and count every beautiful thing we can see

102 days

at 99 days I'm making a paper chain. although i think i threw away all of my construction paper. people at work have started making me write down how i do things so that they can learn before i leave. wrapping things with foil neatly, organizing the freezer, and converting recipies never seem like difficult or significant tasks but it's nice being appreciated i guess.

holly and rachel called last night after 24-7. i was tired and already in my pajamas but i changed and went and hung out with them anyway. it was fun, we went to wal-mart and bought people presents. it's been really good being forced to be more intentional about who i hang out with. spending more time alone was something i was really fearing but it's been really sweet so far. Hanging out with girls I don't live with is amazing, although less convenient.

Hopefully soon my life will have more of a routine. Actually, my life may not have a routine again for about 2.5 years and I'm trying to decide how I feel about that. I think it'll be good. I spend way too much time every week in various coffee houses around Iowa City (mentally rating them based on parking, the speed of their wireless connection, the chance I'll run into a friend, and the number of flies present) filling out preparation paperwork about my weaknesses and trying not to freak out about getting my wisodom teeth taken out. Yikes. It's been fun so far but I think I'm becoming "a regular" at more than one coffee house and that scares me. And I always end up being "that girl" because I get 43 phone calls a day from Jess either yelling racial epithets about her co-workers/fellow commuters or without anything to say but was bored so she just called.

Thus is my life. Highlighted by e-mails from Kate from Nairobi giving me tips on malaria prevention and how to not fall in love with your teammates. I also get to see Jennifer and Lorraine more, and this week I even got to talk on the phone with Bryan's Economic Geography professor. I wish it would have been his Cartography professor because Cartography is so sexy. I thought I had something else to say but i don't.

peace out