Actually, I kind of hate Waffle House

Many thoughts.

I'm a generally pensive kind of guy, but there are these moods I normally get in that are kind of nearly-depressing/emo/serious pensive moods that I get into about once a month or so. I like those moods though. Even though I described them rather unamiably.

Today however, is a bit different. I've just got a bunch of things running through my mind and I'm thinking about a ton of different things...but it's not quite the same. I don't know how to describe that any better....which makes it ridiculous to write in a blog, but that's just the way it is.

I haven't been very good at talking recently, nothing comes out like I want it to. They should just make a way to communicate feelings through a direct internet upload/download system or something. Life would be a lot easier.

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So Mike and Kat got married this past weekend. I love that couple. I love them...both individually, and as one. I am so blessed and thankful that they are in my life. I kept telling them how excited I was and how I love those two and how awesome it was that they were married...but everytime I said it it never seemed to do justice to what I actually felt. Hurm. Words are ridiculous (which is why I spend all of my time studying them.....irony?)

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I had a good long talk with Drew at the Bachelor's Party. I'm glad we got to talk. I really didn't get to know him that well until my last two years of college and really my last year of college. But I've really come to love him and Nicole (his wife). It's really kind of a shame that our lives are splitting in so many directions. We're trying to make sure we spend a good amount of time with each other at least once a year.

It was crazy seeing the mass of people at the wedding and pre-wedding festivities that I hadn't seen in ages. So this is what growing up is like. Crazy.

I'm pretty sure that Mike, Drew, and Micah (and their respective spouses/future-spouses) and I should know each other for the rest of our lives and keep in contact. These people are amazing.

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It's weird that I've traveresed three different worlds in the past three days. Being with my parents and family completely without interaction with the outside world for a few days was good, I do love my family. Then I went and saw all of my best friends from college and my best friend get married to his beautiful and wonderful wife. And it was a kind of surreal experience in many ways. Then I came to Gainesville, my new home, and hung out with nearly everyone I know here and love here.

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And now, some random thoughts, as that seems to be the trend:
-I talked way too much about emotions in this post, I blame it on the surge of estrogen I've been exposed to in the past few days.

-I definitely need to learn when to stop talking. I have told Mary far too much.

-There are still some things that my mind has not fully found closure on. That bugs me.

-God is ridiculous.

-I've been using the word ridiculous way too much in the past few months.

-I'm not sure how I feel about my party planning being hijacked by my ex-girlfriend. It doesn't really bother me, it just seems weird.

-I need to fly somewhere far away. Just for a bit.

-I'm glad that my electric bill is for the first time under 90$...in fact, a lot less.

-I am not excited to write this paper in the next few days.

-I got a calendar with pictures of Paris and a typography book from Jamie for Christmas. Yes, I'm a dork, but it's totally awesome.

-I also got a lot of practical stuff for Christmas, which is fine by me, I'm glad to get them.

-I was sad that I was not able to be as giving because of financial means this Christmas.

-I am saddened for a friend of mine whom I wish I could be there for more, because I know he needs it.

-I'm trying to learn to have Gainesville be my home...even if it's just a home for right now.

-Love is amazing.

-There are days when I really can't wait to be with the one I'm going to marry. And there are others where I think it's probably never going to happen. I've been doing better at thinking less.

-Still a lot of unanswered questions. I think most of these will probably stay that way until the Big Guy decides to let us all in on His secrets.

-I miss my old church...or what I nostalgically remember my old church being when I was younger.

-Love is hard.

-This post is way too long and scattered (smothered, covered, and capped).

Life keeps on moving forward...

It's already above room temperature outside and it's 9 AM. I hate hot weather and it's been hot and humid for the past month or so. Why am I moving to Florida where it will be hotter and more humid? Hurm. I must be insane.

So the roommate search is going alright. I've had probably around 20 people respond. Half of those have been women and I'm really looking for a guy to room with. I think it could just get a bit too awkward living with a female--for both of us involved. Out of those 10 guys, about half of them seem kinda creepy/scary and the other half seem to be not too bad. I'd like to get this nailed down as soon as possible; since I'm in Atlanta, however, it's really hard to show people around the place and such. I'm not sure how I'm going to remedy this exactly yet. We'll see.

But yes, things are going well with the home. There was a minor setback yesterday, but really it's not a big deal. The old owners installed a washer and dryer in a very innovative way out on the deck (it's not as redneck as it sounds, I promise.) Anyway, apparently it's against the Condo Association Rules. (I can't find where in the documentation that it breaks a rule, but whatever.) Anyway, they were pressure washing the outside and they noticed the washer/dryer unit and ordered them to remove it. Essentially we're either going to just put it back after I buy the unit or install it somewhere inside. Either way, I want my washer & dryer! *shakes fist* The old occupant wants to stay an extra week after closing though, so she's going to pay me rent for a week. Horray! Extra money!

Only two weeks and three days til closing! Very exciting.
After that there's just one week until Vacation.
And after vacation it's time for a road trip with Maggie to/from Iowa.

I need to hang out with people more. Time is running out!

