Today is Wednesday, which means that tomorrow is Thursday. By tomorrow night I need to have all of my things packed, which means that tonight I have to clean my room. Some time in between tonight and tomorrow I need to find my watch, clean my computer, and locate all my cookware. Also there is the matter of some disassembled pens to attend to - they require reassembling. (Why do I have disassembled pens? I don't even know.)

My father was smiley this morning because now various Ikeas have hybrid only parking spaces near the front of the store, and this makes him feel special. It will probably make him feel more special to track our mpg for the road trip there and for his trip back. He somehow managed to acquire a new bike rack which places the bike behind the trunk of the car rather than on top. It looks less silly, which I think is a downside, and it prevents the whole bike-acting-as-a-sail-and-causing-drift issue. I haven't decided whether that is an upside or a downside yet; the drift keeps him on his toes.

Also I have to arrange things somehow so that I have enough room in the front seat to comfortably use my laptop. I have that personal statement to write - it's written, but it's not in words yet. There are t-shirt designs to finalize and announcements to compose.

Most importantly, we must figure out a safe and stable cactus transportation method. I can't type and hold a cactus at the same time, so I'm probably going to need to rig some kind of container. Maybe one with a suspension system.

When Mister Bones eats the ears off of Mickey Mouse waffles, his dog ears get fuzzier, shinier, softer, and floppier.

I can't believe I've been here for a semester. Since January. A little bit more than four months. That is almost as long as I've had this blog. Exactly as long as I've had this expensive view (marginally decent photo attached). Now that all of my papers are written and turned in, all that's left for me to do is purge my belongings, store most of what is left, pack some things to take home, make sure I catch my plane, and then wait on tenterhooks for grades.

That last part is the worst.

I haven't really processed all of this yet - the going back to Texas for a year (!) and the coming back here for a year, and the part where I'll probably be back here next August, but actually I don't know for sure yet. I expect I won't be able to process it for a while, especially since the class I came in with graduates in one week.

Speaking of odd things: today, because I am in the astronomy club, I rode on the back of a golf cart from Village A to Leo's to Prospect & 37th st NW to 37th st NW & O st NW to the Alumni house on O st NW. Jack the bulldog got shotgun, because he's the mascot. It was really strange, partly because the driving was questionable (but in a good way) and partly because I haven't been in a moving vehicle in a very long time and partly because it was just really strange and unplanned.

I don't really know where I'm going with this, so I'm going to go back to watching questionably legal episodes of 30 Rock. [Suck it, USA TODAY!]

PS- Mister Bones has mysteriously acquired a volleyball for his Found Ball Collection! No one knows how, when, or where he got it!

You're googling for the wrong cupcake shop!

Now, I don't particularly want to see you here, as I'm not fond of tourists. In fact, last night, I was putting together a list of things I hate. You are in between cranberries and over-steeped tea.

But - this, and by this I mean Baked & Wired, is by far the best cupcake shop in all of Georgetown. And they also excel equally at coffee, tea, quiche, various other baked goods (some sweet, some savoury), etc etc und so weiter.

Like I said, not fond of tourists. But the folks whose livelihoods depend on the continued profitable existence of this shop would really like it if you came here, bought a cupcake and maybe a cup of tea, and hung out for a while. So.

Go here:

Don't go to Georgetown Cupcake (that would be the one at Potomac and Prospect you're standing in line outside of right now), and don't go to any of the six local *Bux - go here.

It's the little pink flag. Go away from the University down M St. until you get to the Barnes & Nobles on the corner, and take a right onto Thomas Jefferson St. Keep walking. Cross a cute little bridge. Stop and 'oooo' and 'aaah' over the ugly canal with all the refuse in it, and keep walking. Then buy a good cupcake.

Also, they have free wireless, if you're so inclined.

Sometime later, there will be photos of the lemon and red velvet cupcakes from Baked & Wired. They were delightful. Which you would know if you stopped reading this post and went there already.

This is a photo taken somewhere where I don't live. Cacti are apparently considered weapons by TSA.

It turns out that packing many boxes is sort of difficult to do when the power goes out right after you start. I was hunting around for things in my room with my tiny little (yet very useful! just not for this) flashlight, then grabbing whatever I could find and taking it to the dining room because the dining room has a glass wall, then searching for the rest wearing my father's wanna-be-miner headlamp thingie. Yes, it was very dorky looking. And it felt weird.

Being back in dc is surreal. The travel agency is now a Starbucks, making the number of starbucks' (pl?) relatively close to campus six, which is totally ridiculous. There is some new mexican place which I will remain wary of, and although I could be mistaken it seems as if Saxby's has lowered their price point. Or maybe Diedrichs was sort of expensive all along and I didn't notice. I forgot where the post office was and had to look it up on google maps. The business building already has a frame and the beginning of walls, which I did not expect so quickly. Two people asked me for directions yesterday. There is some mysterious construction going on at the entrances of Leo's, Reynolds, and McCarthy.

However, my view is very expensive (L), I can go all over the place without antihistimines/decongestents/cough drops/pain killers/etc, and the food quality at Leo's has totally gone up in the last year. This is particularly good since I'm actually using a meal plan for most of my food this semester. Also, I have stamps, which I bought from a person not a machine. Now I can send people things in envelopes.

My friends who are graduating are stressed, and sometimes seem as if they don't know what they want to do with themselves or who they are. Not all of them, of course. And although I feel older than everyone here (I am older than 75% of the people here, but of course that's not why) I am relieved not to be in their place.

I have nothing right now. Some school supplies, not quite a weeks worth of clothing, a few books, one poster, and some assorted other things. Many boxes of other things are on their way, but until then my room looks as if someone may or may not be living there and it's difficult to determine. Because I'm not good at long term packing I forgot to bring more than one pair of pants and had to buy some. ><;

My parents were asking me before I left if I was excited to go back to dc. Actually, I'm relieved. Today after place I plan to find some corkboard somewhere with an extra pushpin, so that I can hang my calendar, because I don't feel like waiting three or four more days for that.