On Friday, we went to the Biergarten in Astoria for a friend’s birthday. We waited in a thick crowd for a woman to pour our beer. Confused by the pronunciation of Polish beer names, and baffled by which was a better deal—two steins or one pitcher?--we waited, passive. It was taking a long time. But when a ripe odor cut into us, our mission was more urgent. Someone behind us had terrible underarm body-odor that wafted over us in sick, pungent waves. Instinctively, we pressed tighter together into one another, her face nestled in my shoulder and I breathed through her sweet-smelling hair. “A pitcher of Staropramen!” she nearly shouted.

Cleaning, cleansing. Cleanliness is next to Godliness, and I am feeling it. I want my room and my space around me immaculate (immaculate, a mom-word), but why is it so hard for me? It always seems like a huge undertaking. I think once I achieve extreme cleanliness, I’m going to pledge to pick-up after myself on a regular basis, instead of waiting for things to become overwhelming.

Inside my own skin, I want to be filled with good. I always find a way to twist things and worry about them. I need to take things as they come, to just let things be and respond to them then and there, instead of reading, interpreting, ascribing motives. I want to cleanse there, too.

The nature of our friendship (?). Given one pair of our shoes (hers or mine), it is likely that you will find one shoe put away in her room and one in mine.

Sometimes, when I try to help, I just royally mess-up. I’ve opened up some kind of sickening can of worms (via email on an alumni listserv), and I don’t think it was my message, so much as people’s response to it. But it started with my message. Now, all over the listserv, people are debating all kinds of things, which is fine as long as it is constructive. But I feel like people are attacking one another instead of being constructive. And I wish I’d kept my damn mouth shut.

This morning, I stood in our bathroom, drying my hair after my shower and hers; it was filled with the sweet smell of skin. Fresh and clean and soapy.

On Friday afternoon, Stacey drove over to my house. We had planned for a while to go up to Syracuse for Homecoming Weekend (which was also APO Alumni Weekend). We packed the car up to be ready to get Claire at the bus stop. Claire was right on time, and we headed off at around 6PM.

By the time we got to Syracuse, it was around 11:30. We met Sam and Kristen at the Econo Lodge. The five of us changed clothes and went to Faegans. (Our old Thursday night hangout.) It was good times! We saw lots of people, had some drinks, danced a lot, laughed a lot. After that, we went to Doc's Little Gem Diner. We joked that Doc's was our main reason for going to Syracuse. I thought we should go as many times as possible. After Faegans' was Doc's Trip #1.

We returned to the hotel. We were dead to the world! Plus, there were 2 beds and 5 of us. Stacey, Claire, and I were all 3 in one bed! LOL. It was pretty funny. Poor Claire was in the middle. Stacey and I were struggling not to fall off the edge!

We slept late. By the time we got motivated it was already too late to go to the football game. It didn't seem like anyone really wanted to go but me. Oh well... it was no big deal! When we were all dressed, we went to Doc's for breakfast/lunch! (Doc's Trip #2) Afterward we walked around the Carousel Center. I really do miss that mall!

We headed over to campus to walk around. It felt weird to be back! Half of me felt I'd never left; the other half felt strange to be there. We checked out the new "Orange Grove" which is really pretty. We hung out in Schine Student Center, and visited Shaffer and Slocum (the significant academic buildings we'd "lived" in for so long).

After that, it was off to M-Street. We wanted to go to Panda West, which is my favorite place for Chinese EVER. They have the most incredible Won Ton Soup. Afterwards, We headed back to the hotel. We wanted to change before going out to the SPARK Gallery. It was the Opening of the annual Erotic Works show which I had seen last year. That was a fun time. We got to see some people we knew, and to see some pretty crazy artwork!

After that, We went to Darwin's... it was PACKED. I got to see the last two innings of the first World Series game. Yankees lost. Very sad!!! :-(

After that, we went to DOC'S! (Doc's Trip #3)

Then we were spent. We slept (This time, Claire decided to sleep on the floor.)

In the morning, I got up and headed over to Rachel's for the APO Alumni Weekend Brunch! It was so much fun! Lots of brothers were there. It was a good time to hang out and catch up. After it was over, we went over to Schine before the chapter meeting. I saw last semester's scrapbook. Then I went to chapter,which was nice because I got to see even MORE people! I left chapter early at 1PM to meet Stacey and head home.

