"Fool I'm a woman and I'm bound to change my mind"

A bit of this, a bit of that

2009-11-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a nice day, though I don't know if it's the time change or what, but I still keep thinking it should be later than it actually is. So it's always a nice surprise whenever I check the clock. And with the sun coming up "earlier", I like feeling like I've gotten more done before noon (and I kinda am, since I'm getting up earlier with the sun).

Take today for example. This entire week I've willingly gotten up at 7am, and sometimes even before (and I realize that's not exactly the crack of dawn, but most of my house sleeps until about 8:30 every day). This has allowed me to get stuff done before the rest of the house is up because I'm more productive in the mornings anyway.

So, back to today. In light of *yesterday's events*, I decided I was due for a visit to DFW to greet the troops, since I hadn't been since my birthday in September. And wow, it was crazy there. In case you didn't realize it, Fort Hood is less than 3 hours away from Dallas. They had several lanes of traffic closed off in the terminal area and cops at several posts, armed. Not the measly little hand guns either, they looked like rifles, almost M-16s (albeit I have very limited gun knowledge. I just know they were big, and required two hands to hold).

THEN there was a TV crew and host from a local radio talk show there as well to join people in greeting the troops. I feel like an ol' pro when I go greet the troops now, so I usually just mingle a little with people before the soldiers come. It's always refreshing when you see people who are greeting for the first time, because it's especially meaningful for them. I always get a little choked up, but one woman had tears streaming down her face, and some stupid cameraman took the opportunity to interview this poor woman with questions like, "why are you here today?" um, duh, greeting the troops because they're awesome. But of course she's trying to compose herself for the camera, while creating a coherent and intelligent answer. Gotta love the media.

After that, I wandered a bit in my car. I had to go to Michael's to get some scrapbooking things, and then felt like going for a little drive. It was pretty great. Usually/normally I get really intent on driving with the flow of traffic, going anything higher than the posted limit, but I just wasn't in the mood to have to be extra careful everytime I saw a cop, so I just set the cruise exactly on the limit and drove on I-45, which I've never taken before. The signs for it said "Houston". Why not? ;)

Well, I got as far as Ennis, which isn't more than 40 miles away, but it was still nice to get out of the city. Some joy came over me as I saw the Dallas skyline in my rearview mirror. I don't know why Ennis is a big town (college? factory? big mall?), but it was big enough for a Starbucks, and I knew I could count on their bathrooms being decent, so I stopped for a bit and read. Unfortunately, the knowledge that rush hour traffic would start building up around 3pm and would continue well into the evening, I decided to cut my trip short and head *home* (sigh). But it was nice little reprieve.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving.

where did October go?

2009-10-28T12:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much for all of your input on my computer/camera issues guys, I really appreciate it. :P Looks like I may be making a trip to the "Geek Squad"...

anyway, life has been life lately. I actually felt a little bored on Monday, and then realized Tuesday that I have a major paper due before Thanksgiving, so I've got to get a start on that. Plus a little paper due tonight by 7pm. Heh.

This morning I did my weekly Wednesday volunteering at the Old Red Museum in downtown Dallas and it was probably one of the best times I've had there. I do really like it, but today was kinda exceptional. We were trying out a new "historical classroom" project called Hats in the Courtroom. Someone had found 30+ hats to use for different characters, and wrote a script for kids to act out a court case. We had three 3rd grade classes to go through as our guinea pigs and they were so cute! The teachers were really strict, and very determined to get their students to forever stand in lines. I guess that's necessary at that age, but I couldn't help smirking a little when they got really mad.

Oh, the cutest thing by far was the way this one teacher got her students to quiet down. Y'know those things with responses people do to get the group's attention? Well, she would exclaim, "Go to!" and all the kids would respond "college!". Soooo adorable! ;) I definitely appreciated trying to get that instilled in the minds of presumably inner-city kids. cute cute cute

Yesterday we had some excitement around my house because my roommate Ruth Anne finally got engaged to her boyfriend!! It was all very fun and her ring is gorgeous. We had a big impromptu to-do at the house last night and I didn't get to bed until almost 2am. Whew, haven't done that in a while.

It's kinda ridiculous because she had been expecting/planning on their getting engaged for a while, so yesterday she already booked the caterers, photographers, and band. Not that I'm surprised, because that's how Ruth Anne is. Certainly will make the next 7 months easier. :)

So, I better get this paper finished up. I also have a bunch of reading to do tonight, so we'll see how well that goes. It started out as a pretty nice day, but the weather had taken a dreary turn and there's another flash flood warning for tonight. Halloween is definitely in the air!

Who needs pictures?

2009-10-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

apparently not me. My stupid computer for some reason has decided it doesn't like my camera. I plug the USB cord into the computer like I always do, and it doesn't respond properly. Like, it doesn't seem to pick up on the fact that a camera is plugged into it. Any advice? this could get annyoing...

this week has seemed long. I guess it's because I've been looking forward to volunteering in the Stock Yards tomorrow for their Red Steagall event going on all weekend. I'm still confused as to where to park, but it should all work out. I hope we get a better turnout than the last event down there. There even was a real-life wagon train this week leading up to the event!

I bought new shoes today that I'm pretty excited about. But let's back up:

I told Sarah I wanted to get a cupcake from Sprinkles, a very yuppy cupcake place in downtown Dallas where the rich folks get their sweets. It's also near a shopping center, so I thought I'd look at DSW's selection too. So I picked up Sarah and we took the long way into Dallas. We found parking and I got a pretty cute pair of shoes...

cute, right? :)

Then we walked over to Sprinkles and enjoyed our $3 cupcakes (I know, it's terrible). Then we realized it was Rush Hour. On a Friday. Yikes.

So through a series of twists and turns, I managed to avoid most of the back-ups and we got back safe and sound. Not bad for an "out of towner"!

Also, my roommates are driving me a little nuts. One of their boyfriends had his comprehensive exams for his PhD this week, and he was at our house EVERY DAY. Now, I like him, he's a great guy. It's just annoying that he appears to have no home of his own (though he doesn't sleep here, thankfully). I'm just getting sick of not being able to just have a quiet evening alone. Last night they had friends come over at 10:30 PM to START hanging out. Thankfully I'm somewhat of a sound sleeper, though I have no idea when they left. And I went to bed at midnight. *sigh*

Hmm, gotta look at the bright side of things. Well, I got new shoes! ;) And I get to get out of the house for a while tomorrow! Umm...oh, and my Modern World professor actually decreased our paper length for next week! And the one Midterm I had is out of the way! So, yeah, things are looking up :)

early to bed...?

2009-10-18T19:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm just so tired I think I might go to bed early. At least if I get a post in I'll feel like I did something productive, and this way I won't feel so bad not posting later this week.

I have a mini paper due tomorrow afternoon that I've been working on, on-again, off-again today. I went to the library to get out of the house, only to realize as soon as I got there that I had forgotten the book. wow, how did that even happen? And I just now started getting some good work done on it, when *bam!* I just got hit with exhaustion. I think my staying up late/getting up early this weekend finally caught up with me.

So, I got a dresser! It all happened so quickly yesterday, which is sometimes the best, you know? I called the guy who posted it on craigslist (different guy than the one on Friday) to check the price ($60 - woo hoo!), he said I should come within the hour, called Tiffany, she came and picked me up, and we headed over to get it! After we got it into the minivan and were driving away, it occured to us that we are 20-something women, and how in the heck were we going to get a large dresser into my room? ;) Well, we toughed it out and took in each of the drawers one-by-one and then hauled the whole thing in.

It's Huuuge! At first I couldn't believe how big it was, compared to my tiny twin bed in the corner. But now that I've gotten used to it, put clothes in, and decorated around it with pictures and such, it's looking great. I've only lived here a year... lol And I'm so so happy that it matches my desk! Not exactly, but considering I bought them from two different sources...I'm so happy! :) It's the little things, y'know?

So, my weekend's been pretty okay. Not as productive in the homework-front as I'd like, but it's okay. It's hard because we're really behind in one class, and we have a midterm on Thursday. And the professor said the test will cover everything through our class on Tuesday, so I'm not sure if I should study, or prepare for Tuesday's class, which may or may not cover what's actually posted on the syllabus. I think I'll start studying tomorrow...

And, according to some of my receipts, I've been to Wal Mart and/or Kroger almost every day in the last week. yikes. Did I mention last year that they do Halloween BIG here? Like, it's crazy. And I almost bought some candy in the store but A) it's expensive, and B) I'm not sure I'll be home for the trick o'treaters. There's a concert in the stock yards I'd like to check out since it's only $12. We'll see what the next few weeks have in store. Oh, and I've already seen Christmas lights out. ay yi yi

Not to freak anyone out, but have you guys realized that November is in two weeks? I was shocked to discover that my OB-GYN follow-up is two weeks from tomorrow. And as far as I can tell, this stupid cyst has not gone away. boo ovaries! maybe I'll scare 'em outta my system! ;) (that's for you, Jess...)

The art of procrastination

2009-10-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, I just-wow. I can't believe how much non-homework I've done today that I desperately need to do. I still haven't finished the assignment from last Monday's class, and have to do Tuesday's, so I can read another student's paper about it, and write my own by next Monday! *sigh*

Today is technically "fall break", but I wouldn't have class today anyway. Yet, something about knowing that no one else is in class convinces me to treat today like a holiday. And I've consumed waaaay too much coffee/tea/caffiene than my body knows what to do with. *jitter*

I'm waiting to hear back from Tiffany because she and Aaron have a minivan, which will be very helpful in my obtaining a dresser from Lewisville. I found one on craigslist which just might be perfect. I e-mailed the guy asking for dimensions and he responded crazy-fast. Then I tried calling the number on the listing and no answer. lol oh well, it should work out. It's listed as $125, but maybe I can get it for an even $100. I'm so bad at haggling though. So I'll probably pay $125. I'm such a wimp ;)

In other news, I returned safely from Nashville/Kentucky/Arkansas. It was a whirlwind trip, but lots of fun (see facebook photos). The last stretch from Texarkana to Dallas is the worst part. Longest three hours of my life, I swear. And I got back just in time for my Monday evening class (see above: I was not entirely prepared :P).

So this weekend I really have no plans. I met Allannah for breakfast this morning, and then came home and worked on resurrecting my computer. It's okay, but I thought maybe my antivirus software was causing me problems. Ever since I renewed my purchase in August, I'd been getting the "blue screen of death" more frequently, and last night it was completely ka-put. So I tried uninstalling it, and when I try to re-install it, it asks for a product key, and I put in the right one, and it says it doesn't work. So I don't know. I just hope the computer doesn't get swine flu or something. ;)

oh and P.S. All of y'alls posts about reading make me so sad! I wish I had time to do reading of my own, but alas I must go read two books of Emile for Monday. It's all very interesting, but seriously, last night's section was all about how to properly make your pupil adapt to sleeping habits. Yeah, cuz that didn't want me to just curl up and go to sleep right then. lol silly Rousseau

ciao

I've often overlooked October

2009-10-05T09:31:00.001-07:00

ha, I didn't mean to open with such alliteration (sp?). But I have realized that I've often scoffed over October. September rocks of course because it's got my birthday. October usually gets paired with Halloween, but that's not until the very end of the month. but lately I've been very happy it's October, and haven't been giving it the credit it deserves. :)

so...health update? still in minor pain. I called the new doctor's office as soon as it opened this morning and at first the secretary was like, "oh I probably won't get you in until the end of the week," and I told her I was in pain and would really like to see the doctor ASAP. then she turns around and says, "well I could put you in at 1:15 this afternoon if that works." haha, sure! she just warned me that I was being squeezed into the schedule, so it might be a bit of a wait. no problem, I'll bring one of the many things my life as a grad student requires that I read.

so that's that, and we'll see what comes of it.

in other news, I'm going to Tennessee this Thursday! I'm ohsohappy about it, in case you hadn't noticed. I was pretty good this weekend about getting stuff done ahead of time, but I haven't done enough prep work for an in-class essay for my class tomorrow. I'm not too nervous, but feel like I should be, you know? I'll study this afternoon before my class at 6.

Other than that, I'm pretty set. I'm going to drive straight to Alicia's after class on Thursday (12:20pm). it's about an 11-hour drive, so I'll need to rest up. then I'll leave Sunday and stay a night in Piggott, Arkansas, to see Joyce (she offered to pay for my hotel room). then I'll leave early next Monday so I get back to Irving in time for my 6pm class (eesh, right after Rush Hour...need to plan accordingly...).

as some of you may know, I love country music! and with all this museum work I've done in the last few months, it would be my dream to use this knowledge in the Country Music Hall of Fame. So I e-mailed someone there and might be able to meet with someone Friday or Saturday when I'm in town about getting my name out there. I feel like such a grown-up. :) Ugh, I can't wait to be outta school!

well, I guess that's enough for now. I'm so happy it's October. It's gonna be a good one :)

Stupid girl

2009-10-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

Er, I should rather say, stupid parts of me that make me a girl. (Micah, you may want to skip this entry :P)

Turns out that it's not my gall bladder after all. I guess I should be happy, but it's almost worse when you expect it to be this one thing that yeah, you know is a pain and will require surgery, but at least after that it'll be okey dokey.

Instead, the nurse says that I've had cysts on my ovaries. Um, 'scuse me?

Apparently they're "normal" and go away by themselves. Seriously? Those stupid little organs that I don't even need to use until I'm married have been causing me all this pain and anxiety?! Are you kidding me!?!??

So now I have to see an OB-GYN next week and probably have a pelvic sonogram. Lucky for me, the doctor's office gave me a referral. I called right after I heard the news, at 4:28pm. Get an answering machine that says the OB's office hours are Monday through Thursday, 9am to 4:30pm. Boo. It'll have to wait until Monday.

I know I should be happy I don't have to go under the knife anytime soon, and I AM (Lord knows this is a relief, considering my travel plans for next week), but it's still annoying that this is what I was stressing over. And it's ridiculous how long it took for them to tell me. If you're ever in the Irving-area, I do not recommend Dr. Jeff Mason.

Thanks again for your prayers and thoughts! :)

Prayers requested?

2009-09-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

Eesh, 2pm already? Where is this day going?! I need to start writing a short paper that's due tomorrow at 4pm. and start another paper due Wednesday. it seems like this semester just started and already I have all these projects to do!

I keep remembering how last fall, this time, was a pretty low point for me. I hadn't really made any friends, although I did hang out with my roommates and their friends a bit. But it wasn't the same; they weren't the people I typically would seek to hang out with. And I was so depressed about living in Texas and Irving and this close to a city that I was unfamiliar with that I took every chance I could to drive and explore anywhere but here. I don't know how I managed to have the time to go for hour-long drives and not do any homework. Were my classes last fall just not as demanding? I don't think they were, I guess. Meanwhile, I'm behind in one class (although, to be fair, so is the professor :P) and have these papers to write.

The other thing that has thrown a wrench into things is the subject of my title. See, I guess I'm requesting prayers, but I don't know exactly what for. Hmm...where shall I begin?

As some of you know, my tummy has been known to act up from time to time, as a result of being diagnosed with Acid Reflux Disease freshman year at HC and loving coffee/caffiene despite it all. So, around my birthday my stomach started feeling weird. I thought it was just nerves about my birthday (party, Mom's visit, Brad Paisley concert) and didn't think too much about it. Then a couple days later my stomach was feeling weird again.

Note: "weird" translates to a feeling similar to having butterflies in your stomach before a performance, and also some pains in the upper-GI section just below your esophagus as a result of drinking an abnormal amount of coffee.

Anyway, I brushed off this stomach "weirdness" as anxiety about a paper I had to write that I was nervous about. I turned in my paper on the 18th and considered myself good. But the stomach thing was still around.

So I talked to my Dad about it and he suggested some OTC meds and staying off of caffiene (heh). It wasn't going away, so on Tuesday I made an appointment with a doctor (see previous post). I originally wanted to see a specialist, but this was more convenient.

Well, after all that I went to the doctor this past Tuesday (the 22nd) and he was asking me about my parents' medical history, which I was a little ashamed to say I didn't know a whole lot about. Then upon examination he tells me he thinks something might be wrong with my gall bladder. He tells me to schedule a sonogram at the radiology department and he'll tell me the next step.

Unfortunately, the doc thought I would be able to get a sonogram right away, but to my dismay I learned that they only do those on Tuesday mornings so I would have to wait until the next week to have that done. So now it's just a waiting game until I actually have someone look inside me and get a better idea of what's up. Oh, and I found out that my Mom had her gall bladder taken out when she was 24. Thanks, Mom. :P

So that's the update. I don't know what's wrong exactly, but I feel naseated most of the time and have very little desire to eat anything. I then find myself feeling dizzy throughout the day because I'm not eating like I normally do. Then I eat and feel sick again. So that's all very annoying. Also, the pain has been moving, and I feel like I'm cramping as if I were on my period, but I'm not. So I don't know what's up, and it's really frustrating.

I'm hoping to go see Alicia in a few weeks, and I don't know what's going to happen, if I have to have surgery or what. So that's why I'm stressed about being behind in classwork, because I'm trying to prepare in case I have to have a procedure or something that incapacitates me. And it's really weird for me to go through all of this with doctors I don't know in a city I'm not familiar with. I really wish my daddy were here.

So, prayers are requested, but I guess only the Good Lord knows what He's gonna do with 'em! But I'd appreciate it, and thanks in advance! :)

Healthy dose of reality

2009-09-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

well I guess it's been a while since I updated. I was gonna go to Starbucks and curl up with some Rousseau and a pumpkin spice latte, but it's noon and I want to avoid the lunch rush hour. ah, city living.

so, what's new? well classes have started sucking out my life. I already turned a paper in last week, and have two to do for next week, so nowadays I just read read read.

last Friday I got to meet some new people. I went over to Sarah's to go for a walk and when I got there she was on the phone. after she got off she said it was her friend Darren, who was mad at her because he wanted us to meet him for dinner and she said no because we were going for a walk. my response? "what'd you do that for?" ;)

so we went for a shorter walk, and then met Darren and Keith at BJ's restaurant in Lewisville. Darren is a forensic scientist and Keith is a student at UT-Arlington. it was a fun evening, and I was happy to meet some new people outside of UD. Keith and Darren and I watched Sleepy Hollow at Darren's apartment, which brought back lovely HC memories. :) Darren's apartment looked like something out of the 70s, it was awesome. he had an assortment not only of DVDs and VHS tapes, but also records and 8-tracks! I had never seen 8-tracks up close, and he even had a player for all of these medias! very retro = very cool.

I also had adventures at doctors' offices this week. I've lived here a year and finally got around to seeing doctors in my area. Monday I saw a pediatrist about my foot condition, and that was interesting. I always like to compare doctors' offices with my Dad's and see what they do differently. Tuesday I went to an office that was next to a hospital in the area for a General Practice doctor. I was confused getting there because it's right next to the hospital, but every time I called to figure out where it was, they'd say it wasn't in the hospital, which didn't help. No, it's not in the actual hospital building, but you park in the same lot and can go from one building to the next via a sky-walkway.

anyway, I've been enjoying the fall weather we're actually getting and will be rid of soon. Texas always does a pre-fall tease, giving us weather in the 60s and tempting us to get our blankets and sweaters out, only to forecast highs of 80s and 90s for all of next week. oh well, I'm gonna try to enjoy it while I can!

Katie B.!

2009-09-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

haha I had to write this post because I tried coconut M&M's yesterday!!! And of course I thought of y'all!

I was at Blockbuster with Sarah and I saw the M&M's in the candy section and HAD to get some. The check-out guy was asking if they were like heroin for girls or what, because apparently he's seen a lot of girls get them lately. I should have offered him some so he could experience the thrill! I like them, but they're pretty filling/rich. I don't think I could eat a whole bag without thinking like old-fashioned plain ones.

...that was really dull. ;)

Anyway, my b-day was wonderful, and thanks for all the shout-outs! Mom got in Thursday evening and we wandered around Grapevine and Southlake, with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. The CF has a special cheesecake with red velvet cake in it and it was pretty good (I always think of Steel Magnolia's when I have that stuff).

Friday I didn't have class, and Mom and I got up early to greet the troops at DFW. It was really great. Then we had breakfast at Joe's and went for a walk. In the afternoon we got pedicures at the Hawaiian Nail Bar, which, ironically, had Vietnamese workers. They give you wine/margaritas/pina coladas, so it was a great place. And their "menu" of pedicures was even more extensive! I had a real aloe massage and that was pretty cool.

So Friday night Janet, my Mom, and I had dinner at a very nice Tex Mex place, and then we had a party at my house! Almost 20 people came and I was so humbled to see all of the friends I've been blessed to have made here in the last year. A MUCH better birthday than last year.

I now have a freezer full of ice cream, cake, and cookie cake. Haha Janet didn't realize how big a half-sheet cake is, and Mom brought me a cookie cake all the way from Michigan. Oh, and Mom's gift to me? My HC diploma, framed!!! It looks so swank, I almost don't want to hang it up in my measley room. But I'm so happy, I feel all grown-up :)

Saturday Mom and I went shopping with Janet and then went to the Brad Paisley concert. It was amazing (of course) except the fact that it has been raining in Dallas since Friday evening non-stop. And the concert was half-outside. We were in the dry section, so it didn't bother us that much. Pretty crazy though! :)

So this week will be a bit busier, since I have a little paper for class due Friday. I might do some volunteering this week too.

*RANT*
However, I've been a little distracted lately. I'm getting restless again and I just want to be done with this chapter in my life. I want a JOB. I want a commute that lasts longer for 10 minutes every day. I want a paycheck, or some kind of satisfaction for the work I'm doing besides getting to read a bunch of books I'd otherwise have no time for. The stuff I'm studying is all very interesting, but I just want out and to be on my own. I'm sick of my roommates, I want my own apartment. I don't like this Academia, and I'm afraid that my disinterestedness is just going to lead to some kind of failure. I need to suck it up and just get 'er done, but it's hard! I want the next part of life to start!

Bah, that's all. Enough pity-party. I just need to go read some more. :)

Tuesday nonsense

2009-09-08T12:02:00.001-07:00

well it was a pretty good weekend, even though UD didn't give us Monday off. Saturday I went to the Stock Yards to volunteer, only to find out that there was nothing for me to do! I was at the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum and the assistant director Julia was sorry I had made the drive out, so she gave me two free tickets to the Red Dirt Roundup happening in the Stock Yards the next day. So...after a pretty relaxing rest of my Saturday and a lovely Sunday morning, Janet and I checked out this RDR.

It was basically a day-long concert with about a dozen bands, two stages, amidst rocks and dirt (heh). The headliners were Cross Canadian Ragweed, who I've heard of, but wasn't terribly familiar with. Of all bands The Wallflowers were playing, so Janet and I thought we'd take a blast to the past and check them out. They weren't on until later, so we headed out around 5pm.

Of course, before going into the concert, we made the rounds to see my friends who work in various shops around the Stock Yards. I went into the Wine shop where my friend Blake works, and Janet had to make a pit stop before meeting me. I was chatting with Blake and his friend Tim when I noticed Janet had been gone a while. I went to the bathroom to see what was up and I see Janet helping out some poor girl who had gone and gotten herself completely trashed. Janet had been an RA so she was offering advice to the girl's friend. The two were 18, and the one had brought vodka in a water bottle in and, as we all know, that's not something you guzzle. She could hardly lift her head to drink out of the cups of water we brought her.

