Do the stressed, pouty dance

So... it's another late night here in Boston. I manage to procrastinate just enough on the right things that lead me to stress, panic, and start chewing on my own hair. Last spring, I pulled an all-nighter. This spring, I do late nights, not enough sleep... on a rather regular basis. Healthy? I think not. But now let me do my stressed, pouty dance. (Why it's pouty? Who knows. I just feel like pouting, sulking, what have you. Let's just chalk up the pouting to: I'm tired and shouldn't have procrastinated so long.) Btw my boyfriend is sweet and delivered pretzels, Diet Coke, and Chex Mix to me as I freaked, whined, and pouted. I wonder why he puts up with my insanity, cuz it must be like dating a 4 year old sometimes.

I'm taking this biostatistic computer programming class. Learn biostats while you learn how to speak computer-speak. OMG. The best thing ever. NOT. I am the Asian that is incompetent when it comes to technology. I missed the boat on that gene... Thanks parents.

Oh right, I sprained my ankle last Monday. Now you might ask: how'd you do that? Well, you see, it's a funny story:

• I'm walking home (I made a quick trip home to see my mom- sorry I didn't see any of my Midwest lovers, but I spent my time with the fam) from the airport, pulling my luggage behind me. I'm thinking: I'm hungry, I need to work out this week, I'm REALLY going to start working out regularly. Then BAM. I'm on the ground. Rolled the ankle. I'm in so much pain I can't catch my breath. I sit down on the concrete sidewalk. Whimper. Cry. No one's around to see me. I can see my apartment building door like 20 feet away. Then a guy in a wheelchair rolls up. "Are you okay? Do you need me to get help?" I manage a I'm okay, I'm okay. He goes: I would help you myself... but I can't. I don't know about you but now looking back, I giggle a little. The one person who sees me is the one person who can't physically help me. Anyway, eventually he rolls away and I grit my teeth and hobble to my apartment. I then proceed to 1) call my mom and cry, 2) sit on the floor until my boyfriend arrives to help me, 3) stare at my other leg which is bleeding excessively from the knee. So yes, I'm the most graceful creature out there.
• And if you're concerned about me (which you probably aren't but that's okay, I understand): I'm doing better these days but I still have a bit of a hobble.

I have discovered the wonders of Sephora. It's fun. It's like a playground. I can't afford anything but looking and touching is still wonderful. It's drawing me in. It has put its spell on me. Too bad I'm still disabled and don't know how to put makeup on like all the pretty girls do.

Jobs. I need to find a job after graduation. Sigh. What if I can't find one and become a homeless person? Will you let me live with you?

Baby shoes are the cutest things ever. Teeny! But also the most impractical things. Actually baby socks are probably the most impractical. Shoes are next. Because: a baby is in the stroller. Kicks off sock or shoe. Has now lost one! There is no longer a pair. All that money you just spent on a pair of shoes. Gone. Just a thought.

I have nothing more to say at the moment since it is closing in on 3:30am and I desperately need sleep in order to make words become coherent sentences tomorrow in class. So I will close with this: I want to go back to Uganda because the weather here in New England is just not not not NOT okay.

Happy Valentine's Day

Alright people. It's Valentine's Day. I just spent the night celebrating/bonding with my roommate and the dog. I have a few things to share with you. (Please be warned: I've shared 1.5 bottles of red vino. I may be a little... whatever.)

• Pageants seem kinda fun! At least watching them is. Training for them is probably a whole other story...
• Roommates are awesome. End of story.
• The Midwest is still the frickin' best.
• Lady Gaga is a tad crazy but we still love her. Her in the egg = Kinder Surprise. Though you cannot eat the egg (it was not made of choco) and you cannot play with Gaga... at least I don't think so...
• My boyfriend is sweet and wonderful and way too good to me. He needs to find a new girlfriend. Or another one. Maybe I'll try the polygamous relationship thing... HELLO MORMONISM
• School is overrated. FML. I do school all the time. I have no friends. This is freakishly depressing.
• Valentine's Day is a tad overrated but please do remember to tell those you love that you love them.

