*mostly because Meg's not on Facebook right now and I needed her to see this and laugh with me. :)

"I carry your heart with me,
I carry it, in your bag."

Now that I re-write it, it seems a bit morbid out of place, but I'm going to miss my little English lit buddy. Those of you who are English Lit majors understand the unique environment of an upper level English class. As the quarter grows the chemistry between students grow, creating their own little humor that plays off literature that is centuries old. You learn to insult by quoting a Medieval Miracle Play, or Dr. Faustus, you learn to point out irony in the words of Shakespeare, and you begin to toy with the Classics as a great playground. It's sad really, because few people will ever get your humor once you leave this configuration. (You are bound to be eccentric.) I think this was one of the saddest parts for me about graduating: I knew I would miss my fellow English nerds terribly. What has helped? I've found a similar (more mild and broad) experience with Miss Landies. I love her little literary puns. I love that I can allude to something, and she'll catch it. I love that even when one of us wasn't really meaning to draw from some old book, the other suspects they might have done it on purpose and has to clarify.

That said, we said our farewell texts yesterday, and when she sent me the above little text, I smiled hugely... but when I tried telling my sister just how great it was, I just sounded ridiculous. (And I believe she did get it...)

PS, Meg's taking my back-packing bag with her... if that clears things up a bit. If not, google "E.E. Cummings." If the thought just came to your mind "Oh yeah, the jewelers" - please pick up a book of poetry this weekend.

Reason #1 I am sad to be graduating:

When will I ever again be in a room with 15 other people, who all laugh at a joke about TS Eliot's The Wasteland's overuse of footnotes.

English major jokes... I will miss spending time with other Lit nerds. The jokes I can never quite explain to my friends... :(

(Chris next to me, says, "Stop calling us NERDS- I barely even read books"... but that comment was followed by a discussion on the different spellings of "Bear/bare" I WIN. My blog, I win. ;)

Granted I only had a few hours of sleep last night, it was due to spending an excellent evening with a number of the coolest people I know, watching an amazing film I'd be ashamed to admit I'd never seen. I woke up feeling a bit like the walking dead and headed to open at Starbucks with my buddy Theresa... undoubtably my favorite to open with. :)

Though busy, it was a good morning overall. I'm training in the Coffee Masters program, which I love. I love learning about all the process of the different beans, about the different farms they come from, the distinctive regional tastes and traditions. In short, I love to learn the story. I love to learn the story behind a friend. I love to hear the story behind a war. I love to hear the story behind a marriage, new or time-tested. I love to hear the story behind a photograph- or if ungiven, to write the story for myself. And as it turns out, I love to hear the story behind a bag of beans. Where it came from, how it was grown, who named it, what the recipe is, what sort of people might drink it and with what- what stories might it fall into in the future?

After work, I got to take a nap- there are few delights like a hot shower and a good nap- waking up to a clean, organized room with no rush or place to go.

Now, I am reading a book (granted, for school.... but still, I'm getting to enjoy one of my favorite pastimes) and thinking I'll go make a pot of coffee.

This is a beautiful winter Saturday.

(I stole the image form Madison's blog post this evening... Mad, if you don't already know: I'm a nerd about books, art, buildings, doors, travels, photos, pens, trees, people, STORIES... anything beautiful without contriving)