ew.

just cleaned out the lint filter in the dryer for the first time since we moved in. the amount of lint we found in there could have made a small cat. no joke. i have no idea how the last tenants dried anything in that thing, but that was disgusting.

you've got to share it, so you dare it.

B took me around the epic systems campus yesterday. let's just say, it's....epic. ha. the entire campus consists of a series of buildings named alphabetically as if part of a galaxy. they start at andromeda, borealis, cassiopeia, and work their way around to heaven, isis and kohoutek...so far. their two main parking structures start at the end of the alphabet, so the assumption seems to be that their going to make their way to the middle of the alphabet before the campus is finished. and all of this is connected by a huge outdoor courtyard. but here comes the real doozy.

we saved a baby duckling!!! :)

so there was a family of ducks in epic's lake/pond thing. with a stream, a couple of little waterfalls and one large waterfall leading into it. the stream goes through the courtyard. as we were wandering through the courtyard, we find one little duckling swimming itself in circles because it is clearly lost. it looked so sad! and confused! and scared! and here are two awkward humans trying to catch it and herd it back to its family! then a family of three with two dogs comes by. we fill them in on what we're trying to do. so they help. strangely, its the dogs' whining that attracts the little duckling enough for him to leave the water, where me, B and the mom play hardcore defense on this tiny guy for long enough to herd him into a tight circle and for B to sweep him up! seriously. best. D. ever. we quickly powerwalk him back to the lake, to drop his squeaking self into the water, where his mom promptly starts quacking back at him. except his terrified, confused self abruptly turns and swims away from his mommy. the dogs start barking. duck-mom gets scared and turns to swim the other way. its only at this point that the duck who looks like two crazed beagles aren't his mommy. and the duck who looks and sounds like a duck is, in fact, his mother. cue the most adorable beeline this duckling could make towards his mommy and his four other siblings. we saved his life! it was awesome.

sigh...

then we carried on our tour of the campus. i found katy fallon (bitner)'s office and have now creeped on her whiteboard. i guess i'll wait and see when she finds it and figures out it was me. ha.

p.s. heaven has a big metal slide between the second and ground floor. it is sick. at the suggestion of andy, we both go down head first. crazy! and strangely hilarious.

i'm not sure i have a favorite building yet, but i absolutely love the courtyard. adorable duckling aside. :)

random sculptures all around campus

ditto.

probably my favorite part of campus

there's a lake...

we later saved her baby!

nice.

NY subway-themed.

no idea what this was.

but it was in "Heaven"...

i don't remember which buildings these are...

---

earlier in the day, we also headed out to the farmer's market out by the capitol. there was so much stuff! we only got a little to hopefully make some tasty fried rice and/or pizza for dinner tonight. we also got some fresh radishes for little puppybutt. :)

turn the lights out on this city.

the state capitol

so it's almost the end of week one in our new home in madison, wi (which reminds me...i should change puppy's cage today). there are still a couple boxes lying around the apartment, but otherwise, it looks significantly more lived than when i first got here.

our apartment complex

its definitely chillier here than i thought it might be/than i would've liked, but otherwise, the weather's been pretty nice. save one day of downpour.

the city is super walkable, and if not walkable, then bikeable. the five bajillion bike paths that network around the city certainly help. i haven't tried biking anywhere yet, but i figure i'm going to get a hang of not getting lost on foot first before i try biking on the roads of this new city.

btw. i just let puppy out of her cage today since she's been stuck in her cage for awhile (read: since the move from pittsburgh) while i've been unpacking. she seems to be having a good time exploring and, in general, being adorable. hmm...now she's hiding. oh well.

in general, madison so far reminds me of the ville (wellesley), but multiplied a few times over in a directional, somewhat gridded network. everything is still pretty small scale. only two starbucks that i know of. one cvs. couple of walgreen's. other than that, mostly small, independent stores. definitely a few fun looking places. a bunch of different food places i want to try out.

an old theater downtown

in other news, still job searching. i may end up doing some volunteer positions before a proper, full-time job comes along, but that's okay. because so far, the volunteer stuff i could end up doing for a bit actually sounds pretty fun and interesting.

also, got to jump right into a mad udderburn practice on sunday. man, i am out of shape. at least, for the most part, that seemed to the only thing that was wrong with my game. seems like i'll be primarily be playing a handler role with this team. haven't decided if i like that or not yet. otherwise, they don't seem to have a huge, if any, contingency of female handlers.

elsewhere on the ultimate radar, jess put me in touch with tyke, who seems to be part of a group looking to start a women's team in the area, which i might be super interested in. it might give me a chance to play a more versatile role, whereas, with udderburn, i'd more likely be filling whatever role they need at the moment since they have already have quite a large roster. hopefully, the women's team will be having a scrimmage or something soon so i can try both sides out before i make a solid decision. clearly, the series is also going to make a difference. i want to make to sarasota. i want to go to nationals. both groups sound hopeful. this ultimate scene is all new. so here's to making the most of a blank slate. :)

and as our lives change.

a graduation 2011 photostream.

fifth year show | yea, i am!

fifth year show | me, mom + jess

pre-ceremony | with mom

pre-ceremony | with mom + jess

pre-ceremony | attached!

archi ceremony | man, i'm little... [aka. me trying not to just grab it and run.]

archi ceremony | all the graduates on stage

post-ceremony | me, smings + nana

post-ceremony | the fam [aka. i did it! they seen it!]

we did it! | yaaaaaaaaaayyy!!!

we did it | alex, ishita, i-shan, me, nana 

we did it | anna, i-shan, arlie, ishita, me

:) | me + B

pre-commencement | loitering

commencement | the ceremony 

my fam.

i iz a kollege gradumacate. :)

that you believed in superstitions

4:34pm, Saturday, May 7th, 2011. thesis presentation over.

all i can do now is sit and wait.
wait until tomorrow.
tomorrow when i get the news...

i need this to work out.
i need this to pay off.
i need to know all of this was worth it.

fingers crossed, right?

i can haz diploma?

5 years.
10 semesters.
10 studios.
10 final project presentations.
~30 projects.
over 17,000 hours.

done.

almost there.

43 days.


that's how long i have until final thesis presentations.
that's how long i have to make sure i finish my last assignment of the year.
that's how long i have to make sure i finish the last assignment of my fifth year.
that's how long i have to make sure i finish the last assignment of my undergraduate career.

that's how long i have to make sure i don't fuck up.