Happy Hallmark Day of Love! 

Why isn't there passionfruit soda in the US?

Passionfruit soda is awesome. Enough said.

I'm moving in with a beauty pageant girl for the spring semester... yup you read that right, beauty. pageant. Well she's gorgeous, and I hear she's incredibly nice which I don't doubt... but all I have to say is: there goes my self-esteem. Glad all I ate for the last 5 months in Uganda was starch, starch, and more starch, and we tried to fry just about anything we could get our hands on.

I have no idea how to exist without the other intern anymore. We've been joined at the hip ever since she got here and now this connection will be severed... What will I do?! Wahhhhh!

I am really, really, REALLY going to miss Uganda. I'm going to miss chapati and rolexes like a missing limb. I wish I could get on a plane, go home for 2 or 3 weeks, and then come back here. I love this place. I really do. I even love the unpleasant, not so fun stuff, because it's an adventure. I can always look back on something and laugh or find something fun to make out of it.

I am looking forward to a few things back in the States:

• Constant and dependable electricity and internet
• Nicely paved roads
• Driving my own car once in a while
• Being able to drink water out of the tap
• Flushable toilets
• Running water and showers with great water pressure
• Seletively bred, steroid-fed, antibiotic-injected chicken that have more meat on their bones (free range Ugandan chickens just doesn't taste the same)
• Chinese food
• Pizza
• Beer (more specifically Spotted Cow, Sam Adams, Miller Lite, Leinenkugel)
• Getting a tad tipsy and having fun with friends
• Snow
• Talking to my family on the phone without racking up a giant phone bill
• The male species...

I cannot believe by Friday night, I'll be back in Wisconsin!!! I'll either be unable to sleep due to jet lag or I'll collapse in exhaustion. If it's the former, those friends who read this and live in Milwaukee, call me and let's hang out! xoxo

Give me a P for Pizza!

I dreamed about pizza. I got pizza! Last night was awesome. When my supervisor and the operations officer brought us that pizza, I was ecstatic. Ok, it was no Pizza Hut or Digiorno's. It was actually more foccacia bread-like. And the tomato sauce wasn't exactly tomato sauce, it was more of a pink color. Which is a bit strange, but I don't care. It's pizza!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've officially hit the 3 weeks left mark. I'm so sad!!! What will I do without my pit latrine, my Claire, or my chapati stand?! But watch out, Midwest... here I come!!! Please have some snow for me to play in.

Indian food makes me want to roll around on the floor like a happy puppy dog

This past weekend was great. I spent way too much money and ate way too much Indian food, but living the occasional life of excess is actually rather fun. Good thing I spend like 20 cents a day, if that, in Sembabule. Thursday night, Indian food at Haandi's. Friday night, Indian food at Nawab. Saturday afternoon, Indian food at Masala Chaat. I may have a serious addiction problem and will need to find good Indian restaurants in the Midwest and New England when I get back to the USA. Garlic naan paired with a delicious Indian dish make me want to run around squealing with happiness. Yes, I mean squealing like a little child on Christmas day.

Shopping in Uganda is not the same as shopping in the States. Obviously. But I have come to enjoy it just as much except for the negotiating prices part. Sometimes it's just nice to have everything at a fixed price and you know exactly how much you need to pay. Arguing with shop owners is not my forte (it's my dad's) and it just gets old after a while. BUT I have managed to finagle some cool stuff to bring back. Including one really sweet silver ring. I probably paid way too much for it, but I love it so that's my justification. Oh and also cuz I'm probably not going to make it to Kenya or on another trip before I leave, SO rather than spending money on hotels, bus tickets, etc... why not just shop?

