I picture you out there; it must be beautiful this time of year.

It's been getting steadily colder here in Wheaton, but today was the first completely gray, dreary, drizzly day we've had. I absolutely loved it.

I wore my jacket, scarf and boots and wandered around between classes with a thermos of coffee and my copy of The Aeneid. I was also out of my room more today than I have been most days, I think, which was a refreshing change. Breakfast at 8:30, French at 9:15, and I'd normally march to chapel as a member of the stream of students on routine, but today I went back to my room for awhile instead. I finished a paper for Lit, worked on a project for Beth and Kayleigh (whose birthdays are both coming up - ONE YEAR FOR MY TINY NIECE!) and then went to Literature at 12:45. I didn't end up going to lunch because I wasn't hungry today. Bible is right after Lit; our professor began class by showing us the newest long trailer for Les Miserables, which I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT!!!!!, but that was the most interesting part of class. Unfortunately. Why can't a class about the Church and our culture be more interesting? It's disheartening. Anyway, at 3:05 we finished - and after very nearly falling asleep several times in class (sleep and I did not meet much this week), I headed out into the ever-wintering world outside. I got a coffee at Sam's (the little cafe in the Student Center) and went over to the library cafe to meet a French guy.

... Sorry, I just wanted to say that. Actually, it's a required part of my Intermediate French class - once every two weeks, we have to meet with a conversation aid and have a twenty minute conversation, en francais. It went fairly well, I think - although I've now developed a stutter in French, too. I'll need to get over that.

But sheesh, it is SO frustrating, not knowing the words to say what you want to say. I have such respect for non-English speakers who move to America and try to learn our crazy language. It's so humbling to KNOW what you want to say, and not know the words in that language to say it with. Words. Agh. Murder.

That was the tiring, slightly dreary half of my day - but the last half was fabulous. When I left the library, it was just starting to rain. I was in rebellion at the idea of returning to my room and doing homework, because that's all I've been doing in my spare time this week... so I called Amelia, who I haven't spoken to more than once in this entire month, and we talked for a good hour or so while I wandered around downtown Wheaton in the rain. It was so lovely. I was really struck by how incredibly nostalgic today's weather made me feel - it was the first time this month that something here in Illinois has reminded me of California. Not that we often have gray, drizzly days in California - but they come in the autumn, sometimes, and it seems to put everyone in such a festive, cheerful mood. We have seasons for a day. It just feels right, you know? Those are the days that we Californians get to wear the jackets and the scarves that we keep in our closets all year, just waiting for a chance to break them out. They're the days when we complain about being cold, but we do it with rosy cheeks and a smile. They're the days when we make ourselves hot chocolate after dinner, and when we get distracted from studying for our midterms when we look out the window to see whether or not it's still raining. They're the only days when we really notice our trees - whether or not their leaves change color, they do look more beautiful when they're wet. They're the days that reminded me, today, of my autumns spent in the houses of my friends, working on crafts and listening to Christmas music. Glitter and pumpkins. Warm muffins. Spicy cider. Candles. Blankets and the sound of raindrops hitting the windowpanes.

The houses I passed this afternoon as I walked down the old neighborhood streets downtown, where trees line the sidewalks and form a ceiling of leaves over the road, each seemed to be filled with this kind of autumnal contentment. Somehow all of their windows seemed to glow with that light, that embodiment of cheer and warmth. I was so reminded of the living rooms of my friends throughout the autumns past that it felt like I should be able to simply walk up one of these driveways, open the front door, and be greeted by a host of voices that I know and love. But then I'd hear Amelia's voice on my phone, from thousands of miles away, ask me something like, "So have you met any cool people?" And I'd remember that those living rooms are in California, and I'm not.

It's alright. It is. I mean, I'd be a liar if I said that I didn't miss those rooms, and the people who inhabit them - but I'm finding my place here. And really, it's a nice thing, I think, that my place in Illinois is capable of making me think fondly of my place in California.

I talked to Amelia until 6, at which time I met Gretchen for dinner. Then, along with another girl, we went to Target and spent awhile shopping around for various necessary items. My final winnings included tortilla chips, yoga pants, and a big baggy shirt with The Beatles and the union-jack on it. Yes, I am a classy college student. Once we got back to our room, Gretchen and I pushed homework off even further and did some cleaning. She eventually got around to studying, I think, but I did a load of laundry and then talked to Megan and Kate on the phone for about an hour. I was considering reading more of Virgil tonight, but I started writing here instead - and now I'm starting to doze. It's only 12:13, but I am supremely tired. It's been a long week. AND, tomorrow I'm going to spend all day in the theater building, working on set-crew. I hear they will be serving us donuts... I can only pray that there will be coffee, too.

I hope things are well with you; do try and get some rest tonight. The world needs more well-rested people.

By the by, it's too cloudy tonight to see any stars or planets. But the wet pavement shines nicely with the glow of streetlamps, and that's good enough for me tonight. Goodnight.