Life has been good lately- lots has been out of the ordinary, and I have a lot to look forward to. I’ve been sick with a cold I probably got from Christy, but we can ignore that since it’s almost gone 
I got back from Italy late last Tuesday. I was there for a week with Christy and her sister Lisa, and for one day with those two plus our friend Ryan. We had a great time- there was lots to see and eat of course, but a big part of the experience for me was just being surrounded by a foreign country for the first time. No, Canada doesn’t count. We all took a big mess of pictures. After Christy and Ryan get back, hopefully we’ll organize the photos and video a tiny bit.
I’ve been making a feeble attempt to be productive at Space Grant lately, but it seems like a lot of random things have been happening instead. I got my first mobile phone on Saturday. I’ve never had a track record for spending long amounts of time on the phone, but I’ve been telling myself for a while that it’d be useful to have one. With my road tripping plans coming up, it seemed like a good time. My friends seem to get a good laugh at how easily amused I am by “old” technology like cell phones, given how much high-tech gadgetry I tend to surround myself with. Caller ID, address books, and decent battery life continue to impress me. Anyway, I’ve already been using it a lot more than I expected to keep in touch with friends. I might need more minutes than I originally thought.
Last night, Dan and I got randomly invited to a rather spiffy food-and-games sort of party. I got to meet some neat people, the home-made pasta and pie was teriffic, and we stayed up nice and late. Hopefully this will happen more often this summer- as much as I love my roommates they haven’t been involved in a lot of group activities this summer. Jen and Christy are both far away. Still, it looks like I might succeed after all at making some new friends this summer and having lots of fun when I’m in town.
Speaking of Jen and Christy.. Christy gets back in a couple days. I’ve been looking forward to that pretty intensely ever since I stepped on the plane back from Rome. I’m also really dying to spend some time with Jen. I’m planning to start a road trip in a week or so that will take me through California and Washington. I’ll be apartment-hunting, playing tourist, and eventually meeting up with Jen and spending some time in Seattle with her. We might even drive up to Canada where it’s legal for me to hang out in bars
Back to burning my eyes out trying to design this PCB for work… I’ll probably just end up distracting myself by playing with my phone, emailing friends, or wandering around Boulder.
hehe! yea canada! /me kinda wants to go to one of the legendary gardens in victoria, i have heard nothing but good things about them. i am so excited to see you…both of my best friends…in one summer! i feel the love!
=)