Graduated!

I am officially graduated from NCTC. Our diplomas will me mailed "within 8-10 weeks of graduation." I had a blast. I lucked out and a classmate from my English class was next to me in line. We sat there making fun of the whole thing, collecting ammunition for more jokes about the silly community college that acts like a four-year university.

Here were some of the funniest things:
...if we had a dollar for every time the word outstanding was used, we would have enough money for a nice celebration afterwards.
...the speaker talked about how he persevered to find the right piece of classic literature to quote at graduation. His piece? Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham. I am not kidding.
...the word outstanding was correctly spelled in the piece of paper contained in our diploma covers.
...the "NCTC Singers" sang a piece at graduation. It was about death.
...the NCTC Singers were not uniform at all. They did not wear the same color, and some of them held books while the rest didn't. Choir 101 - either every person has the music memorized or all of you hold books - the key is to be as uniform as possible.
...one of the board members said a prayer before the ceremony started. He prayed that God would give us good luck, he thanked God for making the big world smaller at the click of a mouse, and he never actually spoke to God.
...one of the ladies that introduced an extraordinary student actually said that she was "oustanding." She must have written the Dean's List papers.
...99% of the graduating students did not know that NCTC had an alma mater. Needless to say, the man at the front leading us all in the song was one of three people who sang.
...the honored (and ancient) Board members were constantly nodding off throughout the ceremony.

I am so glad I got to sit next to Catherine. I had a blast at my graduation and got a few good pictures out of it, too. Here they are:

Christina put my hat on at the restaurant, but she put it on backwards!
Getting in line to walk across the stage!

Receiving my diploma cover from a Board member.

I love this picture of me.

My awesome Grandmother! She and my Aunt drove for 4 hours to get there.

Have a great week, everybody!

I GRADUATE TOMORROW!

I GRADUATE TOMORROW!!! What more needs to be said? I'm done with school!

p.s. I wish there was something more forceful than an exclamation point to show my excitement!

Hate

I am struggling with hate issues. Last night at Bible study we went over Philippians 2 and it really convicted me. We talked about service vs. slavery, in that when someone performs a service, they usually expect something in return, whereas when someone is a slave, they don't expect anything for their work. Sure, the slave may get something for their actions, but they aren't expecting it. We were talking about how we need to be in "slavery" to people more often, in that we shouldn't expect someone to say thank-you for holding the door open for them, so that we aren't doing the right things for the wrong reasons. We were talking about how we needed to be in service/slavery to people that aren't nice to us, or our enemies, to put it in biblical terms.

Anyway, this really convicted me that I need to be in service to an acquaintance of mine.
I've known her for a long while, eight years, but the friendship has been mostly one-sided. I was not treated very well, but I kept loving her, helping her, taking care of her, and the like. You know, things that best friends do. We recently had a falling out when she started to bash my fiance and tell me all sorts of lies about him and my family and me. I was careful not to hurt her in return as she told me these things (do you have ANY idea how DIFFICULT that was?) and I told her simply that I was not going to be her friend anymore.

My problem now is, after a series of events, I hate her. I've never truly hated anyone. No one in this world should be able to be given so much and not improve at all. She doesn't care, she doesn't feel, and I hate her for it. I hate her for hurting me for so long and not caring. I hate her, and that scares me. I have had horrible dreams about her ever since that last conversation. I think I still do care somewhat, only because when you love someone you give them a piece of your heart. But I don't want these dreams and thoughts to continue. I want them to go away. I want to stop feeling this way toward her. I don't like bristling at the sound of her name, or something she says, or something that reminds me of her. I've prayed about it, I know I did the right thing, so why is this bothering me?

Graduation!

I graduate in 17 days! Woot! Needless to say, the senioritis is getting worse by the day. The larger the project, the worse the disease. I have an abstract, an annotated bibliography, and two pages of a research paper due Thursday. I need one more source for the bib, I didn't really fix the abstract, and I'm struggling to make myself write the half page that's left to make two pages. It's so hard to finish schoolwork at the end of the year. You'd think that the closer the end got, the harder you'd work to make it go away faster. The truth is, the closer the end gets, the harder it is to do the tasks. Maybe I'll go write the dance paper that's due tomorrow - that's easy enough. It'll make me feel like I got something done.

