This last month has been one heck of a thing. There's been too much overtime, too little sleep, and enough drama to fuel a telenovela.

Today I said goodbye to my friend who bought me Bengay when she was high on pain meds. We ended up sitting in my car listening to Chvrches' album Every Open Eye, the album we listened to on the drive into town that very day she gave me Bengay and later my tooth would get knocked out resulting in a whirlwind dentist appointment. That was a wild time. It was also the day that we knew our friendship was real. So it was only fitting we listened to it. My whole brain is a mess from everything happening right now and I'm rarely emotional during goodbyes, so I felt weirdly disconnected during the whole thing, like it wasn't really happening. Maybe it's also because I know we'll see each other again. I do know that I'll miss her presence in the kitchen. Her unpredictable and loud sense of humor balanced perfectly with my deadpan witty one liner humor. We made a great team.

As we always said we would, my friends and I started friendshipping super hard once summer ended. We've all been spending quality time together, affirming the shit out of one another, and offering support in some trying times. I honestly don't know what my mental state would be without them. We're even planning some possible extended off the mountain adventures for November and December and when the heck did it become this late in the year? What happened to 2016?

Mild existential crisis aside, we started game nights! Every Monday night a dozen or so of us meet up in a room above one of the kitchens to play board games. It's kind of great because we have a big enough group to have multiple games going so there will always be something that fits anyone's tastes being played. The fact that we have quite the impressive collective library of games helps too. I even started searching out games that I know no one up here owns which is how I acquired my latest favorite game: Betrayal at House on the Hill. We've only played it twice, but it is so amazing. 10/10 would recommend.

One of the brighter parts of this past month has been the new students arriving. I had my first work study weekend helper last Saturday and oh boy did he get to see me in a crazy light. We had just survived the Understaffed Week of Hell and on top of that I ended up frosting cupcakes for a friend's wedding after work on Friday from 8pm to 7:30am the next morning. 240 cupcakes with Buttercream Sunflowers on top, you know? Anyways, this poor kid had to deal with severely sleep deprived me, but he took it like a champ. At least my short circuited social filter provided us with some interesting points of conversation. The fact that he was a good worker who recognized my Borderlands references and also listens to The Thrilling Adventure Hour means he can definitely party with me. That the fact that we talked about everything from deeply philosophical things to the fact that he thinks the Twelve Dancing Princesses was the last good Barbie movie. Yep, he can stay.