Open Road Song

Palmer and I went out last night to a friend's birthday party. (It was his birthday as well, we'd already gone to dinner.) But anyway, went out, saw some friends, had a good time. But what struck me was that everyone seemed really surprised to see me. Not in a bad way, but more of a "Suze! You came!" I knew that I'd kind of disappeared due to work and school, I guess I just didn't realize that others had noticed as well. It was kind of nice to know that people have missed me, and now I know I need to make more of an effort to hang with friends.

I took three exams this weekend, it was intense. I'm really confident that I did well in the Environmental Change exam, did ok on Bio (there were a lot more questions about cells than I was expecting), and I think I got a 90 on the math exam. Now I get to register for next semester! Yay. I did figure out that if I take 5 classes in the spring, summer classes, and 5 in the fall, I can be done with my major a year from now. Jesus. So yes, next semester I'm taking Pre-calc, Environmental Health, Environmental Regulations, Life in the Oceans, and Health and Human Disease. (Not actually interested in public health, but I need upper level science classes for my minor, and it sounds interesting.)

I've been biking to work in my shiny new winter gear, and its working out really well so far. I did discover the hard way that I need fenders on my bike. Rode in the day after it rained, and definitely had a big wet spot on my lower back. Unpleasant. So yes, fenders are going on my Christmas list, along with a lot of other bike gear.

I have actually been putting thought into my Christmas list this year, rather than just throwing it together a few days into December. I've also already picked out a Christmas gift for my older sister, I just hope she likes it. No clue what to get for anyone else, but I'll think of something.

So I haven't mentioned it anywhere cause she asked me not to, but it is public news now so I can share! My oldest sister is pregnant and expecting twins! I'm going to be an aunt! I'm ridiculously happy for her and my brother-in-law, and I can't wait to meet these babies. In both good and bad news, she got a new job that required a move to Atlanta, so I won't be able to be there for the actual birth. But my mother (and my brother-in-law's mom) are both under the assumption that I'll go down there a few weeks after the birth to help out, so I guess that's what I'll be doing! Atlanta in May, here I come!

That's about it for now, I'll try to update more often and disappear less. My final two classes are over in two weeks, I'm sure I'll be around more after that. Ciao!

I overslept, then lay in bed for 3 hours reading. Needless to say, I'm not really feeling the studying motivation today. I mean, I'm working on stuff, but I am being way lazy about it. At least I finished my second assignment for Environmental Management and have begun work on the Research Paper Proposal for Environmental Change. Tonight I'll try to do the 3 chapters of reading for the class and participate in the conference. Then tomorrow I'll do some Bio, Saturday I'll do Project 1 for Individuals, Society, and the Environment, then Monday I'll do math. Hurrah!

It is also disgustingly hot in the apartment today, and since I overslept I didn't shower, so I'm now very damp and somewhat smelly. Not too bad! Just kind of a sweaty lazy smell. You know what I mean.

I did get a voicemail from manager telling me how proud she was of me due to the cleanliness and organization of the store, so yay for that? I mean, I'm glad she's happy and all, and it is better to work in a clean store, but I'm tired and sweaty and worked my ass off yesterday, I didn't really want to hear anything about work today. Ah well, at least she wasn't calling to yell at me.

I biked home from Silver Spring Metro yesterday. It was downhill for most of the way, so I feel a bit guilty for including it on my exercise log. But then again, for the second mile I was definitely pushing myself and was absolutely disgusting when I got home, so I guess I do feel justified. I may try going a different way next week- a bit shorter but more of a bike ride involving effort than just coasting downhill. We'll see. It was fun going 20 miles an hour with no effort!

I found out yesterday that my grades from last semester have put me on the 2010 Dean's List. Rock on! I'm still not sure what my overall GPA at UMUC is, because I'm not sure if they ever received my full transcript from MC. I should check on that.

Enough procrastinating! I have journal articles to read and abstracts and outlines to write for my research paper proposal! Wish me luck!

Juggalos may be a bunch of douchebags who attack innocent women, but damn does ICP have some ridonk hilarious lines.

