4.5 blog worthy sentences:
I have to work not one, but 2 night shifts this weekend - both tonight and Saturday night, 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Holy schlooigans!! Goodbye weekend, goodbye sanity, hello whacked up Circadian rhythm! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Happy Weekend to you all! :)
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Employment
Despite your likely fears, I am here to tell you that no I have not died at the hands of sand bullets or due to frustration in the job hunt (see my previous post). I have just been out and about for the past week.
The good news is, I now have a job - two of them actually. I am still waiting for my drug test results to clear me for a start date at the hospital, but I worked my first day of the summer yesterday at Pine Lake Estates. Nothing like going at it with a 12 hour shift to start things off all happy. Yep, that's right, 12 hours. Those killer shifts are Pine Lake's forte. You either work a 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift or the dreaded 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. night shift. Despite the incredibly long day, it's actually kind of nice to think that a 36 hour work week is then only three work days long. My job consists of serving meals, cleaning rooms, filling out charts and paperwork, some random cleaning, and of course visiting with the residents. The residents, I feel, will make the job worth while - most are incredibly grateful for the company and services of the employees. I even had a 93 year old man flirt with me somewhere in those first 12 hours. I pick up my second shift tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. once again and rumor has it I may have to tackle a dark and scary night shift as early as this Friday. AHHH! I declined the work study position here at school due to conflicts in schedules.
Hmm...in the mean time, I was sufficiently drawn in and won over by Dan Brown's Deception Point, the novel I had been reading. In fact I finished it over the weekend and am now begging my friends to read it as well so that I can discuss it with them. I strongly recommend it as a thrilling read!
My bike is still one of my best friends. Feeling adventurous on Memorial Day, I rode it down to Midway beach and around the trails down there. About 14 miles of riding later, I was nearly back to school when I hit the last stretch - a 2 mile straight shot along the highway ending in a monstrous hill. My prize was continuous blasts of hot wind gusts in the face. My glorious bike ride turned sucky when I had to battle the wind and the hill all at once. I attempted to lean over my handlebars to minimize the wind's effects, but I think it was worthless. I wanted more than anything to walk my bike up the hill, but I decided I had made it that far and would not back down at the end. And made it I did...... although, once at the top, I was only a fraction from standstill speed and an elderly couple rode by me on their way down the hill and definitely smirked at what must have appeared to be my sorry shape. I think I just stared straight ahead, refusing to let them break my determination and thought: you just wait. Try coming back UP that thing!
New to my ramblings: we celebrated my dear roommate Briana's 21st birthday this weekend by kicking it off with a scavenger hunt leading her to a friend and his family who had come down to Yankton to surprise her. I was reunited with some of my favorite people who came down for birthday wishes, so it was a refreshing and fun weekend.
Ok. I arrived at school at 11:00 this morning, and two tours, a phone call, email checks, and this blog later, I am ready to go home and have some lunch followed by a long nap. You see, a 6 a.m. shift requires getting up rather early in the morning and if you don't go to bed then until 2:00 p.m., it leaves you with a pretty intense sleep debt headache.....I might have a solid example....
:)
The good news is, I now have a job - two of them actually. I am still waiting for my drug test results to clear me for a start date at the hospital, but I worked my first day of the summer yesterday at Pine Lake Estates. Nothing like going at it with a 12 hour shift to start things off all happy. Yep, that's right, 12 hours. Those killer shifts are Pine Lake's forte. You either work a 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift or the dreaded 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. night shift. Despite the incredibly long day, it's actually kind of nice to think that a 36 hour work week is then only three work days long. My job consists of serving meals, cleaning rooms, filling out charts and paperwork, some random cleaning, and of course visiting with the residents. The residents, I feel, will make the job worth while - most are incredibly grateful for the company and services of the employees. I even had a 93 year old man flirt with me somewhere in those first 12 hours. I pick up my second shift tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. once again and rumor has it I may have to tackle a dark and scary night shift as early as this Friday. AHHH! I declined the work study position here at school due to conflicts in schedules.
Hmm...in the mean time, I was sufficiently drawn in and won over by Dan Brown's Deception Point, the novel I had been reading. In fact I finished it over the weekend and am now begging my friends to read it as well so that I can discuss it with them. I strongly recommend it as a thrilling read!
My bike is still one of my best friends. Feeling adventurous on Memorial Day, I rode it down to Midway beach and around the trails down there. About 14 miles of riding later, I was nearly back to school when I hit the last stretch - a 2 mile straight shot along the highway ending in a monstrous hill. My prize was continuous blasts of hot wind gusts in the face. My glorious bike ride turned sucky when I had to battle the wind and the hill all at once. I attempted to lean over my handlebars to minimize the wind's effects, but I think it was worthless. I wanted more than anything to walk my bike up the hill, but I decided I had made it that far and would not back down at the end. And made it I did...... although, once at the top, I was only a fraction from standstill speed and an elderly couple rode by me on their way down the hill and definitely smirked at what must have appeared to be my sorry shape. I think I just stared straight ahead, refusing to let them break my determination and thought: you just wait. Try coming back UP that thing!