So that kept us busy for about a half an hour, until the girl's friend managed to get her walking and they stumbled out to the hotel there on the main strip. Crazy. If I had had my cell phone and was thinking more clearly, I would have just called 911 right away, but the girls were scared of 911 I suppose since they were so underage. *sigh*

Needless to say, the rest of the evening was a bit tainted. We got into the concert to see more people who had camped out for the day in the hot sun with nothing but beer to drink and bad music to dance to. The Wallflowers were not impressive either, and we were very glad we hadn't paid the $30 people had actually paid to go to this all-day affair. We rewarded ourselves with a Sonic stop before heading home around 10pm.

And with that, the summer is officially over. ;)

P.S. My b-day's this Friday! woo hoo!! I'll accept calls, cards, and well-wishes :)

P.P.S. I don't know why Blogger decided it could cut my last post in half, and thanks to those who read it anyway. Please check out this article that was published about Ben last February.

life changes EDIT READ ARTICLE PLEASE!

2009-09-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

well it's been an interesting few days. my first days of school have been okay. I was enrolled in a class on Marxism, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted. I was the only grad student in the class, and it didn't seem like it'd be much of a challenge. so I dropped it and added a class on Rousseau that meets Monday evenings, so I have yet to see what it's like. But I think it'll be pretty chouette! ;)

in other news, I joined Twitter and am still getting into the swing of that. I understand how it could be very cool/addicting if you had a job that allowed/required you to be attached to your Blackberry or something. It does make me feel pretty special when I get the emails saying so-and-so is "following" you. We shall see.

However, the week took a turn Thursday evening when I got some pretty upsetting news. I had settled in for a relaxing evening with myself, a movie, and a glass of wine. Turned the phone on "silent" and was enjoying Father of the Bride. when I stepped away for a minute my sister called, but I didn't realize it until about a half an hour later. but, no message, so I guess no big deal, right? I'll talk to her later.

Then I saw she was calling me again, which is pretty unusual, so I answered:

"Hey, what's up?"
"Hi Lynette... Um, I'm sorry to tell you this... but... Ben was killed in Afghanistan."

Ben is my brother-in-law's cousin, whom I'd met a few times before Liz and Jim got married. I couldn't believe it. I still am getting over it. It's hard even writing this and speaking of him in the past-tense.

I didn't know him all that well. I'd learned what I know about him from snippets of conversations here and there with Liz. He was a few years younger than me, and had attended a high school about a half hour from East Lansing. His parents divorced when he was young, and his grandparents helped raise him. It was this childhood that had bonded Ben and Jim. He practically lived alone his senior year of high school, because neither of his parents were terribly invested in his life.

The rest I've found out from an article I found from the Livingston News. Please read if you have a moment. Thanks.

Please also pray for the family. As far as I know, no one in his family had any kind of religious faith. I can't imagine how someone could go through this with no real knowledge of a God. I believe in Him and I have a hard time dealing with it. So please pray. Thanks

Good-bye summer

2009-09-02T07:49:00.000-07:00

Well, today's the first day of school. I've got class at noon and 7-10pm, so Wednesdays will be my busiest day. The last week has been pretty fun. Here's some of the highlights:

Thursday: worked in Fort Worth. on the drive home the radio station mentioned a concert that evening that I decided to check out with Sarah. we had a good time! (pics on fbook)

Friday: Janet and I made dinner and then watched a movie at her place.

Saturday: Janet and I went to Ikea and Costco (my first time!). then we had Italian for dinner and went to a movie at the dollar theater.

Sunday: lazy day. 'twas wonderful :)

Monday: Fort Worth, and then the Grad School here had an ice cream social. I met up with Tiffany, our fellow HC alum who's starting the Grad School program!

Tuesday: hung out with Tiffany, took her to lunch, showed her part of Dallas. then Janet and I had some errands in the evening. we went to a Half Price Books and it was ah-mazing. I was expecting some hole-in-the-wall but it was more like a warehouse with all kinds of books. I could see myself spending hours in there later on.

so I'm gearing up for school. My birthday's next Friday (ahem) and Janet wanted to throw me a party so we're going to have people over to my place for cake and ice cream. It's going to be a great year!

Four Months 'Till Christmas!

2009-08-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

blah blah blah. I can't believe it's been that long since I last posted. time flew by at the end of my trip.

So, I'm back in Irving. I returned to TX last Friday evening and was pleasantly greeted by no one. :) It was kinda nice having the house to myself so I could slowly unpack and re-coop. Two of my roommates didn't get back until Saturday late (3am) so the weekend was a pretty good display of Katie B.'s description of doing nothing. It was joyous, but alas, I didn't have good Internet service so I didn't get to waste time as well as I would have liked. ;)

I watched The Fugitive Saturday and U.S. Marshalls on Sunday instead and read and slept. I didn't even put all my stuff from my trip away until Sunday afternoon. And I have yet to do laundry (don't worry, I did save some clean clothes to get by with).

I'm getting nervous about school starting just because it has been a pretty long summer. I've done a lot and it's been so long since I've been in classes like I was in the spring so I'm having trouble gauging how my time is going to be spent. I settled on a class schedule that puts me in a class room every day around noon, and then a night class on Wednesdays. It'll be nice to have a pretty consistent routine, but it's tough that I can't really do much with my off-time because it takes so darn long to get anywhere in the city.

However: I have another volunteering opportunity! Last week the supervisor at one of the Fort Worth museums e-mailed me about a job opening in a Dallas museum that she thought I'd be interested in. After thinking about it some, I decided that I don't want to try juggling a full class load with a job, so I e-mailed the place and asked if they had some volunteering opportunities. I'm meeting with the woman on Friday morning and I'm pretty pumped just because it's in Dallas, which is a lot closer than the FW museums. I think I'd like to do some volunteering in the Stock Yards, but I think I'll only make the trek out there on the weekends, and maybe I can do this Dallas thing during the week once I'm done with class for the day (or maybe before?).

Over all it was very very flattering for me to be notified about such a job opportunity. I read the description, and there were some things I technically wasn't qualified for, but the fact that Jami (the FW museum director) thought it'd be good for me just gives me that extra boost to know that I've got things I can do once I'm done with this degree. Perhaps I'll stick around Texas for a little longer than planned. Hmm... ;) (that means y'all HAVE to come visit!!!!)

this week I'm trying to do last minute things with my free time before it's all sucked up with school. (Oh, and I'm going to run for the "Senate" of my Grad School Association, so that's cool.) I saw one couple's new baby yesterday, and tomorrow I'm going to go to Denton to see Kristen and Justin and their babies. Plus, I'm trying to find a good dresser for my room on Craig's List. I'm so picky, I hope I can find something that works. And last night I was woken up by a poster falling, so I've got to do something about that too.

All in all it's been a positive week (well, it's only Tuesday, so, three days?) and things are looking up. It's strange being in one place, and I think it'll take a little longer to get used to that. I have a better appreciation for Texas, despite the annoyances.

The thing I learned most about my Road Trip? I really like my independence/freedom/single-hood/what-have-you. I more or less broke things off with Will, and it was good to recognize the qualities I don't want in a guy. I don't know if I'll ever meet a guy who meets all my standards, but I know that I'm okay by myself. I'm also blessed by having these *weird* relationships with guys who live far from me to reduce the awkwardness (always a plus!). I dunno. All I know is I really do like being by myself, so if I have to be single, it's okay. And I'm not going to go out of my way to try to find a guy, at least not for now.

Alright. 'nuff said.

On my own

2009-08-14T13:33:00.001-07:00

wow it's been a while. time sure does fly when you spend a lot of time in a car.

the trip's almost over. I've been at my parents' since Sunday, and they actually left yesterday for Mackinaw Island so it's just been me all alone. It's nice. I could have gone with them, but I like being at the house and getting some things done. I've been going through more stuff in my *old* room and a year away has certainly made me even more, um, heartless? It's just that I feel the need to pitch lots of stuff I didn't feel I could part with last year. I've already filled an entire trash bag with old photographs, and I could probably fill another by the end of the day.

I'm at the library now because the Internet at our house is a bit finicky. My laptop can't pick up wireless in certain parts of the house, and today we just plain don't have any, on the laptop or desktop and I wanted to try to renew some library items I had checked out in Irving. Well, I get here and discover that I've reached my limit on renewals (I'd had 'em since late May/early June, heh). Oh well. I don't even think the Irving PL does late fees, because my roommate Holly once turned in books late and asked them how much she owed and they said nothing. And I looked in vain to try to find some kind of rates on the website. I guess I'll find out when I get back.

I'm hoping to leave Monday, maybe Tuesday. Probably Monday. The thing is, I was hoping to stop at my Aunt and Uncle's in Arcola, and then somewhere in MO on my way back to Texas to split up the trip. Well, now my Aunt and Uncle are going to be out of town. I suppose I'll spring for another hotel room, but I don't really want to. Maybe it'll be good though and I can get some decent sleep. I can't seem to get enough of it at my parents' house, and I don't know why. I've had headaches a lot this week.

Check out my facebook photo albums to get a better idea of where I've been. I've got more photos to post from Motown and then I went to a random Cajun restaurant last night here in the mid-Michigan area. Here's a few pics from when I visited Anna because I promised!

Anna's modelling her hairnet that we wore to go in the South Bend Chocolate Factory.

me, showing off my "cap"

ooooh chocolate :)

"Speed it up a little!"

Anna still hasn't seen this episode of I Love Lucy, so we have to remedy that :)

maybe the next time you hear from me I'll be back in the Central Time Zone!

Free and easy down the road I go

2009-08-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

wow I feel like I've fallen off the face of the earth and I hate it. when did the Internet become my one and only lifeline? when did I develop a kind of anxiety in not being able to look at facebook or scan e-mail over and over? grr technology! I will not submit!

so, current town? North Muskegon. In the last week I've gone from Branson to Carbondale, Carbondale to Arcola, Arcola to North Muskegon (Tessa, I'm thinking of you!). *whew!* the drives are getting shorter but seem longer and the more often I hit the road, the more it hits me that I'm going to have to drive all that way back to Texas. and that whole thing about distance making the heart grow fonder? well it's not working the way I'd hoped. I don't wanna go back! :(

it was rough at the family meeting/reunion last weekend dealing with the "what are you doing?" questions. I just want to be done with school and in the work force! I want it to be next April so the clock would be ticking just a little bit faster for me to hurry up and figure out what my next move is. I don't wanna be in grad school for some obscure degree! wah wah wah! :P

hmm, bright side? fun drives. I love the time to myself, which probably explains my lack of doing...anything. here I have my Huck Finn on tape that I've been trudging through all summer, that still has five discs left. I have a cell phone with hands-free options to call friends and check up. but unfortunately my driving has fallen during times when it's not good to call (Sunday morning when good people are in church), back roads where reception is minimal, or during the weekday when it's not as cheap as after 9pm or weekends. so, it's just been me and the music. I especially love finding radio stations and giving the predictable CDs a rest.

oh, highlight of driving so far? DEFFinitely the drive up yesterday is ranked up pretty high. my parents suggested this back route detour of chicago through northwestern Indiana. after surviving torential (sp?) rains in Illinois where I could hardly see the end of my own car, I drove through the pretty countryside that Texas lacks in IN. I stopped in Kouts, IN, where they had George's Kountry Kitchen (or Koffee Kup? not sure). it was a perfect little town diner where everyone knows everyone else. I sat at the lunch counter and ordered a not-so-great chicken salad on croissant.

halfway through my sandwich, this old man sat next to me. he had to be pushing 90 years old but had a spark like a man in his prime. he had delivered some of his home-grown corn to the diner and was picking up a meal for himself. he told me he got Meals on Wheels, but it got lonely so he came to town to chat with folks. I gathered that his wife had died within the last few years, and that he'd been a farmer all his life. born and raised in Indiana (I presume), he regretted that he hadn't travelled more. he told me that he had gotten to go to Switzerland once and said the lake near Zurich was one of the clearest bodies of water he'd ever seen. when he had finished his Mr. Pibb he got up to leave, departing with the words, "Have a nice life!" it was perfect. :)

can't see how I can top that, so I'll get off for now.

Time marches on

2009-07-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

I think I thought of a good blog-post-title yesterday when I was driving but have since forgotten it.

Anyway, I'm in City #2 of my big Midwest Tour and so far the trip has been pretty good. I'm liking the relaxed atmosphere. However, I'm realizing that I didn't pack as well as I should have. I only packed like, three, t-shirts, and the rest are all kinda dressy and I don't want to wear them for the more casual things I've been doing. I actually had to get a t-shirt from Branson on Tuesday. It's not bad looking, but I had begun trying to "weed out" t-shirts from my wardrobe. *sigh* oh well.

Sunday's drive to Branson went pretty well. Saturday was a lot of fun with the National Day of the American Cowboy, and I managed to get done early enough to make a Saturday evening Mass service and leave earlier on Sunday for my trip. I was on the road by 8am and drove and drove and drove.

I really like driving through OK, and I'm proud of myself for being rather cheap on my trek. Usually I feel guilty going in gas stations just to use their bathroom that I end up buying even a pack of gum to feel better. Sunday, however, I thought, "screw it," and would just go in and out. I felt like a very independent woman, put on my "don't mess with me" face, and got 'er done. None of those creepy truckers stood a chance. ;)

I got to Branson by about 5pm, checked in to my hotel, showered, and then went to dinner and a show. Branson's so cute and I think it'd be fun for any HC grad to check out. It's a very very conservative area, and totally family friendly. It's so cute how their shows tone everything down for the kiddies. Like, that Zac Brown Band song "Chicken Fried" was used in a show and the song uses the phrase, "Cold beer on a Friday night" and the show I saw changed it to "Cold drinks on a Friday night." hahaha

The visit with Will was nice, but I don't feel like re-capping much right now. I hate thinking about this kind of stuff. All I want to say is boys are so weird, and I don't really feel attracted to him. And part of me really wants to be, because he is a very nice guy, but I can't tell if it's more him or me that doesn't work. And I think moreso now than ever how important timing can be. If anything, on these drives, I really LOVE being on my own and am quite content to stay this way. It's like, something's missing, and I can't put my finger on it. And I don't really know if I would recognize it if it came along. I'm a pretty rational thinker, so I don't know if love can really be something that sweeps me off my feet. I don't know. Anyone? This isn't making any sense.

So on a more logical note, I'll just say that I drove to Carbondale yesterday from Branson, so that's where I am now. I got caught in some construction traffic just east of Saint Louis, but was able to talk to Brenna for a good time and then got to drive in some adorable towns on my way here. I LOVE the Midwest! It was funny because I definitely did the waving-to-townspeople-thing and realized how much I miss it in Texas. I couldn't figure out why I hadn't done that much lately, and then remembered, "oh yeah. people don't sit out on front porches in the evening in Texas because it's still 100-freaking-DEGREES." ;) ahh I am loving this 70-degree weather of the "north".

Liz and I are going to check out a winery and do some hiking, and then we're going to a Minor League baseball game. The team here? The Miners. heh heh heh Carbon-dale used to be a big mine town. :) (eat your heart out, Jess!)

last night we grilled shiskabobs (sp?) and enjoyed some wine I brought up from Texas. tomorrow I head up to central Illinois to see more of the fam, including my parents. It feels weird how up in the air my schedule is; this is so unlike me. I apologize to those of you that I want to see and haven't gotten a definite plan figured out. soon! soon! :)

ciao

ch-ch-ch-changes

2009-07-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

is it just me, or is a significant proportion of our "blogosphere" in the midst of significant transitions right now? Emily just got back from what I can only guess was an amazing trip to the U.K., Angy is almost done in the E.U., Brenna's about to leave the 'Dale and move in with Angy, Kara's about to move in with Tessa and her roommate Kathryn (which means Emily is also in the middle of a move), and Heather's recently returned to her native town! life is so interesting. we've all entered HC in one form or another with intentions in mind, and have left in so many different directions. God's working in our lives is so fascinating. :)

Katie B. and Meg, I'm assuming, are getting ready to gear up for their last few weeks of *freedom*, which includes me as well. so, joining the trend, I'm preparing for this road trip. countdown: two days, leaving Sunday morning. I'm going to do some serious packing tomorrow morning.

this morning, however, was a bit crazier. the roomies all decided to have our annual carpet-cleaning this week and managed to get in on a cancellation for them to come this morning. so I had to move everything out of my room and our house was in a bit of a state of chaos this morning. it was kinda crazy because it was almost like moving, but not at all like moving. this evening I got home (after finally finding a sundress!) and commenced putting my room back in order. now I'm waiting for my roommate's boyfriend to help me get a few of the heavier things in place.

because of this opportunity, I was able to rearrange some of my furniture. I think it looks pretty nice now, though I realize that I am in desparate need for a dresser. I'll be looking on craigslist once I return to TX. for now, it can wait.

today I talked to the Grad School secretary a bit about how the last year has gone. even this summer has been pretty significant. at the beginning I couldn't wait to just be done and outta Texas, but now I'm actually thinking of looking into staying in the area. isn't it great to have no direction? sure, we like plans, and we like to think of the future, but if anything this past year has taught me to be more flexible and let God do the work. it's great. :)

anyway, enough preaching, I better get back to work so I can go to bed early and gear up for my trip! please please look me up on facebook or e-mail me if you want to get together in the Midwest!!

loves :)

quick quick quick!

2009-07-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

k, I just want to send a shout-out to all y'alls who have left me comments. they make me so happy so yay! thanks friends! :)

I want to post because I've had some great days lately but I really should hit the hay. Although my days have been great, I can't say the same for my nights. I've had really really bizarre dreams lately, moreso than the usual fare, and they've done something to my sleep. I'm looking forward to the first leg of my trip where I'll be staying in a hotel in Branson, MO, and my friend there has a job that will give me some time to myself so I'm looking forward to napping. :) ahh, quite different from our Hillsdale days, eh? sleep by 10:30pm! ;)

um, so I helped in the Stock Yards a bunch last week, and then spent time with friends in between. Saturday night I got to meet my friend Sarah's brother for the first time (he works and lives in Dallas) and we went to the Spaghetti Warehouse in the West End. For some reason, the West End is known as being a "hip" place in Dallas, but I have no idea why. I really don't like it that much; it feels trashy like the notsofun parts of NYC or DC with the occasional live-music-bar. It's near the Grassy Knoll (site of the Kennedy Assassination) and so you know at least one person's been shot there. :P Sarah's brother hadn't seen that yet so we checked it out after dinner. Needless to say, I was glad we had a guy with us.

Sunday was a fantastic day, and I was realizing how lucky/blessed I am and how much I loooove Fort Worth moreso than Dallas. My friend Janet's dad is in town so I got to show him (and Janet) basically everything I've learned this summer in the Stock Yards. Plus, I've kinda made it a point to make friends with the owners of the little shops in the area, since I'm usually around that part of town during the week's "off times". There's this one little shop that sells Starbucks coffee and ice cream (my kind of place!) and the manager Bill and I have struck up a neat friendship. The last few times I've gone in there he refuses to let me pay for anything! So I had to show Janet and her dad, and didn't want to assume that Bill would cover it this time, since he's so generous and I don't want to seem like I'm taking him for granted, but just as Janet's dad had his credit card ready Bill tells him to just put it away because he's with his best customer! so sweet! :)

Then Janet and I checked out the little wine shop they have in the Stock Yards' shopping center and I've also gotten to know Blake, the owner. So even though it was pretty busy there, Blake saw me and got us the hook-up with free samples of drinks and it was so nice! Love it! :)

Today I had a busy day because I had planned on getting to see my friends Kristen and Justin, who had twins in May about 8 weeks premature (I think I mentioned this earlier). I hadn't been there since the babies came home so I was looking forward to it. Well, this morning Justin calls me and sounds like he's at his wit's end because poor Kristen had gotten an infection and was sick so he had had to do all the night feedings (= no sleep) and then got up around 5:30 am by their one-year-old. He asked if I could possibly help out and maybe take Kristen to her doctor's appointment that afternoon, and I said I'd head up there as soon as I could to help out and it would be no trouble at all.

So I got up there and poor Kristen was trying to feed each baby one at a time, and the one-year-old was completely oblivious and wanting to play, so I played with him while Kristen and Justin dealt with the babies. At one point Justin just about zonked out holding one of the little boys while I had the older one occupied. Poor papa! Please keep them in your prayers.

Tomorrow it's back to the Stock Yards, and I may go back to help Kristen and Justin on Friday. Plus I've got things to do before my trip and pack up. The National Day of the American Cowboy is Saturday so I won't be able to do much the day before I leave. Busy busy! :)

Laterz

woo hoo hoo!

2009-07-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

well it's a lovely hot Tuesday here in hotter-than-heck Irving, Texas! actually I haven't had to suffer through the heat too much, but it's kinda crazy how it affects you even if you spend all day inside. I have been incredibly tired lately, and my Sunday was completely LAZY. because I have to drive all the time, I'll sometimes try to see if I can go a whole day without getting in my car. So after my early church service I stayed home alll day and was a complete bum. the one productive thing I did (besides preparing food) was cleaning my bathroom. then I just watched Hulu and such. 'twas glorious :)

I survived my class final last week, though it wasn't as much "fun" as the midterm. oh well, it's over and I'm done! so no more classes for me until the fall semester starts, I believe on September 2nd. so until then I've been enjoying the time off. of course, if you've ever met me you'd know that I don't stay lazy for long...

Friday I went to the Stock Yards and was pleased to return to my "element" after being gone for almost 3 weeks. It did take a little while for me to get back in the swing of things, but I'm excited for these next two weeks (I'm leaving for Lynn's-Major-Summer-Road-Trip July 26th, just fyi). I met with the director of the Cowboy museum since I hadn't been there since my class started and she was really excited because they're getting a new exhibit and I'm going to be one of the head researchers for the arrival of that (more later...)!

back to Friday: I also discovered a cool thing that the Stock Yards museum has hidden in the back. See, the place is a total hodge-podge of All Things Texas that they haven't really made the room for. We've got stuff from old Indian tribes, Cowboys, the Stock Yards and all that (Fort Worth was once called the "Wall Street of the West"), the Texas 150th anniversary (sesquicentennial??) stuff, etc, etc.

WELL, I was in my supervisor's office and I noticed a picture of Matthew McConaughey and recognized it being a "still" from the movie Sahara. Thinking, "why is this here?" I took a closer look and realized that the sidekick in the film has a hat on for the STOCK YARDS! I had never noticed it before and WE HAVE THAT HAT! So that was my little brush with fame for the day :)

Friday night I spent at the house Sarah's house-sitting (valued at $1.5 million...y'know... :)) and then Saturday I relaxed and tried to nap and prepare for the KEITH URBAN CONCERT that evening. It was great; Janet and I took the little train that goes between Fort Worth and Dallas and went to this Taste of Dallas event in one part of town, got free food passes from the radio station that gave me the concert tickets, ate, and then took another train over to the concert. Keith Urban was AH-Mazing, I've never gotten so emotional at a concert just because he pretty much exudes energy into every single song. And Jason Aldean opened for him and Janet and I had a blast!! :)

Sunday, like I said, was Lazy Day. I made up for it yesterday though by going over to the Cowboy Museum and starting on their project for me. They've received a huge collection of artifacts from battles in Texas when it was still a Republic, and then the Mexican American War, with things like one of Santa Anna's swords, and an original Walker Colt Pistol. Soo exciting! It's all going to be in one place - OUR museum!!