Anyhow, my first week of opening went fairly well. The first day was kind of bad, simply because I did not get nearly enough sleep the night before. I went to bed at 10pm but lay awake for at least an hour, then spent the rest of the night in a restless, not all the way under kind of sleep that kept getting interrupted. No fun. But other than that my first four opening shifts went well. Starting to get to know the early morning regulars, and tips are indeed better in the mornings than in the evenings. And as long as I get six hours of sleep the night before, I feel fine all day! Plus, since I park my parents car at their house, I've been walking two miles a day to and from the store. This past week I walked 7 miles to work, and then another 2 on the way to the Redskins game! Go me!

So, according to the scale at my doctor's office, I've lost 15 pounds over the past several months, and according to my parents I've begun to lose more since I started walking all over the place. Rock on! I've never been one for crash dieting, but if I can get steady exercise and start eating a bit healthier, I'm all for slow and steady weight loss.

Fall classes started yesterday. To be honest, math is going to be kinda brutal. LOTS of homework, LOTS of reading each week. Yikes. Anyhow, after I finish my bio homework I'll get started on that, then on my Environmental Change classwork. Luckily I have three days off this week, so I can get back into the swing of things regarding classes.

Of course, yesterday my computer's power adapter decided to go kaput. Like, it was working fine, and then all of a sudden my computer says its running on battery. We tried letting the adapter cool down before plugging it back in, no dice. So Palmer has ordered me a used replacement so that we can finish getting all my files from my computer onto my hard drive. Luckily, my parents had already ordered me a new computer, it should arrive this week. So, it could be worse. But it is still quite frustrating.

That's about it for now. Just wanted to write a quick update before getting back to homework. Love!

Ok, almost every summary in the meme was guessed right, but there were three no one could figure out. Granted, one is incredibly vague, and the other quite obscure, so I figure none of this "clue" shit, I'll just tell you straight up.

8. Women do important things and have lots of romance. Holy vagueness, Batman! I chose this one specifically because it was so ridiculously non-specific. It is actually about a series of books by Tamora Pierce, the Tortall series. The description of the first book says something about a red-haired girl becoming a professional cross-dresser... anyhow, great series, love them to death, go read!

9. Teenagers fight Satan by reading aloud from stolen library books. I was actually a little sad that no one guessed the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane. These were some of my favorite books growing up, and for years I waited for a book to literally snag me as I went by and tell me how to become a wizard. Sigh!

18. An unusual little girl with variably-colored hair engages in a number of bizarre and surreal adventures, accidentally wiping out all life on earth in the process. Stupidly obscure, but this is the webcomic minus, which can be read here. I highly recommend it! Gorgeous art, whimsical story.

Onto other stuff! The semester is wrapping up and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. Have to finish writing a group paper (guess what I'm doing tomorrow!) plus take four exams starting Saturday and ending Tuesday. Jesus. I'm not taking classes this summer so my parents won't be supporting me, which means I'll be working full time at the coffee shop in order to support myself. Nothing wrong with that at all, its just one more thing that I don't want to think about now. I also need to figure out transferring into the University of Maryland, one more semester of online courses and I'll be begging to be shot in the face. (Oh, he's not here? Never mind!)

Gold Motel this Thursday! Empires in a couple of weeks! Summer is soon! Need to start riding my bike again, and actually working out instead of just talking about it. Rock on.

Alas, my annual wretched cough has arrived. It began yesterday with a slight itchiness of the throat combined with achiness of the chest. I thought that a dose of NyQuil might kill it, but unfortunately the bottle was down to 1/4 of a full dose. I took that anyway, hoping that it would be enough to let me sleep through the night. Miracle of miracles it did, but the second I hauled myself out of bed this morning the cough was back with a vengeance. Ugh. The painful cough combined with wicked cramps to form a morning of suffering. Luckily the cramps have gone away (I love ibuprofen!) but the cough lingers on. So I drink tea with honey and eat Ramen (what, its steamy!) and pray that the cough fades quickly.

