there and back again

This was my apartment. It no longer is. Last week it found itself stripped of furniture, wall hangings, lamps, rugs, books, every element that made it home. For several days it was a maze, nay, a jungle of boxes. Now it is empty. It echos. It waits for new tenants.

These were my roommates. They no longer are. Strange spices, unique music, odd movie selections, fun times. Next year will be different, but no less enjoyable.

Nate and Leah's wedding was the last hurrah for most of us.

But we made the most of it.

And before leaving Moscow for good, I said goodbye to my sophomore year boarding family at Matt's graduation.

I'm home. Onward.

I need to learn how to use a camera

There is something about bold, bright, cheerful colors that makes me ridiculously happy. Bell peppers, tulips, the bright, crazy earrings you'll probably never see me wearing.

And someone was nice enough to capture this on film. Or a digital screen, more likely. Mmmmm. Why am I blogging about bell peppers when I have packing to do?!

curtain call

Last week was full of saying goodbye to classmates, last chance get-togethers, junior breakfasts, weddings, engagement parties, baby showers, graduation parties....

So now I'm sitting in Bucer's, a bit off kilter. Most of my my classmates are gone. There is no homework waiting to be done. Instead there is an apartment waiting to be sorted and packed. Slightly depressing, actually - when I come back, it will be for the last year of undergrad studies I'll ever do.

The leaves are finally coming out, and there is nothing quite so hopeful as new leaves coming out after a long, drawn out winter. There is green emerging everywhere - full of promise. Mmmmmm. I love it.

last week of finals, day one

I'm not sure how I got here, but they tell me that this is the last finals week of Junior year. We have already begun registering for Senior classes this fall and wide-eyed freshmen are staring down at the reality of sophomore year - which promises to be lovely. NSA has been restructured to the point that my sophomore experience is no more. Different classes and all that jazz. Sounds like it should be a good year for them all.

Junior Traditio is now but a memory. Soon this term of Greek will be as well.

What was this year like (so far - it isn't over just yet)? Very, very short. I think it started in mid January. Because I don't really remember anything about the first two terms. They came, they instilled knowledge, they left.

I've drunk coffee, but not as much as last year. I've stayed up late a few times, but not as much as last year.

But last year will stay with me for a long while - this year has already begun to fade.

it's raining, but the tulips are out

I'm currently borrowing my sister's car - which has its own unique benefits and drawbacks.

Benefits: I can go to Winco without having to wait for someone else who also needs to to to Winco. It also keeps the rain off of my head as I travel from point A to point B. (It's raining as I type)

Drawbacks: It's stick shift. What's so bad about stick shift you ask? Er, well, let me expound. This car has seen better days. Currently it suffers from a collection of infirmities, including but not limited to: arthritis, asthma, and osteoperosous. And on top of that, this is only the third weekend I have ever driven stick shift. It has been an epic experience. The day Kristina taught me the basics, her ever faithful dog became positively seasick as I shifted from first to second and then, oh crumb, killed the engine again.

Reversing -*hem* I only stall and die about 67% of the time now, instead of 100%. That's progress, right? The fun part of the entire ordeal is that neighbors around here have a tendency to go to the same church as you do. "I see you're learning to drive stick shift!" one such neighbor says as a cheerful Sunday morning greeting.

"Yup."