A short break

It looks like I'm sticking around at home for only about six weeks. I wasn't sure what I was going to do until a week or so ago - I thought I would be working here in Indiana, but my previous employer has not gotten back to me so I'm just not going to bother staying here. I can fight for a minimum wage job (McDonald's? Would they tell me, "Sorry, you're overqualified?") that I'm going to hate here at home, or I can go back to Syracuse and my slightly-better-than-minimum-wage but enjoyable job on campus. It'll also mean I can settle in with Andrew at our new apartment long before classes start, which will hopefully significantly reduce my stress. Unfortunately nearly all of the money I earn in the six or seven weeks I can work before school starts will have to pay off one of my credit cards, because the interest is so ridiculous that I've gone over my limit twice (!) with just the service fees. I really wanted to either put that money away for the wedding or put together a new computer for less than $600, but I know that it's more important to keep my credit under control.

In happy news, I'm 205 rows/51" into my first scarf. I should be done after about nineteen more inches. Andrew will finally have a nice winter scarf. Once I'm done with this I'll move on to a ribbed SU orange scarf, and also a tri-color fluffy scarf in light blue, dark blue, and purple, both for myself. I believe that scarves are delightful accessories, in case you didn't notice. At this rate I'll have a dozen before the weather cools down again.

End of the year

I made my final move out of the dorm on Wednesday. It was easily one of the worst days of my recent life. I spent a good portion of the day crying from all of the stress that's accumulated during the spring semester, and I injured myself several times while packing and cleaning. I'm still discovering bruises.

I'm staying with Andy's family for now, until I can make my way back to Indiana next week. The fish seem happy, and I'm happy.

As of today, I'm officially a junior. That's incredibly satisfying. It's amazing how fast two years can go by, but that's just college life apparently.

Moving out

I'm moving out of my dorm tomorrow. Half of my stuff has already been packed and sent to Andrew's dad's for storage until our new apartment is open, and some more things, including the fish, are going tonight. I'm really not taking much home, because I'm not going to be there long. In high school I would've said that two and a half months is a long time, but it's certainly not anymore. Times just flies faster and faster as I get older.

So this is it. After tomorrow, I will never live in a dorm again. I realize that I'm extremely lucky to have only spent two years on campus, but at the same time, I appreciate that I learned quite a bit about life in general while living here. Most of my younger friends insist that they never want to live in a dorm, and I said the same thing at their age, but I believe now that it's a very important part of growing up. It's nice to have a transitional place between your parents' home and your own home. I'm sure many people don't need it exactly, but what you need and what you'll benefit from aren't always the same things. I probably didn't need it, but I still wouldn't go back and change anything. Not only will I probably be more comfortable living in an apartment now, but I also understand just how bad a situation can be (i.e. the girls on the floor managing to get pee, poop, and blood all over both of our toilets) and not freak out over the smaller things (i.e. Andrew leaving the toilet seat up). Well, until I fall into the toilet as I attempt to pee late at night. I may change my tune then.