I'm quiet because I have been thinking.

I'm finally really in the school groove again. The struggle to stay focused and keep up with my readings is turning into a joy for having the opportunity to spend all day reading and researching. There's so much to do and so little time! I love it! 

I am liking Louisville more, or perhaps disliking it less. Sometimes I go eat sushi and share my life philosophy with people I like. Sometimes I hang out with my nineteen year old roommate and laugh a lot. We make fun of things, like bad horror movies and dweeby lead singers of crappy local indie bands. Last night she and I drove to Lexington to see a noncrappy, nonlocal, but kind of dweeby band, Beirut. Life is always worth living when there is a concert to go to, I think. Especially when all of the band members are adorable and someone is rocking out on the tuba.

This isn't proof that we were at the show, but it is proof that we were in Lexington, just like William Clark was once.

Beirut

Here's a video I took myself.  We were in the little hornplayer's home town, with his family taking up the first three rows of the theater, so I think he was showing off a bit.

I'm reading Dante (again) and I've decided that my all time favorite line is the last one in the Commedia: "l'amore che move il sole e l'altre stelle", the love that moves the sun and other stars. This, the last line of poem, its apex, is Dante's vision of God, and the words have been stuck in my head for days now. God is the love that moves. If I were to ever get a tattoo, this line would be it. 

past life as a blast

So I live in Kentucky now, and nearly every day I wake up a little panicked and think "What the hell am I doing in Kentucky?"  Some days I wake up and think I'm in London and then remember that no, I am in Kentucky.  On those days I have a difficult time getting out of bed.   I don't have anything against Kentucky itself.  I'm sure it's a lovely place.  I just don't get to see much of it these days since I have no car and I live in a train yard.  A train yard next to an airport, landlocked and trapped without a car.  Oh, and there have been a series of break-ins and muggings in the neighborhood. Last week a group of people went through the apartment complex, broke in to places, stole car keys and then stole a bunch of cars.  The other day some guys forced their way into someone's house nearby and robbed them.  Yesterday 2 people were mugged in broad daylight next to the campus.

the walk of life

Ok, enough of this not blogging.  It's been two months and if I let it go any longer I'll never blog again.  As most summers go, I allowed my brain to shut down almost completely in June.  I stopped reading, writing, speaking coherently, and thinking academically.   Maybe not entirely, but for the first weeks back from London I was certainly in a haze, and I'm pretty sure I spent most of my time staring blankly at a wall.

Yes, I am back from London.  And not only am I returned, I've also moved to Kentucky.  Isn't that weird? It feels weird.  I spent exactly one month in Utah, from July 15 to August 15, and I didn't particularly want to leave it again.  How can I go from London to my home, and then move on to Louisville, Kentucky?  A place I've never seen, where every one is a stranger, and now I suddenly have to live there for four years?  It's very weird.

some huge news

Oh dear.

It has been 2 weeks since I last blogged.  It has also been 2 weeks since I've been in Utah, and only 5 days before I will be leaving Utah.  The visit has gone by very quickly, and it has been slightly adventurous, and I got to see almost all of my favorite living breathing people.  There are a lot of them here in Utah.  One of the highlights of the trip was a long hike in the snow and mud and darkness.  Well, making it out alive was the highlight really.

Guys, I have some news.  I've only told a handful of people about this because I wasn't sure how to react or what I would do, but I'm getting a little used to the idea so I want to share it now.  I got an email on Monday informing me that I had been awarded a fellowship from the University of Louisville.  The award is full tuition, health benefits and an $18,000 stipend for 2 years.  After the first 2 years I will receive a Graduate Teaching Assistantship for the same amount; for the first 2 there are no work duties.

Like I said, I haven't been sure how to react to this news.  I'm a little scared, a little overwhelmed, and slightly convinced that they've made a huge mistake.

On the other hand getting $18,000 with "no work duties" sounds like my kind of job.  And really, it is a dream come true.  It is a prayer answered.

Guess I'm moving to Louisville this fall.