Three Weeks of Family

is sometimes too much. But at least I got some pictures out of the deal:

The first week of family was graduation. Oh. My. God. Not only was there the stress of dealing with the mass of family members that had gathered for the occasion, but I had to attend the event itself, complete with a gymnasium full of people I generally loathe, and the house full of people that I usually don't loathe so much, but, because of the circumstances (being packed into tiny spaces and forced to converse with them for hours), I came to hate a bit. Too many people for my little introvert soul! Before the ceremony, though, Colleen and I got away to go to her friend's graduation party in the country. On our way back, we came across this modified sign, highly appropriate given the Palouse's sometimes-steep, hilly terrain.


Then I got to leave. The plan was that I was to drop off my sister Keely and Aunt Mo at the airport on my way to happy solitude in Helena. Nope. I made the mistake of inviting Colleen along. I didn't think she'd be allowed to go. Wrong. In ten minutes, she was packed and ready to accompany me to Big Sky country, from whence our parents would pick her up "sometime." Excited to finally get a chance to show Colleen a little of Helena (she always comes with our parents and/or when I'm too busy to do anything), we happily spent the first week touring the restaurants, shops, cafes, and public spaces of Helena. We hit The Merc, where the coffee is always incredible and the chess board always open:


We explored my building, St. Charles, finding some keen halls for longboarding:


And we wound our way through Golden Girls' Antique Shop, where Colleen found a milkshake machine and this oddly appropriate (yet so inappropriate) postcard:



It was all fun and games for sure, but I started to get nervous about having a guest for an undefined period of time, especially an undefined period of time of which the end terminus depended on my parents. I love my sister, and she was great to have around. But I requested a single room this summer for a reason: I don't want a roommate. I love having time for myself, I like having groceries last longer than two days, and I want to be able to spend some non-awkward time with my boyfriend and computer. Plus, although, I repeat, I love my sister, being around family members means thinking and talking about family problems: who's an alcoholic, a bitch, in denial, going to divorce; who's the favorite (to my dismay, everyone is pretty sure it's me), who's treated shitty (everyone else, apparently), who's falling apart. After a few milliseconds, it becomes plum depressing So after being around family members nigh-constantly for three weeks, I finally convinced my parents to pick Colleen up. Peace at last.



More pictures when I post from my computer.