I went to Becca's wedding last weekend. It's awesome that she's married. And kinda strange. She's the closest friend of mine to get married. It was great getting to hang out with the Freshman year Gang, though. It's been ages since we've all been together.

'Cause There's Just Too Many Scenarios To Analyze...

Today started out OK, I suppose.

I don't really know what happened.

Right now, however, I am feeling crappy.

I've been thinking far too much about where I'm going to live next year, how I'm going to survive living next year, why in the world a friend of mine from Berry thinks that Satan was the reason a group of us friends no longer hang out, how the crap this relationship with Maggie is going to work, how much it sucks being apart and how much that will be for the next year or so.

Gah, I'm done thinking. ever.

In other news I'll be thinking about housing all week as I will be leaving for Gainesville early tomorrow morning and coming back Sunday. Horray. :|

Summer Plans

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Working, working, working. That's what I tell everyone that I'm doing nowadays, and it's pretty much true. You wouldn't think that a job tht arequires you to sit t a desk all day would be that tiring but by the time I get home around six o'clock, I'm exhausted. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I don't get that much sleep at night. I probably spend far too much time talking to Maggie at night (stupid time zones...) but I enjoy it so it's not a big deal, and I'm not going to bed
too late normally.

I'm excited because I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to go up to Iowa (the Homeland, as I call it) for the Parker family reunion. "What?" I hear you saying "But you're not a Parker! There aren't any Parkers in your family!" I understand and no, I have not decided after a late-night screening of Wedding Crashers to start my own group called Reunion Crashers where we go to random family reunions and mooch off of them just telling them we are distant cousins. Maggie invited me up to hang out with her at the end of July with her fam in Iowa, so I'm gonna drive up with her dad (should be interesting....) and then drive back down with her. Hopefully around then I'll be able to move into my new place in Gainesville and all will be good. It's going to be a crazy new time in the life of this Matt.

I haven't really hung out with anyone from school yet. It's kinda hard when you work all day. I need to go by and see Becca's new apartment and hang out with Nicole & Drew. Mike and Kat are in Florida right now picking up some furniture so hopefully I'll be able to hang out with them too. I'm excited.

Alright, I should probably head back to work.

à+ M

Here comes the rain again...

I feel very Seattle-ish today. I'm sitting in front of a computer doing work, drinking my third cup of coffee (and it's only 10:40am!) and looking out my office window at the green trees and the sprinkling rain in overcast skies.

It's good that it's raining. It hasn't rained here in a long time and we're in a pretty bad drought with some water restrictions. I mean, no where near as bad as the drought they have going on in Australia, but still. Not to mention that it's just refreshing...

Days like this tend to make me very reflective and very pensive. I'm never sure if that's a good thing or not. I have been known to overthink things a bit too much...but I have yet to be convinced how bad that really is.

Something curious is that overthinking tends to make me think about Maggie and Seattle also. Both of us sitting at Kerry Park on Queen Anne looking down at the night skyline talking about overthinking amongst a myriad of other things. I really didn't expect anything to come of it, especially nothing that has gone this far.

I suppose I'm just pleasantly surprised.

Here comes the rain again
falling on my head like a memory
falling on my head like a new emotion...

It seems it's always the crazy times...

Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

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I got my grades today for my last semester of my undergraduate career. It's pretty much incredible. I'm getting excited about graduating and moving on. I'm not sure it all has set in yet what that really means, but we'll see.

I never really realised how incredibly hard it is to find a good apartment/condo in a college town. I didn't think that there are going to be tons of places out there that are overcharging for what they offer and don't do upkeep because they know it's for college students that won't care. Hopefully it'll work out...things generally do. I've noticed that things are hard and difficult, but with some extra effort and some faith things seem to work out really well.

I also am apparently going to get a graduation present from Maggie today and another tomorrow. I'm very curious to see how this comes out since I have no idea what it is and she's being quite secretive.

So I'm twenty-two...now what?

So, picking up from where I left off, my birthday was not super awesome...but it's not because of any particular person. It's mainly because of all of this busy work-so-much-because-you-want-to-graduate life. I wasn't able to plan a fun thing for everyone to come hang out...we just all gathered and did some stuff...it was very low-key...but nice. I had to work most of the day though...it really didn't feel very birthday-ish. It did get better as the day went on, though.

Michael did come up and he and I went out to eat at Provino's (where you get a free birthday meal!) where we talked about all sorts of things like future plans, Maggie, my trip to Washington, Kathryn, his upcoming marriage, and a whole bunch of other stuff. It really was awesome getting to hang out with him for more than just a few minutes in passing (which rarely happens as it is). He's definitely someone I'm going to miss dearly when I move to Florida.

We came back and made some sangria and hung out with Drew, Nicole, and Jenni. It was an overall fun evening. Becca came over later but she couldn't stay long...turns out she didn't even remember it was my birthday until halfway through us talking.

I also am really growing fond of Nicole and Drew. I really didn't get to know Nicole until about a year or so ago and I've known Drew since nearly the first day of school but I've really gotten to know him better recently. They also are going to be sorely missed. It looks like they'll be off in Mississippi for a few years.