New to my ramblings: we celebrated my dear roommate Briana's 21st birthday this weekend by kicking it off with a scavenger hunt leading her to a friend and his family who had come down to Yankton to surprise her. I was reunited with some of my favorite people who came down for birthday wishes, so it was a refreshing and fun weekend.
Ok. I arrived at school at 11:00 this morning, and two tours, a phone call, email checks, and this blog later, I am ready to go home and have some lunch followed by a long nap. You see, a 6 a.m. shift requires getting up rather early in the morning and if you don't go to bed then until 2:00 p.m., it leaves you with a pretty intense sleep debt headache.....I might have a solid example....
:)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The Basking and the Pelting
Good WINDY afternoon to all of you. Still without an employment schedule, I have had the freedom to travel to the beach whenever my heart has desired. Despite warnings last night of picture frames toppling over due to rude wind gusts coming in through our open windows, Briana (roommate) and I decided to venture out to bask in the sun on this rather warm day. The result: "bask" is entirely too friendly of a term for the conditions that awaited us. It was so windy that we were PELTED with blowing bits of sand and water. If it wasn't painful, it may have actually been quite humorous. As it was though, the sand scratched every inch of me and burrowed its way into my hair, ears, eyes, nose...EVERYWHERE! I smell like a sandy fish at the moment.
The job hunt has taken an interesting twist. Yesterday afternoon, I agreed to accept the part-time position promoting the tobacco awareness project at the hospital. In return for my acceptance, I had to agree to succumb to a drug test in the hospital lab and sign release papers for a criminal background check. The staff took it as very serious business, and despite my innocence, I felt rather intimidated. I am not allowed to start working until my drug tests results return, and their arrival is not anticipated for at least five more days. I guess that equals more beach time for me! :)
Despite the drug test proving to be an interesting obstacle in itself, I am now faced with the dilemma of finding a second part-time job that successfully fits into my schedule with the tobacco thing. It's quite complicated actually. I could accept a biology and chemistry department work study position here at school, but I may very well run into snags with scheduling as I may not be available during class time when the summer professors may need me. I could turn in an application to a nursing home here in town and let them train me as a CNA, but the hours there are off the wall, including a 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. night shift every Wednesday. Though it sounds adventurous, I don't know if my brain could handle such a crazy schedule. To complicate things further, there is a possibility that a position could open up at the medical clinic here in town, but I will not even receive word of that until Monday. That "possible" job would be ideal, but to wait could be a gamble as these other possibilities would likely pass. I would have never guessed the job hunt would be such tricky business. It's wearing me out!
On the plus side, in addition to bike rides and beach time, I'm 300 pages into my first novel of the summer of 2009. It's incredibly refreshing to read a novel that I won't be tested over - one that I have hand-picked and can simply enjoy for entertainment value. Deception Point by Dan Brown is so far proving to be quite the suspense. It's one of those books that has so many cliff hangers that I feel like I'm holding my breath the entire time I'm reading and feel as though if the secret isn't spilled soon, I'll suffocate from the suspense....dramatic, I know, but it's what happens when you have the serious book worm genes.
I think I'm going to attempt a bike ride in this awful wind. If my blogs are discontinued, know that I have been blown to Africa and I'll resume my life story from there at an undisclosed date. :P
The job hunt has taken an interesting twist. Yesterday afternoon, I agreed to accept the part-time position promoting the tobacco awareness project at the hospital. In return for my acceptance, I had to agree to succumb to a drug test in the hospital lab and sign release papers for a criminal background check. The staff took it as very serious business, and despite my innocence, I felt rather intimidated. I am not allowed to start working until my drug tests results return, and their arrival is not anticipated for at least five more days. I guess that equals more beach time for me! :)
Despite the drug test proving to be an interesting obstacle in itself, I am now faced with the dilemma of finding a second part-time job that successfully fits into my schedule with the tobacco thing. It's quite complicated actually. I could accept a biology and chemistry department work study position here at school, but I may very well run into snags with scheduling as I may not be available during class time when the summer professors may need me. I could turn in an application to a nursing home here in town and let them train me as a CNA, but the hours there are off the wall, including a 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. night shift every Wednesday. Though it sounds adventurous, I don't know if my brain could handle such a crazy schedule. To complicate things further, there is a possibility that a position could open up at the medical clinic here in town, but I will not even receive word of that until Monday. That "possible" job would be ideal, but to wait could be a gamble as these other possibilities would likely pass. I would have never guessed the job hunt would be such tricky business. It's wearing me out!
On the plus side, in addition to bike rides and beach time, I'm 300 pages into my first novel of the summer of 2009. It's incredibly refreshing to read a novel that I won't be tested over - one that I have hand-picked and can simply enjoy for entertainment value. Deception Point by Dan Brown is so far proving to be quite the suspense. It's one of those books that has so many cliff hangers that I feel like I'm holding my breath the entire time I'm reading and feel as though if the secret isn't spilled soon, I'll suffocate from the suspense....dramatic, I know, but it's what happens when you have the serious book worm genes.