I should mention that while I was at the APO Brunch, Stacey and Claire had Doc's Trip #4 with their friend Joel. Sam and Kristen went to Carousel. We had a very speedy drive home, and saw Claire off at the bus stop.

The whole weekend was GOOD TIMES! :-)

On Friday night, Teresa and I rode up to Rochester to go to Muther's (http://www.clubmuthers.com) one last time to see drag. First of all, Teresa made the most hilarious CD for us to listen to in the car. Honestly, I don't know where some of these songs came from, but they were SO funny!!

When we got to Rochester, we picked up Teresa's friend Sarah from U of R. Jessica met us at Muther's. It was so much fun!! The drag was excellent. It was Pandora Boxx's birthday--good times all around! There were two Queens from Buffalo, and it seems the Queens up there get a lot of plastic surgery... I don't enjoy them as much as I enjoy the Rochester girls. It seems like plastic surgery would be "cheating" or something. I mean, if they have implants, then they must live like women 24/7. Yet other Queens are men for their day jobs, and women for the show.

Either way, the drag was awesome! It was Pandora Boxx's birthday, and she was so wonderful... she did an awesome Madonna medley, and for the second time I saw her perform "All That Jazz" from Chicago. Beautiful! Unfortunately, Aggy Dune wasn't there this time around. I should mention that Muther's got a makeover! There are now beautiful red curtains and lamps, and shining silver drapes! So classy!

I slept over at Jess's house... always a good time! (Teresa stayed with Sarah.) In the morning, Teresa came to pick me up and head back to Syracuse for Senior Sendoff. We decided to swing by Krispy Kreme and CVS (I had just run out of cough syrup) before heading back to Syracuse. Upon entering CVS, there was a big divet in the road near the curb that made a really loud noise when we went by.

We got the stuff we needed and headed towards the Krispy Kreme. All of a sudden, I started to smell a really foul odor. It seemed to be coming from the car. I asked Teresa if she could smell it. "I don't have a sense of smell!" said Teresa. I was like, "This is really strong!!"

She turned off the air conditioner, thinking that was the problem. As soon as she did that, smoke started pouring out of the vent! I was freaking out! Teresa pulled into a mall parking lot which was the first thing we saw. She turned the car off and we got out... then, teresa said, "My car's leaking!!"

I looked, and "leaking" was not the work for it... liquid, the color of Mountain Dew, was literally flowing from the bottom of the car like a faucet. We had parked near a Land's End store, and so we went inside to use their courtesy phone. Fortunately, they were very nice about allowing us to use it as often as we wanted. Teresa called AAA. She also called Adam's cell phone to let him know what happeded, and why we'd be late.

In the mean time, Teresa was really concerned about me missing Senior Sendoff. (Well, I was, too! It was my big day. I had anticipated it for a while.) I know Teresa felt bad, but I assured her it wasn't her fault. We wondered if hitting that curb at CVS could have caused the problem. After a while, I called Adam to get talia's celll phone number. I called her to see if she or anyone would be willing to make a drive up from Syracuse to come and get me. She said she would ask around, and I should call her in 15 minutes.

15 minutes later, I called and Talia announced that Dan was already on the way. I was AMAZED. I had a real feeling that I would be stranded in Rochester, and would miss my Sendoff. Also, I was so moved and impressed that Dan (who is one of the NIBs- "Newly Initiated brothers") would drive all that way to come get me when he doesn't really know me that well.

The tow truck took a while to get there, and so we gave Dan directions to the Land's End store, where he could pick me up. Teresa would stay with her car and her sister (who lives in Rochester). Teresa's mom was also going to come to drive her back to Syracuse. I felt bad leaving Teresa, but I was glad her family was around!

Dan came right on time! I gave him the biggest hug when I saw him. He is awesome. He kept saying, "It's no problem!" He should get an award or something, because yesterday, he was my hero! He drove me back, and we had great luck until we were right near Green Lakes State Park (our destination). They had the most misleading signs I have ever seen. We drove all the way around the lake before we found the enterance to the park. Insane! By the time we got there, Sendoff was under way, but everyone was excited that I made it!

Poor Dan couldn't even stay because he had to go to work! Agqain, I was amazed that he rescued me from Rochester to go to an event he couldn't even attend.

