Fictional Human Being

2011-05-05T00:17:00.005-05:00

It was nearly four years ago that I wrote this in an old blog:

I'm still not over the novelty of my shiny new laptop. I keep trying it out in new places. Perhaps I'll compute in the music room, then the kitchen, then Heather's room, on my bed, and at the pub table. Okay, while some of the glamor of being able to sit anywhere and type on my computer has begun to wear off, I must say, I am really happy about the whole thing. My Daddy and Mum just gave it to me for graduation/starting college. I finally seem to be pulling stuff together for school. Linens are accumulating into a stack in the corner of my room. Lamps and bowls and other essentials are being gathered together, and I finally feel it approaching. I feel like this summer has been different from the other ones. Actually having a job makes the days pass fast, but the weeks drag on. It's an odd way to see it, but as the start of school looms ever closer, I begin to forget the duller parts of the past two months. Only the bright parts stick out. While I was immersed in it, it seemed like this summer didn't match up to the ones in years gone by, but now, in looking back, I think that all we ever see are the best parts. We forget about all the down time we've had as we work at school, and once a new one begins, we are amazed at how dull summer can be after a few weeks of it. Still, overall, I think I've enjoyed it. In three weeks I'll, like the rest of you, be starting brand new classes, while I'm filled with excitement that is mingled with a bit of anxiety and uncertainty. I keep playing out little scenarios in my mind of me going to classes, walking around campus, sleeping with another person across the room from me, and eating with complete strangers. I don't think any of that which rolls through my head will really be as I see it now, but I continue to think on it. Sometimes it makes me laugh, as I can have a vivid and wild imagination. I believe everyone's had some of the same thoughts as I have. Nothing really new. I've heard many tales from friends and family what their college years were like. Still, I wonder, what stories will I be able to tell my friends and children long after I have left this school, and many of the people around it?

I have a week and a half left in college. It is sinking in now, as I am finding out where I am going to work, finishing papers and presentations, and starting to pack my belongings into boxes. And as I cannot help being reflective, I have been thinking a lot about my time here at ULM. I have been thinking about the things I have done here, the people I have met, and how it has all changed me. I have turned into a much more confident person, but feel less original with that. I have built relationships around me that I would not trade for anything. I have loved many people, made connections and lost them. I have learned that I can get up in front of a large group of people and speak confidently, that I cry when I am angry, that I hate doing laundry, and that speaking my mind makes me happier than I was ever before. In my mind this list continues on and on, marking and checking events, people, and places over the four years I've had here. Parts have been good, and parts have been bad. But I can't help wondering how good my memory is. I keep thinking about what I wrote four years ago, how we only remember the bright parts. And now, another summer approaches, but my year will no longer begin in the fall. I won't have that time for reflection that I had every year. So really I keep wondering, what are going to be the bright parts now? What will stand out for me? I continue to build scenarios of my life just as I did when I approached the start of college. Only now they stretch much further. But honestly, my vivid imagination cannot bring together what lies in store for me. So the same feelings return; I'm filled with excitement that is mingled with a bit of anxiety and uncertainty. And because of that, I know it will all be okay. The things I recall from being here that shaped me and made me were proceeded by those emotions. It was hard, and it made me good. So, I gather my linens, bowls, books, and essentials to take away from this place, and I welcome the future as I leave the halls of this school and continue forward with my life.

2010-06-25T20:35:00.002-05:00

Today at work I:
-Had the mug in my locker fall out and hit me on the knee.
-Knocked my mug of water over on my desk where it poured down into my purse and got my book and everything else wet.
-Somehow hit my leg while climbing out of the CO-OP van and got a hen egg bruise on my thigh from it.

I'm ever so slightly scared to leave. Who knows what other things might happen...
But I'm going to see Ryan when I get off in twenty minutes, which I am more than pleased about. Us working opposite shifts here leads to us not seeing much of each other during the week. This weekend is Caroline and Stephen's wedding. Ryan and I are headed to Monroe in the morning for it. I'm looking forward to seeing Laura and my other Monroe friends that will be there. It feels like ages since I've seen them, though it's only been a couple months really.

Free Pie

2010-05-02T11:43:00.006-05:00

There is this place in Monroe we pass by all the time called Not Just Pie. We hear they have the most delicious pies in town, and though we talk about going there someday, that day never seems to be any day. So as we were sitting in the computer lab last week Nick mentioned to us that he had won a free slice of pie from Not Just Pie and he wanted to go there sometime soon. We decided we could go on Saturday. Finally, we would have this famous (though quite pricey as these things go) piece of pie.
So yesterday evening Laura, Nick, Ryan and I all piled into the car together and drove down to Not Just Pie. Our hopes were high. We had in mind what we would be having. We were already picturing the flaky crusts and whipped topping when we pulled up to Not Just Pie. But they were Just Not There. Though online the hours had been posted from 11-7pm, all we found were chairs on tables and the cold empty display cabinets staring blankly back at us as we peered through the windows.
In remorse we turned around. But we were stilled determined to have pie of some variety. We remembered another diner that had a sign outside of it advertising they had pies and more, so we drove down that way. While still in the car I turned around and told Nick I was sorry he wasn't going to get his free pie. He just shrugged his shoulders and laughed about it.
The diner was empty for the most part. An old couple sat in the back corner and a small family was off to our side. We were disappointed to hear they only had four different pies left but we ordered all the same. We wanted pie then and there. As our slices were placed down in front of us we all craned our heads over the pie, staring at our prey. Ryan had his hands clasped together in anticipation and we all murmured how good it looked. We then pick up our forks and dug in to chocolate and banana cream and pecan goodness. As we were scraping the last flecks of crust off our plates, and getting ready to pay, our waitress walked up to us and told us our pie had been paid for. The elderly gentleman in the corner had seen us praying before we ate. "You just don't see kids doing that these days," so he paid for our meal and left. As the waitress told us this Nicholas stared at me, eyes bulging, while he drank his water. Laura sat there with her mouth open and Ryan was looking blankly up at the waitress. So what do you say? You can't rightly tell the waitress that that was not a prayer the man was seeing but a preparation, setting the angle of attack. That bowing our heads and then looking at each other with a shine in our eye was not an amen. So in our shock, embarrassment, and guilt we were able to get out gratitude as the strongest feeling. We asked to the waitress to thank the man several times next time he came in(which he does quite regularly we found out). We sat there a while longer, drinking our water and just talking. Ryan decided we were going to have to go out of our way to do something nice for a stranger in order to pay back our free food. Our waitress walked up again to ask us what church we went attended. Laura ummmed and I shot Nick a look for him to speak. He told her the name of the Lutheran church which in all honesty he does attend every week, and she hmmmed and walked off with our plates. We left shortly thereafter.
And while I am not one for praying, especially before meals, I think that we got to express gratitude for what we had been given all the same. And it makes me want to do the same for someone I don't know. I think it might make my day to do that. So I guess we got not just pie after all.