I think I'm going to attempt a bike ride in this awful wind. If my blogs are discontinued, know that I have been blown to Africa and I'll resume my life story from there at an undisclosed date. :P
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Traipsing and Trekking
So the first week of summer vacation has come and gone and I am still unemployed, the weather is still not sufficiently beach-worthy (I'm sitting here in a hoody with no socks and thus my toes are quite chilly), and boxes are still not unpacked...
This seemingly unpreparedness for the sure-to-fly coming three months of bliss is coming to you once again from my home on the farm in Elgin, NE. In a rare move (actually, in my three years of college I don't believe it has ever happened until now), I made the trek home two weekends in a row! My appearance at home this weekend is for good reason, however. My sister, who ran off to optometry school in Michigan, and her husband decided to make a random trip home for the weekend. Well, I suppose it's not entirely random beings the goal of the weekend for my brother-in-law has been a whole lot of turkey hunting because "in Nebraska, there's real turkey hunting." As a non-hunter, I haven't the slightest idea what he is implying; I only know that it works for me because it means that I've spent the past three days bonding with my dear sister. On Friday night, we had a little sibling bonding party on the living room floor. Sometimes I get odd ideas in my head (haha) and on this particular evening I thought it would be wondrous to return to the days of our youth and see if our tumbling skills were still intact. It was quite the entertaining extravaganza. :) (see above pictures) Age brings competitiveness however, and so of course the innocent gymnastics show turned into a "who can hold the pillar position longest" (pillars being a stability stance that target the abdominal muscles). I of course won. :)
Anywho, the weekend is going to commence at the Neligh park with a mini-potluck meal to celebrate the homecoming of the happy couple. I'm only hoping we don't blow away!!
I am planning a return trip to Yankton this evening as I have to be present tomorrow morning to scout out the job situation. I think I am on the verge of desperation, so employment options could turn rather interesting. I'll keep you posted on that....
Meanwhile, back at the apartment, the number of boxes has dwindled significantly. My roommate, Briana, and I have managed to put together a cute and orderly room, and Sarah, our fellow apartment friend has managed a notable semblance of order in her tiny room as well. I took the initiative to store the vacuum in the closet before I left for home; therefore, there are only a few small boxes littering the living room floor and kitchen table and walls begging to be decorated. All in all, it's beginning to feel like a summer home. :)
One question remains: what the heck did I do with my life for an entire week without school or work. I SLEPT (more so than I ever thought I was capable of), trekked all over and around Yankton on my sweet new bike, and climbed mountains with Briana......huh? Okay, so maybe not mountains if you want to be literal about it, but we did hike through a forest on the South Shore hiking trail and traipse down a dirt road marked "no trespassing" at an undisclosed hiking locale. :P
The potluck awaits. Keep your eyes alert for notices of my upcoming employment.
This seemingly unpreparedness for the sure-to-fly coming three months of bliss is coming to you once again from my home on the farm in Elgin, NE. In a rare move (actually, in my three years of college I don't believe it has ever happened until now), I made the trek home two weekends in a row! My appearance at home this weekend is for good reason, however. My sister, who ran off to optometry school in Michigan, and her husband decided to make a random trip home for the weekend. Well, I suppose it's not entirely random beings the goal of the weekend for my brother-in-law has been a whole lot of turkey hunting because "in Nebraska, there's real turkey hunting." As a non-hunter, I haven't the slightest idea what he is implying; I only know that it works for me because it means that I've spent the past three days bonding with my dear sister. On Friday night, we had a little sibling bonding party on the living room floor. Sometimes I get odd ideas in my head (haha) and on this particular evening I thought it would be wondrous to return to the days of our youth and see if our tumbling skills were still intact. It was quite the entertaining extravaganza. :) (see above pictures) Age brings competitiveness however, and so of course the innocent gymnastics show turned into a "who can hold the pillar position longest" (pillars being a stability stance that target the abdominal muscles). I of course won. :)
Anywho, the weekend is going to commence at the Neligh park with a mini-potluck meal to celebrate the homecoming of the happy couple. I'm only hoping we don't blow away!!
I am planning a return trip to Yankton this evening as I have to be present tomorrow morning to scout out the job situation. I think I am on the verge of desperation, so employment options could turn rather interesting. I'll keep you posted on that....
