The Readiness Is All

1. Today I got an amazing package from my mom - just random little things like highlighters and pencils and a cloth for cleaning glasses - and it was awesome.
2. I got a student ID today, and not only did I actually find the building without knowing where it was beforehand (with Ann's help because she texted me the name) but the picture is actually pretty decent. It's at least 10 times better than my BYU ID.
3. Today I saw a bunny when I was walking home from campus - just hopping merrily through people's yards.
4. From one of my first classes today: "The difference between being a reference assistant and being a professional librarian is this: when [crap] hits the fan, the professional librarian is the one who gets covered with it." However, as this is not BYU, he did not say crap. Did this amuse me? Yes.
5. Today I had a delightful internet conversation with Miri and Lindsey via facebook, mostly about books and the movie we are going to make about Lindsey's West Virginia Book Club Revolution (like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but with more books and less massacre, so mostly it's just the way the title is State, Focal Point Object , Event). Ideas like this would surface more often if we had those conversations more often, and I am a proponent of both.
6. Whitney is engaged!! I can't believe it, but I'm excited for her. Todd is also engaged, so it's starting to get crazy. It's been a good reminder to me about why, despite the homesickness, I'm glad I'm here doing something and meeting new people and learning new things instead of hanging around in a call center. :) (No offense, Five Star.)

7. I think I can be happy with the yogurt from Kroger('s) (Happy, Jon?). Even if it isn't Western Family. The blackberry pomegranate is divine.
8. Despite my disappointment over fun. from their demos, I think the new CD has potential to be pretty good. I can't imagine ever loving it as much as I loved the Format, but I'm enjoying it so far. I recommend the song "Be Calm."

That's all for now. Happy Monday.

This apartment has been full of librarians for the past couple of years. It's gone through 1.0, 1.5 and now we're up to the 2.0 edition. Here are my roommates:

So last night Jill and I went over to watch movies at the house of some guy from the branch. (Ultimately, we didn't watch movies, but it didn't seem to matter too much.) Anyway, I walked in with Jill and one of the girls said, "Oh, are you Jill's new roommate Megan from Centerville who's studying library science and has a lot in common with Ann?"
Me: (blink, blink)

It's almost creepy how they know who I am whenever I hang out with people from the branch, but it's also oddly comforting that a) Ann has told them something about me, and b) they cared. After a summer in a very liquid singles ward in C-town in which NO ONE knew I was new, but some people did start asking me after I'd been there two months, it's nice that everyone knows that I must be new because they don't recognize me, and that they want me to like it here and be friends with them.

Managed to get myself to go grocery shopping yesterday, and then was a little bugged that apparently Bloomington not only doesn't know how to set up roads logically, but also doesn't know how to set up grocery stores. WHY would you make some of the rows in a grocery story diagonal? And why would you put cheese in 3 different places? And why did the bagger think that it would be a good idea for my pasta to go into 3 different bags and my yogurt to go into 2, but for the weight distribution to still be so uneven that the bag broke just as I got to the counter?

Krogers, you may have an olive bar with hummus, but you're going to have to work to get off my bad list.

So tonight Jason asked me to make a list of classic lit for people who don't have the attention span to get through giant books or terribly long descriptions (*cough* Hardy! *cough*). That's funny, because it definitely isn't Jason - I'm pretty sure he's read They Mayor of Casterbridge, The Count of Monte Cristo and several other quality things. However, it still sounded like a fun challenge to make a list.

The girl in this video is my new supervisor, Carrie. Isn't she cute?

The second day in Bloomington was much more productive and encouraging than the first (the first starting out panic-inducing and moving on to overwhelming, even if it ended up with Wii).

So I'm in Indiana! I'm able to say that with an exclamation point now because it's not yesterday or Wednesday night and I'm feeling a little better about it. Sending my dad back to Utah and tromping around Bloomington getting lost and getting blisters was not a cup of tea, and my number one instinct was to turn around and go back home immediately. (You probably think I'm exaggerating. Nope.)
The road trip was good. Stella got fabulous gas mileage (between 38 and 42 miles to the gallon most of the way!) and we read entries from Dave Barry's The Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need as we entered each state.  In Kansas City, my mom found us this motel on Hotwire that was right across from the Royals stadium. I have a picture somewhere, which I will post as soon as I find my camera cord.
The bugs in the midwest are insanely loud. We asked at some rest stop in Indiana, and apparently the loudest ones are cicadas. I've read about them in many books that take place in the midwest, but I've never lived with them before. They are out of control. The best restaurant we visited was called the Blue Springs Cafe, which was somewhere near Pocahontas, IL. They had crab cakes and roast beef and yummy salads (mostly because they weren't made from wilty lettuce, but also because their bleu cheese dressing was AWESOME) and pies with about 7 inches of meringue. Here's a picture from my phone of my dad eating it. It wasn't as good as Mom's, but it was certainly taller.

