parents have fled. but not before buying us two grocery trips worth of food. which is fantastic because we have just about exhausted our budgets. and are reaching that cereal and bologne level of existence. well...maybe i'm not sure they have bologne here. but for now there are chicken breasts to be had and good pesto sauce. still it must be done if we're going to do any travelling at all. and we must...i don't think we'll get back over here for at least another 10 years.

having the parents here was odd. my mother immediately slipped into mother role which was irratating. but by the time she left i had remembered how to ignore it. and she still points out the most mundane obvious things and thinks she has made valid original points. and it makes me want to scream. but i didn't.

papers and such things tonight.

got a package from val. little care package because she said my last letter sounded so depressed. i miss her. wonder if i'll ever be able to get to taiwan... on the travel list at the top is vermont in october because my cousin is having a commitment cermony with her partner. i've taken to just calling it "the wedding" because that is what it would be if our government weren't such close minded asses. my father said, "the wedding?" when i mentioned going. i said "yeah, because that's what it should be" he didn't seem tooconfused by this. my parents have done so much growing up since i left for college. i'm so proud of them. i like to think it's because i started being more vocal with my own views and have maybe influenced them a touch...but it's probably just natural growth. still...political and religious discusions are so much more interesting with them as of late...and involve less shouting (well...none actually)...