The collection came with a packet of info on it all and I had to copy it - not with a xerox, but by actually TYPING all of it out. It was quite the job, but I managed to finish it up today (My mom's typing drills came in handy!).

So, I suppose this post is long enough. These next few weeks are going to be CA-RAZY because I need to pack and hope to leave early Sunday (the 26th) for my trip North. Thing is, the Day of the American Cowboy is in the Stock Yards on the 25th, and I'm going to be helping with that, plus maybe a gala in the evening, so I'll have to try to get most of my packing done before I leave. Ahh! :)

Looking forward to seeing some of you "northerners" soon!! :)

welcome to July!

2009-07-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

sorry it's been a while, and thanks for all the "congrats" notes about the concert tickets! I got the O.K. from the station yesterday saying that the tickets were ready to be picked up so I think I'll brave the Dallas traffic this afternoon to get them. yay!

I really really need to get new running shoes. I've been walking/jogging much more since I've been here, and I've noticed them getting a bit worn. my ankle today has been acting up, a result from my resistance to keep up the physical therapy after spraining it in high school. :P

my 4th of July weekend was pretty fantastic; I did lots and lots. Thursday night Janet and I went to downtown Fort Worth and watched Top Gun on this giant movie screen in the middle of a parking lot. it was like that Movie on the Mall thing they did in D.C. it was pretty neat to watch with a bunch of other people, and I've only seen it one other time so it was fun to watch again!

Friday I relaxed a bit and then Janet, her friend Kelly, and Sarah came over for a barbeque at my house. I went to bed early while Janet and Kelly braved Dallas traffic for fireworks. I got up early Saturday to go to the Irving Parade, which I didn't really watch myself. Instead I hung out at a local diner with the two pregnant friends of mine, Sarah (different Sarah) and Lauren. After a long breakfast that included my coffee cup NEVER getting empty, I headed over to Janet's and picked her up for the day.

First we went to the DFW airport to greet the troops and it was pretty awesome to see. People were waiting outside to greet them, that's how crowded it was. then we went to Bass Pro Shop to pick up some things, had lunch at Cracker Barrel, and went to a Tea Party out at Southfork. (For those of you who don't know, Southfork is the ranch where the TV show Dallas was filmed. My mom was very impressed :)) It was a kinda scatter-brained tea party in that there wasn't one particular act or central theme to the event. We only stayed a couple hours because it was so insanely hot and there really wasn't much to do except people-watch and check out the posters people had. Can I just say I was ohsoannoyed that someone had a sign that was grammatically incorrect?? Grrr...used "it's" instead of "its"...pet peeve of mine... :P

Anyway, we left and headed back to Irving to listen to their symphony orchestra play songs (of course had to include "The Yellow Rose of Texas" on AMERICA'S Independence Day!) and watched fireworks. We went to Janet's and started watching Footloose, and then I headed home around 12:30, exhausted.

got up early the next day for Mass, and then read and read and read. My final is TOMORROW (I can't believe it!) so I've just finished the book and will start reviewing. I'm getting plans laid out for my mega road trip at the end of the month, so if you're in the Illinois/Michigan/Toledo (ahem) area, let me know when I can see you!!

Loves. :)

Maybe I am an "Urban" Cowboy

2009-06-30T21:22:00.000-07:00

okay so I was in MI this weekend and it was a great trip. I'm not as depressed as I worried I'd be, but more motivated to finish up and get the heck outta here so I can get on with my life. I met with Dr. Sweet, my advisor, to figure out things. I think I'll take three classes this fall, even though I'm signed up for four, because it'd be a bit crazy. that'll leave me with two to take in the spring. I don't know what I'll do with all my time yet (two classes will leave me quite a bit of free time), but that's a long ways from now.

so, I had some excitment on Thursday morning, for those of you who don't look at facebook that often. See, a few weeks ago one of the country stations was giving away Brad Paisley tickets and I was trying like heck to try to win 'em, since the concert's the day after my birthday. well I never won, despite listening to the station through the computer and basically revolving my days around the ticket-giveaway times. (Mom bought the tickets anyway for me as a birthday present and she'll fly down for it!)

well, last week since I had gotten into the habit of tuning in for the morning show and they started giving away Keith Urban tickets for an upcoming tickets. I thought, "that'd be kinda neat if I won." So Thursday they told callers that you didn't have to be a special number caller, but you had to say an exact phrase as soon as a DJ answered the phone. so I did my usual dial (I had saved the number in my phone) of call-end-call-end-call-end and someone actually answered. without hesitating, thinking what the heck I rambled,

"I am caller number 99 and I am going to see Keith Urban from 99-5 the WOLF!" and hear some people yell, "Winner!!"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I couldn't believe it, I kept asking if they were serious, and was surprisingly calm as they told me that I had in fact won and I had to do the little Wolf "howl" at the end after they ask who made me a winner. ah-wooo!!!

so that's July 11, perfect timing on the Saturday just after this class is over! I'm taking Janet and am ohsoexcited! They're supposed to call this week with ticket info, and maybe by then it'll actually feel real. Yay!

so, off to reading more for class. actually, I'll probably just hit the hay because I'm soo tired and sore. Sarah took me golfing yesterday and helped me develop my swing. we'll see what happens with that! :)

laterz

June's almost over?

2009-06-24T08:04:00.001-07:00

In some ways I'm surprised it's only June. Like the fact that the high forecast for today is 102. That'd be understandable if it was July. Late July. Not June. It's so frustrating because it still gets into the upper 70s (freezing!) at night, and we only put our A/C to about 82. Now, when it's 95-degrees at night, 82 isn't a bad choice. But when it's 75 when you wake up, and the "A/C" is still only at 82, it's hot. And frustrating. I sleep with three fans going and the last two nights I've had very poor sleep. Once the temperature becomes a little more reliable (as in, not getting below 80 at night) it probably won't be so bad. Meanwhile, they've issued a "heat warning" from today until 8pm tomorrow night. And a pollution warning, whatever that means. *sigh*

In some ways I'm not surprised it's only June though. I want this summer over, or something. I'm just restless and want to get out of this state, out of school, out into what I want to do. I feel like I've accomplished nothing in life, and that I'm just standing still watching others do more noteworthy things. Blah.

We have our "midterm" tomorrow (for you avid facebook users, it got bumped back a day) and I'm so unmotivated. I know I'll get it into gear soon, but part of me is wondering why I need to study so hard for an A. I mean, I'm loving the class and I know I'm learning a lot and it's been awesome. But why a test? So in a year from now when I'm actually trying to get a job I can tell someone I had a high GPA at an obscure school in Texas while pursuing my Master's of Humanities. Oh, you don't know what that is? You and about a million others...*sigh*

sorry, enough of the pity party. I just really can't wait to go on my road trip that I'm planning on for later this summer. And the fact that it's only June means that I still have a month to go. And I'm afraid that this weekend home in Michigan is going to only make me more depressed.

Hmm...looks like some prayers would be appreciated.

On the bright side:
-I got strawberries yesterday and was good and cleaned them and cut them up so they're all ready to snack!
-I managed to rearrange my closet in a more efficient way.
-My car's A/C works.
-I'm surviving caffiene (sp?)-free so far today.
-I have the time to waste on posts like this! ;) ;)

forward-looking

2009-06-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

wow sorry for the delay in postings. I hadn't realized it had been so long. Quick re-cap:

-I've been reading and busy with my Tocqueville class. we have our "midterm" this Wednesday.
-Alicia went to El Paso for an event last week and managed to get 2+-hour layovers each way, so we got to get together in the DFW airport area.
-I desperately tried to win Brad Paisley tickets through a local radio station. never won, but Mom had already offered to get them for me anyway since the concert is the day after my birthday this year here in Dallas. I got 'em yesterday and Mom's flying down for it and I'm sooooper excited :)

so not too much else has been happening. I try to read in the morning, go to class in the afternoon, and either watch things on my computer/read/hang out with Janet &/or Sarah in the evenings. it's been pretty relaxing and nice.

I go home this Friday for a quick-trip to MI until Sunday. It's going to be such a tease and I hope it doesn't get me down too much. after that I'll be stuck here until August and I'm still trying to figure out when I'm going to do my massive road trip up north. Plus, UD still hasn't posted a real schedule about this fall's class schedule, so I'm not sure when classes start. There's a "tentative" schedule that says September 2nd, and Labor Day's late this year so it'll be the Wednesday before.

dum de dum...so this past week I've seen two new movies. Last Saturday I saw 17 Again at the cheaper theater for $1.75 and it was soo cute/good. I was much more impressed than I expected to be. I highly recommend it because it's got a very pro-abstinence message that I was so happy about. It even went a little farther than that whole don't-have-sex-until-you're-in-love thing and actually said marriage is the best place for sex. verycool.

last night Sarah and I rented one of those $1-movies they have in the entryway at WalMart. It was that Paul Blart: Mall Cop film and it was pretty cute. Terribly predictable, of course, but a nice little family flick.

I really want to see The Proposal soon and cannot wait for Public Enemies to come out.

Sarah's been teaching me more about golf and everything and I was at her apartment yesterday to "read" and she had the PGA Master's on tv on mute and I actually caught myself watching it several times and not finding it entirely boring! It's almost hypnotic, you start watching and are sucked in, lol.

welp, I better go and read since I haven't done any today. I slept in until 8am this morning, and then cleaned my bathroom, re-made my entire bed (bedskirt and all), and dusted my vanity/bar thing (three glass shelves that needed to be wiped down). Off I go!

feeling hot hot hot

2009-06-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

Oh Lord, weather forecast gives a high of 100 tomorrow. yes you read that correctly. thus begins the 3-digit temps of Lynn's First Full Texas Summer. Yikes.

we turned the A/C on the other day, despite my determination to stay, er, hot. actually I don't think any of my presumed plans in my previous post went as, uh, planned.

Tuesday was a no-go on the movie, and all I ended up doing is lounging around the house, doing a little reading (maybe?), and getting to bed early. Wednesday (yesterday) was another bit of a let down because I headed to the swank house that Sarah was house-sitting, only to be greeted by another famous weather phenomenon of Texas: tornadoes and flash floods. the sky went from dark to greenish, the rains came and the thunder rolled (as Garth Brooks would say). and it rolled and rolled and rolled.

seriously, I can't remember ever experiencing a storm of thunder and lightening that literally lasted alll night long. I vividly remember checking my clock at 5:02 am when being woken up yet again by the house shaking, rolling over to fall back asleep, and being woken up again and seeing the clock read 5:22. *sigh* needless to say, it wasn't a "good" morning at all, and coffee was welcomed with open arms.

in other news, my class is going fabulously and I'm sooo happy I decided to take it. I am getting a little nervous about the four classes I'm enrolled in for the fall, because I'm not sure if I can handle that much and still come up for air from time to time. I know, it's waaaay too early to be thinking about that now. though today is three months until my birthday ;)

this evening I went to a meeting of the North Fort Worth Historical Society and that was trip. I was the youngest person by about thirty years, and I just happened to go on the night when representatives of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and the Sons of the Republic of Texas gave testimonies and info about what a wonderful place their state is, how it could still secede if it wanted to, how it can fly its flag at the same height as the Stars and Stripes, blah blah blah.

I thought it was funny the things they declared as just *common* knowledge, like everyone knows this stuff. Granted, their audience probably consisted of 90% pure true-blood Texans, but still. oh well, it got me in the Stock Yards on an off night, and I can't help but love being in Fort Worth. Sooo much better than Dallas :)

so I guess I won't make any assumptions here as to what I think I'll be doing this weekend, since I apparently FAIL at that, but it does promise to be fun, and that's all that counts. I just hope I don't die of heat just yet!

sweat sweat sweat

2009-06-09T06:06:00.001-07:00

ugh it's hot. I can't remember the last time we had rain (last week? Tuesday I believe...) and it's been consistently in the 90s despite what little chance of precipitation there is. we haven't turned the A/C on yet, which I'm actually happy about, since once we start the bills will start to skyrocket. so I'm suffering with my three fans going, trying to figure out a better system of staying cool.

in other news, I've made a new friend, Sarah, and we've hung out a few times and it's been a lot of fun. I love making friends with people who aren't in Academia. she's - get this - a golf pro which means she works at one of the swank country clubs in the area and teaches golf, etc (I keep misspelling that "gold" :P). so, for those of you who know me, golf isn't exactly in my forte of knowledge, but I think she'll (this is for Jessica) "putt" up with me anyway. :)

Sarah gets to house-sit for the rich members of her country club (and I mean rich, Southlake is known for being one of the wealthiest cities in America) and I'm going over Wednesday to hang out in the life of luxury by the poolside. that's the plan anyway. I can't wait.

I'm also planning on going to the movies tonight with Janet, which means at least two hours of air-conditioned bliss. *sigh* I'm afraid we might see Star Trek, which I guess won't be awful, except I know absolutely NOTHING about that stuff (even less than golf) and don't know if I'll be terribly lost. any thoughts??? I'd like to see Up because I was supposed to see that with some friends from the Cowboy Museum (yes, we were going to see Up and not Night at the Museum II) and we never did and it looks ohsooocute. but I'm not picky.

my summer class started yesterday, so we'll see how this goes. the only summer classes I've ever taken were at Lansing Community College, which let's just say isn't quite as demanding as UD. the next five weeks might consist of me being AWOL, though thankfully I'm already slightly ahead of the syllabus, so let's see if I can keep it that way. Especially since I'm making a quick trip up to Michigan for my Dad's office's 25th Anniversary celebration in a few weeks. I'm glad it'll keep me busy though. Last week I was becoming far too lazy.

So that's all for now. Stay class-y :)

crazy-ness needing a breather

2009-05-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

okay that question thing on the blogs is cool, but takes waaay too long to plow through. also, I just realized people had updated several times since my last viewing, so know that I still love you and read up on you, but because of the invite-only thing don't always see what you've written right away.

*sigh*

Some Random Thoughts:

so today mere walking was a work-out and I'm already starting to get sick of the heat. I wish A/C was cheaper; it's so sad to get done with nice walk outside, and then going into a warm house. ick.

today I walked for my friends' city council run-off election and got a little sunburned, despite the sunscreen I applied.

this week has been spent enjoying the fact that Lifetime has decided to be cool and post all of Season 2 of Army Wives Full Episodes in time for a refresher before the Season 3 premier on June 7th (get ready!). LOOOVE it!! I've enjoyed getting caught up, annnd I managed to get Janet hooked on it as well :)

several of my friends around here have been moving around town from house to house, or house to apt and I've been helping with the heavy lifting. I think it's starting to catch up to me. It also makes me appreciate the fact that I'm not moving, the first time in five years! The next time I move I will (hopefully) be going far away from Texas. I am getting ohsosick of the drivers here! My Fort Worth commute is taking its toll and I just wish they could be smart considerate drivers for once! c'mon y'all - prove me wrong!!

I went to the library and happily checked out several books, including some on Fort Worth history to contribute to my learnings over in the stockyards. oh and I got Huck Finn on CD to listen to - yay!

At Wal Mart yesterday I saw in the bargain book bin Gretchen Wilson's (the Redneck Woman) autobiography! you bet I picked up a copy! ;)

blah. it's too darn hot.

One long week

2009-05-23T21:15:00.001-07:00

Has it already been a week since my last post? Ugh, this week has been utterly exhausting! I started giving tours and I meant to post earlier, especially since writing sounds sooo much better than talking to people about it. Quick re-cap:

Monday I began my *official* tour guide duties. Things have been crazy as the school years around here are wrapping up, plus schools are trying to make up for the two weeks they were closed due to the Swine Flu scare. Monday alone we had about fifteen tours all in one day, five of which were led by moi. This includes giving a brief introduction about the museum and building itself, followed by a roughly-40 minute tour all around our wagon collection at the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum.

So the two grades that we normally get are 4th and 7th graders, because those are the grades in which they teach Texas history in the public (and maybe private?) schools in the area. I am definitely a bigger fan of the 4th graders. They're so cute! I ask them a lot of questions and they're at that age where they loooove raising their hands and giving answers. The 7th graders are in that whole too-cool-for-school age, though some of them are pretty polite. I was kinda surprised by the 7th-graders carrying Coach purses though, I'll tell you what. The 4th graders get kinda annoying in the afternoon tours though because they're starting to fade from a long day of field-tripping the Stockyards and they sit down while you're talking. Also, they start to smell in the afternoon because they're at that age when they haven't quite discovered deodorant. But I can't help but think it's a little cute at how little it matters at that age. ;)

So after tours I've gone over on Monday and Wednesday to help at the Stockyards Museum across the street. They've got a TON of old memorablia (sp?) to go through for their records and such (UNT has promised to scan a bunch of old photos for a database at the end of the summer) and we're trying to sort it all out. I've had fun looking at the old pictures of what the Stockyards was like at the beginning of the 20th century and all; it's put a lot in perspective. I think overall I prefer to deal with people though, and there I'm cooped up in a little office for hours.

In the evenings I've been pretty exhausted, but haven't had much of a chance to catch up on sleep. Thursday was glorious because I had the day off and all I had to do was take my roommate to the airport. Then I slept and lounged around for the afternoon.

Thursday evening was exciting because my friend Allanah came over for a movie and she left around Midnight and I was about to settle in for my first night all alone in the house when she rings my doorbell and announces that her two car windows had been shot out! I rush outside and see that thankfully my car windows were okay, but hers were definitely destroyed! We called the police and the Irving Police succeeded in dashing any hopes I had for the local patrol by taking a full 40 minutes to come out to us to report the crime (I'm so sure Thursday nights are super busy :P). We waited around for them and Allanah spent the night at a friend's. I found out the next morning that the little punks had shot out the windows in another car window down the street, so now I'm a little nervous about parking my car on the street for the next few days (although I have been since I moved in and have never EVER had a problem!).

It's annoying but I highly doubt anything will happen like this again. It's a totally safe area and it was probably some dumba** kids with nothing better to do. Still, I have made no mention of it to my parents, who arrived yesterday to visit. I know they'd only flip, and I really have no alternative, because when my roommates are here there's only two places on the driveway, so someone would always be at risk. blah.

So yeah, Mom and Dad got here yesterday and I've been showing 'em the sights. We had fun in Dallas today and went shopping at the Galleria and they were gracious enough to buy me some new clothes I needed (bonus: getting a shirt I had previously bought and then returned because I hadn't realized how expensive it was when I bought it, only to discover it was on sale for about 75% less than what it originally cost! as Emily would say, Huzzah!). Tomorrow we're exploring Fort Worth and I'll show them all my goodies there.

Well I'd say this is sufficiently long enough, so peace out!

summertime and the living is easy

2009-05-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

well I'm officially on summer va-cay as of last Thursday. I've basked in naps and movies, not to mention catching up on some amazing season finales and eating more ice cream. so, I'm now geared up to work!

tomorrow begins my first day as a tourguide for the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. sadly, I don't get to wear a hat. :( I believe I'll be getting a t-shirt and leading little kids all around our extensive wagon/cart collection. I should probably review my notes before bed.

it's been a long day, and I can't believe all that I've done. plus this sun really takes it outta you. I went to UD's graduation ceremony that started at 9am. they do it so early so it starts before it gets really hot here. it was nice, but definitely made me appreciate Hillsdale's a lot. they had it on their "mall" (think "quad") and you really couldn't see much. and we were far back and it seemed pretty casual. it was a little weird afterwards since I really didn't know any of the graduating seniors, but whatev.

Janet had gone with me and we went back to my house to figure out what church services there were being offered when. I got home to discover that we had to leave right then in order to get to one on time that was downtown. so off we went!

after Mass we went to a coffee shop and chillaxed for a bit before trekking back to Irving. I booked my flight for my quick-trip in June, and also visited with my roommates' former roommate (who lived in my room). I also went for a walk and got to catch up with some friends via the phone.

this evening I wanted to get some gas before the week so I didn't have to worry about it and again (this is the second time it's happened to me in about 8 months) someone at the gas station was asking for money. it was a little sad; the first time I just handed the woman $10 so she'd leave me - and other patrons - alone (hopefully). this time I knew the guy was going to ask but at first I walked the other way so he'd think I didn't hear him when I went to talk to the clerk at the window.

after pumping gas he came back and asked for a dollar for gas and I told him I didn't have any change (which was true, I'd given my last bucks to the church collection). well, actually, upon further examination, I did have a twenty. but seriously dude, what would a dollar's worth of gas really get you? like, half a gallon. I don't know if they ask for a dollar because they think it's better to ask for something less or what. it just frustrates me when people do that. especially men to women. it was still light out, but the sun was starting to set and it just...*sigh* whatever. I hope he got where he was headed.

so I guess I'm off to bed. Mom and Dad come Friday so yay!

whew!

2009-05-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

well, I have officially completed my first year of Grad School!! I can't believe this time last year I wasn't even sure UD was the place for me. I thought Grad School would be all about the politics. I thought it'd be a quick chapter in Lynn's Life that I had to get through. I had no idea where I was going to live or what kind of people I would know...

quite a year. God placed me in a wonderful house with great roommates. I embraced the liberal arts education that UD offers as a continuation of my time at Hillsdale (where it wasn't really until sophomore/senior year that I fully understood what "liberal arts" means). I decided that although political philosophy is interesting, I haven't got it in me to study all that philosophy so much and I definitely don't feel called to a PhD anytime soon. I've made great friends and have had some great experiences. *sigh*

One notsohot experience of my time here happened today though:

See, two weeks ago, I went to SMU for a Heritage Foundation event. After paying for parking and leaving the Visitors' Parking Garage, I noticed something in my windshield. Alas, it wasn't a prank parking ticket like the fabulous one Micah left for me in Ann Arbor three years ago (eesh, THREE?!???). It was a full-fledge ticket! For being a visitor in the VISITORS' garage!!!

So, I threw it on my desk and kinda forgot about it while I was preoccupied with a little thing called Finals. Yesterday I remembered it and looked to see if there was a deadline. Yup. 15 days from the issue date. which = TODAY.

So I moseyed on down to downtown Dallas to get this straightened out. I knew I probably would succumb to the least confrontational method of just paying for the injustice of a parking ticket (since it was a visitors' lot, I was a visitor, and I paid my way to park there). Well, I have been spoiled by Hillsdale's simple administration! (seriously folks, we didn't know how good we had it)

First, I went to the Financial Services office, as the ticket said that was where I was to pay it. I went to the Financial Aid desk, since it was the first desk I saw, and they directed me across the hall to a different Financial Services/Registrar's desk. Then, since I didn't want to pay but wanted to appeal, they said I had to go to the "Pony Park" office (SMU's mascot is the Mustang...erg) which is across a major highway, i.e. not walking distance from the place I had already parked and paid a meter.

So I went back to my car and drove over to this Pony place. Get there and tell the guy I want to dispute my ticket. By this time I was already getting a bit frustrated about the whole thing. I'm trying to tell the guy that I think it's silly to give tickets to people who are visiting and parking in the VISITORS parking lot. He says that I was supposed to put the little ticket I got when entering the garage on my dashboard! Seriously, wtf?

