Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Sarahdipity's LiveJournal:

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Thursday, February 22nd, 2007
6:50 pm	I miss my house. I get to go home tomorrow! If only for a short time. :) Too bad this weekend looks INSANELY busy. Friday afternoon/evening=home to get stuff ready for DM, shopping, movie watching for class, etc. Saturday morning= back on campus for the bball game vs. Purdue, followed by homework, followed by The Bartered Bride opera in the evening. Sunday= church, the Concert Band concert (that I should really go to and show support for the friends), and SAI elections/the longest chapter of my entire life. Nikki said last year's went 4 hours. Help. (Comment on this)
Saturday, February 10th, 2007
10:57 pm	If Life is a Highway, I hope I don't run out of gas... Well, we're starting week seven and I'm still alive. But probably just barely. The beginning of the quarter was no fluke; I swear I've had more work this quarter than I had in the spring, when I took five (legitimate) classes. I feel like all I ever do is read. Pages and pages and pages and when I'm done there's no real sense of accomplishment because I know that I still have so many more to go. If I finish a Dickens reading assignment ahead of time, I know that there's another one waiting just around the corner. I read for that class for close to 6 hours today; five of them were consecutive ones in which I only got up to check my email every two hours or so. The SESP class is still driving me crazy, but at least I know I'm not the only one. Kristine and Adrienne have both expressed a similar frustration as has, well, my entire English/Foreign Language group within that class (12 people). If only that class were more efficient and less demanding of our time...especially since yet again it's a 400 level class that all of us undergrads are taking for mere 300 level credit. It's a jip. On the plus side, I'm learning a lot in my Asian American studies class on Los Angeles as a "global city" and Dickens is really good too. Spanish has been informative but not especially good. In fact, this quarter reminds me very much of last winter quarter, when I felt like the vast majority of my spanish knowledge just disappeared and I was having trouble understanding what was going on in class. Things aren't quite that bad right now, but I swear there are days where I'm just like, "Ugh, brain, what is your problem! Why don't you know what he's (the professor) saying?" If I had any time, and more than one spanish class left after this one before finishing my minor (heck yes!), I would seriously take the time to improve my vocabulary because I feel like that's what's lacking. But as always, there's no time and at this point I'm not sure it's worth the effort. But yeah, 300 level spanish has not been a picnic. As a side note, I'm actually really glad that I didn't make concert band after all. I thought it would be fine to have another class on Mondays and Wednesday afternoons (since spanish at noon is my only class all day), but those times have become prime reading times for Dickens and Asian American studies. I don't think I could do without them...So okay, fine, I'm not exactly happy that I didn't have the opportunity to play in a concert setting again, but I at least don't regret it as much. But enough about class stuff. I'm still waiting to hear on my practicum placement. My resume, transcript and teacher essay got sent out at the beginning of the month and I really have no idea how long I'll have to wait to hear an answer. My advisor said she'd email me as soon as she heard anything, but no word yet. On that note, my parents decided that I could have a car next year for both the fall and the winter. I was actually really surprised that they were so quick to give it to me; I hesitantly mentioned the possible need of having it for two quarters and my mom jumped in by saying, "Oh, don't even worry about it. We've already discussed." My dad: "Just do whatever you need to get a good placement." I know my parents sacrifice a lot for me all the time, but this one caught me a little off guard. I found myself thinking, "You would do that for me?" That right there, my friends, is unconditional love. Though this quarter has been a little rough, I keep being reminded that I don't have it that bad. One of my good friends at another school effectively decided now, as a junior, that she didn't really want to be a teacher, so now she's rearranging her scheduling and essentially her entire life plan so that she can still graduate in a year. I still don't completely understand how one decides that he/she doesn't really want to teach if he/she has really wanted to up until this point, but maybe I'm just blinded by my own laser vision. I've never really understood the kids that have no idea what they want to do with their lives, either. Or those extremely loud and outgoing personality types. Oh, to understand the Other... Also, another friend just broke up with her boyfriend, which is really sad. She seemed so happy and yet (seemingly all of a sudden) they broke up. I haven't talked to her about it yet, so I'm still wondering what happened. :-/ When I was reading for one of my classes the other day, I suddenly felt the desire to read one of the essays I wrote for my writing class last quarter. I found myself perusing all of the essays I wrote and decided that I actually really miss that class. I miss writing in general. Not the formal essay writing that I'll be doing a lot of at the end of this quarter; I mean the personal writing we were able to do for that class, picking our topics and doing what we wanted with them. My favorite type of essay to do that quarter was the reflection kind, where you described a memory or event and reflected on its significance. Not to make a Harry Potter reference, but...it was almost like having a verbal Pensieve and pulling out selective memories and then analyzing them from angles I'd never thought of before. Maybe I miss the self-reflection aspect? Or perhaps just the self expression. As a random story: This morning I was having brunch with Matt and we got into our typical "Matt thinks teaching is an easy profession" argument in which he asks about how my Chalkboard Erasing 101 class is going, or whether I've learned the proper order of the stars (gold, then red, then green, then blue?) yet. Usually I just get annoyed, while still laughing at how ridiculous he is, but this time I turned the tables a little and retaliated. I corrected him, saying that actually, we've progressed to Dry Erase Boards, and had he mastered his pencil sharpening midterm for Medill? And oh, were his keyboard skills (as in typing) classes going well? Because journalists need to type fast. Deadlines, and all that. For once, Matt had no comeback! I could see him sitting there, mulling over the typing class comment and thinking of something witty, but he had nothing. It was truly a remarkable moment. I still haven't forgiven him for his day of general doucheyness that started after our period of 24-hours-of-no-talking-about-the-Super-Bowl-results-after-the-game. All of his anti-Bears comments were just grating after a while. I mean okay, he was entitled to some celebration--it WAS the highlight of his life, or so he said--but some things were just hitting below the belt. It made me glad that Indy sports teams don't beat Chicago teams that often...though I suppose it helps that they have no baseball teams. haha. Tonight was really fun because a big group of us went to Chili's for dinner (big=12 people). We had the typical long wait to get seated (understandable), so a few of us went over to Borders to wander around. I actually went with a purpose because I still have a giftcard for there from my birthday that I haven't used yet and had looked online and seen that Borders carries a dual DVD with both The Neverending Story AND The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter for the low price of $16. Turns out I had to order the set and will have to go pick it up at the store later (argh...) but that was exciting to know that it's coming. As we waited to get into Chili's we stood around in the entryway, talking about random stuff. One of the things that came up again was the fact that apparently some people (I'm not quite sure who these people are) think that we in GT9 are elitist and not welcoming and stuff. This really bothers me because it's so completely false. We essentially started with the 7 newcomer flutes, 2 clarinets, Scott and Franklin last year, and have now grown to something like 20 people, and we didn't exactly haze the new people that became part of our group. We've always been welcome to hanging out with other people, and while we might have a lot of inside jokes (like any group) that an outsider might find confusing, we talk about them enough and add so many new ones all the time that they don't even matter in the end. For anyone to call our group "elitist" is essentially for them to declare that they don't know any one of us, because that is so our antithesis. And it really sucks to be called something you're not. I'm kind of taking this personally because it's like someone's saying I'm not friendly or a nice person. :( But anyway, besides that damper of a conversation, our time at the table was quite fun. LaJuanda and Elizabeth kept singing "**** in a Box" from SNL, Kelly kept calling me, Gabby and Chelsea crazy (though the three of