My Hero...

I came back from work today and took a good look at my room in the cottage. My clothes are piled on the floor in front of the closet. I never made my bed after I got up this morning. My pajamas are still on the pillow from when I got dressed. The folders I bought in the bookstore are lying on top of them. My backpack is sitting by my bed, open. My bathrobe is thrown across the foot of the bed. A book a pamphlet are still where I threw them haphazardly onto a chair. My garment bag and a school newspaper sit on another chair. My slippers are on the floor in front of the three-drawer chest, one upside down, the other right side up. There's an ungainly stack of books on top of the chest, a roll of paper towels, a bottle of body wash waiting to be used when the current bottle is empty, a hanger, and a dried rose. The desk is somewhat neat with my page-a-day calendar, laptop, printer, and another stack of books on top. Peeking out from under the bed is my unfinished afghan in its plastic tub and a plastic bag from the bookstore. Scattered on the floor around the chairs are several plastic bags full of empty soda cans and bottles, waiting to be recycled. On the floor in front of the empty armoir is my duffle bag, waiting to be packed for a weekend at home with my family.

Looking around again, I can see the organization amongst the chaos. My clothes, though on the floor instead of in the laundry bag, are in one place. All, that is, except my pajamas, which will be joining them shortly. The books on my desk are ones I use for classes, the ones on the three-drawer chest for the leisure time I don't have right now. The bottle of body wash is readily available for whenever the previous bottle runs out, which won't be much longer. The backpack is where I can get at it quickly, the pockets unzipped to allow easier access. The folders were set aside in a rush as I headed off to class. The book and pamphlet will be gathered up when I have a spare moment. The garment bag and newspaper aren't necessary, so they can stay where they are. It is hoped that the afghan will be pulled out before summer, but there is no guarantee at this point. The slippers are ready for me to slide my feet into them to be kept warm. The empty cans and bottles will eventually be gathered up and taken away to be recycled, but they're concentrated in one spot for the time being.

It's not paradise, but it's a home away from home. A place where I can relax and be myself. Where I can recharge my batteries after a day of dealing with people. A place where I can use my laptop to do homework, surf the web, write stories, or simply immerse myself in a fantasy world. Though I like it here, there is always the knowledge that my true home is a forty-minute drive away (in good traffic). It is there where my family gathers, where I can pet the cats, be socialable and not perform, cook and clean when I'm needed to and most of all, feel like I belong.

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I'm not sure where that came from. I just started typing and that's what flowed out of my fingertips. *grin* Nothing really extraordinary seems to have happened to me. My cold is gone for the most part, which is a relief. There's still the occasional coughing fit, but that's it. I saw the show again yesterday afternoon and ordered a DVD of the recording. I'll be paying the rest of my housing deposit tomorrow (yay) and turning in a scholarship application (YAY!) I also had one more class to register for and did that tonight.

I don't think I mentioned this in my previous post, but I started working on an original story set during World War II and placed in northern France near the German border. It's already almost nine pages long and I'm barely scratching the surface of the plot. It was inspired by the Killing Game episodes of Star Trek: Voyager, but the characters bear only a passing resemblence to the Voyager crew members. Actually, I created the characters for a different story that never really got started and I simply plugged them into the plot of this story. The hard part was transforming American names such as Julia and Jimmy into French ones (Juliette and Jacques in case you're curious). I managed it, though, and am very pleased with how the story is progressing so far.

( Schoolgirl crush stuffies )

That's it, I guess. I have class tomorrow, so I'll be going now. Later all!