I've parked in several garages in my day, and it's never been customary to put the little ticket on the dash. I've always just stashed it under my radio or something until I needed it to exit the parking lot. I guess since this lot doesn't have one of those bar-things to regulate how many people come and go, they want you to put it on the dash to prove that you, in fact, stopped and grabbed a ticket. But seriously, who pays that much attention!??? Grr

So the guy says if I want to dispute my ticket I have to go to a website and make my claim. Because I'm not already at the office and could easily just talk to someone in person about my ridiculous ticket. Oh no, I'm expected to go and find this stupid website so I can do something that I should be able to do RIGHT THERE!! &@*%!!

So since the stupid ticket is due today, and I didn't have time to go home and figure this whole thing out on-line (remember SMU is about 25 minutes away) I decide to just pay the stupid thing and dispute it later. I bite my tongue and prepare to embrace some humility and go back to the Financial Services desk to pay the ticket. I get all the way back to campus and find out, "oh you're not an SMU student? then you have to pay your ticket at the Pony Park office." SERIOUSLY!?!?!????

I go back to the Pony office, where I already feel like I've officially gained a reputation as a Class A B*tch (and I totally felt like one, not gonna lie) and tell the guy I have to pay the ticket. And that's a process in and of itself. The guy is practically whispering through the glass window things like, "Was this a rental car?" (um, huh?) and asking for the money after I've already handed him a check. etc, etc, etc

Anyway, that's over with and I'm exhausted. It's hot, it's windy, and I am going to take a nap. I'm going out for drinks tonight and I want to be all set.

Gotta love bureaucracy :P

May Day!!

2009-05-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

well the weekend was fairly uneventful, and I'm wrapping it up with an episode of The Price is Right. Gosh it's been forever since I've sat through this show and it is taking FOREVER. I can't tell if it's because the Internet (that we, ahem, *borrow*) is being slow or if the website is just lame. I used to watch TPIR every day in the summer when I was little and I think one summer in particular I would watch it and eat a ham sandwich on white bread. ahh, those were the days ;)

Anyway, I'm watching the show because on Friday's episode (which, I'm sorry, but I think it's a little weird for a game show to post episodes on-line, but I guess it's good this time but I can't imagine watching them like I do other shows all the time...) my friend/acquaitance is on it and I'm trying to find out if he wins. His name is Matthew Maroon so if I've intrigued you enough to check it out, he's the first one called in the show to "Come on down!". Alas, he hasn't won the first little round-thing yet so I'm waiting for it to load...

In other news, I went out Friday night and then campaigned Saturday for a city council race that the guys that I helped out last semester are managing. I guess it's pretty important for Dallas and it's looking pretty exciting, though they'll probably have to have a runoff election, which I've never really witnessed. I thought I'd be campaigning all day but by 2pm I was done so I got a nice relaxing afternoon of reading and enjoying the thunderstorms that we've been having. It was really intense and if it was warmer I would have been out running in it or something. ca-razy.

oh, so look what happened Saturday. The Dallas Cowboys' practice stadium just north of me COLLAPSED because of the storms. My Dad was in Florida and saw a story about it on FoxNews and called to see if I was all right. Looks like the wind got up to 60mph...crazy! thankfully it wasn't the old stadium that's right near my house that collapsed, but still.

So today has been pretty lame. I'm starting to freak out a little bit about finals, especially a paper due next week that I haven't started and is a bit bigger than I had previously anticipated, so I must go now and get some reading done. *sigh* too bad UD couldn't be on the HC schedule more. I have a final Saturday (boo) and then I'll be done at 11am next Wednesday (the 13th).

Wish me luck! :)

I wanna be DONE

2009-04-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

le sigh. I think my Mom is missing me because she's sent me two e-mails since beginning her trip to Florida this week and she keeps mentioning the "belated Mother's Day dinner" we're having at the Olive Garden once she and Dad come to visit for Memorial Day.

so, I'm still exhausted from my "adventures" yesterday and can't believe it's only Wednesday. I still have so many things yet to do this week and all I want to do is sleep!

I have a final paper and two final exams for the end of this semester, and so it's pretty easy sailings as far as that goes. I get to read a nice little memoir for the paper, and the tests shouldn't be big surprises, though I think I'll start reviewing for them. last classes are next week, afterall. yikes.

so, yesterday. I went to my history class at 9:30 until 10:45 and then there was a Heritage Foundation event right here in Dallas at SMU that I wanted to go to. My professor Dr. West was going to be giving a lecture at 11 so I wanted to cheer him on. ;)

well, there was no way I'd get to downtown Dallas in those few 15 minutes but no worries, I took my time, managed to find parking (in the visitors lot. for which I got a parking ticket. grr.) and went to the talk and then a nice luncheon where Jonah Goldberg was the lunchtime speaker. It was a fun speech and very lively.

the rest of the afternoon thus consisted of:

-trying to go to a pub at 2pm, which apparently is before any open.
-walking around yuppie-town in Dallas and cutting up my feet in my heels.
-taking the *free* trolley to a Walgreens to buy flip flops for my poor feet.
-looking for a movie theater that no longer exists (good ol' GPS....)
-going to a legit theater and seeing the flick State of Play (not bad, but with Ben Affleck so figure that one out)
-trying to eat at a BWW but it being packed because some stupid NBA texas game was on.
-eating instead at an IHOP.

it was fun, but I didn't go to bed until after midnight. *whew!*

it's only April?

2009-04-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

Well I've officially be a "blogger" for a year now. It's crazy to think of how much has happened, and how things have changed. Then I was writing to put off two big papers for school. Now, I'm writing to put off two papers for school... ;)

Seriously though, I went on a walk with my friend Allanah on Wednesday to get ice cream (it registered 95 that day...ick) and she was talking about how she's got her plan of classes and how she's studying Greek and Latin because that's what she came to UD for - to master the languages and teach them. I guess I thought it was because she had some kind of scholarship or something that required her to master them, but it's just because that's what made her come to Grad School. She asked me what my reason for being here was and....I still have no idea.

Which is fine, I suppose. It just hadn't occured to me for a while that I need a more practical purpose because, well, I don't have one. I think about teaching every now and then. I think about settling down. I think about moving somewhere and doing something completely different. I think I think I think.

One thing about my "colleagues" (can I call them that?) is that no one is at the same level, and it's almost refreshing. You really can't compare yourself to anyone else's progress, because we all have such different goals and such. I'm going to take classes and then comps sometime next spring, time TBA. Others are going to write theses. Others are going to take several classes this summer. Some are going away for the summer. It's all so different, everyone's different, yet the same.

The end of the semester is slowly but surely coming, and I'm trying to prep mentally. The weather (because I can't post without talking about it!) is ridiculous, and it's going to be tough concentrating. We've been registering well over 70-degrees with wind and it's ohsohot. And rain keeps being forecasted but to no avail. I went to bed early Thursday because I was so exhausted from the heat. And school. And life. I think I'll get some serious sleeping in this summer, and I can't wait!

A great day for movies...

2009-04-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

Wednesday already? Hmm, okay. So it's currently 88degrees right now. In April. This summer is going to be awful... :P

I finished my paper for Dr. West yesterday and turned it in via e-mail. I had to submit a hard copy as well, but I didn't finish it before 5pm so the offices were closed. But since it was in I basically threw any hopes of being productive for the rest of Tuesday out the window. Ha.

I finished watching another Lifetime movie via http://www.mylifetime.com/ and it was ridiculously bad (again). I must be some kind of masochist (sp?) or something, but there's something addictive about these terrible movies. The fact that they star pretty well-known actors who have since fallen off the mainstream radar makes them somewhat delightful. One had LeAnn Rimes in it, and yesterday's had Brittany Murphy and the guy who plays Smith in Sex and the City.

The movies are based on books by Nora Roberts, who is like Danielle Steele's attempt at a thriller. Don't laugh, but I did actually get a bit freaked out by one of the movies when I was home alone once. ;)

A great thing about these movies is you can always count on them. The plots more or less go like this:

-Someone moves into a new town (town, not a city because everyone knows everyone). It's usually a girl going on her own, but one had a guy moving to a new place.
-Town has some dark secret from the past that main character must solve.
-Guy and girl meet, fall in love.
-Girl is unusually aggressive in the relationship. Guy proposes, girl hesitates - "we've got such a good thing going, why ruin it with marriage?" - but ultimately gives in.
-Something dramatic and climatic happens. Guy saves girl.
-Guy and girl live happily ever after. Life resumes as normal.

I've watched about five of them in the last month. And with finals just around the corner, I may get another two more in! ;)

Well, back to real life...

April showers...and wind ;)

2009-04-19T07:41:00.001-07:00

Well it's been awhile now, hasn't it? This week seemed to go by fast and I can't believe just last weekend I was preparing for Easter. crazy.

so, in sum, I've been trying to write and finish a paper for school that's due Wednesday. I'm in pretty good shape, and I'm pretty proud of how well I've been managing my time. Yesterday I spent literally all day in downtown Dallas with my friend Janet at the SMU library. We took some breaks here and there, but didn't go to far from the library, so that was great.

also, last Monday Alicia came to town! it was so good to have "home folk" here so I could finally show off my house/campus/life to someone from my "past". Gosh, some of y'all need to come down SOUTH! ;) A visit with Alicia is never complete without some random adventures (heck, what visit with me isn't?), and here are the highlights:

-driving her to the Residence Inn to check in, only to find out it's the wrong Residence Inn, and then inevitably taking the long way to get to the right one.
-walking around the massive Gaylord Texan hotel on a Monday night when nothing is going on.
-trusting my GPS to take us to a Wal Mart that hasn't existed for about 10 years.
-meeting up so early for breakfast in the cute town of Grapevine that no other shops were open except the place we ate.
-observing visitors from Grapevine's Austrian "sister city" being received by a Texan welcoming committee.

after Alicia left I proceeded to buckle down, and the end is almost in sight. I have a mini-paper due tomorrow that I haven't started yet, plus need to finish the one for Wednesday. then two papers due the next week. then a last big paper. then finals. *sigh*

But I'm so looking for the summer, even though it's going to be ridiculously-hot-OMG-I-don't-even-know-how-to-prepare-myself.

Mom and Dad are coming to visit Memorial Day weekend!

annnd, I met with the executive director of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum to become an *official* volunteer there! I'm excited; I think it's going to be super fun. The people are so chill and nice and it's right in the Fort Worth Stockyards and I guess it's like a little community of the people who work there so I will be making contacts and and and....!! :)

so, another incentive for you potential visitors: come visit me and I'll give you a tour!

ahh it's a beautiful day (windy again) after all the rain we had Friday and Saturday. I might even get two walks into today! crazy!

Windy and Palm-y today!

2009-04-05T07:46:00.000-07:00

Again with the wind, Texas!

Quick question for those with the invite-only blogs: is there a way to be notified when there are new posts? I always forget to keep checking the "login only" ones and then I feel bad when it's been a few days and I've been out of the loop. I suppose I need to be a more efficient procrastinator ;)

Friday afternoon Holly and I drove down to Austin, TX, so my Texan Adventures continue! It was pretty neat to see another place besides the northeast corner of the state. Oh Texarkana, how I'm sick of you.

We meant to go to Austin to see Holly's cousin's voice recital for UT-Austin but we left late and got caught in Dallas rush-hour traffic. Although it was pretty fabulous to drive in the HOV-lane for once and we just flew by in that short jog!

So we missed the recital, but afterwards we went to the Four Season's hotel where Holly and I shared a room with her grandma. After checking in Holly and I joined her cousin Lee and his new wife Amy to see what Austin had to offer. Since it was late and a bit cold we didn't explore too much, but we did come upon The Elephant Room and it was a cute little jazz bar. Only they played a genre of music that I recognized, but wouldn't consider "jazz". That genre still confuses me a bit. The band was made up of some Cubans and other Latinos and there was a saxophone and people were kinda salsa-dancing...I'm so bad. All in all though it was pretty great.

The dancing couples were pretty impressive, and the saxophone player was entertaining in that he was the youngest of the band, and always looked like he was thinking of something other than music. He'd look kinda hestitant when he was about to play, like he didn't know when to come in, and then when he did, he just wailed and sounded pretty darn awesome. Cool cool.

Saturday we had breakfast at another cousin's house and it was a very interesting place. Lots of modern furniture and decor that you see in magazines but can't imagine living in. They only had large area rugs, and the rest of the floor was concrete. I mean, it worked for them, but I guess I'm more into a relaxed, lived-in look.

After breakfast/brunch Holly's grandmother wanted to show us the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Exhibit so it was Holly, me, her cousin Juliette, and her grandma. We spent a few hours there looking at all the flowers and they were really pretty. There are these flowers called Bluebonnets that are native to Texas and the Texans just love them. They are rather pretty, I have to admit.

We got back kinda late last night, and I'm hoping to get a lot done today even though I'm pretty exhausted. Thankfully one of my profs extended a paper deadline so I don't have to worry about it too much, though I want to get a good head start on it before Alicia comes. Also, I'm still curious to know if any of you have read The Catcher in the Rye and if so, what you thought of it.

I survived a walk in the park

2009-04-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

Eek I can't believe it's Wednesday already. This week is going much too fast for my taste.

Like today for instance. I got up around 6:40am, got ready and read until leaving for first the post office and then class at 10. It was a fun class because in "honor" of April Fools' Day our teacher decided to go waaay off topic. We discussed the fact that tomorrow is the anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II. It made me feel old that some of my classmates were only 15 or so when it happened, and I was a freshman in college. And someone brought up 9/11 and some were only ten when that happened. *gosh*

Class this afternoon was good, though it went by pretty quickly. I have a paper due for that class on April 17, which is right after Alicia visits (!!!) so I want to have most of it done by the time she comes. I've got plenty of time, but I get nervous with research papers because I don't want to do a bunch of research and then change my mind. I started looking up one Founding Father but decided to study a different one instead. The UD library sucks, have I mentioned that before? erg

My roommate Holly and I have had rough weeks and Monday night she bought me flowers to make me feel better, so I returned the favor by buying her take-out from Corner Bakery. We're thinking of going to Austin this weekend, though now I'm not so sure. It's so freaking far (aahhh Texas!!) and I'm a bit nervous about the two little papers I have to do for next week.

So right now I'm focusing on reading reading reading for said papers. Did I mention I'm reading a biography on Robert E. Lee? It's quite interesting, though it's going through all of these battles and I'm getting so lost and having a hard time envisioning all the battle prep stuff. And the names confuse me...Jackson, Johnson, Johnston... I wish the book was like modern politics where they name senators with a (D) or (R) because I'm always forgetting who fought for who. And does this make a total girl the fact that I'm still wondering when they get all their grey uniforms and who provides them??? :)

I'm also going to read The Catcher in the Rye; anyone read it? I'm only a few pages in and I like it a lot. I hear it was "controversial" back in the day, so we'll see.

Any good pranksters out there? My April Fools' Day hasn't been very foolish, and now I'm out. (or am I?)

Ohh! I forgot to explain my title: I went for a walk today and didn't take my watch or cell phone. I usually take the phone JUST IN CASE because it did actually come in handy when I found a lost dog. No such adventures today, and it was nice to kinda be "away" for a bit. Anyway, that's all.

Marching on...

2009-03-30T05:45:00.000-07:00

La de da. So, this weekend wasn't bad. The weather has been windy pretty much all the time, and I'm getting ohsosick of it. It's not like up north where it'll be windy, and then die down for a good 2-3 minutes or something. Think constant wind. *sigh* I'm trying to brace myself for when it's no longer windy and so hot I won't be able to think straight. That should happen sometime next month. ;)

Saturday I went with my roommate to watch her brother play in a tennis tournament coordinated by his company. It was basically put on by all the big oil CEOs in Texas and so that was pretty funny seeing these probably very wealthy oil bigwigs in their shorts and windbreakers playing tennis in the cold wind. Her brother's girlfriend was there as well, and later in the evening we all went out to dinner at a great TexMex place in Dallas with a bunch of his friends. Good times. :)

Yesterday everyone was out of town so I had the whole house to myself pretty much all day. It was really nice, and pretty warm until the wind started up again around 6pm. I laid out in the sun and read and tried to take a nap, but this effing squirrel was SCREECHING about something in the tree right above me. I couldn't see any other squirrels or birds trying to get on his "turf" but he was going on and on so I couldn't really nap too well. I was so mad and tempted to try to find a pine cone to throw at him but a) there are no pine trees in Texas, thus, very few pine cones and b) it probably only would have made matters worse. *sigh* Oh well.

So this week it's more to the grindstone since I didn't do as much homework as I would have liked this weekend. No worries!

rain rain go away

2009-03-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

yes you read correctly, it's raining in Texas. this is actually quite big news, and I feel like I must be adjusting more to life here because it's definitely affected my mood. not that rain up north didn't have an effect on me, but I guess since we got about a shower at least once a week, I was used to the clouds and the cold. wow.

here, on the other hand, it has been 70+ degrees for the last week and absolutely gorgeous. well, not absolutely, because Texas has incessant wind and I am always amazed at how long the darn wind lasts. seriously. ridiculous.

take Sunday for example. as Sundays should be, it was sunny. it started out semi-cloudy, but by noon it was peaking around 80...and windy. wind wind wind. I went out on our porch to read and I'd go from sweating from the heat to shivering under the chill of wind. *sigh*

yesterday it rained for maybe 10 minutes. then it was sunny again, though cooler (60 degrees ha). today I woke up and it was in the 50s! and it's been cloudy and rainy ever since.

I know, pretty much everyone who reads this is probably lacking much sympathy, and I do spend a lot of time writing on here about the weather, but it's interesting how much it affects Texans. traffic 'bout stands still for a little precipation, and today's no exception.

blah, I guess that shows how bored/unmotivated I am. I certainly don't lack things to do, and staring at my calendar above the computer is a reminder of such. I just don't know what to do next because my afternoons of late have included a nice walk through the little parks around here, but I'm not feeling it because it's so cold (I know, I'm putting my Michigan roots to shame). If I did take a walk I'd feel obliged to take a shower, and then maybe start dinner. Hmm, I'm a bit hungry so maybe I'll start dinner now and then take a walk? But I really feel like taking a nice warm shower too since it's cold. ah decisions decisions of the busy grad student. ;)

in other news, is it really Wednesday? well that's good, because I'm looking forward to the weekend. MSU made it to the Sweet Sixteen, and they're playing Kansas, where one of my roommates went (and I think her brother is the assistant manager or something) so we've made plans to go somewhere to the watch the game. Alas it's not football, so I doubt many people around here will care, but at least I won't feel so bad for not keeping up with the sports as I usually do. I didn't have a TV at Hillsdale, but I still caught glimpses of it here and there (and in Kara's room :P) so I had a sense of what was going on. Here I never even see a television unless I'm in an Applebee's or something.

I've been thinking of posting on here about something else that I've observed (besides the weather), and maybe y'all could give some thoughts. I've been observing the dynamics of the student body of UD undergrads and I think the fact that they don't have a Greek system is definitely a defining part of the culture.

Example: the other day one of the girls in my American Founding class was announcing a breakfast for the Politics seniors at a local restaurant, and how she'd invited the Politics majors and professors and whatnot. Kara, what do you think? I can't really see something like that happening at the 'Dale in quite the same way. yeah there was a bit of a bond among us Poli Sci majors, but it seemed like because of people being in their own little groups (i.e. sororities/frats) that they did their own thing. I think I was a little surprised at graduation at who all actually was a poli sci major...I guess we had the little party at Dr. Craig's...hmm...I'll have to think some more about this.

Oh, and this week is "Alcohol Awareness Week" on campus apparently. So if any of you drink alcohol this week, please be aware of it. ;)

and...I'm out.

I'm no quitter?

2009-03-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

It's something about the sun going down late that's causing me to not do anything productive after 7pm. This has gotta stop. :P

So what's with everyone going invite-only and then not posting? Where is everyone?? ;)

Today was an interesting day. It started out rough since I meant to get up early and do some jogging and homework before class at 10. Instead, I set my alarm, but didn't actually turn it ON, so I slept in until 8am. This does not happen, especially with my birdy-alarms outside. crazy.

I was frustrated and rushing around trying to get to class. I wasn't in a good mood because I knew that I'd be having my voice lesson today and I always dread those since I've been half-a**ing it all semester as far as that committment goes. That always makes me mad when I can't give something 100%. Though I guess most people are like that.

Anyway, class started about 15minutes late since our prof was late, and then I putzed around until my voice lesson at 11:15. I called my mom for some motivation about going to the dreaded lesson, explaining that I'm so tempted to just quit, but I feel like I should stick out for the semester, but feeling like it'd be a waste for everyone since I can't devote the time to it like I have in past choirs. It finally seemed like I had just talked myself into quitting, so that's what I did!

I've never really quit anything like that, but the cons were definitely out-weighing the pros, and I really want to spend my time on other things now that my priorities have been re-adjusted this semester. Of course, I still went in the bathroom and cried a bit before composing myself. And I am happy that I'll have extra time in the afternoons and not feel so awful about not devoting more time to it. And then God gave me another reason to make me grateful I had quit...

I went to noon Mass, and just before the service was starting, I look across the church and who do I see but my friend Geralyn from Hillsdale! I 'bout flipped right then! I hadn't seen her since May, and certainly didn't expect to see her way down here in Texas! Turns out she's considering UD for her own continued education prospects and had driven down with her boyfriend during HC's spring break to check out campus. So I happily showed her campus, introduced her to my roommate who's in the literature program, and the three of us had a lovely dinner together. I couldn't have done all that if I had had choir this evening!

It was such a nice blessing to have someone to talk to about UD and why they should decide to come here and, most importantly, to remind myself why I'm here and why I chose grad school in general. Wow, such an expected gift that I'm so glad God put in my life! I'm still restless as ever and don't feel called to more than a Master's, but I was really sinking there for a bit as far as even getting through this semester.

*sigh* It's a beautiful day in Irving. :)

sleepy

2009-03-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

ugh I have a test tomorrow that I haven't even started studying for but I'm exhausted and want to nap and I also have to take a shower. :(

so, I'll procrastinate some more and blog.

the last three days of my Spring Break were absolutely AMAZING with Alicia and Ryan. we had so much fun, and I loved exploring Nashville, even though it rained almost the entire time I was there. I lucked out and didn't have to pay for parking at all (eer, except the uber-expensive Opryland Hotel) so that was a plus.

Okay, so, it happened again though. I don't know if it was Nashville, the BP concert, or seeing Alicia in her new life. If it was being on my own completely, driving in sync with just my new car or what. But, I really want to move on.

I'm just completely restless and looking to the next step in my life. It's like, okay, I've developed a bit of a life here, time to leave. I've thought for a while that Nashville would be a good place for me because it's got museums (history classes), the state capitol (my political interests), and country music (my music interests), and I could pursue any of those three. This trip just futher convinced me of this, and for the first time since moving to TX, I seriously considered totally leaving UD.

Of course, I quickly pushed that thought aside because I'm stubborn and I won't let myself quit. But I am going to try to pick up the pace a little if it's at all possible. I met with my advisor today to figure out what exactly to do to get my Master's, and if I can take a class during the Mayterm, and then the second Summer Session, then take three classes in the fall, all I'll have to do next spring is take one actual class along with my comprehensive exams. And then I will be outta here!!

