I Love College

Right now, I'm watching Law and Order: Criminal Intent... trying to do my religion paper and have something for my Paideia paper. There's, again, not much to say. I slept through my speech class, so... that went badly, but it doesn't even faze me.

That's something that's changed since I was in college. Before, if anything went wrong, my whole day was ruined up until the next day when maybe something good would happen. Honestly, there have been many times this week where I wanted to pull my hair out or just scream, but those moments never ruin my day (even if they come in unnecessary amounts). 

I would not call it maturity--everyone who's ever had any sort of conversation with me knows that I'll never be mature--but it's... something that grew. I'm not sure how to word it. 

On a much less serious note: here are some of the amazing things you learn at Luther/college.

1. "About" is an amazing way to mock Minnesotans and Northern Wisconsiners. 

2. You learn the art of "walmarting" it.

3. When you say "you'll pace yourself" you won't. 

4. How to maximize every single second of sleep by way of shortcut or sacrifice

5. "Working better under pressure" is complete crap.

AND SO MUCH MORE. That was a bit of advertisement. ;) 

This Is How We Do

On Friday, May Day, I was coerced into going to Relay for Life. Relay for Life is a fundraising program that takes place in schools everywhere--my high school had done Relay for Life--and it pretty much consumed my friend, who was organizing it. I meant to participate, but... life got in the way and I didn't pay my registration fee (or register, but that's a minor detail) so I was left to write my papers and read my paideia books and work while there were fundraisers and meetings. 

On Friday, the day of the event, I went to support our team, which was our hall floor. Because that was the same night as the Aurora and Norsemen concert, there weren't too many people there when I was there. The concert probably ended around nine and I was only there at 7-8:45 because I had to go to work. But it was fun to be there. We played cards and ate the free food. There were many pictures taken, especially with the people from our floor walking around with the giant inflatable pineapple. I had no idea what its purpose was, but it was interesting to watch. 

One downer on the whole spiel was that it was inside. It was spacious inside and temperature controlled for sure... but it was still inside. The weather is getting so much better now and everyone is outside reading, doing homework, or just hanging out... outside, but Relay was inside. That was one thing that bugged me, but inside also meant stereo equipment and I was definitely not complaining about that.

After work, I went straight back to my room instead of the Relay, so I slept (I had to work early the next day). Relay for Life went from 6pm to 6am.... which meant I didn't see my friends until about four in the afternoon. I was subbing for a friend at work Saturday morning and one of the girls there had been at relay. Her shift started before mine and the girl had not slept at all. It was kind of funny to watch, just because she was so out of it. My friends that stayed were all sore and amazed at how late they slept or absolutely exhausted. I was cruel and laughed at them. I know, I'm mean. 

There's not really too much to do this week. Things are kind of winding down and winding up as we get closer and closer to the end of the year. There's less to do, but those things that you do have to do are super important. I'm writing my last paideia paper of the year and hopefully for the rest of eternity. I'm doing my last religion reflection for the rest of my life. The constitutional convention is done. No more choir. I have my last speech to do (which I should probably be worried about since it's on Thursday). All is pretty good. 

I guess everything is getting better along with the weather. When it was stormy and gloomy... so was I. But it's sunny and warm today and I'm pretty content with life. Can't complain.

The Great Escape

I had an amazing, unschool-related weekend. I went to my roommate's house with my other roommate and two friends last weekend. We rode horses and we went to prom... again. Let me tell you about it...

It takes seven hours to get there. We left at 4:30 (because Laurie had to wash her feet) and we took a half an hour or so (+30 minutes) to eat at Tomah, WI and then also had to pull over because of the hail. It took us 8 hours to get there. It was great fun. We were ahead of the storm most of the time, except when we got hailed on and rained on. It turned out to be pretty fun--I saw my first cranberry bog--but as soon as the storm hit, I went to sleep. I hate storms and that's really the only way I can get through them intact. But I woke up for the hail. And the gas station... and then didn't go back to sleep.