Anyway, this past week has been full of work and in the few moments that I do have a break I am either sleeping or cleaning. Since I've gotten back from Washington and after going home for Easter I've tried to be cleaner and healthier...so far it's been going alright, but it takes a lot of effort. It's just nice to come home to a clean appartment and to have something healthy to eat instead of nuking something in the microwave and eating it while watching reruns of The Office.

Anyway, I'm almost done with school. Two weeks of actual school left and then just some final touch ups and a few days of relaxation and packing and I'm home free. It feels wonderful to have accomplished something like graduating from college. I've only got a two-page paper, a thesis (10ish pages left), one final exam, and an oral defense of my thesis. And they are all well-spaced out. Also only two more days of student teaching. Horray! It's very exciting. :D:D:D My kids don't want me to leave, but I'm ready to be gone. I'll miss the kids, but I'm tired of the stress.

So yeah, also Maggie got into Miami. Yay. I know she's excited--if not for Miami, just to know where she is going and what she is doing and where God is putting her next year. Too bad she won't be down in this region til about August. Boo. Oh well.

Drink Coffee: Do Stupid Things Faster With More Energy!

So, I'm back from the Northwest. It was awesome.

I flew over to Phoenix and then up to Spokane to meet Jamie and Nick. I then went to the bustling town of Airway Heights just outside of Spokane where Pastor Paul lives. Pastor Paul and I had some very interesting conversation...he is quite an interesting man with some very...interesting beliefs. Yes, I realise that I used the word interesting a tad too much....but seriously, that's what he is; he is the embodiment of 'interesting'.



I got the grand tour of Spokane which is actually a lot cooler than I realised. I mean, it's not this huge cosmopolitain metropolis, but it's definitely better than some other cities I've been to. It also has some really cool architecture around the town. Went around the Spokane River and got to see the falls and some nature walks and some cool vista points. The next day when Maggie and Meghan were back, we all decided to have a fancy dinner/cocktail party thing. It was good. I got to meet these two ladies that I have heard so much about and just get to hang around with cool people. It was a lot of fun.

The next day we started the road trip to Seattle and stopped on the way at the Lake Wanapum along the Columbia River at this really large Gorge. 'Twas cool. Also got to drive in Seattle and do all the great things there like see the Space Needle, UW, EMP, Eat seafood on the pier, take a ferry ride, try on a Utilikilt, and take vast amounts of photos. I'm also not bitter at all about not going to UW next fall. Nope. Not one bit.

Nope.

Anyway, so that was really cool. I got to get to know these people even better--you learn alot when you spend literally 24 hours of every day with people. And I also got to visit a family that my family has known for ages but hasn't seen in over 15 years. It was great to catch up and just to keep a friendship going.

Later we headed to Walla Walla and I got to see Washington Wine Country (and try it out some too, yum :) ). I also got to meet a cool family--Jim & Debi--and sing in a presbyterian choir. No, I'm not normal, it's understandable. I also got to go to Idaho (woohoo! now, only seven states to go until I've been to all 50!) where I got to chat with Maggie in a little coffee shop in Coeur d'Alêne that was run by this couple from Florida who met on Match.com and who were really nice.

Went back to Cheney and it's deathly coldness...had a good final dinner with everybody and got to see some of the EWU campus while I was there. I really loved the PNW and it's really a shame it's probably going to be a while until I go back there. Although, I'm fairly certain that it's better than I'm going to Florida next year...not because I like Florida better...but because I think that's probably where God wants me at this moment in time.

Anyway, I had an awesome time and am paying for it as I have a LOT of stuff to do and to make up while I was gone. I am going to be working a lot over this Easter weekend. I graduate in exactly one month. It's really freaking insane. But I'm so happy about it. I just have to make sure I cross all my i's and dot my t's so everything goes smoothly and I don't screw up and have to take another semester or something. Oi! Could you imagine? I don't even want to think about it.

A bientôt, Seattle; et bientôt Adieu...

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So, in a week's time I will be where that picture is. It turns out that there is a very very very slim chance that I will be living in Seattle next year. In fact, probably about a 1% chance. It's super-slim. Instead I'll be living in Gainesville, Florida (the most likely candidate) or Urbana, Illinois (still a possibility). I'm still going to be visiting Jamie, Maggie, Meghan and a whole bunch of people in Cheney, Washington...and I get to visit Walla Walla...and the Prathers. Over all, next week should be awesome. I have a ton of work to get done with though in the next few weeks.

I've got six articles for a portfolio due on the 30th, an ELR due on the 2nd, the entirety of my portfolio due on the 9th, starting teaching again on the 9th, and my thesis has to fit in all the nooks and crannies that I can find between doing other things. I found out it only has to be at least nine pages now, which makes me feel better, because I was worried it was going to have to be 25. Nine is much more acceptable, in fact, I've only put about 1/6th of the information and it's already three pages. I just have to find time to put in the rest of it. I've got all of April to do that though, I should be ok. It's a lot of work.

Anyway, speaking of all that work. I'm off to go get started on it and eat some chicken and rice, I'm starving.