us have a definite understanding), Gabby  told us stories of some guy in her class telling her that all the girls in SAI were either music nerds or sluts (right...), LaJuanda and Gabby talked about preparing to go to the "CEOs and Corporate Hoes" party last night...and then not actually going (I guess that's a bad example to tell after that last comment), we laughed as Elizabeth literally devoured the chips and salsa and got angry when people got in her way, and Gabby kept saying awkward things just as the waitress came up behind her. And that was just our half of the table. Maybe it's just because we're all going crazy from the extreme cold and the craziness of this quarter, but we were definitely in a weird mood, as we noted on the walk back to campus. :) DM is coming up soon and it's starting to sink in that I'm actually dancing this year. I hope Tiffany and I can survive the 30+ hours. Yesterday I calculated the longest I've ever been awake before and I came in at 32 hours. That was when I worked a morning shift at the library, took an afternoon flight to London with my family on vacation, arrived early in the morning on London time and then proceded to stay up the entire day so as not to become victim to jet lag two summers ago. I remember being pretty tired at the end of that day (I slept maybe a grand total of 2-3 hours on the plane) but we just did a bunch of site seeing. Granted, we walked a pretty lengthy walk from our hotel to Westminster Abbey and Parliament at 7:30am GMT/1:30am Central time, but that's nothing compared to dancing. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how tired/stressed out I am for the whole event. If I still have 40 pages of term papers hanging over my head, it won't be too pretty... Thinking on the London vein, I really wish I were there right now. Seeing this: (Parliament was my favorite) Or this would be nice too: (I'm not sure why I can't make those pictures just appear on this screen, but it's irksome that they won't.) Then again, home would be a welcome site right now, too. (Comment on this)
Monday, December 4th, 2006
12:52 pm	Oh the marching season's over... Sitting at the band banquet yesterday, I did a lot of thinking. Listening to the seniors talk about their experiences in NUMB and offer their advice to returning members made me realize that come this time next year, I'll be doing the same thing. I can't begin to describe how fast this season went. Band camp seems like a lifetime ago because so many things have happened since then. Though I'm not sure how any season could compare with one ending with an awesome bowl game trip to El Paso like last year's, this year had its fun times. Crazy shows with excessive amounts of dancing, practices in extreme weather (or field) conditions and the insanely early away game call time aside, I think the most important part of the season once again was the people. I've strengthened friendships from last year and had fun coming into band camp with friends in different sections (woot!). I've also made a few new friends throughout the season, both inside and outside the section. I still think one of band's better charms is its ability to bring people together that wouldn't ordinarily have any interaction. Given the fact that I live in CRC and am doing the whole SESP/English thing, I doubt I would have met the majority of the people that I've met through band if left to my own devices. I have to point out how even standing next to someone in drill can bring you closer together. I mean, okay, perhaps I would have met her at some SESP/Secondary Ed function, but without the Gershwin drill, I really would not know Jane right now. Being by Gabby in practically every show has made me appreciate her hilarious stories and crazy (in a good way) personality. And of course marching between Elizabeth and Megan for most of pregame has been good times. Good times, indeed. Reflecting on band itself, I have to say that this year I made a lot of improvements. I think band camp was so hard this year because I actually started doing things correctly and was thus feeling the subsequent burn. But on that note, I think my marching is a lot better (not that I sucked before, but you know...there's always room for improvement). I guess part of this comes from my realization part way through the season that I automatically pick up my toes when glide stepping now; I don't even have to think about it. That's pretty nifty because then I can think about other things, like the music and slides (a rather subpar move in our section, I feel). Probably the most exciting marching aspect of the season was being able to play the vast majority of pregame pretty quickly into this season. Granted, there are still those pesky bars from the double correct rights through the moves of four (I think that's three measures) that I could never seem to play and march at the same time, but that's it. Not bad. Next year's goal: play the whole time! ahh! All of that was kind of a tangent, since really I wanted to point out how crazy it is that I'm going to be a senior next year and will have to craft my own thought-provoking and entertaining speech for the banquet. I've already got ideas for said speech, but it's weird knowing that some of the people that I want to mention won't be there at the banquet because they've graduated or are no longer in NUMB. Ahh, so weird. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, but in the mean time I know that I want to appreciate my time in band as much as possible because I know it's fleeting and I'll never have a chance to do something like this again. Next year is going to be really different in a lot of ways (seniors gone, new DMs, new SpiriTeam, doing my practicum in the fall...), which of course worries me because I'm not the biggest fan of change. But I'll get it over it. For now I just have to keep things in perspective. Current Mood: thoughtful Current Music: "Fantasy on Puccini's Turandot" by Vanessa Mae (Comment on this)
Monday, February 27th, 2006
11:19 pm	A February Entry...or maybe just THE February Entry I think I should update before the month changes and I realize I haven't made any entries in February. So yeah. Due to crazy last minute changes, only one of my finals has remained due on Monday, March 6th. Somewhat magically, that is the only final I now have due during Reading Week. However, that is kind of bad, since now I have three things due during Finals week. Hence, I will be doing something early, come hell or high water. Yeah, that's right. I love how this quarter has been paper after paper. Egads! Every weekend I sit down to crank out another one or two. I feel like they're getting progressively worse with each one. That's not good. But seriously, thus far I've done 3 papers for my teaching class (the last one I finished today--it was 9 pages long and I started it last night at 11pm, worked until 3am, and then worked on it today for another 4 hours), 2 for my english class (I'm pretty sure the second one sucked ass...we'll see when I get it back), and 1 somewhat difficult midterm paper for Lit of Existentialism. I still have 1 final project for Teach Ed 304, 1 final paper for Lit of Existentialism (me=worried), 1 final paper for my English seminar (I can write about Lord of the Rings if I want to! yay!), and 1 final paper for Spanish (8-10 pages on which the vast, vast majority of my grade depends. EEK!). If I make it through this quarter and still end up on the Dean's List, I will be ecstatic. In other news, I wanted to go down to visit U of I again during finals week, but thanks to my shifting schedule, that won't be possible. :( I will get to go downtown on the 17th though for Bethany's birthday, hopefully. (Yes, I now know 3 people with that birthday, hehe) We might go to the flower show at Navy Pier. I'll admit, that's kinda dorky...and yet, it's what Bethany wants to do. That's still three weeks away though, so I can't think that far in advance. SAI stuff is going well so far. We had our pledging ceremony about 2 weeks ago now. It was kind of cool to have the serious and secretive initiation ceremony, plus I got a pledge mom! Yay! According to some national rule through SAI we're not allowed to say pledge mom and daughter officially though, so technically she's my "Guiding Star." I know; I can't read that without snorting with laughter, either. Our code names to get around this are "Monkey" for mom and "Dolphin" for daughter, though more creative people have used "Star" and "Stardust" or "Rib" and "Riblet." Haha. We had our first MIT lesson (Member in training) last Tuesday and it was rather long (1.5 hours). We learned the SAI chorale though, so that was really cool. I like that there's something that unites every chapter in the country. Plus, it's cool that we're the second chapter (go us!). I learned that we have to put on a MIT recital AND do a MIT philanthropy event sometime between now and initiation. It'll be interesting to fit all that in. On a semi-related note, our flute choir (through SAI, but not MIT-related) will be having a recital with the Phi Mu Alpha boys on Monday at 8pm. It's crazy, but I've never performed at a recital. I never did that stuff with my flute teacher. *shrug* We'll be performing after I endure a 3 hour class of Schooling in Communities, since we do our final presentations that day. I hope I'll still be somewhat alert by that point... The only other notable thing of interest is that we had dorm elections for President last week and Matt won! The race was rather exciting, since he was a last minute Dark Horse candidate. Elections on Tuesday night were kind of a big deal, as people stood around in the hallway and discussed candidates and the possible results. Plus Matt walked around in a suit and shook hands with people as Dan followed him with a laptop playing "The Final Countdown." Awesome, no? Angelica and I are running for Philanthropy chair and the election for that and all the other Exec positions are tomorrow. I really hope we win. I gave the serious half of our speech at the ACM on Sunday, and she sang her half (the recap) to the tune of Trapped in the Closet. I think people liked it/found it amusing. :) So yeah, wish me luck with that. We still haven't found out about section leaders for marching band yet...I've just been trying to tell myself that I didn't get it so that when (if?) I don't, I won't feel as bad. I guess this pessimism thing has its uses sometimes after all. P.S. BEST ADDED FEATURE EVER goes to live journal for now automatically saving your entry every few minutes. Where was that when I lost uber long entries in the past? Current Music: "Mr. Brightside" --The Killers (Comment on this)
