Saturday I drove over to Champaign. It's the first time I'd been back to the town I lived in for 20 years. On one hand it was like I'd never left. I remembered where everything was like the back of my hand. On the other hand it seemed like a lifetime ago, so much has happened in the 5 years since I moved to San Diego.

But so much happened in that town. I started living in the campus dormitory, 18 years old and clueless. I left after living in this co-op apartment building for 5 years, knowing little more.

My apartment was on the top floor, 2nd from the left. It had 9 foot ceilings, crown mouldings, formal dining room, sun room, hardwood floors, 1 bedroom, 1000 square feet, my own washer/dryer in the basement, and a 1 car garage with an automatic garage door opener. Steve Otto helped me plant the 4 small trees across the front. They're dogwoods and bloom white in the spring, which looks great against the red brick.