I need to call all of the family to invite them to the graduation ceremony, which is May 9. I picked up my cap and gown and tassel on Friday. I'm surprised at the color of the cap and gown - it's very pretty. I can't wait to be sitting in the auditorium listening to the boring speeches that precede the long list of names before mine, then walk across the stage, shake the hand of a man I don't even know, and hope to catch a glimpse of my family, friends, and favorite professor as I walk back to my seat. It's going to be so great!

Well, I need to force myself to work on my research paper. Talk to you later.

Dance, Josh, and Chris

I only called my dance teacher silly so I wouldn't use a bad word. I actually have several bad words to describe her. I don't understand her grading system at all. On the first test, I made a 79. I was livid, so say the least, because I had read all THREE chapters (twice) that the test covered, I studied my notes from class and the review that we had in class and I STILL made a 79. On the second test, I made a 114. There were a few extra credit questions, but I didn't get every problem on the test right. On this test, I made a 131. This time there were fewer extra credit questions and I got a few problems wrong. I don't know who she thinks she is, but she is not a good professor. Period. I'm convinced that the Dean that sat in on our class that day would have fired her if Sarah (a classmate) had not begged her to not to kill the class. I know it sounds as if I'm upset with my 100+ grades, which I'm not, but I don't know where the extra points came from, and I have no idea how I'm doing in the class. When teachers give bogus grades like that, it is impossible to track your grades. She doesn't grade the video papers like that, so why does she grade the tests like that?

My weekend with Josh was amazing. The honors ceremonies weren't too terribly boring. I got to spend a lot of time with his family; they came up on Saturday morning. Josh and I played Canasta with Nana and Paw on Saturday evening while his family was at their hotel. After lunch on Sunday, all of the family sat down together and we played Taboo. Taboo is quite possibly my all-time favorite party game.

I'm feeling bad for my best friend, Christina. She's feeling as if everyone around her is getting engaged. Most of the class before us is engaged and a few of our class are also engaged and she's feeling left out. Her boyfriend is acting strangely about the whole thing. From what it sounds like, to me, he's avoiding the whole engagement thing. He told her that once he got a firefighting job, he'd propose. He has that job now. Then he said that she had to get a job making $10-$12 an hour so that she could buy a car. A job that pays that well without a degree is hard enough to find, but when you don't have a car, it's next to impossible. Then he said that he has to save up for an apartment before he buys the ring because he's simply tired of living at his parent's house. I'm smart enough to know that more money can be saved faster when living at the parent's house. He seems to be putting everything in front of them being together and she's getting frustrated. Every time they talk about it, they get into an argument. I think he's being ridiculous. He's hurting her and he doesn't care. He's not trying to comfort her at all, he's not trying to encourage her; he's pursuing his own wants and desires. He says that he wants to marry her and that he can't wait, but he's not acting at all like he really feels that way. I'm not sure what to tell her. I want to make her feel better, but I can't. I don't know how to comfort her in this situation. It's also hard because she's my maid of honor, my florist, and my wedding planner. She wants to be all those things, but it also refreshes the feelings of jealousy and hurt. I really want to make her feel better but I don't know how. I'm sorry, Chris. I'm at a loss.

School and Work

My silly dance teacher walked into class eleven minutes late on Wednesday. She walked in the room and said, "Sorry I'm late. We're going to move the test to Friday and finish watching the Merce Cunningham video today." I was mad. When I prepare for a test, I want to take it. Two of my classmates didn't study (which they want me to do for them) so they opted to skip that day and take the makeup test instead. I told them it would be better not to, but they went anyway. I don't mind helping them study, but I'm not going to study for them. Partially why I was mad about the test being moved is because it gave those two a second chance. As I said before, I don't study for people. I will help them if they have questions, but they have to study on their own.

