six

Dear Mythopoetic readers,

This weekend is it. Kissing my home of three years and my four roomies adieu. We have to be out of the apartment by the end of this weekend.

I've already moved a car load down to my summer lodgings, but I must move things to my brother's to store while I'm in London, and I have to find a home for my kitchen table too. I'll get my brother to help, but he's super-busy with his graduate thesis right now too.

Usually, I have very little drag in my life. This week, however, has been colored by four repetitive themes: car issues, work, six hours of sleep, moving. Each day, I get up and repeat the steps.

Six hours of sleep, *sob. I don't know how I'll ever have kids; I need my sleep so badly. It's okay, I'll be able to sleep more tonight and Saturday night. If I can manage it, I need to stick a fifth theme into my life- finishing my support letters.

Lovingly, your harried-tired-complaining, ever-truly Rachel

london blog

You may already think I'm an excessive blogger, but hey, everyone is a geek about something.

I have launched a blog specifically for my London trip and for my friends, family, London supporters to read.

If you really like reading blogs, and if you really like reading my blogs, read this one concurrently with this blog. Believe it or not, I do intend to write about different things and maintain these as two very different blogs.

I'm calling it Picturesque from the Flat. Aptly named, I hope. But I don't yet know what the view from my flat in London will look like.

It'll be good. I promise. It already is.

bare walls

My beautiful corner is now bare. It's getting packed up. I'm finishing up my support letters, packing boxes, and trying to plan moving abroad.

Next weekend, I'll move into my summer lodgings and continue working. Anything not coming with me is intended to stay with my brother for the summer and then move up to stay with my parents' until my return.

Moving is stressful. I need a brownie. Maybe ice cream too.

(It's really not that bad).

moving blues

I don't know how to move. I have only moved twice in my life, and I don't remember the first time because I was so young. The second time was only from my parent's house to an apartment half an hour away.

Now I'm facing the big move.

My parents are gone, moved five states away. I'm facing the post-college-temporary-living-situation-before-going-abroad-move. The PCTLSBGAM move if you will.

Therefore, I'm finding my packing is falling into four difference categories: just to London stuff, here and London stuff, box it up and store it at my brother's, here but not go to London stuff. And this is why I haven't actually packed much.

I did manage to fill one small box with books. I need more boxes, though. And I need to give away my last few pieces of furniture. Anyone want a kitchen table? Pick it up and I'll give you a good deal.

monday rainy monday

We don't get a lot of them, but it looks to be officially a rainy day.

{ If I were at home, I would go run around in it.

{ If I were in a reading mood, I'd probably read George Orwell.

{ If I were really motivated, I'd make the craft I've been putting off.

{ If nothing else, I'd say I was practicing for London weather.

As it is, I have packing awaiting me when I get home. Errands to run when I'm able. And some adorable little kids to watch tonight.

country outline

I love geography.Can you guess what country this?

back to the pavement

Family, graduation, upheaval. Those things can keep you from your running schedule. So can the dreaded spike to average temperatures for the southeast. 90 degrees across the board the past week.

I'm no wimp but when it's 90 with high humidity at 5:00pm, I can't usually take it. I want to live.

Anyway, I finally managed to go after work yesterday, finishing just before a torrent of rain. I knew it'd be rough after a week's absence, but man! my body has the shortest memory ever.

When I started, my legs were like, "Oh, we're still doing this?"

just me.

It's just me.

Things are different, though.

Assuming I get my diploma mailed to me, I am a B.A. now. I don't like thinking about it as "the past four years have culminated, bringing you to this point... graduation!"

It's not like that for me. It wasn't all for an end. Barely a means to an end. Just part of a larger thing- my life.

But things are different. Change is here. In two short weeks, I will have to have my belongings packed and will move out of the cozy flat where I've hung my keys for the past three years. Let's not even talk about the four girls I will have to cease living with.

I don't feel any different. But I'm forced onto "the next stage of life". I'm pretty excited about it, don't get me wrong. But this time is over, and it was a good time.

"The World in Words"

This podcast seems to have been hand-designed to interest me. I like everything they talk about, probably because they are talking about everything I like.

It's a podcast all about language.

A weekly podcast exclusively about languages around the world! It's put on by the BBC and Public Radio International (PRI). Patrick Cox is the guy who does the podcast.

He even came to Wycliffe to interview the president about the work Wycliffe does!

I have exhausted all of the episodes on my ipod. But, thankfully, I just discovered this podcast, and it's been going for a while, so I will have a while before I'll hit the only-one-weekly wall.

You can subscribe to it on itunes or find it at theworld.org

[nonpolitical] change!

My life will never be the same.

I can control what I listen to in my car. My AM radio doesn't work. FM radio is largely terrible. Poor me. No longer!

My roommate had one of those tape adapter things and gave it to me yesterday. So I tried it out. Hooked up my little baby ipod to it.

Like magic! I could play stuff on my ipod over my speakers. My podcast consumption rate is about to sky-rocket. Recommend your favorites, because I need to subcribe to more.

My commute this morning was awesome.

the monday list

The exams are taken. The last papers are written.

Honors banquet on Wednesday night; family flies in Thursday; graduation ceremony on Friday.

Thus should conclude my undergraduate career, culminating (at least for me) with receiving my diploma in the mail. Is it ridiculous that I still worry that something will happen and they'll tell me I missed something on my degree audit?

My graduation is at 8:30 in the morning, which is swell. I haven't tried on my cap and gown yet, which I should do, just in case, you know. Then I'll make sure I know where I can park, where I have to go, so I kiss my worries good-bye.

I'm excited about seeing the family, though. Haven't seen my two younger sibs or parents since
Christmas. One set of my grandparents are also coming down.

I work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, which is great. So today, I am trying to use my free time to do anything I can that needs tending.

Loooong to-do list. But at least there's nothing too terrible on it. See, I'm still smiling.