2009-08-12T01:43:00.002-05:00

I've been putting off too many things. Like restarting my computer, washing my jeans, and writing what I've wanted to. Maybe it's easier said than done though. I just returned from Austin, TX. I had a short visit with Sissy and Jeff. I am always happy to be in their company. In the morning I'm headed to Memphis. I come home from there on Sunday and I move back to Monroe on Wednesday. Summer passes much more quickly though the weeks have gotten longer. And I feel like there is something I'm forgetting to do. At least I've spent good time with the ones I cherish.

To bed with myself before another long drive, and I continue on with more text book narrative.

Excerpt from an old notebook

2009-04-07T18:54:00.005-05:00

"The goldfish you won at the fair round-up in grade school. You carried them home in little sandwich bags that kept leaking and hardly stayed closed with the twist tie pinching it closed. You had two of them. Your family went out to Wal-Mart and bought a large glass bowl, some rocks, a couple jugs of water. You named the fish, they died. So you're stuck with a big bowl and some stinky bright purple and teal rocks a week later. Just dump out the rocks and put the bowl in the bath tub. You still cried though."

2009-03-15T21:24:00.005-05:00

This weekend has been good for me. Hung out with David most of the time. I enjoy his company. We watched Labyrinth because I'd never seen it before and it is a great movie. Yesterday was Pi(e) Day, so we thought that a great excuse to bake a blueberry-raspberry pie. Let me tell you, that was one tasty pie. The berries popped and released such sweet juice in my mouth that reminded me of Memphis summers and 4th of July picnics. I'm afraid I won't be able to make it up there this summer, which is really upsetting. But perhaps it will work. I like to hope so. But back to this weekend, David and I also watched Wizard People, Dear Reader, which is an alternate voice over to the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I found it most amusing. It's done by the same person who did the Washington Rap.
...
In other news, the semester is now half way over. And I'm surprised at how much I am not excited about that. I'm kind of disappointed by that fact actually, because when this semester is over, I only have two more years here, and that seems like an awfully short amount of time in the scheme of things. What I was happy about on school related topics was that at Browse the Bayou we had at least three or four prospective majors. And I believe we had that many last semester, so I'm always glad to meet the new ones coming in to join us.

Other than that dear readers, I don't have much for you now. My apologies. Here's a dance and song I really liked if you wanted something entertaining to watch.

Edit:
I almost forgot to tell you. I'm playing intramural softball with the AMS this week! Wish me luck! We all know how much I hurt myself with any type of throw-catch-swing-at-a-ball sports. Haha.

2009-03-08T20:43:00.002-05:00

I'm flexing my fingers at this. I haven't written consistently in so long, and I remember how much I loved doing so when I did write. This weekend I did several things I hadn't done in so long. Today I went for a ridiculously long bike ride. I ride my bike to class everyday, but that is so different from the feeling of pedaling down streets for only the sake of moving. The air was warm, not hot, and it brought back memories of my childhood, riding down streets and under trees, past cars and houses and open grass. It made me happy.
I also decided to start stretching again. My muscles have grown too short and stove up. Without flexibility we are all old. I began to remove the stiffness from my body, lying on the floor, breathing slowly, and trying to remember the moves from my old yoga class as I ripped and tore loose the bindings on my legs, sides, back, and all. I'm sure I'll be sore all over in the morning, but right now I feel great, so I'll remember that as I draw out my body tomorrow.
Friday evening I went with David to a cookout at his friend's house and had a great time. I squished up hamburgers for the first time. I guess that is a basic skill I needed to learn. I met a few members from the water ski team, all of whom were from foreign countries, and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I watched a couple awesome movies, read, and didn't mind the time change as much as I usually do. This weekend was a much needed one after three major tests last week and the stress I was feeling from that. Now I'm feeling peaceful and rested and happy with my friends. I hope all of you are just as well.

2009-02-17T17:12:00.003-06:00

-Today, instead of the stairwell smelling of stale beer and boy sweat, it smelled like brownies, and this made me happy.

-I wish I had more time for reading.

-I need to shave my legs like whoa! bad.

-I bought Leslie Donkey Kong 2 and now I can't get the music from it out of my head. It's probably due to the fact she has been playing it nonstop since Friday night.

-I've been wanting to paint a picture lately. Images keep popping in my head that want out.

-I need to come up with a topic for my presentation in Thermodynamics by Friday, but I'm drawing a blank.

-Lately I have been feeling especially grateful for my parents. They are both wonderful people. I should tell them that more often.

-Today I was sitting in the WRC after my lab midterm, watching something on the History Channel with everyone. A commercial came on that made me scowl, though I really don't remember what for, and then a fellow student walked into the room. I looked over to say hi to him and he gave me a funny look. I turned back to the television and realized I had been scowling at him the entire time. Oops.

-I really enjoy riding my bike.

-I really enjoy grey, rainy days.

-I really don't enjoy the combination of the two when as I dash out the door I forget to grab a plastic bag to stick over my bike seat and I then have a soggy bottom for the next half hour in class...Ha!

-I'm going to buy some fruit tomorrow and it is going to be oh so good! :]

-I could take the time to string all these thoughts together into a more meaningful, or at least more fluid post, but I'm just not into it right now.

