Oh, I believe in Yesterday

I was having a lot of...feelings...yesterday, but am just now getting around to posting them.

Yesterday was a strange kind of day; it left me wanting to do everything and nothing all at once, to be surrounded by people yet alone. I think that it had something to do with the weather.

It was absolutely perfect outside: sunny, about 70 degrees, low humidity...blue skies, white clouds, green grass, blossoming flowers, tall trees - you know the deal. I mean, it’s Furman. I had initially been apprehensive about the day’s weather - not that I had had anything planned, but the day before had been very out-of-character for May in Greenville: chilly, overcast, and windy.

Anyway, it was nice. After class, I ate lunch with Melissa - outside, at my suggestion, and then went to visit the other Melissa. She had to go to class, so I came back to my room. I then took some packages to mail after stopping by the library; after that, I trekked to North Village to retrieve my purchased bike.

The entire bike escapade was just awkward: at first, I couldn’t find it, and then, I was barely tall enough to get on the seat. In addition, I was wearing a skirt and a tote bag. When I finally got going, though, and had a few odd seconds to enjoy the ride, is when that above-mentioned feeling came over me.

I was by myself, but I wasn’t lonely. That in itself wasn’t odd, because I’ve felt that way before. However, I all at once wanted to do so much yet just be. I ended up doing a mix of things: talking to the maintenance guy, taking a receipt to Andrew and sitting in his office for a bit, taking a nap, watching the news, etc.

It wasn’t a strange day, really. Sure, a little less happened than what I would usually have on my plate, but that’s not out of the ordinary for this term, from what I’ve seen thus far. I just can’t forget that feeling.

A little MORE conversation

I feel as if I have been driving back and forth between college and home a lot lately. Unfortunately, it was only on this most recent return trip that I discovered talk radio.

Sure, I had known of its existence before, but my only recollections of talk radio up to Sunday were of annoying morning shows and boring subject matter. However, Sunday, my cell phone was dead, and my music supply from my iPod and CDs was, believe it or not, all but exhausted. Thus, I turned to my XM - never a bad choice, but after switching between the same five or ten stations for a few hours, you tend to hear the same songs. Finally, I began to spin the dial and scan all the way up into the 100s. Aha: talk radio.

From Cosmo to Oprah to medical shows to NPR to news to sports (probably in that order), I think that XM and its shows were my savior this weekend. I was tired, I was in a funny mood, and I had been driving for hours with absolutely no contact with the outside world. However, when I began to listen to a talk radio segment, the minutes suddenly seemed to fly by and turn into hours that brought me closer to my second home.

No longer do I see talk radio as annoying or boring. Sure, I have my preferences, and some shows are definitely better than others, but I actually found myself wishing that I had a car charger or at least some semblance of battery life in my new cell phone so that I could call in and chat. I disagreed, I laughed, I learned, and I actually look somewhat forward to my next long car ride.

Goodbye, FU...kind of

My friends are all leaving. Finals at FU are coming to an end, and all but about 450 of us are heading home. Well, even we are going home for the weekend, but the point is that, as much rejoicing (LDOC, anyone?) and packing (clothes, mostly) I have done and bittersweetness I have felt, come Monday, I'll be in class again.

I am feeling a number of emotions at the moment: excitement and anticipation for my May X class, sadness to see my friends go, anxiousness of having to make new friends in May, disgust with having two more exams, exhaustion at the prospect of a busy few days at home after a busy few weeks here and then hardly any turnaround...mostly, I'm looking forward to working at Bridges this summer. I also am ridiculously tired from my work-out today: I literally came back in after a walk from the PAC to the dorm in the pouring rain and collapsed on our floor. Before I can let any of this digest, though, I need to actually pass said final exams. I'm off to eat dinner and study.