2003-12-17|11:49 p.m.
MM has been here since finals have been over and that has been more than good. For tough times it is always nice to have friends, especially one�s best friend, around.
Yesterday was MM�s birthday and like we have done for the last couple years, I took him to see Lord of the Rings (this time the final one). The movie was spectacular and I found myself easily caught up in its emotions. I am learning to let go a little more with that sort of thing in order to enjoy movies like that. It seems to work.
I have also tried to keep myself busy. On Tuesday, SY took all of the DFS volunteers, including myself, to the Olive Garden. I felt bad somewhat being there, since I hadn�t been there in a couple weeks due to finals preparation and illness. But that passed as I just decided to enjoy being around nice people and have a good time. Then we all returned to the office and I did a little work and got to wrap Christmas presents for a few families that DFS adopted for the holidays. Being there always puts me in better spirits. SY is inspiring in all the good she does for people and all the joy in general she brings to people�s lives. And DFS itself is just such a really grassroots organization that really makes you feel you are always important to its survival.
Around the house, I managed to clean up my much neglected room which really meant me finishing up laundry and putting clothes away in their respective places. Once that was done, I made MM help me rearrange my room so that my futon could be opened fully. Since I moved into my mother�s place nearly a year ago, the futon has been in its �couch� position� and it got to be very uncomfortable to sleep on. Plus, having had what only appeared as a �couch� in my room also made me feel like I didn�t have a real bedroom. So, now it feels right. It is amazing how one�s personal space can help one�s general mood.
I also mended the many clothes I had piling up that needed work. It feels like I have all these new outfits!
I also bought some chocolate and some molds and I will soon make friends and family their holiday gifts. I also made a bunch of cards and will finish up some other surprise gifts I had been working on. With so little money lately, especially before my next quarter�s scholarship money�s arrival, it was the best way I could stretch my dollars. I�d like to send you guys some chocolate; so if you would send me your address by email, I will soon send you off a package.
I will soon take pictures of my new room set up and the gifts and post them. Jevon was really nice and bought me a subscription to a gold membership so that I could get back my pictures and comments option. Thanks Jevon!
And I will also write that entry about my time at the Marine Corps ball sometime soon. It requires pictures and storytelling I haven�t been up to lately. But I haven�t forgotten altogether about it.
It is strange to think I will be gone in a little over a year to the Peace Corps and I probably won�t be able to do this anymore. I�ve never spent a noteworthy amount of time outside the country really. All that I have traveled outside our US borders has been documented in the two times I have written about spending single day trips in Mexico. Though I loved those times, it isn�t enough. I read longingly about the travels of Diarylanders like near-sighted and jcruelty and I can�t help but want to find my own adventure. This doesn�t make for the most noble reason to join the PC, but it is not my only reasoning. I promise.
Tomorrow I will work on getting my political blog up and running so that I can get the latest current events out of my system.