Medford, New Jersey -- night

Now, today must be marked as the day that I signed for my apartment at 2124 Spruce Street. After several weeks of searching desperately, yet patiently, for an apartment in Philly, I have met with success. After nearly a month and a half after returning from Costa Rica to my mother's home in Medford, New Jersey, I will once again embrace independence. In this case, though, in contrast to my time in Costa Rica, this independence and self-reliance will be stationary and not mobile. For the first time in my life, I will live alone. This will surely be another important stage in my own personal development. And so, upon embarking on this next definable chapter, I will probably reference my latest chapter - my journey to Central America - less and less.

These past several weeks have only been a transitional, preparatory stage. So now I must begin to look ahead to my next goals. In practical terms, I must furnish my new apartment. This I will probably do over time, hopefully to be completed by the end of the summer. In other matters, I will like to enroll to take a course in the second summer session of either the Community College of Philadelphia or Temple University. I am considering taking a language course, either French, Arabic, or Portuguese. Or perhaps I will begin to take a course in International politics. In other purchases, I will begin to save to buy a new bicycle, which will serve for both recreation and transportation. I hope to make this purchase by mid-summer.

From there, in the long-term, I will save to buy a personal computer; this I will expect to purchase by December 2003. I will use this primarily to catalog all my political essays, as well as poetry. In a much larger project, I would like to retype all my college papers to save on disc and on hard drive. As soon as I move into the city, I will also subscribe to "The Economist." This will supplement my own self-education in international political economy.

In the meantime, professionally, I will continue to work as a paralegal at Philadelphia Legal Assistance. I soon anticipate being transferred out of the family law unit to another unit. I hope to hear word of that by the beginning of the summer next month. I am undoubtedly prepared for a new challenge in the professional realm.

With regard to girls, I have little to say. I will maintain my expectations at a low level since I clearly have other priorities at this time in my life. Nevertheless, this does not mean that I won't socialize or date if an opportunity presents itself. I am a man after all. Companionship is a nice thing to break the silence. It also usually renders life more meaningful, at least insofar as living new experiences. Happiness will always remain the ultimate objective. Of course.

Finally, in a quick overview of upcoming events, I will be doing a five kilometer walk for breast cancer this Sunday; also, Sunday is Mother's Day and the day before Jessica's birthday. So both will have to be celebrated on Sunday afternoon. Then, this coming Thursday, I will see Juanes in concert at the TLA in Philly. At the end of the month, I'll go to State College for the annual Pennsylvania Legal Services conference. And, some time in mid-June, I expect Ronald to come from Europe to visit me. We will do a tour of the Northeastern United States. So there it is!