About three and a half years ago, Marty and I walked into a tiny shop on the street of Oslo, Norway, drawn in by the sign above the door indicating it to be a piercing shop. We walked in and after some confusing conversation spoken in English on our end and Norwegian on the end of the man with a very large needle in his hand, we walked out 20 minutes later, having purchased a brand new hole in my face. We ran to the choir bus (late, of course), tried to hide the piercing from Dr. Donelson, and I haven’t given it much thought since.

Until now. The time has officially arrived, I’m finally going to take it out permanently because…(and this whole story has really just been a round-about way to tell you all that…) I got a full-time job working at Von Maur in Women’s Shoes (how perfect) from now until February 1 (when I return to school). I have been instructed to remove “all visible piercings” and I am willing to make the sacrifice. Now, those of you who know me well are most likely thinking that working full-time is ridiculous considering that I am also a full-time graduate student until December 17, BUT I think I can handle it. So please, hold back on those lectures about “balance” in my life, and allowing myself time to “live” or “sleep” or whatever it is I should be doing more of. So if you don’t hear from me for the next two weeks, or if I show up to the Jahnke/Bacheldor wedding looking like death warmed over, restrain yourself from comments such as “you look like hell,” or “I knew having two full-time responsibilities would kill you,” I’ve heard it all before and have realized that I will never learn from the past. A simple, “Good to see you” will suffice just fine. Looking forward to seeing many of you soon!