30 days left in Uganda! Wicked crazy, I know! I'm going to really miss this place. Miss being around the other intern 24/7, attached at the hip. Miss my supervisor who I love and wish I could bring her back to the US with me. And miss everything about Uganda. At the same time, I'm pumped to drive a car by myself on the RIGHT side of the road. Take a hot shower. Not have to worry about frogs jumping out randomly at me, the cow mooing at the crack of dawn, dodging pigs/chickens as I cross the street. I am also rather excited for the male species. I miss the smell of boy, the boy sense of humor, boy everything. Being here has been like being on a man fast again and I have to say it's not exactly the most fun. Though it has helped me find myself and learn more about myself. Blah blah blah cliche I know, but rather true.

I have nothing of real importance to report. So for all you readers in the Midwest who I know personally, see you in a month!!!!!!!!!!!! I want beer, cranberry/vodkas, pizza, Sour Patch Kids, Wheat Thins, and a bread bowl with soup. Thank you very much.

I will Always be a Midwest Girl at heart

Favorites:

TV Show: Glee. It's amazing.
Song: Need You Now- Lady Antebellum
Food: Watermelon
Thing to Buy: Shoes. Two pairs of heels since I've been home. I have a problem, but I'm okay with it.

Here's a story, friends, about when a guy pursues a girl... it went something like this:
His thoughts: "She's so cute. She's so nice. I want to ask her out. I just got her number. This means she's interested. What should I do? I know I walked her home... so do I lean in for a kiss? Crap, I'm so drunk. I can't think that clearly... Should I give her a good-bye hug? What should I do? Sh*t sh*t sh*t and NOW..."
ACTUAL ACTION: Gives her a High Five and leaves to go home... only to be so drunk he wakes up to find himself passed out on the hardwood floor and his wallet in the fridge.

Dear friend this actually happened to,
This is one of my favorite drunken, guy-pursuing-girl stories ever. Don't worry, I still like you.

I had the honor of seeing a wonderful friend this afternoon. I love her! Anyway, we were in VS. This is where I lost my sunglasses (SOB). But also where one of my favorite memories from the summer happened. It went something like this...
I'm trying on bras. My friend is trying on swimsuits. (PS she has uhhh-mazing abs.) We're talking about what bra I should get. I'm wearing one, we had been talking about my chest and boobs in general... then she proceeds to ask me about how it feels. Unsure of what she's talking about, I respond with: they feel fine, I never get back pain, Why? She goes: um... I was talking about the bra. And we proceed to LOL in the dressing room. It was way funnier had you been there with us... me shirtless, her just staring at me like I'm insane (which sometimes I might be). It kind of brought me back to the memories of us living together... when being shirtless was commonplace. The only thing we were missing today was S. I miss both of them so much; maybe someday we'll live together again! 

I love the Midwest. 

• Driving in a car in the suburbs
• I did get pulled over by a cop last night for being a complete idiot. Good thing I didn't get a ticket!
• My silly cat
• She's so cute! And rather demanding. I may also be slightly allergic... doesn't matter. I will pet her and love her anyway.
• Sleeping in a bunk bed 
• Or as my dad calls it: a bunker bed. The same bed I've been sleeping in for years... or for most of my life.
• Hanging out at the kitchen table in my pajamas
• I do it often when I'm home now. Including right now.
• Suburban malls
• I love them! Such a different feeling here... I have spent way too much money.
• Suburban Target
• I don't think this needs further details... self-explanatory 
• Wisconsin
• I love the Home of Beer and Cheese. Though I strongly dislike cheese. It's so strange and doesn't taste very good to me.  
• I swung by my high school today. Remodeled... it's just not the same. Those blue and yellow panels you used to have? Now that they're gone, I feel betrayed.
• Badgerland...
• LOVE!

 Home Saweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet Home.

Drinks, Flying, Decisions

So there's this drink at a bar called Skip and Go Naked. But I always think it's called STRIP and Go Naked. Which is essentially what I like to do when I'm home alone or by myself in my room. I am currently BACK in Wisconsin (as I mentioned yesterday), blogging from the kitchen table as Dumb-Dumb stares at me lazily from the other chair. And all I want to do is strip and go naked. I probably will soon...

