Getting everything together

So I signed a lease last weekend for my new apartment. A pretty big efficiency: it has a separate kitchen area and a nook for a kitchen table, a regular-size closet plus a big walk-in and then one big room for everything else. It's on the 6th floor, overlooking the front of the building (it faces south) so I can look at the courtyard and the elementary school across the street. Nice hardwood floors and big windows. No one lives there now so I was able to make sure everything was fine. I get the apartment Aug. 15 but probably won't move in to stay until Labor Day weekend. It's a big relief to know I have a place to live, and it is 3.5 blocks to campus so only a 15 minute walk to the History department. It is supposed to be a safe area, the Penn police go up to my street as part of their patrolling. And just a block away is a grocery store and 7 Eleven (yay slurpees) and CVS is actually diagonal from the apt. building.

Work has been good. Incredibly busy. Spent this weekend catching up on the house stuff since I've been in Philly the last 2 weekends. Caught up on ironing! A major accomplishment, actually, because I usually have a constant stack to get through. Not too much else to report, getting all of my Penn stuff together, bit by bit. Found out that there are 18 incoming grad students in the dept. (14 PhD and 4 MA), and I'll get to register for classes here soon. Can't believe I will be back in the academic grind in 6 weeks, I've sort of enjoyed not having a monstrous weight on my shoulders about what I should be reading or studying or writing instead of doing for fun. Ehhh.

LOVE the video of the JK wedding entrance dance. If you haven't watched it yet, you really should. I just want to know whose idea it originally was and then how they could convince everyone to do it for real. It's awesome.