A good conversation

My friend Chris lives in Orono, and gave me a ride to and back from Minnesota.
The car ride up to Minnesota was pretty average. Some light-hearted joking around, small talk, playing classic car-ride games, jamming to music...

Chris was one of my first really close friends here at Iowa State. I was really glad to meet him, and felt comfortable with him almost instantly.

But more recently we had lost touch. Which was alright with me, I guess. But I wasn't looking forward much to our three hour car rides. I thought they might be awkward, and might be pretty quiet.

The first one proved to me as I expected it. I kept him talking for the first half pretty easily by asking him about all that's been going on with his life lately: he just got an internship with Rolls Royce for the Spring (very exciting).

The ride home was completely different, however.

We had a really good conversation. And I don't know what else to say about it than that.
It was a real conversation that both of us were invested in, and both of us had plenty to contribute to. And it was more meaningful than not.

I really appreciated it. And I think we've become close again, which is something that I hadn't realized I missed.

Jenna

Two posts in one day?!
What is this.

Crazy.

But anyway. Jenna. Yeah that girl. I don't even know where to start...

Well, I guess Jenna is someone who I was really excited to see because I knew that she'd be the same goofy Jenna, and probably have a bunch of crazy stories since she's at Madison so she's likely to party all the damn time (haha).

And of course, she was.

I think one of the most accurately-portraying Jenna Moments was when we were at Valerie's watching Doctor Who.
Jenna and I were at opposite ends of the couch, and Valerie was sitting on the chair beside us. Valerie asked us if we were okay being on the same couch, and Jenna said, "NO! Oh my goodness, Kira you need to get your feet out of my face. They smell so gross, oh my gosh!" and continued to go on and on and on and ON about it.

It's one of those things where Jenna takes a funny moment and wrings it dry until there's no funny left in it.

Even a few hours later, as we were going to take a "nap" (at 2:00am), everyone was quiet and all of a sudden Jenna giggles and says, "I was just thinking about the feet thing, again".

Oh man.

What I love about the friends that I saw over break is that we haven't talked really since the school year started. But it felt normal to see them again. Everything continued where it left off. And sure, we're all less connected to each other's lives now, and we have to fill each other in more on what's been going on, but that just makes the conversation flow more and keeps us talking in a coffee shop, even when all of us have to go home to help clean up for Thanksgiving.

And Jenna's personality hasn't changed, which I'm so glad about because she's always been someone who makes me laugh. Even when she doesn't mean to.

Fatima

Wow, sorry took a little hiatus there.
Not as long as they usually are, but oops.

I suppose this counts cause it's still Novembeard, and also, shouldn't I be able to say what I'm thankful for whenever?

Yeah.

So I hadn't seen my dear friend Fatima for a really long time. And of course I haven't seen her, we go to different schools in separate states. But I hadn't even Skyped her really, or done very well at staying in touch just via Facebook, text messages...not even tumblr anymore.

I almost didn't go with Valerie and Jenna to the U of M on Wednesday. I'd been pretty busy the days before, and I didn't have time to help clean up and prepare for our guests from Kansas to come, and I thought it wasn't going to fit into my plans.
But then I realized I wouldn't see her at all over break if I didn't go on Wednesday, so I thought screw it and went anyway.

After wandering around for thirty minutes trying to find each other, we finally met up. And being the four of us, we had no idea what to do then.

We finally settled on going to Caribou (because Valerie wouldn't have to pay anything, how convenient for her... haha), and we sat and just talked.

It felt so normal, but at the same time, I realized how much I had missed her.
The type of humor we both have, the snarky jokes she tells, the way we're both really judgmental, and our shameless girl-crushes.

I think another thing that makes me miss her even more is that we just started to become good friends at the end of high school. So it's like we're not done yet. It's not like old friends getting together. It's friends who are still becoming friends, but only getting to see each other every few months.

I'm really glad that I was able to see her, even if it was only for a few hours.

And now that I'm back on tumblr, maybe we'll stay in touch better ;) haha
(love you, wifey)

Valerie

Remember in 4th grade how we had pen pals? And mine was this girl who never sent me a picture of herself, so I never knew what she looked like. But I knew she liked hippos. And she knew I liked cows.