In other news! Class starts today! Well, tonight. I have a 6pm class tonight and a 4pm class tomorrow. Good times! Tonight I have Introduction to Physical Science, which turned out to be a pre-req for almost all of my environmental management classes. But hey, at least it'll count towards my minor! Palmer is incredibly excited that I'll be studying physics, and in fact insists on calling the class Physics 101. Never mind that physics will only be a small part of what we're studying, and we probably won't even get to it until the end of the semester. He is bound and determined to call it physics.

Speaking of cats in small spaces (that was a physics joke, hee!), Loki has recently discovered how to open the door to the cabinet that is under the sink, and spent all morning going in and out of there. Which worries me a little bit because there is an access hole to pipes and ducts and whatnot back there and I don't want him getting stuck in crawlspace. But he seems content to just sit inside the dark space under the sink, batting at the plastic bags I store down there in between trips to the supermarket.

What else, what else? My planner is scheduled to arrive today, but I don't know how accurate that is. A makeup store in Downtown Silver Spring had a sale on O.P.I nail polish, so I bought three bottles. "I'm dating a Royal" blue, "Do You Lilac It?" (obvious), and "Kyoto Pearl" which is a lovely silvery color. My nails are now a vibrant lilac color, which I approve of, and I'll probably do my toes tonight. My Threadless shirt has shipped but has not arrived, WHERE IS IT?! I wants it, I needs it! Oh, and my books shipped, they should get here Wednesday. Hopefully they don't require a signature, since I'll be at work most of that day. And the next day and so on through Saturday. Cross your fingers for me!

For some reason, Firefox is now running off of British spelling, and insists that "color" is not the correct way to spell that word. It also doesn't recognize "downtown" which seems odd to me. Do British people not have downtowns in their cities? (I'm being sarcastic. Mostly.)

Anywho, off to waste more time before catching the bus to campus. Ciao, bellas!

School may be killing me, but hey! Only one month left before I graduate with my Associates! So even though I'm drowning under the workload and never post anymore, there is always a silver lining!

Quick notes:
-Chinese is kicking my ass, but I'm studying my ass off so I'll hopefully pull off an A
-Flash rocks!
-I joined a gym, had my first workout today. I convinced Palmer to go with me, and I think he may sign up for a membership himself. Good times!
-I have new clothes! Went Target shopping, got a couple of cute long sleeve shirts and some socks.

That's all for now! Back to making flashcards and lurking on the internet not posting.

Love you all!

Thought I'd update about school unrelated to the crazy guy!

Piano- I've already worked through the assigned book, so I've begun bringing contemporary sheet music to class. Right now I'm learning Don't Stop Believin, you know that's awesome. After that I think I'll move on to The Beatles, specifically Let it Be. My friend Nick asked me to learn that song so that I could play and sing it with his band Situation Normal. Overall good times!

Chinese- Hard, but enjoyable. There is one girl in the class who is a complete ditz, I hope I was never that young and stupid. Well, she'll grow out of it (or she won't), and I won't have to see her after this semester. But yeah, Chinese is fun, my teacher told me I have excellent handwriting for the characters, and I'm friendly with most everyone in the class. Though I did tell one guy to go fuck himself after he said that he'd be flattered to be stalked. So there's that.

Flash- Pretty fucking awesome. I'm really enjoying it, especially the "homework" where we get to create our own project based off of what we've learned. Most of what I've created is in Shockwave format, so I'll have to figure out where I can upload it to share with you all. But I did convert one project to .png so I could show my parents! Here it is:



Snakes! In Space! I giggled for 10 minutes over that one, and yes, I have a stupid sense of humor. Anyhow, I already finished the midterm project, I created an animated ad for a World War Z movie, it's pretty nifty. Next week I'll touch up a few things, maybe change the animation around a bit, and hand it in.

Career Development- Going well, I have an A, and I spoke to my teacher about transferring to UMD, so I have that paperwork to fill out.

Environmental Biology- I like the class, but its hard to get enthusiastic about it when we only meet once a week. I am definitely interested in Environmental Science, I just wish this class had more "oomph", you know?

And that's it! It is damn cold outside, but I have the space heater on so its reasonable inside. Though I will have to figure out methods of keeping heat in the apartment, other than the plastic window coatings, cause Loki likes to rip them apart. Maybe heavy cloth curtains over the windows? Any suggestions would be appreciated!