Thursday, January 26th, 2006
1:03 am	Winter quarter, in a nut shell So yeah, I've gotten really bad at updating this thing. Saying that my quarter is hard/busy is an understatement. Let me give you a run-down of a typical week: Monday: Get up at 10am, Lit of Existentialism at 11am, Icons Myths & Legends in Spain at noon, lunch at 1pm, homework, dinner at 4:15pm, Schooling in Communities 5-7pm, homework. Tuesday: Get up at 10am, homework, lunch around noon, English Intro Seminar: Myth and Reason 2-3:30pm, homework, Stir Fry Tuesday dinner with GT9 people, Commander in Chief on TV, homework. Wednesday: Get up at 10am, Lit of Existentialism at 11am, Spanish at noon, lunch at 1pm, Internship at Youth Umbrella Organization (Y.O.U.) Nichols Middle School program 2:40pm-6:40pm (includes travel time), dinner, homework. Thursday: Get up at 10am, homework, lunch around noon, English seminar 2-3:30pm, homework. *Depending on the week and the BBall schedule, I usually have a basketball game on either Wednesday or Thursday nights (those go 6pm-9:30pm). Due to the internship, I can't go to Wednesday games. However, there are usually weekend games as well. Friday: Get up at 10am, put in laundry, Lit of Existentialism discussion section at 11am, Spanish at noon, lunch (usually "to go" from Crowe Cafe), laundry, Internship 2:40-5:10pm, dinner, homework and/or social outing (with dorm people or GT9--my group of band people). Saturday: Sleep late (if possible), do homework all day, basketball game if applicable, meals random, fun in the evening usually. Sunday: Church at 11am, brunch at 12:15am, homework all day, dinner, dorm ACM (All College Meeting) at 8pm (9pm this quarter due to IM sports), homework. Looking at that doesn't make you think, "Ahh! She's so busy!" but yet, I am. Throw in things like dorm firesides & social events, and the occasional advisor meeting, and freedom flows away quickly. And then of course there's my homework, which isn't so easy. Sigh. But, lest you think that I am wallowing in self-pity or depression or whatever, let me assure you that I am not. The little things keep me going, and I'm taking things one week at a time. I'm totally taking an easier spring quarter though, that's for sure. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 11th, 2006
2:49 pm	Short update...er...Update Okay, I am quite behind. I am sorry. Things have been pretty non-stop since I left for Evanston and then Texas. The trip was AMAZING and lots of fun, so I have no complaints there. Everything worked out well and the whole experience was enjoyable. This is good because apparently Northwestern won't be going to the Sun Bowl for at least a few more years, as the Big Ten didn't renew its contract with the bowl. I'm just glad we got to go when we got the chance! Plus, hopefully our team won't suck ass in the next few years and we'll be able to go to another one soon. :) I'm a little sad because I just got back from returning my uniform. :( I feel like a part of me is missing! I've been through/experienced so much with that clothing...I tell you, it is more like a second skin. One day while we were in Texas we wore it for 13 hours straight without taking it off. THIRTEEN HOURS! Ahhh. But yes, I am sad to see it go, although I now have about 4 more inches of hanging space in my closet. That's a lot when the total is about 24 inches. I know. So yeah, post bowl game trip it was weird to be home because I only had two and a half days. I stayed in the hotel in Evanston on friday night, the night we got back, because I knew it would be really late. It was, seeing as I didn't get to go to bed until 3:30am...Thus my parents came to pick me up on Saturday morning and I was home by early afternoon. New Years Eve was fun, as I went to dinner with some family friends and then came back to Wheaton to hang out with KT^2 at Junta's house. I am a little bummed that I missed out on stuff that was happening back in Evanston, though. A bunch of people went home for that weekend, but those that stayed were all together and now have all these inside jokes...but meh, life goes on. The first night back was fun because I got all my stuff set up in my room and then went to dinner with my mom at Dave's Italian Kitchen. When I got back I went and hung out with Matt for a while, which was nice. I tried to leave him alone on the bowl trip and let him just hang out with the altos, so it was nice to effectively go back to being friends. He also liked the poster I got him for Christmas; it's for the National Sarcasm Society: Like We Need Your Help. His room is an explosion of Colts and Pacers stuff, plus random literary quotes on the wall, so I figured this would round out the representation of his person that his room represents. So yeah, later we went downstairs and saw Dan and Nathan. David came back too, as did Steph, so we went with her to her room while she got settled. Phil came to visit and blew up the inflatable Family Guy punching bag that Nathan gave Steph for Christmas. We knocked on Angelica's door until she emerged, looking sleepy, but then happy to see everyone. Later the party moved to 1-Red, where we played Trivial Pursuit 90's Edition. Around midnight Ben returned and we ran to his room and yelled surprise, since it was his birthday. I gave him the framed picture of him, Joe and myself that my brother took over break. I also distributed my desert bread loaf slices and Christmas cards that I'd put together for everyone. Claire was with Ben too, so it was nice to see her as well. We finally all turned in because we had class the next day, which was kind of a downer because it meant going back to the grind. :/ Thus far classes have been interesting, albeit kind of hard. Lit of Existentialism is interesting and I liked the first play we read, but sometimes I'm like "WHOA" because it can get confusing. English 298 has been pretty good so far; I like the myths we've been reading (especially the Ovid stuff) and my teacher is really cool. Plus, I've gotten up the nerve to speak in class already, which considering it's about a week into school, that's pretty good. :) Spanish is definitely challenging this quarter; it's probably the hardest spanish class I've ever taken. We're going to read a book a week and then discuss it during the week, so I will essentially be reading a book in spanish every weekend. The one this past weekend wasn't even that long (130 pages with lots of footnotes), but it took me forever to read. I haven't spoken in that class yet, either. Our prof just lectured straight through for the first 3 classes essentially, but when we've had an opportunity to speak, I haven't. I need to get on that ASAP!! And finally, Schooling in Communities (my teaching class) was on Monday and was okay. It's a once a week class because we have a 40 hour internship that we'll be doing on the side, though the class is 2.5 hours every Monday night (5-7:30pm, ie it sucks). I'm okay with the internship I got (2nd pick) though I'm disappointed I didn't get my first pick; the Children's museum sounded like the most fun. I'll be tutoring at a local middle school on Wednesdays from 2:45-6pm and Fridays from 2:45-5pm. As such, I can't go to any more NUBB rehearsals on Fridays, which sucks. :( It really couldn't be helped though, since they were adamant that we stay for the whole time at the internship. Scheduling was a nightmare as it was... And so yeah. I best be working on homework now, since I'm going to the basketball game tonight. Another sad side effect of the internship is that I can't play at Wednesday games anymore, since bus runs are at 6pm and I'll just be getting off work then. Thus, I won't get to see many men's games...only on weekends. :( Argh, darn class! I wanted an internship on Tuesdays and Thursdays, since I only have one class that day, but noooo. Okay, off to do work... Current Mood: calm, for now Current Music: "Gone" --Kelly Clarkson (Comment on this)
Monday, December 26th, 2005
9:54 pm	Texas! I'm currently packing for Texas. :/ I frown in regards to the packing, not to Texas. :) Watch the 'Cats take on the UCLA Bruins in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX, on Friday, December 30th at 1pm Central time on CBS! There's a small chance you might see yours truly! I'll be back from Texas on the 30th (really late though) so I won't be back home until the 31st. I go back to school on the 2nd (probably mid afternoon), so if you want to see me before I go back to school, you'll have to fit it in there some time! (Comment on this)
