I’m in Atlanta right now – at my friend Sharla’s house waiting on her to get back from a business trip to New Jersey and Philadelphia. Here’s what I’ve been up to since I posted on Sunday:

Sunday: Instead of driving back from Mississippi to Georgia, I stayed one more night in Mississippi. The reason was my friend McGehee ended up buying my Jeep Commander, so I had to rent a car to drive back to Georgia in. McGehee drove me to Memphis Sunday afternoon to pick up the rental car. Sunday afternoon we played football with McGehee’s four kids, then watched football and played Call of Duty 4 on Xbox.

Monday: I woke up at 5:00am and couldn’t sleep anyway, so I woke McGehee up, said goodbye, and headed back to Georgia. I got back to Georgia about 12:30pm or so, and my mom picked me up in McDonough, Georgia, south of Atlanta, where I had to drop the rental car off. Then we just went back to Thomaston and I hung out with my mom and stepda Monday night.

Tuesday: I drove up to Atlanta and went by my old office at MMM to see some friends. Last night I stayed at my buddy James’ house and we watched the debate with his wife Erin and my friend Shazia. This is an apolitical blog now, of course, but what a boring, uninspiring debate. I still wish there was a way they could both lose. James and I played some COD4 and Halo 3 on his Xbox. Just like the good old days.

Wednesday: This morning I met my friend Irena for coffee, then went by my old office at the EPA and saw some friends there – including Rudy who was recently in Vietnam with his daughter, Hayley, and took such great photos. After that, I met my friend Dave C. for lunch at Eat’s, then I went to Borders books and bought “The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Diaz, had a latte, and started reading that book. I’ve got a ton of books I want to take back to Vietnam with me, so I’ve got to figure out a way to ship them as cheaply as possible. Now I’m at Sharla’s – chilling until she gets home and we go out to dinner.

Here’s the itinerary for the rest of my trip – tentively at least:

Thursday: Hang out in Atlanta until I pick up my friend Fred(erique), who is flying in at 3:37pm. We’ll head down to Thomaston tomorrow night and have dinner with my mom and stepdad.

Friday: Fred and I will head to Athens to hang out with Will and Ashley and some other friends coming into town for the UGA vs. Tennessee game.

Saturday: Fred and I will drive over to Auburn to go to the Auburn vs. Arkansas game. (Fred has never been to a football game, and I think a big SEC game like that will be fun for her.) My dad also flies into Atlanta on Saturday, but he and my stepmom Molly will be driving straight over to Demopolis to see my grandmother.

Sunday: Fred and I will drive over to Demopolis to see my dad and Molly, my grandmother, and my Uncle Creagh. We’re going to spend the night in my grandmother’s old house – which will be fun because it’s a crazy, kind of creepy old house that’s been empty for 3 or 4 years.

Monday: I’ll drop Fred back off at the airport in Atlanta, then back over to Auburn to spend another night with my sister’s family and dad. (So much for not driving all over creation this trip home.)

Tuesday: More driving – going to Columbia, SC to visit my buddy DJ. I was going to go for two nights, but now will only be able to go for one, returning to Georgia on Wednesday.

Wednesday through Friday: I’ll be in and around Thomaston taking care of all of the things I needed to take care of while I’m home but haven’t done yet. Which is actually quite a bit.

Friday I’ll head back to Atlanta and spend the night in Atlanta because my flight back to Vietnam leaves early Saturday morning. I get back to HCMC at around 11pm Sunday night, and have to report for my first class of the new semester Monday morning. I am sure I am going to be on the top of my game!

So about 10 more days in the U.S. before I head back. I think three weeks is about the right length of time to be home. It’s been so great to see my family and friends, but I do miss Vietnam and I miss Thao. And I’m forgetting my Vietnamese so I need to get back and double down on my studies!