Part of why they don't study is because our professor talks through everything so fast that they claim they can't take notes, so they don't even try. They'll read a book or fall asleep or do other things. One of them actually does pay attention most of the time, but she doesn't ever take notes. They expect me to let them use my notes, since I'm their friend, to study from and I don't let them do it. I don't like that they expect it of me. It's just rude. And lazy.

I have not gotten much sleep the past two nights because of the storms. I'm noticing myself becoming more grouchy during the day and I don't like it. I try really hard not to be grouchy and just when I think I've got it controlled, I unexpectedly snap at someone. I don't like it when I'm this way and I'm trying my hardest to not be so irritable.

My English presentation went very well today. There were a few hitches in the technical department, but that's to be expected. Everyone said their lines really well, and though we didn't speak particularly fast, we got through the entire Sleepy Hollow Jeopardy game rather quickly. I'll post the pictures on here as soon as I get them. We had a blast.

I'm off to eat lunch before work. Speaking of work, I finished my VA tests, which means that that section of training is done, which means I get a fifty cent raise! WOOT!

I Got A New Haircut!

Here are some pics of the new 'do - which I am LOVING!







Christina recommended me to a woman named Mikki. I would recommend her to anyone. I brought some pictures and I told her what I was looking for. She did an excellent job on my hair. I am so happy with it. It looks great both up and down. I can't wait to play with it some more and see what I can do with it. I especially can't wait to show Josh this weekend! *grin*

Wish me luck on my dance test tomorrow!

Wedding Thoughts and Research Paper Ideas

Thank you all for your input. I needed to hear what people were thinking.

I haven't been planning anything recently. I don't want to become Bridezilla. I told myself not to mess with stuff until I graduate, which is in 33 days. The only things that HAVE to be done this summer is deciding on a place to get married, reserve it, and find the bridesmaid's dresses. Since two of my bridesmaids will be out of town for college during the school year, I figured this would be the easiest way to get it all worked out. At Christmas break we can get their dresses altered if necessary, then they'll be all set. I decided to save every penny I can over the summer before I shop for my dress, that way I'll have a better idea of how much I have to spend on it.

I told my idea to my parents and my mom thinks that it would be better for Josh to pay for something like the photographer, but this is all irrelevant anyway. Josh said that since he's paying for the honeymoon, and we're going to Germany for a week, and since he's paying for other things for the wedding such as his tux, gifts, and the like, that he would have too much on his plate, so to speak, without adding the cost of the place. I told him that if that was the case, that we'd more than likely get married at Crossroads, even though it's half of the estimated budget. He said he still wants to look at other places, but I really don't see myself getting married elsewhere, simply because of cost. If I had to pick a place, I really do think it would be Crossroads. We get the most for our money, really.

At first, I was completely opposed to getting married at Crossroads. I can't even tell you why. But the more I talked with people, and upon reflection of the two weddings that I've been to at Crossroads, the more I started to realize how much of a gem it is. We will have the auditorium that seats 800+ people, so we won't have to worry about the size of the guest list. We will have the cafe, the huge room upstairs, the foyer upstairs and downstairs, the kitchen, and decorations for everything. We'll have plenty of room for everyone and there are three different ways we could do the reception. It also has the added bonus of location; it's really easy to get to and find, plus a lot of the people attending will already know how to get there. We also know for sure that wherever we are, there'll be a decent sound system available. The pros really do outweigh the cons. It's insane - I never thought I would feel this way.

I have an appointment with a florist tomorrow afternoon to get a quote. Christina used to work for them and she recommended them highly. We're most likely going to buy the flowers individually and have a flower-making party two days before the wedding, and store the flowers in the church fridge, if possible, since it's so big.