The Sendoff was so nice!! Anna made my scrapbook, and it is awesome! People took turns and wrote in it. Sooo nice! People said such nice things about me. Talia got me a gift: a set of note cards so I can keep in touch! It was a great day! I took many pictures, and exchanged lots of hugs. I had missed the barbecue but the time I got there, though.

I returned home and Sam was there. She hadn't gone to Sendoff because of her Senior Thesis presentation. She said their group did a better presentation than the other group... only one would "win" and get an A. And it was her group!! Yay for her! She invited me to dinner at the Little Thai House with 2 girls from her group. That was really nice.

Then, I was going out with a most random group to Armory Square! It was Chip, Chuck, Matt A., and Adam. We went to five bars, which was fun. I was mad that I am still under the weather... still, whiskey shots felt awesome on my sore throat! I didn't really drink that much but it was a good time!

I have lots to report! First thing that was exciting... On Tuesday, I was online talking to Jeffy K. who is a DJ on Z89. He was at the station at the time of IMing me, and he was about to give away a Really Cool Prize... an Iron Chef cooler containing 2 Iron Chef t-shirts, 4 Iron Chef glasses, and a magnet. Jeff told me the phone number and I wrote it down. He said if I was the fastest caller, I could win. And I did!! It was great!! It definitely made my day.

Then I had a dinner at Ruby Tuesday's with Alicia and the other members of the Relay For Life Planning Committee. Alicia announced that we are now over $48,000 in donations! Amazing! This keeps getting better and better!

Yesterday morning I met with Dave to put the final touches on our Collaboation Across Differences project. We put all of our "stolen" items in baggies and labled them. We had labled Polaroid pictures of each person in the class' house, and a candid shot of that person. We also had signatures from everyone.

After that, we had the SMOOTHEST APO elections I'd ever seen! Last time's were painful. We only got through 5 and it took HOURS, including re-votes, etc. This week we had 7 to get through and I was expecting the worst. I thought a lot of people would run. Instead, many elections were uncontested. It went so smoothly. Crazy! We had Senior Pass-The-Gavel. It was really nice, and I was so sure that I could "keep my cool" and not get teary or cry. Of course I was crying before I even got the gavel after hearing what everyone else had to say. It is really hard to look at the faces of SO MANY of my friends and say goodbye all at once. It was emotional, but very nice at the same time. I am writing cards and notes to my best pals in APO instead of saying individual things about them, because it would have taken forever!

After chapter, I went with a group to Faegan's to have dinner and a drink. That was really nice to do. Me, Kate, Adam, Katie, Devon, Courtney, Allison E., and Andrew all were there. It was a great time!

Then, I went directly to see the first Collaborative Project of the evening. It was a very cool display of three paintings in an attic setting. After that, Dave and I began our set-up in Shaffer Art Building. It took longer than we thought it would, so we were glad that we had allowed ourselves enough time to set up. The room we chose was perfect for our display, and we had a giant screen on which to project our "hidden camera" video. Dave and I dressed in all black, and stood at either end of the screen so that we could watch the class' reactions "security guard"-style. We displayed all the objects on the wall except for 3 larger ones. The objects wrapped around 3 walls (the 4th wall being the video). We had enough light so the walls were well-lit, but not so much that you couldn't see the video.

When the class came in there was such an amazing reaction. People gasped when they saw the objects on the wall. There was also a lot of laughter as people looked at their own objects and the objects of others. After they were done looking, they sat down and we invited them to speak before we made any statements. The discussion lasted over an hour! They touched on all of the major points we hoped they would gain from our project (surveillance, the aesthetic of our photos, how small objects are significant, watching and being watched, etc). I was thrilled, and so was Dave.

When we joined in the discussion, it went till after 10 (we started presenting at 8:30). It was incredible. Everyone was SO into it. I got tons of complements. "I'm so glad you guys did this!" "That was amazing!" Someone said it was refreshing to see something so different. It was also described (by one of the professors) as "executed perfectly--perfect." Dave and I stayed after to discuss things with the professors until about 11:30!

AMAZING to see it all come together with such a resounding response!

Yikes! I am a senior... I am not supposed to be working this hard! (Ah, just kidding... I never wanted it to be an "easy" semester!)

