bet you thought i'd forgotten about you

well, i'm back after quite a lengthy hiatus. things have been so crazy for the past month that i haven't had time to update this thing. but i'll try and fill in the blanks as best i can.

the first week since i last updated was spent on vacation with my family in florida. it was really fun. i'll get a post up about that soon, along with pictures. (hopefully anyway) it was a good thing we went when we did too, cause hurricaine charley hit the part of florida that we had been in. we were really worried about poor little sanibel island, but i think it'll be okay.

the week after we got back was spent trying to get my brother and sister packed and moved into the dorms. i had to show my brother how to fold a t-shirt. so sad. but we got them all settled, and they seem to be having a blast. rob joined a fraternity - theta chi. i think they're both having a great time.

i also had to finish moving into my new place in home park. the house is really cute and my roomies are cool. i'm still slowly getting things settled. i have to finish painting the desk that i got for $18 at a garage sale and bring it down, and i need to get a bed frame - the mattress and box spring are just chilling on the floor for now. it's starting to look better though. i finally got wireless internet, which is so awesome. and i would like to take this opportunity to thank the good people at apple computers for making some truly kick ass products. i bought an airport express station and it is just ridiculously awesome. not only can i sit in the living room and still have internet access (i.e. right now), but i can also print wirelessly to my printer and play music to a stereo over the network - so cool.

i started grad school last week - doesn't really feel any different than being an undergrad. i have an office, which i suppose is cool. but i have to ta, which is not particularly cool. i don't mind helping people, but the grading is a pain in the ass. there are labs and pre-lab quizzes and pop quizzes. and we don't get a key for the pop quizzes, which is kind of stupid if you ask me, but well, no one did.

let's see, what else... we're going to get cable soon after dealing with the antenna and only getting like 4.5 channels. we did get nbc though, so i could watch the olympics. i love the olympics. i wish i was good enough at some sport to be in the olympics. i mean, it must be incredble. i know it was amazing just being in atlanta during the olympics in '96. there are just so many amazing moments - like when deena kastor came from 11th place to get the bronze medal in the marathon. amazing - i wish i could do that. and they're so poignant - kastor burst into tears during her last lap in the stadium. moments like that just seem so personal and yet we get to witness them - these amazing feats that only a handful of people out of the entire population of the world are able to achieve. but now they are over until the winter olympics in '06. sad.

oh, there's a funny story i almost forgot about: the day i started to move in two weeks ago, i went to clean some furniture, and then discovered that we had no water. yipee. now this wouldn't normally be a huge problem, because i could just call the water company, right? wrong. i didn't have the number, and the account had been in the name of one of melissa's old roommates, alyson. and melissa was out of town, and my other roommate hadn't moved in yet. now alyson was expecting a bill from the water company, because they hadn't actually been getting water bills all year. well, the bill finally came on wednesday, so i called them. but they said i needed a copy of my lease, which, yeah, i didn't have. so i called my landlord on thursday, but had to leave a message. his wife got back to me on friday, but said he was busy and probably wouldn't be able to get the lease until saturday. fan-freakin-tastic. so monday morning, after finally getting the lease, melissa and i woke up early and went to city hall before class and go the water set up. so all was well... until... a couple days later, i'm at school, and my roommate melissa calls me around 3 in the afternoon: "so i came home from class just now, and there's a 15-foot geyser in a front yard." what?? are you kidding me?? unbelievable. she called the landlord, and he had his handyman come down and fix it. we only had to shut of the water for a couple of hours, so it was okay. but i didn't even get to see the geyser, which i was bummed about. but oh well.

and now this post is getting a bit long, so i think i'll sign off for now. i'm sure i've forgotten a few things, but i'll add them as i think about them.