I’ve now lived in four states — Minnesota, New York, Missouri and, as of Sunday, Maryland. Not bad for a homebody. I can’t help but notice that three of those start with M’s, so look out Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi and Montana! I may be headed your way.

This is my first week living in Maryland, in the lovely city of Bethesda. It’s very close to “The District” — and I don’t mean downtown Columbia, Mo. when I say that. In fact, my bus stop is in D.C. As a result, I have walked into D.C. and back into Maryland a few times now. I swear the novelty of crossing a state border on foot will wear off soon. I don’t know why it amuses me so.

Next week, I’ll start orientation for Mizzou’s Washington Program and meet with the reporters I’ll be working with during my semester-long stint at the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune.

More on all that later, a.k.a., when I actually start working.

Random thoughts that have been floating through my mind, behind the cut. These would have made for reasonably coherent blog posts themselves, but I’m lazy.

1) In other news, I recently returned from a fantastic wedding in Alabama. My boyfriend’s cousin got married in Birmingham… and I have certainly never been to a party like that before. I was absolutely amazed by the care and planning that went into that wedding. Plus, there was not only a rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception, but also this really cool wedding morning brunch with fantastic grits. Other things about the whole celebration that were great, too, but it’s really the grits that stick in my mind.

It never ceases to amaze me how great the people I meet through my boyfriend are. (Including him, of course. Though…can you meet people through themselves?) I realize I’ve only met a ridiculously small percentage of Southerners, but everyone I’ve met has been warm, charming and not at all like Deliverance.

I think the South really needs a good ad campaign. I mean, heck, they have great food, nice weather and good music. Given the impression that I’ve had for most my life — namely, that the South is this monolithically evil place full of backward, racist people — it actually makes me feel good now when someone down there makes a comment generalizing that the North is cold, judgmental and boring. Not that I won’t pretend to be offended. And, truth be told, I’m actually offended if they make fun of Minnesota. I’m very defensive about my home state.

Maybe they’re keeping us away on purpose so they can have all the temperate climates to themselves. Smart.

2) I’m not a huge football fan, but I learned today that both Pete Carroll and Lane Kiffin once lived in my hometown of Bloomington, Minn. Kiffin actually went to my high school.

We Minnesotans don’t normally like to make a fuss or draw attention to ourselves, so, uh, sorry for all the drama, college football. We’re hard-working folk who like to keep to our word and we can normally commit to a job for, er, more than fourteen months. I blame U$C.

3) One of my old castmates (Into the Woods! Freshman year of high school! Yes!) has hit it big with a viral video of sorts and was featured on an NYTimes blog. Check him and his group, the Richter Scales, out here. Though I do have to register my discontent with the line that says  ”the Journal gets all its news from bloggers anyway.”  To address that, I send you here.