I'm going to avoid talking about my dad leaving. It wasn't fun. However, it was an adventure trying to find an airport that the GPS didn't know about. They recently opened a new airport, and it wasn't in the GPS's system yet, so we ended up somewhere random, and after we found it, I had to find my way back to the freeway without help. Once I did find it, I was happy to have my Conference podcasts. There is very little that is as comforting as President Eyring's voice.
I spent most of yesterday on campus going to orientations (once I found campus, that is) and reminding myself about why I wanted to come here (something I was severely questioning when I dropped my dad off at the airport). The faculty all seem cool and the classes seem exciting, so I'm latching on to that right now.
After I got home, I started working on my room. We got here in the middle of a construction project on our heating/cooling system (no more radiators, better air conditioning), so I haven't been able to put much away yet. However, before I got very far, my roommate Jill asked if I wanted to go to play Wii with some guys from the branch. At first I said no because I wanted to get organized, but she was still here when I got off the phone with my mom, and I went. That was probably a good idea. The guys were nice, and it was fun seeing how much the same LDS kids' apartments are everywhere (pictures of Jesus and the temple on the wall, plus John Mayer posters and Rock Band). We played MarioKart for a little while (not a good game for me) and then played Rock Band  (better game for me) and they even gave me ice cream.
So now I'm getting ready to do a little more cleaning and then go to a job interview at the Wells Library. Cross your fingers - it's a job I really think I'd like, and I think it would be flexible enough to let me put in some good hours for Overstock Drugstore.
Side note 1: There was a guy in the orientation who looked exactly like Kenneth Branagh - classes, blonde hair in the Kenneth style, longish nose . . . everything.
Side note 2: This video from the SLIS faculty makes me laugh, mostly in its attempt to be cool.

Is this not the best picture in the world? I vote yes.

I leave tomorrow.

It's funny how at the beginning of the summer, this day couldn't come fast enough. Now I question how smart it can be to do something that keeps making me burst into tears feel very nervous.

This is stupid, of course. I also cried when I moved to Provo the first time, and I remember being incredibly homesick, even with home only an hour away. Look how well that turned out.

But then, Provo wasn't that different from home, and I saw my parents every few weeks. Today was rough - saying goodbye to my brothers and my niece and nephews  (just a couple today - said goodbye to Ty's boys and Kristie's kids on Wednesday, which wasn't as bad because the move was still safely five days away), thinking about not being able to come home for birthday dinners and other random dinners, no longer getting to work with Clark and drive with Spence . . . there's a lot more weight behind that than it seems like there should be.

How awesome is it that my mom ordered me an Indiana shirt? (P.S. Linda, my mom thought she got a picture of us, but didn't, so I'll probably need the one you took.)


Right after Spence left, he called back to say that Cooper said, "Have we said a prayer that Megan will be safe and won't be sad?" He also said he's really going to miss me, which gave me warm fuzzies. Cooper is a delightful kid and I love him, but he's sometimes a little aloof and not so cuddly, so it's hard to know how much he likes me. He didn't have any problem giving me a hug tonight though, so maybe he just acts tough.

My parents have been troopers this week. My mom has been fixing everything - repairing various things, washing things, thinking of things I wouldn't have thought of, shoving the clothes I folded into space bags and helping me squish them down while vacuuming out the air - while my dad has been checking out my car all week - tires, oil, fluids, windshield wipers, etc. They are so awesome and have made the whole process much easier. My car is packed, and I must say I'm pretty please about how much I got in there, and especially about the fact that we can see out the back window still. I have to put in a few more things in the morning after I get ready for the day and run one more load of wash, but I'm very nearly there.

Tomorrow will probably include some puttering around to see if I forgot anything, plus a quick trip to say goodbye to my sister-in-law and nephew who couldn't make it to dinner today because they were sick. My mom is going to get off work early so that we can go to lunch, and then Dad and I will leave sometime around 2:00 and drive to Laramie. (I'll be really glad to get more of Wyoming out of the way early.) I think we're going to try to jaunt down to I-70 after Wyoming in the hopes that going through Kansas City and St. Louis will be more exciting than going through Iowa and Nebraska. We'll see.

