I've been spoiled by Euro2008. There's been football on every day on REGULAR TELEVISION, easily accessed, available to my eyes that had almost forgotten the sight of beautiful men playing the beautiful game!!! And not just any football, not the LA Galaxy pretending they can actually play or the Mexican leagues that score every two minutes, but world class, BEAUTIFUL football, played by the likes of Fernando Torres, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Andrei Arshavin, David Silva, Lukas Podolski, Philipp Lahm, Simao Sabrosa, Robin Van Persie, Xabi Alonso, and even, yes, that man I detest--Cristiano Ronaldo. (Yay he's been eliminated!) So now that there aren't any matches until Wednesday and the tournament draws nearer and nearer to its climax and then close, I first have no idea what to do with myself and then prepare to MOURN for the deprivation of the beautiful game from ignorant American audiences.

Matthew and I were talking just now, no, not about football, for once, but about how he's going back to Liverpool this summer. I asked him to bring me back something from Liverpool, and he replied, "But uh problem is, I'm not coming back till Aug 25 and you're leaving Aug 23."

And then it hit me, what I had known in the back of my mind for years and had really known in the front of my consciousness since I received that letter of acceptance to Amherst but had only realized just now: I'm leaving. I won't see Matthew or be able to get whatever it is I want from Liverpool, or Shayne or Andy or Kathleen or Kristina or Vicki or Jen or Alison or Royston or Amy or Jay or even Yogin or any of the people I've come to be so close with and love so much. As it hit me, tears came to my eyes automatically and I thought back to all the laughter and the quarrels I'd had with Matthew, all the philosophical discussions with Andy, all the literary discussions and puns with Shayne, all the bad jokes and puns with Jen, all the Twilight squealing with Kristina, all the McFly loving and weird faces and noises with Vicki, all the short jokes and high fives with Alison, all the arguments about "intellectual books" and naked men with Amy, all the food cravings and clumsiness with Jay, all the moping with Royston, all the years with Kathleen, and all the hugs and the kisses and the inside jokes and everything else with Yogin. I don't really know how I'm going to be able to leave it all behind, but for now, I shall stop thinking about it and enjoy the rest of the time here!