Right now, I'm wishing that it was April, 2009. Then I'd be fixing all the little things, making hair and nail appointments, and trying on my dress in anticipation. I'd have my dress. I can't wait to find my dress. *daydreams about dress*

I have an abstract for a research paper to write. The abstract is due Tuesday, and I haven't thought of a topic for my research paper yet. I'm going to see if I could follow the essay question from our midterm - the professor said it was ok to do that. The essay question that I chose were, as horrible as it sounds, women's rights in the 1600s. I argued that since most of the colonials were Puritan, the "good" Puritan woman had three rights. 1: submit to the authority of her husband, basically, what he says, goes. 2: submit to God and worship Him as often as possible. 3: care for her children, regardless of her or her children's physical condition or circumstance.

I used Mary Rowlandson as my example of a "perfect" Puritan woman. For those of you who don't know who she is, she was taken captive by the Native Americans who raided her town. She watched as most of her family were brutally murdered. Her husband was out of town during the raid, and she had one child in her arms, who was shot as she ran from her burning house, where most of her family were burning to death. She carried her sick child until the little one died. She was about six when she died. Rowlandson continued on with the Indians on different "removes." She wasn't fed well and resorted to begging for food from the natives who weren't housing her. The family she was kept by didn't treat her well. The wife hated her and made her do all of the dirty work, and punished Rowlandson for begging for food. The husband more than likely raped her multiple times. She was eventually traded for some goods by a man who was in contact with her husband. She and her husband and the few children who survived continued to live in the colonies.

I was going to make an argument that another of the females that we read about was not a good Puritan woman because she was a business woman, which was a no no. She made a long journey that a lot of young men had a difficult time making, accompanied only by the mail men that traveled that route. She wore pants when she rode her horse. She had at least two children, but was never married, at least at the point in the story that we read.

We also read about another woman who was a good Puritan woman, though she did nothing daring but write poetry. She had eight children and used poetry as her getaway. She was devoted to her husband and worshiped God incessantly. She had a lot of tragedy in her life, but she never blamed God or turned away from Him.

I'm not sure where else I would go with the Puritan women's rights, but that's why preliminary research must be done, which I am supposed to be doing now. I suppose I'll get back to it. Sorry it took me so long to post again. Enjoy the sun!

Frustrating

So I can now officially pencil in July 17th as the date of our wedding. That's the most solid thing I have planned so far. I've been doing a lot of thinking, discussing, and crying, and that's all I have to show for it so far.

This wedding planning thing is frustrating, only because of the money. Once again, money is controlling my life. I'm frustrated mostly at my parents (when I say parents, I mean my mother, since she's the one doing all the talking). I'm frustrated because when Josh asked for their blessing, my mom asked how much time he thought they had. He told them summer 2009 is what he was shooting for as far as a wedding date went. Mom said, "Ok, then we have some time to save." Do you know how much they've saved for the wedding in three months? NOT A PENNY. To be honest, it hurts. Bad. The one thing they can do for me is to give me a decent, not cheap looking wedding. Do they even care? Probably, but they suck at showing it. It feels as if they don't love me enough to save. I know they love me because that's what parents do. I don't feel like they love me, not because they don't have money for me to get married with, but because the only time I hear "I love you" is when there's a chance that I could die, such as driving to Austin and back.

My mom tells me that she doesn't have a budget planned out because she doesn't know how much wedding stuff costs. I start to tell her, and she tells me that she can't afford it. I never said she could, or that she had to, I was just answering her question.

Also, Josh wants to help out, but I don't want my parents to get offended. I have an idea that might work, but Josh says that I should wait a little while before I ask my parents what they think about it. My idea is that since Josh wants to get married somewhere other than Crossroads, and since that will cost more money, that Josh will pick the place and he can pay for it. That way, he'll get to help, and my parents will have more money in the budget for things like a photographer and my killer dress.

That's another thing. I want a killer dress. I want everyone to gasp when they see me. I want my fiance's jaw to hit the floor when I walk down the aisle. I'm not going to lie...I want all the guys in the room to be jealous of Josh. I don't want to spend a fortune on it, but I don't want to have to limit myself to the clearance section of every bridal shop.

