From One 'Ham to Another!

Welcome to my blog! I have been saying that I would start a blog before moving down to Durham, NC to go to Duke Divinity School, and since I'm moving on Wednesday I thought tonight would be a good time to start! I expect this blog to be a collection of stories and funny anecdotes that happen during my time at Duke. If any of you read my weekly updates when I studied in Senegal, expect it to be a little like that. 

Packing? I need to pack?

Although I have two days left at home, I am certainly nowhere near "packed." I have mostly arranged my things into "staying in Framingham" and "coming with me," but other than that I haven't done much. I have organized my yarn, though :-) Just in case you missed the pictures I put on Facebook, here is my massive yarn/needle collection:

I have two totes of yarn, and I have almost finished my last UFO (that's knitting talk for UnFinished Object) so I think I'm in pretty good shape hobby-wise. 

My dad and I will be spending some serious quality time packing tomorrow. Packing stresses me out a lot, probably because it means that a real change will be coming soon. Although I am very ready to start this new journey, it is going to be new and scary. Packing gets me very worked up, so I already warned my dad that I may yell at him tomorrow for no real reason. He seemed to understand. :-)

New Apartment!

After a lot of wondering/worrying/calling/emailing, we officially have an apartment! And it was my favorite from the start. Three is the lucky number- 3 roommates, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 floors- I'm excited because it's going to be a really nice place. If anyone wants my address feel free to send me an email, but I'm not going to post it on the blog. I am uber excited to meet my roommates for the first time on Friday. They are both from California, so they have quite long drives.

Driving... me crazy. 

My parents will be driving down with me, the 14+ hour drive, in my car, Clarence. Three adults in my Ford Taurus means I will not have as much space to pack everything. This is also a reason I'm freaking out about packing. I have no idea how everything will fit, but my parents keep reminding me I can ship things and that there are stores in Durham. haha. Hoping that the 14 hours go by quickly on Wednesday and Thursday. The 'rents will be helping me move in over the weekend, and they are leaving (by plane) Monday morning.

Summer Reading. Summer Skimming?

I know I know, I shouldn't start slacking off yet. But summer reading for graduate students?? Really? I understand summer reading for 4th graders- if they don't read during the summer their brains will turn to mush with all of the video gaming. However I think my brain is past "mush" stage, so why must I read two books? The one for the entire first-year class is good, but very slow. It is Life of Moses by Gregory of Nyssa. The language is hard for me to get into, but the theme/overall point is interesting to me. Too bad I'm only on page 15... skimming time?

The other one I really like- Living Without Enemies by Samuel Wells & Marcia Owen. It's about gun violence in Durham and how to "be present" in the midst of that violence. We'll be meeting one of the authors during the pre-orientation program. 

Project Bri(DDD)ge

I was accepted to participate in Duke Div's pre-orientation program, Project Bri(DDD)ge (Building Relationships in Durham through Duke Divinity Graduate Education). Yes, I had to look up that acronym. :-P We will basically we doing community service at different places around Durham each day from August 15-21. I really wanted to do it because one of my biggest regrets during my orientation at Hobart and William Smith was that I didn't do their pre-orientation program (being all outdoorsy and camping). I am the kind of person who takes a while to get to know people, and I think having the extra week to form friendships before the "real" orientation starts will be helpful.

William Smith Connections. Sort of.

I feel like WS friends will appreciate that the parking lot I was assigned to is "Smith Lot." :-) 

Jukeboxing

I titled this blog "The Jukebox of my Mind" because I constantly have songs stuck in my head (thanks for the phrase, Lesley!). For your enjoyment today, the newest song I love is "Some Nights" by Fun. The song starts at the 1:00 mark. 

I may not update again until Friday or Saturday, because I'm not sure when we will get the internet in our apartment. Good thoughts are greatly appreciated! 

Peace, Love, and Smiles, 

Christa