And then remember how we ended up going to middle school together and becoming friends? And she still liked hippos, and I still liked cows, and that's how we knew it was the same person.

She's one of those people who I have so much in common with, but we have different enough personalities that I never get sick of her.

She introduced me to Doctor Who, some of my favorite bands, and a bunch of great YouTubers. And I can always rely on her to share my interests. Whenever I feel dorky for being enthusiastic about something, I know I can go to her, and she will geek over it with me.

We like to read the same books, watch the same TV shows, listen to the same music, go on random adventures...

I think my favorite thing about her is that she and I never have awkward moments. Oh wait, we always have awkward moments; but not towards each other.
Whenever we get together, there aren't awkward silences. I never worry that it'll be uncomfortable or that we'll run out of things to say.

And even though we haven't seen each other in a long time, I know that when we do, everything will be the same.

I guess people change in college. That's bound to happen. We're becoming independent, we're finding out who we are in new situations. We're growing up.

But even if both of us change, our friendship won't change. I know I can count on that.

Also, she's super talented. Which doesn't have to do with our relationship, but it does have to do with her awesomeness. Can we all take a minute to listen to her sing?

This girl always makes me smile. And everything makes me think of her, because she's one of those friends that I used to always tell things to: just random things. And sometimes I make references to videos we've watched, or other interests we have, or inside jokes that she'd understand...and she's not there. And it makes me really sad.

But the stability of our friendship is comforting.
And I miss her, but I don't really have to miss her because she's still there and she's still one of my closest friends, despite physical distance.

And I'm just really excited for when I get to see her again.

Bradley

Someone I've known for over six years has either very quickly or very slowly become one of my best friends.

So there was this kid in middle school who I knew. He was pretty quiet, and liked to read.
I forced him to read two of my favorite books: Looking for Alaska and Water for Elephants.

In high school, we had some classes together. Every once in a while we would talk. We were friends. Sort of. I made him watch Skins.

We had a few things in common. But we were pretty different.
He was a little more emotional. I didn't care much about anything.
We both generally kept to ourselves.

And then...I don't know.
I really don't.
I went to college. He went to college.
I went to Iowa. He stayed in Minnesota.

Then one day, he messaged me on Facebook.
This wasn't abnormal. It started out as a pretty casual conversation. It felt really normal to talk.
But the next thing I knew, we had been talking for a while. And not just about petty things, anymore.

I didn't think much of it, at the time. Eventually I had to go, so we ended our conversation.

But the next time we talked I started to realized that he is now one of my best friends.

I can be having a terrible day, but I get message just saying "hey bud", and it's all better. I like having a friend like that.

Grandpa Greenbowe

My professor for Chem lecture is one of the kookiest men you'll ever meet.

In the middle of talking about electron configurations, he'll suddenly say, "Do you all know the difference between alpacas and llamas?". Then he proceeds to explain it, and moves on with electron configurations again.

Later in the lecture, he'll explain that in Minnesota and Wisconsin, men aren't very wealthy. So instead of buying a diamond ring to propose, they propose with an alpaca sweater, and later will buy a diamond ring.

But let's say later on, the relationship doesn't work out. And then the man asks for an item back, which he gave to her earlier. So does she give back the the alpaca SWEATER or the DIAMOND ring?

The answer of course is the SWEATER. Which he emphasizes thus.

And that is to teach us that when an electron is taken from an orbital, it is taken from the S orbital before it will be taken from the D orbital. Obviously.

But these are the types of stories he tells to make us understand the lecture material. It happens all the time.

Blah blah blah something about polar and non-polar molecules...
"Oh and remember: elephants and monkeys."
blah blah blah

Angela and I call him "Grandpa Greenbowe" because he's just so crazy, and he's got that classic "old man" attitude, and oh my gosh how great would it be if he was actually our grandpa?

But he was gone for the entire week, because he was in Croatia. And stupid Chad took over, who is kind of gay and kind of Asian and definitely confused.

