• While the CDT zone SAYS it's almost 11pm, my EDT zone body can feel the midnight and then some from the trip/packing. > 
• Destination reached (Birmingham). Beyond exhaustion. Considering a challenge to Rip Van Winkle's record… >
• Music off. #pens / #canes game on XM until I get home. >
• Who else has an Alabama song for me?? Unleash 'em. Hahaha. >
  

• (Replies: "I Am My Own Grandpaw" from @StephenWolfe, "Rammer Jammer" from @erinshawstreet, "Yea Alabama" from @TrackBirmingham and @moebes, "Alabama Getaway" from @sspenguin and @ScottSchablow, "Train to Birmingham" and "Alabama" from @ScottSchablow, "Dixieland Delight" from @Streyeder, and "Mountain Music" by Alabama from @DCGiant.) 

Woohoo!! Stopping for a food break to last the rest of the trip home. Steak & Shake FTW! http://twitpic.com/5snlp > 

I wanted to make a last good walk through my apartment and glimpse through my neighborhood, the neighborhood that I have cherished while I lived in D.C. It's a struggling and redeveloping neighborhood, but it has so much potential. The beauty lies in the people. Instead, I had to quickly grab my cat, Zoe, and put her in the car so we could get on the road. I had one quick walk through while people were waiting on me outside.  

I feel robbed of my chance to really get to say goodbye to Washington. I didn't get to see it out my rearview mirror as I had planned, as I had charted the route from Rock Creek Parkway down to the waterfront to catch I-66 out of town. At that time, I figured I'd be able to start mourning my losses… the history, the architecture, the anonymity of the city, but most of all, some of the most amazing people I've ever known. I was also so incredibly busy until the last minute that I didn't have time to spend with the people I cared about. Instead, I had to give quick hugs and goodbyes to the friends that helped me pack the truck as tears welled realizing that I had to hurry because we were standing in the street and time was passing and the clock was ticking.

On the other hand, there's a sigh of relief that comes with it. The last time I left Washington, I cried for 2 hours of the drive. Of course, I had just left SassyBlonde's house right before I left, which definitely didn't help matters. If you know me, you know that I don't like goodbyes… which really means that I don't like to let anyone see me cry. Having to actually admit that I may not see someone again is so painful. It's why I usually make clean breaks and just move without the hurrahs and go. Then, if you see them again, it's great. If not, you always have the memories. But, usually someone is mad at me because I left without saying goodbye. But then I just have to continually explain that I don't like goodbyes. So, there's relief in the fact that while I was robbed of the goodbye, I didn't have time to actually process it.

Of course, today as I drive, I'll probably think of everything that I'm leaving behind and bawl like a baby, as I'll finally have some rest and start processing it. But, so far, that opportunity has been taken from me, since my family, who had 2 of the 3 vehicles in the caravan got the majority of the votes. 

If I didn't get to see you before I left, please know that you are near and dear to me still. Washington and the people that I associate with the city, those friends that I accumulated there, will always be a part of my heart. I'm touched by your generosity and offers to help pack and load my truck, by hanging out, by simply showing up. I'm also thankful for the kind notes and thoughts for safe travels and even the sarcasm about Alabama not having the interwebs. 

No worries… I'll still be around. I'm sure you've got my contact info. If not, it's on the main site page, and you can find me somehow, whether on Facebook, Twitter, or email. Some of you even have my cell, so ring it on up! I will see your D.C. faces very soon, I hope! And when I come in, you should sound the horns.

P.S. Driving in a multi-car caravan SUCKS.

And so it is, just like you said it would be… life goes easy on me, most of the time. -Damien Rice

Except now. Now, I’m in the end of a chapter, one which some know, and one which some don’t, but one which is now going public for all to know.  

A few weeks ago, I made the decision to return to Alabama to work on my Master’s Degree, which is only 12 hours shy of completion. I had high hopes of finishing it in Washington, D.C., because it is a city that I love so much, but things never worked toward my favor. It was a difficult decision to make, but one that I feel is the best in my situation. I’m going to work with one of the best urban historians in the country, and with great hopes, I’ll be headed toward an amazing doctoral program in the fall of 2010. I move the Friday of Memorial Day weekend.  

The hardest part of all of this is leaving behind some of the people that are so near and dear to me. My neighborhood that I love: the CVS with the snazzy pharmacist, the bodega, the restaurants, the stoops where politics are discussed. The public transit that is so accessible, which continually ran me late for work because I had to transfer twice just to get to work, even though I live and work in D.C. My beloved Capitals… man, what do I say about a team that I have followed so passionately with all of my heart and soul, and now I have to leave behind to go to a city without hockey (blasphemous, I know!)? 

To my dear friends that I have always had here before and always: you are amazing, and I thank you for your continual friendship. You’ve held me steady in hard times and kept me strong when I couldn’t think to hold my head up. You have kept me here as long as I have been here… it’s been a rough ride this time through… and you know the story. 

To my hockey tweeps: It’s amazing that in just a month or more, I could create an incredible bond with such phenomenal people. Through wins and losses, you have shown me what it means to be loyal, truly loyal (and that’s saying something to a southern gal!). You have no idea how much I will miss you and our tweetups at Old Dominion. It seems my life will be somewhat incomplete without you, since you’ve been such a part of it for the last month during playoffs. 

To my Alabama friends, that’s right, you heard it, I’m coming home for a while… Cue “Sweet Home Alabama.” It will be good to see you. 

But, don’t worry… I will be up to D.C. to visit, you can rest assured of that! J And when hockey season rolls around, I’ll be up for some games. And to play tourist in general at other times. This city is my second home. I love it so much, and it was so difficult to make the decision to leave.  

So, be gentle with me for a while. I’ve been fragile for quite some time with the decision, and I will be for some time yet. I go with some mixed emotions, but I am excited about school, hopeful for the future, and also hopeful that our paths continue to cross.