Monday, February 14, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
This is for me.
So I'm re-reading my blog posts from this past year (and being completely horrified, since my professional writing class has taught me a lot about proper writing) and liked the one entry I did on the classes I took last semester. I want to do another, so I can remember it for years to come.
Spanish III: Honestly, the biggest joke of my life. The professor is from Spain and doesn't speak English very well, but it bothers her to speak Spanish slowly, so she ends up teaching in English. Which is incredibly helpful. Anyway, it's legitimately funny. I end up giggling at the silly things she has us go around the room saying (today, it was 'tengo las bananas, yo las tengo). 8 a.m. has never been so hilarious.
Public Speaking: For some reason, I'm always in a bad mood in this class. I think the professor just gives me bad vibes or something and I'm usually too snappy to really speak up, which is a bad thing for a public speaking class. Still unsure how this will commence but I've heard he's an easy grader.
Editing: Eh, it's mostly busy work but I'm learning a lot about publishing and editors. It's not so much on the grammar side, which is a bummer because I wasn't ever really taught the rules. The teacher is kind of a flake, too but easy to ignore. Basically, it's interesting material, but a rather boring class.
Professional Writing: this one will be a toughie. The professor is a very hard grader, but it's because she's so good at what she does. She is absolutely brilliant on all rules regarding writing and really just knows her stuff all around. Again, mostly busy work, but I actually try pretty hard to get a good grade.
Small Group: will be the death of me. I love the class, absolutely, but it's tough stuff. I know the professor pretty well, she's the advisor for Comm Club, and I adore her. The thing is, we only have 5 big projects, that we have to do in groups she assigned the first week. It's sort of the scariest thing in the world to count so heavily on 4 other people, but we'll see how this turns out. So far, though, it's my favorite class.
Okay, just wanted that for years to come. Goodnight!
Spanish III: Honestly, the biggest joke of my life. The professor is from Spain and doesn't speak English very well, but it bothers her to speak Spanish slowly, so she ends up teaching in English. Which is incredibly helpful. Anyway, it's legitimately funny. I end up giggling at the silly things she has us go around the room saying (today, it was 'tengo las bananas, yo las tengo). 8 a.m. has never been so hilarious.
Public Speaking: For some reason, I'm always in a bad mood in this class. I think the professor just gives me bad vibes or something and I'm usually too snappy to really speak up, which is a bad thing for a public speaking class. Still unsure how this will commence but I've heard he's an easy grader.
Editing: Eh, it's mostly busy work but I'm learning a lot about publishing and editors. It's not so much on the grammar side, which is a bummer because I wasn't ever really taught the rules. The teacher is kind of a flake, too but easy to ignore. Basically, it's interesting material, but a rather boring class.
Professional Writing: this one will be a toughie. The professor is a very hard grader, but it's because she's so good at what she does. She is absolutely brilliant on all rules regarding writing and really just knows her stuff all around. Again, mostly busy work, but I actually try pretty hard to get a good grade.
Small Group: will be the death of me. I love the class, absolutely, but it's tough stuff. I know the professor pretty well, she's the advisor for Comm Club, and I adore her. The thing is, we only have 5 big projects, that we have to do in groups she assigned the first week. It's sort of the scariest thing in the world to count so heavily on 4 other people, but we'll see how this turns out. So far, though, it's my favorite class.
Okay, just wanted that for years to come. Goodnight!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Life is like...
A ball of yarn. I figured if I put that as a full title, no one would read this at all. Gotcha!
For those of you who don't know, I have taken up knitting. The scarf I started a solid month ago is starting to look more like a blanket than a scarf, but it's something to do. Plus, a part of the process that I weirdly enjoy is taking the big thing of yarn they sell you (yeah, the professional term) and rolling it into a tight ball that's easier to use and tote around to various activities. Well, today marked the absolute most frustrating time I have ever had with yarn. It's not saying much, but it says enough.
I took the beautiful cream colored yarn I purchased with my wonderful mother on Friday and started to quickly unravel it so I could pull it into a ball. Yes, a very boring process, you might think, but satisfying as well. Then, I literally hit a snag. I tried to take the easy way out and just pull it all at once. Apparently, yarn doesn't like that. I got the queen of all knots. It took me an hour to make it into the queen of all queens. My fingers were itching towards the scissors, desperate for anything to end the knot. But, I didn't want to waste a whole thing of yarn. So I kept on. Finally, I had to legitimately leave my apartment and go to the grocery store because I was ready to throw the whole thing out the window. I came back and went back to it. 2 hours later, I could see the end of the knot, a possible way out. 30 minutes after that, fingers sore and mind frazzled, I had this:
Okay, so that could possibly be the longest story about yarn of all time, but as I sat on the couch, hunched over the largest knot in all creation, I realized that this stupid yarn with its knots, is like my life.
