24 Years, etc.

Hello Everyone!
I hope things are going well for all of my faithful readers (all two of you..maybe just one. Mom, you may be the only one who reads this thing) and that you're staying warm. It's friggin' cold up here, and from what I can tell friggin' cold at home too. Oh well, it was going to come eventually. Hopefully it won't be this cold in March, though. Hopefully.

Anyway, lots has been going on. For those who don't know, I turned 24 this week. Yay! Feels pretty much like 23, really. But then again 22 was the only time I really felt any different. I guess next year will be a different feeling, mostly because I won't be able to mooch off of my parents' car insurance anymore. Oh well. I had a great birthday. My family all called to sing happy birthday, and I'm sure Blaine would have had he been awake and able to sing. Then I had class, which wasn't that exciting really, but whatever. And then that night Rick took me out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. He had them sing me happy birthday and everything. If his camera phone had been on him we would have taken a picture of the delicious dessert, but I'm sure many of you know what the cheesecake there looks like. Heaven. I got some great stuff this year too. Rick gave me my gift a few weeks ago, due to some weird circumstances regarding the return policy, but anyway he got me a brand new bike! It's awesome. My current bike is literally falling apart as we speak (my right brake is broken again, for those of you who know the saga of my bike). So the new bike is AWESOME!!! Rick is so great. : ) And then from the fam I got money to get myself a new pair of midweight hikers,m so I got the low Keen Targhees. Their waterproof and super-supportive, which is nice. I had a little left over, so I may use it to buy a new daypack. I plan to do lots of hiking this summer, as Worcester is in the Blackstone Valley Corridor and there's some great hiking. There's also a package coming from home with some stuff in it, but I haven't gotten it yet so who knows what' sin there (aside from my contacts).

Let's see...classes started last week. I'm taking Greek, Intro to New Testament, Hindu Epics, and Religious Lit. and the Pastoral Imagination. They all look like they should be pretty good. It's especially nice the way my schedule works out because i basically have class on Monday and Tuesday, and then for the rest of the week I just have Greek. Hopefully that will help me get a head start on some research. I actually already checked out four books from the library for one class's research paper, which is a record for me. Woohoo! On a totally different note, I hurt my foot last week. I was running and strained a tendon or ligament or something. It hurts like hell, and I went to the doctor Tuesday but they said nothing was broken, which is a good thing. It's just hard because you're supposed to stay off of it, but I have to do so much walking that it doesn't really happen...so hopefully it won't take too long to heal. I feel like all the progress I've made running and getting in shape is totally gone now because of the injury. And Rick had hurt his ankle and the minute it gets better I get hurt! Crazy. But soon I should be back up and running and back on track.

Valentine's day is next week. I'm SUPER excited about what I got Rick. Although I'm pretty sure he doesn't read this blog, I'm not going to chance it and I'll wait until afterward to tell you what I got him. It's a gift in several parts, and two of them still aren't here! I called the company last week and they said I should have it in time. I'm doubtful. Better get here. I think we're going to go out to dinner for V-Day, but go somewhere that isn't exactly Valentine's Day "material" so that hopefully we'll beat the crowds. Maybe Uno's. Maybe somewhere like that. We'll see. What matters is spending time together.

Then, next weekend...I'm meeting the parents! Rick's parents, that is. I'm excited about the trip to New Jersey. We're going to meet up with some of his college friends and (hopefully) some of his friends from his VW club. I'm excited about meeting his family and friends...he's met many of my friends up here, at least, so it will be good to meet his good buddies. And his family. He'll meet mine at graduation. I'll give you the lowdown on how the trip went next week. It should go well, and I think I'll get along with his friends, from what I can tell, but I'm still a little nervous. I want to make a good impression and everything. So yeah. Busy week, needless to say.

Well, that's about all. I have an interview for my CPE position tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed that it goes well! But for now I'm off to study some Greek and do some reading. Woohoo! Hope y'all are doing well.

Peace.