I'm not on drugs, I promise!

Since my last post, there has only been one additional soap-drinking fiasco (the night after I went to the hospital, Kate drank a bottle of handsoap so she'd get sick and, in her words, "have my parents come home and play with me." Saddest story ever.) Other than that, I'm happy to report that there has been very little drama and a lot less hating on the nanny.

I'm really going to miss these kids when I go back to school in 3 weeks. I was talking to Mom about how schizophrenic I've been in my living lately- I've been hopping from home to home, job to job, and sometimes even country to country. It might appear to the passive on-looker that I am simply never satisfied, that this nomadic existence rather suits me and I'd be incapable of staying still even if my life situation allowed it. Although I haven't really been still enough for the last several years to truly know, I think I'd actually much prefer to be a bit more stable. Having nearly everything in my life change every 4 months with the semester transitions has left me feeling somewhat unsettled and unsure of myself. If it were the opposite, I'd probably complain of having no adventure in my life, and so I will continue to attempt to live life to the fullest, taking advantage of all the amazing opportunities of my youth and trying not to become worn out and jaded. I'm so grateful for all the things I've been able to do, and until the time comes for me to settle down (which considering my suckage at relationships might be quite a long while- not that I'm complaining, just that I hope I stop sucking at them at some point), I'll probably continue to bounce.

In other news, I got the bill back from the hospital for my poisoning episode and discovered that they tested me for seemingly every illegal drug known to mankind, at $18.90 a test. Thank you, Oak Park Rush Hospital, for not believing me the first time when I told you I was not on drugs. I don't know if it's standard procedure to test for amphetamines and PCP when a 20-year-old girl comes into the ER and claims she's been poisoned by a 3-year-old. I suppose they had good reason to doubt me after hearing my medical history, which sounds more like the plot of a season of "As the World Turns". Our ER conversation went something like this:
"Do you have any medical conditions we should know about?"
"Well, I sort of pass out a lot. Like, it's been known to happen...maybe several times a week..."
"Do you have a heart condition?"
"Um...some doctors think so. I might have had a heart attack in May."
"You might have?"
"Well, I thought that's what it was. And the doctor ran some tests and said that's what it was."
"So...if the doctor said it was, then it probably was."
"Yeah..."
"It's kind of weird for a 20-year-old girl at your weight to have a heart attack."
"Yeah..."
"What triggered it?"
"Um. Well, I was having all these panic attacks."
"Why were you having panic attacks?"
"Um....I had amnesia and I didn't really know who I was...and it was scary..."
"Uh, yeah...ok. Were you hospitalized for that?"
"Yes."
"Where was the hospital?"
"On the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem."
"Right..."

Looking back on that conversation now, it occurs to me that I sounded completely drugged up and it makes sense that they ran all the ridiculous tests. But since I was telling the truth in the first place, I really don't think I should have to pay for their doubt in the form of drug testing.

I've been seeing more and more of Chicago every week and I love it! Last weekend, my dear friend Bryce Gandy and I ventured downtown after church to see if we could take in some of the sights. Unfortunately, the parking situation didn't allow us to see much past the parking garage signs: "PARKING!- Less than one hour= an arm. 1-2 hours= a leg. 2-3 hours= your firstborn child", etc. Finally, we parked in a loading zone, and, fearing the sign's promise that we would be towed after 15 minutes, ran around the river as fast as we could. We spent the rest of the evening driving the Magnificent Mile and planning a trip for next week that will involve a better parking strategy. I'll try to get pictures and do something exciting so I can report!