It is full of problems (knots), just basic tangles that make up my life. Stress from school, drama with friends, and just all around madness that pull me in 18 different directions until I am so wound up, I am useless and frustrating. It takes time for me to pull back, take some time for myself, maybe even leave for a bit, before I can come back and really tackle what's in front of me. It's hard to do, especially for someone who is used to taking the easy way out only to find herself in a much more difficult situation. To work so hard at something, even if it's something as pointless as yarn, is the most demanding thing anyone could face.
Now, yes, that is a mixed metaphor. Am I the yarn or am I the person pulling apart the yarn? I'd say both, only because I don't want to go back and change it. The bottom line is that sometimes, all it takes is the smallest snag to send me into a whirlwind of trouble. Occasionally, I just need to slow down, not watch the Superbowl, and make some pudding.
Okay, realizations, yarn, metaphors over, life can just be a bunch of nuts sometimes and the tough part is figuring out how to deal. I hope you can appreciate that from one of the nuttiest nuts of all. Thanks.
P.S. Yikes, I can't believe you actually read all that.
For those of you who don't know, I have taken up knitting. The scarf I started a solid month ago is starting to look more like a blanket than a scarf, but it's something to do. Plus, a part of the process that I weirdly enjoy is taking the big thing of yarn they sell you (yeah, the professional term) and rolling it into a tight ball that's easier to use and tote around to various activities. Well, today marked the absolute most frustrating time I have ever had with yarn. It's not saying much, but it says enough.
I took the beautiful cream colored yarn I purchased with my wonderful mother on Friday and started to quickly unravel it so I could pull it into a ball. Yes, a very boring process, you might think, but satisfying as well. Then, I literally hit a snag. I tried to take the easy way out and just pull it all at once. Apparently, yarn doesn't like that. I got the queen of all knots. It took me an hour to make it into the queen of all queens. My fingers were itching towards the scissors, desperate for anything to end the knot. But, I didn't want to waste a whole thing of yarn. So I kept on. Finally, I had to legitimately leave my apartment and go to the grocery store because I was ready to throw the whole thing out the window. I came back and went back to it. 2 hours later, I could see the end of the knot, a possible way out. 30 minutes after that, fingers sore and mind frazzled, I had this:
Okay, so that could possibly be the longest story about yarn of all time, but as I sat on the couch, hunched over the largest knot in all creation, I realized that this stupid yarn with its knots, is like my life.
It is full of problems (knots), just basic tangles that make up my life. Stress from school, drama with friends, and just all around madness that pull me in 18 different directions until I am so wound up, I am useless and frustrating. It takes time for me to pull back, take some time for myself, maybe even leave for a bit, before I can come back and really tackle what's in front of me. It's hard to do, especially for someone who is used to taking the easy way out only to find herself in a much more difficult situation. To work so hard at something, even if it's something as pointless as yarn, is the most demanding thing anyone could face.
Now, yes, that is a mixed metaphor. Am I the yarn or am I the person pulling apart the yarn? I'd say both, only because I don't want to go back and change it. The bottom line is that sometimes, all it takes is the smallest snag to send me into a whirlwind of trouble. Occasionally, I just need to slow down, not watch the Superbowl, and make some pudding.
Okay, realizations, yarn, metaphors over, life can just be a bunch of nuts sometimes and the tough part is figuring out how to deal. I hope you can appreciate that from one of the nuttiest nuts of all. Thanks.
P.S. Yikes, I can't believe you actually read all that.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
I can haz birfday?
Just a very quick HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the most amazing mom a girl could want or need. I love you so much and couldn't ever say that enough. Golly, you are just too wonderful for words.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
I'm so impressionable.
Sorry for this post, blame the weather and lack of society in my life right now.
Okay, so I just watched the Social Network, which is freaking good as all get out, it deserves all awards. And of course, as soon as the credits started to scroll, I panicked.
Why don't I have that kind of talent? How can this kid, who was younger than me when he created it, have this ability to create something that I log on to at least once a day? He knows computers and codes and websites and so much more and I know...books? Jeez, I feel like I can't even say that because I had to rewind and put on subtitles for the Jabberwocky allusion that he so brilliantly mocked.
I've always shouldered the grief given to me for having a pretty pointless major. The immediate question of if I'll be a teacher once I graduate, because honestly that is all you can with an English degree. I've even felt a little smarmy and superior because my major is intellectual and complicated (yeah, I know) and these people who ask me those inane questions just don't understand. But then there are people like Mark Zuckerber, who drunkenly creates a website, works hard for a few months and then becomes a billionaire, all because he was good at programming and had an idea. Why don't I have that brain power?
