I'm feeling all starry-eyed and sappy and mushy right now. I think I'll go watch Pride and Prejudice and sigh a lot.

I also really want some goat cheese and crackers, but we're all out of Ritz...

I really like candy, and cakes and ice cream and pie. I just don't understand it when people say they don't like sweets. Chocolate is so tasty.
I'm just sitting here at work, waiting for the weather balloon to pop. I have had a strong desire all day to sing Christmas carols with my family. I think I'll do that when I go home. That and I really need to clean my room. I just don't get why while I live in my dorm, everything is always super clean and orderly, but when I'm at our house clothes start to accumulate in piles about my room, shoes get spread all about the house, and I never take my meals at regular intervals. Perhaps everything expands when it has more space. Though the whole eating thing is probably due to the fact that I like to eat a late breakfast, usually don't want lunch at the normal time, and then I am at work for the hours of dinner eating. But blah blah blah, boring. I'm sure you don't care to hear more about my eating habits. Heh.
Oh, there's one of those big tan erasers that I love lying on the desk in front of me! You know, the large brick ones that have that distinct smell and usually have something like "Improved Gum" printed on them. I think I had several of them in elementary school. They feel slightly odd rubbing under my fingers and I would always stab mine with my pencils during class, leaving grey-ringed pock marks over the entire thing. I keep smiling looking at it and I really want to erase something now.
Ah! Balloon popped. Back off to doing my job. ^_^

Something's missing...

Is anybody else disturbed by the fact that to make blueberry muffins now all you have to do is "Just add water!" to the mix? No to-do with beating in eggs, finding cooking oil in the back of the cabinets, draining the can of blueberries so the whole muffin doesn't turn a funny shade of purple? Doesn't that bother anybody besides me? I mean, where'd it all go? No? Okaaay...If not then, Yay, I love blueberry muffins for breakfast. Mmmm! I woke up earlier than usual so I could cook some, and now they're baking in the oven, and I best go check them so I won't burn them. ^_^ Tasty breakfast coming up!

Ever get a song stuck in your head where you don't know what it's called, who plays it, or even what the words really are? Yeah, I've had that for the last few days or so. So when I'm driving I'm often just making up words to some melody that keeps running about in my head. Kind of annoying, but at the same time, I really like the song, however it goes.

Monday I started my volunteer work at the National Weather Service. They don't have a SCEP position (basically paid internship) open yet(but I have a feeling they're working on that), so I'm just doing volunteer stuff for now. They just teach me everything I'll need to know, I get to see how I like working there, they get to know me, and it helps me learn stuff a lot faster for school/my future. All that practical application stuff. A really good deal, I think. Everyone has been really friendly and super helpful for me. I'm very grateful to how everybody is trying to get me a job with them. I would love to work for the National Weather Service when I graduate. :]

Besides the hours at the NWS, I really don't know what to do with myself over this Christmas break. I'm going to the bookstore tomorrow to get a stack of books I can read. Heather and I are going to see the Golden Compass movie. I loved Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. They were some of my favorite books as a kid. I hope the movie is just as excellent as the story in the books. I'm also going to try and see if Palmetto has some hours they would have me work. I'm getting lower on the cash and I want to be able to buy people gifts for Christmas and still have enough dollars to purchase my next chunk of textbooks for the spring semester.

Ah, it's raining now. Finally. This warm weather (a high of 77 F) in December is quite a drag. But cooler weather is coming with this rain, so I'm pleased. I was actually a bit confused for a moment, sitting here at my computer. It's all dark in the house now, which is when the house starts to make noises. It usually creeks and pops and clicks, but the rain has a different sound outside my back door. Not so much a patter or splash, but more like... a few hands slightly slapping on the ground against smooth concrete. I don't know, maybe that all sounds the same. Anyways, it's late, and I am planning on waking up early in the morning to cook blueberry muffins for breakfast. I guess sleep is in order for me.

Finals Finished!

