Cashing In

So I picked up yet another job yesterday. It’s a good one. The count is up to four for the summer (including ones I quit). Ben & Jerry’s is still extremely high on my list of favorite jobs, Olivia Village is top priority, the Penn State Bookstore was a waste of my time except for never returning out of spite and still getting over 300 dollars from them for work that I actually did. And finally, helping out my friends’ line-painting business Aztec Linear which is actually a lot of fun [fyi, the new parking lines at the Benner Pike Wal-Mart extension including the handicap signs, arrows, crosshatches and stopbars were all a big part of my weekend], not to mention good money. So in terms of money and jobs right now, I really can’t complain very much at all.

My big summer blockbuster events are fast approaching: The day before Audra and I leave for Iowa, I have to head to Philadelphia for a very important orientation regarding Rome this fall. I can’t wait to meet other people in the program as well as learn more about what is going to be happening within the next month in terms of predeparture. Then, all of that nervous and anxious energy will be directed towards an awesome twelve-hour long drive to Dubuque, Iowa on the 7th, where I will spend the week with Audra [the bride]’s friends and family and acquainting myself with the town before the big wedding on the 13^th. Upon arrival back in State College, I will work as much as possible and deposit my last checks all the while, making an attempt at formulating my goodbyes to a town that has been my constant home, to friends who have been my constant support system for the short months that will follow.

It is thundering now. The rain is soothing and so was my shower. I had just watched a few episodes of my favorite shows on television and am slowly getting very tired and feeling the pleasant pain in my hamstrings and my back. And finally as my eyelids grow heavier, I begin to realize, I’m starting to feel the calm of summers past once again.

And I sleep.