-I feel like this sounds like I'm complaining too much. I really don't mean to sound that way.

-I'm coming home for a couple of days for Mardi Gras break. I love that this a holiday here. We should make it a federal one! Hehe.

-Julie Ann's has the best king cakes ever, I don't care what the southern Louisianers think! :-P

-Louisianers? Louisianians? Louisianites? Louisianese? Someone please tell me because I honestly don't know. (I think it would be awesome if it were Louisianese(I know it's not really) because it's so much fun to say.)

-Lastly, I thought this was pretty clever and amusing.

P.S. I love you. :-}

Apartment!

2009-01-28T18:48:00.009-06:00

So I figured it was about time for me to post pictures of my new apartment.

When you come in the front door you are standing in the kitchen looking in our living room.

This is our kitchen. The doors on the left here go to Leslie and Ozzy's rooms.

Standing next to the refrigerator you can see the door on the left there that leads to Caroline's and my side of the the apartment.

Through the door is our sinks and the bathroom is on the right.

Happy shower!

And lastly, my room, which is made of lots of awesome. Checkout all the green stuff. Sissy painted me the cool plaque. ^_^

2009-01-25T14:46:00.002-06:00

Random thoughts:
-My nose is chapped because I've got a sinus infection and only TP to blow it on.
-I wore my pj's until 12:45 today.
-I wish I had a better ability to draw.
-I've got research I need to be doing.
-It's Leslie's birthday but she's still in bed.
-My computer keeps overheating so I keep it cool with a bag of frozen peas.
-The chill pad for it won't be here until next week. :(
-I need to post the pictures and videos of my apartment, but I haven't.
-Nail polish chips off too quickly.
-Hamlet keeps me amused in those brief minutes between classes.
-I want to take my bike for a ride, but the wind cuts through my clothes and makes my nose run more.
-My room is cozy
-The pale grey sky looks so soft and welcoming through my window.
-I'm going to go do the dishes.

2009-01-04T23:09:00.002-06:00

The man standing in front of me smacked his book on the counter and turned around. "Gotta keep up with 'em," he said. It was an older black man, his beard grizzled and grey and he wore a bright blue windbreaker. The man's steely eyes tore into me. I was shocked by the way the whites of his eyes were not really white, but another shade of grey that matched his beard and I was confused by this man's fury burning in his eyes. "They shall have NO power then!" I just stared back. "Oh," I said. "That's right!" the man replied, both his eyebrows and mouth compressing into a tight line and he gave a sharp nod. The man kept staring, more intense by every second. Luckily the guy at the customer service desk looked up from the computer then to tell me my book was not in stock. As I was able to avert my gaze then from the man, I glanced down to see what book the man was picking back up and firmly grasping now. It was some book on a religion that was clearly not Christianity. I thanked the customer service man and tried circling around the man. "Those devil worshipers won't have no power, no they will not!" the man called after me. I briskly made my way down to the "fiction/literature" section of the store.
Really now, it seems I have some really odd encounters in Books-A-Million. I don't know if it's just me, or the location, or what, but I have random people coming up to me and just start talking whack quite often in that place. Now don't get me wrong, I actually find it entertaining, like the time Pees-in-manager's-car-guy told me about his story, or the Spiderman battle, or All-about-the-board-games!-guys came by. But I'm just wondering if this happens often to other people.
On the way out of BAM I saw the man sitting there close to the doors, peering into two books. When he saw me approach I tried to not make eye contact, so I smiled wide at a guy that was headed out in the same direction as me, like we were both going together. The man still hollered out at me as I went through the door, "You tear 'em ALL out now!" Glancing back at the store as I got in my car, the man in the bright blue was still staring at me, grizzled face framed in the window. Yep. I'm still wondering what brought this all on. But I hope the man gets some rest or settles down or something. He's going to blow a gasket with those eyes and set jaw!

And on a different note, this holiday has been great. I've been so happy to be home with my family and friends who are all made of awesome. It is a great joy to be in the company of those you love, and I am ever grateful for the generosity and love they bring to me. So to everyone, may you prosper and your new year be blessed with friendship and health the better.

2008-12-08T20:53:00.002-06:00

In the holiday spirit, I dyed my dog's hair red and green. Oh man does it make me giggle every time I look at him. Later I may post a picture of him if I take a good one. It's fairly amusing to watch people stare at Solomon as I take him for a walk around the neighborhood.
So I started work today. I was happy to see everyone and surprised by how enthused my co-workers were to see Jessica and me back in the office. Hmm, with work comes weird sleep schedules. Because of that, I've just hit a wall and can't finish this post. Wow, I'm getting way too short with these things. Sorry but now I'm sleepy.

2008-12-05T13:29:00.002-06:00

I'm done with school for the semester! I'm packing up and moving out tomorrow. I'm relieved to have all of my finals over. What a semester! I start work on Monday at the NWS. I'm working full time so I will be busy most of the break, but I'm glad of that. I need to make some money and hopefully Caroline and I will get a place in the apartments for next semester. I want to write more, but now I'm sweeping up the dust in the dorm and then I need to scrub the shower and toilet. Joy. :-\

2008-11-23T11:56:00.002-06:00

Oh my goodness, this month has been so busy, I didn't even realize it's almost over. One thing leads to another, and here I am approaching the end of the semester. I officially have eight school days left, and that includes finals.
I'd love to say more, but I've got a test in D.E. tomorrow, and I've got a lot more studying to do.

P.S. The new James Bond movie rocks and I want to see it again!

2008-11-06T00:30:00.004-06:00

So we've been reading a bunch of poetry in American Lit. lately. William Carlos Williams, Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, Robert Frost, you know the lot. I find it interesting what has been defined as modernist American literature, works mostly written between and shortly after the World Wars. We actually took our test over everything today. Two 350+ word essays, which isn't that difficult, but there was a lot of material to cover in such a short time. I hope Dr. Heflin approves of them.