But Grandpa was back today, for the optional lecture.
And all the things I was confused about came together in random stories about animals, and I'm just so upset that he wasn't there last week because I feel so unprepared for the exam.

It made me realize how much I appreciate him, though. His stories seemed so random, but they are actually great memory tricks, and really helpful. And I had teachers like him in high school all the time. But most professors here are serious and just teach.

So today, I've decided I'm thankful for Grandpa Greenbowe.

Also, wish me luck on the exam I have in 4 hours.
And pay your respects to my current chemistry grade, because it's about to die...

A day like today

Two nights ago I stayed up until 3:00 talking with a good friend. I had homework to get done by the next morning, but I always enjoy a good conversation so I couldn't help myself. And when I got back to my room, I finished my lab report and finally got to sleep around 5:30.

That next day was good, because the tiredness had yet to hit me. I was running off of adrenaline, and I even went for a six mile run in the evening.

This morning, however, I woke up, and I could feel the exhaustion. I expected a very long, very difficult day.

But it was somehow wonderful, instead. Gorgeous weather; it was nearly 60 degrees, and it was sunny.
Today felt really pure.
I don't know how else to explain it.

While walking to my first class today, I heard Adam's distinct laugh that always makes me smile, no matter how upset or tired I am. I waved hello to him and Greg as I passed them. I couldn't help but smile the whole way to Carver Hall.

I always have a good laugh with the girls from my french class. And we are planning to make red velvet cupcakes tomorrow, which I am excited for.

My three hour chemistry lab only took an hour to complete today.

I got to see my friend Chris, and rate his beard (as I am his official Facial-hair Facilitator for the month of Novembeard).

Josh asked to study with me for calculus, which was a funny little experience (as neither of us have any idea what's going on).

And after dinner with Tina and Megan, I went to check our mailbox.
What a great surprise to find a letter from Bradley. Which took me about 20 minutes to read, because of his handwriting.

But overall, today was a beautiful day. It was hardly more than ordinary. But I liked it. And it's days like today for which I am thankful.

Roommates

It's November!
Or as we call it in room 2257, Novembeard!

I figured since there is that one holiday coming up that has to do with giving thanks (but mostly FOOD!!!), that I would post about some things I'm thankful for.

Pretty cliché, I know, but it'll give me something to blog about.

So whenever I think of something that I appreciate, I'll make a quick little post about it.
The point isn't to pick the Top 10 things I'm thankful for, or to do something each day, it's just to be more aware of little (or big) things that come up that I realize I enjoy or am lucky for having.

Today, I realized how great it is that I ended up with the roommates that I did.

Angela, Tina, Lauren and I all get along really well with each other, and that's not a likely case. Out of all the types of girls there are, out of all the people I could have gotten paired with...
It's just crazy that we've become such great friends.

Angela is so grounded, and really chill about things. She's the one who makes plans and is what Caleb calls "our fearless leader" (bwahaha). But it's true. She's the really practical one. But we walk back from Chem Lecture together, and we're always in such a goofy mood. She's a no-nonsense type of person, but she's always laughing and having fun with things.

Tina always makes me laugh. She has some of the weirdest perspectives on things, and we're always being adventurous and crazy when we're together. On the flip side, however, she and I have become really close and I feel comfortable talking to her about a lot of things. Those relationships are great.

Lauren and I are sooooo weird. She's always making strange noises, faces, and doing weird dances. And she shamelessly does whatever she feels like doing. She's also incredibly smart, and is really helpful to have around for chemistry and French. Just a random perk. But the greatest of all is her twitter. Seriously, it sums her up perfectly.

What I feel lucky about the most is not just that I'm able to get along with each of them, but we all get along with each other. I know it's pretty early still, but we're already talking about our living-plans for next year. We all want to stay together, and I just think that's awesome, because it seems so unlikely. 

I thought about how different we all are, and how if I were to have met them in any other situation (like in a class or even if they were just neighbors of mine in Campbell), we probably wouldn't have made an effort to get to know each other very well. 

But I'm really glad I live with them. And I'm really glad they're my friends.