Good Times in Madison

i have returned safe and sound from madison! i tried to update while i was there, but my computer decided to die as soon as i opened blogger.

i had a great time in madison, though! i finally got to meet some of the vista leaders that i've only communicated with through phone calls and emails, so it was nice to finally speak with them in person. it was nice to re-connect with the vistas i met at pso, too, since we finally had a chance to all be together and discuss our success and struggles with each other, knowing that we were all basically doing the same projects. of course, the super-nice hotel and delicious free food wasn't too bad, either (mm, fresh vegetables). my supervisor came up for today's discussions, so i'm hoping we'll put some of our ideas to use over the course of this year.

we had a fair amount of laughs during the conference, too. mark kept me in stitches, as always, just by being himself. mary anne got a good laugh out of me, too. a group of us went out after dinner and walked around the city for a couple of hours and checked out several bars. birthday plans were also decided for next saturday, which is good.

madison is a great city and was a lot of fun, but i'm glad to be back in milwaukee. betsy asked me if i liked milwaukee more than nyc, and i told her that i like both cities for their unique qualities. in milwaukee's case, i like how it's easy to be surrounded by people and have the opportunity to do a lot of people-watching, but at the same time i can easily find space to be by myself and near nature.

also, good news: I FINALLY GOT PAID!!!!!!! woohoo for my first living stipend installment! however, direct deposit has not set in yet, so i need to bring the check to the bank tomorrow so i can go back to being a responsible adult and pay my bills and buy food.

i'm still exhausted from these past two days, so im going to put my pajamas on and watch tv.