I haven't just been twiddling my thumbs, you know.

I know it's been awhile, but at least I've got a good reason.

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last

Yesterday, my roommate deftly inserted a little MLKJ into his evening prayer over the dinner table.

This morning, Obama's White House website has a new page.

Maybe this is the first year I've really understood Martin Luther King Junior Day.

While we stood and watched

In a poetry class this morning, we discussed the varying implications of words in different contexts and cultures.

"For example, the word 'change' has very recently become a loaded word in our culture," said my professor. "You have to be careful how you use it anymore."

Why? Have people really become so offended at the idea that things might not always stay the same?

The inaugural address is being shown on every TV on campus. Students cluster in front of TV screens, silently staring, arms folded tightly. It's as if everyone lost the same bet and now we're all nursing wounded pride.

In the commuter lounge an hour ago, the only conversation about this morning's swearing in of our next president lingered on the fact that Obama stuttered repeating his lines. People got a real kick out of that one. Apparently you had to be there.

This morning, I walked to class and watched the clouds blanketing the Pacific and instead pictured the Mall, lined with thousands and thousands of people. It seems like years ago that I was there.

In general, I like San Diego. I like it a lot. But today more than ever I feel out of place, like I'm supposed to be back on the Mall screaming with thousands of other people just like that night months ago in front of the White House.

But no. Today, I'm sitting in the computer lab in Ryan Library on the beautiful Point Loma campus in San Diego, California and thinking about DC, waiting for my New Testament class to begin.

So this is the new year.

On my mind so far:

-I have resolved not to make any New Year's resolutions.
-I will never live in/near Humboldt County. It's a disgrace to the state of California.
-Fitting everything you own into a Toyota Camry is neither easy, simple nor fun.
-I'm tired of seeing my life in cardboard boxes and suitcases.
-My sister would make a bitchin air traffic controller.
-Life is better as a redhead.
-The post-holiday semi-annual sale at Victoria's Secret was a gift from God.
-Relationships are worth it.
-I really wasn't lying when I said I felt too sick to go to church today.

A new kind of Christmas.

Everything is different this year, isn't it?

It's one of those years where you try to follow in old traditions and relive good memories and convince yourself that it can all be the same.