New Jersey Venturin'

I had a busy weekend. I just took the GRE last Tuesday, and before I had the chance to commence the job search, my mom commandeered me to take a trip with her up to the Princeton University Art Museum in New Jersey. The objective was to check out a retrospective art exhibit on the work of Kurt Schwitters, a German collage artist who did most of his work in the 1920s and 1930s. Of course, it is only after the fact that I know all of these things about Mr. Schwitters. On the way up to New Jersey, we were having lunch at Chili's when Mom asked me, "So, how much do you know about Kurt Schwitters?" to which I replied, "Who's that? Is he the anchorman on TV right now?" She just smiled knowingly, and eventually I figured out it was the artist whose canon we were going to explore in New Jersey.

This was before the tire blowout. That happened on the interstate, while I was napping. Hardy girls that we are, we managed to change the tire ourselves, unscrewing the rusted-on lugnuts and all. I also accumulated two tick bites, which I am watching carefully for signs of Lyme disease and babeiosis.



Note: This is not my leg. I didn't take a picture of the ticks; I just got 'em the heck out, so this image is from Wikimedia Commons.

We rode on a spare tire the remaining 200 miles to New Jersey, which made me paranoid as all heck. At first, we thought we'd take lesser highways so that we could keep it slow, but then we took a wrong turn and journeyed 20 miles out of our way, demonstrating just how complicated navigating the network of minor highways would prove. We got back on the interstate and vowed to take it slow. Just in time to drive through narrow roads with lots of construction. Drum roll, please... just in time for a torrential downpour.




You know how most torrential downpours last for, say, 10 to 20 minutes? Well, our downpour did just that. Then, it took a 5-minute break, and immediately recommenced to downpour, for another 20 minutes. Rinse and repeat for two hours. I was clutching my seatbelt for dear life, while Mom sat bolt upright in her seat and gripped the wheel, keeping her EYES ON THE ROAD. During the short breaks between the driving rains, I could feel all the adrenaline signals quieting and collecting at the base of my skull, clouding up, accumulating to form a nice tension headache at the back of my neck.

After we'd passed through the storm and the rain finally stopped, I noticed all the fireflies. There were so many! The brush outside looked like Christmas trees, all lit up and twinkling. In open spots, the fireflies looked like those enormous fireworks that you see every 4th of July - the noisy ones that look like sparklers flickering in and out before fading, rather than the colorful ones that look like blooms. I kept my mind on those fireflies. They calmed me after all the adrenaline and stress of the previous hours.




I'm happy to say that our trip was much less eventful after that. We made it to Princeton by 1:30 in the morning, 13 hours after starting out. The voyage had been meant to last only 9 and a half hours, but at least we made it safely. During the rest of the trip, I got to admire the work of Schwitters, Monet, and Russell, I attended the bridal shower of one of my good friends, and reconnected with a former co-worker. Despite the adversity that the beginning of the trip threw our way, I can say with confidence that it turned out to be time well spent.

Note: All of these photos came from Wikimedia Commons.