Some thoughts on flying:

• Being overweight is highly unfortunate for travelers.
• Sitting next to someone overweight is very unfortunate for travelers.
• Delayed flights are really no fun.
• Small children screaming and crying on flights make me want to pull the emergency escape and jump out the airplane.
• I have a love/hate relationship with the aisle seat. I like it cuz I get up and go to the bathroom without crawling over someone. I hate it cuz sleeping is slightly more uncomfortable as compared to sitting in a window seat.
• TVs on flights are awesome.
• Rocking chairs in airports make me happy and sleepy

Current fav song: California Girls by Katy Perry

So Here's The Deal:
Uganda

• Serious work experience
• Living in Africa... need I say more?
• Going back to Uganda, I love it there
• Chapati...
• Getting my hands in some serious experience, to see OVC/HIV/FP programs in the real world... to see development at work (if it's working at all)

Philippines

• Southeast Asia experience (seeing things from that perspective rather than an East Asian or African one)
  
• Finish school
• Finding an internship- but hopefully in something I'm interested in
• Traveling in SE Asia (S. Korea is one stop for sure)
• Something different and completely unknown

The problem is and always shall be Money. Finishing school... Yada yada yada... finding a job. Etc etc etc. My brain does not shut up. Can someone just give me a plane ticket and I'll go where it says to go?

My pending return

I will be in the Midwest tomorrow at this time. Hopefully happily blogging from my parents' dining room table and playing with Dumb-Dumb. Here's the thing. I have to pack. And packing is hard. Very hard. I have things everywhere. And I have no idea what I'm doing. What do I need? What should I bring? I always bring too much of what I don't need and not enough of what I need.

Readers of blog who are living in Wisconsin, I want to see you. Please and Thank You.

I will be headed to DC for Memorial Day Weekend. Yes, I am flying to Wisconsin just to turn around and drive 12 hours to DC. Because why? Because my family has a weird love of road-tripping. So for a full 24hrs, I will be jamming out to my iPod as my little sisters watch awesome kid movies and I will ponder how much my butt feels like it's flattening out. BUT I will be back June 1st. So I will want to see as many people as I can. Also because at this rate, I don't know whether or not I'll be around in July. Yes, I'm still debating UG vs PH...

So here I am, packing with pop music.

Almost didn't leave...

I almost missed my flight home. Yes, me... the I-like-to-get-to-things-way-early girl. Flight at 10:45, I woke up at 9:40. Flew out of bed. Ran for a taxi, which I couldn't find for the longest time. And managed to squeeze into the airport and onto the flight by 10:30. Most stressful situation of my life. I almost had a heart attack. I'm also pretty sure the taxi driver loves me because I gave him the biggest tip (I didn't ask for change back. Threw some money in the front seat and flew out of the taxi). But I'm back in the happy, friendly Midwest for a few days! I've been hanging out in my pajamas all day. It's been amazing. It would be even more amazing if I wasn't applying for ways to go abroad and keeping my fingers crossed to find funding. BUT such is life.

PS my left laptop clicker key is depressed. Literally. It super F-ed up and doesn't exactly click. It's more... well... depressed. It's been this way for a while and I hate it. How do I get it fixed?!

Feeling like P Diddy...

Favorite upbeat song right now: Tik Tok by Kesha. Pretty sure I'm going to try to wake up to that song every morning to see if I do wake up feeling like P Diddy after hearing her sing it. I find it weird how some songs have the most absurd lyrics but are still so freakishly catchy.

Today is my last full day in Wisconsin, I fly back to that place over to the East tomorrow afternoon. (sniff) And then I start school... I'm not looking forward to it at all. I will probably die slowly and have an aneurysm by the time this semester is over. If I'm still alive in early May, I am going on a solid vacation where I can just sleep and relax.

There's so much snow. It's like living in a crazy winter wonderland where I'm scared to death to drive because let's think about it. I drive like 3 weeks a year, when I'm in Wisconsin. Other than that, I walk and take public transportation (which I have a love-hate relationship with). So the driving in snow/bad roads thing gives me nightmares.

