And Off We Go!

My manager at Pasta Pantry, Jungie, told me that it was a sign of good luck when I broke a dish on my last day of work. If that's the case, I can only imagine what a good omen crashing the scooter on my last day at home must be!

(Don't worry - all involved are fine.)

At this very moment, I am in the car on my way to Idaho, surrounded by a mountain of boxes and suitcases. I let my parents have a corner of the trunk, but I folded down the two unused seats in the back and crammed all of my junk in the rest of the space. Anyone else seeing the car might think that I've gone a little overboard in my packing, but I did try to leave behind whatever wasn't necessary, and I know that everything in this vehicle is coming with me for a purpose.

Seeing the contents of my packed boxes, my mother asked me why I was bringing a certain 3 x 2 foot piece of gaudy carpet. I replied, "for the same reason I'm bringing my large Buddha lawn ornament."

Which is just that, this whole leaving business is a little melancholy enough without feeling like I have to leave behind, not only the people, but my memories of them, too. So I've brought much too much stuff with no real use but holds a lot of sentimental value...I hope my roommate doesn't hate me for it too much =)

Finally, in the words of a wise and good friend (quoted from a spontaneous and awkwardly delivered sermon):

"Life is full of ups and downs.

While this may seem like a down right now, it really is an up.

It's like the loop-de-loop on the new slide at the West Ed Waterpark.

You're going so fast it all just feels straight down, but, without even realizing it, you're really on your way up."

I quite enjoyed this analogy... even if the loop-de-loop metaphor does mean there's a huge plunge waiting just on the other side of the peak!