My favorite time of year! And then some.

"Late Summer Calm" by Dave Martsolf

This week has been absolutely insane. All those seniors who told me the last year was the easiest and I would be just hanging out and goofing around every day…yeah, they lied. Horrendously. Or maybe they just weren’t double majors and didn’t have a busy staff-job like I do (Spirit Officer is no joke). I never went to bed earlier than 0200 this week--usually much later--and it should go without saying that I never got to sleep in either, nor found time to make up some of the sleep deficit in naps during the day, or else I would’ve been up even later the next night. I had so much to do, I could barely breathe, and yet I still have a ton to do before the weekend. We have a huge room inspection tomorrow morning, and I haven’t even started cleaning for that yet, and this afternoon I need to finish painting another mural for my company. I have the sketch completely done, and some of the white and yellow paint thrown up there, but I still have a good few hours of work to do on it. As you can tell, I’m doing a fabulous job of procrastinating.

Nonetheless, with Mabon quickly approaching (and my Raven and Wolf statuettes still unpainted), I feel the call of the Goddess burning a little stronger each day. I’ve been neglecting my practice some, and I missed the New Moon. I managed to burn a black candle around midnight while studying for a Nuke exam, but that was about it. Quite unfortunate. However, I’ve been talking with our Regimental Chaplain, and she offered the Chaplain’s conference room for my use some of the nights each week for meditation, et cetera. I may take her up on it, although I’d have to transport (preferably surreptitiously) some of my things from my room to the conference room just to make it feel more of a me-space. And, of course, it’d need a bit of cleansing. All the rooms here have ghosts and echoes. It’s an old, old place with a LOT of history. Luckily, Gregory the Gargoyle seems to be doing a good job keeping the negativity at bay. Despite many differences of opinion, my roommates and I are getting along just fine, and our floors is one of the most peaceful in the barracks, if I do say so myself…and as this barracks is rumored to be haunted, I’d say that’s impressive. Thank you, Werewolf 06, for your gift :) I’m glad I could give Greg the Gargoyle a good home!

Unfortunately, the Chaplain also clarified that there will be no interest meeting for Pagans, as there were only 1 or 2 others (besides me) who got back to her, and they didn’t want to pursue any group work, which I can completely understand on several levels. First off, all of us are used to being solitary; suddenly having a group would be something of a shock. Secondly, if there suddenly is a group of us, it’d be rather hard to keep it quiet in this gossip-mill we call our Alma Mater, and flying under the radar when possible does have its benefits. While I’m unopposed to making a splash, I’m certainly not about to blow anyone else’s cover even though mine was discarded last spring. Finally, none of us have ever met before. We don’t even know each other’s names (except for one, whom I met and talked about a few entries ago), and at least where I’m concerned, I won’t be here much longer anyway. A circle may be, as it’s starting to seem, more trouble than it’s worth. For now, I’m satisfied with just the knowledge that I’m not the only one here; there are others out there who share at least some of my beliefs and preferences, and that’s enough for me. For now. I’m still going to try to move to a more friendly location after graduation, but I won’t find out until much later this year where that will be. Perhaps either Colorado or Washington State. I’d be thrilled with either.

At least the weather is fabulous right now. It’s that perfect pre-Autumn chill, where the cold is just starting to add a crispness into the air and banish the oppressive humidity of Summer. This also means it’s PERFECT RUNNING WEATHER!!! Regretfully, I won’t be able to fit a run in until tomorrow or Sunday. If it has to wait until Sunday, than dammit I’m driving 20 minutes across the river and running 8 miles on a trail if it kills me. I need to feel the Earth under my feet, see the treetops overhead, and taste the wind again.