week one in number 103

wow!  in the chaos of moving, this little blog journal has been neglected.  this past week has been such a flurry; it feels as if i've only been in provo a couple of days, and at the same time it's like i never left.  there's two constants in provo: couples holding hands everywhere and a non-stop steaming of owl city in all the restaurants and stores.

it's been almost one week {tomorrow} that i've been back.  i've opened boxes, gotten bruises, opened boxes, hung pictures, opened boxes, grocery shopped, organized my closet, bought my books, almost cut my little toe off, opened more boxes, put together an end-table, moved furniture, and ran around like a headless chicken most of the week.  i still have an incredible amount to accomplish!

looking back, i realized that one year ago tomorrow, i started this blog to document my adventures while attending byu, as one who was not so certain this happy valley idea was her thing.  in memory of my first post, written the day before the first day of class {today}, i'm taking a little walk down memory lane -- and staring over this year's brink a little as well.

first, read my first post.  now, here's some commentary:

i live across the street from the second level, moderate-sized apartment of last year, in the building with the frills (which i have decided look convincingly like pineapples).  i love the old houses with the broken shutters next door more than almost anything.  as it turned out, the convenient parking garage located beneath the complex of little 205 was a more hospitable place than i realized.  periodic break-ins, scary looking skaters, and glass from shattered windows soon became no surprise in the garage.  luckily for me, my little green punky brewster car was never harmed, nor was i.  provo still seems larger than a medium-sized city, although not quite like new york or hong kong.  i'll admit freely, i am still capable of becoming hilariously lost.  but after nailing down the few main roads (and carrying a map of campus around in my head and my backpack) things became much easier.

although changed considerably from last year, i am still not ordinary.

california-girl-beth lives next to my frilly pineapple complex in a quaint yellow house.  na li, who was as mysterious the day she moved out as the first day we moved in, is around town somewhere, still finishing her chemistry degree and, i imagine, still having midnight solitary fashion shows with her roommate's full-length mirrors.  natalie is with me still, thank goodness.  i can't begin to say how grateful i am that we're still living together.  we are still attempting to keep each other sane, and a little more healthy this semester.

this year, we've added two more girls to our apartment ingredient list.  beth, or elizabeth, is a kindred spirit and long lost sister that served in the same mission as natalie.  the day that a small public bus broke down in uruguay was a fateful day.  you see, natalie and beth were both on that bus.  i awoke to her singing yesterday and it made my heart smile.  she loves to make almost-vegan cupcakes with me, and lets me cuddle with her. genny, or genevieve, is beth's younger sister.  with six years between them and five between natalie and i, if you lined up all our ages, we could all be one big sister-family.  genny is a saint.  she brings a beautiful, sweet, calm presence that i prayed this apartment would find.  she did my dishes this morning, and if you know me, you know that almost nothing makes my day more than finished dishes i didn't do.  it's going to work splendidly, i think, the four of us.

this is the brink.  the day before we all began classes.  i don't expect to get lost.  i'm not particularly nervous.  but i am expectant, excited, and quite curious.  i'm trying a lot of new things this semester.  i'm an incredibly new me than i was a year ago.  this is my last year, and i can't wait to see what's in store for me.

i miss my kitties, still terribly.  i have a thousand pictures to hang on my bulliton board.
and i really can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.  it's like being at the top of a roller coaster, the part when you can't see over the edge, and that alone takes your breath away.
adventure awaits.

and class begins tomorrow.