Keep on Singin' My Song

I now have a new favorite Christmas tradition. Christmas at Luther.

I really wasn't big on the choir because of all the time that was put into just practicing when I could be doing something more productive... like facebooking. But after this week, I saw just what happened because of the all the practicing and it made me smile, just a little bit.

On Sunday, it was the worst rehearsal ever because it lasted forever and we had to come back from break early, but every other rehearsal after turned less and less into a hassle. We had a dress rehearsal on Wednesday and we wore our robes and make-up and went through all the individual choir songs and I felt kind of giddy. The lights were in full view and there was even a little audience. Sure, we had to go back and forth a few times, but it felt almost like the real thing with the running up the stairs to the balcony and the coming down and running into Aurora.

We had our first performance on Thursday and that was where all my friends and my roommate were (my other roommate was in choir). Overall, it went very well for having messed up a few times in the dress rehearsal. I was definitely feeling the spirit because of the song selection. I was pretty much on a high the entire time because not only was it a really good Christmas performance, but it was the first time I was on a stage like that in years. So afterwards, at the dorm, I had a dance party with my friends (even though we probably should have been studying for the biology quiz) and we popped, locked, and dropped it until we were sore.

Not a good idea.

On Friday, there were two performances and I was still aching sore from the dancing the night before. It was the most unpleasant, hardest, painful-est recital to go through. Standing the on the risers did nothing to curb the pain in my legs. I was fairly certain that all people saw on my face was clear agony and pain. However, it was still a better performance than the one on Thursday (in my opinion). That was just the first concert. The second one was a little worse for me, so I might have gotten a little overenthusiastic when we were singing the last song (which I was already enthusiastic about because it's my favorite) and raged out of there to change into my jeans and warm boots and then proceed to collapse in my bed. We didn't get out until eleven that night, but it was totally worth it.

Saturday was, what I thought, the best performance. Everything went perfectly and I wasn't in as much pain as I was the night before. It was great. I wished it could have been Sunday that was the best performance because that was when my mother was going to be there, but alas, it wasn't. Sunday was one of the top because of the candle-lighting, which is my second favorite part of the concert.

Because the concerts were being recorded by public television people, we couldn't have the stage completely dark during the lighting, so the effect wasn't as powerful. But on Sunday, we had the lights off and I quickly scanned the room looking at all the choirs (even though I probably wasn't supposed to) and got kinda happy. I'm a sentimental person--it gets me every single time.

Really, that was the best experience ever. I probably wouldn't repeat it right now and I'm kind of happy it's over, but I would do it again next year in a heartbeat. I was happy to be a part of it, no matter how painful, time consuming, paper failing, test failing, hot, and crowded it may be.

(Yes, I did fail my paideia paper that was due on Wednesday [I think] and it was partly the reason I failed my quiz) -- but it was totally worth it. And I just suck at time managment.

Marcie

That's Not My Name

So, Thanksgiving break has come and gone. Unfortunately, it is gone and there's school tomorrow. I'm not sure what's more depressing; the fact that for the rest of this week, there will be no rest, that I won't get to see my friends forever, that I didn't get into the class I wanted for J-Term, or that I have class tomorrow. I think they're all pretty equal.

It's Christmas at Luther week. The dreaded week is here. Today we had a six hour rehearsal (five hours plus an hour long break for some) and my voice is dying. I had to leave home, my warm, amazing, awesome home at seven in the morning. Not only that, but it took double the time to get here because of the weather. Then I'm here for an hour and I have to go to choir. Me? I'm not a big choir person. I like to sing and I like the songs, but I have extremely mixed feelings about choir. It's just always been an 'I hate choir, but when I'm there it's ok' kind of thing.