I'm cutting corners in little ways to help the overall cost. Josh doesn't want a grooms cake. I'm going to use all of the bouquets for centerpieces at the reception. I'm having simple, yet elegant bouquets with six or seven flowers total in the bouquet. Any candles that are on stage will also be used in the reception area. The wedding is at 2:00 in the afternoon to avoid mealtime. I plan on buying meat, cheese, vegetable, and fruit trays for the hor o'deurves (or however you spell it). I plan on making the punch. I'm going to make my own wedding invitations. I'm even contemplating purchasing the flowers as flowers and making the corsages and boutonnières and bouquets with Christina. Josh and I decided that we would be old fashioned and give ourselves (all of ourselves, if you know what I mean) to each other for our wedding gift. I'm sure I'll develop more ways to cut corners here and there, but I won't do anything in such a way as to make the wedding look cheap.

That is what is most important to both Josh and I. We don't want the wedding to look cheap. We don't want people walking in and thinking to themselves, "Wow, this is a cheap wedding," or, "Yep. This is a Hawkins' wedding." I want people to see elegance and romance. I want, at the end of the day, people to say to themselves, "That was a beautiful wedding," and, "I saw both of the couple's personalities in the wedding," and, "That wedding really fit the two of them."

I can't please both my mother and Josh at the same time. My mother says that she doesn't care, but it's a lie. Usually when she says that, it's to invoke a guilt trip and make me do what she wants. For instance, my brothers are going to be ushers in the wedding. I told Josh that his groomsmen were his choice and that if he had a spot open and he couldn't find anyone to fill it, if he would ask John to fill the spot. John means a lot to me and I want to give him the best position I can, which is usher. Mom said that if Josh's brother (age 12) gets to be a groomsman than my brothers should be in an equal position. I told her what I told Josh and that I didn't feel that I was wrong in handling the situation. She said that she wasn't going to say that she was unhappy if my brothers weren't in the wedding, but that she would have a problem with that fact. I told her that being an usher was being in the wedding, as much as possible, anyway. I asked John how he felt; I asked him if he wanted to be a groomsman. His answer was, "Not really. I was a groomsman once and I nearly passed out. I don't want to risk taking the attention off of you because I have to sit down so I won't pass out." I asked him if he minded being an usher and he said, "Not at all. That way I'm still part of your wedding and doing something useful without risking anything." John said he talked with mom about it, but she still looks at me funny if the topic comes up.

I'm trying to plan as much of my wedding now so that I won't have to worry about anything when it gets closer to the wedding. We'll see how that works out.

I'm still praying about the Russia trip. I hope God tells me what I need to do quickly. Tom is starting to get on my nerves.

ENORMOUS NEWS!!!

As of Saturday, March 15th, Josh and I are engaged! He proposed at the highest point in Winter Park, on Parsenn Bowl. How did he do it? I'll tell you. I am afraid of heights, so the chair lifts always bother me, but even worse when it's windy, so going above the tree line was a feat for me. We got to the top and I was looking around at the beautiful scenery. Josh told me how cool it was that he and I met each other four years ago at the bottom of this mountain and now we're at the top. Then he said that I had blossomed beautifully and that he had blossomed in his own way, too. He said that it was neat that we had both blossomed even though we had grown in two different flower beds. Then he asked if I would like to share a flower bed. I said that I would, though I was thinking, "Yeah, one of these days." Then he started to fumble around in his coat pocket. All I could think was, "No way." He got down on one knee, with his snowboard still attached to his foot, and said, "Julie Ann, will you marry me?" Of course I pulled the typical girl response without even thinking and held my hands in front of my mouth and started to cry. I said yes and hugged him, then kissed him. He asked if I wanted to put it on then, and I did, so I did. It was too big for my ring finger, so to be safe I wore it on my middle finger until I got it sized.

