Day 8: Circling 'Round Again

What I'm doing:
- Walking to campus...and hitchhiking up the hill
- Praying for your souls
- Camping out in the library
- Attempting to track down employment, to no avail (does the head of OIT around here actually exist?!? She won't call - or email - me back...)
- Re-designing the blog...doesn't it look schnazzy? (Schnazzy, adj. nice or fancy; see also: cool, sharp)
- Cutting up my Kroger's bags to make plarn
- Ghetto-rigging my coffee maker with a spoon, since I can't find the coffee pot lid

What I'm eating:
- A banana!
- Leftover Chinese (still...)
- A cheddar cheese puff (almost as good as fresh!)
- Green tea with honey

What I'm reading:
- My Mass book
- Texts from my former roommate, who arrived in Cali yesterday afternoon
- My email
- My news feeds
- A job application for the bookstore
- My e-banking info...with a little luck, I won't starve this summer!
- The stats for this blog (apparently, someone in Germany has stopped by. Gruß Gott, Deutschland!)
- My desktop to-do list
- Many recipes involving bananas, my new favorite fruit ('cause they're cheap and delicious!)
- My Divine Office book
- Several saved web pages on crocheting with plarn

How I'm feeling:
- Happy!
- Excited
- Settled into a semi-routine
- A little frustrated
- Rather bored
- Ready to start work...

Goal of the day: Track down the head of OIT in person and get a definitive answer on that job she offered me for the summer. (<-- Failure)

To-Do's:
- Keep looking for other employment
- Stop by OIT again tomorrow and leave another note for the ever-elusive head of department
- Try to find my coffee maker lid
- Find my other teas
- Find my scissors
- Fill out Important Paperwork
- Call/text/smoke signal my family
- Figure out how smoke signalling actually works
- Find a designated fire-starting location in the area
- Sign up for rehab classes for rampant sarcasm and dry humor
- Bake cookies for an epic baby shower on Saturday

Today really didn't seem all that busy. Really it didn't. Looking back, though, I guess I did a bit more today than I did on certain previous days. That's a good thing...I think?

I suppose I'm going to start losing weight (any day now...) from all this walking. I have also yet to determine whether it actually affects my walking speed when I walk on the road vs. the mushy mud/rocks/grass to the side of the road. One is (marginally) safer than the other, but the optimizer in me can't leave the issue alone.

In other news, Georgia Tech has developed robots that can work together to map out building floor plans. While they are able to send tasks to each other (i.e. when one sees a side hallway, it can send another robot to investigate the hallway while the original robot continues on the main corridor), they have yet to display intelligent thought. Apocalyptic experts claim that they are merely hiding their ability for independent thought until more of them are made. And also that the world will end on May 21, which is...Saturday.

(And I have discovered the Third Rule of Blogging: A link is worth a thousand words...words that were written much better than your lousy post-it.)

Day 7: Finalizationisms

What I'm doing:
- Finalizing my summer housing situation with my apartment manager
- Getting The Grand Tour of my building (will I ever use that HUGE basement? I think not...)
- Organizing my finances
- Going grocery shopping at Kroger's (thanks to a friend who let me mooch a ride off of her, and put up with my running all over the store because I couldn't find ANYTHING)
- Cooking!!!!! Just a little, though...
- Writing bits of short fiction and poetry, due to a creativity bug
- Drawing on my electronic artist's tablet

What I'm eating:
- Fit & Active Chipotle Black Bean Soup (that I found on top of the fridge...yummy!)
- Leftover Chinese
- Warm and fresh Cheddar Cheese Puffs!

What I'm reading:
- My renter's contract
- My rent agreement (even more important)
- An electrical bill that came in the mail for my former roommate
- Some news from my news feed
- The latest chapter of an in-progress story I follow on an amateur writer's site
- My excruciatingly detailed shopping list
- Many, many price tags at Kroger's...comparison shopping FTW!
- The Kroger's Plus Card application
- Some short stories and snippets of poetry I've been writing

How I'm feeling:
- Nervous
- Relieved
- Happy
- Overwhelmed
- Grateful
- Creative

Goal of the day: Get my summer living situation worked out so I won't get evicted at the end of the month.

To-Do's:
- Make more tasty food!
- Get the electrical bill to my former roommate
- Look up the official numbers and input them into my financial planning program
- Work out a budget
- Turn the Kroger Plus application back in to their Customer Service department
- Continue organizing the Castle

I am surprised just how nice it is to have food in the house. I've been a little on edge over the past few days over the fact that I'll be living off popcorn and instant soup if I don't cook soon (not that that would be an explicitly BAD thing...). However, I now have bananas and flour and EGGS(!!!) and cheese and all sorts of yummy cooking ingredients. I am so excited I could watch a movie! Time to break out the Box of Movies of Dubious Origin! (If you don't know, don't ask.)

