As of this coming Monday, I’ll be done with school. My defense is in the morning, and then I’m through. Provided my committee accepts my Master’s project, but my advisor tells me not to worry. It’s crazy, though: eighteen years of school, and I’m finally done. I don’t think it’s really hit me yet. After my last final the other day, I chatted with a classmate on campus about the final, then just went home. I didn’t even realize that I probably won’t be back to that part of campus or that building for a long time, if ever. Lying in bed this morning, I felt incredibly free, because I realized not only do I have the rest of the weekend free from studying, reading textbooks, and doing homework, I have the foreseeable future free of such activities. I no longer have to balance my time between what I want to do and what my class schedule dictates I do. I can come home from work and immediately go to slacking off on the couch, or exercising at the gym, or whatever, because I don’t have homework due the next day that I’ve been putting off. It’s a lovely feeling.

Besides the imminent end of my university life, I’m also having some car troubles. Just today while sitting at a stop light behind a shiny black SUV, Jon noticed I have no passenger-side headlight. I flipped on my brights and both were there, but the right side goes away when I turn my brights off. I had Jon check my brake lights when we got home because of a particular bug I know my car has. Sure enough, all my brake lights save the interior light in the rear windshield were out, too. When I checked the right lower brake light, the bulb was broken, as I’d expected. That particular brake light has a crack in the light cover, so often times when it rains, water will get in and cause the bulb to break. Annoyingly, I had just replaced that same brake light not two weeks ago, when I found the old bulb’s glass broken and the bulb filled with water. I’m now out of that particular kind of bulb, so I’ll have to restock. My dad said I can drive with one headlight for now, or I can replace it myself by consulting the owner’s manual. I might do that, or I might wait till I go home next week and let my dad fix it. He’s my go-to car repair guy, when I can make it home with whatever issue my twenty-year-old car has.

I’ve gotten into Grey’s Anatomy with my new free time because I saw it featured on Netflix. I figured that a lot of people like it, and I like shows like E.R. and House, so I gave it a try. Well, i really like it so far, and I’ve been watching it obsessively. Jon laughs at me because nearly every episode makes me teary-eyed, a trait I share with my mother, who cries very easily at movies and TV dramas. I’m only on season two right now, and I’m kind of waiting for it to go downhill because Jon said he used to watch it until something stupid happened in season two, and then it got all corny. Hopefully I won’t think so, or things will pick up after a brief corny session. I’m really pleased with some of the character development so far, like with Addison Shepherd not being a horrible bitch like I was expecting when she first showed up. She’s actually really cool, and even though I’m rooting for Meredith to get back together with McDreamy, I can’t help but hope Addison ends up doing okay, too. I want her to stick around, even. The writers totally could have gone the easy route and made us hate her, but they made everything more gray and, I think, realistic. I’m currently trying to get my mom to give the show a try, because even if my dad doesn’t like it, I think she totally would. I’m also encouraging her to add the first disc of Lost to their Netflix queue. There’s only so many times that woman can rewatch Law and Order and E.R. in their entirety. :P