I have so much work to do. On the 30th, my Collaboration Across Differences project is due. I have 2 more tests, an exam, and a final proect (the Japanese influence on Frank Lloyd Wright) for Historic Backgrounds in Design. I have a presentation due this Thursday on the book and the musical, "Flower Drum Song," as well as a final exam sometime in the near future. I also have a final paper on the film "The Misfits" for Art in America. Egads!

On top of that, I am applying to 3 more internships, at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, and the Guggenheim Museum. Plus, I have APO Initiations this coming Saturday, AND APO Elections on Sunday! Insanity!

Ah well. Soon enough, I will be DONE with all the work! And then, FUN! (Hopefully...!)

After Relay I slept for several hours... after that, I contacted Jordyn about the Rochester fellowship/Krispy Kreme donut sale. APO was going to Rochester Saturday night, to go see drag queens at Muther's and then to sleep over at Alison R's... then to get up at the CRACK of dawn to pick up 900 dozen donuts at Krispy Kreme. After that we'd head back to Syracuse and sell the donuts. That was the plan.

I had called Jessica, who goes to school at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. I wanted very badly to meet up with her at some point, so I invited her to come to Muther's with us. As a result, Jess invited me to stay with her overnight. I accepted, excitedly!! We decided, logistically, it was hard for me to get from Jess' place to meet with the other people for the donut sale. Alison said it wasn't entirely necessary for me to come, so I decided to stay and have a visit with Jess. It turned out to be so much fun for both of us!

The next morning, Jess got up early for a rehearsal, then returned to the apartment to pick me up. We went to church, so I could see her play a gig there. She was awesome! She even had a beautiful solo! I was so proud!After that, we changed into jeans and headed out to eat lunch.

We went to Charlie's Frog Pond, which was an awesome little restaurant. I had the most amazing breakfast there, Sauteed Banana Pancakes. The atmosphere was so colorful and fun! Someday maybe I'll go again. I loved Rochester's overall atmosphere.

I stopped at an Eckerd to get One Hour Photo Developing of one roll of Relay pictures. Then we walked around to some cool stores and shopped a bit. After that I picked up the photos... there are some AMAZING ones of my sweet little "Miss Relay" drag queen, Rick ("Electra")! So handsome before, so beautiful afterwards!

We tool a ride over to the Mt. Hope Cemetary so I could take a photo of Frederick Douglass' grave for Jordyn. It was an extra credit assignment. I saved her a lot of trouble by doing it. Plus I felt I had at least helped her out in return for her ride to Rochester. It was the most BEAUTIFUL day... sunny, blue sky, perfect temperature for walking around. I had a wonderful time with my friend. (I should mention that Jess and I have been great friends since we were both 6 years old!) Between Relay For Life and this visit with Jessica, this was a great weekend for the soul.

This weekend was SO fabulous!

FRIDAY: In a feat of productivity, I went out with Jordyn to get sweatshirts for my Littles. (I have neglected to explain that "Littles" are actually my "Little Brothers" in APO. I've been a Big Brother every semester, and it is so rewarding. It is confusing because APO is a co-ed fraternity, and all my Littles are girls. Which is why I just say Littles rather than Little Brothers.) Jordyn and I drove out to Mattydale to get sweatshirts at the Champion Outlet. We also went to have a nice lunch at a Chinese Restaurant. Then we went to get decorations at Party City for the APO banquet. After all that, we dropped off our sweatshirts at Shirt World to have the Greek Letters sewn on.
Then... I hurried home to change into nice clothes, and met Stacey and Claire. We went to the dinner Sam was putting on for her Senior Thesis. It was very fun, and she did a good job!
After her dinner, I again booked it home to change my clothes. Teresa came over and we drove up to Rochester to see a Drag Show at Muther's (the bar where the Queens we saw at the S.U. show came from)! It was SO AWESOME! The place is small enough that you can meet the Drag Queens. Teresa and I had a blast! We were up front, close to the stage. They gave us a few shout-outs because we told them we drove up (1.5 hours) to see them! We met and took pictures with Aggy Dune and Pandora Boxx. (You may have seen them on the VH1 Special, "Boys Will Be Girls.") Kooki Crisp, another Queen, pretended to go down on me in a song called "Show Me Your Pu$$y." Good times all around, I will definitely be going back to that club.