Speaking of dreams/nightmares, I dreamed I was flying to Germany last night and I forgot my carry-on on the flight from Milwaukee to Chicago. I totally freaked out and woke up thinking I was going to forget something when I fly back to school. I wonder what that dream means... sometimes I think dreams don't mean anything. Then other times, they are a blatant indication of things I'm thinking about. I need a dream-teller... dream-explainer... you know, someone to tell me what my dreams mean. I wonder if it's kind of like fortune telling...

So my little sisters go to their friends' birthday parties and I marvel at what gets given as gifts these days. Gift cards to clothing stores... really? For my birthday, back when I was young, I had all these cool things that I wanted. I received some pretty spiffy stuff and went to some birthday parties where other people received superbly cool stuff. Parties back in the day were so much better than they are now... maybe that's because I hail from the 90's.
FOR EXAMPLE:

• Bop-it: Probably one of my favs... I wonder what that would be like to play with drunk now... probably awesome. Maybe I'll have to hunt one down to give it a whirl.
• Furbies: My music teacher in grade school had a furby that he would sit on the top of his piano during class. What a weird invention... I never had one. Back in the day, I wish I did... not so much any more.
• Beanie Babies: Okay, these toys were supposed to be worth "soooo much money." They were bean bags that had heads and tails sewed onto them. What a weird thing to have people obsess about.
  
• Pokemon vs Digimon: still haven't figured out the difference, nor do I really care.
• Fairy Winkles: Does anyone remember what these things are? I had 3 fairy winkles... or did I have the Wee Winkles... who knows. They were so cute! A little strange, but a fun toy.
  
• Polly Pocket: My absolute favorite toy as a kid. Now if you think about it, it's definitely a chocking hazard. But I loved them. I had so many... and I'm pretty sure my parents still have them all stored somewhere. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. toy. I swear by that toy

Well now that I have word vomited all over this post, I'm going to go to lunch with my mom.

Holiday Joy

I write from the comforts of my parents' kitchen with the snow falling outside. Oh, I love Wisconsin and snow. It's truly got that Christmas feeling and it makes me giddy. The snow is gorgeous. As long as I don't have to shovel tomorrow morning. I'm officially screwed on the present-buying front though. I still need gifts for the parents and one sister. Yikes. Hope the world is ready for me tomorrow morning. It'll be a mad rush to find stuff.

Flying back was amazingly crazy. Planes were super backed up to Wisconsin, something silly about weather and planes having problems. My flight was overbooked by 3 seats. So I gave up my seat and for compensation, I got a free round trip ticket and free dinner courtesy of Midwest Airlines. How awesome is that?! Now I'll probably take another trip back to Wisconsin for FREE. Or maybe I'll jet-set off to somewhere fun for vacation!! Washington State? Former roommate- please let me visit? Somewhere in California? Hello warm weather. Anchorage, Alaska? Sounds cool too! The delay was only about a 1/2 hour, so it was totally worth it. Also made some friends with the people waiting to fly back to Wisconsin. It was a jolly good time. Yes, I just used the word Jolly.

Dear Santa,
Please send tons of money to my bank account. That would make me very happy. But if you cannot do that, can you at least bring me a few new pairs of shoes??

Finals and things

In grad school, there are still these silly annoyances called Finals and Exams. I have to take a few. Write a few papers. Do all that scholarly stuff to prove I've learned something this semester. Honestly, I could care less right now. And my studying has proven to reflect my feelings. I have this problem... it's called procrastination. Even at the last minute, I still can't get the urge to study for one of my finals. Ahhh well. That's okay. I'll be fine. Plus Grades Don't Matter. Right?! Yep, that's what I thought.

In my procrastination adventures, I have found the texts from last night website very amusing. I also like to download music and seek out new artists. Currently, I love Anjulie. Her song "Rain," I love. "Boom" is pretty fun too. I also spend quality time on celebrity websites. It is unfortunate that they live under these microscopes... but it is for my pleasure and procrastination, so I can't help but enjoy it.

