Ice Cream in the New Year

Katie D.

January 8, 2012 - 10:07 PM

I just ate my very first Prince Puckler's ice cream of 2012. It was delightful.

As many of you know, this particular campus ice cream shop contains my very favorite food in the world. Their Euphoria chocolate sundae with fudge brownie ice cream is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. Hands down, no competition. And I walk by the place twice a day every school day. For months on end. It takes some serious self control to not be eating death-by-chocolate every day, all day.

But it turns out that January is a "sundae special," so my very favorite food is reasonably cheap for the whole month of January ( http://princepucklers.com/) . Team, we might have a problem.

All joking aside, I did find my late-night ice cream excursion to be a good start of the term. My friend Alex and I went after our first prison meeting of the year. The advisory group at the prison has now been meeting regularly for nearly a year, and we've made lots of progress toward our June instructor training for future Inside-Out professors. Our group consists of fourteen inside (incarcerated) members, and a consistent group of four "outside" folks: me and Alex, plus the Inside-Out Assistant National Director and one UO professor.

Maybe it's odd to say that prison and ice cream are the perfect start to this last phase of my University of Oregon years. In fact, seeing that in writing proves the point: I have carved out a strange niche for myself here. But it's also a nice metaphor. Tonight I went up to the prison in Salem and we had an effective meeting, welcomed three new inside members, and moved one step closer to our training goals for this June. As usual, the time at the prison was intense and moving, and full of the contradictions inherent to doing that kind of work. So the aftereffects were balanced by some chocolate ice cream.

Now things can move forward.

It's hard to believe that classes begin tomorrow. There is so much to be done, and such a great opportunity to live these final six months deeply. Yesterday's coast trip was a great start. Tonight's meeting was another. Tomorrow I will launch into thesis writing for earnest, and into new event planning, coursework, internship, next year planning, etc. All the things that make a term at the UO challenging and meaningful for me.

And it's also on my mind that I'm beginning the slow process of leave-taking. This is my final winter here. This demands a balance between work and play. I hope to make these final months a combination of accomplishments and passionate Eugene experiences, and make this an ending worthy of these wonderful years in Eugene.

So here we go! Nose to the grindstone, ears open for exciting events and opportunities, and a strict commitment to enjoying Prince Puckler's ice cream whenever I get the chance.

After all, there are some things you can take with you (friendships, photos, memories, skills, knowledge, transcripts, memorabilia, books, writing, and ticket stubs) and the things you can't. I can't take my favorite hangout spots, or my organizations, or my work at the prison.

And I can't take ice cream. It doesn't travel well, and I've never found competition for this particular sundae anywhere I've been.

Cheers! Here's to flourishing in 2012.