sunny with a high of...45.

The sun was out earlier today (it may still be, but I'm in a room with no windows). It was so bright. I'm not used to the blinding light of the sun. I was actually *almost* wishing the clouds would come back. Almost. It was also foggy this morning for a while, which was absolutely beautiful. I looked out over the bay, and most of it was shrouded in fog, but a few mountains were visible on the horizon.

I went in yesterday to talk to my professor, and didn't leave feeling like my world was crashing in on me. In fact, I felt like I and he had clarified a few things and I was that much more equipped to write a decent paper. That paper is all I have to do in the next 4 days, and I only have 11 or so pages left to write, so it's a good feeling, that's for sure. One of my favorite parts about the end of the semester is that I know that the end is near, so I am able to give everything I have to the few days that are left, knowing that rest is in the near future.

God has been answering prayers in regard to bringing people into my life who may very well become good friends. I have been spending more time hanging out with people from church, and have really really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know them. And, yesterday I got a random phone call from a girl named Joellyn or something - I think she's from the campus christian fellowship group, but she didn't really identify herself beyond her first name. Anyway, she invited me to a small group that is meeting on Thursday nights at Starbucks. So, tonight I'm going to show up at Starbucks and hope that I can find this mysterious small group. It is a definite answer to prayer, though, because I had gone to that other church to try to get connected with a small group, and they never contacted me, so I had pretty much given up...and now this phone call out of the blue. I'm pumped.

Life is good. I'll be flying back to South Dakota in a little over a week to spend Christmas there. Although I am very excited to see family and friends, I must admit that I am slightly bummed that I will miss Christmas in the Northwest. (see this link for a good laugh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koeB4z4c_7M) And, I'm going to miss the people here. It has truly become home. God is always good; even in those dark times when I wonder what is going on and want to just give up, He is there, working as always.