new jersey.

I'm in New Jersey, visiting my family for the first time in nearly a year. This trip, I realized after I got here, marks the first time that I have been away from my house for more than a night since I moved in. That was in August. How ridiculous is that?

I'm staying with my sister Shannon but for tonight I am at my brother and sister-in-law's house. The last time I was here, they'd just been given the keys so they hadn't even started moving in yet. Everything about this place is incredible. It's very prominent/wealthy family circa 1970. There is a record player that folds out of the kitchen wall. The record player is synced with the intercom so you can play records throughout the entire house. In the basement, there is a bunker. Like, a concrete room that locks from the inside and has hidden air vents leading outside. So should South Jersey ever fall upon dangerous times, Shawn and Megan will be safe.

Anyhow, I convinced my little brother Josh to come stay here with me tonight. We drank hot chocolate (with fluff instead of marshmallows.....best idea ever), ate popcorn, and watched The Blindside. Nothing makes me happier than my family partaking in seemingly normal family activities. It wasn't normal for us to do "normal" things and I always get a little overly excited about it. This Sunday we're even attempting a family Easter. I wasn't even sure if I was going to let my entire family know I was back, so this is a big step from that.

On a different note, today is six years from the day that my friend German died. I am amazed and freaked out about how quickly time has passed since then. I'm no longer friends with anyone that knew him and it has been a little bit rough, not having anyone to talk to about it. Missing him doesn't hurt quite like it used to but the idea of forgetting him is so, so, scary to me. He was the first guy I ever had a crush on. I loved so much about him and I wish that I had someone that I could talk to about all of those things. I'm a little shaken at the moment because I just tried to access an old online journal of his, and the website is not letting me. I'm nervous that has been purged, but I was just on it less than two weeks ago so the timing would really be odd. I e-mailed the maintainer of the website and I'm really hoping that everything he had written isn't gone.

Sorry for being all sentimental. It has been a strange week.