Meanwhile, back at the apartment, the number of boxes has dwindled significantly. My roommate, Briana, and I have managed to put together a cute and orderly room, and Sarah, our fellow apartment friend has managed a notable semblance of order in her tiny room as well. I took the initiative to store the vacuum in the closet before I left for home; therefore, there are only a few small boxes littering the living room floor and kitchen table and walls begging to be decorated. All in all, it's beginning to feel like a summer home. :)
One question remains: what the heck did I do with my life for an entire week without school or work. I SLEPT (more so than I ever thought I was capable of), trekked all over and around Yankton on my sweet new bike, and climbed mountains with Briana......huh? Okay, so maybe not mountains if you want to be literal about it, but we did hike through a forest on the South Shore hiking trail and traipse down a dirt road marked "no trespassing" at an undisclosed hiking locale. :P
The potluck awaits. Keep your eyes alert for notices of my upcoming employment.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Rewind
I promised to return with a year wrap-up after I caught some sleep. So after a night of a solid 12.5 hours of shut-eye followed by a couple of hours of laundry and a pathetic attempt at a run (it ended early due to a malfunctioning left earphone, an aching hip, and an apparently far from healed ankle), in turn followed by an hour long nap, here I am.
The year was one for the record books. I tackled a total of 43 credits in two semesters, went on an "I'm going to be a pharmacist kick" but turned down an acceptance letter to the University of Creighton Med Center, said goodbye to my volleyball career (my poor left hip is simply not up to the challenge anymore...), keyed out a few tunes on the piano, meandered my way into the ranks of the MMC choir, decided pop was not all that evil, but instead a lifesaver with its caffeine every now and then, learned more about organic compounds than I ever wanted to know, turned the old age of 21, and made many new friends.
My reminiscing is blurring my mind with a whirlwind of exciting, challenging, tearful, hilarious, and unforgettable events. So, let me give you a list of a few MMC moments that standout right now.
1. CALIFORNIA!!! - jumping in the wave/being mauled by them/drawing in the sand, walking along the beach of the ocean with my volleyball sisters way back in August was amazing!
2. MISSISSIPPI - oh my goodness....everything about the Spring Break trip was refreshing/eye-opening/joyful/great
* singing in the van, leaving goofy posts on the Graceland wall, playing "zombies" with the orphans, being told to "hush yo' mouth" by those same adorable kids, finding pen pals in the grade school 6th grade math classrooms, and bonding with the Mississippi crew at night (0h and of course the Sioux Falls all night event the evening before the trip)
3. MUSIC - I can play "Jingle Bells" and "Happy Birthday to You" from memory on the piano! :) Hopefully when I am officially employed by some random place I can arrange to take piano lessons this summer. AND, choir tour and singing the same four songs over and over but loving them more every time was marvelous as well.
4. Back to VOLLEYBALL - The game that sticks out most to me as one of those where I played absolutely loving the game was Nebraska Wesleyan. Pushing the game to five sets after being down two games to none was definitely an adrenaline rush. Our blocking was definitely on and it was awesome!
5. Walking around BAREFOOT at the BEACH in the middle of WINTER - after a refreshing run with Ms. Brittany Sehr on the bike paths that run along the river, we took off our shoes and hopped in the puddles formed from melting snow - this of course on an unusually warm day in February.
6. Homework nights that turned into KARAOKE parties - this was a pretty regular occurrence, usually taking place in 3rd floor Bede classrooms with the occasional dance party in the Bede quad. Moral of the story: if you feel stressed, sing a song or dance!
7. PHILOSOPHIZING about life with friends - most notably in the RA's room (hehe) or the Learning Center (my place of employment)
8. THE DRUM-OFF! - On a night with an exceptionally long to-do list, I stopped in a dear friend's room to chat and ended up staying awhile until another friend wandered in and we decided to go ghost hunting in the Music Hall - an escapade that ended in Marion Auditorium, which was set up for the upcoming Band Concert. Our party grew to five and we held our own mini-concert/interpretive dance show. Words of wisdom: if you enter a drum-off with a nearly-professional drummer, you may sound like an idiot.
9. HOMECOMING - only taking two intense dives into the ice while attempting to skate and making it back in time to dance the night away at the formal with friends after a nerve-racking pharmacy school interview
10. And of course who could forget those many pressured moments of STRESS, though negative full of memories - Completing my research paper at 4:00 a.m., organic chemistry study parties with the guys in the nursing lab, starting a four essay (each requiring research and citations) take-home test at 11:00 p.m. (due in less than 12 hours) after arriving home from the TEC retreat and sleeping less than 10 hours in three nights (ended up having to re-do that one...), starting a paper towel on fire in physics and quenching my lab partners and the lab in general with ethanol in organic chemistry to avoid someone or something erupting in flames....the list goes on
....11. AND THOSE NOT-MOUNT MARTY EVENTS (all with Mount Marty People or alumni :)) - driving to Brookings on a Tuesday night, spur of the moment, to go to an Augustana concert, Saturday night trips to Dairy Queen, TEC, visiting my graduated (MMC '08) sister in Michigan... :)
It was one heck of a year, and all I can think presently is that it is really odd to be without a schedule right now. I think I'll be hitting my bed early again tonight as I'm still exhausted from the wonders of the year. I have a job interview on Wednesday, so I will be returning to Yankton very soon....SUMMER AWAITS!!!!!
