Relaxing Away Relaxation Days

Good morning everyone! The day has finally arrived! The new freshmen are packed up and unloading their lives into their new homes. I woke up this morning at 8:00 and headed down to the cafeteria at 8:30 for breakfast to find campus already buzzing with activity. The orientation leaders, who I've witnessed working very hard and planning fun and exciting events all week, were swarming around anxiously waiting to greet the young, nervous souls. Though it will be a busy weekend for all of you freshmen, it will surely be fun as well!

Because I play volleyball, I could not be an orientation leader. But, this weekend is a big one for my teammates and I as well. Tomorrow morning at 11:00 is our season kick-off. We are hosting a triangular with Waldorf and DSU. Varsity will play at both 11:00 and 3:00 and JV won't be left out as we play at 3:00. All 25 members of the team have survived the first two weeks of practice. The soreness is wearing away and the rustiness of the summer months has been cleared. We have all been working hard, sweating away gallons of water from our bodies, and I think we're ready to play. It's always a bit nerve-racking for me to step back on the court for the first time without a clue as to where my team stands in relation to opponents. It would be fantastic to start the season off 2-0, and we've been working for it and together believe it is possible! So fans out there, come on down and watch the show!

As I'm writing this, I'm debating how I want to spend all my free time today. Now that two-a-days are done, I have the time to relax, and it's almost a bit overwhelming because I have so much free time to occupy. :) Yesterday morning I drove to Hartington, NE to get my official 21-year-old license. Woohoo! My birthday isn't actually until Sunday, so let me explain for non-Nebraska residents. In good ole NE, our licenses expire on our 21st birthdays, so the state issues new ones up to 10 days prior to your actual birthday. I was pretty pumped about my morning adventure for two reasons: 1) I made it to Hartington without getting lost and then only drove around for about 3 minutes before randomly and luckily stumbling upon the courthouse's whereabouts and 2) I look decent in my picture and mastered that stupid little touch screen signing machine. Once back in Yankton safe and sound, I edited the last of the papers I needed to read as the student editor for Scholastica, an undergraduate research journal of MMC students' papers. Call me what you will, but I actually enjoy editing (maybe a grammar cop? :)). Having enjoyably occupied myself all morning, I decided to make the afternoon just as exciting. I went with a friend and fellow volleyball player, Kate Carda, to her grandma's house here in Yankton to play a rousing card game of hand and foot. I had never even heard of the game, but it turned out to be relatively easy to catch on to and wasn't too challenging but did require strategy. I came in second and was fairly pleased with myself for catching on so quickly. Kate's grandma is an absolute sweetheart! Though getting up there in age, she gets around incredibly well, and I was shocked to learn she even has a three wheeler bike thing. She told the cutest stories and definitely held her own at cards. I really enjoyed visiting with her and was sad to leave when practice time rolled around. I survived practice, though I was far from impressed with my play last night, and came back to my room where I spent a few random hours chatting and wandering and then settled on my futon where I finished Nicholas Sparks' At First Sight. It was a great book and incredibly sad at the end, so I was literally crying on my futon for about 2o minutes before bed (don't judge me, I get really into my books!). That being said, yesterday was a great day. It would be wonderful if all days could be so carefree, but I think my goal for today leans more toward productivity. Right now I'm debating whether to attempt a start on my research paper over my summer research or some studying and application completing for grad school. Icky, I know.

I'm working on enjoying these last days of this week as much as possible. My birthday week is going to be off-the-wall crazy. All the returning students move back in on Sunday - I'm super excited to see my friends again! Classes start on Monday - ugh. I need to dig my motivation back up from somewhere. Tuesday I have my first lab of the year and spend the rest of the day in work study. I'm continuing to volunteer tutor one of the boys I worked with this summer at the library on Tuesday nights, so I am excited about that. And then Wednesday the volleyball team leaves at 6:00 a.m. for San Diego California!!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!! I'll leave the details of that trip for a future post. :) I can say that it is sure to be a great time despite the fact that we will miss and have to make up work for three days of class in this first week.

I'm signing off now to get my productivity on the ball. Happy school days to all of you!