Recap.

I have returned to Georgia - as a state, I must say I like Georgia more than Alabama.  Things feel more current. 

But, as a school, the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa) is really great.  I didn't expect to like it, but was very impressed.  The campus isn't too big to like, but doesn't feel crowded.  The students are very nice, and are always out in the open to socialize.  Parking and the bus system were both easy instead of hard.  The departments handle a huge student population, but really have it together.  The campus itself is kept up much better than any other big school I've seen...even the Greek houses are beautiful and clean.  There's an air of southern grace to it, instead of an air of redneckish football love only.  I am SURE the campus has its downfalls, but I really liked it.

I am very much enjoying being back in school so far - I needed a new challenge, and this is something I care about.  There will be a few classes I'm not as into - or maybe not as into NOW, because many in the program say they learned that they enjoy certain things unexpectedly.  Graduate school is definitely already tougher than undergrad, but I think it's a good thing.

I also (hopefully) met quite a few people I can network with - should be valuable in the future.

It was HOT in Tuscaloosa.  It could have been worse, but you still couldn't be outside for more than 5 minutes without sweating. 

I am about to be a very busy girl - not as much free time anymore!

Second day in Tuscaloosa...

Long day. 
Loads of information. 
Brain mushy. 
Hot and humid in Tuscaloosa, but could be worse. 
Campus is extremely sprawling,with one really pretty tree-lined avenue with pretty buildings on either side.  Too large a place to walk much. 
Nice and interesting folks in my cohort. 

This building is on campus and survied the Civil War and the burning of the south.  Lovely.

This is the library, where my department is headquartered.  Got to explore the book binding rooms - love.

And for all those football fans, the stadium, where I will not be going, but am around it all the time here.  I may come back for a game.

I am so exhausted I didn't even stop at the Krispy Kreme (hot now sign on!) OR the Dippin' Dots shop.  That is exhaustion, folks.

Another (longer) day tomorrow. 

Notes on my 1st day in Tuscaloosa.

Disclaimer: I am not staying in Tuscaloosa for school, I am only here for a 4-day orientation and 1-hour credit class.  However, it's always interesting being a new place, right?

On my way through Alabama, I passed a section of interstate with a huge mosque and a BMW dealership side-by-side.  These things don't fit in Alabama to me.  Fireworks stores - those fit.

Talladega Speedway is really big.  I have never been to a Nascar race.  I want to go to one. 

I would like to go here on my way back, but don't think I have time: http://desotocavernspark.com/

Tuscaloosa is not very impressive so far.  Just like any other small town with a one-story mall.  Maybe on-campus will be nicer?

My hotel room is very new -comfy bed, nice TV, etc.  But I got the handicap-accessible room, so my mirrors can be tilted and moved all over the place, and the shower is huge and walk-in, with a seat.  That's just asking for a lazy shower, but may be good for shaving legs.  There's also a drain in the middle of the whole bathroom floor, so I plan to brush my teeth and wash my face with abandon and just let the water go down the middle-floor drain.  Because I can.

At my fingers!

I've been thinking lately about my feeling bored.  I am slightly frustrated with just being HERE.  I like Atlanta, love many things about it. 

But - you know how you feel if you have your favorite dessert on the counter, but you can't touch it?  Imagine you're not on a diet, it's just out of the oven, and it's within you arm's reach.  But you're not eating it, just because you're doing other things, and you're irritated.

That's how I feel about the world.  Many people feel like international travel and other cultures are so far from them and so challenging to experience that they're nowhere near doing it.  For some reason, I feel the opposite.  I feel like the entire world is my backyard.  Easy to get to, great to experience.  And yet, I'm not out there. 

It's annoying.

I am making a long-term plan of places to visit - the first three being places we might move to in a few years' time.  While I am enjoying many things about my present, I am looking forward to getting out there into the big wide world very soon.

I relate so much to Elizabeth Gilbert in "Eat, Pray, Love" - while in Italy, she encountered someone who was traveling to various places, and she was jealous of their travels while she was traveling herself - I am like that.  The world's a big, beautiful place.  I want to see it all.

Next on the list - here.

Libraries

I start graduate school this week.

"A library is not just a warehouse for books; it is a physical representation of a set of cultural values that have accumulated over thousands of years. Libraries salvaged and preserved Western civilization; they have been a hub for intellectual exchange, a ladder of social mobility, and a promise of continuity from one generation to the next. It is not mere courtesy that causes people to become silent in the library, as they do in a church: Libraries are sacred places." -William Pannapacker

"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” -Jorge Luis Borges

lull

My life is in a lull right now - a quiet, slow time.  A solid time, perhaps, but not much adventure, not much "new" to take my breath away.  I struggle, because I need the new, exciting, mind-engaging.  

But right now, things are just quiet.  I may appreciate this valley when things are hectic again - but at the moment, I need something new, I think. 

Dear Diary

Today:
1. Woke up without an alarm (like)
2. Went to the pool and got some sun (like)
3. Tried a new restaurant from my long list of places to go - Muss and Turners (was pretty good, need to go back to know how I fully feel)
4. Took Wes's laptop to the computer repair place (randomly got a virus - $90 and 4 days to fix - ?)
5. Craved some sweet tea, got some at Chick Fil A
6. Loved the new Limited at Town Center Mall
7. Bought a big leather storage ottoman from Macy's Furniture Clearance Center ($179, down from $600 - good buy)
8. Ordered pizza and watched "Pillars of the Earth" (like)
9. Did laundry
10. Going to bed to read

All in all, decent weekend day, right?
If only I weren't still a bit sad.