Sunday, December 25th, 2005
1:08 pm	Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas! On my end, massive family gathering begins in about a half hour. :) (Comment on this)
Monday, December 19th, 2005
12:24 am	Blobbity Blog Time for a random, conglomeration type live journal update. Woo! I finished The Devil in the White City a few days ago. I read it in a short period of time because not much was going on, and also because it's so creepy that I didn't want to prolong the scariness. I mean, I read before I go to bed. Hence, I was reading about a serial killer before turning out my lamp to go to sleep each night. Let's just say I had some weird dreams...not scary per se, just weird. The book was pretty good though and I learned some stuff about Chicago history that I didn't know. Like for instance, did YOU know that the Pledge of Allegiance was created for the Columbian Exhibition (World's Fair) in Chicago around 1893? Pretty neat stuff, actually. Uh, let's see. I watched Project Runway on Wednesday and was super happy that they're doing a season 2. I'm pretty sure that it was my secret/subconscious desire to be a fashion designer when I was like 8. I used to draw pretty outfits and then add people to fit them. If I had been able to sew, I would've created some pretty awesome stuff for like, my American Girl dolls. Pleasant Company would've had nothing on me. :P Friday I worked an 8 hour day, 12:45pm-9pm and saw Micah when he came into the library. He's grown a beard (it makes him look older) and is still as tall as ever. I'd forgotten what it's like to be around tall people because when he asked for a hug (aww), I realized that the top of my head barely reaches his shoulder. Oy. Soy baja. (I'm short). Also friday night Amanda came over and we watched this early 90s movie called "Cutting Edge," about this hockey player and figure skater that become pairs skating partners and also fall in love. I kept trying to predict the movie the entire way through, and I was pretty good! It was cute though, so no complaints. Amanda leafed through magazines while we watched and I showed her pictures from the school year thus far and narrated them. In short, good times. Saturday we went down to the Walnut Room with our family friends, like we do every year. We got there at 5:30pm, but the wait was over 2 hours long. Thus, we took our little pager/buzzer thing and went over to the Christkindl Market, which I learned how to spell properly this year. Go me! All this time I thought it was Kris Kindle. Haha. Anyways, it was ridiculously cold, but we wandered around and looked at shops and then stopped to get some potato pancakes from one of the food booths. It was authentic, as the shop people were from Germany! More importantly, they were really good and tied us over until dinner. We went back inside and Mary and I went and looked at dresses while the others stood in line. Oh man, dress heaven! They had like an entire WING of dresses, at least 1/4 of the floor, and the store is a full block. Every hue of the rainbow could be found, except the black dress that I got at our Field's a week ago. It's pretty. :) But I digress. We had to wait in line after our pager started buzzing and blinking (I had been holding it, staring at it and tapping it, saying "Buzz now! Blink NOW! etc" when it finally went off), and didn't get seated until 8:30pm. Now, it's a sign of how STUPID Macy's is because the store is already under their management. The service was terrible! We had no silverware at our table and did not get any until our food arrived and we asked for some. We didn't get water right away, and when we did, it tasted funny. Asking for another cup of hot chocolate or a clean fork took 10 minutes to be answered. We didn't get our walnut shaped cookies with our bill (we had to ask for them). We got our SantaBear mugs...after asking for them. Our waiter brought the glass mugs to our table...without boxes or tissue paper...and a green plastic Field's bag. And most importantly...our food was really slow in coming. We didn't finish eating until like 9:45pm. We had a table right next to the tree thankfully, but we were in the front of the room by the entrance, so people kept pushing past our table to take pictures with the Great Tree. Oy, it was irritating. It was amusing when the fairy princess lady came over to our table and ended up talking about law firms with my dad. Her brother works in a firm that my dad knows quite a few people from. Small world. On our way out we were shunted through the employee entrance/exit, which was really weird and totally a fire hazard. The store closes at 9pm, but all the people in the Walnut Room on the 7th floor have to leave the building once they finish. Usually the side doors are open, but not only were they directing us to use the employee exit, but they had CHAINED the other doors shut. So that was kinda unsafe. We looked at the windows outside, despite the bitter cold, and were disappointed by those as well. They were not nearly as whimsical as years past and had far fewer characters and less elaborate sets. I wish they had done Harry Potter once I knew what it was. They did it a few years ago (must've been like 2000 or something) and Mary had to explain who everyone was. The Great Tree had mini Hedwigs in it that year. :) But yeah, in all the windows were lame. Moral of the story: Macy's sucks. In the car on the ride home I was crammed in the backseat between Mary and Mike. It was pretty darn cute when I leaned my head on Mike's shoulder, and instead of him shrugging me off like usual, he leaned his head on mine. I exclaimed, "But we have no camera!" :P Today I more or less finished my Christmas shopping. I'm just waiting for stuff to come in the mail. I'm crossing my fingers that it gets here before the holiday. It's all supposed to, but we'll see. And of course I have to decide if I want to get anything small for friends at school. I got something for all my freshmen flutes, and also something for Matt (which made him mad, haha), so I'm thinkin' maybe I should get stuff for the rest of them. Meh, we'll see. In church this morning Father Don said something interesting in his homily, "We give gifts to people not because they deserve them, but because we love them." I really like this sentiment because I think it's true. People can whine about getting gifts from friends and thus feel obligated to give them something in return, but that's not what it's all about. Giving a gift means showing that you care. And you can argue that you don't need to give anything material to do that, but we'll save that discussion for another day. Father Don also told us that a bat, a cat, and two kittens are/were living in our (under construction) church. The two kittens were rescued by workmen when they were discovered between the inner and outer brick walls of the structure; workers took them home. :) And finally, tonight I watched Spiderman, started planning out seeing friends this week (effectively my last week to do so), and caught the end of the Bears game. All I can say is the Bears defense is number one in the NFL! They played at home, and it's seriously freezing out there right now. This morning it was 11 degrees. This evening I'm pretty sure it got down to zero, or thereabouts. And you can bet the windchill was below that. Soldier Field is on the lake. Crazy men were shirtless. Aieee! But yeah, the Bears kicked some butt and I'm hoping for a good finish to their season. Playoffs and then the Super Bowl? Who knows...it's been 20 years since the '85 team, i.e. the greatest defensive team in history and Chicago's football icon. I saw that the Colts lost today too--their first loss of the season. Matt's probably annoyed, but I can't help but imagine a Colts-Bears Super Bowl. Come on, how awesome would that be?!! Two Midwest teams that haven't been in it in a really long time (or maybe at all? I don't know if the Colts have ever gone...)? It'd be sweet. Guaranteed. Whoops, last thing I swear: Mr. Farris finally sent us tentative itineraries for the Sun Bowl trip. Woo hoo! It's gonna be an awesome time, though there will be lots of 6:30am breakfasts. Ick. As Bethany so nicely informed me on facebook this evening, NINE days! Current Mood: cheerful Current Music: The Beatles (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 13th, 2005