The year was one for the record books. I tackled a total of 43 credits in two semesters, went on an "I'm going to be a pharmacist kick" but turned down an acceptance letter to the University of Creighton Med Center, said goodbye to my volleyball career (my poor left hip is simply not up to the challenge anymore...), keyed out a few tunes on the piano, meandered my way into the ranks of the MMC choir, decided pop was not all that evil, but instead a lifesaver with its caffeine every now and then, learned more about organic compounds than I ever wanted to know, turned the old age of 21, and made many new friends.
My reminiscing is blurring my mind with a whirlwind of exciting, challenging, tearful, hilarious, and unforgettable events. So, let me give you a list of a few MMC moments that standout right now.
1. CALIFORNIA!!! - jumping in the wave/being mauled by them/drawing in the sand, walking along the beach of the ocean with my volleyball sisters way back in August was amazing!
2. MISSISSIPPI - oh my goodness....everything about the Spring Break trip was refreshing/eye-opening/joyful/great
* singing in the van, leaving goofy posts on the Graceland wall, playing "zombies" with the orphans, being told to "hush yo' mouth" by those same adorable kids, finding pen pals in the grade school 6th grade math classrooms, and bonding with the Mississippi crew at night (0h and of course the Sioux Falls all night event the evening before the trip)
3. MUSIC - I can play "Jingle Bells" and "Happy Birthday to You" from memory on the piano! :) Hopefully when I am officially employed by some random place I can arrange to take piano lessons this summer. AND, choir tour and singing the same four songs over and over but loving them more every time was marvelous as well.
4. Back to VOLLEYBALL - The game that sticks out most to me as one of those where I played absolutely loving the game was Nebraska Wesleyan. Pushing the game to five sets after being down two games to none was definitely an adrenaline rush. Our blocking was definitely on and it was awesome!
5. Walking around BAREFOOT at the BEACH in the middle of WINTER - after a refreshing run with Ms. Brittany Sehr on the bike paths that run along the river, we took off our shoes and hopped in the puddles formed from melting snow - this of course on an unusually warm day in February.
6. Homework nights that turned into KARAOKE parties - this was a pretty regular occurrence, usually taking place in 3rd floor Bede classrooms with the occasional dance party in the Bede quad. Moral of the story: if you feel stressed, sing a song or dance!
7. PHILOSOPHIZING about life with friends - most notably in the RA's room (hehe) or the Learning Center (my place of employment)
8. THE DRUM-OFF! - On a night with an exceptionally long to-do list, I stopped in a dear friend's room to chat and ended up staying awhile until another friend wandered in and we decided to go ghost hunting in the Music Hall - an escapade that ended in Marion Auditorium, which was set up for the upcoming Band Concert. Our party grew to five and we held our own mini-concert/interpretive dance show. Words of wisdom: if you enter a drum-off with a nearly-professional drummer, you may sound like an idiot.
9. HOMECOMING - only taking two intense dives into the ice while attempting to skate and making it back in time to dance the night away at the formal with friends after a nerve-racking pharmacy school interview
10. And of course who could forget those many pressured moments of STRESS, though negative full of memories - Completing my research paper at 4:00 a.m., organic chemistry study parties with the guys in the nursing lab, starting a four essay (each requiring research and citations) take-home test at 11:00 p.m. (due in less than 12 hours) after arriving home from the TEC retreat and sleeping less than 10 hours in three nights (ended up having to re-do that one...), starting a paper towel on fire in physics and quenching my lab partners and the lab in general with ethanol in organic chemistry to avoid someone or something erupting in flames....the list goes on
....11. AND THOSE NOT-MOUNT MARTY EVENTS (all with Mount Marty People or alumni :)) - driving to Brookings on a Tuesday night, spur of the moment, to go to an Augustana concert, Saturday night trips to Dairy Queen, TEC, visiting my graduated (MMC '08) sister in Michigan... :)
It was one heck of a year, and all I can think presently is that it is really odd to be without a schedule right now. I think I'll be hitting my bed early again tonight as I'm still exhausted from the wonders of the year. I have a job interview on Wednesday, so I will be returning to Yankton very soon....SUMMER AWAITS!!!!!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Nostalgia...
Good Evening and Happy Summer!
...It is kind of bittersweet to be sitting here blogging tonight. Finals week is over, my dorm room is a barren rectangle resembling a prison cell, my apartment is a literal category 5 disaster zone, my friends are scattered about the country many miles away, and I am exhausted. So, despite the relief that is coursing through my veins after survivng the most hectic semester of my college career and the contentment of knowing I have no papers or studying or chemistry assignments to do for a good while, I am suffering from nostalgia.
