Breaking New Ground

Hal writes:

The title to this post, "Breaking New Ground", is the theme that we will be using for Resident Assistant training. It fits well with my building as it begins to come together. Located below is the modge podge brick I spoke about in an earlier post. Each RD took an opportunity to share what the pictures on their brick meant to them. You can only see two of the sides, but you get the idea.

Anna left this morning for the "Zielinski" which is a shopping route named after an RD who likes to shop in Galena, IL, Dubuque, IA, and Platteville, WI all in the same day. She went with RDs Stef and Jen and has not returned yet. My task today was to finish the move out of my Dobson office. I completed that, but I do not have any furniture in my new Southwest office, so everything is in boxes. I also had the opporutnity to construct some shelves with some lumber my dad sent with me when I was up at the cabin last month.

Earlier today two men from the window store came and put blinds up in our apartment windows. We are no longer living in a literal fishbowl. After they left, the landscapers came and completed the plants and rocks outside of the patio. As you can see in the photo below, it is not quite the "branches touching, 5 feet high" bushes that we were promised, but perhaps in a few years they will be. I was expecting a little more privacy than these bushes offer. While I was in the kitchen, I watched a local pull up his car, proceed to walk up to my patio door, and tried to force it open to see in the building. Imagine his surprise when he stuck his face up to the kitchen window and I lunged towards him with a big "hi" that startled him so much he almost fell backwards.

Across the street from my building they have begun what will be a 380 stall parking lot for students. The area that they are using is (was?) along a bike and walking trail and a number of trees sacrificed their lives for the sake of progress. But I was looking the other day to see that one lone tree had remained. I can only assume that this tree happened to be in a spot that they could work around it, but I like to think that the tree fought the machines and won. I think we need to have a caption contest. I'm looking for all of you to add a comment with a quote that you think best fits this picture. Something about "standing strong" perhaps. I'll start us off:

"You've paved paradise, and put up a parking lot." --Counting Crows (and others)