getting to know the group...

so a lot's happened since i've last blogged. salsa night was fun and a flop. it was fun getting to hang out with marianne, laura (and summer) and shawn, but the salsa wasn't nearly hot enough. in fact, it was downright mild and more like chopped tomatoes with some peppers somewhere in the bowl. we decided against putting in the seeds. and i think that was our fatal mistake. but we had fun anyway.

on sunday, i tried out a new church. it's a bit too small for my tastes, but the congregation was so nice. everyone (i mean, everyone) greeted me and the pastor's heart for the community was amazing. i may come back, but i think i'll look around and see what i find.

and that brings us up to today. i took the bus to campus (so i wouldn't have to leave my right arm as payment for parking). we had a grad employee orientation where we had to fill out lovely hr paperwork. i think all that paperwork serves to keep you at your current job. goodness knows i'll need another five or so years before i would consider filling that out again. i feel stupid every time. oh well. shawn, courtney (and her friend matthew - another grad student in the social psyc dept), and i met to go together. we ran into laura and dan (another member of the cohort) as we were in line to turn in our esteemed masterpieces (aka the hr paperwork). fun times. shawn and i wandered around campus, got books, and checked out our offices again.

but the best part of my day was coming home. i got a package from my parents :-) and flowers from evan :-). my parents sent the following: a bear dressed as a clown named juggles (because"i'm juggling my life"), "when harry met sally" (because i "have good friendships always"), a shot glass (because "sometimes a good shot helps" -- thanks dad!) and a little frame picture that says "someone in DE is thinking of you" (because they're always thinking/loving/missing their "sweet pea"). and the flowers (as pictured) are just beautiful :-).

so, as overwhelming as things are, it's good.