A little slow on the pick-up

So I never completely hopped on the Harry Potter bandwagon. In terms of the metaphor, I more or less lagged behind the wagon and hopped on a couple times for just a bit. Translation: I read Chamber of Secrets and saw the corresponding film with our book club in high school, and I saw the last two movies (Deathly Hallows). I never had anything against the series; in fact, it made me happy that the books made children want to read. I just never made time or had the interest to be an avid fan.

That being said, now that all of the books and films have been released, I have begun to make my way through all of them. I finished the first book last night and promptly started the second. And I am rather enjoying them! I will admit that I have already had freaky dreams, and I anticipate being legitimately scared as I read the remaining books.

And thanks to Borders for having just about everything in the store on sale! (I scored books 2-6 for a sweet price.)

This is a lame post.

Progress

As much as I hate knowing that I "should" still be in South America, being back Stateside has been quite nice. I've been able to connect with a number of friends whom I would not have been able to see otherwise. Amy Groom and Tara Oates, I'm talking about you! And thanks to LAN, I was able to move my trip to Argentina for a small price. So I will be traveling back to Quito and then to Argentina after Christmas!

However cliche, I can't believe that I get to live this life: I have some wonderful friends who support me and are always involved in amazing ventures; my family is close, both geographically and figuratively; I know every day that my needs will me met; and my passport is full of stamps. And for whatever reason, I have found myself being much less of a worry wart over the past few months. Perhaps because I recognize the aforementioned things. Or maybe the Lord answered my prayer for peace in my heart after a difficult season. Whatever the reason, I am glad to be alive!

Back...Unexpectedly.

Well, I hate to be writing this entry, but I am back in the U.S. I contracted some sort of virus in Colombia, and after three days in bed and two trips to the ER, the decision was made to send me home. Not at all what I was expecting.

I'm taking antibiotics to take care of this upper respiratory infection (that likely was full-blown pneumonia at one point). I've never been so tired before in my life, so I hope that soon enough I can get back on a normal schedule and start functioning like a human again.

Thanks to everyone for all of the well wishes!