This desire to go to Nashville has been in me for years, and that'd be awesome if I could go there again. I actually thought that maybe this trip would have some bad experience included that would make me second-guess this longing, but I have no real complaints. If nothing else, it's given me all the more motivation to buckle down and get 'er done so I can enter the "real world" I've been avoiding. ;) I'll be interested to see what it's like to be completely apart from Academia.

I wish I had a better central theme here, but no such luck.

spring break in the snow

2009-03-13T05:33:00.000-07:00

Well I'm in the great state of Tennessee! It's officially the *EIGHTH* state I've been in in the last, um, FIVE days, and I'm exhausted. Thank the Lord that I'm just chilling with Alicia and don't have to worry too much about appearances. I haven't gotten as much homework done as I would have liked, so I can get away with isolating myself and reading like a madwoman too. ;)

This break feels like I've been late a lot. To recap: Monday morning I left around 10:30 (I meant to leave by 10) for Branson, MO, thus driving through TX, OK, AR, and finally MO. I never actually saw a "Welcome to Missouri" sign because I was on these ca-razy back roads that my stupid GPS took me on. I'm this close to chucking that stupid thing out the window. But more on that later.

The way I went to Branson was the weirdest because I just blindly followed my GPS and really had no idea where I was on a map until later. Then I got on this two-lane highway (thank GOD it was still daylight) for the last HOUR AND A HALF of the drive going curve after curve. There'd be a 55mph sign and then a curve-ahead-20mph sign, not even kidding.

I got to Branson and proceeded to spend time with my friend Joyce (we stayed at a nice little place for $35/night...sweet), Mary Bess, and William. I was a little disappointed I couldn't spend much time with Will since his show is starting next week and his rehearsal schedule is a little crazy, but I did have fun getting things to help him move into his apartment more.

Wednesday morning I left (late) Branson for Tuscola, IL (state #5 if you're keeping track) to meet Mom and my new car, Ebony. We stopped and saw my aunt who had open-heart surgery on Monday to see how she was, and we spent some time with Grandma. It was far too short a visit.

So yesterday morning I left around 11am to make my way to Alicia's. I wanted to stop somewhere along the way to do some reading but my GPS had other plans. See, I had checked the night before to see where a good place to stop would be, and the Google Maps directions looked simple enough, just staying on interstates until I arrived at Ft. Campbell.

I stopped in Effingham, IL (what a great name for a town!) to get gas and turned my GPS on for the heck of it, and it started taking me through the city, instead of getting back on the interstate. I know, if I had just gotten back on the interstate it would have adjusted, but I thought, hey, the GPS knows where it's going, and maybe this is a faster way! (ergggg)

Long story short (too late) I ended up in small towns and 55mph zones almost the entire way until I made it to Evansville. INDIANA. I didn't even know I was going to BE in INDIANA!!!!

*sigh* I couldn't help but chuckle to myself until I did a double-check to see where the heck I was driving yesterday and realized the GPS made me drive at least an extra thirty minutes for this "scenic route". And the trip to Branson could have taken an hour less than it did as well.

Well, anyway, you get the jist. I can't complain; I've been able to spend time with friends and family, and I'm going to see Brad Paisley TOMORROW.

But beware of the GPS.

I'm Yours

2009-03-07T17:58:00.000-08:00

Spring Break officially started for me around 9pm last night. I had my American Founding test, and I think it went pretty well. Then choir sang at First Friday Mass in the evening, and then I could embrace some real R & R.

I watched the movie version of To Kill a Mockingbird since we had just read it for one of my history classes. It was so enjoyable to re-read it, but the movie (not surprisingly) left a TON out. It had been about ten years (wow) since I read it for Miss Sturk's seventh grade literature class. The movie was about as slow as molasses in January though, and I was already pretty exhausted. My friend Allanah had joined me for the flick, but I kept nodding off. Not the best hostess, but hey.

I took a generic brand Benedryl and had the best sleep I'd had had in a while, since spring has arrived in Irving and brought birds chirping at 6am outside my window every day. And it's been in the 70s at night so I actually have my window open. It's crazy experiencing spring at spring break!

My title is in honor of the Jason Mraz song that has been my obsession lately (http://www.myspace.com/jasonmraz). I feel so out of it since I found out today that the song came out last year, but I had heard it three times on the radio this week, so I don't know what the deal is. But I love LOVE the song! I know it's cheesy and not at all in line with my typical disdain for lovey-dovey crap, but there's something so beautiful and simple about it. My fave lyrics include:

Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you're free

and later,

I've been spendin' way too long checkin' my tongue in the mirror
and bendin' over backwards just to try to see it clearer
But my breath fogged up the glass
and so I drew a new face and I laughed

anyway, find the song and give it a listen, because just reading these lyrics without knowing the song doesn't do it justice.

it's so weird to be here and not kicked out of town for spring break. my mega road trip begins Monday, and I haven't really done much to get ready for it, except my massive car-cleaning today. Poor Baby Pearl will soon be retired, so I've been cleaning her like crazy, removing bumper stickers an' everything. *sniff*

go find the Jason Mraz song!

wow it's March!

2009-03-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm finally home. I've never had a particularly bad flying experience (well, on my own), but if I never have to step inside a plane again...well, just not any time soon. I've had my fill.

Alicia's wedding was yesterday (Saturday) and it was beautiful, of course. I really can't complain about anything, except the food was a smidge cold because Tessa and I were at the last table to get to go to the buffet. Other than that it was perfect, the DJ was awesome (except his flub with the daddy-daughter dance) and we danced and danced and danced!

This morning, after not nearly enough sleep, I went to Mass at 8am and then got breakfast at Mickey-D's before dropping off my rental car (a PT Cruiser, lol). I walk up to the Delta counter to check in and there's like, a herd, of little Delta people waiting there. The woman asks where I'm flying to, and I say Atlanta (that's how it was booked, since ATL is soo on the way to DFW). She then tells me that all flights to ATL have been cancelled because of a big snow storm expected. In Atlanta?!??

So, she offers me two re-booking options: I can get a direct flight from Columbus to DFW that will arrive at 6:30am (and no hotel vouchers, since it's weather), or I can get on a flight at 3:45pm today to JFK, and then from JFK to DFW, to arrive around 11pm.

I take the latter, and then try to figure out what to do for the next six hours. Thankfully Brenna, Jess, and Meg, were still in town so they came over and we had lunch in the airport before they took off. Then I read, and read, and read.

Well, long story short, I made it to JFK, had a slight scare because it started snowing just as we were pulling out to the runway at JFK, and got into DFW at 10:15pm. Ruth Anne and Katie came and got me, I finally got some dinner, and I'm going to shower.

Alas, no rest for the weary. Gotta get through this last week before I can fully embrace Spring Break!

Jeepers

2009-02-22T19:43:00.000-08:00

well it's Sunday night and I am, once again, trying to finish up a 700-word essay for my American South class tomorrow morning. I'm at 630 and still haven't really gotten to the third chapter of the assignment. I hear there are actually some people in the class who try to cover everything in the reading into the said 700-word limit. Huh. I really don't know how the undergrads in my classes are managing, what with all their classes and activities. I think I've only become a "full time student" since getting to Grad School.

So, my "big" weekend news is that Baby Pearl is sick. And I can't even describe it because it's not like a life-threatening disease. Maybe she's just getting serious fatigue. I certainly have driven her a lot in the six years we've been together (*sniff*). So many memories in only 120,000 miles...

high school jettisons across mid-Michigan
college (and being a freshman with a car = instant friends :P)
road trips with Kara and Alicia
March for Life trip to DC
internship in Lansing and seeing lots of the state for Election '06
internship in DC and alllll the adventures of that summer
driving to TX
etc, etc, etc.

Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself. See, for Christmas, I got a new "grown up" car and since I flew to MI and had arranged to fly back to TX so my new baby, Ebony, has been staying warm up in Muskegon until I could get up there and rescue her, thus leaving Baby Pearl with my parents for her trip to greener pastures.

Well, fast-forward to yesterday when I took Baby Pearl to the "local" Buick dealership (ugh, it's on the other side of Dallas via toll road) for an oil change (I had a coupon) and they did a routine check-up on her. And what a surprise, they found a bunch of things wrong. It's the one time I really hate being a stereotypical girl and don't know a thing about cars. (There was one time I seriously looked into Community College classes on automotives and...well, I'm getting off track.)

Needless to say, I don't know just how serious these problems are. I only wanted the oil change, really, and hadn't noticed anything significantly different or "off" about the way she was driving recently. The estimate the guy gave me was around the $1000 mark. I politely nodded as he diagnosed these problems that I had no hope of comprehending and went on my way.

So, it comes down to this: I don't know what my summer schedule is going to be like, and that was the time we had originally thought would be good for me to retrieve Ebony and retire Baby Pearl. But, I'm definitely staying in TX, be it for class or a job/internship, and I don't know how flexible my hours will be in either of those scenarios.

The logical conclusion then is doing an exchange during Spring Break. *sigh* I so didn't want to make an extra trip this break, since I no longer have the inconvienence of being kicked out of town at 5pm on Friday. I thought I'd relax for a few days before making my way up to Nashville for a Brad Paisley concert (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). This adds a whole other trip into the loop. Mom is going to graciously meet me in Illinois to make it easier and a halfway point, so that'll help. However, I'll have to do some serious work before I leave town and then pray that I can get some good sleep in the various hotels/apartments I'll be crashing throughout the week.

What can I say, I've always liked Road Trips.

Timing

2009-02-17T21:48:00.000-08:00

Hmm, I should be hitting the sack asap, but what the hey (haha pun!).

I've been really productive lately and it almost freaks me out. I guess the ol' college procrastination is starting to grow up. I had a paper due yesterday and today and I polished them off pretty well (although we'll see if the profs agree) and got a nice chunk done on the paper due Friday.

It's been really cloudy here lately, which is a switch. It was nice Sunday, albeit a bit colder than it had been. Sadly, the clouds have returned, but the Michigander in me is actually loving it. I love looking up at the sky and not squinting, which I know is silly/terrible.

I had class this morning and we went over some irritatingly Leftist history. Anyone ever hear of Howard Zinn? He's Matt Damon's *favorite* historian, if that gives you a clue. I believe he's the one Good Will Hunting is based on, though I never saw the flick. Anyway, so long as you believe that America is the Devil-responsible-for-all-possible-crimes-in-human-history, then you'll love this guy. Here on the other side though, it takes all my strength not to chuck the book across the room. *sigh* It certainly makes for some, er, "entertaining" reading.

So after class I was feeling pretty chipper what with the clouds an' all, so I decided I would camp out at a Starbucks (we have virtually NO independent coffee shops here alas) for an hour before the lunch rush. Dallas/Irving has the equivalent of a decent rush hour at lunch; it's rather bizarre and frustrating to always calculate your day based on what time traffic will be at its worst.

I got to Starbucks around 11am and it was PACKED. Like, not the so crowded that you would have to sit awkwardly with a stranger, because I was totally in the mood to do that if necessary. No, there wasn't a seat available. So once I finished my vanilla bean scone quickly, I called my roommate Holly to see if she wanted to go to Wal Mart instead. We snagged some discount V-day products (they had a TON!) and it was pretty fun, with a Chipotle lunch stop afterwards.

Then, since I still wanted to do homework, and the only thing bad about these semi-cold cloudy days is that our house is fa-reezing, we decided to have our lunch and then head to The Crooked Tree. This is the only independent coffee shop in the area that I know of, and it's downtown (a good 20-minute drive).

Unfortunately, by the time we left it was 3o'clock: just in time for the after-school traffic surge. (sigh) We hit traffic combined with construction so it took a while to get there, so I was determined to make the best of our time. We stayed until about 6:40pm (sufficiently after the evening rush hour) doing some good reading.

Then, I got home, and STILL not sick of doing schoolwork (!!) I ate a quick dinner and then headed to campus to our measly (sp?) library to work on my paper for Dr. West.

I know I'm jabbering, but I can't help but mention the highlight of this evening's work: I realize that I do love where I am. My prayers lately have been ones of such immense praise and thanksgiving. I've always known that I've had a good life, but I just can't seem to get over it lately! My house, my roommates, my school, my classes, it's all so wonderful and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now!

The questions still linger as far as if PhD is in the plan or not. The thought of cracking the books for four years after I get my Master's kinda dissuades me. But working on the paper (it's on JC - John Calhoun lol) I couldn't help but think about how much I love writing on these kinds of things. I love finding the perfect quote to go with the perfect transitional sentence and piecing it all together in a comprehensive order to argue a point.

Hmm...so no huge revelations, but I do love where I am. But I'm also restless and looking forward to seeing what else I can do. Because I feel like there is so much more I can do.

La.

Stolen from Arianna

2009-02-14T18:20:00.000-08:00

But first, quick update:

I've been sick this week and it's slowly starting to finally let up. I haven't been able to sing for about four days now and it's been pretty frustrating. Usually when I get sick I can at least muddle my way through, but right now it's pretty much a lot of squeaking. bleah. I think the main reason it's hanging around is I haven't allowed myself the needed sleep to get over it, but I don't have time! grr....three papers due next week...

ok now for some fun:

1. YOUR REAL NAME:
Lynette Margaret Wilhelm

2. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME:(mother and fathers middle names)
Ann Lee

3. NASCAR NAME:(first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)
Edward Frank

4. STAR WARS NAME:(the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
Willy (ha ha ha)

5. DETECTIVE NAME:(favorite color, favorite animal)
Green Dog

6. SOAP OPERA NAME:(middle name, town where you were born)
Margaret Lansing

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning)
The Blue Coffee

8. FLY NAME:(first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
Fly? er, Lylm

9. STREET NAME:(fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)
Chocolate Oreo

10: SKANK NAME: (1st pet's name, street you grew up on)
Rudy Pebblebrook

11.ROCK STAR NAME:(current pet's name, current street name)
Kolbe Coronado

12.YOUR GANGSTA NAME:(first 3 letters of real name plus izzle)
Lyn-izzle

13. YOUR IRAQI NAME:(2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, first two letters of your middle name, last two letters of your first name then last three letters of your last name)
Ylmateelm

14. YOUR GOTH NAME:(black, and the name of one of your pets)
Black Kolbe

Wedding bells?

2009-02-07T19:10:00.000-08:00

I 'bout near literally shopped until I dropped today. My friend Janet and I planned to go to Northlake (?) Mall and we were there from 11:30am until 5:30pm. But I was succesful with two pairs of pants, a skirt, a pair of shoes, and a few tops! I hadn't been on such an intense shopping spree in years. The malls here are unreal; this is the second time I've been to a mall that contained a Tiffany's, Louis Vitton, Coach, etc. And I've never seen so many cops in a mall either!

Hmm...in other news, I still have yet to receive one of the boxes I mailed myself before I left Michigan. *sigh* so, we'll see what happens.

My finger is healing quite well. Anna, I used a thing called "New Skin" which I think works in a similar way to superglue. Either way I'm almost back to normal, and I even played a little guitar Wednesday night.

Last night was my first "performance" with the choir I'm in this semester. It was interesting; I'm still getting used to singing in that quasi-professional way of things. The instructor here is teaching me a completely different way of breathing and I get so confused and focused on trying to do it her way that I end up too concentrated on that (which I'm pretty sure I'm not even doing right) that I end up needing a lot more breath. I guess we'll see how it plays out this semester.

Dallas allergies are intensifying and I need to get some better meds. It actually felt pretty humid today and was in the 60s already by 8am. Wow. I'm already freaking out about what it's going to be like this summer...

Oh, and the "wedding bells" theme of this post is just the observation of Alicia's upcoming wedding. Plus, my roommate's sister is getting married next Saturday (Valentines' Day...gag) so it's in the air I suppose (like a bad flu haha jk). Anyway, I have lots to do as well. Er, I still have to get my dress hemmed....yikes.

Happy February!

2009-02-01T18:32:00.001-08:00

Whoo boy it's been a long week. And yet, I feel like this semester is already going by too fast. I keep losing track of days... So, here's some of the things I've done lately:

-Friday morning I sliced the tip of my left-hand middle finger while cutting a bagel. It's so frustrating and adding an annoyance every time I have to wash my hands or the dishes.

-Friday evening we had a dinner party here at 3001 Coronado in honor of Holly's little sis's visit. It was a great time.

-Had my first two choir rehearsals. Fun stuff, but I'm definitely out of "singing shape".

-Attended "Groundhog". It's this UD thing where you pay $27, take a bus from campus to a park, take a hayride further into the park, and proceed to drink *free* beer and listen to live music. Basically they needed another excuse to drink and decided to celebrate tomorrow's holiday.

-Went to the huge Galleria Mall.

-Had a class get cancelled Wednesday because of an ice storm.

-Enjoyed 70-degree weather two days later.

It's been a while, since I...

2009-01-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

I have to confess, I'm not very good at checking the titles of people's posts, and then when they make reference to it in their actual post I feel stupid. lol

Last week was long and crazy with the start of classes. I got back to TX and realized how much I had missed it; it's good to be back. I'm SO loving not have to account for ice-scraping/snow removal before going out for the day. Yessir, that is a nice thing.

So, no boring stuff in this post except to say that I had some stress because I had signed up for a class called Aspects of Southern Culture. It's being offered at the Dallas Institute downtown and I thought it sounded really interesting. We had a reading assignment before the first lecture so I was trying to be good and read it and I can say I've never hating reading something so much before in my life. It was just downright boring and seemed completely unrelated to the South except that it was written by a Southerner in the 1920s - one of the "Southern Critics".

Anyway, I decided to give the class the benefit of the doubt and went downtown Thursday evening for class. It was just not a class environment and (Hillsdale folks) it was literally like the Q&A portion of a CCA when all the rich old donors ask questions and dominate the speaker's entire attention. Yeah.

So I decided to drop the class, and then I had to figure out how and what to take instead. Ugh, it was just an extra hassle I hadn't accounted for, but blah.

Yesterday I made the library rounds by first going to SMU in Dallas and then UNT in Denton in the afternoon. UNT has a fabulous library; I wish it wasn't 45 minutes away. Alas, I'm stuck with the sad UD excuse for a library.

Today I stayed in and got a lot of work done. I'm trying to finish up an assignment for class tomorrow. I'm not used to having class every day of the week, so that'll be interesting this semester. Also I'm doing choir and I don't know what to expect for that...

Happy 11 Months 'till Christmas!

Here I go again on my own

2009-01-12T17:27:00.001-08:00

I think my puppy Kolbe might sense that I'm leaving soon, because he's been spending a lot more time in my room with me than before. It's pretty cute, though I do not miss dog hair everywhere in TX.

I'm also looking forward to being in somewhat warmer weather. Enough of this snow! Last week I had some weather to deal with while making the rounds to see friends. It was all worth it though! It'll be fun to have a bit of a reunion at Alicia's wedding. I can't believe how fast it'll be February! I think this semester is going to go by pretty fast because of my trips: Alicia's wedding, Nashville for Spring Break, and then?? Well, I have to make a trip up to MI at some point to retrieve some more things for TX. I have to figure out what all I'm mailing to myself in the next day or so. Ugh, that's one thing I'm NOT looking forward to.

Mom's birthday was last Friday and to surprise her my sister and her husband drove up to our cottage. Mom was planning on the three of us going up to the cottage, but Liz and Jim arrived the night before. It was pretty crazy because Liz and Jim left really late on Thursday and didn't get there until after 1am only to realize the key that my Dad had copied for them didn't work! Luckily our "housesitter" was still awake and rescued them. Liz and Jim had to leave Saturday in the early afternoon, but it was still a nice visit.

Sunday it started really snowing. It was that really beautiful kind of snow that makes the whole world stand still and let nature rule. That's the kind of snow I like and will miss in TX. But not this awful stuff that us tough Michiganders refuse to be defeated by. I will be enjoying outdoor jogs around Las Colinas soon enough!

So Mom and I are now off to a late showing of Marley and Me. I've got to say, I've watched quite a bit of movies this break!

Spring Semester 2009, Bring it on!

2009-01-05T15:32:00.000-08:00

I was a bit frustrated because UD posted grades on BannerWeb instead of Blackboard and I use Blackboard more often so I don't have the Banner password info memorized. Fortunately I was able to come up with something to login with and I got my grades for my first semester of grad school! I wrapped things up with an A in Con Law (silly prof musta curved waaay up), A- in Renaissance World, and a B in the Cicero Class, which I was pleased with too, giving me over a 3.5 GPA!

It finally feels like that semester is over with and now I can concentrate on the next one. I also got an e-mail today from the proctor of one of my classes for next semester with the syllabus. I think I'll stick with the class just because the lectures look so interesting, but they're definitely not something I would typically look to take. It's going to involve lots of literature and poetry. This should be fun though since it'll work a part of my brain that I don't normally exercise.

Add to this excitement the fact that I'm going to make rounds and see some friends tomorrow and I'm in a pretty stoked mood. Plus I got one of my *Christmas presents* today and that'll make for a great week.

Loves!

2008 in review

2008-12-31T09:33:00.000-08:00

First of all, Christmas was pretty good. We drove to Joliet, IL, Christmas Day and stayed a night there. Because nothing was open, we had "Christmas dinner" in the Empress Casino. Yup. And no, I didn't play any games. I was surprised though that you had to be 21 to get in. Michigan has Soaring Eagle Casino and it's one of those places you go when you turn 18. Good ol' Indians... ;)

Friday we hung out at my uncle's house and then we drove back to MI on Saturday so it was a whirlwind. Because of that, Dad and I are driving down tonight to stay until Saturday for a more thorough visit with Grandma and the others in the Champaign area. William's coming on Thursday to hang out and I think we're going to explore the U of I campus.

I don't normally reflect too much on New Year's, mostly because it's such a cliche thing to do on what has to be the MOST overrated "holiday" of the year. Everyone has such high expectations of getting awesome stories about the famous count-down and rarely are they ever met.

However, this has been quite an exhaustive year and I just wanted to come up with a kind of list of things I've accomplished (in no particular order):

-flew on a plane by myself. four times. all before May.
-stressed out about leaving SFL after investing 3 1/2 years of my life in the pro-life movement.
-freaked out about my future and debated grad school at length.
-Graduated College.
-travelled to Ireland.
-spent waaay more time at home in the summer than I would have preferred.
-moved to Texas. started grad school. started making several new friends.
-worked for yet another campaign.
-became a Mary Kay consultant.
-heard about a friend's engagement.
-watched a friend get married.
-embraced my independence.
-drove 8+ hours by myself.
-got my first speeding ticket.

I could go on...but where would it end? See y'all next year.

Surreal-ity

2008-12-24T17:14:00.000-08:00

It's crazy being home and knowing that I still have a ways before I'm back in TX. Who'da thought I miss it? I don't think it's so much the (awful) state that I miss, but just the being away from family thing and having my own life. And as uneventful as my grad school life has been (school, school, slight social interaction, more school), it's my life and I think it's pretty good. Then I come home and we do the whole visiting thing with family friends and I have to qualify my entire semester in a brief conversation and I don't even know where to begin.

"How was a semester living in Texas?"