I keep reminding myself that I'm excited. I am, I am. I'll just be more excited once I get there and get settled and make friends and figure out the pattern of my new life.

I really like this secret from PostSecret. I'm hoping it will be true very soon.

By the way, I added another song to the playlist - "Details in the Fabric" by Jason Mraz.

calm down, deep breaths
and get yourself dressed instead
of runnin around and pullin on your threads and
breaking yourself up
if it's a broken part replace it
if it's a broken arm then brace it
if it's a broken heart then face it

and hold your own, know your name
go your own way
hold your own, know your name
and go your own way
and everything will be fine

hang on, help is on the way
stay strong, I'm doing everything

Everything will be fine
everything in no time at all
hearts will hold...

So this morning we were babysitting Cooper and Savy, and we started playing I Spy. After several rounds, Sav decided that it was her turn.
Savannah: "I spy with my little (pronounced "yittle") eye something that is pink. (2 second pause) My shoes are pink!"
Mom: (laughing) Savy, you aren't supposed to tell us what you picked! Pick something else.
Savy: Um . . . (gets distracted by Grandma's painted toenails) Oooh! Beautiful!
(hysterical laughter all around)
Mom: C'mon Sav, choose another color.
Savannah: Remember pink?

I feel that I should add that the helmet is because his head was a little bit flat and not to protect his head. He may be the chillest baby in the entire world.

This has been a lovely day, and there have been other lovely days surrounding it. I should move more often so that I have reasons to visit with all of the people I never make time to see but really do love.
Today started out as my last day at work, so Clark and I were trying to get some things set up on my computer for working remotely. About 11, my brother Spence offered to buy me lunch, so we made a plan to go to Arby's in an hour. (Clark came too, but he didn't get free lunch.) I will miss driving to work with Spence and working with Clark a lot. When else am I going to get to see my brothers every day and not be annoyed because we're living in the same house? :)
After work I headed down to Provo for one last round of goodbyes. Carrie just got into Provo, and since I hadn't seen her since her mission, I really needed to. She and her olds (Mama and Papa Vail) and I all went to dinner at Tucanos, where we reviewed what has happened to all of our friends in the last two years and reminisced about the trip I took up there to visit Carrie and also Forks.
I had plans to visit Jennie, but Sam had her baby today, so we put that on hold for a little. That actually turned out to be a great thing, because it freed up some time for me to see Matt and Jason and Ammon (sorry, no link for you, Ammon. But since I doubt you read this blog, you probably won't be offended). I like those boys. Jason is taking off for Texas next week, so we've made a pact to share adventures. Or at least to update our blogs more often. And my big-eyed plea to Matt for blog updates prompted him to dedicated a post to me, including a playlist of sorts. Hahaha. I'm going to miss them all, and I'm glad that I got to visit with them.
After that I actually got to see Jennie anyway, because by then she was back from visiting her cute new niece. I miss her, and I forget how Jennie always makes me feel better about everything.
Also, I managed to find jeans that fit at Aero's buy one get one free sale, and Lindsey got her (very late but totally awesome) birthday present from me (and called me about it while I was trying on jeans, which is why I mention those things together). I hope she will post a picture of her wearing it soon. (nudge nudge)
This was a good followup to last weekend, when I got to visit my aunt, hit Drew's wedding reception, and go to (500) Days of Summer with Emily and Mallory. Thoroughly enjoyable movie and company all around. I'm going to miss Emily, who has been coming up to spend the night away from Provo and watch movies all summer. (Emily, call me often. Seriously.)So now I've said goodbye to my roommates and most of the other people I could find in Provo. Treb visited before I left (good timing brother), which included much good food and some trivia goodness. Tomorrow night will be my goodbye to Ty's boys. Lots of sadness about that. I hope the twins will be a little bit cuddly.
And tomorrow during the day begins the hard core packing and prep, including some car vacuuming and at least one resume submission. Blah.

I've been working on this playlist for months now - pretty much since last November since I decided to go away to grad school and then was terrified about it. I'm sure that I'll continue adding to is until I go and after I move (it's a whole different set of feelings now than it was when I first decided, and I'm sure it will be different still when I move), but I thought I'd post what I've got now, and if any of you want to contribute songs, now is the time. I'm going to link the song titles to videos if I can find them, and the artist names to lyrics, just in case you want to know what's up with the song.

Well, since the last time I blogged, I've been busy-ish, but mostly I just haven't blogged again. Here's what I've been doing.