We got there and then went to Jessica's (my roomie) best friend's house and hung out there until three. I was dead to the world, mentally. I was so ready to sleep. I slept with Emily (other roomie) on the pull out in the basement. It was... not at all like my bed at Luther, but not bad either.

I woke up at the crack of noon with my roommate and we had breakfast. Yum. I love home food. It's so much better than caf food. After that, the terror began. We went out to see the doggie. I ran through some chickens. I saw my first sheep and pet it. Then everyone came out and it was time to catch horses. I caught one--or tried--and just managed to get really dirty. I'm short, so all my pants are long and track through... everything. I was also wearing my converse, so those turned brown. It was pretty dirty. We groomed, then we started riding.

Oh boy.

Let's just say, I'm still feeling the consequences.

Then it was prom! It was very different from my prom, that's for sure. Not bad either. It was fun and we danced and laughing and took pictures. I'm fairly certain all of them are on facebook. After prom we had a bonfire with Jess' sister's friends and her sisters and brother. I was a lame-o and I went to bed after a while because I was just so tired. I was extremely tired, especially after getting physically beat up by horseback riding.

The next day was another AMAZING breakfast. And then we left. Twas a sad day. But we made it here in like... 6 hours. It was amazing (until we heard the tornado watch for the county were were driving through). I read the paideia on the way and had Subway... other than that, I was not the most comfortable because I was sore all over and sitting in one position. I'm pretty sure that's why I'm still hurting now.

And then it was back to school.

The Boogie That Be.

I ended that last entry on a... it wasn't the best note, that was for sure. But everything is fine now. the failed exam is behind me, paideia... well... yeah, I finished the paper, at least. Religion is turning into a manageable force, speech is... it's getting there and all the other classes are fine. All is pretty much well with the world. 

And it's registration time too! I register on Wednesday and I have all my classes lined up with SOME scheduling conflicts, but nothing I can't handle. I have had two semesters of 8am classes everyday... next semester that most likely will not be an issue. :DDDD. Yes. I am excited. My advisor is pretty cool and I like her. She's been to Chicago. XD.

Honestly, I feel like nothing can take me down. I have my paideia paper done. It's like walking on AIR. I've actually had it done for about a week, but that's beside the point. I still feel like I'm walking on AIR, especially since other people are still scrambling around doing their papers. 

I have a roommate for next year... AND SHE'S PRETTY MUCH THE (expletive I can't say that starts with an 's'). She's like... 6 feet... I'm 5'2".... but we make it work. We always go to wal-mart together and have the most 'affectionate' nicknames. It's great. I'm pretty excited about it. I'll probably never see her though... because she's music major and their residence is actually Jensen, the music building... they just keep their things in the dorm room. I'm not sure it that's a good thing or bad thing yet. I mean... I like having the room to myself... but one really is the loneliest number. 

THINGS TO EXPLORE AND THINK ABOUT UNTIL MY NEXT POST:

1. Check out Safari internet. It's AWESOME.

2. Youtube "Scarlet takes a tumble" (LOL)

3. Eat Lay's Kettle Cooked Jalepeno chips. 

Also, The Boogie That Be is the song that my dance class was going to do our hip-hop dance to. It was great. But we weren't allowed to do it because it had violence and... suggestive language. I liked that one so much better than what we actually did.

Girls a Straight Up Hustler

So... I just got back from a. the most stressful weekend. ever, b. the most important test ever that I probably didn't do too well on, and c. the worst paideia class ever... maybe I'm being dramatic, but it sure seems like it.

Stressful weekend? I realized on Monday that I had one week to read everything we were assigned to do in my American Politics class. It wouldn't (and shouldn't) have been a problem... if I'd read anything at all. It was really my fault. Really. And paideia. Paideia always gets in the way of my major/life/happiness. So I spend the whole weekend freaking out and reading even though I had a migraine so bad I was actually feeling sick and feeling all this pain in my shoulders... that's how much I freaked out. And I don't freak out. Not normally at least. So, yes. Not a great weekend. At least not until I took that painkiller and then eased away my pain and passed out. It was nice.