12:31 am	I love days off Today was a busy day. Phew! This morning I got up at 7:30am so I could go to my two doctor appointments back to back. That was kind of sucky, but at least they're out of the way. It's kind of like, "Oooh, Sarah's on break! Time to get her eyes, teeth, etc. looked at!" Points for me because I don't have any cavities! ::grins brightly:: At 12:30pm I went to the Wheaton train station to meet Joe Bustos and Ben. Joe came in from Evanston to visit me and Ben because he just graduated and is going back to Miami. :( We went over to Egglectic and had lunch, and then walked around downtown Wheaton. I was kind of acting as tour guide and pointing out random buildings and giving random facts. I should totally be a tour guide at NU. I'm not even kidding. Anyways, we stopped at the library and Ben checked out Casablanca so we could watch it later. Then we went over to Wheaton Bowl to go bowling (duh). Ben and Joe went to an ATM first, so I had to wait like 20 minutes. I watched all the kids from North get out of school and come get in their cars (in the bowling alley parking lot) and then drive away. Meanwhile, I sat there thinking about high school and comparing it to college in my head. I think college wins by a lot. Our time was so controlled in high school and looking back, a lot of it seems pretty silly and/or worthless. I'm a fan of deriving meaning or worthwhileness from anything...but still. When I think of all that time I wasted in gym class over the years...wow. But yes, high school was fun at the time, but I wouldn't want to go back. College is better. Finally the two slow pokes got there and we bowled three games. I wasn't bowling that awesomely, though I did get 2 strikes and a few spares during the three games. I was consistent, with a score of about 80 for every game. Ben got a Turkey (3 strikes in a row) at one point, so that was exciting. My arm and hand kind of hurt afterwards though, so that wasn't good. We came back to my house to watch Casablanca, though Joe and Ben went over to North to look around inside first. I should have gone too so I could see the new addition, but I was tired and just went home and waited for them. :( Casablanca was really good though; I really liked it! There are SO many famous lines from that movie! As Joe put it, "You've seen half the movie before you've ever seen it!" After the movie we ate some dinner (my mom made chili with apple crisp and vanilla ice cream for dessert). My mom was off picking up my dad at the train station, and there was a mild confusion, so we wound up eating just the three of us. Then we watched some of the Bulls-Heat game before they had to leave so Joe could catch his train. During the game it was funny because Joe said, "Yeah, the Heat are playing the Chicago Bears." Ben and I were like, "Inter-game play?!" Haha. I made my brother take a picture of us before Joe left. Mike just got a really good digital camera for his graduation/birthday/Christmas present, so he took a really nice one of us. Awh, I will be sad that Joe's gone. It's weird that we won't see him again for probably a long time. :( After everyone left I watched The Year Without a Santa Claus with my dad (heck yeah, Danielle's Xanga background!) and was moved by its awesomeness. Not really, but you know. And then I came upstairs to do some Christmas shopping online and wound up talking to people for what...three and a half hours. Meep! And now everybody is saying goodnight at once, so I think it's time for Sarah to go to bed as well. Current Mood: calm Current Music: reading "Devil in the White City" (Comment on this)
Saturday, December 10th, 2005
11:22 pm	Lookin' Up Okay, so I freaked some people out with that last entry. I'm sorry. But then again, I was pretty freaked out too. Things are going okay at the moment and the person is receiving treatment. I'm feeling optimistic about the whole thing, but nothing like a rude wake up call that sets your world off kilter. Phew. I got home from school yesterday. It took a while to get home because of traffic, so we got back around 6:15pm. I spent the evening watching The Two Towers with my family, and eating tasty Rosati's pizza. Plus, right when I got home Project Runway was on, and then What Not to Wear was on too! Hence, I was in TV HEAVEN. :) I was even somewhat productive and moved all my suitcases and crap upstairs to my room during commercial breaks! And I started my own laundry, since my mom didn't want to do it yet and I did. I'm not sure when I became so responsible... :P Today I got to sleep in and then got up and unpacked all my clothes and hung them up in my closet. I also decorated my room for Christmas. Then it was amazing because my dad and brother installed a cable splitter in the basement so we can watch CABLE TV in the BASEMENT now! This is really exciting, since we've had a TV down there for YEARS (like 10 or more) and it's only been for video games and movie-watching. My dad claims it'll help him keep his sanity because I can watch ten million episodes of What Not to Wear down there without him having to watch it too. Haha...he knows me so well. So I watched a little TV this afternoon, set up my computer in my room (I have a desktop, remember?), putzed around online...you know. My family went to get our Christmas tree late afternoon and it was snowing! And yes, real trees are the only way to go. I will fight you on this point if you disagree. Once we got back we had some dinner and I watched the end of the Goonies (omg, I love that movie! It reminds me of childhood...), then the end of The Wizard of Oz, and then we put in Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. I think I will be watching lots of movies this break. :) My brother's friend Dan came over and they went to see Blue Man Group downtown. Of course both my parents fell asleep during Harry Potter, but that's okay. I'm still infinitely amused by how little all the kids look. Why didn't they keep Hermione looking that way?! And Richard Harris--I miss you! Why did you have to die anyway? :( This week looks interesting. Monday I have a doctor's appointment, followed by 4 hours of work (yup, back at the ole WPL). Tuesday I have TWO doctor's appointments, and then Joe Bustos is coming to Wheaton to hang out with me and Ben. It'll be nice to see him before he goes back to Miami. But geez, note to self, talk any and all friends of mine that want to graduate early out of it. :( Wednesday I'm working, and apparently Amanda gets back in town. :) Thursday and Friday I'm also working, but then Saturday we're going down to the Walnut Room and Marshall Fields with some family friends. Don't even get me STARTED on how pissed I am that this will be the last year before things change under stupid Macy's. If you know me at all, you should know I hate change for the most part--and if it messes with tradition? Oh man, watch out! And now I'm off to read a book for fun! What?! I know, I'm shocked that I have the time to do so too. Happy break! Current Mood: cheerful (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, December 5th, 2005
7:16 pm	Holy Shit This is where Sarah freaks out. And not about something stupid like homework, tests, people treating me crappily, or whatever. We're talking like I feel sick to my stomach and am in a state of shock. Think about the most scared you have ever been and the way you felt when you heard something unbelievable. For that is me right now. It seems ridiculous that I'm sitting here writing this in a live journal and not talking to people, but I think that will come later. Add that I'm supposed to be in finals mode since I have a final paper due tomorrow and finals on wednesday and friday, and the fact that I'm getting/am sick and there you go. But I don't want to bring this back to me because it's not. ...Someone I know tried to commit suicide last week. For the love of God (or whoever)--if you read this and ever feel ANY tendency towards attempting the same, CALL ME. I don't care if it's the middle of the night--just call me, talk to me. I can't imagine losing you. Current Mood: worried (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, December 2nd, 2005
2:01 am	Contemplative I'm terrible. This week has been lots of fun and everything, but MY GOD it's the wee hours of friday morning already and I'm not at all where I should be with work. This might possibly be my worst case of procrastination ever. What's worse is that I can't seem to get myself to care. I know I'll hate myself for not doing my spanish research tonight and will be freaking out tomorrow when I have to go in to my spanish prof's office hours and discuss my (as yet unwritten or good thesis-having) paper, but yet here I am updating live journal instead. This is bad people. Very bad. If I could do something to make this paper just disappear, I totally would. It shouldn't even be that big of a deal (5-6 pages), but my topic is too big: Mexican muralism. We were supposed to work on it all quarter, but come on..I had band and homework in other classes (besides EXCESSIVE amounts of spanish homework) to be getting on with. I will be glad to be done with this class. But again, I'm thinking too far ahead. What I need to do is concentrate. Ugh. On another note, I really liked this quarter. I totally got to know my friends from last year better, and also made some pretty kick-ass new friends. I'm so glad that I've been able to find people that are similar enough to me that I feel comfortable with them, but also different enough that they help me grow as a person. My mom always complains that I never talk about classes when she asks what's been going on, but I think my socially oriented responses just prove what I'm finding most important. But more on this later. I am learning a lot in all my classes; this quarter in particular has had a few classes that were like, "Whoa. I think I just expanded my mental capacities just by listening to that." Astronomy, for instance, has brought about that troublesome paradox of feeling infintesibly (new word? bad spelling?) small, and yet important. Let's just say that the concept of how big our galaxy, let alone the universe, is definitely blew my mind. Sociology has me thinking about groups of people in new ways, though I still like psychology better. I think Russian Lit really HAS changed my life. SO glad I took that class. I'm really