What I'm Listening To: Andrew McMahon

There's not many songs that mention Tucson. The most popular (I'm guessing) is "Get Back" by the Beatles. ("Jojo left his home in Tucson Arizona...") But this one speaks to the rain in Tucson so he must have been here in July or August, during monsoon season. Supposedly it doesn't rain the rest of the year. I'll let you know. 

Daily Reminder

Who would have thought this would be extra meaningful today? I sure didn't. Yesterday and today were lazy mornings--sleeping in and not wanting to get up. After breakfast and a chat with Steve, I ran (walked) some errands which include depositing checks, returning a late library book, and mailing a postcard. On my way back from the library, I stumbled upon a collection of decorated rocks and stopped to look. This one was my favorite.

In the afternoon, I rode my bike to Sprouts, the grocery store with all the cheap produce. On my way, I took my phone out of my backpack and dropped my school id on some street corner. Well, I didn't realize it until I got back to my apartment and couldn't get into my building. I felt so irresponsible and I had dinner plans in 30 minutes and it was getting dark. So I was freaking out. I decided to go look for it tonight. I peddled like a madwoman. And luckily it was right where I thought it was going to be. I was so relieved but still super mad at myself. So my advice to you is to not do that. And as much as I was freaking out, it all worked out in the end.

Saturday Views

I love riding my bike around campus, especially on the weekends, when there aren't swarms of students with their eyes on their phones everywhere. My favorite thing is the sunset on Saturday nights. After 5:15 mass, I take the same route home, going along the quad so that the sun shines right behind Old Main. I take a picture every Saturday to see how it changes.

The second week of school is over, with still many, many weeks left. Each day is tough, trying to figure out the homework for four classes, being a TA, finding time for me. But each day I'm learning a little more. On a whole, it's getting easier, but still some days are worse than others. I'm not sure if Arizona was the best choice but it's definitely a great place to be and I'm very glad I ended up here.

Free Lunch

Habits truly die hard. I've been here for a month now (!!!) and I'm still a cheapskate that will gladly eat free pizza for breakfast. Tonight was the welcome-to-the-economics-department party and there was a ton of pizza left over. I had been eyeing it up all night but when the hostess came out with bags, I quickly grabbed one and took my share. Last year, I'd attend Chat & Chows to take boxes of leftover pizza home, often taking up much of the bottom self of our fridge. Not really sure if my roommates liked that or not... But now, even more than ever, I'm all about getting free food. Economists may say there's no such thing as a free lunch but I guess I got free breakfast?

Lend Me Your Questions

Old Main

I know that not many people read this on a regular basis (I usually binge read blogs) but for those loyal subscribers, I'm posing an idea. I've been asked many questions about my time in Tucson (almost a month now) and wanted to compile a list so everyone can see the answers. So if there's something you're dying to know about my classes/program/life/free time/etc, post in the comments below or send me a text/email/snapchat. You get the idea. How does that sound?

Officially a Member

Recent hike to Romero Pools

So I officially joined the running club here at Arizona. It's so nice running with people, even if we've only run 4 miles a day so far. I'm excited to race again and hopefully run fast again. And here's hoping that I don't end up with another stress fracture this fall, like the last two!

My Own Wister Stairs

Wister's stairs are notorious for being the toughest thing of your day--especially at 8:00. Thank goodness I only ever had two classes in Wister over four years. Most of my time was spent in Holroyd. Here at Arizona, McClelland is my new Holroyd--all my classes are in the same room and my cubicle is right down the hall. And every day, I take the stairs to the fourth floor (see above). It can be brutal. So while I lucked out in college, Arizona decided to kick my butt every day.