SATURDAY: As soon as I was back in town, I helped Stacey put up her show in the ComArt building. She does these amazing pieces she calls Pulp Paintings. Basically, she buys fabric, turns it into pulp of all different colors, and presses it into paper. Each color in a painting is made with a different color pulp. (A drawing, beneath a piece of plexiglass, serves as a guide.) One piece was a huge tiled picture, measuring something like 8 feet by 12 feet. Amazing. The subjects are mostly children in Stacey's family.
After helping out, I came back to get ready for the APO Banquet. I wore this awesome green dress--two layers, the underneath was solid green, and looked like a slip. The top layer was a green, patterned gauze. It had tiny beads sewn on it, and a cowl neck. I got many complements. It was rainy and nasty. I curled my hair, and I was sure it was going to fall as soon as I went outside. Miraculously it stayed! The banquet was a good time! I came home late...
...and then changed and went to Doc's (Syracuse's ONLY real 24-hour Diner) with Sam, Stacey, and Claire. That was fun, too... we were in the mood to reminisce about people we knew Freshman Year. good times, good times...

SUNDAY: 10 AM I was supposed to be at the Relay For Life Yard Sale. I woke up and looked out the window to find the ground covered under a blanket of snow! I was pretty mad. We still went to the yard sale, and we made about $60, surprisingly. We would have done awesome if the weather had been nice.We had a productive team meeting... all of this was at Alicia's house. It was fun, and I got to meet her husband and daughter. Fun times!
Afterwards, Kate and I went to Wal-Mart, Michael's and Friendly's to run errands for Relay and other stuff. Then, we ran to our APO chapter meeting, and then we continued running errands. We got presents for Gina (who was sick with allergies) and Andrew (who broke his collarbone) and dropped them off to them.
Kate and I ended up stayng for a while at Andrew's apartment (we watched "The Jungle Book"! So cute! I had never seen it before!

So that was my official weekend. Hope you enjoyed it!

So I am a master procreator in the realm od all things Alpha Phi Omega. I have been a Big Brother every semester that I've been around, twice I had Twins. All girls! I was just reflecting on the coolness that is my six littles.

FALL 2001
TALIA: Talia was the first little I knew about. I had met her at a bunch of rush activities prior to Inductions. I was SO excited to have her because she was so gung-ho, I KNEW she was going to go through with pledging. Talia and I have always enjoyed each other's company, so muuch so that we were once the only two people to sign up for a mini-golf fellowship, we played each other one-on-one. (She kicked my butt!!)

YOLANDA: The day before Inductions, I got a call around midnight. "Can you take another little?" I said, "Sure!" This was Yolanda. I hadn't met her or anything. As pledging began, I discovered one of the most caring, genuine, FUN!!, amazing people I have ever met. To this day, when I see her, my response is always the same: "Yolanda! I love you!!"" and a big hug.

SPRING 2002
ALISON: I met Alison at the Ice Cream social. I discovered she and I had more in common than our first name... we lived in the same residence hall. We talked for a while, and I took a liking to her. I told the pledgemaster tha I hoped to get Alison. They came through for me. Whenever I see Alison, she always makes me laugh. There is no one better to share a Cosmo's T.H.B. (Toasted Honey Bun) with.

FALL 2002
HEATHER: I met Heather when we were both acting in "The Vagina Monologues." It was cool because she and I both sort of knew each other. We were big fans of the "secret shopper" program at Goldstein... Mmm. Heather is awesome because she is committed to making a difference--she sees a problem, and she makes change.

SPRING 2003
ERIN: Erin is one of my Twins this semester. She is awesome, and so much fun! She is pledging with her boyfriend Scott--so cute! We always talk about our boys. Erin has a quiet sweetness about her. Unlike with Talia and Yolanda, I was told I had Twins right away. As a result, I could plan accordingly. Erin's pledge book is Wonder Woman...

KRISTEN: ...and Kristen's is Catwoman! So cute! Kristen amazes me. She does so many things! She is a DJ on the radio, and she's pre-med, and she is doing APO, having a boyfriend, AND a social life! Craziness. Kristen and I always talk about our boys, too. She is so super nice, I smile whenever I see her.

...So there you have it. My littles. I hope they all know how amazing they are. If I could spread just a little bit of my APO-love to each of them, I will have succeeded. They are all very active and involved, and I will have left behind quite a legacy when I graduate. A legacy of six awesome, committed lady brothers of Phi Chapter.

