october ends

finally.
there's generally nothing nice about october. this orange month of leaves and costumed children always leaves me feeling empty and longing for summer. i start worrying about sad, amping my vitamins b and d, and craving sunlight. this year, though typical was different. the month neared the half-way marker with sunny weather and good experiences. i read new books. i did a lot of things with a new friend. i made new friends. i worked hard as a supervisor. i studied for the gre. i did graduate school research. i counted down the days until aimho-- and aimho college. i thought october might just go off without a hitch.
three weeks ago my dad had a brain hemorrhage and was life-flighted to the neurological icu at the university of utah where he stayed for three days while specialists tried to figure out what had caused the hemorrhage, but more importantly why it had stopped. after he was stable, he was released and we're still wondering what caused it. i spent the weekend with him and it's a constant wonder if something else could happen. i hate that he'll probably be a time-bomb ticking for me for the rest of my life. he is doing better though, he has regained memory and now only struggles with words sometimes. he's still him and i love him even more.
my utah peeps will probably have seen that university housing has recently made the decision to close one of our residence halls unexpectedly. we found out friday that it was inevitable and administration worked tirelessly all weekend to find a solution. unfortunately for our residents, the decision was made to close the hall this week. juniper is indeed our oldest facility-- our beloved vintage hall that grows the best communities, closest relationships, and best stories. juniper was also my home for 3.5 years as both a resident and a resident assistant. it was my first home as a new freshman at suu and my first assignment as an ra. i couldn't count the memories i have associated with juniper hall over the years. so, my job has gotten more than a little chaotic as we work endlessly to take care of our 227 residents being displaced. it's heartbreaking. tonight, i watched as current juniper ras sobbed and held to each other because their communities are being torn apart. my heart aches for them. yet, through this chaos i have seen incredible things happen. my ras and residents have opened their homes to these residents. they've offered to have their rooms turned into doubles and triples to students they don't know. i will be acquiring a large quantity of new residents by week's end through "option #4" voluntary overcrowd. what i really want to say about this, is how hard university housing and suu student services are working to make this right. the housing contract does not require my director to spend the money to partner with apartments off-campus for these students, nor does it require a pro-rated refund if they choose to leave, nor is the university mandated to give these students $300 scholarships just because this happened. the care that is being taken is immensely generous and other institutions may not (and have not in the past) done what is being done here. we are all working to do what's right, so when i see facebook posts about "homeless" residents it makes me ill. i wish people would understand a situation and read the available press releases and information before criticizing what we are doing. it is an unforeseen crisis. it is affecting all of us in ways that could never be understood. please, as our vpss asks, "assume good will" from everyone.
so, this week we'll all work extra hard. instead of being in albuquerque for aimho this weekend, i'll be a cc and do my part here. this is where my heart is and as devastated as i am that i won't be at aimho college meeting my peers in our region, nor will i get the advantage of meeting directors for grad programs and seeing one of my best friends, i know that staying here is the decision that demonstrates what we are about, and i'm proud to say that we are staying to move boxes and assist in this epic move.
in other happier news. my macbook, rigby, died after nearly 5 years of hard work. i write this message from my snazzy new macbook pro named sergeant pepper (i have to have beatles named electronics). i feel incredibly blessed to have been able to replace him so easily.
i also have a phone interview for a job i would love on monday. i am nervous, excited, and giddy about this possibility.
i take the gre november 14.
i'm working hard on that 90% of life that comes from my reactions to what happens. i'm feeling pretty good about it.