Let me tell you, there was none of that today. This break, I was meaning to catch up on all the things I had fallen behind in other classes and start the paideia paper that I thought was due on Monday (it's due Wednesday). Didn't happen. I did get caught up, but only in one class. Bad times, but they were oh-so enjoyable (seriously, biology or dinner party with friends you haven't seen since July? I think we all know the answer). So, since I didn't do diddly squat during my break I was freaking out the entire five hours to the point where I made myself sick. It was the worst choir rehearsal/day/life experience ever. I was seconds from crying.

Kids, I am not a good role model, I'll say that right now. I'm stuck in high school where I never studied for tests and never actually read the material (can someone say sparknotes?), but I'm learning. And everyone is going on a learning experience with me. I had learned before, but then I got lazy, which happens a lot. But I need to remember that I am 18,000 dollars in debt so that I can study. So I should study and get off facebook. I'm getting there. Slowly, but surely. And next semester is going to be so much better.

Marcie

And all the titles lately have been titles of songs that I listen to while I write these SPECTACULAR AMAZING blogs, in case anyone was wondering. Look them up. They're pretty good.

An Honest Mistake

Alright, it's officially the week of Thanksgiving Break. That's three days of no classes, no work-study, no cafeteria food, no choir rehearsal, no Rigoberta Menchu, or common quizzes. However, break starts Tuesday and I still have Monday and my 8:00 class on Tuesday. My heart, however, doesn't know that.

I have a paideia rough draft due tomorrow.
It's three in the morning.
I haven't. even. started.
In fact, I'm watching 2Fast 2Furious.

See my problem?

And I honestly don't know when I'll get it done! I only have an hour and a half between calculus and bio and I have a really big topic! I'll be one of the shame-faced losers that walks into class and hopes they don't get the one girl that would turn them in to the teacher. I mean, I'm not a big fan of the misspellings, but that does not mean that I shouldn't write the paper! *panics*. Oh boy. It's not like I can write it during biology either. That would be WRONG (I'm sure it wouldn't matter if I had read the chapter last night, but I didn't).

Now, I am not a hypocrite. I DO learn from my mistakes... but this is a new one. I'm in break before break actually happens. But no worries, I'll manage.

Now... I'm going to write my paper on the Guatemalan Civil War in regards to Rigoberta Menchu and the speaker we had come into class (I would probably write about that, except that we signed a form that said we couldn't repeat what he said in class outside of class, since he's testifying in court).

That's all for today. I'm going to make an outline of my paper.

Marcie

Under the Gun

Again, another busy week ahead of me. Not as busy as the last two, but who knows what unexpected things will happen.

I facilitated last week in my Honors class. I sucked. Everyone said it wasn't that bad. Everyone is a liar.

Last night was the first Christmas at Luther rehearsal and it was amazing. All the choirs were together and it was just really awesome to hear. I'm in Cantorei--I'm not going to say anything negative about it, but we were just a little unprepared for the mass rehearsal. There were two songs where everyone just looked at each other, smiled, and faked it. I almost died because I tried to hit the notes. It didn't work out so well.

My godmother, she works here at Luther, tried to scare me about Christmas at Luther. She said that I'd have to start getting ahead because I'd for sure fall behind because of all of the rehearsals. I'm going to have to call her out on that. The mass rehearsals are on Sundays, which isn't a problem for me, until the week of Christmas at Luther in which case the rehearsals are when I'm usually doing my work-study, so it's not like I'm doing homework then anyway.

But Christmas at Luther is probably going to be the most amazing Christmas event ever [besides going back home and seeing my friends and going to the Kris Kindl Market] and I seriously can't wait until the performances. There are going to be candles and we get to be broadcasted on national television, which is always a plus. I can't wait.

And now, it's time for Bio. T_T

Die Another Day... Cause Imma busy!

Oh my goodness. It has been a crazy week. Let me tell you. With the paideia paper, the bio exam, my birthday, the elections, and all the events that I had to go to for my political science class, I don't think I've had time to even sleep, let alone feel homesick!

It's crazy and half the time I have no idea what takes priority. It leads to stress, but then you're always relieved the next week when there's nothing to worry about. That's clearly not the case this week because my weekend was stress-filled as well, but I'm sure I'll feel a whole lot better next week.