Thursdays are dollar lunch days at the CCM. I'm with a group of people that always meet there on these afternoons. Today we were sitting around tables eating taco soup and waiting for the rain to let up and ended up staying there for two hours with Dr. Anne, Brody, Nick, and Connie. Our times there are always filled with odd conversations and me almost choking on unsweet tea from laughter. (It's also the only place on campus I can find good, real, unsweet tea!) So advising was last week, so I've already picked out all my classes and gone over them with Dr. Anne. I of course promptly make my schedule out as soon as the catalogue becomes available, so I was all prepared to sign up for my classes next week when I just realized last night that they are in conflict with dollar lunch! So I ended up having to move some labs around, but I think it's all under control now. I was very anxious at the idea of no Thursday dollar lunch though, which made me kind of laugh. I mean, I just realized how much I like this group of people. It makes me happy to become closer to my friends here. Also, I really hate to miss such good, practically free food. :-P But no, really, we have some good times. And speaking of good times,

the AMS Halloween Costume Party was fine and fun. Lots of costumes and food and such. It seemed like everyone was late getting there, so at first I was afraid that we weren't going to have a good turn out, but as you can see, it ended up we did. I won third place in the pumpkin carving contest! I named her Rolly.

Nothing too fancy, but she's a happy jack-o-lantern, and not made with one of those template things. I like carving pumpkins. Though after I'm done, my nails are all orange and I really want pie because of the smell of them. And so speaking of pie and pumpkins, I am reminded that the first best holiday is coming next and surprisingly soon. Thanksgiving in Memphis! Good food, good wine, good company. It's a win win win situation. Well, almost. Lack of Sissy at Thanksgiving does bring it down a few to several notches. Luckily it still has lots of notches. Good ones. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Punkintines

2008-10-22T19:05:00.002-05:00

If you didn't know before now, well you probably weren't paying attention, because I have the most awesome aunt ever. Halloween has always been a favorite holiday to me. The whole time of Halloween and Thanksgiving is deemed as "Punkintines" within my family. It's my favorite time of year, filled with pumpkins and spices, cool air and crisp colored leaves, food, family, fun, and of course, Punkintines packages. Every year Lori sends us packages filled with wonderful Punkintines things! See?

We're having our annual AMS Halloween Costume Party on Halloween. I'm super excited about it, seeing as last year's was a blast. I hope it goes as well this time. We've still got some planning to do, but I'm thinking everything will come together well. I'll have more to say about it all afterwards, so keep reading. Thanks so much ^_^

2008-10-16T13:20:00.003-05:00

So I'm thinking that pumpkin spice lattes are awesome. Days like this set me in a wonderful mood. Wonderful grey sky, misty rain, cool wind weather, long skirts with rainbow knee-highs, William Carlos Williams poetry in Literature, American Lit being the only class of the day, $1 lunches at the CSM, four big cups of unsweet tea, having my DE test moved back a week, and loosing all my umbrellas but dashing about campus anyways. Yes, these are a favorite kind of day for me.
I recently went to the Red River Revel and purchased a piece of art I've been eying for several years now. It's a huge pen-and-ink drawing of an endless library. The selves span up and out as far as the eye can see. It has always been a favorite of mine and I'm super glad I finally got it. It's now smartly hanging on the wall above my bed here in my dorm. I would love to have a room in my house someday filled with wonderful books. I've always wanted a reasonable home library. I love the idea of books covering the dark wooden walls with soft yellow lights and a few comfy chairs and woolly rugs. The smell of paper and wood polish and patchouli surrounding the room. It's just a thought I suppose, but it is a happy one I keep in my head. I'm still young, so it's something I can look forward to, whether I actually ever have one or not. But for now, I've got the seven story library here at school, and the fully stocked shelves of Books-A-Million. :)

2008-09-30T21:25:00.004-05:00

I've been thinking of writing something. I've been ready to place words in this text box. To form coherent thoughts and tell whatever stories flirt about in my head. But the phrases I form on page lately only fall into three line stanzas, and I don't think I'm doing it justice, telling you such short bits of thought. So I'll place those somewhere else and wait to tell you stories when I'm not feeling the burdens of higher education weigh so heavily down upon me. For now, pale hints of autumn approach and tease the night air. I came across a few of the first leaves fallen to the ground, but I know they only try to trick me. Still I can't help but be hopeful Fall is on its way.
Last week we celebrated in Heather and Jeff's long awaited marriage. It was beautiful, and I don't feel I can do justice to telling the happiness and joy surrounding the whole event. Still, to my sister and my new brother, I wish to you the happiest of life and offer my delight in that you can now be together.

"She was a fork and knife kind of girl"

2008-09-26T22:13:00.002-05:00

Yeah, that's what I've been told.

2008-09-25T22:56:00.001-05:00

Things I like:
Candles
Cinnamon
Wet grass smell

Things I don't like:
Headaches
Fake flowers
Dead batteries

Yep, that's my university...

2008-09-08T20:55:00.002-05:00

I come home to flooded bathrooms and cracked toilets that maintenance takes a ridiculous amount of haggling to get them to come fix.

Also, we block broken, hazardous elevators with bulletin board border.

Woot, ULM!

2008-09-04T18:41:00.002-05:00

I should blog more
but it just ends up I monologue
and narrate my life
in my head.

It still works.

2008-08-19T18:27:00.003-05:00

Classes started yesterday. I moved in last week for Officer Week where we renovated the WRC. Now it has a few new coats of blue paint(Half the walls are "Cloudless" and the upper half is "Atmospheric". I think they picked the colors based solely on the names. :-P ). As for my schedule, Monday's are super long, involving a night class that stretches to 8:45 pm, and then the days get shorter from there. I've got a little job working in the Geosciences computer lab on Tuesday nights(That's where I'm at right now.), so I'll have a trickle of an income over the semester. I'm back in the same room with the same awesome roommate and I'm enjoying being here again. It feels like I never left, as I fall quickly back into place with friends and homework habits. It's rained all day today, and though the campus is flooded between buildings again, it makes me happy as I sit here soggy-shoe'd and smelling of rain and grass.
Mer. In reading this, I know it sounds pretty cut and dry, but it's what I've got for now, so it'll have to do. More updates to come soon!