Last night at 6:30, I went over to Teresa's house for dinner. She was making her "secret recipe" of chicken for her 2 littles, Scott and Mike. We ate dinner, the three of us trying to guess what the "secret ingredient" was (it was Miracle Whip!). Teresa says that the perfect amount of tater tots to complment her chicken was 8. She sure planned ahead, making EXACTLY 32 tater tots.
After that, we had dessert (I brought dixie cup ice cream sundaes from goldstein... classy) while watching the VH1 special "Boys Will Be Girls" - a show about drag, featuring two of the Queens we saw, Pandora Boxx and Aggy Dune. It was great... definitely very interesting to see what they look like as men! Some of them are very adorably cute, and others are very "normal" - like you wouldn't notice them, or turn your head.
After the special, we were going to just go home... but as we were in the car, Teresa mentioned that after she dropped us off, she was going to CompUSA. I was like, "I'll go with you!" Scott also agreed to go, mainly because Borders was also open. We did that for a while... it was fun!

Tonight was the Inductions Ceremony for the new pledges! Before the ceremony, we got together and had "Family Dinner." (Basically there are 4 branches, or "families" in our chapter.) Our family is Hunger-Ehrich, named for a couple who, back in the day, merged their 2 small families together to form a larger one.

Heather, who is one of my "littles," brought me a photograph of me and all of my littles that was taken last semester. There were 4 of them: Heather, Alison, Yolanda, and Talia. (All girls, too!) I was thrilled to death! It is a great photo. Upon looking at the Hunger-Ehrich family tree, I realized with the addition of my 2 littles this semester, Erin and Kristen, I'll have had more littles than anyone in Hunger-Ehrich history. (So exciting!) But even more exciting is the fact that all of my littles have been extremely active and involved, even after pledging! I am very proud right now, and greatful to share my APO-love with such amazing people.

This semester is the first time I have not been an officer. It is relieving in a way. I am excited to be a "plain old active brother" for once. I can participate more on the committee level, and let others have the more active leadership roles. Also, since I'm a senior, and taking only 13 credits, I have plenty of time to share with my two littles. It was exciting meeting them for the first time, even though Inductions can be a bit hectic and overwhelming! They both seem really sweet. I am excited to sit down with them and talk in a more calming environment.

So, in APO terms, at least, this is going to be a great semester!

There's a whole lotta good going on in my day!

First of all, this Friday is the APO (Alpha Phi Omega, my co-ed service fraternity) Induction ceremony. That's when those who have expressed interest oficially become pledges! I got an IM last night from the Pledgemaster and the Rush & Retention Vice-Prez that I will be having twins (2 little brothers) this semester--both girls! This means, for the record, that all of my littles have been girls. These two, Erin and Kristen, will be my 5th and 6th little! (Can you tell I'm proud?!) And... today after class, I bought their pledge books. I decided to do a "theme," so one gets a Wonder Woman book, and the other gets Catwoman! How cute is that? I can't wait to meet them tomorrow night!

My day continued to be great as my Art in America professor talked about Marilyn Monroe in-depth. I thanked him after class for such good Marilyn coverage, stating that I'm a big fan of hers. The professor promises more Marilyn to come! Good times!

I came back to my apartment to find that I'd received 2 pieces of PERSONAL mail (not even bills or junk)!! One postcard from Doris, with an attractive picture of Rutgers University on it, and a long, newsy letter from Lauren, my co-worker from home!! So much fun!! I can't wait to write back! I am old-fashioned, in that I love to write real letters on real paper. It's an art, and it's really going out of style. So, dear reader, if you like to write and receive letters, leave me a message and I'll gladfully be a pen pal to anyone who wants to.

Also, Mike just e-mailed me. He's purchased our plane tickets to Chicago for Spring Break. I'll get to visit his old stomping grounds, and eat some of that crazy pizza! I have never even been to Illinios, so I am excited!

Plus, I think at some point today, I'll help Sam pick out some fish for her fish tank. I always love to hang out in the fish aisle of the pet store! Fish are fun!

Also on my mind is Relay For Life, an American Cancer Society fundraiser I am helping to plan. Things were looking really rough, and it was hard to get people involved. Yet lately, I have been feeling really good about our progress! it is really starting to come together!

Things are good, in general.