"Well, it was...different..."

"What are you studying again?"

"Humanities...it's like your general liberal arts."

"Oh."

*silence*

"What do you want to do with that?"

"Er, well I'd be interested in teaching... And I'd also be interested in doing something completely different and unrelated, preferably in another city where I've never lived among people I don't know." (heh)

So, I guess I'd like to go back to TX now, I've had my fix.

Unfortunately, that's not the case, and I'm stuck here. And even though there's plenty of snow on the ground (though some rain has made it a slushy mess) I can't feel like it's very Christmas-y. I just want to go to Midnight Mass, sleep, wake-up, eat brunch, open gifts, and then pack for our trip to IL, from which we will return Saturday evening, only to leave again the next Wednesday/Thursday.

This is a kinda depressing post. Sorry y'all...

"Home" for the Holidays

2008-12-20T22:19:00.000-08:00

Well I'm finally back in the Eastern Time Zone for 3 1/2 weeks! I safely arrived Friday evening after a whirlwind wrap-up of a final test and paper that I finished around 6:30pm Thursday. I went out with two of my roommates and looked at Christmas lights around Dallas that were absolutely stunning and watched 28 Days with my other roomie Holly.

Friday morning I packed, did laundry, and ran errands, enjoying a last milkshake at Chic-Fil-A before leaving for my flight around 1:45. It wasn't due to leave until 4 but it was delayed and we didn't take off until closer to 5. The airport was pretty quiet, and it was a gorgeous day.

Texas has a really weird winter season in that it gets pretty cold and pretty warm with really windy days in between. Tuesday morning we got "ice" and UD called students around 6:30am with automated messages saying the school would be delayed an hour. It was kinda pathetic, I thought.

Anyway, by Friday it had gotten beautiful and two of my roommates were actually sunbathing shortly before we left for DFW. The airport was pretty empty, and I struck up a conversation with a nice guy named Dan. I thought it was funny how so often we have those random conversations with the strangers we meet in public places and never catch their names. Partway through the conversation he said, "What did you say your name was again?" haha I even gave him my e-mail address so that would be a great story, wouldn't it? lol

DTW (not to be confused with DFW) was crazy-packed and I was in an aisle seat so I couldn't see much on our landing, but once we were taxing I saw it. 8 INCHES OF SNOW. It was unreal. I never thought I would be so taken aback by seeing snow but after experiencing TX's "December"...wow. And they got all of that dumped on probably within the last 24-hours. I'm actually terrified to drive yet, and am quite happy with Dad's chauffering us the past day in his 4-wheel-drive suburban. *shudder* I'll have to go out sometime tomorrow evening and I'm already dreading it. I hardly have driven in RAIN much this semester!

Oh and did I mention I flew with my guitar? That was a new experience, though pleasantly less stressful than I expected. People were actually pretty chill about me toting around this huge honkin' thing. It was a bit of a pain in the bathroom, and also when I (stupidly) bought an iced latte (lol) right before retrieving my luggage in Detroit. I had to guzzle down my coffee so I'd have an available hand to carry my stuff. And then I waited in the cold and had to practically run through two lanes of traffic to get to my parents and throw my luggage into the back so we wouldn't hold up the lines of cars.

So we met Liz and Jim at Applebee's around 10:45pm for a very late dinner and closed the place down. I slept in gloriously this morning, but once I got up it was a busy day of visiting and eating. Tomorrow will be more of that, and then I need to get started on cookie making. I'm kinda sad I don't get as much time to relax and such until the holidays are over, but it'll help me adjust if anything else.

I want to reflect more on the fact that I'm "home", but this is already far too long. Laterz...

Christmas is coming

2008-12-15T21:13:00.000-08:00

and that means it's Finals Week. it's very interesting to see how another school does finals after being in a pretty regular routine for 8 semesters.

first of all, they start their finals on a Saturday. I'm not entirely sure who thought this would be a great idea, but it shifts the entire week. I don't have a "real" final until Thursday afternoon, but it still throws everything off. Last Friday was their "Dead Day" and that was kinda weird.

Another thing that annoys me (and has annoyed me several times this semester) is that their library only stays open till Midnight. That's including during Finals. Ah how I miss Hillsdale's 2am "curfew" if you will that acknowledged a more realistic idea of college students. none of the buildings on campus stay open past Midnight either. I guess they did something special Friday by staying open until midnight instead of 10pm, but still.

I'm kinda rambling, at least in my head that is. It's been an interesting few days, especially since I know so many of my fellow HC-grads are enjoying a finals-free Christmas season. I guess I'll have to wait a little longer before Advent isn't marred by stress and worry for The Most Important Tests You'll Ever Take. I'm looking forward to it.

So, I just finished one take-home exam (something I forgot about since Hillsdale "eliminated" them) and I still have three left. One is in-class, one is a paper-but-not-a-final, and one is being given on-line starting at 7pm Tuesday and ending 7pm Thursday. crazy.

sorry this probably doesn't follow much of a pattern.

It's almost that time again!

2008-12-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

I tried getting a post in last night but Blogger decided to delete it instead. I was up till 3am working on a paper that I should have finished last week. Oh well. Here are some "highlights" from my Thanksgiving va-cay:

-got my first speeding ticket. yup, they finally got me. boo TX.

-had a great time with William, my date. we saw Four Christmases and I'm a fan.

-managed to successfully surprise Mom and Dad and the rest of the family on Thanksgiving. it was great.

-bought a few new clothes at pretty good prices while braving the stores on Black Friday.

-watched movies and chilled.

-left Arkansas/Missouri waaaay later than I had planned. got home at 2am after being pulled over TWICE because an effing headlight had gone out. nevermind that I showed the second cop my first warning (from 20 minutes prior); he still had me stand outside in the cold for 5minutes. boo TX, again.

It was an exciting/fun/adventurous weekend and it's all coming together way too fast. I've still got two more papers to write and two finals. Plus I'm leaving tomorrow night for a trip to OK that I'm just a little excited about (!!!).

Okay, sleepytime and reading. Peace 'n love, y'all.

Sighs

2008-11-24T19:57:00.000-08:00

I'm in the UD library once again and I hope I never have to spend this much time in it again. Finals won't be so bad since hopefully by then my roommates will agree to turn the heat on in the house. Granted it's still in the 60s, but inside the house you'd never know. And I'm sorry that I don't feel like wasting gas/money/time going to campus to do homework all the time.

Sunday I was all bundled up and wrapped up in a blanket reading in the kitchen and I decided to go for a jog. Expecting it to be near freezing outside, I put on some layers only to discover when I stepped outside it was near a SAUNA. This is just ridiculous.

I'm so frustrated/anxious/excited/I-don't-know-what! I decided to go to IL afterall and surprise Mom and Dad. Okay, so this summer I was seriously considering going into the FBI or something but I canNOT keep secrets! It's been killing me keeping this from Mom, especially since she's been calling and e-mailing and sending mail more in these last two weeks. I think she must miss me since it's the beginning of the holiday season and I've never missed a family Thanksgiving. Little does SHE know... heh heh.

I'm trying to do as much as possible homework-wise before I leave and I unfortunately haven't buckled down this much for school...at all this semester. I'm really quite proud of myself, and amazed at what I can accomplish. I have a paper for Con Law that the prof gave me an extension on, but I'm trying to get as much of it done before I leave. Plus reading and reading. The only thing that sucks about this upcoming trip is that I can't read and drive. And no, none of the things I have to read are "on tape". bleah...

Gotta focus on the positive! Ugh, I hate being like this. Well, here's some quasi-exciting news: I have a kind-of "date" on Wednesday night! In Missouri/Arkansas! The guy called me today just as I was debating continuing my nap this afternoon so I was a bit out of it but it should be nice and something to look forward to. I just pray I can get on the road early enough to a) avoid Dallas rush-hour morning traffic, b) avoid any holiday traffic, and c) get to my destination before 5pm. Hmm...we shall see.

Looking ahead

2008-11-18T20:47:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking I might go to see family for Thanksgiving after all because my parents will be in IL for T-day and Joyce is going to meet them up there to get some things she left at their house. I could drive to AR Wednesday and then go with her to IL the next day. My hope is to do all of this without my parents knowing, and giving them a fun surprise for the holiday. We shall see.

This is all determined by how much work I get done in this next week. I'm going to bed soon so I can get up early because I'm deciding that's best. I will give TX this much: it's wonderful getting up at 7am with the sun because of Daylight's Saving (er, lack thereof) and going for a walk and it already being in the 50s. Okay, that's much better than the four inches of snow Mom said she got while at the cottage. Cynic that I am, I can't help but point out that because there hasn't been a frost here yet, we still have plenty of plant-life around to give my allergies a good work-out. *sigh*...

I should be better about looking on the bright side of things. Mainly, what's keeping me going is that the harder I work, the sooner I'll be DONE and move on with my life. I'm discovering more and more just how restless I am and grateful to be in a situation that allows for this restlessness.

I've got my second Con Law paper due next week, and the first wasn't pretty. It's so frustrating to think, "I should be better than this! I've gone through four years of HC for pete's sake!" So, I'm trying to get on top of things and stop procrastinating. Finals are fast approaching and then it'll be next semester...!

I know, I shouldn't get stressed about next semester. I'm just trying to pre-adjust to the schedule I could potentially have. The four-day weekends have been tough, but I've really been appreciating them lately (especially since I'll have a 6-day weekend at Thanksgiving) and they will be missed. Darn Dr. West's class is MWF at 2pm, which is about the worst time for me physically to have class. I've got to think some more about this...toodles!

Putzing around

2008-11-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

Well, I have a lunch "date" in a little while so I'll get a quick post in. I should be reading Cicero because I'm way way behind. That will be this weekend's project. I'm somewhat regretting taking that class, but of course I can't do anything about it now. We had pre-registration this week (on-line!!! Seriously, it took about 45 SECONDS) and of course I'm thinking about the future and such. I've come to some important conclusions about what I'm doing here...

I've decided to get my Masters of Humanities (MH) instead of a Masters of Arts in Humanities (MA). The difference between the two is that with an MA requires a language qualification and a thesis paper that counts for 6 credit hours, while the MH involves taking more credit hours. The MH will be better for me since I'm learning more and more that I can't do a PhD, I just don't have the drive and passion to study that much on my own without someone giving me very definite deadlines. Plus, an MH will better equip me for teaching because having more coursework is better to have under your belt than the ability to write a really long paper. That is assuming I do teaching...

So, that's my plan for now. Next semester I'm currently signed up for classes entitled Aspects of Southern Culture, The American Founding, and Public Law & Administration. I'm pretty pschyed, though I might sit in on a few other classes in January and drop/add if I feel called to a different class. I'm thinking I might concentrate in something besides Politics - probably History - so we'll see.

Okay, so enough of that boring school stuff! Here are a few pictures from my trip last weekend:

This is a picture of the Dallas skyline. Not bad for a drive-by shooting!

This is where I stayed. It was the old bank building in town before becoming the Downtown Inn.

This is one half of my room. It also had a big couch and sitting area, plus a nice bathroom with bathrobes!

Here are some cotton fields (!!!) and the cotton that's been harvested are under those multi-colored tarps. I didn't realize how much cotton is grown in AR today...I guess I usually associate it with the "olden days", but of course, people still wear cotton.

Okay this blogger-photo-upload-thing is getting annoying so that's all for now...

ARRR-kansas!

2008-11-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

Here I am in the booming metropolis of Piggott, AR!! Oh how I wish I didn't have to go back to Texas tomorrow. I may take my time leaving the area, or actually drive the speed limit going "home" (hehehe) because I just love being here!

The place I'm staying in is just the cutest place ever. I'll post picture once I get back to Irving (*sigh*). It's called the Downtown Inn but is more like a bed and breakfast, which I've always wanted to stay in. It's probably the first time I can remember staying in a place that didn't use key cards!

Okay so I left a little later than I had wanted to Friday morning. I wanted to get some chores an' such done before I left so I hit the road around 9:30am. Drove most of the day, stopped at the rest stop near Texarkana and ate the lunch I packed, drove and drove and drove. It was pretty boring until I got to Little Rock, and then the scenery was more breathtaking. Gosh I've missed the "north". And I loved scanning the radio stations and finding those "classic country" stations that have the DJ's do the commercials during their show. Saturday was the first day of deer hunting season in AR so they were pretty pumped about that. I also learned where the fastest lawn mower was going to be on display! ;)

So because of the shorter days, it was after dark when I finally got in town. I took a quick shower and then Joyce and I went to the American Legion in a small Missouri town (right by the border) for dinner. I stayed up and watched stuff on the computer and went to bed kinda late, but wasn't able to really sleep in much.

Okay I should just note the highlights since this is getting kinda long. So far I have:

-gotten some pie pumpkins to take back to TX
-gone to a cute church for Saturday Mass in Poplar Bluff
-attended my first-ever DAR meeting
-walked around the Matilda Pfieffer home, where scenes of the 1957 Andy Griffith film A Face in the Crowd were filmed

So I think I'll enjoy another day "off"!

Fall has, er, Fallen!

2008-11-06T07:32:00.001-08:00

I'm so out of sorts as to this weather. 80-degrees in NOVEMBER? SERIOUSLY?! But the leaves have started to change and there is a feeling of fall finally here. I sprayed some cider-smelling air freshner yesterday, and bought some cinnamon-nutmeg candles at Tom Thumb last night to "get me in the mood". Thanksgiving will be interesting, nonetheless. First one away from home, so I'm trying not to think about it too much.

I'm going to Arkansas this weekend (leaving early tomorrow) for a mini-vacation and I'm ohsoready. I'm going a bit stir crazy having been in the same place for almost three months now. I'm going to Piggott, AR, which is the birthplace of Ernest Hemmingway's second wife! ;) Our family friend Joyce lives there and she's got a few things planned. I only wish it didn't take so long to get there (8 hours) because I feel like such a time waster just sitting in the car doing nothing. Too bad I'm not taking any classes that have books-on-tape or anything. And I don't have a cell phone charger for the car, so that'll be limited. Maybe I'll make a stop somewhere and charge it there...

I'm also looking forward to today because some guys from my Con Law class are going to help me get my loveseat, and then after class we're going to their house to have dinner. I made an "Impossible Pumpkin Pie" last night (Angy, have you ever done something like that?) and I'm looking forward to trying it out. The recipe is one that says it's supposed to form it's own kind of crust (???). And one of the "comments" on the recipe's website said to try using cream cheese instead of all of the evaporated milk to make it kinda like a cheesecake. Plus I realized to my dismay that we don't have any pie pans here (gasp!-must remedy soon) so I made it in a 9x9" square pan. We shall see!

Is it really almost November?

2008-10-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

I have a take-home midterm due tomorrow. Meh. I've started both essays but I feel like I'm running around in circles. Oh, Cicero, you little stinker.

I've been so tired lately and that's no fun at all. Darn comfy bedding! My bed is constantly calling me, so I'm out in the kitchen ignoring it. I'm glad I have the house to myself, but I'm not sure how long I'll be so lucky. I think a friend of Katie and Ruth Anne's is staying the night, but I have yet to see signs of any of them. I should write some more...

One quick thing though: I bought a loveseat! Now, it's just a matter of getting it here. Anyone have a friend with a truck in the Dallas area? *sigh* But hey, it only cost $30, and I have a week to get it here, so I'm hoping I can find someone to lend me a truck for about an hour. Let's see how the picture thing on this works...

I think it's cute, with a little rips that add character. ;)

Oh, and not to be a downer, but we had some sad news yesterday. Mom let me know that they decided to put our older dog Rudy down.

This is me with him right before I left in August. We got him the summer after 3rd grade so he lived a long and -until the last year or so- healthy life. He will be missed.

Simple things

2008-10-28T21:04:00.001-07:00

I love being happy about little joys in life. Last week it actually started getting relatively cold here! Right now it's 54-degrees, though it's still getting in the 70's during the day. However, our house is old and pretty drafty, especially my room since it's so spacious.

Well, back in August when I was packing for the sauna of Dallas, I didn't think to pack any blankets heavier than a mere blanket. The idea of a heavy comforter when it was still averaging 90-degrees didn't really cross my mind. So now it's almost November and I'm finally getting cold!

With the upcoming election and my time getting a bit limited, the thought of making an extra trip out to get things like bedding seemed like a big headache that I'd like to avoid. I just layered up and hoped for the best. My roommates offered me some extra blankets, while they all have thick comforters gracing their beds.

So, yesterday afternoon I had some extra time and was feeling particularly chipper and less-dreadful after a glorious pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks (which taste sooo much better than they look!). I ventured out to Linens-n-Things to discover they're going out of business nation-wide! Granted, it'll be awhile before they're actually "out" so it was just a mere 10% discount on already over-priced items, but hey! Those "EVERYTHING MUST GO" signs do make me smile just a bit.

Now, I'm a girl, but I still have yet to master all of the domestic language of Martha. I wasn't entirely sure what a duvet was, or if I needed one. I decided to also buy a bedskirt since I didn't have one of those and felt like it was something a "grown-up" like myself should invest in (ha). I found a down comforter and had no idea the prices they get away with for those things. How many birds are in them, anyway?!?? But I decided it'd be another good investment, as well as a duvet to cover it with. Why on earth do people make "blankets" you can't wash?

So anyway, I brought my goodies home and proceeded to re-make my bed. The end result? It's beautiful!!! It looks soooo grown-up and pretty and comfy and all I want to do is snuggle in it. I had also gotten one of those foam pads for the mattress at Wal Mart and it's glorious. I'm usually not too picky when it comes to beds, especially ones I get for free, but I'm so glad I've gotten these accessories and feel a little more settled in!

Now I'm just hoping to find a loveseat of sorts to perhaps absorb some more of the cold in my room...

God's Harvard

2008-10-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=189049

I don't watch the Colbert Report...ever. But I do appreciate that conservatives have some kind of alternative to John Stewart (though I'm not sure if they're exact opposites). And in this clip from last night's episode he had Michael Farris, the president of Patrick Henry College, on. He makes some quips about homeschooling that I think HC students can also appreciate. :)

(Farris is on in the last half of the episode, so fast forward to about the third segment to cut to the chase.)

Monday Monday...

2008-10-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's only Monday. So often this semester I've felt like I haven't done nearly enough over the weekend. I think next semester I'm going to see about maybe taking four classes instead of just three. These four-day-weekends are hard to deal with. Undergrad is so busy because you're taking 15-18 credit hours and it's quite a switch to just take 9. I find myself with lots of free time and very little motivation to do what I need to do.

So, I take "day trips". Yesterday was frustrating because I decided to explore I-20 West of Dallas/Fort Worth and I think I drove about an hour before I really felt like I was outside of the city limits of Suburbia. Then all of a sudden I was in the middle of no where. The exits got spread farther and farther apart, and the few exits that did exist had no gas stations or anything. I finally found a Texan Rest Stop and boy was that an experience! The sign said "Next Stop 120 miles"! AND, unlike the glorious rest stops of the north, this one hardly had parking spots! Just one wide strip for everyone - cars and semis alike - to park on the left and right. I thought maybe I'd take a nap but I felt weird with my car being left there out in the open like that. Oh and they had these retro-style picnic tables...think, the movie Cars.

After messing around with that for a while I went with my friend Matthew to a pumpkin patch to get some kind of a fall-ish fix. It was a very interesting place. First of all, we had to go to this particular patch because all of the other ones closed at 5pm since it was a Sunday. It was slim pickin's as far as pumpkins go, but that was okay since I didn't intend to buy one anyway. We wandered through a pretty decent corn maze, though I'm pretty sure the only reason they grew corn in TX was precisely FOR a corn maze, since they're not really into "farming" down here.

Before heading back we randomly decided to see a movie. I hadn't seen a movie in the theaters since I was in MI and I had no idea what was playing, but it was one of those fun times where you just show up and see what's playing. Of course, this turned out to be not-a-whole-lot, and we were also limited by the time we showed up. We settled on Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, which I had never heard of but it had Michael Cera so that gave it some promise.

Well, it turned out to be an O.K. film, though I doubt I'll see it again. Unless I'm drunk. ;) No, it was just an exhausting movie, one of those let's-stay-out-all-night-and-see-what-happens kind of flicks. It seriously felt like 4am when we got out of there. I watched some trailers for it today and they even put scenes in the trailer that weren't in the movie, lol. And of course it needed a sex scene. *sigh* I think poor Michael Cera is getting type-cast waaaay too much into movies with random bands playing for the sound track. Which reminds me, I listed to the Juno soundtrack today...

Killing time, or wasting it?

2008-10-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

Well I got up at 7am (6:52 to be exact) with the intention of doing some reading before heading out to Weigman HQ... ;) But, you know, Cicero just isn't something that can be rushed! It has been tough buckling down, and according to my Con Law syllabus we have a midterm next week. I knew it was coming, and I was pretty proud of being right in that instinct. Maybe he'll change the date since we're behind quite a bit.

Oh, I didn't mention Charity Week? Yeah, it contributed to this behind-ness of Con Law. Why, you ask? Because the University of Dallas doesn't have a Greek System. Granted that is under normal circumstances a "plus" in a college, but here it's just annoying. It's like, the whole campus becomes one big frat/sorority when things like Charity Week come around.

The school "dedicates" a whole week to fundraising for a charity. What charity, you ask? Beats me. They don't really advertise that part. It's just a big excuse to do dumb things and charge people for it (or, to witness it) and all of the money goes into one big pot for a presumed charity. Maybe multiple charities, I'm not sure.

Of course, I'll all for charity, just not in this way. And the whole tying it into Greeks...okay here goes:

Hillsdalers: remember Derby Days? It was a pretty fun week, but of course the Greeks got REALLY into it. Here it's for the whole campus. And remember Jail 'n Bail? Good times, we've all got stories. But here, they do a Jail 'n Bail....for teachers. That's right, and not during the evening hours, oh no. They actually chip in so they can not have class. Okay, I'm definitely more appreciative of how much higher education costs now that I'm getting my Master's, and I really don't like paying money so I can NOT have class. *sigh*

I also heard a rumor that they actually do a "Date Auction". Ergh....

In other news, last night, I finally got my second wind and was doing some productive things after 10pm. I balanced my checkbook, and then proceeded to do some reading for my class tonight (luckily we don't have our weekly paper to turn in tonight....sweet!). Well, I'm just getting into The Laws when I hear a soft crash come from my closet area. I look up to notice that my entire clothes rod has fallen, along with all of my clothes.

!!!

So, I didn't know whether to laugh or get really mad, and it was a weird hybrid of the two. Grr! I so do not have time right now to be messing around with clothes re-organization! This should have been alllll taken care of when I moved in. WHY couldn't it have fallen back then!??! I don't really have time to go to Home Depot and figure out some kind of alternative to the system that came with the closet. I don't really have time to go to Wal Mart and find some kind of drawers or something to put some of my clothes in so the rod isn't so strained. But for pity's sake, it's WOODEN!!

*sigh* so as of now all of my clothes (still on their hangers) are laying in 4-5 separate piles in my room. Okay, so a few things that help me see the bright side:

-I just vacuumed my room Saturday, so at least the clothes aren't going to get too dirty/smelly.
-I have an uber-big room with the space to lay out all of these clothes.
-Nothing I do requires a particular kind of dress code, so I can deal with picking out clothes based on how easy they are to access.
-I was awake when this happened. Lord knows what kind of day it would be if I had to wake up to that.