Ode to Squeak

2008-07-31T22:53:00.005-05:00

Sour seated, off-green Squeak
Long loud nights held our laughter and joy.
Filled with forgotten papers and drained water bottles
You kept quiet through my embarrassingly off-key singing.
You held me tight when I hugged your wheel in tears.
You kept me straight when I flew down pavement in frenzy.
You growled along with my frustration,
And hold the soft memories of my friends’ silence.
Thousands of days,
And tens of thousands of miles,
Source of my delight and frustration.
Craisins and ugly pink stained unicorns,
Books, hammers, and discarded bras,
Sweat and scarves,
You’ve held it all.
Crossing many borders before you even came to me
Your life has not been in vain.
Chariot of my earliest years,
Hold tight reminiscences of any number,
And rest yourself now in automotive slumber.

This is it. I’m saying goodbye to Squeak, my 16 year old car. Too many troubles have plagued her for so long now, that we’re finally laying her to rest. Or as close to that as it may come. She’s moving on.

So, with that, I’d like you to see my new(er), shiny, red, Mercury Sable, Station Wagon!
I absolutely love it.
A man at work sold him to me at a very nice price. He’s very roomy and much cleaner on the interior than Squeak was.
Upon discovering a seat that folds up and faces backwards, my excitement escalated tenfold. I'm still trying to come up with a name for him.
I can fit eight people in there with seat belts, though a couple should need to be rather thin to fit with extra elbow space.
I’ve got plenty of room to pack my school stuff in when I move. And speaking of such, I’m moving in on the 10^th. Ack! It’s so soon. And it seems to me now that I am always reluctant to leave where I’m at. Once I’m at Monroe, I don’t want to go. Once I’m in Haughton, I don’t want to go. I miss my friends and family on both sides. I have gotten even closer to the people here than I thought I could this summer. I have absolutely loved working at the National Weather Service, and I plan on continuing to do so. Overall, this has been a fantastic summer. Still, school is school, and I will continue to be my nerdy self and be excited about taking new classes. A blessed beginning to everyone. ^_^

2008-07-22T08:25:00.003-05:00

Oh my gosh, it is soooo cold in here at work. The air conditioner broke. It broke on. Now it is seriously icy cold in here. :( And of course I forget my jacket of all days...
My toes feel like popsicles!

2008-07-20T23:33:00.002-05:00

Naming a dog Human...

Sometimes I freak because I think a bug is crawling down my back while I'm laying here typing. Then I realize it's my hair. But then, what if it really was a grubby bug? Ergh.

Babe, won't it be fine?

2008-07-20T22:55:00.003-05:00

My sister laughs at me as I blare Frank Sinatra and sing along in the car, but there is something so pizazz about that music. I just want to swing dance and throw my head back and leg out. My two favorites right now are The Best is Yet to Come, and That's Life. They make me happy.
So Heather's wedding shower was today. I must say, she was showered upon. The abundance and generosity with which people give is heartwarming. It was a fun day, to have many of her friends in town. :]
So, things that have happened:
I bought a charm of a heart and tiny key for my cell phone.
Anthony's birthday. Which we will be celebrating soon.
Batman! ''
I've gotten on a taking-pictures-of-everything kick again.
More writing, though less on here.
Less sleep than is advised, but eh, it's summer. :-)

You know how it goes.

2008-07-12T10:53:00.002-05:00

Fruity Pebbles in my bowl,
you turn my milk so pink.

Saturday, in the house all alone, means laundry day, so instead I'm putting it off a bit longer. I liked Saturdays so much as a kid. My parents were home, and we had good Saturday morning cartoons on. Batman, and Spiderman, and X-men! My favorites. Hmm, remember when Cartoon Network came on air? Where did we watch them before there was a channel dedicated to them? I really don't remember.
Eh, I'm going to go turn the music on the surround sound all the way up and be upbeat at I sort out lights and darks. Hah

Road

2008-07-12T01:22:00.002-05:00

There is something to about being forced to drive well under the speed limit that does something to my thoughts. I keep the radio off, I don't sing, or speak. I sit and listen to the groaning of my car and narrate my life. It is a simple way home. I'm sure I bother the people stuck behind me, as my car is now refusing to willfully go over 50mph, and I like to keep it at about 40. Squeak is, well, on her last gear I believe. But I'm going to keep driving her 'til she hits the ground. I'm surprised she's actually gone on this long really.
I came in after a long night and the first thing my eyes laid themselves on was a large bottle of Tide and a spiky leaved pineapple resting on the kitchen counter. This struck me as very funny. Perhaps sleep deprivation? I have always believed that with lack of sleep comes ridiculous amounts of giggles. Well, when there isn't ridiculous amounts of grumbles that is....
Summer continues on. I've read three or four more books, kept working, and in between, spent my limited time with my lovely friends. It's nice and windy outside tonight, and I'm covered in mosquito bites because of it. ^_^

Jigs

2008-06-22T22:14:00.002-05:00

This evening was filled with my Sissy and I doing Irish jig dances about the living room, trying to learn the steps, and stumbling about over our own feet many times. Now it smells like sweat and tea, and the old furniture in here. My legs are sore, but in that good way, how they've been used and are tired and will probably hurt in the morning from all the stretching I did. Yesterday it was just my mother and I in the house all day. It was a rare thing for us to spend the whole day together, but I enjoyed it. We had muffins in the morning and read tasty recipes out of cook books(most of which we will never make, but it's fun to think about them :] ). We went to dinner at an Indian food restaurant where they played fun Arabic music and served lime soda that tasted a bit more like lime seawater, but the food was great. (I have really started to fancy Indian food. I don't know when I became okay with spicy things.) Then we watched American History X, which was fantastic. Edward Norton is an awesome actor. It has been a surprisingly pleasant and calm weekend. Well, bed and books await me. Horray for working evening shift for the next two weeks!

2008-06-20T23:07:00.002-05:00

I want to go swimming.
But I have no water.
And I don't float.

I'm thinking of chopping off all my hair. It's heavy and gets all in the way all the time. But every time I say I'm going to call my hair cutter man, I just don't, and then I'm happy I didn't. Yeah, been like that for the last several years though. Perhaps one day I'll follow through. Probably not.

