My thoughts mid-checkout

I’ve checked out multiple residents at this point. I have about 4 or 5 left. Then I’m done. Forever. No more check outs, but also no more 40 awesome guys living not too far away from me. I was thinking just now about all the PAs I’ve had in the past. What was it like to check me out of my room? Obviously there were WAY less fines. I was never fined in all my time in Ashton and now it seems that the first and only fines I will ever recieve from res. life will be from myself. I suppose that’s fitting.

No really though. It’s odd to think that each of the two years before this one I was the one being checked out of a completely clean room by an older man who I respected. Now we’ve switched roles. I’ve been taking pictures of me with each of my guys as we check out. They’re pretty good I’ll like having those around. Cried a couple times. I won’t tell you whose departures made me feel like life was so bittersweet. There are some people who you get to spend so much time around that you forget how awsome they are until they’re gone.

I found myself saying something strangely sage to one of my residents (who is now only friend no longer resident and friend). He was remarking that it was sad that this was his last of three years in Emerson. He would never live here again. Similarly I realized that it was my last year in the dorms and next year I’m moving on to something completely different. I told him something like this “I find that there are lots of different stages in life. However, each one is consistently better than the last. High school is better than middle school. College is better than high school.” I went on to add something to the effect of, “I know that at the transition between stages I am really frustrated that they have to end, but each stage is always so good that despite the sadness at ending one of them…I find that I’m always pleased with each new stage.”

In almost every way that’s how I feel about this year. So many good things are about to end in about 2 days. Yet, I am sure that what lies ahead is going to be good too. Unless I break a leg or something. Then I might be pissed…wink. Not really. Anyhow, I’m going in to the end of this year feeling good. Even though I’m really going to miss some people.

We did awards with all the PAs last night. Each staff member recieved an award. It was really like watching people make a series of inside jokes. Ours were way funnier than everyone else’s. Our awards for JJ and Susie were bomb. I was pleased. I ate some decent food that was not in Gwinn. (making Thursday’s lunch possibly my last Gwinn meal ever) I chummed about with lots of PA folk, but at the end of the day I found that I love my staff alot. As much as I like everyone else…I don’t want their staff. I don’t think I ever really did. Emerson PA staff 07-08 has way more fun.

After we gave each other awards my vacuum got stolen. I stormed through the dorm for about a solid 20-40 minutes or so raging about the fact that a very important aspect of my ability to check residents out went missing. I would have destroyed the person who took with fierce rage it had it not miraculously reappeared in the middle of my hall…Grrr.

After I was dead from checking people out the whole day my staff and I went out to late night snack. We went to Green Lake Bar and Grill. Closed. We went to Blue water BIstro. Closed. Then we finally found a place to hang out and eat food. It was downtown. Parking there is the devil. We hung out for a long time. Courtney Millan is really funny. That’s something you might not know if you weren’t blessed to be on staff with her. It was a great time it was more or less a 3 hour adventure that ended at 1:30AM.

I got to wake up way too early to check someone out. Then today started. As of right now (i’ve been taking breaks to check people out whilst writing) I’ve got 2 left today. Only 2. Then I’m mostly free. Ah fo’ real. It’ll be so nice.