Apparently he had been planning to do this for two years. Two years ago when we went to Winter Park with the church group as chaperons, he tried to get the group of us to go up to the bowl. I didn't want to go, so Kelley stayed with me in the warming hut. Josh said that at that moment, he decided that the top of the bowl was where he was going to propose to me. When we talked with Nathan this year about going as chaperons again, he said that he didn't need any more. Luckily, Josh planned for such an occasion and started saving two years ago for a ski trip. And a ring. He asked my parents for their blessing under the guise of him asking if it was ok for me to go skiing with him. They, of course, gave him their blessing. This was back in January. My parents gave me no indication that they knew, nor did his parents. I was completely blindsided. I had no idea whatsoever. It was amazing and ultra romantic.

We're getting married next summer, 2009. I'm trying to get as much planning done as I can as soon as I can so that I know when I need to get things done by. I'm trying not to worry about it too much, but to take my time in doing things. Right now my primary concern is reserving a place. Josh isn't too happy about using Crossroads because he doesn't think it will be pretty enough. I'm not too keen on Crossroads either, but if it's the cheapest place, we may have to settle for it. I've been researching wedding chapels online and there are a few that I would like to visit. Planning this wedding without Josh is going to be difficult, especially since he wants a say in things. He'll be in North Carolina most of the summer and at school the rest of the time between summers. I'm sure we'll be able to work everything out, though.

I can't wait to be married. I can't wait to take care of him and love him every day, to cook for him and clean up after him and even do his laundry! I know it sounds silly, but loving my husband in the little ways is what I want to do. Until then, I'll take care of my fiance to the best of my abilities.

I have to work tomorrow, so I should get to sleep. I'll talk to you all later!

Exciting Weekend!

This weekend, the second half of my Christmas present is being given to me. My amazing boyfriend is taking me to Winter Park, CO for a long weekend of skiing! We leave Thursday and come back on Monday. I LOVE to ski, as does he; we met on the slopes. Not really on the slopes, but we were both on the church ski trip. I am going to challenge myself and get my skiing level up. The plan is to ski nothing but blues. It's going to be great! I am so excited it's not even funny.

I submitted a piece for the April Perennial Writing Contest, the one I won fourth place in two years ago. I'll post it later if you like. If it wins, I'll definitely post it on here.

I won't post until our return. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!

Brief Update

My weekend with Josh was amazing! It was the best Valentine's Day ever (even though it wasn't on Valentine's).

I've been sick all weekend and don't really feel up to a long update, so I'll summarize.

The Dean of Staff at my school talked to Sarah, the classmate who has had the most problems with the teacher, and spoke with her about what the teacher was doing and so on. The Dean volunteered her time that day to sit in class and observe the teacher. From what Sarah said, the Dean wasn't pleased with the teacher at all. I suppose Monday's class will be an interesting one.

I took the test in dance even though I had vomited that morning and could barely stand up without getting dizzy. That was an experience.

I'm feeling better now. I'm able to hold down food. I can't stand up for long periods of time. I can't eat large quantities of food. I'm still on the bland diet that the doctor told me to be on. I hope I feel well enough to go to Pinewood tomorrow. We'll see.

Russia stuff is crazy. John is now on the team, which means the Hawkins' have to raise $7,000. NOT fun. It also seems not very likely, either.

I can't wait for spring break. Can't wait.

68 days 'til graduation!!!

I get to see my boyfriend in a week and a half! I'm so excited! I can't wait. We're going to celebrate Valentine's that weekend, too. It will be fun as always to see Nana and Paw and their dog, Dudley, and play Canasta and maybe Phase 10 with them. I love going to see Nana and Paw. I always have so much fun there.