Obviously, I got through the last week and I have no idea how. Not only was the Bio exam a slap in the face [even though I knew about it two weeks earlier], but my paideia paper was much harder than I remembered it being the first time I read the prompt. It was as if college came full speed in all my classes all at the same time -- I was getting run over from every direction. Even calculus was getting hard!

Normally I'd write a list of how I got through it all, but I have no idea how it happened. At all. I stayed up until two writing that paideia paper that I did not understand how to do, studied for the biology exam for 45 minutes before the class [not a good strategy if you want to get anything higher than a C, but I have to say I only passed because I went to lecture], stayed up until two writing all the one-page responses for my political science class and managed to find people to cover two of my shifts so that I could go to the events I needed to go to and so that I could spend time with my family during my birthday. It was hectic. I can't even keep track of it when I write it down, as I'm sure no one else can either.

On the plate for this week is.... On Tuesday, I have to facilitate a class, big deal. I'm freaking out mostly because I don't know how to be a teacher, I never even wanted to be a teacher. It should be interesting and I hope it all goes well, but we'll have to see. The final draft of the paideia paper is due on Wednesday [oh crap] and that's a big event within itself. Usually my whole Tuesday nights are dedicated to that after I finish my calculus and biology, but I have a lab group meeting on Tuesday because we have to give an oral presentation on Thursday in lab. What is it with all the public speaking? It's a crazy week!

Anyways, I hope everyone else has a nice calm week.

Marcie

Different Air

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't homesick. I am terribly so. Decorah itself is so different from Elgin (where I'm from) in population dynamics and mentality. I'm used to walking down the street and receiving glares for being in the way or the awkward look away, but here everyone smiles or says hello. I'm getting used to it, but there are those days when I really miss the cold nastiness. It makes me feel like a better person sometimes.

I miss my house. I used to live in my basement and it was my Lair of Darkness, as my friends and I coined it, and I'd have my air mattress right in the middle and my couch right next to it. Sure, there were bugs, but there are always going to be bugs. I could turn off the light whenever I wanted and do whatever I wanted. With two roommates, it gets really hard. There's always someone there, which can be nice, but it can also drive me crazy. Everyone has their individual mess and everyone touches things [like my outlet where they "kindly" unplug things] and there's just no escaping the cramped-ness of the room. In my room particularly, I cannot turn on the lights, not even a desk light, after one of my roommates go to sleep. It's REALLY hard. I went from absolutely independent in my basement to sharing with two people.

Of course, I miss my friends. No one drives up five hours to see me, which is alright. I haven't seen a good lot of them in over three months, but hopefully that will change over Thanksgiving. I miss having them around me. The people here are amazing, but it's four years vs. a few months. It's just a lot of turmoil.

I'm not condemning roommates or college, for that matter. I love my roommates to death and I enjoy college, really, but everyone has their days and the more homesick I get, the more I have them. Part of college, probably, is overcoming it and finding your strength. Prioritizing and focusing on what you need to get what you want. Homesickness is going to come along, but it'll also pass.

On that depressing note, I will announce something happy. As in, Happy Birthday to me... on Friday. Woot! 19!

Do it to it

It snowed yesterday. Kind of random considering it's not even Halloween. This is a little more north than I've been, but come on? Winter in October? You have got to be kidding me. I did not appreciate that little gift. I don't start to appreciate it until after Thanksgiving. But that's okay. It kept me inside so I could "do my homework."

That was a random look into my mind about how I feel about the temperature and early winter in Decorah, IA.

So I came back from fall break and had to work, which was... terribly painful for my psyche, but I got paid for it, so I wasn't going to complain. After that, I beached. I met up with the friends and didn't do anything. It was amazing, I'm not going to lie. Thursday was the same and I loved it. I just slept all day and then watched TV and got on the ever deadly facebook.