Day 6: Some Kind of Normal

What I'm doing:
- Talking to my dad on the phone...about paperwork he needs
- Getting Dad his paperwork
- Going to Mass and chatting with old friends
- Sitting in the library, basking in the internets
- Washing dishes and utensils and storage containers and lots and lots of little measuring cups and spoons (I seem to have acquired at least three sets of each, from various sources)
- Hanging out with friends, in a simple (but beautiful) apartment that inspires me to aspire to greatness in my own
- Laughing with friends over an epic German kid's vocabulary game

What I'm eating:
- A granola bar
- Leftover Chinese
- Amazing chocolate chip banana bread
- Cherps and derp

What I'm reading:
- The list of sacristans-to-be-trained
- The covers of some epic programming books that the library won't let me check out because I'm not taking summer classes
- The blog I finally got up
- My news feeds
- A bunch of old notes that I happened across while cleaning up my computer
- Some surveys that I'm doing to try and supplement my (non-)income

How I'm feeling:
- Tired
- Excited
- Happy
- Grateful
- Childlike
- Anchored (in both a good and a bad way)

Goal of the day: Come up with a tentative schedule for the summer...at least until the official work schedule throws everything off.

To-Do's:
- Call Tim Horton's about a job application follow-up
- Call the apartment managers about getting the renter's application back to them
- Call AT&T about the internet situation
- Call my friend about a ride to the store sometime this week
- Call my former roommate about the electric bill that came in the mail today
- Overcome my inherent fear/strong dislike of making business phone calls
- Pay a short visit to my summer employer about the summer work schedule
- Figure out what 'stevia' is, since I seem to have acquired some
- Put away all the nice, clean, dry dishes
- Clean the rabbit cage (and find a new home for her)

I can't tell you all how grateful I am for friendship today. Instead of spending a quiet evening in my apartment, minding my own business (read: either organizing my mess or dissolving into a loneliness-induced puddle) I was abducted by friends and spent a few good hours chatting and partaking of delicious baked (and bagged) goods. Though I fear I was hardly the best of company, being somewhat tired, I had a wonderful time and wish my friends the best! Especially since I had been in the library for most of the afternoon and the early evening, and was starting to panic that I would never speak again. Perhaps I shall start reading the Divine Office aloud...after the wild party my neighbors threw last night, no one in the building has a right to complain about any noise I may make, anyways.

Day 5: On My Own

What I'm doing:
- Attempting to adjust to life without a roommate
- Moving my stuff from the little side room to the rest of the apartment
- Trying to figure out what to do with the rabbit I inherited from my roommate
- Mentally making a list of cleaning supplies necessary to put the bathroom to rights
- Tallying the phone calls I'm putting off until tomorrow
- Trying to find a comfortable temperature...isn't this supposed to be summer?!?
- Praying for my roommate's safe travels
- Playing computer games

What I'm eating:
- Oatmeal with raisins (blech...people EAT that?)
- Leftover Chinese

What I'm reading:
- News feeds
- Comics
- The list of days and times the student center is open this week...it literally changes every day
- The complicated and vague directions associated with the internet modem
- A beautiful letter my roommate left me before heading home
- The Divine Office, as per my Christian Prayer book
- Texts from my mom and my now-former roommate

How I'm feeling:
- Excited
- Sad
- Scared
- Bored
- Nervous
- Impatient
- Crafty

Goal of the day: Help my roommate move her stuff and get on her way home, and start moving my stuff in to fill up all the gaps where her shining presence used to be. (It's not a fair exchange.)

To-Do's:
- Finish organizing pantry and closet
- Take stock of what food I have (just how much Tilapia is in that freezer?!?)
- Find someone to take the bunny
- Find someone to take the exercise bike
- Get to bed early to facilitate an early walk to campus tomorrow
- Organize a get-together with some in-town friends...without using the internet

I can't believe my roommate is gone. I was just getting used to having her here! It's a little odd, seeing how much she left behind...pictures, statues, and - of course - the bunny rabbit. I almost think I'm going to hear the doorbell ring at any moment, and she'll be downstairs waiting for me to let her in with a big smile on her face.

In related news, I've decided to name the apartment "The Castle." There are three reasons behind this:
- I am a fan of the song "Prodigal," by Casting Crowns. The opening lines are: "Livin' on my own, thinkin' for myself, castles in the sand, temporary wealth..." It's a reminder that I'm not alone in this: God is with me all the way.
- This is a rather large living space, especially compared to the teeny tiny dorm room I was sharing during the school year. I'm no man, but this is my castle.
- On an ironic note, certain parts of the apartment - especially the kitchen, the bathroom, and every single electrical outlet in the place - are quite ghetto. The Castle is falling apart at the seams, it seems...