Okay, it's more than just the money thing. I honestly marvel at things like computers and technology all the time. Not even that, basically anything that I'm not a particular connoisseur of, I am flabbergasted about. Science, math, history, medicine, even English at times leave me all with a sense of idiotic wonderment. Perhaps that's why I've developed a pretentious attitude towards anyone who pastes a smile on their face when I say English as my major. Really, I just totally get it.
Phew. Sorry. I just needed to get that little rant out of my system. No doubt I'll start classes and wholeheartedly remember why is Literature is so much better than everything else and all will be well in Who-ville. Anyway, I think everyone should watch the Social Network. It's excellent.
Okay, so I just watched the Social Network, which is freaking good as all get out, it deserves all awards. And of course, as soon as the credits started to scroll, I panicked.
Why don't I have that kind of talent? How can this kid, who was younger than me when he created it, have this ability to create something that I log on to at least once a day? He knows computers and codes and websites and so much more and I know...books? Jeez, I feel like I can't even say that because I had to rewind and put on subtitles for the Jabberwocky allusion that he so brilliantly mocked.
I've always shouldered the grief given to me for having a pretty pointless major. The immediate question of if I'll be a teacher once I graduate, because honestly that is all you can with an English degree. I've even felt a little smarmy and superior because my major is intellectual and complicated (yeah, I know) and these people who ask me those inane questions just don't understand. But then there are people like Mark Zuckerber, who drunkenly creates a website, works hard for a few months and then becomes a billionaire, all because he was good at programming and had an idea. Why don't I have that brain power?
Okay, it's more than just the money thing. I honestly marvel at things like computers and technology all the time. Not even that, basically anything that I'm not a particular connoisseur of, I am flabbergasted about. Science, math, history, medicine, even English at times leave me all with a sense of idiotic wonderment. Perhaps that's why I've developed a pretentious attitude towards anyone who pastes a smile on their face when I say English as my major. Really, I just totally get it.
Phew. Sorry. I just needed to get that little rant out of my system. No doubt I'll start classes and wholeheartedly remember why is Literature is so much better than everything else and all will be well in Who-ville. Anyway, I think everyone should watch the Social Network. It's excellent.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Ring in the New Year!
So this post is NOT just because I have a precious kitten sprawled across my lap, forcing me to stay put on my bed instead of eating breakfast, reading, or just getting up in general.
I wanted to do my resolutions, because ahah! This year I will have them. Here we go:
1. Actually read my textbooks and notes in the weeks leading up to the tests, not just the few days before. And stop reading my kindle instead.
2. Drink good coffee for pleasure, not just caffeine (my new baby espresso maker will probs help this).
3. Stop biting my nails. Again.
4. Eat healthier, for goodness sakes. Nothing sucks more than ending a week and realizing I haven't had a single vegetable. Shudder at the thought.
5. Be nicer. In general.
6. Ugh, be less obnoxious in class. Not everyone needs to know how smart I am.
7. Church, Bible, and basically the Lord more. Focus, focus, focus and it really does help.
8. Remind everyone I love that I do love them. I love you.
9. Finish all DIY's I started and start more. Then finish those, too.
10. Stick to my new hobbies (knitting, playing guitar, and learning to cook)
Eh, so most of them aren't huge life changers, but they're important. Luckily for me, I've never viewed resolutions as absolutes, so these may change as well. Bottom line, as it should be for everyone, I gotta stay happy. It's all I can do. Hopefully, these will help. Again, I love all of you and honestly could not have gotten through 2010 without you. Let's try to do the same for '11. Oh, score, kitten woke up. Time for more (good) coffee and breakfast!
I wanted to do my resolutions, because ahah! This year I will have them. Here we go:
1. Actually read my textbooks and notes in the weeks leading up to the tests, not just the few days before. And stop reading my kindle instead.
2. Drink good coffee for pleasure, not just caffeine (my new baby espresso maker will probs help this).
3. Stop biting my nails. Again.
4. Eat healthier, for goodness sakes. Nothing sucks more than ending a week and realizing I haven't had a single vegetable. Shudder at the thought.
5. Be nicer. In general.
6. Ugh, be less obnoxious in class. Not everyone needs to know how smart I am.
7. Church, Bible, and basically the Lord more. Focus, focus, focus and it really does help.
8. Remind everyone I love that I do love them. I love you.
9. Finish all DIY's I started and start more. Then finish those, too.
10. Stick to my new hobbies (knitting, playing guitar, and learning to cook)
Eh, so most of them aren't huge life changers, but they're important. Luckily for me, I've never viewed resolutions as absolutes, so these may change as well. Bottom line, as it should be for everyone, I gotta stay happy. It's all I can do. Hopefully, these will help. Again, I love all of you and honestly could not have gotten through 2010 without you. Let's try to do the same for '11. Oh, score, kitten woke up. Time for more (good) coffee and breakfast!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Baby, you're a firework.