It feels good being done with finals. Laying here on my belly with my computer on top of my bed(I never do that, it's always on my desk), and warm cocoa in my stomach feels really good. Jacob at my desk and Caroline on her bed, both studying for their last exams, and the room looks more hollow with all the things we've already moved out. I'm going back to Boss City on Saturday and I really have mixed feelings about that. I'm looking forward to seeing my family and home friends. I'm excited about working at the National Weather Service and taking a break from the school studies. I'm going to miss living here in Monroe. I like the control over my own living quarters. I enjoy living with Caroline and I like the room we have. I'm comfortable here with the people I'm around. I've grown accustomed to hanging around in the WRC and everyone in the Atms. department that is always in there. I don't know. It's just good here and I'm not wanting to trek all the way back home, unable to return for the next five weeks. I'm sure I'll be more than happy once I'm at my house with good family and friends and I'll be just as reluctant to leave to return here to school. I am happy about the break. After all the studying and tests, I am more than pleased to not have to open a text book for a while. I'm just really comfortable right now.
But anyways, enough of that stuff.
Hooray for good first semesters. Yay for A's and fun(ish) classes. I love the weather! I'm definitely keeping with it. Not that I ever had any doubt I would change.
I'm happy it's Christmas time. Everything is shiny.
And I'm sleepy now. So tell me, what do you like best about December?

It feels odd walking around the campus on a Monday morning and seeing empty sidewalks and significantly less cars. It's finals week, so the usual hustle and bustle of people outside in the morning and around lunch time is missing. People are either not here because of the lack of classes or they are cramped up inside, cramming the facts and formulas they've forgotten over the semester back in their head. It just seems more empty right now.
The Christmas lights are up around campus now and the tree is lit up in front of the library. I like how everything sparkles and shines this time of the year. When the air is cold and everything is crisper and cleaner. The wind almost knocked me over when I stepped out of the library last night.
I've got three more finals this week and then I'm done for the semester. I'm going to miss being here for the next five weeks, but I'm looking forward to seeing a few fine friends of mine. Everyone call me if you're in town and want to get together. I love hearing from all of you.

A bit from a long list.

I'm laying in bed, thinking of all the things I'm grateful for:
My generous family. Wise, compassionate, entertaining, and genuine.
My friends. Smart, silly, serious, and all. They are a great comfort for me.
My education. I am incredibly lucky, and I am having all sorts of doors open up for me. I have met more people than I could have imagined, and have more opportunities than I have ever thought I would be given.
My roommate, Caroline. My friend, and absolutely perfect to live with. A good spirited person.
My boyfriend, Jacob. A smart, sweet, sexy, and fun man. I am treated right, and am ridiculously happy.
My Anthony. The world would be such an even better place if everyone had one. I do! How great is that!
The opportunity and ability to be able to sit around a big table, with my family, eating a huge feast, drinking good wine, and laughing at the most random things till my sides hurt and I spit across the table.
Fine music, good books, and new words.
The warmness of the world when it's cold outside and I see so many smiling faces.

Thank you, everyone, for making my life so wonderful.

Nothing new really. Sunday morning was really pleasant. Sitting at my desk, eating cereal, and staring out the window, watching the leaves start to rain. Gusts of wind sending clusters of pale yellow leaves into the street and sidewalks. Autumn is the best season. The bright colors of the leaves against a pale grey sky. Hot tea, cinnamon, cider, pumpkins, bike rides. Books are best read in the fall. Out on a bench or swing. Or in a cozy chair as the rain drizzles down outside.
I need to go home Saturday and get my warm clothes. The cold has come. I hope it's here to stay.