La. Okay so now I really gotta go. Have a great day! It's supposed to rain here *crosses fingers*!!

Happy Columbus Day! ;)

2008-10-13T10:49:00.001-07:00

wow it's been awhile...I know y'all missed me so much ;)

this weekend was pretty amazing, although I got close to no homework done. last week was crazy because I had my *first* grad school paper due Friday and was spending the whole week cranking that out. I was pretty happy with the end result, and learning more and more how much I love constitutional law.

the other thing that made last week interesting was that my acid reflux disease decided to kick it into high gear, which is not fun when you're trying to make caffiene the main thing you consume, ha. I wouldn't wish ARD on anyone...if you don't know what it's like, think the feeling you get after doing 200+ crunches combined with nauseau. boo. :(

BUT! this weekend was uber fun. one of my roommates has become famous for throwing an annual party and Friday night was it. she counted about 90 people in attendance and I really liked "playing hostess" because it gave me an excuse to float around and meet lots of different people. the only downfall was that I don't know when I'll see some of these people again, so I'll have to do a little research if I want numbers.

one number I did manage to get was for a guy Matthew, a friend of my roommate Holly from college. after over-sleeping Saturday morning he and I hung out in the afternoon and went for a massive walk around what I think is the one really beautiful part of Irving. then yesterday we explored the area around Waxahachie, TX, (isn't that a great name?!?). after doing some reading we decided to go to this famous bakery called Czech Stop (it was originally a Czech community) that's open 24-hours. my roommates had mentioned it before so now I can say I've been there. it was really nice to drive like that, randomly, instead of the everyday grind I usually have to put up with around here.

so, this week I've got to get my reading back into high gear. I'm nervous because other than that paper last week, I don't have any major assignments coming up. The election is coming up though and we've got a lot to do as the deadline approaches. I'm glad that at least the candidate I'm working for here is decent and has a pretty good chance of winning. Too bad I can't vote for her!

Sundays with Cicero

2008-09-28T15:41:00.001-07:00

I'm almost done with On the Commonwealth but I wanted to get a post in instead. It's a pretty difficult thing to read because much of the text has been lost so you'll be reading, getting into it, and then

"Four Leaves Missing"

so your brain has to switch gears like, "okay, now onto this...".

Some random happy/humorous moments (because Brenna's post reminded me I need to find 'em!):

1. Yesterday I decided to splurge and make an out-of-the-way Starbucks stop on my way home from door-to-door yesterday. Driving home I saw a red pick-up truck that had "Hitched 'n Horny" written in the back windows. wow, only in Texas.

2. I got the urge to make pancakes this morning. I stopped at Tom Thumb (grocery store chain like Kroger's) on my way home from early Mass. I got my vegetable oil and maple syrup, and then got home and realized I should have bought pancake mix too. The Internet is a great recipe resource, except for common items like that. It all worked out though and I had a lovely breakfast with two of my roommates.

3. Last night I went to a cook-out at (the campaign manager) Matt's house and met a bunch more people, including a couple of Hillsdale grads! One of them really empathized with my homesickness/frustrations with Dallas, which I much appreciated.

4. I got Panera (!!!) on Friday night after an adventure (Kara, you should be proud!) to Eisenhower State Park. I left waaay too late though and got caught in some pretty awful rush hour traffic. It was a fun trip though, and I can now say that I've been to Oklahoma!

5. French Qualifying Exam out of the way! Now praying that I passed...

So, not a whole lot on the agenda. I've got to finish reading United States v. Lopez for my Con Law class paper. At least, I think that's the case I'll write on. It took place in San Antonio, so I'm slightly tempted to drive down and actually see where it all started. I know, I know, I'm a nerd. ;)

Back to Cicero...

Fall, where are you???

2008-09-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

*sigh* I thought it was here on Saturday, but it has abandoned me yet again. Let's take a look at this week's forecast, shall we?

Tuesday: High of 89, Low of 65
Wednesday: High of 89, Low of 63
Thursday: High of 89, Low of 61
Friday: High of 88 (!!), Low of 61

Did anyone see that it's almost the END of September??!

In other news, I have been utterly unproductive, hence this entry. Saturday was the worst, I got very little reading done. I think the source of this is because at Hillsdale, it'd be pretty hot the first 2-3 weeks, but then fall would kick in, the leaves would change, the air would smell glorious, and everyone started buckling down. Here, well I hear that "fall" comes around early to mid November. So, I need to pretend I'm in Summer School! :P

Yesterday I tried getting out of the house to force myself to do some reading away from the distractions (i.e. my computer). I drove and drove and drove trying to find some nice park or something but so much of the land here are privately-owned ranches. Wouldn't it be great if I walked up to some lovely mansion and asked, "Excuse me, but would you mind if I read on your lawn for a few hours?" That would work out perfectly if I could work up the nerve.

Instead, I read for an hour at a "Picnic Area", which was essentially three stone picnic tables right off the side of a 65mph back road. :)

After "exploring" I decided to check out the oh-so-famous Fort Worth Stock Yards. They had the weirdest park-n-pay thing I've ever seen. Scared of the looming signs that read "No Free Parking at ANY TIME", I had to pre-pay. But alas, there were no tellers of any kind on duty. It was a Sunday afternoon for Pete's sake, and I probably could have gotten away with free parking for the short time I was there, but I decided to be good and pay.

Well, I suppose an automated electric parking meter thing would be too much for Texans, and so they had this large metal box with little coin-slot-sized holes indicating each parking space. After double-checking which space I was parked in (#39), I proceeded to shove two dollar bills into this little slot, since the sign indicated such a method was accepted. I have no idea if someone checks this box every 20 minutes or so to see if there is actually money in the spaces, or what. Ca-razy.

After figuring all that out, while on my cell phone, I turned to be on my way and proceeded to fall. Flat on my face. Right at a busy intersection. While still on the phone! I couldn't help but laugh at myself and wonder what the people who witnessed such grace thought of such a dumb girl who comes out to the Stock Yards on a Sunday afternoon by herself. Gave me a nice little chuckle for the rest of my time there though!

I take my French exam this Friday to fulfill the language requirement for my Masters of Arts. Wish me good luck!

Hurricane's Aftermath

2008-09-15T21:30:00.000-07:00

Last week I saw rain here for the first time since the night I arrived in TX. It was pretty intense, and if Texan drivers weren't bad enough, throw in a bit of precipitation to throw 'em off.

Did I ever mention that I'm not a huge fan of the NFL? Well, living here has reinforced this opinion, as I live about 5 minutes away from Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys (yippee). Because of this lovely montrosity of a stadium, you have about three different expressways each with their own little routes to get you around the stadium. This means lots of confusion for a newcomer, as the stadium is (of course) round, so it's hard to tell what side you're on. You've got 114, 183, and Loop 12 to deal with, plus all the little side ramps and "access roads" (the bane of my existence). There was a time I used to like driving...

So last week it rained. And then Hurricane Ike came along. The news was talking about how scary it was going to be, even in Dallas, which is about 5 hours away from Houston (did you know Texas is really really big? crazy...). Flash flood warnings and watches were in effect Friday evening before it had even rained that day.

So come Saturday, it started raining, then pouring. And guess who is a dedicated volunteer for local GOP campaigns? That's right, folks, I was out in it. I can't even explain why. They gave us cheap little ponchos to help keep things dry (i.e. all of our data sheets and lit), which helped...for a little bit. At one point it was raining so much I just stood in the middle of the street laughing my head off, thinking how crazy I am. And you would think that the people answering their door would say something to the effect of, "you're out in this rain?!". hahahaha

Anyway, after that I got to NOT dry off and curl up in bed, but rather congregate at the campaign HQ to eat true Texas BBQ with the good folks of Grand Prairie. It was good barbeque. Someone was telling me that Texans are different than Tennessee in that they focus more on the meat, rather than the sauce. Either way, it's gooood. And definitely made up for the crummy weather. Plus it gave me a nice full tummy to finally curl up in bed for a 2-hour nap when I got home. :)

Sunday evening I went to the UD Constitution Day event. Last week they sent out a very vague e-mail about this event happening at 6:30....and that was it. Nothing about the itinerary, but I forced myself to go so I could make friends. I got there and saw a few familiar faces and got to know some people better and had a genuinely good time. These people are soo "my people", moreso than my roommates, though I love them too. It's just, there's only so much discussion about literature that I can take (especially on things I've never read).

Among the things that they do at Constitution Day: we ate BBQ (!!!), heard a talk by Dr. West (one of the reasons I came to UD), and then sang...and sang...and sang. Oh my gosh we sang a lot, and if I'm saying that, you know it was a LOT. We sang all four verses of the Star Spangled Banner. We sang Dixie (ironically). We sang some pro-Union songs (thankfully). And did you know that Yankee Doodle has 10 VERSES? Yup, we sang all of those too. :) But it was a lot of fun, and I'm glad I forced myself to go. Things are definitely starting to look up!

Blame it on the rain...

2008-09-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, you can also blame it on the coffee that I had a while ago. ;) I'm really proud of my coffee, if I do say so myself. I'm not used to using "big" coffee makers. A "big" coffee maker, mind you, is anything that makes more than one cup. That's all I got out of the one I had at school, and the one we have at the house is pretty big, bigger than the one we have at my parents' house. My first attempt here did not go well, and my coffee turned out pretty see-through. So, today I was "manning" the campaign office and they had these big-wig consultants come so I thought it'd be appropriate to make coffee. Why I volunteered for this job I'm not sure, but I scooped and scooped and scooped, thinking you can't make coffee too strong, because you can always add cream and sugar, right? ;)

Well, long story short (too late!) the coffee turned out fabulous if I do say so myself (which I already did...*jitter jitter jitter*), which was great because the two big-wig consultants...aren't coffee drinkers. *sigh* oh well, Matt and Ross thought it was pretty good and it's been added to the list of things for me to do. :)

In other news, last night I went to my first "official" Mary Kay event. I was "adopted" by a local Sales Director since moving to TX and I got to meet Lisa, the SD here. It was kinda funny because, see, I have a Sales Director, Stephanie, who lives out in the Seattle area. So, I've never actually met her, and thus have never been to an official MK event. Last night was pretty, um, I can't think of a good adjective, but it was a lot of fun! :) The women were great and it's really what I need to get going with MK here. It's tough deciding where to spend my time though - MK or campaigning. Hmm...I've been praying...

It has been really hot here the last few days and it finally clouded up yesterday afternoon (!!!) and then started raining. Unfortunately I had to drive to downtown Dallas at Rush Hour in the rain, but it was still okay. Then...the rain kept coming. And it really started pouring around 12:30pm here. It's been steady since, and I see why it's such a big deal here. I don't know if the city planners forgot about precipitation in a place like this or what, but I see very little drains around and thus I'm seeing the beginnings of flooding. Actually no, I saw actual flooding. I almost got trapped on the expressways trying to get home because one of my exits had turned into a small lake!

Anyway, I have class at 3:30 so I best be going. Keep shining on!

Day of Laboring

2008-09-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

so I thought I'd give a little more a "detailed" entry.

today was Registration Day, which was interesting. I was surprised at how empty campus was, but apparently all the freshman are holed up in orientation things and I'm guessing upperclassmen register tomorrow. I wanted to check out book prices, but I was too frustrated what with deciding what classes to take, and money issues, that I decided to take a break. I'll probably head back in a little while. I'm going to be cutting it very close with my tuition, since they couldn't have told me how much tuition was until today, but I think it'll be okay. I just need to get to the bank as soon as it opens to deposit a check and pray that they don't deposit tuition checks until after that. *sigh*

I got to go swimming Saturday evening with Ruth Anne and Katie at their friend's apartment complex. We went again last night, but the hot tub wasn't working so the girls didn't go in. Why they wanted to go in a hot tub in 80-degree weather is a little beyond me. Oh well, it was fun. We were entertained by their friends Ross and Jason doing tricks as they jumped into a 5' deep pool.

So, this is THE week. I'm hoping I pick classes that are challenging, but not impossible. So far I'm looking at a class on The Renaissance, and a class on Cicero. I think Hillsdale focused more on the moderns and Americans than the Ancients, but UD has a lot of classes on Ancient politicians. So I'm trying to decide on that last class. Hmm...

The Yellow Rose of Texas

2008-08-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still here :). You'd think with all my time wasted on the computer I'd be blogging more, heh heh heh.

I'm still settling in, more or less. Most of my furniture is in place, and I am starting to call it "home". I still would like a more "official" table for my printer, but so far a little chair will do. I haven't needed to print anything yet anyway. La di da.

Oh, and guess what? Lynn managed to find herself a GOP campaign to work on. Ha ha ha. But seriously, I'm working for Karen Wiegman, who is running for the Texas House, District 106. She's a great person and I'm happier to volunteer for her than some other candidates I have in the past. You can find out more about her at www.Karen4Texas.com. I've helped with getting the new HQ ready and doing door-to-door walks. Definitely helps my tan! This Texas heat is getting to be a bit ridiculous. Seriously, who has 90-degree weather in late August!?

So I register tomorrow and classes start Wednesday. I'm still deciding which ones to take and praying that Hillsdale provided me with some sort of preparation for the workload. I guess there's only one way to find out!

Oh, and a bit of interesting news: Ruth Anne's brother Dan, who went to school with me from grades 1-8, just got into UD and will be starting in the Humanities program this week! Pretty crazy stuff!

Texas Rain

2008-08-20T17:29:00.000-07:00

well, I'm here! safe and sound and adjusting into my room. pictures will be posted soon...the step-by-step process of moving in. p.s. my room is huuuuuge!!! If any of you EVER want to visit, there is PLENTY of room for you! it used to be a dining room and bedroom and they took down a wall and now it's one big looong room. I'm actually thinking of getting creative and painting a wall PINK (Jess, you should be proud ;)).

Sunday Mom and I drove down to Tolono, stayed the night, drove the next day to Poplar Bluff and stayed in a hotel, then drove Tuesday from PB to Irving. I did most of the driving, which was pretty exhausting. Arkansas was fun to drive through; lots of teeny tiny towns with their exact populations listed. Some of it was depressing though with all of these rundown shacks, etc. Anyway, we made it, safe and sound. Dallas was fun to drive around; reminded me of DC with five lanes of traffic merging left and right. ahhh :)

so I've got to find some more furniture to fill up my room. time for more Craig's List fun!

I spoke too soon

2008-08-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

So, my poor computer up and basically is in a coma until I can get some serious help for it. Luckily, my parents are letting me take a different one (a Dell, thank goodness, no more H/P for me!) this weekend.

I can't believe it's Wednesday already. that means tomorrow is Thursday. *sigh*

back to packing...

This is really happening

2008-08-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

I am successfully typing this on my computer! It was returned to me last week, and I was scared to jinx it by trying it out. I thought something was still wrong when I couldn't connect to internet, but it was just a simple flip of a switch and here I am!

The last few days have been exhausting but fun. Everything is coming down to the wire and I wanted to try to see friends before I leave the Midwest. Sam and I had a blast at the cottage Thursday-Friday, albeit too short a visit. Then Saturday morn I woke up early and drove down to Ann Arbor to spend the day with friends. It turned out to be a lot of fun, even if the boy playing Tony in West Side Story was a tad tone deaf. ;) I'll give him the benefit of the doubt though, and say he was probably a little worn out from five performances.

I didn't get home until late, and then got up early Sunday for Mass at 8am. Then it was a nice lazy day, since Mom and Dad were up at the cottage. It was one of those great cloudy, gloomy days and I loved it. I did get some things done in the afternoon, like get a bike rack hooked up to my car. Imagine my surprise though when I discovered that the way Baby Pearl is, I'm going to have to take it off every time I need to get in the trunk. *sigh* I think it'll be okay, the trunk just doesn't fly open like it usually does due to the extra weight.

Today I'm trying to pack, but I also want to get things organized here before I leave. I'm trying to get photo albums together, but I'm not even sure I'll be bringing them with me to Dallas. Oh well.

Oh, and one of the girls down at the house already e-mailed me last night to say that they have managed to find a bed, bookshelf, and chair for me! I have no idea what they look like, but it's still exciting!

Scrapbooking makes my eyes bleed

2008-08-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

...okay not really, but I just want it to be DONE! I keep thinking about all the things I need to do before leaving town but I can't do any of them until this dern scrapbook is done. Tomorrow this time will be soooo much fun, I can't wait! I just have two more pages to do, then the "cover page" and the final page, so four in total. And some little labels. I'm not sure how much labeling I want to do...too many pictures!

This is my first "real" scrapbook project. I tried helping Mom do one for Liz and Jim after their wedding, which turned into me making up a page, showing it to Mom to see what she thought, and then she changing it to look the way she wanted. ;) But I think she likes what I've done with this one, so I'm pretty proud of it. I just know Dr. Liu is going love it. :)

Then, after the party, I'll get packed to leave for the cottage once Sam is out of work around 5. And THEN I get to go to Ann Arbor! Okay, so I know, A.A. is home of the evil Wolverines, but the city has its benefits...like, Hippies comparing our president to Hitler! ;)

Ahh I'm so excited to be in Texas already, I just want to BE there! It's the whole, figuring-out-what-classes-to-take-for-the-next-two-years-part that I'm a bit nervous about. But I'm just so excited to live with three other great girls and play grown-up!

Oh, and Jessie and I had a wonderful visit yesterday. I never realized what a great little town Grand Ledge is! We found a really nice antique store and got a little turned around in a trailer park. ;)

Laterz!

Hello August!

2008-08-03T21:38:00.001-07:00

It made me pretty stoked that this month's calendar page is Brad Paisley. *sigh* ;)

So, scrapbooking is what is going to keep me busy this week. The deadline is Thursday (yikes!) and I think I'm doing pretty well. Unfortunately I think I may be getting sick. In the summer! That is not right at all. Of course, being up this late probably doesn't help things, but I did take a decent nap this afternoon. I need to find my stash of Nyquil...

In other news, Jake came to visit this weekend! I love showing off my hometown, even though I can't wait to leave it behind. We stopped by my high school, which I hadn't been inside for a couple of years, and then Dad gave him a tour of the office. Saturday we went to the Ingham County Fair for a bit and I showed him where I did my 4-H stuff. We went on a few rides, and the last one was this Paratrooper thing and the dumb carnie made us go 'round and 'round and 'round backwards for waaay too long. We were through with the rides after that.

Today Mom and I drove down to Jackson to see my voice teacher in G&S's The Mikado. Another typical G&S show, and it was pretty cute. I also had a blast from the past this morning at church when I randomly saw one of my old best friends. We had a short conversation before she had to leave. It made me kind of miss her...I may have to return to facebook sooner than I had anticipated!

This week I have a "date" with Jessie and I'm pretty pumped for that. I leave in two weeks and it's finally hitting me all the things I have to get done! I guess I need to be a little better about seeing people, so I'm trying to cram in all of my last-minute visits with friends before I leave MI for...well, a long time. I still don't know how long of a Christmas break I'll take (snow does get old after a while) so we'll see. It's exciting and terrifying all at the same time!

there goes July...

2008-07-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

I am back from the land of No Internet, a.k.a. my cottage. Mom and I left last Thursday to be there when my aunt and uncle arrived with their two kids. unfortunately they failed to get directions before they hit the road, so we didn't see them until after midnight. :P

Friday we checked out an old warship which is, of course, docked at Muskegon Lake. It was almost eerie because not a whole lot of renovations have been done to it, and it's sorta a self-guided tour, so we practically had the whole place to ourselves. It was used at Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion so I was thinking of all the men who had run down the same halls to help bring an end to WWII.

We also saw the first light house built on Lake Michigan, which is another thing that does not appear to have been renovated since its glory days. Puniest light house I've ever seen! ;)

The water was pretty cold Friday and even Saturday when we all went down to the beach. It was still fun though. We did the hot tub thing too. Everyone but Mom and I left Sunday afternoon, and then she and I went to see Mama Mia. It was pretty cute and Mom liked it a lot. We had the place to ourselves for a couple days, so I got some work done on my scrap book for Dr. Liu.

Tonight we went to a fundraiser event for Cliff Taylor, who's up for reelection on Michigan's Supreme Court. It's basically the only conservative government institution left in the state. :P But it was the "high end" kind of fundraiser. I don't know how much it cost, but most people had to be at least forty years old. I did a bit of "networking" but mainly was there for the free wine. ;)

I've got a busy rest of the week: working at the office, working at home on the scrap book, plus cleaning up the house since the domestic goddesses have been gone for five days!

Why so serious?

2008-07-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

Dad and I saw The Dark Knight this morning. yup. He and Mom ended up not going up to the cottage this weekend - too much to do and it was raining anyway. I asked Dad if he wanted to see the new Batman movie and we decided to go to a 10am show. My first movie-in-a-theater before noon! I was surprised at how crowded it was. I was also surprised at how many people can eat popcorn that early in the morning. wow. ;)

The movie was AMAZING. I heart it so much. I think towards the end of it I was jittery not only because of the exciting twists and turns, but because I paid $3.50 for my Diet Coke and gosh darnit I was going to take advantage of those refills!

It was a pretty long show and I'm not a fan of the "new" Rachel Dawes (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, ironically brother of Heath Ledger's love interest in Brokeback Mountain). Heath Ledger's performance was incredible. It felt a little weird at first, seeing as things have turned out, to be watching him act. All in all though, it was incredible, and I may even reward it with a second viewing. ;)

In other theatrical ventures, I also saw Wicked! with my mom on Friday night. Another WONDERFUL show and I hope to see it again as well. Emily, I now know what the big deal is! :) My mom really liked it, which is a feat in and of itself. The special effects are incredible for a stage production. I wonder if they've thought of doing it on the big screen. I don't know what I'd think of that.

Anyway, this weekend has been full of lots of excuses to sit on my butt, so I better get going! ;)

July's sneaking away!

2008-07-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

so tonight, I just changed my calendar from June to July. *whew!*

we got back from Orlando this afternoon as a somewhat restful/whirlwind trip of Walt Disney World! I had a lot of fun and realized even more just how wonderful a place it is (where dreams come true, no less!). It truly is a park that people of all ages can enjoy. however, the age that annoyed me the most were the cutesy little teeny-boppers roaming the parks and screaming incessantly in random places. :P

On my way down I started reading a biography on the man himself, Walt Disney. He really was a remarkable man whom I admire more. What's not to like about a guy who attended the 1964 GOP Convention? ;) The book gave me much more appreciation for what I was seeing. It was built five years after his death in 1966 and his brother Roy emphasized that it was to be called Walt Disney World, because it was his dream. Fascinating stuff! :) I bought a poster with picture of Walt in it with the quote, "One thing we need to remember here is that it all started with a mouse." yay! :)

The hotel was gorgeous and I finally got my own bed, which I really appreciated. The TV allowed me to stay up later than I should have (surprise surprise), but overall it was a wonderful trip. However, I'm a tad sick of my parents and will gladly shoo them out the door this weekend while they're at the cottage and I stay home with the pups.

So, it's already almost the weekend. I'm seeing Wicked! tomorrow and hope to see The Dark Knight this weekend as well. We'll see what happens!

