Starkvegas here I come!

Some have mentioned that I might change the name to my blog now that I am no longer in New York. My opposition to this is that a.)Baton Rouge is a city too... and b.) God made me for the city, and my heart will always be in the city, whatever that city may be.

Tommorrow is my first LSU football game of the year, and the first big away game road trip. I'm skipping four classes, and I don't have a place to stay, at least not in Starkville that is (I'll be driving into Jackson if necessary). I'm pretty excited about going, despite the complications and the fact that I had to get my lab permenantly moved after much begging.

School's gonna be crazy this semester, so don't expect a whole lot of updates. I will, when procrastinating, be updating as much as possible.

The Most Isolated Tract of Land in the Continental United States

Having gone to the part of the world known as "Down the Road" at least once every month/two months for my entire life growing up, it has been very strange not to go there a single time since high school.



Today, I had to go down there to pick up my dad at the heliport, and it made me realize how very different my life has become.



Wayne Parent, my great and wonderful Louisiana Politics teacher, said in his book Inside the Carnival that "There is perhaps no other tract of land in the continental United States that is as isolated from civilization as the farthest reaches of south Plaquemines Parish." I always agreed with him, but after having gone there today, I realize just how completely true that statement is.

This area has always been cut off from the world, but now that it has been completely wiped off the map, yet again, and is being slowly rebuilt, it really feels like a forgotten island, an Alas Babylon of sorts. Coming off of a summer in the most concentrated place in the world, it almost felt like I was in a place I'd never been before. I felt like I had an entirely different perspective of this ever-so-familliar territory.

There really is no other place out there that can possibly be like Plaquemines Parish.

The APT

It's so very strange to be in "The APT" by myself. I guess I will get used to it over time (though I still don't imagine that with three roomates I'll have an excessive amount of alone time in this place). Though I've spent alot of time in this place over the past two years, I've always been over here when every seat was taken, people are on the floor, and a few are standing in the kitchen. Now that I'll be living here, it's definitely going to be a different place for me. It's going to be a different place in general without all of its former inhabitants around.

I've spent most of the day being lazy. I spent the night at Laura's, then woke up really late, came home, and watched Rent. After finally deciding to be productive, I made my way over to campus to take in the Stately Oaks and Broad Magnolias while also taking care of business. I had a few things to work out, which I thought were worked out, but it looks like I've gotta go back tommorrow because I've got a question (and I've had enough experience of being on the phone for hours with the Bursar's office to know that calling them is not the efficient way to get an answer).

Watching Rent made me very sad, as I knew it would. You see, it is set in Alphabet City, the same neighborhood where Graffiti is located. I spent most of my summer ministering to and interacting with the people of that neighborhood. I terribly miss it.

I've gotten to catch up with a good many people since I've been here. Caitlin and I spent the afternoong together, which kept the apartment from feeling so lonely. I think though, that until I've gotten to see everyone and life gets back to normal, I will continue to wish I was in New York. I'm sure I'll always miss it, but it's going to be worse until I get too busy to notice it. For now, I'm longing for December.

And now that I'm back

So I'm back home, and now that I've seen the family and got a small taste of the Big Easy, I could easily hop on a plane and be back in my nice Upper West Side apartment in a heartbeat.

I love it here, and I love the people I've gotten to see. There are people I'd still like to see, but man do I miss the city and all that it has to offer. I'm getting used to being away, and it's going to take a while. It took a while to adjust to the city, even though I loved it, so I'm guessing it's the same thing here. My life has definitely slowed down in the past two days. I miss walking everywhere though (but I sure can't do that here cuz its HOT).

I learned so much this summer and am so incredibly thankful for this opportunity. I can't imagine my life without this experience. I feel like a whole new person. God has done so much work this summer in my life and I've gotten to witness so many amazing things. I am so excited to see how this effects my life from here on out.

This is it

Tonight is my last night in the city.

I am trying not to be sad about this. I don't think it's fully hit me yet though.

Rather than looking at all of the things I'll miss, I'm trying to look at all of the things I am looking forward to upon my return to Louisiana. I get to see the family, I get to see the friends, I get to drive (!!!!!!), and I get to reunite with the great city that made me who I am.

Today was a sad day because I went to Graffiti for the last time. I didn't do much of anything but sit around and put off leaving. Theresa left without realizing that we never got to say goodbye, so I was pretty sad about that, but we had a nice over-the-phone goodbye. As Taylor kept saying, it's not goodbye, I'll be back in December.

I went to Carnegie Deli with the mission team. Surprisingly this is only the second time I've gone since I've been here, but it was definitely a nice way to say goodbye to the city. I then went to 34th street- which has become my place to go when I get bored or sad.

Now, I must pack....