Grey Day, Golden Days

Waking up on a stormy day is different from the others. You know something is different from the way a more whitish grey light presses in through the window blinds. I spent a good time before class staring out the library windows at the endlessly grey skies.
My fall break was very eventful and full. I didn't even get to see some of the people I was looking forward to seeing though (cough-Amanda, Sarah-cough). What it did consist of though was Heather, my Daddy, and me going to the Texas Renaissance Festival. It was overwhelmingly awesome and huge. Some people were dressed in the most ridiculous looking costumes ever. I find it really hard to describe everything there, but we had a lot of fun going about all the shops and listening to all the musicians. Heather even bought me some four leaf clover earrings. I'll post the pictures of everything later in Facebook if you want to see them.
Sunday morning before I went home Troy, Anthony, and I went down to the riverfront and played around the fountains and took pictures and tried to race leaf boats down the waterfall thing but failed. Then we went and ate cheeseburgers and had milkshakes from Cheeburger Cheeburger. We read books on the floor of Barnes & Noble, all cozy in a corner, and it was perfectly and entirely pleasant. Then we went to the costume store and Troy bought a couple skeleton car hanging things. Being together again with them made me very happy, but I had to go then. Back to the house where Daddy and I fixed the problems with my car. Well, most of the problems. Back here to Monroe, which, no, it isn't home, but I live here now for the most part. And the people are good, and the food is good, most of the time, and my roommate makes me laugh. And I am comfortable here. No, this isn't a bad place at all. And these stormy grey days make it even better here. The light is softer, the rain feels better, and the wind finds a way to turn my umbrella inside out every five feet.
The AMS is having a Halloween costume party next Friday. I'm going to be........a fairy! :-] It's still so much fun to dress up.

Oatmeal, Water Bottles

Oatmeal. I used to hate it so much. Why am I so happy to eat is now? Just about every Friday my English professor cancels class and just sends an online assignment by email. So now I've gotten to sleep an extra hour and taken the time to cook some maple & brown sugar oatmeal. And I must say I'm most pleased.
But in moving on in other news, I've started running again. Which means I've started stretching again, and I am way out of shape. All my muscles are sore, but it feels good. I hate it when I'm stiff and can hardly touch my toes. While we do have an indoor track here at school, I'm finding that running outside here is much better. The ground is flat for the most part, and it's easier to not cheat. I run down to the activity center and back, which makes about a mile, so every time I head down there I know I'm going to have to make the same distance back. No stopping in the middle of the lap, like at the track. It's easier to go running at night. Caroline and I only go on the main street, which is fairly well lit, but the air is better at night, and I always look really ridiculous when I run. It's like I don't know where to put my arms. Elbows jerk and my fists beat oddly. But heck, after seeing the way I play racquetball, this is much of an improvement.

...

So, I've encountered a problem. Lining the edge of the window along my bed are several empty water bottles. See, back when I lived at home, we would buy a case of water for me to take to school, but I would just refill the bottles from our refrigerator water. That way it lasted a lot longer and I didn't feel bad because each bottle got several uses before being thrown away. Now, the bottles aren't refilled and I just don't throw them out. I can count ten sitting along the ledge here right in front of me, and I actually have some in my unused drawer. It's all rather silly, but I can't just get rid of them.
Well, now I'm back from my other class, and I've got much more to do. I'm sure I'll have more to say after this weekend. There are a few events going on, and I've got to work on my next English paper to work on. I'm supposed to write it on the movie Dogma. Now if only I could get my computer to play the movie correctly. Oh, and tomorrow's my Grandpa's birthday!

Bridges, Brakes, Balls, Cancer?