I don't really have much to post about. We had a mutiny in our dance class on Monday. That was fun. I really hate it when the students (all but two of whom agree) try to make a suggestion to a teacher and all they do is fight and act all defensive. It's a long story that I'd rather not get into again. Let's just say that the professor is making the tests way hard and not lecturing on the information at all, and doesn't think that she's doing anything wrong. If she doesn't change at all in two weeks, a few of us from class might go to the Dean with it. If my grades suffer because of the way that the class is taught, I'll just drop the class. That may sound arrogant, but consider this: on the last test, I read all four chapters, twice, that the test covered, I was there for the review, and I studied my notes. I guessed on about half of the questions. That should NEVER happen. If a student performs all of the necessary study duties and is still confused on the test, then there is something wrong with the way the professor is teaching. I really hope that the professor changes the way she's teaching because I would like to keep my record of never having dropped a class.

Comments

You know, blogging is only therapeutic when people comment.

*subliminal message: Comments are EXTREMELY encouraged*

That is all.

I HATE Girls

That's right. I said it. I HATE GIRLS. They're moody, uncontrollable, and hard as hell to figure out. I have girl problems. I always have. Girls cause drama. I hate drama. Apparently it is a requirement that I can not have a girl friend without them hating me at some point. Most of them have left me. Another one might. Christina, you might as well get out while you can. No, I'm not a boy, and no, I'm not a lesbian. I AM a girl and I can't figure us out. They usually get mad at me over something stupid. Like right now, I have a friend who ignored me completely at the Super Bowl party that the college group had; it was so bad that she called a friend of hers so that she could have someone to talk to (she admitted to that one). All this because she thinks that I stole the credit for a recipe that she brought. DRAMA CENTRAL. I hate drama. Let me say it a third time. I HATE drama.

I had a horrid week last week. Absolutely horrible. It started on Monday and only got worse from there. Homework on top of homework on top of reading assignments on top of programming assignments on top of the need to write letters for Russia and a bunch of other stuff that I don't feel like typing out. Wednesday night my computer was acting funny and I knew I had a virus of some sort. Friday morning, it was discovered that I had one spyware, one adware, and FOUR (4) trojans on my system. Thanks to my parents (I mean both of them this time), my system is back up and running, trojan and virus free. Huzzah!

Sigh.

I'm tired of being stressed and/or sick and/or upset. Why can't I just live a relatively stress-free life by going to class, going to work, and seeing my boyfriend about once a month (maybe that's part of it?)? Seriously though, I wish my life weren't so stressful. For whatever reason, it's the little things that bug me. Like the fight with my girl friend. The subject of the fight isn't worth anything. It's stupid. Just like everything else, it's an iceberg. There's way more stuff underneath that's the cause of the stress or argument. I thought life wasn't supposed to get hard until after college.

Well, I seem to have acquired another headache, so I will have to leave for now. I should be able to post either tomorrow or Friday. Maybe both will happen. Who knows?

Let Me Take You There

Plain White T's

Listen Here (CTRL + click)

I know a place that we can go to
A place where no one knows you
They won't know who we are
I know a place that we can run to
And do those things we want to
They won't know who we are

Let me take you there
I wanna take you there

I know a place that we'd forgotten
A place we won't get caught in
They wont know who we are
I know a place where we can hide out
And turn our hearts inside out
They won't know who we are

Let me take you there
I wanna take you there
Let me take you there
Take you there
Take you there

I know a place we'll be together
A stay this young forever
They won't know who we are

Let me take you there
I wanna take you there
Let me take you there
Take you there
Take you there

We can get away
To a better place
If you just let me take you there
We can go there now
'Cause every second counts
Girl just let me take you there

Take you there

Life Check

It's been almost a week since I posted last...

I've been working a lot. At least it feels like a lot. I got my paycheck today. Much to my surprise, it was more than I thought it would be, so I won't have a problem buying all of my remaining textbooks or filling up my car. That made my day so much better.

For whatever reason, I've been tired very recently. Everyone at work has been too, so I'm blaming El Niño...I mean, the weather. I can also blame the fact that I haven't been sleeping very well. I've had these weird dreams that kept my mind very active so I felt as if I hadn't gotten any sleep that night.

My muscles are sore from working out. My legs are feeling more muscular to the touch, but they only look different if I flex. It's weird. I'm not any closer to winning my toning contest with Josh and we're just over halfway through it. I'll find a way to beat him, just you wait.