Then midnight rolled around and Friday slapped me in the face. Last time, I mentioned something about laziness and getting destroyed--it still applies during and after break. Had I done ANY of my homework prior to Thursday, I might not have gone to bed a three in the morning, still not done with it. It was a headache to deal with.

After that tragic Friday, I had a tragic Sunday [I clearly don't learn from my lessons] and then it was Monday. I managed to barely scrape by, but after a long talk with my god-mother, who works on campus, I decided that none of that was going to happen. So! With new found determination and responsibility I went to the Diversity Office and had a talk with one of the people that had asked me to come in on Friday [oops! (and it's okay to do that, as long as you COME IN)] and got my shots so that I could register for classes next semester and sat down to do my homework.

... sort of. There might have been a trip to the cemetary sometime during the 'doing homework'. Bu no worries. It's getting done as we speak. One page is this blog, another is the website I'm getting my information off of, and then there's aim. Hooray for multitasking! The iTunes is on too. Can't forget that.

Hey, everyone has their own study habits--mine might just be a little distracting. But at least I'm doing it.

In college, the professors may not collect the homework or the meetings may not be necessary or can be done later, but one day, that professor might suddenly ask for that assignment attached to your paideia paper [true story] and those meetings might be extra credit and later turns into late. So, just do the work and all of it is gonna come back A+ [or at least with credit].

Out Tonight

It's fall break. I've probably been looking forward to this break since August [I moved to Iowa at the beginning of August] because I got to go home and see some of my friends and drive my car and feel one with the people when I go fifteen over the speed limit. It's definitely refreshing to be in a nice open space and room than in a cramped dorm room with one window and other people's stuff everywhere.

On Friday, my friend and I climbed into her car [two hours later than planned and with over five hundred pounds worth of dirty laundry/shoes we don't need/clothes we don't need/technology we "can't live without"/homework] and headed to her house in Cedar Rapids, where my mother would then pick me up. There was one problem with that: we had no idea how to get there. Conveniently, my mother and my godmother were unable to pick up any sort of phone. But, no worries, we did get directions and we set off towards Cedar Rapids.

Halfway there, we realized it might have been a good idea to get dinner from the caf because we were both starving. We had just gotten out of Independence, which, apparently, is the last place of civilization before 380 where there is no food. Once we figured that out, Chelsea and I reversed back to the Wal-mart we passed and decided to take our allotted ten-minute pit stop.

We were there for a half an hour [it's the Walmart pull, I swear]. We bought orange soda and these surprisingly good tasting sandwiches that came in plastic containers and a giant bag of chips. It was so unhealthy. It was so road trip food. But we were back on our way and we finally got on 380. We got to her house [which was pretty much awesome] and I switched over to my mother who was "in a hurry to go" but ended up talking to Chelsea's parents for about a half an hour. Fun times. After that, it was a four hour drive home.

I had planned on the bonding time between me and my mom to be during the drives to and from Elgin and then the ride to Cedar Rapids or whatever. Because I already had plans in Elgin that I wasn't too eagar to change.

There was never a prettier sight than when I reached Elgin. The familiar highways and signs and stores and the 24-hour Jewel. The orange skies because of the street lamps and Starbucks and all the construction that was still going on on McLean Blvd [though it was refreshing to see it on the other side of the street]. I stayed with my friends, since our house was being rented out and we spent a good part of the night talking and catching up... and risking our lives by walking to the 24-hour Jewel at two in the morning to get groceries. It was totally scary because we took the short, dark, unpopulated way to the store, instead of going around the school and taking the lit, heavily populated place.

I slept on a real bed, not that the dorms don't have real beds, but I don't have a mattress pad, and it's catching up with me. So I slept extremely well that night. I visited my bank and deposited my work-study money and then hung out with my two friends before they had to go to work. I had to wait for my mom to drop off the car and then I was on my way to check my email and spend some quality time in Panera, where I spent a lot of quality time over the summer.