So I was pretty upset yesterday. I got my first filling in my teeth. :( I went so long being cavity-free. It just doesn't seem right getting one now. It didn't hurt like people said it would. Just a bit of a sting when they injected that numbing stuff into my jaw. Still, I don't like the fact that I got one. Harumph, grumble, grumble, grumble!

Anyways, I've been reading several good books. Lamb, the Gosple According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore was absolutely great. I was cracking up the whole time I read it. I'd recommend it, but it is definitely not for anyone too uptight and doesn't have a sense of humor about stuff. I'd also recommend two CD's I purchased recently. The Weepies is the band and I believe it is the name of their first album. It's a very laid back sound, and has a blue whale on the cover. Who wouldn't buy whale-branded music? There was also the self titled album by Vampire Weekend. Good background driving stuff.
So that's what I've been up to for the last month or so. Reading, working, weird music, and the not-so-infrequent movie. Summer passes quickly as it all blends together. I wonder what it will be like when summer is no longer a significant period of time. When the "year" actually begins in January instead of August, and
Well, something.
It is just like expected, and doesn't make that much difference.

On a different note, at work there are all these jun bugs dead on the floor of the building where we fill the weather balloons, and they always get stuck in my shoes. I'm noticing one now. Nasty, crunchy critters. We have the building blown out every few days, but more tend to fly in there and take to dying. True, it is an open building-shed-like thing, but seriously. Eww.

There's some saying...

2008-06-04T23:59:00.004-05:00

...about the worth of a picture...

The incredible thing about us
is those silent moments mean the most.

So I guess I left it in the sink.
But I really didn’t remember.

I like being called kid,
When it’s said so affectionately.

When I drive into Shreveport,
I still think about this.

I think I'd call it,
an infatuation.

I still like to pretend.

Night turns to day too quickly around here.

Putting stuff on your head
can make you happy.

Right-oh

2008-05-31T01:48:00.002-05:00

Why it strikes my fancy to start typing these things at 2:00 in the morning, I'll never know, but here I am, so I'll just go with it. I skipped the whole birthday extravaganzas, finals stresses, and finishing the whole first year of college thing that I guess I could have written, but I think we'll be able to cope. But lately I've been reminded of a time not too long before school let out...

I've just gotten out of biology class earlier than usual, so the typical bussle of people hasn't quite filled the spaces between classes yet. I'm not in the cheeriest of moods(I really don't like biology :[ ), so I'm walking up to the crosswalk, not paying much attention to the few people I'm passing along the way. I walk up to the corner of the street, passing a tall, older, black man and proceed to slouch there, waiting for the WALK light to pop up. We both cross the street and I begin to pull out my keys, when I hear, "I'm sorry, I apologize." I look around to see who the man is speaking to, but it's just me and him there, so I ask "Sorry?" He said, "I apologize, I didn't speak to you back there. Not even acknowledging your presence. It's a shame we've come to that in this day and age. Going about and ignoring people and all. So, I apologize. And you have a wonderful day." Then he just keeps walking off. Standing there, somewhat surprised, I just have one of those, "Huh...yeah!" moments. No, it wasn't the first time I've heard something like what this man was saying. It's not a foreign or original thought. But it was a nice reminder. It was a hello, acknowledge others thing. It was a talk to store clerks, and people who enter a room, and everyone you know and don't know, cause you really never know, kind of thing to me then. Just a Huh...yeah, kind of moment. It's the type of thing that makes me happy to hear and happier to do. So, yeah. I've been trying to not ignore people so much. It happens all the time, but I'm working on counteracting that.

Summer's fair. I love my job at the NWS. It's good to have my family around. I miss everyone from school super bad, but I'm still happy to see everyone I missed from here when I was in Funroe. I'm looking forward to bunches of stuff and Heather and I need to work on a lot more of her wedding stuffs. ~Cheers everyone!~

2008-05-15T10:40:00.003-05:00

I always get a good idea of what I want to write about here whenever I'm at work. The only problem being, I'm at work. Yar, slow days are nowhere near as fun as when the streets are flooding and we've got some good bad weather to handle. Well, that's what was happening yesterday. I'll finish this when I get off work. Good incentive for me.

Edit:
Oh em gee, they've got The View on the tv here. ahahaha

Forums, Oozeball, and Opera, OH MY!

2008-04-20T21:54:00.004-05:00

Note to self: Don't microwave pop tarts for longer than 15 seconds, they explode!

Two more weeks of classes, then finals week and I'm done for the semester. The Global Warming Forum was Tuesday and all went over well. What a relief! Well over two months of planning went into putting our forum together. I was so nervous when it was about to start, because I really wanted it to run smoothly, and it did. The panelists all presented their different views, the audience had a consistent amount of legitimate questions, and we had a solid number of people show up. I was overall pleased, and I have already started thinking about next year's forum.
Last week was Spring Fever here at ULM. This includes various activities spread out across the week, including everything from loud concerts and Guitar Hero showdowns, to mind readers and free caricatures. Most of the activities I didn't participate in, but I did attend oozeball on Friday. Get this, it's pretty much volleyball in huge mud pits. It's sounds trashy, but it is pretty much awesome. The AMS had two teams. I wasn't actually playing this time but I had a great time watching our people play. And of course, seeing as I didn't participate in the game, everyone was sure to give me lots of muddy wet hugs...and a mud mustache at one point. :-P I am definitely going to play next spring.
My last day at Simmons' was yesterday. Whew, my amount of camo exposure will be going down now. Haha, but really, I did enjoy working there for the most part. The girls in the front were super nice, and I can always use the extra income. Summer will be here soon though, and I'll be working a whole lot back home. So, all's well.
Last night Jacob and I went to a production by the visual and performing arts students here. It was two opera's, one a tragedy, Suor Angelica, sung entirely in Italian, and one a comedy, Gianni Schicchi, which was very fun. Both were shockingly excellent. We have some incredible singers here at ULM and they put on a much better show than I would have expected from this place. I was most pleased.
Well, registration starts tomorrow for Fall classes. I'm sillily excited about this, like the super nerd I am. :] My classes were planned out as soon as they posted we would start advising last week. Next semester is going to be hard. Hands down. But I think I'll like it. Is it wrong to be giddy over new classes when I haven't even taken this semester's finals yet? Ah, well. What are you looking forward to for this summer?