I fly back to the wonderful Midwest in 6 days. Yippee!! I will be seeing all my wonderful lovelies soon enough. I cannot wait to be able to sleep for a straight 18 hours without getting disturbed. Okay... Dumb-dumb might bug me a little, but I can handle her. (Yes, that's what I call our cat.) I can't wait to go home.

Adventures of the Diet Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash

I'm stupid. The next time I walk into a grocery store and see Diet Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash (my favorite soda ever), I shouldn't buy two 12-packs. I walked 1 mile home with my soda. All I could think about was the delicious taste of its liquid sliding down my throat as my arms screamed angry profanities at me and my credit card. Then as I walked... the cardboard was ripping... the box in my left hand ripped. Oh yes, I was the girl kneeling on the side of the road, grabbing at cans of soda (3 rolled away from me). Now I have a backpack of food, 1 broken 6-pack, 1 complete 6-pack. So I unload some food and put all 12 cans into my backpack. I am that pathetic girl walking home with her soda. Oh Diet Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash, you had better be worth it. And right now, you are. Not only do you taste great, I walked into my apartment giggling my head off at the outrageous-ness of the situation. And how stupid I am to think I would be able to get two 12-packs 1 mile home. But nonetheless, this soda is awesome

Wisconsin, I hope you enjoy the snow. I will think of you, dream of you, and wish you well from here on the East Coast. Keep it around so I can see it when I come home for Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving wrap-up

Thanksgiving story: my family bought a bottle of wine. First bottle of wine for Thanksgiving. EVER. It was only 1 bottle, but still. It was some wine. Problem: no wine opener in the house. Yes, I live in a dry house... except for the vodka my mom cooks with. So there was no way to open this bottle of wine. We tried using a Swiss army knife's bottle opener- no luck. We tried Googling "How to open a bottle of wine without a wine opener." I tried the screw and hammer technique. Stick a screw into the cork, use the hammer's nail prying end and pull... It didn't work. After much sadness (on my part), we finally pushed the cork into the bottle. The wine was good and it was well worth the effort.

Black Friday morning- 4am, I joined the other crazies on the shopping excursions. JCPenney provided me with the yearly Disney snowglobe. I didn't really buy much, but I enjoyed the neurotic atmosphere of people buying tons of shit.

I am so full. I think I ate my weight in food these past few days. I should not eat again for a very long time. Now on to homework doing... Curse my public health writing class. It is taking over my life and it's driving me a little nutty. HATE HOMEWORK RIGHT NOW. All I want to do is watch a movie and take a nap.

Brilliant Idea: Do not eat again until winter break. I will never become unfull unless I don't eat for 3 weeks.

Some Weirdness and A Touch of Home

Yesterday, at one point, I managed to find myself in the presence of about 10 Asians. I was in shock, to say the least. I went out to the bars with a few friends (they're Asian) and they saw some of their Asian friends. It turned out that it was one of their birthdays, so it was a BIG Asian mixer in our area of the bar. And when I say mixer, I mean... 2 other girls and me with a whole bunch of Asian guys with more product in their hair than I had in my hair. CRAZY!!! I immediately thought of all my wonderful Caucasian friends back at home (or wherever in the world they might be) and missed them terribly. Guys, I'm totally white-washed. I don't know how I feel about being in the presence of so many Asians who I'm not related to. When I'm related to them, it's just a family reunion. Last night? That was just weird. There were just so many of them! I bet they're nice (sober or not) but... not for me!! I'm the Midwest-grown, dairy product-fed (no cheese) girl who usually turns out to be the token Asian in a group of friends, not that I mind at all. But I learned a few things (that I already knew but would like to re-emphasize):

- They need LESS hair product, LESS! If your hair doesn't budge at all, no matter what you're doing, how much head shaking there is, how hard you jump on the dance floor, how much you run around, how horribly you're puking on the street, you need to seriously reassess the amount of hair product you're using.
- They need to not try to hit on me. It's never going to work; I'm not attracted to you. No matter how much alcohol you try to give me... which, by the way, if I ask for WATER, don't bring me more alcohol. Doesn't make me want to take off my clothes for you, dance up on you, or go home with you any more than I wanted to 10 minutes ago. No means NO.
- There is no need to be vain. Yes I can see the veins popping out of your buff arms, but hey, white guys have that too... actually lots of guys in general have that.