To begin, let me pick up where I left off. I managed to control my fingers well enough (I had a few "ummm...I'm going to start that one over" moments) to earn an 'A' on my piano final. I got a 64% on my organic chemistry final....let that sink in. Okay, now that you're sufficiently concerned about the damage that caused my GPA, I'll explain. The final was a standardized devil and I answered 44 out of 70 questions correctly, which was actually not too bad. Dr. Wu curves the grades, so in the end, my transcript grade was very pleasing. And as for the rest of the finals, they are done, mastered, completed, dominated - all of the above. To celebrate, I initiated a little hands on learning on Thursday night. A couple of my favorite organic chemistry classmates/friends assisted me in my studies of combustion. The lesson involved a campfire and my weathered organic chemistry lab book - the one with missing and detached pages rejected by the man buying back books.....I'll let you fill in the details. :) I'm missing many things right now, but chemistry isn't very high up there on my list.
Finals completed, my next demanding task was moving. OH MY STARS, it was definitely a DEMANDING task. You see, I have this problem of getting all emotional/reminiscent when I try to pack and it adds hours of time to the task. I've moved out of the dorms and back in three times now, and I still forget how crappy of a job it really is. I am always amazed by how much stuff I have in such a small space and somehow acquire a ton of junk every year. I always start off my packing with good intentions of being organized and neatly packing my boxes. I end in a terrible and exhausted state, simply grabbing armfuls of random, unrelated items and chucking them freely into all odd corners of my car. And then of course, exhausted and irritated after the packing of car, my mood gets a good kick in the face when I go to unpack the car in the transfer to the apartment. This year, my roomies and I all managed to find absolutely no time for any sort of pre-packing/moving. The result: our apartment is a literal disaster zone. There is a futon in the living room that is unreachable because of all of the boxes and totes and bags littering every inch of the ground from the door to its position. There are clothing explosions coming out of the closets and piles of "what the heck is this and why do I even own it" blocking accessibility to every other desired location in the place. My shoes are claiming a section of the bed that I can't even walk to. If you aren't picturing this yet, take the following into consideration: we had pizza on Friday night, and I suggested taking the empty pizza boxes and throwing them into the mess because they would be appropriate decoration....in layman's terms: IT'S A DISASTER!
Graduations! AHHHHH! I was an emotionally unstable basket case yesterday. Though I am very excited for, and proud of, all of the seniors, their big milestone day was bittersweet. I love a big handful of them dearly and am sad to see them leave me. :( And as if that weren't enough to process, I was saying goodbye to dozens of other friends I won't see for three months. It's just so strange to see and live with people every day and then all at once be gone. Add to the mix the fact that I am still hanging on the verge of unemployment and it makes for a lot of emotional turmoil.
So I am sitting at home right now, too exhausted to process that this isn't just another weekend. I went from a crazy/hectic/frantic schedule to a virtually directionless state in a matter of hours. I am now going to take advantage of the relaxation that I feel is well over-due and SLEEP. Perhaps when I wake at some odd hour tomorrow, my mind will be willing to catch up with time and desire to blog a "highlights" post and then celebrate SUMMER!! :)
Goodnight!
...It is kind of bittersweet to be sitting here blogging tonight. Finals week is over, my dorm room is a barren rectangle resembling a prison cell, my apartment is a literal category 5 disaster zone, my friends are scattered about the country many miles away, and I am exhausted. So, despite the relief that is coursing through my veins after survivng the most hectic semester of my college career and the contentment of knowing I have no papers or studying or chemistry assignments to do for a good while, I am suffering from nostalgia.
To begin, let me pick up where I left off. I managed to control my fingers well enough (I had a few "ummm...I'm going to start that one over" moments) to earn an 'A' on my piano final. I got a 64% on my organic chemistry final....let that sink in. Okay, now that you're sufficiently concerned about the damage that caused my GPA, I'll explain. The final was a standardized devil and I answered 44 out of 70 questions correctly, which was actually not too bad. Dr. Wu curves the grades, so in the end, my transcript grade was very pleasing. And as for the rest of the finals, they are done, mastered, completed, dominated - all of the above. To celebrate, I initiated a little hands on learning on Thursday night. A couple of my favorite organic chemistry classmates/friends assisted me in my studies of combustion. The lesson involved a campfire and my weathered organic chemistry lab book - the one with missing and detached pages rejected by the man buying back books.....I'll let you fill in the details. :) I'm missing many things right now, but chemistry isn't very high up there on my list.
Finals completed, my next demanding task was moving. OH MY STARS, it was definitely a DEMANDING task. You see, I have this problem of getting all emotional/reminiscent when I try to pack and it adds hours of time to the task. I've moved out of the dorms and back in three times now, and I still forget how crappy of a job it really is. I am always amazed by how much stuff I have in such a small space and somehow acquire a ton of junk every year. I always start off my packing with good intentions of being organized and neatly packing my boxes. I end in a terrible and exhausted state, simply grabbing armfuls of random, unrelated items and chucking them freely into all odd corners of my car. And then of course, exhausted and irritated after the packing of car, my mood gets a good kick in the face when I go to unpack the car in the transfer to the apartment. This year, my roomies and I all managed to find absolutely no time for any sort of pre-packing/moving. The result: our apartment is a literal disaster zone. There is a futon in the living room that is unreachable because of all of the boxes and totes and bags littering every inch of the ground from the door to its position. There are clothing explosions coming out of the closets and piles of "what the heck is this and why do I even own it" blocking accessibility to every other desired location in the place. My shoes are claiming a section of the bed that I can't even walk to. If you aren't picturing this yet, take the following into consideration: we had pizza on Friday night, and I suggested taking the empty pizza boxes and throwing them into the mess because they would be appropriate decoration....in layman's terms: IT'S A DISASTER!