That night, my super bestest friend ever was going to visit me. We had plans to go to the dance club, but... there were no funds for that. So we watched a movie, but then decided that it was too boring and too mundane for my only weekend in Elgin for a long time. So we made an impulse decision to go to Chicago... at midnight. Crazy? It was. That was why we changed our minds. Then we were back to the club idea, but my best friend knew how to get in for free. We stopped at her dorm and got ready to go. Then my other friend's [there were four of us] car died in the fifteen minute parking. It was probably around one in the morning.

No problems, her dad just had to wake up and travel a few minutes to jump start the car. Then we went back to Chris' house to switch cars, because Amelia had to take her car back home, since everyone was scared it wasn't going to start in the morning. By that time, it was around two, so there was no point in going to the club, since it closed at three.

So we went to Taco Bell and drove out to Genoa... to cornfields. We were totally going to be rebels and get lost in them, but when we were standing on the edge, me and Amelia heard something in the fields. I'm not even kidding. There was some sort of creature in the cornfield that was going to eat us--I saw the stalks move. So we ran back to the car dramatically, screaming and such. My friend climbed in and since her car wasn't an automatic unlocker, she had to manually open all four door from the inside. If there was an animal that was going to eat us, it definitely would have gotten us. Especially if it was the "Jeepers Creepers guy that was going to massacre us."

From there, there was another pit stop at Jewel, after a successful run of the Chinese Firedrill, and we went back to the house. By that time, it was four in the morning and we were done. There were problems with the sleeping arrangements, but I managed to get the bed. That was all I cared about.

Sunday, the day I was leaving, I, by chance, managed to see a friend that went to University of Illinois... about an hour after church ended [slept through it], so that was pretty nice. My mom and I went to the usual haunts we hadn't been to in so long and then headed west... back to Iowa. I got to stop by at my other friend's college, because she was on the way, and spent some time with her. Then we left.

Now I'm here, in Muscatine. I believe I'm going back to Cedar Rapids, to spend the night at Chelsea's house, tomorrow. Then on Wednesday, we're leaving to go back to school at noon. I have my work study at five-thirty and then it's back to the same old.

And that was my super Fall Break in a very, very long blog entry. ^^

Proceed with Caution

(Just a nice group picture, ^^)
(Dinner before Homecoming Dance)

Alright, it has been a while since I last updated, but I assure you, nothing extraordinary happened.

Except the terrible, excruciating loss of my precious iPod.



I'm going to make an analogy out of this experience and see it in a positive light, because if I concentrate on the fact that it is in destroyed shambles on my desk in my dorm, then I will probably cry, as I cried when I found it in the dryer that fateful Thursday.



iPod:washer::Grades:laziness



Just like the washer destroyed my ipod, laziness will destroy your grades--and I mean laziness in a general term. I have learned a lot in the last two weeks about how three-hour naps kill and how going to bed at three in the morning because you started your homework late at night sucks.



For example, Biology, my hardest, most demanding, and brain-melting class was in the pits a few weeks ago. I took the midterm, bombed the midterm, and stuggled to get my grade up. Clearly, I wasn't struggling enough because it just kept on dropping.



How did I get there? Not doing the reading, not printing the syllabus, and falling asleep in class because, apparently, the hour long nap between calc and bio doesn't suffice. Basically, I got lazy. The book was too heavy to carry into the study lounge or I was sleeping/eating dinner/doing other homework/social needs. I started my homework about the crack of midnight, which, when I think back on it, is seriously not a good idea. At all. Then I found out that if you get a 70% or lower you don't get credit for the class. So I panicked and freaked out [which, again, seriously DOES NOT help] and tried to organize a plan to get back on track.



Plans, for someone like me, totally don't work. So, I never actually increased my grade, but it didn't drop... at least.



From the failure of my plan, I realized that the only way to get better was just to jump in. Jump in and hope you don't accidentally hit the bottom of the pool and die [probably a bit dark, so we'll say unconscious]. That was exactly what I did and like magic, I swear it was like magic, I could suddenly get credit for my class.



