somatablet.com

In the last 24 hours, I decided to tackle the second-to-last thing left on my list of things to do before I head to Europe. And so, without further ado, I give you somatablet.com version 1.0! I plan, internet access permitting, to update this site regularly with stories and pictures from the upcoming quarter abroad. All I ask for in return is a little comment-love! I’m going to miss the Chicago crowd and the various full- and part-time residents of the5509 dearly, and really hope to hear from you!

I can’t believe that the summer is already drawing to a close. I can’t even believe it’s been almost two months since I bought this domain! In the time that has elapsed since my only other update, I finished my internship (which included a move to a cushy new West Wacker office right next to Lindsay and not far from Julie that allowed for daily stress-free Metra rides instead of forcing my way through Lake Shore Drive rush-hour traffic). I really enjoyed my time there, learned a lot about the industry, and am still considering an internship at Google next summer. And I did a good enough job, it seems, that my coworkers are fully willing to call in any favors they have with Google on my behalf. Sweet deal.

To celebrate the end of our summer jobs, the5509 threw a Tropical Party two weekends ago. Attendance was better than expected, thanks in large part to a gargantuan group of people we didn’t know and only invited by association, and I had a great time. In keeping with the theme, leis were worn, mini-parisoles were added to sugar- and salt-rimmed glasses, construction-paper flowers adorned (and still adorn) the walls, and drink choices were limited to mojitos, margaritas, and rum&Cokes. And, for the first time ever, our party wasn’t broken up by the cops/survived past 2! I guess that’s summer for you. Some pictures are included for your enjoyment in the post that follows.

After a lazy week around the apartment, pretty much everyone cleared out of the apartment and headed home, myself included. The last week here went shockingly fast for not doing much of anything, although I did get a chance to go down to OU with Ellie to visit Kat(i)e&co. I maintained a perfect buzz at the party, finally got to meet a lot of campus celebrities, and enjoyed the peek into life at a top-rated party school.

Other than that, the time at home has been a pretty relaxing social detox. I spent a lot of time reading, fit in a couple holes of golf with my dad (?? seriously), spent plenty of time with the cats, watched some bad tv, stayed up late doing nothing much, and finally got this website together. I’ve been surprised to see how different home feels with John at Purdue–it’s much, much quieter, as Sam is almost never home. The tone has changed some, too, with my parents’ recent conversion into golfing fanatics. At dinner tonight, my dad said something to the effect of “for the last twenty years, our social lives have revolved around our kids–golfing at the club is a great replacement for that.” So now, conversation around the house rarely goes three sentences before “Oh, Pam mentioned having a teetime at 10:15 tomorrow, are you interested?” I’m not really complaining about this, as I don’t even really know how I feel about it. My mom manages to fit in a couple rounds a week, and my dad seems to play almost every day. I’m glad they have a hobby they can do together (or separately), and I’m pleased to say they both seem pretty happy with the state of their lives, so I guess I feel pretty good about it.

Tomorrow is my last day at home, then I’m off to New Jersey and New York until Wednesday. Then, to Rome and Amsterdam with Danny and Julie! I really can’t wait for a week with them in Europe. It’s going to be completely surreal and wonderful. After our week-long vacation, they head back to Chicago and I head to Toledo to start our respective quarters. I can’t believe it’s here! I’ve been waiting for this since I started college! ¡Muy emocianado!