but they've got planes and trains and cars...

Today was the (second) big day -- said the last big goodbye.  Dusty is now home and I'm officially on my own now.  It hasn't quite hit me yet, I don't think.  Just too much going on at the moment, too much to do.

Summary of the last week:

 finally in utah (well, almost)! about 6:30 AM, i think?

We, of course, got going a bit later than we wanted on Monday -- didn't leave home until about 11:30.  We drove through the night and somehow got to Salt Lake City a bit earlier than anticipated -- around 8:30-- a pleasant surprise, it only took us 22 hours rather than the 24 - 25 we were expecting. Driving through the night actually went a bit better than I had been expecting -- I've done it a couple times with three or four drivers but never with just two.

The apartment is great, as is the roommate, Kellie.  Met the landlord and got the lease signed yesterday, as well as an explanation of some of the "weirdness/sketchiness" of the whole thing.  So, yes, Dusty was right -- it all worked out great.  So far, even better than I could have hoped.  As I said, Kellie is awesome -- she is just this tiny little blonde girl.  Probably about 5 feet tall and just petite.  And she has a personality to match. Very spunky and talkative and so sweet.  She reminds me a lot of my sister.  And my cousin Haylee Dee.  Just a bit smaller ;-)  I don't think we're going to have a problem getting along.  Not at all.  AND SHE'S NEVER WATCHED AN EPISODE OF ONE TREE HILL!! Good thing I own all of the seasons on DVD...

Dusty and I spent a lot of time shopping the last week.  Poor guy.  Had to buy a bed, desk, bookshelf, and a few little things to keep my closet organized. Literally probably spent about 20 hours shopping over two days.  And not just wandering around the mall browsing type shopping -- we were on a mission.  [[I HAVE THE BEST BOYFRIEND EVER!!!]] I'll get pictures up of the apartment soon-ish -- I still have a few boxes to unpack and get organized.

Thursday we decided to take a break from the craziness and drove down to Moab to visit Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. I was so excited when I found out it was only a three and a half hour drive down there! That's just a quick trip to the Twin Cities from Rapids!  I had been to Arches twice before and Canyonlands once.  You'd think that it would start to dull a bit on the third visit.  Definitely not.  Simply takes your breath away.

Friday was orientation.  After some minor traffic issues (sorry again, Dust!!), I made it there right on time.  Definitely made me feel like a freshman again, ha.  The girls (and one guy) in my class all seem great.  Most of them are from out west (Utah, Oregon, California, Colorado...), but there are a couple from a ways away, like me -- Michigan and Pennsylvania!   Many of them already knew each other, too, which I was surprised about.  A few went to the U for their undergrad and a couple others had already been in the area for awhile.

That's about it for the update, I think.  Classes start tomorrow.  I'm not even going to try to drive over to campus -- they're doing a ton of construction and I guess parking is just horrendous.  The apartment is in a great location, only about a block and a half from a stop on Salt Lake City's light-rail system (called TRAX).  The one that stops there runs directly up to the school.  I'm sure it'll feel just like the good ol' days riding the LINK! Minus the Bean Song, I am sure.