Graduations! AHHHHH! I was an emotionally unstable basket case yesterday. Though I am very excited for, and proud of, all of the seniors, their big milestone day was bittersweet. I love a big handful of them dearly and am sad to see them leave me. :( And as if that weren't enough to process, I was saying goodbye to dozens of other friends I won't see for three months. It's just so strange to see and live with people every day and then all at once be gone. Add to the mix the fact that I am still hanging on the verge of unemployment and it makes for a lot of emotional turmoil.
So I am sitting at home right now, too exhausted to process that this isn't just another weekend. I went from a crazy/hectic/frantic schedule to a virtually directionless state in a matter of hours. I am now going to take advantage of the relaxation that I feel is well over-due and SLEEP. Perhaps when I wake at some odd hour tomorrow, my mind will be willing to catch up with time and desire to blog a "highlights" post and then celebrate SUMMER!! :)
Goodnight!
Monday, May 4, 2009
FINALS WEEK!!!
Hello dear blog fans!
Day one of Finals week is officially over and I have survived. :) I had only one final to take on today - Physics at 8:00 a.m. I am happy to report that there is a good chance that I did not fail the exam like I had feared I was going to. Despite feeling as though I had no idea what sorts of crazy things light rays were capable of, I think I managed to throw some numbers into complicated equations and develop some legitimate answers.
One would think I would have spent the rest of my day studying for my remaining finals so that I could actually get a good night's sleep and feel rested. My mind has been doing funny things all semester though, and such was not the case. I spent the remainder of my morning running errands, and opted for an exciting adventure this afternoon. Perhaps some of you have been following my life story since last summer when I believe I talked about dangerous bike rides in the middle of the night and such? Well, summer is knocking on the door, and I regret to inform you that I am bike-less at the moment (which is definitely a sin for a summer spent in Yankton). Okay, so technically, I'm not bike-less, but my bike is definitely too ill to venture out. I laughed when I found it still chained to the bike rack at my apartment building from last summer a couple of weeks ago. The thing is in sorry shape just like I remembered - two flat tires, defective/nonexistent breaks, and a broken chain. Something needed to be done to fix this terrible predicament of mine! So of course, I opted to not spend my afternoon studying but instead browsing the pricey bike selection at Ace Hardware Bike Shop. If I were not a poor college student, I would have walked out of there with a fricken sweet $1000 machine. I mustn't dream during this stressful time though, so I instead sought information on the cheapest bikes the store had to offer, $330 TREK 820's. The fee seemed a bit outlandish to me, but the salespeople were incredibly friendly and offered me a trial run on one of the glistening machines. So, I came back to Mount Marty to pick up a friend and together we took those expensive machines around the town of Yankton and down the big hill leading out to the lake. It was smooth riding and I'm fairly certain I fell in love. Though the wind was a devil on the way back up that dreadful hill, I didn't even have to get off and walk the bike up (I did come rather close to a complete standstill and developed quite the burn in the thighs though). It was incredibly refreshing and we regretfully returned the bikes an hour after we had ventured off (we figured any longer and they may have sent the search squad after us). Whether or not my summer will include such a lovely commodity is yet to be decided. I may want to actually be employed before I make any rash purchases...
Ahhhh...finals week! My lack of focus here is apparent. I have two tests to worry me tomorrow along with my final three chemistry lab reports due. I'm a bit paranoid for my piano final (hence the picture of me rocking out in the Antebellum Mississippi home....it's got to be good luck) for a few reasons: 1) it is at 8:00 a.m. and I don't know how my fingers will feel about being coordinated then as opposed to my usual 1:00 a.m. piano adventures, 2) I have to play "Jingle Bells" and "Happy Birthday to You" from memory and I'm scared I'll get nervous or hit one ugly note and forget the whole thing (stop laughing all of you expert piano players....remember I'm definitely an amateur), and 3) though Dr. Vogt, my professor is a great man and pianist, having anyone stare at my poor fingers with the intent of capturing an erroneous wiggle is just a bit much to deal with when I'm trying to relax and focus. I'm hoping to be able to take piano lessons this summer, so it would be incredibly sad if I had a nervous breakdown during my piano final in eight hours and tainted my love.