I prevented what happened to my ipod because I was careless and unobservant to happen to my bio grade.



How am I going to prevent it more? I'm getting a tutor after fall break to help me organize... to be honest, I'm not sure what she'll do, but I'll take whatever I can get. The resources at the college are there for you and are there to help you, so why not take advantage of them and not fail?



I guess that's all for now.

Marcie's Homecoming Week

Hello dilligent readers [as I'm sure you are],

I have a story with a lesson and a moral, so listen and learn.

Sunday, shortly after I posted, I came down with a terrible, terrible sickness. I didn't notice it until I woke up the next day feeling terrible and disgusting and unable to breathe and move. Not fun. I blamed it all on staying up so late to write the Paideia paper that I had spent so much time procrastinating on. As well as the work-study hours that I deemed 'appropriate' for myself.

So I went to classes and promptly crashed on my roommate's carpet at every available opportunity. That was fun. I went to classes up until Wednesday where I almost made it. I couldn't go to choir because I knew that there was no way I could last through work study afterward. I sent an email to the director [always a good idea, especially if you're sending it AFTER you missed the rehearsal] and then slept for three hours until I had to go to work.

Then I dropped about twenty cups, almost broke six plates, and almost died walking down a hallway about five times. Gotta love the dish room.

Around Thursday I felt better. I could walk without a swagger and I knew where I was 90% of the time. The urge to sleep in the first available corner had alleviated a little bit. I was still highly toxic and my roommates kicked me out of the room because we ran out of tissues and I was coughing everywhere. That was fun. I saw Moulin Rouge that day though, so it wasn't so bad.

Lesson[s]: Go to Health Services. They give you decongestants. And get sleep. Lots of it. Wash your hands all the time. Don't let your roommates breathe on you, because that's how I got sick. Use medicine--stock up!

I gradually got better--just in time for homecoming! We won our game against Central, which is always a good time. My high school had been so bad at football that it was a bit strange to be on the side of a winning team, but I'm not complaining. I only caught the last quarter of the game because there was an ongoing biology lab going on at the same time -- so no one rely on me to give a play by play.

Afterward, there was the dance. I have naturally curly hair, even though right now and in my picture I have straight hair. It's so curly it takes me two hours to straighten it. Fun times. I originally wasn't going to do much, but when I realized my hair was two different length [slept on one side when it was wet], I realized that it had to change. So I straightened it. Then it took me forever to find something dance-like to wear, since all my dresses are at home.

After the primping and getting ready, me and five others went to Mabe's--my favorite pizza place here. Here's an additional lesson, folks. One large pizza is not nearly enough for six people -- and order a pitcher. We learned that the hard way when no one walked away from the restaurant full since we had all skipped lunch to do our hair and get dressed.

The dance itself was like any other... with swing dancing! It was awesome. I actually got to swing dance with someone--who knew those lessons in sixth grade would actually pay off? I sure didn't. I was surprised to see all the other people who knew how to swing dance. In Chicago, swing dancing is not typical knowledge... or even knowledge. It was a new experience, for sure, but one I'm going to remember.

I guess... that's about it for now.

Marcie.

Wal-mart Wisdom

Most people are probably talking about the fantastically amazing OkGO concert that happened on Friday night. Am I right? I think I am. Instead of writing about that, I think I'll entertain everyone with a different story. Mostly because it's something fresh and even more mostly because I had work-study that Friday. Fun times.

I bet everyone's wondering how they will live in Decorah, IA. There's no mall, there's no Starbucks (which I have suffered for tremendously), there's no Target or super expensive designer stores. It's sad coming from a city where we had about three of all of those things. However, there is salvation. Wal-mart.

On Saturday, everyone woke up around the crack of noon and sauntered over to lunch. We decided then and there that it was going to be a Wal-mart day. My third and other people's second. I had a fresh wad of money burning a hole in my drawers and an empty refrigerator, so I was definitely tagging along. I mostly prefer running to Wal-mart at ten o'clock at night, but four in the afternoon was just as good and a little less dangerous.