I am not encouraging painkiller intake though. I had a migraine. I had reason.

Most important test I probably failed? Yeah. Stressful weekend = not very useful when it came down to the actual exam. I'm not the best writer. I know this. I'm not the best reader, I know this too--and it's only because I get so distracted. Sometime between the painkiller and walking into class, half the information I knew flew out the window. It was a great experience. Really.

Of course, before this happened, paideia happened. Paideia... murderer of everything good in life. I'm not doing the reading, mostly because I was too busy studying for more important things (much like my future). My teacher found this out. Bad things. I only added to that by completely walking out of the class before the teacher was done. In my defense, I totally thought she was done. She was like "Okay, if anyone hasn't done a conferences with me..." and I was like, "Yes! Now I have to buy a blue book and suffer!" I was on a time constraint so I hauled butt out of that room.

She wasn't done. Realized that when no one else came out. Like... NO ONE. I looked in the window and half the people were still sitting. That felt nice. Realized even later (after failed test when I was contemplating my worth in life, which wasn't much at the time) that not only had I left early, not read much (I'm on pg. 57 at least), and stayed absolutely silent in more than a few classes, but... I forgot to turn in the mini-paper for that day. She collects them at the end of class. Good times.

But at least I only have one class tomorrow. Then I sleep the rest of the day. There is a silver lining. But not today. Today is Monday.

Shooting Star

If there's one thing I like about college... it's the internet. My mom has that 'internet wherever you are' thing... yeah, the program won't load on my computer, therefore, I have been cut off from the world unless I take those long trips to Panera.

Obviously, I survived midterms week... barely, but I did it. Tragedy struck about... 25, 000 times but that's okay. I came out alive in the end. I turned in the rough draft of my paideia research paper (*dies*) and did my super awesome speech for Public Address on the Merengue. I'm actually very proud of the speech. I finished my american politics paper on the continuity of government... religion... yeah... it's done at least. I'm not too anxious to see THAT grade.

Spring break was amazing and definitely needed after having all that stress the week before. There are many things I like about going home besides seeing my friends, mother, and doggies. For example, I'm quite fond of my air mattress and my couch. I'm quite fond of Chipotle and Panera and Starbucks. I'm very fond of driving my car and a Taco Bell that is open until 4am, as well as listening to the radio while I'm driving n the car and chilling with the homies a.k.a acting like losers. I also like that whole "no class and lots of sleep" thing. That's pretty nice. ;)

I went shopping while I was home and gave my mom my money from work-study for tuition... that was fun and painful. But I took a lot of clothes home because I knew I wasn't going to wear them and it was going to be a pain to pack up all the clothes at the end of the year... so I have new clothes and about half my closet. It's slightly pathetic considering how full my roommates' closets are. But there's not much I can do. I have a lot of stuff on my desk.

Alright, as lame as it sounds... it's bedtime. :B. I'm trying to maximize all the sleep I can. I've already showered and unpacked and I've decided to save my homework for an undetermined late and I plan on skipping paideia lecture. Hooray for terrible bad habits. XD.

I'm kidding. I would never skip paideia lecture.

Never.

Burn It to the Ground

This is midterm week. Last semester, that didn't really mean that much to me... but I'm definitely feeling it now. Actually, I'm feeling it now for last semester and this semester. I only had one midtern last semester and that was in the ever constant pain, paideia. It is totally kicking my butt. Along with religion. This is not a very good semester for me. T_T

Here's what's going down in Marcie World, and it's quite terrifying. Today has passed, and that was when I had to go into a panic (which is rare) because I had forgotten to do my application for the Diversity Center and it was due by 4:00. Instead of doing it like I had planned between American Politics and religion, I had taken a nap instead (great nap, in case you were wondering). So, that was completely my fault. Tomorrow, is Paideia Tuesday, as usual. I'll be slaving over that homework and pulling a very late night so that I can get a good grade. My goal for today is to finish transcribing all my interviews. I have the first one done and am starting the second one. The third one isn't very long, so I don't think it'll be a problem.

