I have now reclaimed my perch, sporting a nice gut, and wondering if I can undo the damage that I did during these past four days. Let's start the recap with...
DAY ONE:
Thursday began with my stepping on the scale (recall I was at 153.5 pounds on Wednesday) and discovering that I was now at 151.5. I decided that since I was on vacation, and since I was going to be at a family reunion, that it was time to just enjoy myself. We will not be discussing calories for the entirety of this entry.
I got up early, and drove to Burger King for breakfast (for the first time in a while), then went on to Barnes & Noble to pick up the most recent issues of "Instinct" and "Genre" magazines. Since my subscriptions hadn't started, I decided to spend the ten dollars for a little bit of reading material for this trip.
Justin was supposed to have arrived at ten, but woke up late and then forgot his wallet, requiring him to turn around before finally arriving at about 11:30. We loaded his car, went to Target for some sodas, and were on our way. I played DJ, changing discs while reading one of the magazines. After about four hours (including a stop for lunch), we stopped for dinner at a place called "Country Cookin'" I had heard about back when I attended Virginia Tech, but had never gone. It was okay, I guess, but I have had better food.
At about 7:00, after a trip to Wal-Mart for some supplies, we checked into the bed and breakfast, where we were told that we would be relocated on Saturday. Our room had two beds, and there would be another guest checking in who needed both beds, so we would be going to a room with one bed. I guess at that moment discretion flew out the window; back when he first invited me to this reunion (I must remind everyone that he invited me to this on our second date), he said that I should act as if I am "just a friend."
We waited for most of the evening for his brother Chris to arrive, accompanied by his girlfriend Tiffany, and Tiffany's seven year old daughter Tori. Justin called them on my cell phone, since mine was the only one that got a signal in the mountains. I wound up crashing to sleep, awakened by Chris calling us. Justin went to help them set up their tent (they were camping), and then jarred me awake again when he got back by jumping on me. He woke me up one more time when he was having a nightmare about wasps.
DAY TWO:
We woke up and had some breakfast before going down the hill to the reunion site, where Chris, Tiffany, and Tori were joined by Justin's parents, Larry and Terri. They were civil to me, which makes me happy, since this was making me nervous leading up to this trip. We were planning a trip to the New River, followed by a trip to Virginia Tech (where Chris and I had both gone). The trip was supposed to have begun at ten, but we finally pulled out at two in the afternoon.
The trip to the river was nice. We went in two cars: Justin, Chris, and I were in one, Terri, Tori, and Tiffany in the other. Terri and stayed on the shore while the others swam. We then took a brief trip through Tech, and things are far different than they were when I was there. Buildings that were not there when I left are named after people who were active faculty members in my time. It makes me feel very old.
We finally got back to the reunion site at about eight, and ate dinner at nine. I must declare that it is extremely difficult to eat steak in pitch darkness. Then other people made a campfire, so we joined them for a while. Justin and I went to the trailer (which serves as home base for the reunion and has electricity but no running water), and talked a little, but by then I was completely exhausted again. I barely dragged myself to the shower before dropping to sleep.
DAY THREE:
Day three was the day of the actual reunion, but before then I told Justin that I wanted a little bit of "alone time." He had a couple of errands to run anyway, so I decided that I needed a little bit of "mall therapy." So we started with Wal-Mart. I decided that just in case I got bored at the reunion, I should have some reading material that would be a little more appropriate for mixed company, so I bought a copy of Reader's Digest. At one point during this morning, Terri told me that these people were very old-fashioned, so I should not be too shocked at some of the things I heard.
No matter how prepared I felt, it still bothered me that while Tiffany was introduced as Chris's girlfriend, I was just "one of Justin's friends." It also bothered me when there was a picture taken of Larry, Terri, Chris, Tiffany, and Justin. I wasn't there. Neither was Tori. I mentioned this to Tiffany, who agreed with me (as did Justin when I mentioned it later). I also regaled Tiffany with the story of Larry barging in on me a while ago. She told me that Terri liked me. So I guess as long as I won her over, Larry will be forced to cooperate. It also helps to have Larry's mother Rheba aka "Big Mama" liking me as well.
The food was there in massive quantities, and then the music started, which was much like when I was at Justin's grandmother's. After a few hours of this, I was ready for a break, as well as being in need of indoor plumbing. There are some things I refuse to do in an outhouse. I wound up hiking back up the hill with Justin biking, and his cousins Joy and Kayla accompanying me walking.
I got up to the room (our stuff having been moved) and did what I needed to do, with running commentary from the other three. Justin then sped off on his bike, and I walked down with the others. I saw Justin briefly before they vanished into thin air. I was, at that moment, at a family reunion where I knew no one. This passed quickly when Terri drove down, picked me up, and took me back to the lodge. I hooked my DVD player (which I wisely brought) up to the television and watched part of "Queer Duck: The Movie" until Justin got back.
We had planned to go out that night, but were both pretty scuzzy, so we took a bubble bath together. That was kinda romantic. We then got ourselves dressed and went to a gay club in Roanoke, called The Park. I had heard about this place when I was at Tech, but never went. We were there until about 12:30, and then came back. I didn't even bother with the shower. I just went to sleep.
DAY FOUR:
This was today. We woke up at about eight, and loaded the car. We then went to the main lodge, where Big Mama was having breakfast with some of the older people from the reunion. I thanked Big Mama for her hospitality, and she told me that I needed to come for dinner soon. One of the others there told me that I was now part of the family, so they looked forward to seeing me. This makes me feel good, but I also think it is hilarious that everyone's attempts to play me off as "just a friend" were completely futile. After saying good-bye to everyone, we got in the car, and headed back home.
I will be seeing Justin on Tuesday, if not sooner. He will be joining Beth and me to go to Cathleen's grave, then we will go from there. I absolutely MUST get myself back on track with eating. I have done only a little bit of exercise this weekend, and I have eaten like there was no tomorrow, and now my clothes are starting to feel tight. So I am getting up early, hitting the walking trail, and getting my oil changed in my car. I just ask for strength to get through the rest of this vacation without overeating.
I will be putting some photos from my trip on my next entry. But the one at the top of this entry was so nice I had to include it. But I am ready to hit the sack. Eric Out.
No comments:
Post a Comment