retirement...

Contrary to blogging opinion, I have been doing other things than reading this summer. I am, however, in a stage [an extended period of time] where living my life and then blogging about it seem to be contradictory. It should not always be so. It will not always be so. But it is right now. [mili, is it okay to have a longish post if i use short paragraphs?]

Milicent suggested the other day [on one of our many lovely excursions this summer. short time spans increase desperate meetings] that perhaps I just need something to catch my fancy and blog about it. Thus proceeding with eyes wide open [i just spelled it wyde. totally not right. i dyspyse excessive and improper "y for i" exchanges], I have found my occasion to speak. [to speak in font rather than sounds]

Yesterday evening, I retired my old blue Nalgene. I've been thinking about a Powell's Lit one for a long time [not copying you, mili, i swear] and since I'm embarrassed to say how old my blue Nalgene is, [i got it while i was working at bibo, though] I decided it was time for an upgrade.

We won't go into my strange affinity for objects [or rotating footwear so no shoes feel left out], but I felt kind of sad thinking about all the things Ol' Blue has gotten me through. Milicent gave me the Billabong sticker, the first one to lose its suedey feel and become a dirty grey blob, and Danielle sent me the big one when she competed in the Jr. Olympics. It had the logo on it at one time. It got me through my internship, road trips, and subsequent college classes in Hillsdale and Portland [spanish last summer]. It travelled full on planes to keep me hydrated, and now lies mournfully dry through airport screening due to new security regulations. Blue has spilled awkwardly down the front of a lot of my clothes and surprised me with strangely glacial rushes of ice.

But now, with stickers faded and so many scratches that it never actually feels clean [no matter how much soap i use or the frequency of application], I feel that it's time to retire. Blue had a good run. [it's strange that my constantly closest objects never get names?] So please, enjoy a moment of silence and raise your own Nalgenes everywhere to the old and the new.

With only a week left in my Portland summer time, expect frantic errands, as much time with people and away from computers as possible, and one melancholy "senior year packing" blog.