Wednesday is going to be a hard day. Not only is the paper due that day, but there's also a common quiz. I honestly think that paideia is out to get all the students.

Thursday, I have to give a speech in Public Address. For some reason, I thought we would do less speeching in speech, so I signed on for a course load I wasn't completely prepared for. I want to quit that class, but... compared to the others, it's fairly easy. You only worry about it on speech day.

Friday, I have my American Politics paper due... I'm very much in trouble for that because I don't know exactly what I'm supposed to do with it. I don't know if it's an opinion paper or a research one... because I haven't started and I haven't asked... because my bed always starts calling to me around 10:00... yeah. I'll probably shoot him an email and ask what exactly I'm supposed to do for the paper. Also, on Friday, I have my religion midterm and paideia midterm. They're both out to get me, I swear. Cool teachers... worst subjects EVER.

I have no idea if I'm in trouble, but... I think I have it. I think. I hope. Most likely... I have to get it sometime.

Long Hallway With a Broken Light

Before anyone worries too much about me, I'm ok. I had to cancel my interview, but we did it on Saturday and I'm still on track. However, it was a track of giant, mountain sized speed bumps and blood, sweat and tears. This is all paideia. I hate paideia, in case no one could tell.

I have a terrible transcribing story. Yesterday/this morning was the worst yesterday/this morning of my life. This is going to be hard to believe. But it happened. I have the tears and multiple bawling phone calls to prove it. I had over half of my first interview done and it was around 13 pages, so I figured I could just print that out quickly in case I didn't get around to it later on. When I was clicking out of Word, it asked me if I wanted to save it. I figured that I could work more and actually finish the whole first interview... so I clicked "no"... and now it's gone forever. I tried to recover it, but it's never coming back.

Yeah. I was stupid. I don't save though, I'm not a saver. And this isn't even the first time that's happened, it's just the first time I had spent seven hours and gotten that many pages doing it. Of course the library, the one really really quiet place on campus closes at midnight, so I spent a half an hour trying to find someplace else that was equally as quiet.

I didn't, by the way, but I borrowed someone else's headphones since half the reason I couldn't hear the interviewee was because my headphones are permanently broken (it seems selfish, but I kind of really want my mother to buy me new headphones... like replacement iPod headphones instead of the regular ones... and those are cheap... so I'd rather she bought it... I'm a jerk. Yes.) I think that might have cancelled everything out.

It really wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't been in the library for SEVEN HOURS when I am personally not a big fan of quiet places that are sometimes scenes in horror movies. And places where I actually have to shut my mouth and/or shut up in general. I'm not too good at that.

Yeah, and today isn't looking any better. I've been awake for two hours and I've almost died five times, my coffee is really gross (don't know why) and I pulled some stupids a few times already. I'm fully incompetent at work and religion so that should be a fun time.

So I Thought

I am overwhelmed. So what else is new, I guess. But this time, I genuinely have no idea what I'm going to do and how I should do it. I have a paideia research paper, which would normally take the backseat to everything else because... it's paideia and I hate it, but this time I can't do that. Because what I once said was cool... IS NOW TOTALLY UNCOOL. I have to do three interviews, all of which have to be two hours long. Then I have to transcribe and do research.

Yeah. I get wiped out thinking about it. But I'm not done.

I'm in Public Address, cool class. Absolutely hard. I have to write an informational speech and I've been completely unable to come up with a topic. I have to have it done by Thursday. I have my next interview on Wednesday. I'm scared that I'm going to ahve to cancel that interview because I have to work on my speech. I very much don't want to do that because I'm on a time constraint and it takes about 12 hours to transcribe 6 hours of interview time.