I have absolutely noooo motivation for finals. Thus a blog post. Well, that and it's been weeks (AGAIN!)
Yep, within a mere 8 days, I will be finished will my fall semester. Crazy, but good heavens it couldn't come sooner. Seriously, I thought this semester would be my downfall, the reason I end up in a crazy bin, but then poof, it's over. Gotta love college and the way it's continuously surprising you...
Whatever, I'm so over talking about it all and it hasn't even started. I'm basically the one person who has a final on the last day possible to take them and I have to take one in almost ever class. Woohoo...I luckily am fairly confident that if I get all the studying done I need to do I might actually come out from this insane few months with some pretty decent grades to show. At least, that's what my crossed fingers keep telling me.
Golly, okay the real reason I wanted to post, before all this finals talk. It's something that's been on my mind for awhile and I just wrote a blog about how happy I am. Seriously, I am so freakin good with this life I've got. However, me being me, I'm starting to feel odd about it. A few days ago, I got coffee with a friend of mine who I haven't seen in awhile and he totally dumped all over me with his problems. He has recently decided to do a 180 on what he wants to do with his life but still has no idea what to do with himself now. Basically, he's lost. At first, I felt for him, really. I couldn't imagine doing that and not knowing what I was going to do with my life at all. Then I got a little irritated.
To me, happiness is a choice, your life is a choice. You can choose to wallow, to be lost or you can pick yourself up, get some dang perspective and move on. Well, I tried to relay that to my friend with somewhat disastrous results, but I still think he actually heard me. Of course the real irony of this is sometimes it's really hard for me to follow this advice myself, as is my custom. But the bottom line is that I KNOW that everyone is capable of making a good life for themselves. It might take some time, days or even years, but we are just so adept as a race at turning situations around and yet so often we choose to just lay down and take it. So I get irritated when people I know decide to do that when I am so sure they know better.
Anyway, the real moral of this story that I keep going back to is that I am so dang lucky to be so happy. Yes there are some really down days or even weeks, but who doesn't have that. I have learned to just process it, whatever it is, and just go back to my normal, pretty darn happy self. I'm glad to have that.
Sorry if this post was a little bleh, but my brain is a little fried and panicky due to all the massive amounts of work I have to accomplish over the next few days. Anyway, that's all for now, folks.
P.S. You're a big part of why I'm happy.
Yep, within a mere 8 days, I will be finished will my fall semester. Crazy, but good heavens it couldn't come sooner. Seriously, I thought this semester would be my downfall, the reason I end up in a crazy bin, but then poof, it's over. Gotta love college and the way it's continuously surprising you...
Whatever, I'm so over talking about it all and it hasn't even started. I'm basically the one person who has a final on the last day possible to take them and I have to take one in almost ever class. Woohoo...I luckily am fairly confident that if I get all the studying done I need to do I might actually come out from this insane few months with some pretty decent grades to show. At least, that's what my crossed fingers keep telling me.
Golly, okay the real reason I wanted to post, before all this finals talk. It's something that's been on my mind for awhile and I just wrote a blog about how happy I am. Seriously, I am so freakin good with this life I've got. However, me being me, I'm starting to feel odd about it. A few days ago, I got coffee with a friend of mine who I haven't seen in awhile and he totally dumped all over me with his problems. He has recently decided to do a 180 on what he wants to do with his life but still has no idea what to do with himself now. Basically, he's lost. At first, I felt for him, really. I couldn't imagine doing that and not knowing what I was going to do with my life at all. Then I got a little irritated.
To me, happiness is a choice, your life is a choice. You can choose to wallow, to be lost or you can pick yourself up, get some dang perspective and move on. Well, I tried to relay that to my friend with somewhat disastrous results, but I still think he actually heard me. Of course the real irony of this is sometimes it's really hard for me to follow this advice myself, as is my custom. But the bottom line is that I KNOW that everyone is capable of making a good life for themselves. It might take some time, days or even years, but we are just so adept as a race at turning situations around and yet so often we choose to just lay down and take it. So I get irritated when people I know decide to do that when I am so sure they know better.
Anyway, the real moral of this story that I keep going back to is that I am so dang lucky to be so happy. Yes there are some really down days or even weeks, but who doesn't have that. I have learned to just process it, whatever it is, and just go back to my normal, pretty darn happy self. I'm glad to have that.
Sorry if this post was a little bleh, but my brain is a little fried and panicky due to all the massive amounts of work I have to accomplish over the next few days. Anyway, that's all for now, folks.
P.S. You're a big part of why I'm happy.
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