Getting Down to the Wire

Well, as of Thursday, July 3oth, I am no longer a resident of Baton Rouge. It's pretty sad, actually. Some of the best memories I've ever made were in good old BR. For what it's worth, I'm going to miss it.

For the next nine days I'm back at my parents' house. I don't mind it because my parents aren't so bad now that I've been out of high school for half a decade; in fact I might go as far as to say that I appreciate and enjoy their company. Getting older is weird. But, it's only temporary because pretty soon I'll no longer be a resident of Louisiana, which is even weirder. Even though I was born in Massachusetts, I really feel like Louisiana is my home. Probably because I hardly remember Massachusetts.

Anyhoo, I only have a little over a week here. In the mean time, my stuff has taken over my parents dining room:

Another excellent view:

And still:

It's a little hard to tell, but the perimeter of my parents dining room is my stuff. And the sad part? This isn't even all of it, because John had yet to deliver the last of it which was being stored in his car, as The Little Civic That Could was filled to capacity on move out day. Also, the little bit of furniture I have to my name is in my room, which is currently a disaster area and not conducive to photo sessions.

So, I ask of you: How does one person accumulate so much crap? (And I promise you, a lot of it is crap, at least in the eyes of the general population. I own nothing of worth.) In four years at LSU, I have lived (officially) in four places (if we're factoring places I lived between leases or during hurricanes the number goes up). When I started at LSU, I had around two boxes of belongings, plus a mini-fridge. That's reasonable for a college freshman. When I left the dorm, I had around four or five boxes. Ok, not so bad, my stuff doubled. But, figuring that each time I moved (and the summer in between my sophomore and junior years I moved four times, which explains my loathing for the packing/moving process) my stuff doubled...well, I guess that explains how I got so much stuff. I'm beginning to worry that it won't all fit in the U-Haul. Oh well, if it doesn't fit, it isn't going to Boston.

Keep in mind that when I was packing up my apartment, I threw out at least twenty bags of stuff that really was worthless that I had held on to (when I cleaned out my dresser at home, I found the schedule I filled out in eighth grade for what I wanted to take in ninth grade, as well as notes from sixth grade and up, which was, oh, about ten years ago; I am a pack rat to the extreme) as well as gave away something like 15 bags (it may have been more, I'm estimating; I stopped counting at nine or ten) of clothes/shoes/accessories that I have not worn in four years, that I basically hauled around to different residences for four years. Most of my packing process was like this, "OH MY GOD WHY DID I KEEP THIS?!" Yet I still brought home 20 boxes/bins of stuff, plus three duffel bags, one suit case and three garment bags of clothes, two lamps, two TVS and an end table.

It's like a really retarded version of "12 Days of Christmas." And looking at it with numbers makes me want to go purge something.

My last days as an LSU Tiger

Where: Work
Mood: Tired!
Temp: 82 degrees, 71% humidity

Technically, I wasn't going to start writing in this blog until I arrived in Boston. But, what the hell.

BIG things are happening in the world of Katy. Things I def. feel like I should be documenting, somewhere.

I'm graduating from LSU in a week. It's crazy. I remember writing about my first day at LSU. Now, I'm experiencing my last. On Saturday, I will take my last final, ever, at this school. Exciting? Hell yeah. Scary? A little of that, too. Four years really went fast. Everyone told me it would, but it's still crazy how quick everything went. In August, I'll be moving to Boston for grad school. It's hard to describe how I'm feeling about that. On one hand, I'm truly excited. On the other, it's bittersweet to be leaving the state that I've called my home for so long.

Then again, I guess it really depends on the day and my mood. Sometimes I'm so ready to leave I could pack up and go now. Other days, I realize how much I'm going to miss this place:

-Blanket forts and illegal alcohol in Blake.
-Emily sleeping on our floor for a week after Katrina.
-Bagels and coffee at PJs with two of my best friends.
-Tiki-tubing, ghetto fab, Jose and Limon.
-Bread in the bed.
-Getting soaked in Tiger Stadium, being asked to leave because of lightening, but refusing because our seats were that good.
-Tailgating and Tiger baiting.
-80s Night at Spanish Moon, the Blue Moon, Open Mic Night and Karaoke at Mellow.
-Tensas road trips.
-Staying up till 6 am girl talking.
-Team 4106
-Walking through the Quad in the middle of the day, when everyone is going to class or getting out of it, and campus really feels alive.
-Walking through the Quad in the late afternoon/early evening, when no one is around, and you feel like you've got the campus all to yourself.
-The lighting of the campus Christmas tree.
-Sneaux Day, December 11, 2008 (My 22nd Birthday)
-Running (literally) into Skylar Green at a Hornet's game.
-Skipping class because it was too rainy to walk there.
-Skipping class because the weather was too nice to be sitting in class.
-Studying really hard and making an A.
-Not studying at all and making an A.
-Falling asleep at least once in every Sociology class I took.
-Getting lost in Lockett Hall.
-Getting a tattoo...with my mom.
-Mexican Beer night at The Chimes.
-Really, any night at The Chimes.
-Benji Davis and Better Than Ezra concerts at The Varsity.
-And as corny as it sounds, all the nights I'll never remember with the people I'll never forget.

And then I catch myself thinking of Boston, and what I'm looking forward to:

-Watching Terrier hockey (I come from football nation, so this will be interesting).
-Being with "my people" (aka, Sox fans and Pats fans).
-Living so close to my family that I rarely see.
-Getting to know my cousins better.
-Making friends with the Yanks.
-Hearing everyone say, "I love your Southern accent!" and "Say ya'll again."
-Visiting the Samuel Adams Brewery.
-The Plymouth waterfront. And Plymouth beach.
-No sales tax on clothes or food!
-Seeing the colors change.
-Learning how to drive in the snow.
-Kicking ass and taking names at BU.

This summer I'm going to be preparing for this huge change. I'll document all the facets of my impending move, and other parts of my life here. Hopefully, my time in Boston will be well-spent (I'm sure it will). But, I do know what thing. It's sure as hell going to be interesting being a Southern girl (even if I was born up there) living in the North. Again.