Hair 'n plants

2008-03-31T17:03:00.005-05:00

I get irresistible and inexplicable urges to wash my hair at the oddest times of the day sometimes, even when it's really clean and all. I'd been sitting in my bowl chair, reading Anansi Boys by Niel Gaiman, for about an hour when I looked at my clock, thought "4:30, Time to wash my hair!" and jumped in the shower before I had even really considered it odd.
School started back today. It was very much a Monday-after-a-holiday kind of day. But it's back to usual now. My ivy actually wilted over the break. I came home and much to my surprise, it was shriveled all up. In fact, it's still sitting pathetically on my window sill. I watered it in a vain attempt to bring it back, but I believe it's out for the count. Still, I can't really bring myself to throw it out, so I think it'll have to remain there for the time being. Who knows, perhaps it will revive yet? Ah, now that's got me thinking of some cheesy, B-movie about zombie plants. "The Undergrowth Arises!" "Attack of the Shriveled Leaf!" Dun-Dun-Duuuuunnn....No? Okay then, going a bit far there I guess. I'm off to do calc homework now.

Spring and Baton Rouge

2008-03-15T16:32:00.002-05:00

I have again been utterly surprised by the greenness of spring. Driving down to Baton Rouge on Monday(more on that in a minute), I kept wondering, What's different around here? Then, coming down a huge sloping hill I realized, Ah, everything is so bright and green! Brilliant purple and yellow flowers grew all along the sides of the road, and it was a very pleasant drive. But I am also ever surprised at spring about how much allergies suck. Pollen piles on pavement and cars and finds it's way right into my nose and eyes. So there is the good and bad of spring.

More good to spring though is definitely spring break. Monday Caroline, Leslie, and I went down to Baton Rouge to watch the LSU women's basketball playoffs game. We had awesome front row seats and had a great time. We even happened to be there at the same time Anthony was visiting the college, so we got to have lunch together, which pleased me greatly. :] It was quite the adventure driving about BR and all. I got to see my lovely Mr. Darby when we were there and stayed at Adam's house. Tuesday we drove back to Leslie's house and played Guitar Hero and such. And now I'm back home for the rest of the week. It's good to be home. I've got two new books and I've been reading like I used to. I love it. ^_^ Peace, everyone.

TP

2008-03-06T17:43:00.003-06:00

How awesome is my roommate? So awesome she buys me green toilet paper when she goes to the store. Haha, thanks sweet Caroline. My greenness is almost complete now. :P
What's been going on, eh? Lots of school. Loathing of chemistry and particularly Dr. Grumpy Mcevilpants. My research work for Emerging Scholars is taking up huge chunks of my time, and I'm busy with stuff in the AMS. My list of ridiculous camo-stuff from Simmons' now also includes camo air vent covers and telephones. Walking outside while chatting and trip and drop your phone? Don't worry, nobody, including yourself, will be able to find it! I'm surprised my plants are still alive our window sill. I like apples again. Parts of Texas got seven inches of snow yesterday. And I washed all my clothes for the first time in almost a month last week. That brought two thoughts. The first being, Daaaaaaang, and the second being, I've got a lot of underwear! My excuse?.....No quarters lying about.... So yeah, I've been up to stuff and I feel kinda bad that I haven't gotten to write anything in a while. But so it goes.
Caroline and I signed up for housing for next semester today. We decided to stay in our same room again next semester. We may look into an apartment for the semester after that, but we're in the same place for now. We like it here. Earlier on in the semester we hung a white board on our door to write messages on. Sometimes it's just got funny pictures or where we're at, or messages from people down the hall saying hello. I walked up upon a couple of girls putting sprinkles on the slice of cheesecake I had drawn today. It makes me happy that random people will leave their messages there. And somewhat closer to people in a way. It's like, community through a door sign? I don't know. It's just a feeling I get. Somewhat silly, but I love seeing what people write in response to things we put up there. I guess it's somewhat like writing a blog. Informative of our actions at times, occasionally(hopefully) amusing or at least entertaining, and wanting any form of input from other people. I wish more people would put signs up so we could leave messages there for them too.
Well, Jacob and I are driving home today for the weekend. It's been so long since I've been back, I'm eager to see my family and friends. This is the only time I'll have for a long time to go home so I'm taking advantage of it. Hopefully I'll get to see you. Tell me if you're free. :]

School and a Hunting Store.

2008-01-27T14:56:00.000-06:00

So I've been reading a whole lot more and obviously writing a whole lot less lately. Which hasn't really bothered me until today. I've been back in school for a couple of weeks now. I enjoyed coming back and seeing everybody, being excited and asking how people's holidays went, and what they did. But now it's all back to the normal flow of things. All science classes and calc. 2 are what I'm taking. I'd really like to be taking a literature class right now, but that's next year.
Anyways, like I said. I've been reading more. I just finished Diary by Chuck Palahniuk. He's the dude who wrote Fight Club and Choke. Anthony gave me the book for Christmas, and he continues to have good taste in such materials. As soon as I can make it to the bookstore I'm going to buy Brave New World. And probably a couple others as well. And speaking of going places, there's a good chance that my car is terminally ill. Something is very wrong. Most likely the transmission. And if that goes, then I'll be getting to know my bike again quite well. But, it hasn't killed me or died yet, so I'm hoping it will keep kicking for now.