I'm in such trouble. Help?

I Can Do Better.

I'm feeling a little upset today, quite honestly. Today was the silent processional/prayer vigil for the illegal immigrants affected by the Postville Raid. I was asked to be a part of it and I procrastinated so much in the response that I ended up not answering at all.

Why had such a lowly freshman (not really) like me been asked to be a part of it?

I had been a campaign manager for Paideia for Postville, which was just a small fundraiser that was held in December when the churches were in need of help for all the immigrants they were hosting. We managed to raise a little more than 1,000 dollars (most likely much more, but I'm not completely sure) and sent it all to help with food and clothes, I believe. It was a really good effort put forth in the last few weeks of first semester. We did fairly well and there was a class representative and everything who harrassed everyone into donating.

And I was responsible for forwarding emails and all that jazz. I didn't do my job very well because I wasn't completely sure about what I was doing, but I was not alone in my endeavors. There was another girl working with me about it.

So for the vigil, we were asked to participate and share some words of prayer... Let me tell you, I am not that religious at all. In fact, defining myself as any religion is kind of frightening to me. Little to say, I'm not that big (or good) at praying. I can write a thesis better than I can pray and the thought of trying to do all that in front of people who want some deep, heartfelt words about the whole experience terrified me to the umpteenth level.

So I didn't go. And I regret that. I wanted to be a part of it badly. Sure, I didn't do much, but I have deep sympathy for the immigrants since I am one myself, although legal, and have friends that are illegal aliens. To me, it was definitely something to fight for, but I couldn't muster the courage to share some words.

Epic fail?

I think so.

Spaceman

Not much has happened this week, I'll be brutally honest. People are getting slapped with the reality that second semester is no joke. And trust me... it's no joke. Paideia is still a killer, but we already have a paper due that is apparently so important that I have to stay up until... now (2:48) to finish writing it. It's really just a response paper.

Religion kicked my butt on Friday. Let's talk about my Friday. It was a good day. All I had was paideia in the morning and then choir in the afternoon because two of my other classes were cancelled. It was a good day. I went back to my dorm and read the bible homework that I hadn't done and took a short nap. I planned to wake up at 11:00 so that I could have the response in by 11:30. We had a write at least 500 words on the prompt. Not hard right?

I turned in 200 words. That's not even half of what we needed. It was my first grade in the class and it was an epic fail. Of course, maybe it would have helped if I read any of the homework at all, but the question was not based on any of the other readings we had to do! I was ashamed. It wasn't even that I said all that could be said. I had no idea what to say--actually, I ended up confusing myself to the point where it went beyond just drowning.

Little to say... I hate religion right now. It shouldn't be as hard as it is. I went to church. I sometimes listened! I was confirmed and "read" the bible for confirmation.

Alright, I just fell asleep there for five minutes, so I'm going to turn in. Write more later.

The Art of Losing (your mind to work-study)

Work-study. The ever constant thorn in my side. Sure, I have interesting stories to tell about my experiences, but that doesn't take away the fact that it sucks. Intensely. It pretty much sucks all the blood, life, and essence out of your life.

I'm not kidding.

This week was the first week of school. I was super happy because I no longer had hours in the caf and all of them were at Marty's. Trust me, it's infinitely more cooler. ;). I had all my hours planned and I was dealing with the fact that I would have to get up at 8am even on Saturdays. Horrible, I know, but it gave me a chance to have a weekend, at least. I had all ten hours, which was nice, considering how I had nine last semester, and I was prepared for lift-off.

And then I was crashed/emergency landed. My friend that I thought I was working my 3-hour Saturday shift with said that she didn't see me on the schedule for that particular shift. I shimmied on over to Marty's and assessed the situation. And it was bad. Apparently, there had been a miscommunication and that shift was taken away from me and given to someone else. I had to find three hours or suffer the consequences of super-poverty.