I won't go too much into detail because, for the most part, Wal-mart can get a little boring and tiring when there's no Halloween section or people going missing for an hour and the projectile flying of certain objects, but it was the light at the end of my tunnel. The week hadn't been so hot, mostly because of my paideia paper and then the depressing bio grades. I relished in the freedom of buying what I wanted and running up and down a store wherever I wanted with my friends in tow. It was great.

Anyway, I guess I'll have some words of the wise for those who plan to go on Wal-mart excursions in the future:

-Leave about two hours to actually go to Wal-mart. There was a time when we went in just to grab some food and we stayed there for an hour and a half. Fun times, though.

-Go with a purpose. I went to Wal-mart three--four [I went today instead of doing homework] times and the second time was completely unnecessary. I ended up spending money I actually needed for something else and on something that I would never use.

-Resist the DVDs. There will be zero time to see them, unless you're my roommate and have the uncanny ability to do math, read Martin Luther, and do chemistry while watching a movie. But honestly, like most people, I have not watched a single one of the DVDs I brought from home. It's not smart spending to spend money on something you're not going to use.

-Smart spend. You really do not need the triple fudge brownie that is extremely on sale, but still very expensive. Really. You don't.

-Take a list. I went to Wal-mart yesterday and today because I had no list. I bought things I didn't need yesterday and didn't get much of what I actually needed so I had to go back today to get necessities, which made me lose precious bio time. I'm not complaining, because every trip to Walmart is a nice walk in the park, but bio is not my strongest subject. I could have definitely used the time.

That's my wisdom.

We Are Family!

So, this weekend was family weekend. But was my mother here? Only in spirit!

Let's do a recap. I woke up on Saturday morning at the crack of noon to strange voices in my room. I knew it wasn't Jessica's parents because they weren't going to be there until dinnertime, so that meant that it could only be Emily's parents and little brother. I must say, I looked beautiful--my hair smelled like fryer grease from work-study and I had dirt and pizza sauce [ew] caked on my face. It was a hard night at Marty's.

So, after they poked fun at me for a few minutes, I escaped to the bathroom where I conveniently ran into a friend who also didn't have parents there. We made plans to go to Marty's for lunch. Fun times. We loitered there for about two hours, trying to escape all the family events that we didn't have family for. Afterward, they were rearranging their dorm and my roommates escaped the clutches of their much-loved parents. We had a dance party and scared all the parents that came up through the stairs. Apparently, we could be heard down the hall, which is quite an accomplishment seeing as how our sound span is usually just next door. It was a fun time--a complete unwinding of all the stress from the week [which we had a lot of, but I don't think it would be appropriate to post it on this blog. ;)]

Later on that night was the concert. Half of the girls on my floor are in Aurora, so they were decked out in their black dresses with the puff sleeves and the itchy fabric. Since I was in Cantorei, I got to wear a skirt and black shoes. I lucked out. There was nothing better than seeing everyone walking across campus in tuxedos [Norsemen] and the black dresses. It was like I was at Hogwarts! So, while they all went to warm up, I went to dinner with some floor mates because our call time was later than theirs.

Honestly, I was never all that excited to be in Cantorei. I didn't know anyone there, all my friends were in Aurora, and I was just never a big fan of choirs. I guess I'm a bit of a diva, in that sense. I like singing alone. But when we were warming up and putting on the robes, I just got very excited. It had been about two years since I was singing on a stage and I'd never sung with a band before. I was nervous and I was excited. I couldn't wait for the show to get started.

That excitement was short-lived, however. We performed and did a very good job, but then I had to zip down the tunnels to work-study. My freshly washed hair smelled of freshly made french fries and I almost died slipping on grease that had fallen on the ground. I got burned by hot oil and I was extremely wet when I walked back to the dorm. On the upside, I make fantastic smoothies and learned how to use the flat... hamburger maker thing. I'm sure there's a name for that.

