I’ve only been gone for five days, but I feel so out of the loop. I am so connected through various social networks that being without them feels very strange. Most notably, me and the new boyfriend hiked into the Wallowa Mountains to Ice Lake. It is about eight miles in and a 3,000 ft increase in elevation. Needless to say I am sore from the hips to my toes. It was good though, minus my hysteria about cougars and bears that my dad encouraged with several scary stories the night before we left. Now I want to read and enjoy the next few weeks of my break before it is all over and I have to start the new school year. Grad school is so exhausting; I really have to take care of myself and gear up for it.