Movie shooting seems to happen throughout Boston recently. Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz were shooting a few blocks from my place during the week. The movie will be called Wichita, I think. Let me tell you, at some point when Cameron Diaz is in a yellow dress and boots, that's close to my place. And I believe they filmed a car crash scene there too. Today I happened upon the set of the new Ben Affleck movie, something about bank robbers? I was told the film is called The Town. There were cops, FBI, and some gun fire. A girl I talked to said she saw Ben Affleck smoking somewhere and was starstruck. I guess Boston is the place to be to try to get a glimpse of a few new movie shoots.

Today was also a very nice day for a taste of home. I went to watch the Badger game at a bar with the UW alumni association- Boston people. It was fun!! All of us in our Badger get-up in the middle of Boston. But I sure did miss Madison and being in Camp Randall. Pretty cool! I ended up running into a guy who took Biocore with me on the T. Turns out he was also headed toward the bar... crazy small world we live in! I guess he moved to Boston and is working and applying to med schools. I was just so amazed that I ran into him... on the T!

Pretty solid weekend! But tomorrow will have to be a day of studying. I need to be productive BECAUSE my weekend in Madison is coming up!!! I don't want to have work to do that weekend! 19 Days before my feet return to Midwestern soil!!!

Popcorn Thoughts

I've had such depressing posts recently; I decided it's time for some positivity. Here are some bouncy thoughts from me.

TV Shows:

• Roommate and I have been on a total Gossip Girl kick. Crazy, I know. I never knew I'd enjoy drama about the Upper Eastsiders... but it's kind of fun when I have no social life.
• One Tree Hill!!! Last season came out on DVD and I borrowed it from the library. WONDERFUL
• Grey's Anatomy... NEW SEASON starting September 24th. WOOHOO- previews looked awesome

Books:

• I've been reading Africa Doesn't Matter- great book about Africa and why aid isn't helping
• For class, I have to read The Wisdom of Whores- I love it so far
• I really want to read a book called My Prison, My Home- look it up, sounds fascinating and the author sounds amazing

I really want to go shopping but I can't afford it. Ahh the life of a poor grad student. It's even worse than the life of an undergrad. That's probably because I didn't worry about money all the time.

I MISS My Wisconsin Buddies!!!

Favorites from this Summer

Favorite Summer Movie: The Ugly Truth, most definitely

Favorite Summer Cocktail: Mojito

Favorite Summer Song: In the Summer Time- Mungo Jerry

Favorite Summer Meal: Summer salad or light sandwich

Favorite Summer Outfit: Light, summer dress

Favorite Summer Reading: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo- Stieg Larsson

Favorite Summer Moment: Sitting on the Terrace with friends, having some beer

See you later

I am right about to leave on my 1.5 day drive out to the East Coast. Saying good-bye is really hard to do. But I know that this place in Wisconsin will always be considered home. It's like a home base... my roots. So the next time I blog, I will be blogging from New England!!!

Good-Bye Wisconsin!

Leaving... not on a jet plane...

It is finally hitting me that I am leaving Madison officially with no idea if I'll ever be back. Tomorrow is my very last day. This is really hard to deal with. I love this place, this city, this school, the streets, even the construction, the bars, the people... all the memories that have been created here. I am really going to miss it. A lot. Nostalgia has set in. It's also very difficult saying good-bye to all the friends that I have made here. The people here are why I love Madison the most. I have met some of the most wonderful friends here, and I will miss them constantly.