Today is a good day

2008-07-09T19:07:00.000-07:00

I have a home!!!!!!! Thank you LORD!!!!!! :)

July is going to fly by...

2008-07-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

...I just know it.

My 4th of July weekend was fun with the family in Illinois. It got hard not having my own car and being subject to the whims of crazy Wilhelms. As my Aunt Margaret said, Wilhelm's don't know what they're doing until two minutes after they've started...and then they change their minds. ;)

Some exciting news though: I think I have a roommate! I got an e-mail last week from a girl named Holly who had gotten my e-mail address from the secretary of the grad school. I called Holly on Saturday and we got a feel for each other and decided to look for housing together. Then last night it dawned on me that Ruth Anne (the UD PhD student I already know) needed two roommates, not one, and I called her today and asked if perhaps Holly and I could room with Ruth Anne and Katie in their supercute house. So now I'm waiting to hear back and see what happens! Either way, I'm excited to get the heck outta E.L.!!

This Saturday we're leaving bright an' early to go to Orlando. I know we're going to make a Disney World trip, but other than that I have no idea what else we're doing. It'll be nice though.

I've been on a baking kick lately. Yesterday I bought a ton of raspberries and made a pie, and today I made a pineapple-upside-down cake. I have so many other treats I want to make but other things come first. *sigh* :)

June is done

2008-06-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

The summer is slowly going by. I can't wait to busy myself with schoolwork this fall, and I'm hoping to get some kind of part-time job just to busy myself more. Maybe at a Starbucks or something (it seems to be the trend these days).

Shredding has been the bane of my existence lately. Mom had them bring this huge shredder from the office to our house and I've been feeding it lots and lots. I'm just about done. It's cool to be snoopy and see what kind of checks my parents were writing 20+ years ago. I found one to my mom's mom (she passed away two months after I was born).

Yesterday Dad and I watched Batman Begins. I haven't ever seen a Batman movie and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had been seeing ads for the new one coming out in July and thought it was soo interesting that it's got Heath Ledger in it. It looks pretty amazing. Christian Bale has had my heart ever since Newsies and I've gotta give him mad props for these films too. :)

I ran a bunch of errands for my mom this morning. I'm realizing just how much East Lansing is a great town for bike riding and how great it is to have everything fairly close together. It was crazy being out in this developing part of town (just a short while ago it was allll farm land) and the roads had pretty serious bike lanes. Oh, part of my errands was getting tickets to see Wicked with my Dad in July! I'm very much looking forward to that.

Last night Kolbe decided he was going to spend the night with me. I hate it when he does this because he's a big oaf when he's on my bed, not moving, but I know he'll want to be let out around the time Dad gets up. Today was no exception. The poor thing has doggy-allergies which makes him scratch a lot and his collar is so loud whenever he scratches. I kicked him out around 5:30am. We're taking him to the doctor's in a little bit to see about treating his allergies yet again.

six months until Christmas!

2008-06-25T15:22:00.001-07:00

well, I'm still "homeless" for the fall. my trip to Dallas was pretty exhausting what with the heat (our car thermostat registred above 100 at one point) and visiting about a dozen different apartment complexes.

we got into town Saturday evening and mom was the "chauffeur" since I can't rent cars yet (or maybe I can but it's more expensive for insurance reasons??). we brought Lucy with us and she proved trustworthy once again as a GPS and got to our hotel successfully. I was starving so we had some food courtesy of the vending machines.

ANYway, Sunday we found out about nearby churches except the only English services were at 7:30 or 11am. we got up around 8ish and decided to check out UD's campus before Mass, and then found out there was Mass there at 11 so we stayed for that. we found a whopping 2 ads for rooms on a bulletin board and one of them sounded ok so I called this girl Karina and arranged to meet her at her apt that night to see if we might be roommates this fall. it was an OK place but I dunno, I didn't love it.

Monday we set off to look at a bunch more places (darn "Southern" way of life...apartment offices are closed on Sunday :P). we also stopped at campus again to learn that they pretty much don't help grad students at all with housing. now, I know I'm supposed to be a "grown-up" with getting my master's an' all, but seriously, if you don't know anyone in the area you're lost. plus, for some reason unbeknownst to me, there is one, ONE apartment complex within a mile of campus. I filled out an application and put a deposit to be put on a waiting list for that place, so we'll see.

that afternoon we met with an apartment locator who kinda helped. she directed us to all of the apartments that charge at least $700. *sigh* and then, in the Southern way of things, all of the apartment offices closed at 5:30 or 6, so the evening was pretty blah.

Tuesday morning we found some more affordable places. it's annoying that they're all about a 10-15 minute drive from campus, but I guess that's life at UD. It's too early to really know availabilities for the end of August, but I am glad that I've gotten a better feel for things and know my way around a little better and have lots of options. I just need to follow-up and see what happens. I'm just trying to stay positive amidst this loneliness and sense of "am I making a horrible mistake?".

halfway through June

2008-06-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

I don't like having all this time to myself. I think waaay too much, and that only gets me into trouble. :P

I keep trying to get in hours at the office so I can get my mind on other things, like alphabetizing patients' files, but they keep running out of things to do. I felt so useless; I spent an hour today just copying a ton of forms for patients to have on hand. I guess it helped since it was an hour that my "supervisor" was able to use for other more pressing things. I'm going to make a scrapbook for Dr. Liu because this summer marks his 10th anniversary with the practice. I need to get started on that, and I have to keep track of my hours for it. I hate "keeping track" of my hours when I'm at home. I'll have to put myself on a tight schedule or something.

In other news, it's looked like it might rain just about all day. I had a dentist appointment and had to get my entire mouth x-rayed, ugh.

Okay, this is boring so I'll just go. Four more days until I go to Dallas and I've made two appointments for apartment viewings. I hate how expensive it is. Seriously, it's looking to be more than living in DC would be. :(

the summer is getting underway

2008-06-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

well the week's just about over; it wasn't terribly exciting. I'm now using my new laptop "officially" and realized how much I like it. except I'm using it to look for housing, which I don't like at all.

I can't believe next weekend I'll be going to Dallas to check out the apartment situation. I'm praying God shows me something that's close to campus, relatively cheap, and preferably furnished with a washer and dryer. hey, a girl can dream.

actually the money thing has been bugging me lately. I need to ask UD what exactly they're going to charge me and how things work as far as loans go. I'm frustrated that I can't be like normal college grads and start on some sort of income. oh no, I have to have this darn passion to educate myself more. *sigh* :P

today I had some trips down memory lane, and it was kinda disturbing in a way. I found this bag o' stuff from a "Spiritual Leaders" retreat I went on between my sophomore and junior years of high school. I didn't have a great time, so I don't know why I kept all of this stuff from it. I felt bad for throwing out these little notes we all wrote to each other, but I honestly couldn't remember a single girl from the week. my parents sent me on so many camps as a kid and I wish I had been a little better about keeping in touch with people.

I guess I was just in a rut. I wish I had been able to move to Dallas sooner because this summer feels so stationary. I'm trying to clean out my room, but there's no real hurry since I still have 2 months before I leave. then what's going to happen next summer? I know, I'm getting ahead of myself, but it's still something to think about. I'm getting so darn impatient with things, and it seems like so many other friends are in the same boat, but we're all changing at our own paces. then I started questioning my entire vocation; maybe I've really been called to be a nun all these years, who knows?

I went for a bike ride determined to work some of these kinks out. I went on "my" bike trail, wanting to go to the very end, and found a huge tree in my path, thanks to the efficient city of EL who haven't been able to clear all of our debris from the week's storms. still determined to get to the end, I went on a much rougher trail to get to my destination.

but man, was it worth it. I got to this newly-developed area (because so many people are just racing to come to Michigan and live in the country's most depressed state) that still has some vacant lots where it hinges between city and country. The sky was preparing for another storm and the clouds looked so cool. I could see a small slice of the sun as it was setting for the night. It was just a very peaceful experience; no one was out playing in their yards because of the bad weather, just me and God.

I think God does have a plan for us. But we also have free will. I like this prayer by Thomas Merton:

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Whatever I do, God is going to bless it. If I'm not properly interpretating His plans, He'll work with it. I just have to be more patient, because nothing's going to be decided tonight.

June bug

2008-06-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

la di da...this week is going by fast. tomorrow is Daddy's birthday already, which I'm looking forward to for his sake. I got tickets for us to see Indiana Jones with Mr. Wei to surprise him. I felt so bad because he's been asking to go with me, and Sunday asked if I wasn't doing anything if we could go and I had to say no because it's part of his gift! We're also doing a "mystery trip" on Sunday after going to the cottage Saturday. That'll be fun to see played out.

the weekend wasn't too interesting. I watched a lot of tv and got to go to Confession Saturday which is always a blessing. Sunday was pretty lazy again; I'm trying to get back into organizing my room. oh, and I started some apartment hunting for Dallas (seems to be the trend these days). It's so hard being here and not there; I'll feel better after Mom and I go at the end of this month. It's always fun to read those weird ads people place on craigslist. Like, one guy was a single father seeking a single mom for a roommate. lol

yesterday I didn't work very long because I had to get home around noon. mom had Steve, our computer guru, come to start setting up my new laptop and switch the hardrive from my school computer (which died the last month of school) to my new one. I hadn't even taken the laptop out of the box since mom and dad gave it to me at Easter. man, it is one pimped out laptop; I can't believe it! Dad got it at CompUSA when the store was closing and it's a floor model so it was probably not a bad deal. but seriously, it's got a built-in webcam, plus comes with accessories that basically allow you to watch cable TV from your computer! crazy... I don't know if I'll use all of these features this fall; I may never get any studying done! :P

one of the problems with it being a floor model is that a) we had to re-configure it to its factory condition and b) it's missing the Microsoft Office code so I can access Word, Excel, etc. so boo on whoever "borrowed" my code! we may try to plead with HP to get a code, or I might have to buy Office. poo.

other than that it's great! my very first laptop!

today I thought I'd go in for a few hours again before Steve came. well, I got up around 7ish and it was kinda raining but I thought, well I've ridden in rain before. see, we got hit by quite a bit of damage from the storms over the weekend. Monday my path was overtaken by a fallen tree. I had to literally hoist my bike over this tree trunk, and then shimmy my way under it to get to work.

so I put my windbreaker over my bag and set off for work. well, needless to say, it ended up raining a lot more than I had anticipated. halfway to work I got so sick of it, because I'd be soaked even if I did make it to work, and turned around in defeat to get home and dry. I called Diane and told her I wouldn't be in, I had some things to take care of (which was true) and did errands around here instead. I can't help but chuckle at my own stupidity here.

of course less than an hour after that it turned into an absolutely gorgeous day.

June is off with a bang!

2008-06-04T19:51:00.001-07:00

..a busy bang, that is!

So, Monday I started "work" at my Dad's office. It was a little overwhelming, because I didn't realize what I was committing myself to exactly. I've worked at the office before, and been more serious about it, but I think I kinda regard it as more flexible because I'll be gone a lot this summer for various trips, plus I have lots to do before I move out in August. Diane and Linda (the head managers, per se) were wanting to know how much I'd be working, etc, and it was hard to know.

Monday and Tuesday I went in around 9am and left around 4pm. Today, like every Wednesday, they have a breakfast that my dad and Dr. Liu buy for the whole staff, so I got there around 7:40am and then left around 2:30. So...a little irregular. Next week should probably be the same, but after that it'll get more complicated.

Because I'm trying to save money, I rode my bike into work on Monday and Tuesday and was very proud of myself. :) Monday was crazy because I took Lake Lansing Road (LLR), which is a pretty busy street in my area. There's a sidewalk (I'm not like those annoying bikers who think because it's called a sidewalk they're not allowed to use it :P), but it's not consistent.

See, for those who care, I have to exit my neighborhood, cross LLR to get on one side of the street, ride a bit, cross Barber St (it's this weird intersection-curve-thing), ride some more, cross again where the sidewalk ends because dumb hippies don't want the concrete to interfere with "nature", drive through a busy intersection messed up with a year-long construction project, then cross LLR again to get to Dad's office. All of that took 10-15 minutes.

So Tuesday I decided to see if taking the bike trail that goes through some "nature-y" part of town was any faster and it was. Problem was, it rained Tuesday. And since I was determined to ride, and leave before 4, I rode in the rain. It really wasn't too bad; I saw a cool turtle in the nature part. Unfortunately I was pretty wet when I got home though.

Today was fun. I drove because I wanted to run some errands after work and go to the store. A drug rep brings lunch every Wednesday too so I got to meet him. Very typical drug rep, kinda like a politician. Well, not that bad. He was just very chummy and when he found out that I was Dad's daughter his faced seemed to light up. lol

I had to go to the bank because when I was activating my credit card and one of my two debit cards they kinda scared me into signing up for the Identity Theft Protection services. Now, I'm sure that's a very important thing to have. However, you don't need two accounts. When I tried to register the one, it said the SSN already existed. So today I cancelled both out. I might buy it again before I go to Dallas. I'm not too terribly worried about it currently.

Anyway, this was kinda boring so I'll end here.

I'll miss May

2008-05-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

wow these past two weeks...I can't believe I was getting ready to graduate less than a month ago.

so, obviously I survived Ireland. it was fun for the most part. it got frustrating with my sister and bro-in-law at times. let's just say that God definitely gave me an opportunity to grow in charity. I loved the Cliffs of Moher the most, and I can now say that I've sung in an Irish pub! :)

the craziest part of the trip was the end, so let's see if I can re-cap coherently:

see, I was supposed to get in late Saturday (May 24th) in Detroit, and then Ang and Augie's wedding was the next day in Akron, which is a three-hour drive from DTW. well, our flight wasn't supposed to get in until almost midnight, which made me nervous since I wanted a decent amount of sleep before getting up early for Mass and then driving to the wedding.

so, while in Ireland I checked out some other flight options from Chicago to Detroit and found that one would be at 7:27pm. Since we were due to get to O'Hare around 5pm that looked like it might work. (heh, heh)

after an exhaustive flight (which thankfully I slept through most of) and crazy customs on top of customs, and oh, Chicago O'Hare airport being Chicago O'Hare airport, we got to the front of the line with all of our luggage around 6:40pm. the lady said she couldn't get all three of us on the earlier flight because our luggage wouldn't make it, but then said that she could try to get just me on stand-by for the earlier flight, with Mom and Dad on the later flight.

okay, so that works. but I still had security to get through too. clock's ticking and I get to the security check-point around 7pm. I told the woman that my flight left in about 15minutes so she put a rush on "checking" me. of course the gate was at the very end of the terminal so I'm booking it through O'Hare with my purse, coat, bag, down to the gate so I can possibly get on the plane.

well, it all worked out splendidly and I made it to Detroit around 9:30. Got my car and checked into the hotel room with time to spare and fell asleep shortly after Mom and Dad arrived with all of the luggage.

Ang and Augie's wedding was absolutely beautiful and perfect. I loved the "smallness" of it, compared to my sister's rather big shindig. Definitely prefer just close friends and family.

After the wedding, I drove two hours to Erie, PA, to spend Memorial Day with Jake and his family. He had invited me to come and meet a bunch of his family and friends and we got to shoot guns, which is always a blast (pardon the pun). I drove home Tuesday in record time and have been trying to clean out my room. So far, three boxes of clothes will be given away.

*whew!*

correction:

2008-05-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

I don't think I'm going to DC after all.

Ugh, so some birds have decided to build a nest inside some vent in our house. Those of you who know me, know that I get pretty annoyed by birds in general, and now they're in our house, chirp-chirping all the livelong day. *sigh*

We leave in two days. I guess I'm excited. I need to get out of this mood though. I don't know how much I'll like being home for the summer. We shall see.

Watched Steve Carrell in Dan in Real Life the other night. I'm a fan. Steve Carrell is a-mazing, and Dane Cook did a really great job too.

-Lynn

it's all over

2008-05-13T16:41:00.000-07:00

guess I've waited long enough to post. I'm waiting for an iTunes thingy to download for my Dad's iPod. I'm to download medical lectures onto his iPod so he can listen to them during our trip to Ireland. It would be a lot easier if I actually owned an iPod myself and had a clue about what I was doing...

so graduation was last Saturday. not to be redundant, but it was surreal. I didn't really feel any extreme emotions during the actual ceremony, though I did get pretty pumped when Kara and I were actually standing in line waiting for Kaltoff (sp?) to read our names. I heard my name, and after that it's a blur. I know people cheered, but I didn't hear them. I just focused on not falling on stage! Poor Dr. Blackstock; he really doesn't get the credit he deserves for being Provost.

afterwards was crazy and I didn't really get to see anyone or say goodbye. Thank goodness I got pictures in before the ceremony. I was literally swarmed by family with cameras, switching people in and out of photos with me, turning my eyes in the direction of all, say, six cameras as each family member took the exact same photo. I loved it though; I can't get over the fact that some of my family had left at 5am that morning to see me graduate, and then left that evening to go back to Illinois.

Dave and Marcella did a beautiful job with the dinner and then afterwards I suggested that we walk around campus and I gave a little tour of everything. It worked out well for all of us to visit a bit while walking. Then people headed off. I packed up the rest of my stuff and managed to see Alicia before heading back to EL.

Now I'm trying to unpack, but not too much, because I have a lot to do in the next few weeks. My plans are...

-This Friday, leave for Ireland!
-Saturday, May 24th, return from Ireland
-Sunday, May 25th, drive to Ang's wedding in Akron, OH
-Monday, May 26th (Memorial Day), drive to DC
-Thursday, May 29th, leave DC, stay a night in PA
-Friday, May 30th, arrive home (finally)

And then I think we're going to the cottage on the 30th. *Whew* June looks entirely free and I'm hoping to keep it that way. I'm going to work for my Mom and Dad at their respective jobs, and then also want to get a few Mary Kay facials in.

Tooday is Tooosday

2008-05-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

I keep losing track of days. Yesterday was Monday and I doubt I even realized it most of the day. Gotta love finals.

So I just took my first and last in-class final of my undergrad career! It was blah, I'm glad it's done. Pestritto freaked us all out because he didn't show for ten minutes. Some kids had knocked on his door and got no answer so we weren't sure if there was going to be a proctor or what. So I went downstairs to go see the secretary and before I got there I glanced out the window and who do I see but Pestritto and Raney, just chatting it up! I went out and was like, "um, gonna give us our final??" he totally thought it was at 1:30. Because every other final is given at 1pm. *sigh*

That threw us all off a bit and it took me a while to really get going in the exam. I think it went okay, but he didn't ask nearly as much about what I actually studied. He also gave us our term papers back and I got an 87! Pretty sure that's the best I've ever done on a paper for him. Also, found out that when I had turned it in I had put in a page upside down and backwards. Not sure how that happened...lol.

So I just have to finish up this darn Morrisey paper and I'm set! It's almost done and I feel like 6 pages just can't do it justice. I'm trying so hard not to put in big bold letters Obama is a stupid utopian hypocrite, but he might take off for that. ;)

It's a pretty day, hoping it stays like this for commencement. Dad took my printer stand and fridge stand so my room looks a little empty. I don't think the fact that I'm leaving Hillsdale will really hit me until I move into my apartment (yet to be found) in Irving this fall.

it feels like it's raining you

2008-05-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

I really hope this rain today means it will be nice and sunny and beautiful for graduation. I do NOT want it inside. :-P

This morning I met with Mrs. Birzer to talk about Mary Kay stuff. I'm glad because she made me feel less guilty for not having time to do as much stuff as I would like since I've been so busy. I hope I can get a few more skin care classes and at least let some of the girls try a product or two before we all leave.

I'm having a hard time getting motivated to do stuff for next week. And I also feel like it's all creeping up on me too. I want to get most of the Morrisey paper done before Wednesday so here's hoping! I started studying for Pestritto a little bit this morning but it was like pulling teeth.

The Poli Sci picnic is tonight and that should be fun. Daddy comes Sunday to pack some of my things up ahead of time.

-Lynn

over the hurdles, but not finished yet

2008-04-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

grr I'm mad at the Dean of Women's office. not Dean Phillip per se (as the cliche goes), but see, I had to have my "exit interview" this morning. they told us about these a few weeks ago saying, "we'll meet with you at your convenience," and then of course she filled up the days that worked.

anyway, i was e-mailing her secretary about setting up a time to meet and she said 9:30am this morning. so i got up early, on Dead Day, and climbed the stairs up to the office at 9:28 to see her secretary say, "your meeting was at 9o'clock," making me feel like a complete idiot and asking when we could reschedule because of my mistake. I kinda shrugged because it's not like I requested this "interview" or anything. Anyway, we decided we'd e-mail about a different time because they all had to leave. then I just checked my e-mail and sure enough, it said 9:30. *sigh*

ok so yesterday was my last day of undergrad ever! i got my papers finished up before my 9:30 class so after the class I took a glorious nap since I had only gotten about 4 hours of sleep. so, when I got up it felt almost like a completely new day, like the morning hadn't even happened. i warmed up my voice for the recital that afternoon and went to my 1o'clock class.

the recital went well except my guitar teacher helped accompany me and he got kinda carried away with making sure we were in tune. but I guess it went well. after that I met up with Ang and she and Rochelle and i went to dinner. see, I was smart this time because I knew there'd be wine at the Senior Dinner later that night and I wanted to get something in me before I drank ;). so i had two dinners.

oh, and at the Senior Meeting beforehand they told us to get dressed up for the dinner later that night. it was kinda amusing. but most people went back and changed, lol.

then some of the girls watched "27 Dresses" in Jessie and Kira's room. it's o.k. but I think I was being too analytical. like, it seemed to switch themes a lot or something. and there'd be random scenes where it was like, okay, why was that put in?

when i got back to my dorm i checked my email since I hadn't all day (a rare event!) and realized I completely flaked and missed the last CR meeting of the year! oh well, elections are today and that will be someone else's headache.

so I don't know what to do today. I have to go to the library and pay a fine I had no idea existed, and then print out some articles for my Morrisey take-home final. I so don't want to study yet though. I only have one in-class final next Tuesday for Pestritto so part of me's not worried, but part is.

I'd like to play tennis today too...

-Lynn

I'm not burned out, I swear

2008-04-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Ah the joy of 24-hour computer labs. Er, I think they technically close at some point...but not really. Which definitely helps when your power supply dies the day the warranty expires. Meh. It's been a blessing in disguise as far as getting me to do work in my room and actually use my desk for what it's intended purpose is. And I feel even more guilty for wasting time on a computer that's not really mine. La.

Oh, so when facebook started popping up that chat option I thought, man it's really getting crazy with all the applications and such. But actually, I think I'm going to like having it. It's like a more limited AIM.

Two papers due Tuesday...I'm not looking forward to doing my Krannawitter one. I mean, I'm in o.k. shape; I've got about 12 pages and it's supposed to be 20-25. I just keep psyching myself out though thinking, "I'm never going to get that many pages; my thesis is stupid; I can't prove this in just two more days!" Okay, keep praying, offering it up. *nods*

The other paper is for Pestritto and I'm really happy with how it's shaping up. Though, I think I have to tweak my thesis slightly, but I don't think that will affect what I've got done. It only has to be 10-15 and I'm around 9. :)

Well I used up all my meals this week which means I get to eat yummier food for cheaper (like, Burger King ;)).

-Lynn