It put a damper on my day, that was for sure. I found out I was three hours in the hole an hour before I had to go into work as a cleaner. I hate cleaning. I really do, but that's what I signed on for. It was an unhappy day indeed. I was terrified I was going to have to go to the caf to get hours, which would very much break my soul.

Luckily, one of the workers was canceling one of her shifts and it was on a day that I wasn't working.

You are now reading the blog of someone who has 9 hours (again! ><) and works Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

I don't advise doing that. I'm certain my sleep will suffer. But the things I do for money...

Better in Time

It's the first week of second semester and I have formally given up my biology major. There's hope yet (I haven't sold the book) but at this point, I would rather take Paideia all four years than take another semester of biology (I probably wouldn't, but it's to establish a point). I am taking Paideia, American Politics, Intro to New Testament, Public Address, and Wellness. I'm not sure how I feel about taking all those right now for many different reasons.

Paideia... there's really no choice. I tried, but my advisor sent me an email telling me that I needed to take a Paideia next semester. It's not that bad, really. I have the professor that I had last semester... even though it's a 8AM... yeah. Luckily, to make up for it being at such an ungodly time in the morning and for having to trek that hill between Larsen and Olson (don't underestimate it's power at 8 in the morning), instead of doing the intense research paper that has to be 10-15 pages, our "research paper" is on oral history. I don't know much about it, but I'm pretty excited for it. She's having the Luther archivist come in and talk about retelling oral stories and then we have to choose someone from a different culture and at a certain age to tell their story. Other than that, I still hate it. Nothing make me want to cry more than trying to write a 5-6 page paper on a book I didn't finish reading.

Right after Paideia is my American Politics class. I was terrified on the first day. There's no homework. There's four books. There's a 7-10 page paper due in March on a change we'd make or something we would keep the same on the Constitution and then we get to take the identity of a politician and hold a Constitutional Convention. Then there's those dreaded participation grades... I'm not a good participant--not before 11 in the morning. I mean, I opened my mouth once today and it did not come out in English and I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with the question either. Yeah, it was embarrassing... but I was so exhausted, I hardly noticed. However, I'm still pretty excited about it. Because I'm a proud nerd. :)

*insert naptime from 10:15 - 12:15*

Then I have Intro to New Testament... yeah. There's not much I can say about that class, but our professor is pretty cool from what I can tell of the first two days. I would probably have more to say if I... actually did the homework. Oops... yeah, I fell asleep somewhere between reading my American Politics and bleeding out of the eyes for Paideia. But hopefully, I'll have more to say next time.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays... ANOTHER 8AM! I have to say... I think I enjoy torture. My 8am is Public Address. I didn't think it would be that bad because I was super-nerd in high school and I was on speech team. I totally sucked, but I was ON it, which is more than some people can say. Then she said the bad word: Extemporaneous. I wanted to drop that class. It just means that instead of having it laid out in front of you word by word, it's notes that you refer to. That was sucking specialty. I was a much better memorizer/impromptu person than extemp. speaker. I'm interested to see my score in that class.

*insert naptime from 9:30 - 11:00*

Wellness? It's not your average gym class. One day is in lecture and the other is actually doing activity. It's pretty laid back and a bunch load of my friends have it at the same time. Whether they are in my class or not is up in the air. I have no idea who my teacher is (I should probably look that up). We have to read... which isn't that great, but compared to the rest of the reading I have to do, it's nothing.

That, plus work-study, is my life. I'm not sure how I feel about it still. We'll have to see how I feel next week.

It's A Disaster

Lateness, the story of my life. Sometimes it's a conscious choice, other times... not so much. And I'm honestly not sure at all how to fix it. I can set two alarms and still sleep through my 8 o'clock classes, waking up sometime around 11 (Luckily, that was a Thursday, so I didn't have my other class until 1:30).