Highlights:

Freshman Year

• Drinking for the first time
• Running across campus drunk
• Knowing I had new friends who would take care of me, no matter what mess I got myself into (There were a lot of them)
• Meeting the girls, the boys, the people who would touch my life for the next 4 years
• Going to my first Badger football and hockey game

Sophomore Year

• Having an awesome roommate with our weekend hangover mornings on the futon, watching One Tree Hill... promising never to drink again. Only to repeat the same thing the following weekend
• Hosting a few crazy parties
• Watching friends get themselves in trouble
• My awesome light-up heels
• The car accident

Junior Year

• First official apartment: complete with accidentally breaking a window with a newspaper when trying to kill a bee, squirrels in the walls and floorboards, fun roommates, no TV
• Making Thanksgiving dinner for friends
• Beer pong
• Being the most hungover I had ever been in my entire life
• Turning 21
• Figuring myself and what I wanted to do next in life

Senior Year

• My Own Room
• Going out with a bang, bloopers and all
• Finding out way more about close friends than I ever wanted to know
• Learning even more about myself than I ever though possible and finding that inner confidence that is necessary to stand on my own 2 feet
• Enjoying my last year in Madison
• GRADUATION

Madison, it has been amazing. I thank you for everything I have learned and experienced here. I have more stories than I ever thought necessary thus far in my life, but I enjoy every one of them. I will miss it all!!!

A Chapter In My Life Is Coming To An End

Sometimes I can’t help but marvel. After 4 years of college, I am still working a job that could be done by a robot. I am essentially an office worker bee. Can I just say it’s frustrating and boring me to tears? I’m pretty sure I have more brain cells, brain power, and overall intelligence to do something more than type information into a database, sort and send out mail, and do mundane tasks that my boss doesn’t feel like doing on her own. I have to keep telling myself: 3 more weeks until it’s over. BUT it is some good experience- letters of rec, you know? And it’s true; I have 3 more weeks until I move out of my apartment. I’m going to move to my parents’ home for a little less than a week and then I’m leaving the Midwest!! The knowledge that I’m moving away from the only state I’ve ever considered home has been slowly sinking in, but I don’t think it has fully hit me yet. Maybe once I’m actually moved into my new apartment (which I’m paying a horrifying amount of money for), it’ll hit me. And knowing myself, it’ll probably hit me on the head with the same feeling as if a sledgehammer landed on me. Then I’ll probably finally figure it out that I’m officially moving on to a new chapter of my life, one I will title: Grad School.

In life, most of us have the standard chapters: Elementary School, Middle School, High School, and College. After college though, everyone’s chapters start to differ. Actually people’s chapters usually start to change after high school, but for generalization purposes, I’ll say college (of any sort). After graduating college, some people go on to join the workforce, others take a year off from school before returning again (working, running around the world, or just relaxing for a while), while still others jump right into more school. I would fit into the last category. I can’t say I’m completely happy with this decision, but it is a means to an end. I would love to take some time off, travel and learn different things that aren’t always taught within the confined 4 walls of a classroom. But I’m still not stepping outside the boundaries set by… oh let’s say, my parents… quite yet. They seem to have this idea that right after college, I should go to grad school in order to keep the momentum going. After a long of thinking about it, I decided not to fight them. It wasn’t worth it. (If there’s one thing I’ve learned about my family and how to deal with them, I know when it’s smarter and easier to just not start the fight.) Plus, I knew what I wanted to go to grad school for and they would be willing to help me out a little financially. Thus I will be attending grad school in the fall. The one decision I made for myself was to leave the comfort zone of the familiar Midwest. I decided to spread my wings a little and try living somewhere completely new for a while. Maybe I’ll love it, maybe I’ll hate it, but at least I’ll be able to look back and say I tried it.

We’ll have to see what I have to say after a month of classes- maybe I will be freaking out and will look back on this post and say, “Psh, biggest mistake ever.” Or I could possible say, “I love it here! Best decision ever.” Guess I’ll have to wait and see.