We went through my uncle's house, and chances are we won't have reason to go up there again. I took a few mementos from there: some hiking shoes of his that fit me, a beer Stein from Bavaria, and a marble pencil holder. It's odd taking things from someone's house; I don't think my gut will ever feel entirely good about it.

A girl I went to preschool with is coming out to see her family in Colorado, and we should be meeting up this weekend. Her father was in the military, so she moved a lot when we were kids, yet we've kept in touch for the past 15+ years via letters and email. I haven't seen her since the seventh grade. I hope that snow doesn't get in the way of our meeting . . .

I'm going to go back to my apartment January 11th. I'm going to a conference on education and 21st century democracy in Colorado on the 12th at the Colorado Convention Center. It begins at 8:30 a.m., and the shorter the drive there, the more I get to sleep in the morning . . .