did you know that i have my last final a month from yesterday? didja? huh?

it's pretty terrifying, truth be told. i think i'm actually more worried about stat (1 credit) than poli sci (2), but i guess we'll figure that out for real when the time comes. there's a big stat project and a take-home final, as compared to a couple more papers and a sit-down final in ancient theory.

much more interestingly, the end of the semester brings with it all sorts of strangeness about things entirely non-academic. people going away. people coming back. the looming Final Semester with its attendant worries about Life After. i'm particularly worried about telling my parents (finally and for real) that taking a year off between college and grad school does not mean taking a year to hang out in the upper midwest. it's sad but true: other than the companionship of my increasingly, incredibly busy family, there's nothing that would make me want to live there just now. better to go someplace that excites me and do things i want/need to do, including run a functional, sustainable household and get to know the "real world," whatever that turns out to be, a little bit.

went to a higher ground meeting in the emc last night, and saw to my horror a copy of education week with a picture of a cherubic minnesotan toddler hoisting a "we [heart] norm" sign. now, this sort of thing is a fairly accurate summation of the reason i'm not doing much political posting just now: basically, it breaks my heart. so if you're reading me for the cogent insights on current events (ha!)...sorry.

AND, i can't post this without giving thanks for the change in the weather. it's windy and chilly today, but it's also bright and sunny. thank God for weather that doesn't make me want to stay in bed for the foreseeable future.