School Dayz

I've got to say it...it's going to be tough for me to post when I'm not getting paid to sit in front of a computer and do nothing, hence, get paid to write on my blog. But I will not disappoint you, loyal readership! School starts tomorrow, and so today I "moved" back to Evanston, since a lot of my belongings had accumulated at Nick's over the summer. Evanston was alive once more, and there have been a lot of exciting new develpments, most importantly the appearance of a new Italian Coffee Bar right down the street that has, like, 24 flavors of gelato. Cha-ching! Although I am a city girl at heart, there are lots of good things about my apartment, such as hardwood floors, living across from the post office, a significantly easier parking situation, and my coffee pot. Class doesn't start until 10 am tomorrow, and I'm SO looking forward to getting up at 8:30, brewing some Folgers, and watching the morning shows while I get ready for class. It will feel like such a luxury after three months of schlepping my body to work early every morning and gulping down a latte to wake me up. I'm not the first to say it but...the real world SUCKS!

In an uncharateristically festive move, I attended the School of Music BBQ tonight (mostly for the free food, but under the guise of being social and mingling and all that crap). While last week I was feeling extremely apprehensive about returning to school, I'm becoming more and more excited about it. I went to Office Max and got a new tote for my new Macbook (loves it!), some pens and pencils. I organized my things and packed my bag and started to feel that "first day of school" excitement. I've always loved school - there's something about the fall that stirs it up in me and brings back memories of school supply shopping with my mom and siblings, getting excited about new teachers and new crayons, football games, gleefully moving back to DePauw after what felt like an interminable summer of being at home and away from friends and independence. School is different now; I feel less like a student and more like an adult. I have to pay bills and manage my little household and concentrate on the future. But still, it's nice to walk down the street, lined with trees whose leaves are beginning to change, and see kids with backpacks, coffee houses packed with young people working on laptops, feel that spirit of a new school year beginning in the air.

So, I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts. It won't be long before I'll be shoved back into the "real world", where 8:30 wake-up times are unheard of, free time is scarce, and most likely, I won't be surrounded every day by other people who love what they do. So here we go.....Masters degree, year two.