Another Fine Monday

(I’m going to try not to edit these posts too much now, the one from July 17 was edited down from 6 pages, and I don’t know if it makes any sense anymore) I took the 101 from Camarillo to Ojai at night with the windows down, no one lets me do that and it was so nice (but I still hate driving). The past couple days I was mildly inspired by my boredom and procrastination of other immediate to-do’s and began consolidation, not of my loans, but of my stuff. Those who know me know I’ve always been a major pack-rat, but over the past year I’ve gotten a hell of a lot better at throwing things away. I guess the 80 pound total luggage limit for the Peace Corps is influencing the rest of my life as well, plus never knowing where my mom might be in the near future. So I’m basically unpacking all my old and new boxes, getting rid of as much as I can and carefully cataloging and packing what’s left. I’m hoping to fit it all in under 10 plastic tubs, think I can do it? I’m getting distracted by all kinds of nostalgia. I swear there has got to be more pictures of my first year on this earth than the rest of my life (including the future) combined. And it’s creepy that I make the same contorted expressions today. I also found some really old pictures of my mom, silly letters between friends from high school, and about twelve journals and ten or so sketchbooks I’ve done over the years. By going through pretty much everything saved over my lifetime I can see the growth a little clearer. Does that make sense? Like wow, almost 22 years have passed and now there’s this big person. Since watering young human-planted oak trees has been part of my job this summer, I’ve been noticing how we take a long time to really establish ourselves, much like they do. Only they live so much longer than us . . . I’ll write more on oaks and how my faith is always found again in nature soon. My mind is all wrapped up in Moroccan Arabic too, from the practice lessons PC sent out; I can make most of the sounds, but can’t remember what any of what I’m saying means except, peace be upon you, and are you fine? So tomorrow I will be hauling and chipping wood at work all day and then I am going to finish my horribly and embarrassingly overdue thank-yous, I fear they are so late people will forget what I’m sending them for. But now I’ve posted it publicly, so you’ll all know if I don’t do it! ooo, and Ashley arrives two weeks from today!