going to miss it, I think. The lit was good, the professor insightful (about the lit and life in general), my TA amazing, and the class fun because I had friends in it. The only thing academically that I'm not satisfied with is my brain. I don't quite remember what she called it, but Gail, my awesome dorm assistant master and Russian lit TA, asked us at our first discussion section meeting whether we thought we had started our "intellectual awakening." I did not think I had, though I'm wondering if maybe it's starting. I feel like other people around me have figured out important things that everyone should know, and most importantly, have discovered how to EXPRESS them to other people, whereas I have not. Case in point: what's the meaning of life? I have an inkling, but it gets hard when people want you to say it flat out. I also don't know where I stand on a lot of issues; more problematic is that I don't seem to know what all of the issues are. I've never been the most informed person ever, but being at college has made me worse. I used to read Newsweek cover to cover every week (I know it's no New York Times, but it was something) and would read at least the front section of the Sunday Trib every week, glancing through the rest for things that struck my interest. Maybe that's the problem though: I'm only doing things that interest me. I know they say you should figure out what you want and who you are in college, but I think that can be somewhat of a limiting mentality sometimes. If you only do what you know you already like, you're not exposing yourself to all the things that you could potentially love. Or alternatively, all the things that you could benefit from. Maybe I don't like reading the newspaper, but I really should. If for no other reason than my own vanity that misses being the person that people would come to when they wanted to understand something or know what was going on. I think I just lost whatever tangent my brain was speeding along, so I'll throw in a new one for good measure. I've been getting these weird emotional reactions to people lately: sudden bursts of inexplainable love for people. Not romantic love or anything of that sort, just recognition and appreciation of people's awesomeness. In fact, I currently have it in my mind to go tell such people what they mean to me sometime in the next few days. I'm all about the little things like that, for I know that would make MY day if someone said that to me. And plus, I don't care if I'm slightly put out (you know, exposure to possible embarrassment) in the process; it doesn't matter. Call it a quirk of my personality, but I'm not afraid to dish out compliments, and I mean sincere ones. Randomn acts of kindess rock my world, and they probably rock yours too. And on a final note, it's been interesting in how I've gotten to know people this quarter. It's come in ways different from those in the past. And yet, it's exactly the same as before. If that's confusing, it's because it's supposed to be. Something that's come to my attention recently is how gratifying and awesome the feeling of understanding something or someone can be. The moment of comprehension or mind-expansion or what have you is truly amazing. Now it's not like I've figured out whatever the heck dark matter (and/or energy) is, or how people tick, but I feel like I've gotten a few of the puzzle pieces lately. So much goes unsaid by people but then somehow it comes out (sometimes). Live journal is awesome in that way for providing a space for people to write what they're thinking, and maybe not anything they'd ever SAY, and letting other people see it. I am a fan of insightful entries that help me get to know someone better. I especially love those (and also live conversations) that somehow address the little doubts, insecurities and reservations you have floating around in your head. Stories are good at doing this. One of the things that I always think of from AP English and Vangetson is the idea that a description of something tells you more about the author than the thing itself. Focus on not what a person is talking about, but HOW they're doing so, and you might see my point. In any case, clarity rocks and I love when things just seem to click in my brain. Unfortunately, that's not occurring with my spanish paper right now. And it pains me. Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: "Piano Man" by Billy Joel (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 30th, 2005
2:38 am	Oh Reading Week... Wow. The last two days have been interesting. Reading Week 2005 has been interesting. The major points of interest that you need to know: 1.) I kind of got written up last night for being at a party in the dorm where there was alcohol. I wasn't drinking, but my name went on the list anyway. I just better get a warning and nothing else, or so help me... and 2.) I was grinded upon and kind of grinded at Radiothon's kick-ass opening party tonight. It was all my friends, but still. Kindy sketchy. At one point it was like 6 people on me...ewwww. People apparently thought it was funny to come up behind me and start doing it, just because it's me. Sigh. And our theme this year is Radiothon 18: A Classy Affair. Que interesante... I promise I'm not becoming a bad person. Really. Current Mood: bouncy Current Music: dance/hip hop stuff (Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 29th, 2005
4:32 pm	Ground Rules: The First player of this "game" starts with the topic "5 weird habits of yourself" and people who get tagged need to write a Xanga (COUGH or Live Journal) entry about their 5 weird habits as well as state this rule cleraly. In the end, you need to choose the next 5 people to be tagged and list their names. Dont's forget to leave a comment that says, "You are tagged" in their Xanga/LJ and tell them to read yours. 5 Weird Habits 1) I have to read a book all the way through before I start another one. I can't do multiple ones at the same time. 2) Whenever I leave a message on someone's answering machine/voicemail, I always end it with a fast "Thanks, bye!" regardless of what I just said. 3) I only drink milk out of plastic cups. It tastes funny out of glass ones! 4) Whenever I write a paper or am studying something, I talk to myself. 5) If I'm concentrating on something, I take my ring off my finger and hold with my teeth. (This one is recent and really weird! I don't know why I do it!) I tag Josh, Danielle, Amanda (cousin, if she reads this...?), Katie F. and Nellie. (I don't know if the last three will do it, but we'll see...) (Comment on this)
Sunday, November 27th, 2005
12:57 am	My Birthday! Today was a pretty good day. :) I slept in until 10am, then dragged myself out of my nice, warm, comfy bed and got moving. Rachel called about our plans for today and that got me going calling people with last minute info and such. I talked to Dan and Steph again briefly, after talking to them both quite a bit last night. Eventually I stopped putzing around online and did some work. I took notes on some books I got from the WPL for my spanish paper for a few hours. My Aunt Rosemary came to deliver my birthday card and to see me, which was a nice surprise. :) After that I quickly cleaned my room, washed my hair (bad move--frizz central), and got ready to go out. I left to pick up the Katies around 3:15pm. We made good time and managed to still get to Cantera by 3:40pm. There we met Danielle and Rachel and I got a big 3 person hug. :) We decided to see Pride and Prejudice, since we were a group of all girls and it's a romance and yeah. Though the movie was rather long, I thought it was pretty good. It sure was cute, that's for sure. What's not to love about a witty girl melting the heart of a cold and distant man? I've since decided I really should read the book now, since I have an idea of what it's about. The movie had some good dialogue, so I'd imagine the book must as well. Perhaps over Christmas break? We shall see. After the movie we drove back to Wheaton and went over to Front Street Cocina for dinner. Rachel and Danielle were already there, and we waited for a few minutes before Josh and Holly showed up. We waited a few more until Alyse and Alison got there so we could be seated. Claire and Ben showed up a little late, but were there for most of dinner. It was good times with several conversations going on at once about really random things. I was in the middle of the table, so I kept turning back and forth, listening to one and then the other. My food was really good as well. :) Claire, Ben, Josh and Holly all left after we finished eating, but Nellie came to join us just as we were leaving. Thus, our remaining group set off to the Popcorn shop to get some candy, per Alison's suggestion. On the way back to my house I stopped to drop Katie J. off at her house so she could get her car and then played chaffeur to Katie F. I still find it comical that they are so afraid of my driving. I'm not that bad, I swear. Anyways, back at my house my dad was watching Notre Dame football so we had to go hang out in the living room for a while before we could get the family room and TV. We sat around talking and taking pictures for a bit before taking out my new game "Scene It" and asking some of the questions. Around this point Hilda and then Amanda showed up, which was awesome. Finally my parents went to bed and we gained control of the TV and DVD player, so we could actually play the game. We played one round and my team