grad school and roommates

and so it begins...
graduate school.

my class this quad is called "curriculum development and instructional strategies."  just looking over the syllabus gets me so excited for it!  it's like everything worrall taught us in "teaching the bible practicum" and in "faith and learning" is suddenly combined with real school curriculum.  i love it.  granted, we have had only one class session so far, and the majority of it was going over the syllabus, talking about our textbook, and doing a little icebreaker activity, i can already tell that it will be fantastic.

i haven't been excited about a class in a long time.  i always lose sight of the practicality of what i'm learning and delve deeply into the theoretical.  this class, on the other hand, is entirely practical and i can already see its value.  i should get my textbook in the mail tomorrow... i'm excited to start reading it!

i'm nearly finished reading the lovely bones right now.  the book is a fascinating look at the story of a girl who has been murdered, watching the aftermath of her death from "her heaven."  she sees the next seven years of life go by without her; sees the pain that her death has caused; sees the pursuit of her killer.  in a way, i feel morbid for reading a book like this.  at the same time, i see so many falsehoods in the book, as this girl longs, more than anything, to be back on earth with her family and her boyfriend.  i think of heaven as a place where i won't want to leave.  i suppose i may want to be given the ability to comfort those who i love on earth, but to come back to it?  i can't imagine having that desire once in the presence of the Lord.

i feel compelled to share about my new roommate, beth.  i still can't quite piece together how we ended up living together.  after having a couple of classes together in the past, we decided we would have made good friends if the timing weren't so poor (she was moving back out to the suburbs and we didn't have any classes together, then we were both going to graduate).  and somehow it turns into this beautiful 2-bedroom apartment that we love.  sure, the apartment has its quirks, but as we sit and talk over empanadas and white zinfandel, it all just... fits.

life is relaxed and we just hang out in the evenings.  make dinner, watch a little tv, work on a puzzle, play a game... it's nice.  there's no rush to get things done, because there are no deadlines.  there's not a list of reading to do, because any reading is purely for pleasure.  life is simple.  and beautiful.  adventures in opening wine bottles, sealing windows, and taming the heater have made us fast friends.  God's goodness shines through in the friendships he gives us.  let me not forget those with whom my heart is woven.

we've been watching season 2 of alias online.  confession:  i had a dream last night that i was a spy and was hiding underground.  i think the show is getting to me :)