After piano, I will get to say goodbye to Biochemistry!! Life will surely look up (perhaps I'll buy my bike in celebration....). The final may not be so much fun though as it is a standardized one and I've successfully fallen asleep twice while attempting to study, both times in an upright position. In fact, I snapped to attention after my first short doze only because the hand that I had been resting my chin on slipped in its relaxed state and whacked the binder in my lap. That was a sign that I should stop trying so hard, at least until after the midnight breakfast (at 10:00 p.m.), at which I ate some amazing cinnamon rolls and a plateful of other calorie-loaded goodies. Well nourished, you would think I'd be ready to study glycolysis and remind myself about what was happening to all of that food, but I fell asleep yet again.....so here I am.
It's time I say goodbye to this day and rest up in the little time that's left before tomorrow's challenges. Stay tuned, if time, procrastination, and lack of motivation allows, I'll throw highlights from this eventful year your way. :)
Summer Countdown: t minus 3 finals, 3 lab reports, 3 short stories, one lengthy editorial, one research paper, and a short presentation.....It's Go Time!
Day one of Finals week is officially over and I have survived. :) I had only one final to take on today - Physics at 8:00 a.m. I am happy to report that there is a good chance that I did not fail the exam like I had feared I was going to. Despite feeling as though I had no idea what sorts of crazy things light rays were capable of, I think I managed to throw some numbers into complicated equations and develop some legitimate answers.
One would think I would have spent the rest of my day studying for my remaining finals so that I could actually get a good night's sleep and feel rested. My mind has been doing funny things all semester though, and such was not the case. I spent the remainder of my morning running errands, and opted for an exciting adventure this afternoon. Perhaps some of you have been following my life story since last summer when I believe I talked about dangerous bike rides in the middle of the night and such? Well, summer is knocking on the door, and I regret to inform you that I am bike-less at the moment (which is definitely a sin for a summer spent in Yankton). Okay, so technically, I'm not bike-less, but my bike is definitely too ill to venture out. I laughed when I found it still chained to the bike rack at my apartment building from last summer a couple of weeks ago. The thing is in sorry shape just like I remembered - two flat tires, defective/nonexistent breaks, and a broken chain. Something needed to be done to fix this terrible predicament of mine! So of course, I opted to not spend my afternoon studying but instead browsing the pricey bike selection at Ace Hardware Bike Shop. If I were not a poor college student, I would have walked out of there with a fricken sweet $1000 machine. I mustn't dream during this stressful time though, so I instead sought information on the cheapest bikes the store had to offer, $330 TREK 820's. The fee seemed a bit outlandish to me, but the salespeople were incredibly friendly and offered me a trial run on one of the glistening machines. So, I came back to Mount Marty to pick up a friend and together we took those expensive machines around the town of Yankton and down the big hill leading out to the lake. It was smooth riding and I'm fairly certain I fell in love. Though the wind was a devil on the way back up that dreadful hill, I didn't even have to get off and walk the bike up (I did come rather close to a complete standstill and developed quite the burn in the thighs though). It was incredibly refreshing and we regretfully returned the bikes an hour after we had ventured off (we figured any longer and they may have sent the search squad after us). Whether or not my summer will include such a lovely commodity is yet to be decided. I may want to actually be employed before I make any rash purchases...
Ahhhh...finals week! My lack of focus here is apparent. I have two tests to worry me tomorrow along with my final three chemistry lab reports due. I'm a bit paranoid for my piano final (hence the picture of me rocking out in the Antebellum Mississippi home....it's got to be good luck) for a few reasons: 1) it is at 8:00 a.m. and I don't know how my fingers will feel about being coordinated then as opposed to my usual 1:00 a.m. piano adventures, 2) I have to play "Jingle Bells" and "Happy Birthday to You" from memory and I'm scared I'll get nervous or hit one ugly note and forget the whole thing (stop laughing all of you expert piano players....remember I'm definitely an amateur), and 3) though Dr. Vogt, my professor is a great man and pianist, having anyone stare at my poor fingers with the intent of capturing an erroneous wiggle is just a bit much to deal with when I'm trying to relax and focus. I'm hoping to be able to take piano lessons this summer, so it would be incredibly sad if I had a nervous breakdown during my piano final in eight hours and tainted my love.
After piano, I will get to say goodbye to Biochemistry!! Life will surely look up (perhaps I'll buy my bike in celebration....). The final may not be so much fun though as it is a standardized one and I've successfully fallen asleep twice while attempting to study, both times in an upright position. In fact, I snapped to attention after my first short doze only because the hand that I had been resting my chin on slipped in its relaxed state and whacked the binder in my lap. That was a sign that I should stop trying so hard, at least until after the midnight breakfast (at 10:00 p.m.), at which I ate some amazing cinnamon rolls and a plateful of other calorie-loaded goodies. Well nourished, you would think I'd be ready to study glycolysis and remind myself about what was happening to all of that food, but I fell asleep yet again.....so here I am.
It's time I say goodbye to this day and rest up in the little time that's left before tomorrow's challenges. Stay tuned, if time, procrastination, and lack of motivation allows, I'll throw highlights from this eventful year your way. :)
Summer Countdown: t minus 3 finals, 3 lab reports, 3 short stories, one lengthy editorial, one research paper, and a short presentation.....It's Go Time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