won! That's because I have awesome movie knowledge... ;) Alyse suggested we play "Never Have I Ever" since I was turning 20 and that's a step up from Truth or Dare (Alison's suggestion...haha). That game went on for about an hour, which was comical. For once we were telling Amanda, "Get your mind in the gutter!" because we wanted more interesting things than "Never have I ever been across the Pacific Ocean..." At some point Alyse leaned over and planted her hand on my chest rather suddenly, since someone wanted to know what exactly being "touched" consisted of. Oy, shocking! It was also amusing because whenever there was a particularly racy statement, we'd all look at either Alyse, Alison or Hilda. Hehe. They're all wild ones. ;) Nellie and Hilda had to leave after that, so everybody else decided to leave at that point too. It was 11:30ish. We stopped in my front hall to get group pictures and then there was a crazy hug fest before everyone left. I think I got more hugs today than I've gotten in the last 3 months. :D I tried getting people to spread the love at school, but it just wasn't sticking. And that made me a Sad Panda because I come from a family of huggers; it's in my blood and is as natural as breathing. But yes, it was an awesome end to a pretty great birthday! I had my doubts that this year would be able to measure up to last year's, but it did, so I was happily surprised. The only downer of the whole day was that certain key people didn't wish me a Happy Birthday, be it by phone, email or facebook message/wall post. :( I'm not sure what to think about that...But now it's time for bed. Current Mood: satisfied (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, November 25th, 2005
12:32 am	Counting down the hours...eeek! Well dang it. I turn 20 in like 4 hours. Ahhhhhhhhh. Today was a fairly decent day. Thanksgiving all I did was eat lots of food and watch like 4 hours of the What Not to Wear marathon. OMG, it was amazing. Plus, my dad informed me that Clinton Kelly went to Northwestern. 1,000 brownie points for him!! I always knew he was better than the long haired dude that was part of season one... But back to today. My dad came to wake me up at 9:30am. See, I have no alarm clock at home (mine's at school), and the little travel one I have doesn't work apparently. :( Anyhoo, I went off to Great Clips to get my hair cut and had to wait a bit because it was fairly crowded. Once I was actually getting my hair cut I talked with the girl doing it, which was different because usually I'm pretty quiet. I feel stupid making small talk while my hair is either in my face or clipped up in weird spots on my head. Meh. We discussed early bird specials and how people who shop the day after Thanksgiving for Christmas gifts are not usually filled with the Christmas spirit and, on the contrary, are usually pretty bitchy. I know I would be if I got up at 4am to go shopping. Crazy people. Problem with the haircut was that the girl took off A LOT of hair and it's kinda short now. I usually have long hair in the winter, so it felt really weird. I actually freaked out a bit in the car because her definition of face framing was hacking off my hair midway down my face on one side of my head...yeah. I curled my hair a lot later to salvage it for the day. Hopefully it'll look okay tomorrow, once I've washed it. ::crosses fingers:: When I got home I saw that my parents had left to go shopping and went to open the house door when I discovered I didn't have house keys. I'm not sure exactly where they are, but I'm pretty sure they're back in my desk drawer in Evanston. So helpful, I know. So I got back in the car because it was FREEZING even in the garage and called my mom and whined about not having keys. Except she didn't answer so I had to just leave a message. Eventually (5 minutes later...) I decided to go to the library and get some books for my spanish paper while I was waiting to get inside. Once at the library I ran into Ann, who said hi and asked how school's going, etc. I noticed Gary working desk, which struck me as odd, seeing as Thanksgiving break is rather short to be back at work. Meh. Upstairs I rounded the corner to find Ben on the second floor desk. I made an abrupt detour and went to talk to him. I think I stood there for at least 20 minutes. He's a funny guy and always regales me with amusing stories. For about 5 minutes he was assuring me that he was going to bake me cupcakes in his new oven (he got a new apartment) and bring them to the library tomorrow, where I'd have to come back and get them. He also had this plan to take me out somewhere on his break. But, we got interrupted by a phone call and a patron, so I went off to find my books. When I returned Ben was gone, but he reappeared while I was writing a note to him and he hit me on the head with a note card. It hurt. :( He said he'd just found out that tonight was poker night, so no baking would be happening. This was fine with me because I didn't think I'd have time to come back on Saturday. He got offended by this though and was like "Fine, be mean." Me: "I'm not mean! That's not how I roll!" Ben: "Did you just say "that's not how I roll?" I can't believe you said that...that's so weird." Apparently he does not appreciate one of the many Matt-isms I've picked up. Oh well. I talked to him for a few more minutes and left him writing me a Top 10 list of my visit. As I have yet to receive the email, I don't think he finished it. Punk. I should mention that driving isn't as bad because Jewell road is almost done. It's completely smooth now, though we still have to go way the frick around and go down Geneva to Woodlawn to Herrick, etc. Last time I was home, the top of my street was like off-roading. Now it's nice, new asphalt! But they had removed our street sign, so nobody knew what our street was. Thankfully, one made an appearance today. Also construction-y related is the fact that the first thing I said when I walked in my door on Wednesday afternoon was "Ack. That's ugly." The Sports Center kept its lame-ass promise to build a huge parking lot behind our backyard. The kicker is that nobody parks there; it's too far away from the door. So, instead of looking at grass and a bark running path, we now look at yards of black asphalt and yellow lines. I hate bureaucracy at work. Look at me, I'm the Sports Center! I do whatever the hell I want and Wheaton lets me!! ICK. Tangent aside...my parents were home when I arrived, so I didn't have to wait in the cold anymore. I basically did nothing for the rest of the afternoon, which is unfortunate. I was supposed to do research for spanish, but that didn't really happen. Sigh. I did finally plan out my birthday though. That took a lot of effort and I still have lots of people to call. People kept changing their minds about whether they could come or not and for how long, etc, which was rather irksome. At this point I'll probably just see my good friends, which is fine by me. Hey, I tried. :/ Plans changed around a million times but in the end I spent the evening with my family. First we went to eat dinner at this restaurant called the Millrose, in Barrington, to celebrate my mom's and my birthday. The restaurant was really cool because it was made up of 6 barns, all assembled together, and had a very lodge-y type vibe. It was decorated for Christmas too, with lights, wreaths and snowflakes tastefully arranged all over the place. The food was quite good, though it was weird to see an upscale menu given that atmosphere. I was expecting like $7 burgers, but I was quite wrong. I think once I'm on my own I'll never eat in a nice restaurant again. I'm going to be to be so poor. Alas. After dinner we drove across the street to AMC South Barrington 30 and saw Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire. It was time 2 for me, and I liked it even more this time around. I'm convinced that having read the books, the first viewing experience is tainted by anticipation for what's to come (thereby never completely enjoying/appreciating the moment) as well as the constant comparison between the book and the movie and what they're leaving out, etc. I was able to notice more of the details this time, which made the movie better. I had to keep checking to make sure my mom didn't fall asleep (she didn't, thanks to gum) and was trying to look at the movie from the perspective of someone who hasn't read the books (ie, my dad and brother) and was trying to anticipate questions they might ask at the end. I'm not sure any of them really liked it a lot. They thought it was okay/good, but not great. Meh. There was definitely room for improvement. For example, Richard Harris coming back from the dead and playing Dumbledore again. I am not liking Michael Gambon. He is not working for me. My brother surprised me by saying he thought Rupert Grint was the best of the three main kids. He claimed that Rupert seems to embody the character of Ron, whereas Emma and Dan are just "acting" Hermione and Harry. He might have a point... Post movie we drove home and did cake and singing Happy Birthday with these small squares of carrot cake from the Jewel bakery. I love cream cheese icing! And I only had 2 candles, which was funny. After that we opened gifts, which was okay. I got some wintery apparel and that Scene It DVD game. I'm not sure how often I'll play that, but perhaps it'll be used some time at school. We'll see. As of right now I'm pretty tired and I think it's time for bed. I seriously can't believe I'll be 20 when I wake up. My brain isn't comprehending this fact very well. I know it's just a number and that rationally it's not that different from 19, but still. I'm entering a decade of my life that will (hopefully) be filled with a lot of major events: graduate college, get my first job, get married?, have kids? CRAZY. Alyse and I discussed this yesterday night, when she unexpectedly called me at 1am. Our conversation just wet my appetite for more tomorrow night. I'm so excited to see people! I have missed them all terribly. :( Current Mood: anxious Current Music: "Control" Mute Math (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 17th, 2005
