Fresh Paint

It is slowly beginning to sink in that in a week I will not be rejoining my friends and fellow students in the familiar halls of Redeemer University College as I have done for the past four years. I will not be forced to give 400-fifteen-word summaries of my summer to old acquaintances as hugs, handshakes and vacation experiences are swapped at the back-to-school BBQ.

Life will be quite different this year. New school, new town, new profs and strangest of all-new roommate.

Living with a girl is quite different from living with the boys at dorm 14, dorm 25 or Bridgeport. Laura has not invited me to go pranking, play pick-up hockey or get out of bed and watch the news at the ungodly hour of seven am. My apartment does not smell bad, there is no pile of dirty dishes covering most available surfaces and and I am not welcome to leave my contact case/toothpaste/razor out in the open on the bathroom counter. Additionally I have not eaten Kraft Dinner, Hamburger Helper or Pizza Pops yet and do not foresee any of those in the upcoming menu.

Moving into our new apartment was also strange. Unlike many other places I have lived, we cleaned everything, floor-to-ceiling, before we put things away. We also spent three days painting, three days organizing and countless hours re-cleaning. Laura still thinks that our house is dirty, messy and the pantry is grossly under-stocked. This makes me laugh. The apartment is already cleaner, homier, tidier, more organized and better stocked with food, than any place I have lived since leaving home for university.

That's as far as my coffee will get me this morning.

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