Stop This Train...

It is finals week for the three of our classes that are only one module of the trimester. That means we have four other classes that go through the entire tri, and on top of finals we have normal classes and assignments due.

Friday we had a three-hour class, Sat we had our accounting final, and today we had to turn in paperwork corresponding with our Career Management seminar presentations tomorrow. This is going on day #8 straight of school - and it keeps going through Thursday! There were two things that got me through the weekend: autumn has arrived in AZ, and at the end of the week I get to go home for the weekend WITH NO HOMEWORK!!!

The weather cooled down to a lovely 75 today, so I was glad to take a break and do some laundry, and wandered around campus for a bit. It is empty - everybody is burried in the library or working with a group in a student room somewhere. It's nuts - even the Pub was closed last night - on a Saturday!

Another thing that has been hard this week is that I've been sad I missed Brian's birthday. From what I hear though, he had quite a celebratory weekend! It's a lot harder than I thought it would be, giving up the little things... A few people I have talked to mentioned that CO might be getting some snow this week, so the fact that it is just now getting pleasant outside is a shock to my system. Inside I am ready for sweatshirt-and-hot chocolate days and Halloween decorations, and here I am grateful for a windows-open day. But I will get my fill, I just have to survive the week. Then we can have a belated birthday(I promised to get up with Bosco and let Brian sleep in on Sat!) and some seasonal appreciation.

Here are some pics from this afternoon. At top is the Wall of Welcome, which says "welcome" in 30-some-odd languages and has a quote from Socrates, "I am neither Athenian nor Greek, I am a citizen of the world." Middle is my mailbox, at the apartment, and the bottom is my favorite study spot(not frequented, mind you, but definitely preferred!). Hope all is well and that wherever you are the leaves are changing...

You Brighten Up For Me All of My Days

Last Thursday I got to drive to the airport to pick up my husband for our anniversary weekend visit. I was running on two PB&J's, a few cookies, and about three hours of sleep in three days. Accounting spreadsheets and statistics had been consuming me all week, which left the rest of me feeling guilty about not keeping up with econ and orgnizational behavior, or any other regular human habits. Defeated and broken, I pulled into the arrivals lane at Sky Harbor and have never in my life been so excited to see him!

It took me most of Friday to recover, and Brian was extremely patient with my morning meetings and loose ends. After everything got checked off my list, I joined him at the pool and we had a relaxing couple of hours melting under the palm trees. My last commitment for the week was actually an audition for the campus cover band, Global Sounds. They told me I had a "rock star name" and some "tight pipes," and invited me to sing with them!

Friday night I took him to see the Rockies play the Diamondbacks at their fancy new stadium with the retractable roof. They put up a mild effort, but the Dbacks won and celebrated with a surprisingly spectacular fireworks display. It was late when we got back to the apartment and we fell asleep eating ice cream and watching the debate.

It was GLORIOUS to sleep in on Saturday! It just so happened that the AVP was in Glendale for the weekend, so Brian got us tickets. It was Kristin's birthday, so we took her for the morning matches and hung out in the Crocs tent for a while. It was fun enough that we went back for the beginning of the championship matches that evening, and left early to eat at Buca's to celebrate with some other friends. Then home for cake, and another full night of sleep.

Sunday was hard for me. I woke up wishing I didn't have to say goodbye, and thinking hard about what I am doing and why I am down here. I desperately needed a break from school, and being able to be myself and be unconditionally loved for who I am was deeply refreshing. Brian is so supportive and convinced that we are doing the right thing, but I am not sure yet. Grad school is not healthy! This lifestlye is hard on everybody, it's ridiculous. And to think about what I gave up to live in Glendale?!

Anyhow, I pulled myself together and we had a nice breakfast and stopped at Castles n' Coasters on the way to the airport to slip in a quick 18 holes of put-put. It was very fun, even though it is still triple-digits hot during the day. After that I said goodbye at the Bush line and returned home all alone to ease back into my reality.

This week has been better. We're just gearing up for the stats exam Friday, then I get to switch gears this weekend and start catching up on my other classes. Mid-terms are just around the corner, which will be followed by my long weekend in CO! I am ready to visit - see the new house(ok, new basement and fresh paint will seem new to me!), snuggle with Bosco, and enjoy the fresh air! It will be great to see Mom and Dad too - I know I took for granted how easily accessible they are, and am ready for some hugs.

Thanks for all of your thoughts, it is nice to know I am loved by a universe that doesn't care how quickly I can calculate the kurtosis of a random assortment of monthly phone bills. I miss you all but I can't believe it is already October!