I should be heading out AKA The Official Sarah Update

I. Justification & Background
It's 12:46, and according to mapquest, it will take me 5 h 40 m to get to Geneva, NY, where I will be an EFY counselor beginning tonight, tomorrow, or Monday at 11 am (depending on your rounding practices). What I'm saying is, I need to go.

But I've received two requests recently for blog updates (Jackie, m'love, and Victor) and two is enough for me. At least for now.

I've had some thoughts about the unhelpfulness of blog writing recently, about its dash-and-go flavors, its implicit though subtle reinforcement of our society's move away from encouraging reflection, craftmanship, etc etc. I acknowledge that these thoughts may serve primarily to justify my lack of consistency and to excuse myself for feeling slightly nauseated every time I read one of my blog entries. But if you know what I mean, you know what I mean. I'm having faith in the blogging whatnot.

II. The Update AKA Sarah's Summer/Life Plans

May 2005 Sarah finished the master's thesis (el these), uncreatively titled "Metaphor and Inquiry." 83 pages, or something.

May-endish Sarah graduated with an MA in Curriculum & Instruction from UT-Austin, Pres. Hinckley came to TX for the San Antonio Temple Jubilee, and Olson parents and Anika were in Austin for all festivities.

May 31ish Sarah flew to NY and then to England for to see Stacey Snider, former roommate and BYU friend, who was studying at the University of Nottingham.

Early-Juneish Sarah and Stacey flew to Ireland for six of the most beautiful, most relaxing, most most days of lovely Irish mostness of all time and most. So beautiful.

Late-Juneish Sarah flew to Austin.

June-endish Sarah took Greyhound to Denton, TX, to be an EFY counselor. Then, a week later, she came home.

July 3 Sarah flew to Seattle to visit Stacey Snider (newly returned from the UK). Sarah and Stacey, the next day or the next, visited Friday Harbor and Bellingham and one of the great grocery stores of all time.

July 5thish Sarah and Stacey met up with Ryan Gee (boyfriend) and family in Seattle to poke in the Old Curiosity Shop and hand Sarah off.

July-middish Sarah and Ryan and Gees attended the Sis. Gee family (Arvidsen) family reunion in Oregon, in the forest, in the rain, in the mud, near the waterfalls.

July-middish Sarah's family arrives in Oregon, visits with the Gees and the Arvidsens for an hour or so, and Olsons and Sarah and Ryan head to Eugene to meet with up with the Sis. Olson family (Hoggards) for their family reunion. The Hoggards head to Florence, OR, to spend two days on the Oregon coast, playing the super cold water, wearing their "Hoggard's Yardbirds" polo shirts, and eating (eating) eating food.

July-midmiddish Sarah and the lesser immediate Olsons begin cross-country trek that will be its own blog, if not its own essay. They hit Boise, Salt Lake, the Four Corners, Albuquerque, Austin, Tyler, Birmingham, Atlanta, the entire midatlantic coastal states, and end up in NY. Almost 5,000 miles in 8 days, or something.

This morning, July 23 at 12:15 am The Olsons arrive home intact.

Today, July 23 Sarah is off to Geneva, NY, for one last week of EFY, which departure is being delayed by the writing of this blog.

But no more. Well, a little more.

Sarah will return to Valley Stream for the month of August (with a week to Austin for Martha and Abdul's wedding and such), before heading to California on August 29th to begin her (miracle, miracle) years at Stanford Law School. La la.

(P.S. Did you notice how I changed tenses and points-of-view in this blog? Blogging. Like writing on fast food napkins. Without the self-effacing charm.)