New Surroundings

So, I moved into my and Nicole's new apartment a little over 2 weeks ago - 18 days to be exact-ish - but up to now, I have been too busy with my working/driving/sleeping/eating schedule to see what Columbia might have to offer. I was on googlemaps one night at work, and I saw that some members had uploaded pictures of Columbia, and lo and behold there were some tall buildings. Now, I'm not talking the Chrysler building or anything, but...it actually had a skyline.

So, last night, I was trying to keep myself awake to help me get used to my new work schedule (working nights, now) and I decided after a brief interlude at Walmart (yeah...they officially took out the hyphen in their name? What is that all about...new times new image, I guess) that I would go ahead and drive to downtown Columbia. I realized how good of an idea this was pretty much right away - no traffic. So, as I am last-minute deciding to make a right hand turn down a street that looks interesting from the far left lane, I'm not making anyone angry (namely the police). But, for real...it was actually a pretty cool experience. I definitely wish that A) Nicole was there and B) I had brought my camera, because some of those buildings lit up like they were were really cool to take in. There was one building that was pretty big. It reminded me of the style of architecture of the White House, but it was just all concrete and not white, and it was elevated pretty high (maybe like the Lincoln Memorial?). It was surrounded by manicured park-like walkways and statues. Being someone who hasn't spent a lot of time in big cities, it was a really cool building to see.

Oh, and one of my favorite things about old, historical cities are the churches. There were definitely 2 or 3 really cool churches - small, but big personality in their design with tall spires, and pointy roofs, etc. Usually I associate this kind of architecture with old catholic churches, but most of these were Lutheran.

Anyway, I was happy to note that there was going to be a Festival of the Trees here in a week or two, and the Nutcracker ballet is going to be in town, and there is a nice-looking (from the outside) art museum, a zoo, a really cool library (though, I'm not sure if it's a public library or not), and some really amazing homes.

I can't really describe too well how it felt - the weather was in the upper 30's or lower 40's, an ever so slight breeze, and the smell of winter - a crispness in the air. It just felt almost complete. The gaping hole of incompleteness was Nicole's absence. I know taht if she had been there, we would have stopped into the little IHOP situated on Assembly Street and gotten ourselves some hot apple cider, and then we would've been off, taking all kinds of long-exposure shots of the city at night, it's buildings, construction cranes, and oh! the cemetary - small, but historic...a really cool thing (the cemetary reminded me of the cemetary in Boston that's right downtown for all to walk by). She and I would have been out for at least 2 or 3 hours walking up and down streets, taking pictures of each other in and around the better-lit areas, and exploring.

I can't wait to go pick her up next week. She passed her final test. Actually, she and her lab partners did so well the day before the final test that she and her classmates didn't even have to take the final test. Their teacher just passed them because he could see without that test that they're ready. It's exciting...and I am waiting in anticipation to go get her and bring her home.