Things I forgot I love:

My gold signet ring. I've taken nearly a yearlong hiatus from wearing this guy, choosing instead to wear my stump ring (which, fear not, has not been stricken from the rotation). This weekend, I reincorporated him into my Accessories Schema, and I'm ever-so-glad that I did. Strikingly simple, daintily suited to my hand, the ring brings me back to late-spring of 2009, when I'd wrapped up my coursework and had put the finishing touches on my thesis and spent a few fraught weeks sweating out my demons in Northampton. The ring was a graduation gift from my mom; mom, who thought I should ask for something more practical (and less fragile?), purchased it at the behest of Ali, who understands my true, deep love for jewelry.

I remember walking through the Smith gardens with my dad and Donna. I wore straight-leg jeans, an open-backed, black, raglan-sleeve tee, and a black cardigan. The sun cast steep shadows onto the paths. We narrowly avoided collision with insects.

Post-graduation dinner: I forgot what I ordered. Steak, likely. Beer, certainly. My dad got lamb (rare) -- I remember being unnerved by the redness of the meat. Afterward, we trouped back to Ali's and my apartment, where we had chocolate cake with buttercream frosting, special-ordered from Henion. All of us in that sweltering kitchen, my elbows stuck to the vinyl tablecloth, cat hair clotting every corner and joint. Silence as we ate, and silence afterward.

To this day, I'm charmed by my decision to leave the ring unengraved. Blank, its face draws more attention than it would were it marked with a symbol. Blank, it could stand for anything. It holds a fingerprint for hours (sigh: why not longer?), only to be wiped clean: renewed.

Back from the dead!

Or, in a more "Tale of Two Cities" vein, RECALLED TO LIFE.

It's been a busy few weeks around these parts of town. May 22nd was graduation, and my whole family came out for the affair. I was glad for the parental support, indifferent though I was about the ceremony. Not indifferent about the degree, mind you, just not psyched about sitting in an overheated auditorium for over three hours, hearing lists and lists of names read. Never mind that I was dehydrated & mysteriously sleep deprived & sitting by complete strangers. Phew! I am glad that I walked; lots of grad students don't, and I think that, unremarkable though the event proper was, I would've been sad if I'd passed on the opportunity. As is the case with so many missed opportunities.

I've been working at the Target food court ("Food Ave") for the past six weeks, which has fortified my character in a number of ways. It is true that I could have loafed for the month of June - I'd saved enough money for bills and minor recreation - but I wanted to earn a bit of extra cash for the move and to create a time commitment to help me structure my remaining days here. I don't know about you, but I accomplish more when I have more to do. I'm thinking back to my first summer in Northampton, when I worked approximately ten hours a week (if that) and managed to get nothing done. When I have more on my plate, I'm more conscious of time and how I spend it. The strategy has worked, so far; I've been steadily applying to jobs in Madison, researching Dietetics grad programs, reading, reading, running. I have yet to start my first needlepoint project, but that's next.

A cloudy day, birdcalls and street sounds seeming far off.

Chocolate lovers, and lovers of anything sweet: you must try Dagoba's blueberry lavender chocolate. It is the best thing ever, and by this, I mean ever. I'm pretty excited to try their mint bar (also flavored with rosemary), but not much compares to lavender infusions.

I'm back...

Sort of. (Aside: I can't believe I've been dormant for over a month, but once you read about what's happened in the past month, my absence will be understandable.) So, from the top...

1) Ali graduated! It was excellent to fly back to MN for a weekend and see the family (even Bailey). I was a little nostalgic going back to Morris, MN, because even though I didn't go to school there, I visited many a time: was well acquainted with Don's Cafe, the Diamond Supper Club, the Salvo. A peripheral connection to be sure, but a connection nonetheless. Also, I still can't believe that Ali is no longer in college: this makes me feel really old.

2) Eric graduated! He now has his MA in English and will be starting applications for PhD programs (wouldn't be entering them until Fall 2009, though). His parents and grandma came out for the weekend, and we sampled the local cuisine, had our cookout at Look Park, went to the Mark Twain house, and enjoyed afternoon margaritas at Mama Iguana's.

3) Ruth and Adam got married! Congratulations, you two!

4) VACATION. Eric's parents rented a condo on Folly Beach (about a ten-minute drive from Charleston proper), and we spent a week there. Charleston is beautiful: the single-houses with their open piazzas, Palmettos, all the parks and monuments. Each day, we went to Charleston in the morning and early afternoon to see sights/go to the historic market, and we relaxed on the beach until dinnertime. (I also collected an ass-ton of shells.) I would never have classified myself as a "beach person" before this trip, but I would now. I'm tan! And loving it!
Even though I've been back for a few days, I'm still lamenting my necessary return from vacation. Here, I can't get sweet tea (excluding McDonald's sweet tea, which is OK but not as good as the other tea I sampled) and grits, nor can I collect shells or swim in the ocean or weave little place mats from Palmetto fronds. At any rate, I do have a plan: I brought home some quick grits and can cook them in times of trouble. Also, I'm going to find out how to make homemade sweet tea. Who's with me?



Also also, I'm moving in a few days! (Ten, to be exact.) I'm pretty excited about this - like a lot of you, I'm a fan of the sorting and reminiscing that go into packing, and also the streamlining of my collection of "stuff." I don't have too much stuff at present, but I have amassed a lot of books since I've been here, which are going to be hell to carry. Ali will be moving in with me at some point before the end of August - when, no one knows for certain.

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If that seemed like an ultra-quick summary, forgive me - it's been the busiest month of recent memory, but I will begin posting again with predictability (and hopefully more detailed accounts of what I've been up to).