I have some homework to do. I'll post in a day or two if I can.

Busy at Work

I was at work from 7:30 to 16:00 today. I stayed between shifts and watched the videos that I need to see (or in my case, re-see) to pass my veterinary assistant training. Susan is making me re-take all of my VA training. It's really stupid. After I finish my VA training I'll get a 50 cent raise. That'll help with the money stuff. I've been a lot less stressed today. I think working helps to take my mind off of things.

This week has felt so long. It feels like school will never be over. I think I have "senioritis" even though I'm not completely finished with school. A lack of desire to even be in class is present. Even Souder's class isn't as fun as it used to be; I blame the fact that I'm the only Souderite left in the class. Souder, my English teacher, had a group of about 7 students that followed her from the time she started teaching English at NCTC to the time they left the school. Every class that she taught, they took as many as possible. We call ourselves Souderites. Some of us have followed her to another school that she teaches at. She's just that great of a teacher; to have a following that loyal is incredible.

I have to admit that I'm surprised at the lack of commenting. I go through this huge, serious, i-need-comments-to-know-what-to-do-or-at-least-know-that-people-care ordeal, and I get nothing. I know I didn't post that often, but i figured someone would have checked within the past week.

Anyhoo, I hope you all are doing alright. Have a great weekend!

Money Sucks

I hate money. I hate the fact that the whole world depends on it. I hate that it is absolutely required for life to be lived. I hate that everyone needs it, wants it, and can't get enough of it. I hate that there are some of us that don't have it and may not get to work the next day because they don't have it to put gas in their car.

Sorry. I'm a little panicked right now. Money is extremely tight right now. I had to use all of my savings (the pitiful amount that was there) to buy one text book that my teacher said we needed ASAP. We didn't even use it on Wednesday, the second day of class. I need three more textbooks and I don't get paid for a week. My Dad's paycheck comes in on Friday, but my parents are so far in the red that they may use most of it to bring themselves up to even. I don't have enough money in my account to put a half-tank of gas in my car and my gas light is on. My next paycheck will be superb since I will have covered other people's shifts for them, but payday isn't until next Thursday.

Grr! Frustration! Panic!

I've prayed about it. I've tried not to worry. It's stressful. I work the next three days in a row. I can only buy $20 worth of gas. I hate being poor (by American standards). It feels like a curse. Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve this, but it wasn't anything that I did. My parents screwed up years ago. They're the ones being punished for their mistake, but it affects more than just them.

Money sucks.

First Day of Class

Today was a busy day. I went to my weight training class, prepared to have to sit through the explanation of the syllabus. I wasn't even through the door when the professor looked at me and told me that I didn't have to listen to the syllabus, so I could just go work out. I didn't bring any clothes, so I went home and changed, then worked out. The parking lot at the school (which is across the street from the gym) was packed, so I ended up staying in the parking lot by the gym and walked to school from there. The walk isn't a bad one at all and I don't mind it. Anyway, I had to go straight from school to work, where I changed again into my work uniform. Work was completely uneventful, though I did get to see my first x-ray of puppies inside the womb. After work I changed back into my real clothes, got some dinner at Sonic, and went to Bible study.

Life is frustrating. Money is really tight for my family and for myself at the moment, so we have no money to buy my school books with. I'm not sure how I'm going to get the supplies that I need. I need staff paper for my music class and two journals on top of the textbooks needed. I'm too tired to fuss about it right now.

Here's my class schedule, then I'm going to bed:

MWF:
9:30-10:50 - Weight Training II (only on MW, not on F)
11:00-11:50 - Music Fundamentals
13:00-14:00 - Dance Apppreciation
TR:
9:30-10:50 - American Lit (with my favorite English professor, Donna Souder!)
18:00-21:00 - Game and Simulation (a computer programming class, on T only)

This should be an interesting last semester at NCTC. I'm glad I get to end it with Souder. She's the best professor ever.