Summer Travels: The Final Vacation - Gainesville, FL

Next part of the trip was finally visiting the good ol' alma mater after a whole year. Gainesville will always have a large place in my heart. My first home away from home. The place where I left the shelter and comfort of living with my family, to learning to stand on my own two feet. 

I looked forward visiting Gainesville again, and it didn't disappoint. The moment we took our exit from I-75, I felt like I never left. It was like my whole life in North Carolina never existed, and I was back in school at UF spending a typical weekend hanging out with Errol. 

One of the main things we wanted to do on this trip was visit all of our favorite eating places that we missed so much. Our first stop was my absolute favorite... Rolls 'N Bowls. There are tons of sushi places in Gainesville, and I have tried all of them. But when I'm looking to scratch that sushi itch, Rolls 'N Bowls is the choice place for me. Ironically, I actually don't go there for the rolls... but for the bowls.  My usual is a spicy salmon/tuna bowl. It's a heap of raw fish over sushi rice, with avocado and spicy mayo. Simply divine. 

Another specialty of theirs is the wontons. Not only do they have the traditional crab rangoon style, but they have seasonal dessert wontons. Of those that I have had include pumpkin pie, chocolate raspberry, and the one I had that day... key lime pie. My mouth is watering at the though of those scrumptious delights. 

Later on, we met with Errol's old roommates at one of the pubs we frequented: Mother's. Lots of memories in that place, most of them impaired. I had my 21st birthday celebration there... 'nuff said. It was also where Errol and I watched an amazing US men's soccer game in the 2010 world cup. The day we went there also happened to be wing night. So, being boys, they all ate. Not because they were hungry, but because they were $0.45 each (I'll never understand this). 

After a day of driving and eating, we went to a friend's apartment where we stayed that night and changed/tried to digest for the next meal. That's right, it was dinner time and we had one more meal to squeeze in. There was a new Mexican place that we wanted to try out with our friends. Needless to say, my stomach reached capacity that day (a very common occurrence during this vacation). 

The next day, we spent it visiting more old friends and walking around campus. It was so nice seeing old friends and catching up. I loved going around campus and reminiscing about the classes we took, the experiences we had. Another big reason Gainesville and UF will always be important to me is because that is where Errol and I met, became friends, and started our wonderful relationship. Nearly every inch of the school and city holds at least one memory with Errol, and going back again with him for the first time was extremely special. 

The last meal of the trip was at Farah's. This is where Errol and his roommate would eat wings at least once a month to have hot wings, their favorite place to do so. There were many birthdays celebrated here as well. It's a mediterranean menu, and I got my usual gyro. We also shared a hookah that night with our friends, and I got my favorite drink... "Dirty Hookah Water". 

Overall, the return to Gainesville was great. One of the things that I noticed when I was there, was that I felt so comfortable. Here in North Carolina, I still feel a bit uncomfortable. My mental map isn't completely drawn, and I still frequently get lost. And now that Errol has moved away, I think the process won't be as fast. I love it here, but there's no place like home. 

It sure is great to be a Florida Gator. 

A Year In Review

Nearly one year ago, Errol and I embarked on a big step in our relationship: moving in together. We knew it would be temporary, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't imagine the day when we would have to finally have to be apart. 

On July 23, 2011, a Chrysler Sebring, a Nissan Sentra S-ER, and a Lexus RX300 traveled from Gainesville, FL to Chapel Hill, NC. My family came to help move us in and get settled. Each of our cars was filled to the rim, with none of us having visual from the rearview mirrors. It was the first (and only, I hope) time where I had to make that drive all by myself. 

The apartment was a small, one bed/one bath apartment on the second floor. The first month wiped out my savings, where I had to buy things for the living room, bedroom, and apartment. We didn't split costs because I would be keeping all of it once Errol moved. Slowly but surely we purchased items off Craigslist to make the apartment a home. 

School started for me, and it became very difficult for me to find a balance with high-volume coursework, meeting new people, being as involved as possible in school opportunities, and of course, being a girlfriend. At the same time I was starting school, Errol was working on medical school applications, job applications, and dealing with overall stress and loneliness of being with a busy girlfriend.

Errol began working at CVS, at the same store as me, as a full-time pharmacy technician. There, he began to have something to fill his time, and a place to make friends. Luckily, the other technicians are generally around our same age.

The year went on, and the days remained the same. I studied, went to meetings, volunteered in the community. He worked, worked, and worked. Our scheduled rarely matched and most days I would be up at 7AM and not see him until 9PM or later. But we tried our hardest to do things together, like cook special meals, eat at nice restaurants, and explore other places.

Errol quit CVS at the end of May, and I finished my introductory hospital rotation then too. That left all of June for Errol to say goodbye to North Carolina, and to everyone else.

The final week of June was jam-packed with moving. Moved from our old place to my new place, then Errol down to Orlando. I was able to put that into one sentence, but I can’t think of anything that will really capture the magnitude of labor that occurred there. And we made the most of every free moment, checking one thing after another off of our bucket lists.  

 Now the countdown begins for July 20 when we will be reunited once more. 

Saying goodbye at the airport

Homesick

Being this far away from home, it's inevitable to miss it from time to time, especially during the holidays.

With my second semester of pharmacy school looming, I feel winter vacation drifting away and stress coming to replace it.

Last night I celebrated New Year's Eve at a friend's place. It was my 3rd new year with Errol, which was nice, but it was my first year being away from home.

There's always a huge party at home and I missed it for the first time ever :(

I really love it here, but there are times when I miss being around fellow Gators and around family where I can feel like a daughter again.

Sometimes I just wish that I could just have dinner cooked for me and not have to clean it up afterwards.

My family a couple of minutes after midnight, with me on the phone.

Our latest family portrait...