12:59 am	The Good and the Bad Reasons I'm happy: --It snowed today! --NUMB practice got cancelled because of said inclement weather and we had NUBB (NU basketball band) rehearsal in Regenstein instead. NUBB should be fun, though I'm not sure how it'll compare to NUMB. I hope the time commitment doesn't become an issue, what with my schedule and the 40-hour observation/volunteer requirement for my first teaching class this quarter. Assuming I get into said class. I have a permission number, but spots seem to be going fast. Boo. --Two people backed out of Harry Potter on Thursday at midnight, so Chrissie and I got their tickets! Woo hoo! That might have just made my week right there. :) --I finished my Astronomy paper, and it's not due until Friday! --Thanksgiving break is a week away for me! --Our CD for NUMB is going to be frickin' sweet! --2 more people than I thought are going to be at the U of I game, if only for part of it. --I had another interesting conversation with Matt today. --I laughed so hard at dinner both yesterday AND today that I almost cried. It was great! --Tomorrow is Harry Potter dress-up day for band practice! --I listened to the Planets and Third Symphony like 2x each in the last two days. --I sent emails to people I haven't talked to in awhile. --My boss is pysched to have me back to work over Christmas. Let's hope the director feels the same way. ::fingers crossed:: --I may or may not a crush on some guys in my dorm. O:-) --We're having some family over for Thanksgiving, so that should be nice. :) --Christmas with my mom's side of the family will also be at our house! Sweet! 40+ of my favorite people. :) --I got all my homework done for Friday today, so I don't have to worry about it tomorrow! Now I can get stuff done for the weekend ahead of time! --I'm listening to Backstreet Boys, just because someone in my suite was listening to them earlier and I was like, "Hmm...haven't listened to THAT in a few years..." Come on, you know you love it. --I've almost completed Anna Karenina! I'm on page 868 and there's only 50 pages to go! And you thought Dickens was bad... --We might go to a bowl game over Christmas break!! I GET TO GO TOO! That will make my break if we go to either the Sun or Alamo Bowls in Texas. Nashville Music City Bowl would be okay too. NO Detroit. I don't want to get stabbed. :P --My birthday is a week from Saturday! It's totally weird, because I can't believe it's the end of November already! Where has the time gone?! I remember early September like it was yesterday...I am a little weirded out by turning 20 though. I won't be a teenager anymore; I'll be a twenty-something! MEEP! Reasons I'm less happy (read: sad): --NUMB ends after this weekend. We have the banquet on Dec. 4th, but still. I'm quite sad about this. :( --Next quarter I'm not going to have as many classes with people I know. In fact, I might not end up with any, which will suck since I have 3 classes with people I know now. :( --I got a 5 out of 10 on my astronomy quiz today. We get to throw one quiz out, so this one's essentially gone, but I only got a 7 on the other one. Boo. --Finals are really soon! --I have to write a research paper for spanish and I have no time to read anything! We have to have a thesis by next wednesday and the paper is due on Dec. 6th. Ick. --Today I may or may not have dropped the f-bomb in conversation in the band room when only 5 people were there...which made it awkward. Especially when people pointed it out. ::embarrassed face:: --I have to get up at like 4am on Saturday. Possibly 4:30am. We shall see. Darn 11am away game in Champaign! I do believe the goods outweigh the bads, so no worries. :) Current Mood: cheerful Current Music: BSB (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 8th, 2005
2:17 pm	Random laughs This just happened and I want to write it down before I forget. I find it comical. :) Dan (to Matt): You're not really a student here. Matt: Yes I am! Do you want to see my WildCard? Me: That sounds like a pickup line... Dan: Can I see your cash stripe too? And Professor Morson in Russian Lit proclaimed, "It's impossible to stop your mind from wandering, even during the most important moments of your life...like making love...and this class." And finally, I said this Sunday. I apologize for its crudeness. I hang out with too many guys. :/ (Said while discussing the overcrowdedness and overall crappiness of our local dining hall, and then repeated later) Me: Hinman is like a whore...and a bad one at that, for it doesn't put out even when you pay it exorbitant amounts of money. (meals are like $8.50...) Nathan: (patting me on the head) I can't believe you made a joke about hookers! and later... Matt: (stunned) I can't believe you made a joke that's funny! I don't know what to say... Me: I made you speechless! I win! (3 Comments |Comment on this)
1:47 am	Heavier Things...and I'm not talking about John Mayer This entry is going to be a bit more serious. Just a warning. So over the weekend, one of the RAs that lives in Elder died unexpectedly. He was just found dead in his room on friday night. One of my flute friends lives in that dorm and told us how her roommate woke her up at 3am on Saturday morning to tell her the news. What's weird is that they still don't know why this kid, a senior, died. They're still doing an autopsy apparently. In short, the whole thing has served as a rather rude wake up call to our mortality. Sure we all know that we're going to die someday, but we never think that it could be so soon. I know I have not lived enough to accept death yet. But then again, will I have ever reached a point where I will? Our culture conditions us to fear death in much the same way that we fear the unknown. Maybe Mexico has it right with all of their Day of the Dead celebrations that expose children to death from an early age, so that it comes to be just another part of life and nothing to be feared. But then again, it's not like I haven't been exposed to death. I have a large family. Large families mean lots of marriages and births, but also the occasional funeral. I've been to the funerals of 3 fairly close extended family members, as well as many others for people I didn't know quite as well. I've seen a classmate die before finishing high school. Heck, I practically watched my grandmother die, over the course of a few months. Death isn't fun. And yet I have the belief that life does not end with death; without it I'm not sure where I would be. I think it'd be a lot more scary. On a slightly happier topic, I was talking about marriage with some friends today. I still don't quite understand the beliefs of two of my guy friends, who value having a spouse over having children. Don't get me wrong, I'm still looking for Mr. Right and will feel a great sense of...accomplishment (meh, I dunno) when I do, but I think I'll feel more fulfilled when I have kids. Call me crazy, but I think I'll make a good mom some day. But anyways, that was a tangent. Back to the marriage thing. So one of said guy friends and I were discussing the marriage of Levin and Kitty in Anna Karenina and I was commenting on how it's so cute that they don't even know what's going on at their own wedding because they're so in love with one another. My friend rolled his eyes at this and I just told him to wait until his own wedding before making such comments. He replied that he's not going to get married. Seeing as he has a rather serious girlfriend (long distance during the school year; been dating for a few years), I thought that was kind of a weird thought. I know plenty of guys that swear they'll never get married, but it's usually because they haven't found someone that they can see themselves marrying yet. But what if you are in love with someone and think about them all the time and the feeling is reciprocated? Why wouldn't you get married? I for one do not see why you wouldn't. But so anyway, this friend and I then went on to discuss which of our friends from home, and from school, will get married first. A guy he knows just got married (our age), and Amanda's one friend got married over the summer (also our age) so as scary as it sounds, it's not a completely useless topic to discuss. My bet's on Ben and Claire for my group of friends from home, but who knows what might happen. In any case, it only makes my situation all the more lame to know that people are getting married and I haven't even been on a proper date. How stupid. On a random note, the band I'm listening to is awesome. The Working Title are from Charleston, NC and opened for Mae at both concerts I've been to. I also recently got the Mute Math and This Day & Age CDs, both of which are quite good. I recommend them all. :) Current Music: "Mary Getaway" The Working Title (1 Comment |Comment on this)