On Sunday, I woke up early because I thought my dearest mother was going to be picking me up and we would spend a day together for family weekend. Yeah. Right. She slept for about five hours [but I don't blame her--she came into Ossian around four in the morning and woke up at seven] and I played Scattegories and tried to do the Paideia homework, which didn't work out so well. But, eventually, we did get our time together. At Walmart, where every college kid takes their parents when they visit. I didn't have much for her to buy for me [floss, pens, and shoes], but it was fun meandering around the store pretending I wanted something.

That wonderful family moment was short-lived as well. I, the master procrastinator, didn't even touch my homework on Friday or Saturday and completely do not follow the rules I posted last week. So, I scrambled to do my Calculus, which was hard. We had to recruit the magic guy downstairs to help us, even though his brain was as melted as ours. The Paideia... I was planning on doing that after this blog was posted, seeing as when I came back in my room to do it, my lovely, amazing, fantastic roommates were watching and singing along with the Lion King. I couldn't resist!

So, I'm here. Finishing this blog. It's a little past midnight. I should be sleeping. But I can't because I made some wrong choices. Hopefully, I'll be able to do better tomorrow.

How To

How To Prevent Your Brain From Turning To Goo Over All Your Homework:
(Verson 1.1)

1. Do your homework early. Seriously. I'm talking like the day you get it.

2. Give yourself some time to relax and mentally escape.

3. I suggest about eight to ten hours of sleep, that always helps clear the mind. Not seven. You
need the full eight, at least.

4. Wake up before lunch. A little later than breakfast. Sometime around nine, it's not that early.

5. DO NOT study with your friends unless you are studying the same thing. They are extremely
distracting and tiring.

6. Stay away from movie parties that go well into the night.

7. Stay away from tremendous amounts of caffeine at obscure hours in the morning.

8. Having Facebook open on a tab next to the KATIE site is not studying. You know you're on
that instead of the homework 75% of the time.

9. Don't look for distractions. You might find one that you won't be able to handle and then you'll
just forget about your homework.

10. Avoid places where attractive males may inhabit. That's the death of any math problem.

Because We Can

My first week of college in a nutshell: there's never a dull moment. Between auditions, figuring out schedules, and making friends, I hardly have time to do homework, which is terrible, but that just the first week craze--and thankfully, there's not a lot of homework.

My roommates are amazing. It was all very awkward the first day, we hardly talked. But little by little, we all became one big happy family. There's Emily, the crazy social butterfly, Jessica, the quiet one that always makes sure we're not lonely in the dorm, and they both love making fun of me. We have a good time when we're all together. There's a lot of midnight jokes that make you want to lock Emily out of the room, but it adds flavor. After a week of being together, it's like living with family. The floormates are pretty nice as well. In our corner of the dorm, we're having a movie night so our brains can come down from studying for the Biology test or reading the Paideia book. There's a whole lot of unity in the dorms, no doubt. Everyone is so nice and will let you borrow their textbooks because you ordered all the wrong editions off of amazon. com [On the upside, I now have my biology book].

This week, I had a very hard time with my schedule. I had tried out for choir and the slot I had open was for Aurora. Imagine my surprise when I made Cantorei and was suddenly slapped with a conflict. It was the same time as my Paideia. After a few hours of panicking [which really DOES NOT help, let me tell you], I emailed my advisor and set up a meeting. It took a lot of legwork to get everything organized and a lot of convincing to switch my Paideia, not to mention the sacrifices of my late classes on Tuesday and Thursday, but I managed to work it all out. I got my cake and ate it too, so to speak.

This week wore me out. It's been so busy and different that my mind is ready to take a nice twelve hour nap. I'm definitely hoping that next week will give me a chance to start a routine so that I can relax and take the time to use my amazing highlighters on my biology book [I am strangely excited about that]. So, we'll have to see how the next weeks pans out. ^^

Marcie Sanchez