Walking across the bayou bridge on my way to lunch or dinner I always stop to look at this little turtle on one end. He lives in the shallow part of the water near the cafeteria. It makes me really happy when I notice other people doing the same thing.
These last two weeks have been very busy for me, but I've still had lots of fun things going on. Caroline and I were sitting in our room, and she declared how she really wanted to play with puppies. So, we went of to find the pet store. Unfortunately, the puppies were not available for petting at that time, but we still had a lot of fun going around the rest of the store. We met the owner of the place and talked with her for a good while as she chased about birds and sprayed down chameleons. After that we decided that s'mores were the best idea (We'd been talking about them eariler) so we drove down the street to Target. After getting "enough marshmallows to last four years" we called Ashley, from down the hall and had a good laugh as chocolate went all about our faces. Ashley never having tried s'mores before.
Thursday Caroline and I decided to try out racket ball at the activity center. As we all know, I'm not athletically inclined, but we still had a great time, cracking up at ourselves. It consisted mostly of Caroline hitting the ball and me flailing. Friday we went again. Caroline hit the ball, I hit my knee with the racket. It made the same cracking sound. Caroline hits the ball, I whack my shin. But overall, I'm getting better, and it's a really fun game. Though neither of us really knows the rules of it. I'll have to look those up soon.
But yes, other than these brief times, studies consume most of our free time. I really am enjoying my classes. We still haven't had any word back from Dr. Mills on the research worker scholarship thing, but I am loving Atms. Last night was the AMS (American Meteorological Society) game night. Lots of people, very entertaining.
With all that's been going on though, my mind keeps coming back to the lady at the pet store. When asked if she was having a good day she threw her hands up with a huge grin and said, "Honey when you survive cancer twice, every morning you wake up it's a wonderful day." And I can't stop thinking about this. This lady loved where she was. She loved the animals and reptiles and fish, and people she worked with. She had that spark in her, that energy in living. And I keep wondering if it always takes something as drastic as cancer to spark that in someone. That Wake up and live! is what seems to be missing a lot. Everyone is so caught up in life, that they don't see it. I don't know if that makes entirely clear sense. But, I just keep thinking, Yes, I want to wake and say, Here I am, everyday is a wonderful day! Because, I am terribly happy with what I'm doing and where I am, and everything about me. I wouldn't want to forget that. No, I do not want to forget that. I hope you have a wonderful day, and week, and life.

295 Dots On a Map

(So yay. I'm moving the blog here. I'll think about putting in all the old archives, but for now, it's just a clean start.)

I have two weeks to plot the exact locations of all the hail storms that have occurred in the last thirty years in three of our parishes and with that hopefully get the chance to get a scholarship to work as a Regent Scholar Research worker to do more of that and look for trends in the Northwest regions of Louisiana. Oh thank you school, I’m now entirely immersed. It has definitely begun.

My first impressions of my classes are hard to put down. And probably somewhat boring, but if I may, here are a few thoughts and events that have occurred in this last week.

First off, my roommate, Caroline, is really great. We get along well, pick up our stuff, don’t have schedules that would cause conflict to arise in getting ready in the mornings, and enjoy hanging out together. She drove me around town to show me the close main streets I’d need to know and things like where the bookstore and Wal-mart are located. I’m entirely happy that I got paired with her.

As I walked into my first class, I admit I was a bit nervous. My pulse was quick and I don’t think it was due entirely to the fact that I had halfway jogged up the staircases. (All of the staircases have an odd number of steps, which really bothers me. Eh, yeah, I know.) However, everything went smoothly and I have found that it is super pleasant around here. My tire blew out the night I moved in and when I went out to look at the damage the next morning I was overcome with people helping me out. Some girl’s father just came up and put the spare on for me. He even went and got the air compressor he keeps in his car so that the spare could be aired up. Several other people approached, bringing water and all sorts of moral support I guess you’d say. Everyone holds doors and smiles at you and changes tires around here. It really is wonderful.

…

I always find myself feeling incredibly awkward when I run into people I know and I have food with me. I don’t know why, but I get embarrassed. It could be lunch time and I’ve got a sandwich with me I and someone walks up to say hi to me, and they look at my food, I feel like I have to explain myself. Isn’t that ridiculous! I mean, everybody has to eat, but unless I’m in the cafeteria or a restaurant or something, I feel like I have to spout out some explanation for carrying food with me. I am usually able to hold it back, but the desire is still there. Hah.

Sitting here looking at all the tiny crevices in the skin of my hands while I type reminds me of when I was a young kid, playing in the mud in the back yard. Heather and I would mix up the dirt we dug up with water, squishing it with our feet. Then we’d stand in the sun until the mud dried and became cracked and flakey on our feet. Like how they depict dinosaur skin to be like. Running around made chunks of it fall off, but if felt cool. The hard mud cracked in a pattern like a close up of the back of our hands.

Ah, I’m getting sidetracked. I have more to tell later. For now, I’m off to record more hail storm coordinates. Peace and have a wonderful time. ^_^