Still need to unpack books, music

Last week was spent procrastinating, seeing people, running errands, spending quality time with siblings (movies: HP5 with Hermano and Becoming Jane with Hermana) ... oh, and ... did I say procrastinating? I didn't start packing to LEAVE FOR TEN MONTHS until Friday. I was moving Saturday. My excuse was, "If I can pack for 35 days in Europe in 2 hours, I can pack for grad school in a day." :-) I don't think I forgot anything at home either. Except for one piece of sheet music that I'd been asked to bring this fall back in June. I don't even know where it is in the ugly mess which is my room. (Actually, it's much improved now that I was able to bring most of the excess stuff here!) I'll look for the music online.

So ... last Saturday: Easy drive to CollegeTown. (I don't remember what special name I gave it before ... so ... CollegeTown it is!) Lovely, lovely scenery up here. I loved CoolCity (where I did undergrad) because I enjoy the thriving cultural atmosphere in the city ... but ... the natural beauty in the surrounding area of CollegeTown is unparalleled. Even in rain and temperatures far below what summer temperatures should be. :-)

I've met both roommates. Few years' age gap. (They're both a few years younger than I am.) So much for the landlady pairing me up with other grad students. Not a problem though. Both girls seem very pleasant.

Speaking of other grad students -- when I moved in, I ran into one of the other two people in my program (I'll call him Green, and I'll hope to remember that). He lives in the apartment two doors down from mine. How random and awesome is that? Even more random? Today we had it confirmed that the third person in our program lives in the room next door to Green, in the same apartment. (He hasn't moved in yet.) Carpooling opportunities ... and ... we can easily meet up to work/practice/etc together. Nice.

On Sunday, my new boss (from now on, referred to as NB- how original!) invited Green and me to dinner at her home. Although I'd been told by my predecessor about his invitations to spend time with DP and spouse, I was pleasantly surprised by the sweet gesture. I thought it set a lovely tone for the school year. :-)

Last night, Green and I made dinner. My jar of storebought spaghetti sauce was not sufficient; he insisted that we visit the local grocery store to buy ingredients to enhance it. (My cooking skills are pretty much nonexistent, so I simply took his word for it.) So ... we enjoyed a wonderful meal of spaghetti with marinara sauce (and 1lb ground beef, half an onion, some garlic, some green pepper and some red pepper) .... Yummy! We shared dinner with my roommate who excitedly accepted our invitation to join us.

I'm in the process of checking out quick, easy (read: ingredients that are common enough that they can be used in a variety of similar recipes), and healthy recipes online. Meals that can be made and frozen far in advance are also good. I'm hoping to return to my weight of last fall (about 5-7 pounds lighter than I am now), so I want to be smart about my eating. If anyone has recipes that they heartily recommend, please pass them along!

Hmm ... other potpourri: I came into work yesterday and today for a few hours ... to start getting familiar with the place. I haven't been formally introduced to anyone besides the Handyman of the building (very nice, but I've forgotten his name) ... but I've seen many faces which I'm sure will be very familiar to me very soon.

I talked with an old guy friend from MySchool last night ... for ... six hours. I don't even know the last time I spent over two hours on the phone. Middle school, perhaps? Incredibly random and incredibly fun. I took an hourlong nap today, because somehow, 4 hours of sleep last night just didn't cut it. Thank goodness for free evening minutes on my phone plan!

More time was spent on the phone this afternoon with BestFriend! She updated me on her life (in far, far away land), her new apartment, her new husband, her new job ... about real-life responsibilities ("Being an adult = lots of paperwork!!!") ... Soooo good to chat with her again. I want to make sure that she stays a forever friend.

Now I'm off down the hallway to Green's apartment to hang out for a little while. And ... that about brings me up to the present time. I'm hoping that starting a regular schedule soon will help me to be more regular in my updates! :-)

EDIT (nearly two hours later): Another hour on the phone with another old friend from MySchool (yay! This is the friend with whom I frequented the coffee spot on campus. He and I both usually (well, me always) got our Chai Tea Lattes ... and we'd talk for hours ...) NOW I'm heading over to Green's ... Hope he's still up for doing something!