Saturday night, I made a choice, probably not the best choice, but I did make it and enjoyed it. That resulted in me going to bed around five in the morning, which was why it wasn't the best choice. I had work at 10:15 on Sunday. That is usually a hard shift for me to do, since on Sundays I don't wake up until three on a good day--without staying up so late the night before.

I heard my alarm, but I had set my alarm early so that even if I didn't hear it the first time, I would be okay. I heard it once. Then I woke up. And I was already five minutes late, that alone meant that I couldn't eat breakfast and I was probably going to have a stroke trying to run there in the cold weather right when I woke up.

Sunday was the worst day ever. Until 1:45 when I got off work. People in the caf on Sundays are like vultures. There is no moderation! Everyone got so excited for the mac and cheese and the eggs and sausage and there was no stopping them. I could only watch as they demolished all the food and had to force me to go back and forth between the kitchens and the line. I burned my hands a lot. Do not underestimate the power to steam. It's pretty lethal.

On top of that, I was still super tired. I actually fell asleep for five minutes just leaning against the counter. In my defense, I had minimal sleep and I was sick.

I have a secret. For the last two weeks that I'd been working that shift in the caf, I had escaped cleaning tables and the such. In fact, last week, I had gotten out fifteen minutes before I was supposed to. It was a good day, that day. But this week, I wasn't so lucky. I finished cleaning up my area and went to the clockroom. I told the person I was done. She asked if I had asked a manager. I'm a liar, and I lied. She said that was the same thing I'd done last week and sent me back out.

Bad Day.

So I had to clean tables. Again, people are vultures. Messy, messy vultures.

Children of the Revolution

Let's be honest, I'm not exactly the most outgoing person. I talk. A lot. And loudly, but... that doesn't always mean I have a plethora (did I spell that right?) of friends all over the place. I have close friends in my dorm and I love them dearly, but that's quite seriously about it.

There are rumors that went around my group of friends who had older brothers or sisters in college and they said that in the first two weeks of school was where you make your friends and you have to go crazy insane making those friends or else it's going to be hard otherwise.

They're so full of crap, let me tell you that.

It's J-Term now and I find myself making new friends still. You sit next to a person, you ask them a stupid question (like one that states quite clearly the answer on the syllabus) and then it's best friends forever (not really). Then you sit down and watch a movie in one of the dorm rooms with a bunch of "strangers" after being locked out of the room you were supposed to watch the movie in. Then it's bonding, where everyone throws in their own comments and pays little attention to the movie (I don't recommend that).

But after a while, you have friends. So never think you'll never get friends, because there are plenty of opportunities!

Sweet Misery

So, the first week of J-Term is complete and I already have a test. It really isn't that bad. I'm learning some new things every day.

I'm taking Intro to Chinese Cinema, which I took mostly because it was easier to schedule work hours then and because it sounded like an easy class. I wasn't into the whole effort idea while all my friends were still at break. I actually like my class though. Sure, there are times when I get a little homesick for the Japanese class, which was basically the same thing, but it'll give me something to tell my teacher when I go back to visit her between breaks.

Meanwhile, there is forever drama in my life. Last semester, I worked in the cafeteria for one shift and that shift was the dishroom. Everyone loves working there. It's my worst enemy. All the steam and the hot plates and the wetness--I hate wetness. I always ended up smelling like a garbage can and my skin all oily and gross when I got back to the dorm. So, I hate the dishroom, and when I was scheduling for my j-term hours, I avoided it at all costs. I even took a lunch shift on Friday when I already had a closing shift at Marty's to avoid the dishroom.

So imagine my surprise (and intense misery) at walking into the clockroom Friday morning and finding out that I had to work dishroom.

Little to say, I did not bring clothes to change into because I didn't think I was working the dishroom and went straight to class right after. It was the worst. I smelled like a garbage can. My hair went limp (which is a tragedy within itself) and I was wet. Ew...

So, I officially am not a big fan of the Fridays. Luckily, I only have two more Fridays.