So, is anyone on fire near me? I just heard a whole bunch of trucks and sirens going by.

Also, I am back. I've even managed several nights of good sleep in the last while (not including nights before travelling), and I feel semi-refreshed as a result. Which means that tomorrow will be painful when I have to get up to go to work, but... at least it's just before a four-day weekend, which is always nice.

I'll write more later, including some of the funny moments from the trip (self-defense mechanisms, I'm guessing), but the summary right now is that I'm glad that I made it back intact, and my sister is lucky I didn't kill her and throw her body out the car on the ride home. Of course, then my parents started snapping at one another, and having my dad yell at me for the way I came off the highway at the stop closest to my house -- the one I've taken four hundred million times more than him -- was a bit tooth-grindingly annoying, too. I didn't say anything though, and I think my mom gave me a sympathetic look.

I love my family, I just don't want anything to do with them for awhile. I said as much when they dropped me off. That works until Sunday or whenever we're having Easter dinner. I told Stefan I wasn't sure if this was a sign that my family was annoying me, or if it's a symptom of living alone for too long. He said I'm not crusty or crotchety, so we've agreed my sister is the problem. :)

Anyhow, thank you to everyone who offered their sympathies and support. I haven't had a total breakdown yet, so I know that fun is still pending. Mostly what I wanted was distractions and people to talk to, and some of you provided that. Others told me things like, 'Go be with your family right now!' which is all well and good, but... ;) My Nanny's a rock and I think she's going to be okay; my mom sounded pretty beat-up when we were on our way down, but she seems to be holding together, too.

I have to wonder sometimes when someone says, "So-and-so is really taking it hard" -- does that mean that they're suffering more than the others, or just that they're showing it more? Hard to say.

I also appear to have turned into some kind of a girl. Before I left, I bought shoes (which I hate doing) and I bought some purses (which I do on a semi-regular basis, when I tire of the ones I have, or when I want one for a different purpose). I bought a rough felt purse that had penguins on it because it made me smile to look at it; it was priced at $10, and actually rang up for $7. While I was away, I also bought some make up -- and headphones, an Amy Winehouse CD (love it), and the Leisure Suit Larry collection -- which annoyed me because it didn't include LSL7, and it's my own fault for not checking. So I'm a girl, but a geeky one; and one that's unlikely to be using that much of the makeup anytime soon, either.

Anyhow, enough rambling. Time for a shower, emptying of the mailbox, and then schoolwork. I got a nasty email from my prof while I was away, and it's long past time to get serious about my schoolwork, and I'm planning to use today and especially this weekend to do so.