What I’ve Been Up To Lately

It’s been a busy summer so far, so let me update you on a few things:

I moved. For the past year Emily and I were living in a townhouse.  It was quite lovely.  The whole townhouse complex was populated by other grad students and young professionals – a nice change from undergrads peeing off the balcony above your front door. And it was quiet.  But in truth it was probably too big for us, with the exception of the tiny, closet-sized kitchen.  We had to move because it was being renovated.  If we had chosen to move back in, the rent would have been much higher.

So, we signed a lease for an apartment, but the lease doesn’t start until August 21st. Ugh. At least the kitchen will be big. We decided to move into family housing for the three month interstitial period.  So here I am.  The place is tiny, and we had a heck of a time squeezing in our accumulated townhouse-sized possessions.  Still, I kinda like it.  It is super-close (like 415 steps-close) to the Law School, and just a little bit further to the gym.  Plus, I can walk to the grocery store.  And it’s a prettier setting, I think, than the over-developed, undergrad-populated area where we were/will be living.

Given all that, I’m tempted to stay here.  The one problem: no pets allowed.  Looks like we will be moving again in two months.

Emily went to Honduras.  Emily left the first week of June with one other girl from her med school class.  They are following up with patients from a clinic that other students held the week before they arrived.  She will be there a total of five weeks, returning the second week of July.  We do miss each other, especially considering this summer is probably the last we will have together free of any serious responsibilities. Also, today is our one year anniversary. We will celebrate when she gets back.

I finished reading Blood Meridian.  I only mention this because it’s been displayed in my sidebar for a while.  I finished a while ago, and, as I suspected, I just don’t like Cormac McCarthy.  Emily makes fun of me for finishing every book I start.  That’s not entirely true.  But I will read books that aren’t that great if I feel like I’m getting something out of it.  I didn’t get much out of this book other than confirming that Cormac McCarthy is overrated.  When we read All The Pretty Horses in high school (or were supposed to have read it), I flat out told my teacher that I couldn’t stand it (one of those books I DID NOT finish – ha!). I think I’ve read a few reviews of Blood Meridian claiming that it was McCarthy’s masterpiece, or something.  Unfortunately, I didn’t remember not liking All The Pretty Horses until I started reading Blood Meridian. But I thought, “I should give him another chance.” Oh, well. I tried.  As in All The Pretty Horses, he tries too hard, me thinks, to be poetic in his descriptions.  It just oozes effort.  Also, I thought the style in Blood Meridian was wildly inconsistent.  Plus, I’m not a believer in the no-punctuation-as-artistic-style style of writing, at least not in this case.  It just seems lazy and artificial.

I’m not sure why I feel so strongly about this, but I do.  I could probably go on, but I will not.

My free-throw shooting ability has inexplicably improved despite years of not playing basketball. This probably will not last, but I’m enjoying it while it’s here.  I bought a summer pass for the UVa fitness facilities and have been going to the North Grounds (that’s the area where the law and graduate business schools are) and shooting around.  Unfortunately, the same can not be said for my quickness nor endurance.  But who needs those things, right?  Actually, I might be playing in a soccer game on Tuesday with my sister’s team, so that should be interesting.  Which brings me to…

I’m flying to Atlanta today. I will be in Atlanta until next Sunday, so maybe I’ll see some of you folks in the area.