Post From Home

Dear Constant Readers,

I figured I ought to write again. I haven't written much since coming home from Lincoln a few weeks ago, so I wanted to write something.

As it is, I am home alone now that my siblings have been dropped off in college. For the time being I have the place to myself whenever my parents aren't around, and in fact they won't be around until Sunday. So it's just me and the dog, who at the moment is asleep right behind me in his bed, all curled up into a tiny little fuzz ball.

Since coming home I have gone to Las Vegas with my family, our one big family vacation that we try to do annually. So far we have been to Disney World and on a cruise as well. I also spent nearly a week cleaning out my room. I'm something of a a hoarder, you see. And I hauled away a few trash bags filled with old papers such as assignments and algebra notes that made no sense to me when I wrote them down six years ago, so they certainly won't help me now. And it felt good to give all that crap the boot. It made me really sick of stuff. Not only did I dispose of old scratch paper and torn up school folders, but I also boxed up my memories of Mexico and college, as well as sorted through my clothes to determine what I can keep and what I've outgrown and can give away. This whole many-a-day process really made me tired of all the things I have. I have sunk so much money into movies and books and so forth, I really feel I don't need much else. I plan to continue to buy books, but to be wiser with my selection, as I already have several I need to read before I go on purchasing. And movies...well, I love my DVD's; even though I don't plan on owning a TV when I have a place of my own, I ought to clarify, I don't plan on getting any TV channels, but I would like to have a TV for movies. Nevertheless, I don't watch much of those anymore, either. They are more of a treat now than they used to be for me.

So cleaning is healthy for me; I like the feeling I get when I have more space, when I toss stuff and so on. Because, in actuality, it is hard for me to toss things. As a kid I collected rocks. In college, I held onto theatre tickets from plays because they happen to make the perfect bookmarks. But I started to feel weighed down by it. So out with it, as much as I can.

Overall I have been doing pretty well. I have been getting a little bit more information regarding my assignment in Peru. I will be leaving on September 10th for staging for a few days, and then off to Lima for three months of training. I have had my doubts. I have wondered if Water and Sanitation is what I want to be doing... In fact I was hoping to get into forestry, working with plants and so on. But I didn't qualify by a long ways. So I will therefore be helping people learn better techniques on sanitation, ranging from developing potable water supplies to latrine maintenance. I'm not sure I'm too hot about that, but what's a humble piece of work for two years? There'll hopefully be other jobs that need help so that I can gather more experience. Apparently I'll be also teaching people how to wash their hands with soap and water. I wonder if there is an efficient technique that even I'll learn.

In short, I'm setting my mind to get ready to do my damndest I can. I am sure there are aspects to the job that will be very challenging. I don't want to romanticize my service there (although with me, that's kind of hard not to do). Yet, I really am looking forward to the challenge, to growing, to helping, to learning, to hopefully improving someone's life. After the shocks of adjustment are largely settled, I hope to settle there as much as I can as the situation calls.

Last weekend a classmate of mine got married. She's the most recent out of a whole group of them that are now married, engaged, and even already with kids. It's still a little strange to see this happen...They all look so young, and that's because they are! One part of me doesn't envy them.

And yet, one part of me does, frankly. At least a little bit. Now is not the time in my life to look for a relationship, and I've squared with that. But still, single life is lonely, and when people tell me to enjoy it, I sometimes want to say, "I do! I have been for many years!" I actually am thankful I have this time to myself, I have grown comfortable in this solitude and freedom, but I would lie if I didn't say that sometimes I wish I were in a relationship. But I guess this is quite a normal feeling.

Anyway, I hope all is well.

Tristan