How long has it been?

I've been back for some amount of time; we're getting into months now. October is almost gone... so that means... I'm closing in on three months back stateside. Yes, three months in the US, most of it in Bloomington-Normal, some in Chicago, some in Nashville, some in Boise. Here's a select shot from each location, chronologically, from my iPod (conspicuous consumption name drop: check; compulsive need to justify poor quality or pics: check).

Since my last post that wasn't either pictural or poorly-written-poetry-al in nature, I've continued my love affair with baking bread, cookies, and cooking a variety of vegetable-centered dishes that I can make sound fancy by listing the ingredients. I've gotten my new touring bike up and running, but the tubes are giving me a lot of trouble, so I've reverted to the old Schwinn for the time being. My projects: thesis, Tri-County survey and school closures data are all progressing to varying degrees but all smoothly. I got my drinking back under control and experienced MAJOR strides in my mental/emotional/spiritual processing of the past two years. I've seen some old friends, made a few new ones here in Illinois, been to Nashville with my folks for a long weekend, and have a trip planned to Chicago with some Peace Corps buddies. And keep this under your hats, but I've gone on a couple dates. Can you believe it? Before this month, I think I'd gone on all of one or two outings that could be called 'dates' with gals I wasn't already in a relationship with.

I feel good about things. I feel healthier in every sense of the word. I feel more settled. I feel more at peace with how my time in Peace Corps went. I feel happier, smarter, more adjusted, more fun to be around, and just generally BETTER. I'm living the Dream, and loving Life!