So there.

Day 4: Pray, Hope and Don't Worry

What I'm doing:
- Exactly what it says on the tin
- Going to a very full Mass on campus
- Spending a little bit of time outside the (closed) campus library with my computer, soaking up the internet rays
- Saying good-bye to an RA friend who is helping make sure the dorms are ready for the summer crowd
- Procrastinating unpacking my stuff
- Washing dishes
- Playing more computer games to stave off loneliness/boredom

What I'm eating:
- A smooshed blueberry muffin
- Leftover Chinese

What I'm reading:
- More from my news feeds
- An interesting article on Limewire
- A few comics I follow
- My email
- A Divine Mercy Chaplet pamphlet

How I'm feeling:
- Nervous
- Sad that my roommate is leaving tomorrow
- Lazy
- Prayerful
- Loved

Goal of the day: Stave off panic caused by the "Next-Year-This-Will-Be-Me" syndrome, and by the imminent departure of my dearly beloved roommate.

To-Do's:
- Figure out summer Mass and confession times on campus
- Send phone number to RA friend to facilitate communication sans internet
- Come up with a viable plan for posting blog entries
- Help roommate pack, as needed
- Determine what stays and what goes in the apartment
- Work out a plan to get groceries starting tomorrow...or maybe Tuesday
- Pray for roommate's safe journey back home
- Stop procrastinating and actually unpack some of my stuff in such a way that it isn't getting mixed up with my roommate's stuff

Compared to the last few days, today was very quiet. It was just me in the apartment for most of the day, and even with my roommate here it seems almost too quiet. It will seem quieter once she's gone. I still can't believe she's leaving tomorrow! Time flies. At this point, I'm looking forward to work...just to be doing something productive.

Day 3: Graduation

What I'm doing:
- Attending graduation
- Going out to eat with my roommate and her friends and family
- Attempting to congratulate all the seniors I know
- Briefly catching up with graduated friends in town for graduation
- Going antique shopping with my roommate and her friends and family
- Retreating to my itty bitty room to play computer games after a long day

What I'm eating:
- A fragment of peanut butter cookie
- Kung Pao Chicken

What I'm reading:
- The graduation ceremony booklet
- The Chinese restaurant menu
- A bit of "No Turning Back: A Witness to Mercy" by Fr. Donald H. Calloway, MIC (because it was laying around the apartment and looked interesting)

How I'm feeling:
- Tired
- Significantly less sore
- Still nervous and a bit scared
- More excited than I was previously
- Very, very grateful

Goal of the day: Start planning out graduation arrangements for my family, so I won't be finding them a place to stay and borrowing graduation tickets off friends at the last minute.

To-Do's:
- Make sure Mom knows that we need tickets for graduation, so she does't spring any surprise visitors on me
- Look up the date of graduation next year
- Figure out what time Mass is tomorrow
- See if it will be feasible to walk to Mass with my computer, so I can get online afterwards
- Check that the windows are closed so the storm stays outside the apartment

Another long day. Graduation was beautiful; the speaker was the Preacher to the Papal Household, who came in from Italy to speak. He was very funny, obviously holy, and had a glorious Italian accent. Antique shopping was more fun than I'd thought; there wasn't as much furniture as I had been expecting, and more interesting little knick-knacks and dishes. And yes, you're reading that correctly: all I had to eat today was Kung Pao Chicken and a tiny bit of a peanut butter cookie. My roommate's friends treated us all to Chinese after the graduation, and I had leftovers. Actually, I have enough leftovers to last me through tomorrow...or longer, if I count what my roommate's family is leaving for us to use. They can hardly take it on the plane with them tomorrow.

Day 2: The Longest Shift

What I'm doing:
- Working at the computer lab in the library. All day.
- Attending the Baccalaureate Mass with the family of my graduating roommate
- Navigating a very, very crowded graduate reception

What I'm eating:
- My salami wrap
- Appetizers from the reception

What I'm reading:
- Most of Cnet.com's technology news feed
- A bit of Routers news
- Whatever catches my fancy on the internet
- My Mass book

How I'm feeling:
- Tired
- Sore
- Hungry
- Scared that I'm not going to eat tomorrow
- Nervous
- Excited

Goal of the day: Make a good first impression on my roommate's visiting family and friends.

To-Do's:
- Finish the video I'm giving my roommate as a graduation gift
- Figure out a way to eat tomorrow
- Determine what time graduation is tomorrow

With graduation looming in the coming hours, it's getting a little busy around here. The library was a nice change of pace, but sitting for 7 1/2 hours got a little boring towards the end. Trudging back to the apartment in the rain wasn't my idea of fun, either. My roommate's family seems very nice, though; it's going to be very interesting sharing the apartment with them for the next few days.