I've got this weekend job at a hunting store... (Okay sometimes there's no way to transition into these things. So blah.) I work as a cashier at this place called Simmons' Sporting Goods. It's where Caroline works, so we switch off weekends. The people are generally very nice, and it's not a hard job at all. This is a very big store, with guns and knifes and clothes and gloves and waders and kill-things-with-these and process-the-dead-things-with-that. And all the people that shop there think of camo as EVERY DAY wear. Like okay, if you're going hunting, or in the military, or hiding out, sure it makes since to wear camouflage, but oh God. Almost every person who goes in there could go back outside, and I would not be able to see them! They even sell camouflage night gowns. And couches. But I guess that's just their thing. And it's definitely not mine. So I shouldn't be hating on them. Just most people around here don't get what I'm saying when I point this out. Reh...hahaha. I'm just totally used to something entirely different I guess. The patrons of Simmons' could say the same type of thing for something about me, I'm sure.
Enough of this for now. I mostly wanted you to know I've got an occasional job. And I do enjoy it for the most part. The people I work with are great, so I have fun usually.
School keeps me busy, my friends keep me entirely happy and entertained, and I'm about to go make a cup of this Irish breakfast tea I've been eyeing for the last half hour. So tell me, how's your schooling and work, life and such? I like to know what you've been up to as well. :]

Oh Green Chair

2008-01-06T00:34:00.001-06:00

I get in these moods...where I don't want to write for a long time, then I feel like righting a whole lot, no matter what it's about. And I'm in the latter one again.
Tonight Anthony and Troy and I hung out together again. It'd been a long time since just the three of us did that. It was typical, and comfortable with the wind blowing, music blaring, gas burning, and miles flying by. I don't know why we always end up just going nowhere for a really long time, but I've had some of my best times doing just that. If only we weren't in such a situation where driving cars wasn't so un-ecofriendly...

Mother and I went rug shopping today, but didn't find any we liked for Caroline and me to put in our room. We did however find a very comfy chair that I think we'll get. Can you guess what color it is? Green of course! The big thick cushion is great. When you sit in it, it fits closely to your body, like it is giving you a strong but gentle hug. The fabric is slick and soft that turns light and dark shades depending on which way you rub your fingers across it and it is big enough to be entirely comfortable in, but still reasonable to fit in our dorm. I like how I can pull my legs up and curl up like a cat in it. In fact, I believe it's the same chair I fell asleep in at the store many years ago while Christmas shopping with my Mum. I had just sat down in it for a moment when I awoke to a mother, sister, and daughter all kinda staring down at me and asking, "Well I wonder how much it is," and "Where's the tag?" I was most confused until I realized they were talking about the chair I was sleeping in, instead of me. Then I was embarrassed because I was asleep in a store and they had been standing right over me... But yeah, anyways, I like it. Happy Green Chair! ^_^

Tomorrow the plan is Me, Anthony, V for Vendetta. Such an awesome movie! Everybody should watch it.

Late For Holidays

2008-01-05T01:04:00.000-06:00

I've tried a few times now, and I couldn't seem to get anything right out of the posts I was writing for New Year's and Christmas and such. They were either too wordy or too vague. But I'll try again, but with the basics only.

1-Christmas was excellent with the family and friends and such. We had a fun party with the family and my parent's friends. Tasty food, constant singing and playing of musical instruments(My family has been blessed with a fine talent and so they always make music when they're together.), lots of laughing and warm feelings going around. All that sentimental stuff that seems typical for the time of year. I love all the mushy stuff with everyone giving hugs and grinning and surprises and giving people gifts and watching the reactions they have when they open them. Yeah, so it was a fun Christmas.

2-New Year's was different from ones in the past as I got to spend it with Jacob, meeting his family and friends. We got to eat good gumbo around a fire while hanging out with Indian bikers who played the guitar and could talk your ear off. We also went to some fancy house way outside of Baton Rouge where the stars were so much brighter. Several seemed to shine brighter than the fireworks that sparkled across the night sky. It was a fun party. I like Jacob's family and really enjoyed meeting his friend Adam. He's a pleasant guy to know. Overall, I had an excellent time in Baton Rouge and hope to be able to go again.

3-I think New Year's celebrations are weird and a good bit silly. I'm glad I got to spend New Year's Eve with my boyfriend, but I've been doing some thinking about this whole celebratory thing we do at the ending/beginning of each year, and I'm still not sure what I think of it. I don't know what exactly it is. I tried writing about it, but it didn't work. I remember last year struggling with the same thoughts and attempting to put it down, but I just ended up deleting what I had on it, just as I have done now. I've been trying hard to pin down why exactly I think it is so odd how we celebrate new years. I don't know why I just always think, "Huh," as people stand around at midnight, cracking crystal champagne glasses and whopping and hugging and kissing, and lighting fireworks when the calendar date changes. I mean, I really like all the champagne and hugs and kisses, and the sparkleworks, but for me it just doesn't seem fitting. Well, not entirely. I'm all happy with revelry in the light of a new bright year. I like that welcoming. But, I don't like how we forget to close the old year. It just seems to me like we forget about reflection. About what we did and what we changed and what the really good and bad things were. Things don't get closed off. I just see it as head-diving into some uncharted territory without standing back, seeing where you just came from in order to judge where you're headed next. Maybe this came out correctly. Or maybe I'm looking way too far into things and people just want to enjoy a good party and tradition. It's probably the latter one. I am fairly found of festivities, so I guess I should probably go with that.
Hrmm, looks like I ended up doing it again, but I really just want to put a post up, so I think I'll leave it at this for now.

In other news, I've really enjoyed my work at the NWS, I'm excited about starting the new semester(I move back in a week.), and I finally got my new eye glasses. I was most pleased about that. This holiday I got to read books, watch movies, and hangout with my dear friends I hardly ever see during the semester. I'm happy I was here, and I'm happy I'll be back to school soon. So yeah, I guess I'm happy all around most of the time. :]

2007-12-17T21:43:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-12-17T18:32:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-12-12T08:53:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-12-12T01:01:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-12-07T00:13:00.000-06:00

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?

2007-12-03T14:52:00.000-06:00

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.

2007-11-22T20:49:00.000-06:00

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.

2007-10-22T21:49:00.000-05:00

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

2007-10-17T15:26:00.000-05:00

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

2007-10-05T10:16:00.001-05:00

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?

2007-09-06T12:13:00.000-05:00

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

2007-08-25T00:45:00.000-05:00

(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. ^_^