what do you do with a Precious Moments figurine?

I can't fall asleep so what better than to sit in the cold basement with the dial-up? I shouldn't complain though. It's a computer.

So I had my first hit of realization at how long and how far away I am going to be in Africa when I was packing up my room. My mom wants me to put everything into boxes and store them. It's so depressing. And it wasn't even the fact that I was packing things up because I can live without 99 percent of my stuff. It was the idea of dust settling in my old room. You know, that feeling that a childhood room has been abandoned. Like a room made to look pretty in case company comes, a guest room.

That room has memories though. Like when my sister, my friend, Nessa and I got locked in there when we were little. We were leaving the room and turned the doorknob, only to have it fall off in our hands so we sat for a bit and then shouted for our moms in the kitchen. It was the room where when I was about six or seven, I pulled out all the drawers of a dresser and was so impressed with myself. I told my sister "look what I did!" Then it toppled over on me and she stood and laughed at me. I don't blame her. And then there's the bed. The mattress is higher on one side than the other and has never been switched (despite telling my mom that I could go sledding down my bed if I wanted to). I have actually woken myself up at night by falling off of the bed (I'm a thrasher.)

And it doesn't help when the dog is sitting with me in the recliner and my dad points out "you're going to miss that." I'm already sensing that the airport goodbye is going to be tough.

Wow - this has been a bit of a Debbie Downer post. Wah...wah...

However, on a good note, I watched a German movie tonight - The Edukators. Definitely one of my faves now. Go rent it.