Landmarks

Tomorrow is my last day at the nursing home. That means that I've got about a week and a half left before I'm on my way to Germany. For a year. (begin hyperventilating...)

Actually, I'm not in a panic just yet... more like a healthy state of denial. Small things keep coming up and jogging my memory, like the mail. Today I got my transcript and a new backpack. Yesterday it was the medical forms I requested. Sometimes I almost stub my toe on my suitcase. The to-do list on my markerboard...

Otherwise, I'm trying to have a normal summer, to ignore the poignancy that wants to seep into every minor event and accomplishment. In the past week and a half I've done some fun things, some important things, some special things... and my endorphins are constantly trying to convince me that these events are somehow more fun and important and special than say, everything leading up to this point. Funny how our perspective channels the here-and-now and lets other stuff slip away. Do I even remember what it's like to wake up and run to the lab at 8am seven days a week? Rehearsing with the Cornerstones? Chamber Singers tour? Senior year was a blur as it happened, but should it already be this blurry in restrospect?

Just in case I have no recollection a year from now of the things that are so pressing, a list:

• Emma S. checked out on Saturday, so I stopped in to say goodbye at the end of the work day on Friday. She is my little German woman who came to DGMV (the nursing home) about a week after I started working this summer. I stopped in almost every day to practice my German a little bit, and she told me about her life. She gave me her mailing address, so now I have a pen-pal! She also told me that she thinks of me like a granddaughter, and went on and on about how much joy I brought to her stay... anyway, it was wonderful and completely encapsulates why I love working there so much.
• I went out last friday night with George and Mary Ann from work... and got in at 4:30 in the morning. Our excursion included a martini bar apertif, dancing until last call at a crazy lesbian bar/club, and ice cream in the Central West End in the middle of the night. I never go out like that, so it was some kind of adventure.
• Then Saturday morning (10am!), Mike and I finally had our meeting with Msgr. Norb about our premarital compatibility quiz. High points: 100% agreement on "problem solving." Low: Under 50% on "financial issues." That's a big one. And yet, most of our differences lay in answering "unsure," mostly due to the fact that neither of us has a steady permanent income. We can't really figure out what to do with money we don't have yet... and first we need to find out where it's coming from! The ostensible purpose of the quiz is to identify areas for future dialogue, so we're confident (what with our mad problem solving skillz) that we can get things resolved in due time.
• Same meeting... also discussed timeframe. We sort of stumbled upon a new reason for waiting until the spring of 2007. Namely, we need to practice our relationship in the same place. As of right now, we haven't been in the same state for longer than a couple of months in four years, and we're adding another year in different countries on top of that. I'm completely confident that we're still as compatible as ever (as evidenced by the amount of time I want to spend with him when we are lucky enough to be together for a while) but it won't hurt to test it out a little bit. (Still not considering living together, though. As obnoxious as it will be to pay for separate apartments in the same town, it's only a year, and even being in the same town is a big deal!)
• Went out again with the work crowd on Wednesday, this time at a hoosier little bar in Fenton for "suicide karaoke" after the staff party. Mike got dragged along and found things most amusing. I should explain the concept of suicide karaoke. Basically, you sign up for a slot and when your turn comes up you pick a number out of a bucket. Number=random song assignment, and you must take what is meted out, even if that means standing up there like an idiot making up a song you've never heard before. Mary Ann got Billy Joel, "My Life," and I got stuck with a torch song. Celine Dion. "All By Myself." Blech! There was a run-off competition for the three way tie at second and third place, and I drew "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton. At least it was upbeat... against Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll" I wound up with third place and a free drink that I didn't use. Despite my usual love-hate relationship with Karaoke, I'd do it again. Maybe this Wednesday night...
• Marie D., one of the residents at work, organized a little concert before today's afternoon activity. She wanted to hear me sing with a girl who works as a dinner server and plays piano. She was so sweet and earnest when she came to me with the idea a couple of weeks ago, and I'm glad we got to do it. The lineup was a bit crazy, but it was a hit nonetheless... I sang "Somewhere My Love," Stephanie played "100 Years," we did Billy Joel's "Lullabye" together, I sang "Edelweiss," she played "Bohemian Rhapsody," and we finished together with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." It would make for a silly playlist, but it went over well.

I guess that's the summary. I've got a busy weekend planned, but more on that later. Now I have to go to Kirkwood to bestow my approval on Mike's fresh haircut... or mock him mercilessly if necessary. Yay!