Caryl's Journal

A European Weekend in NYC
I had an amazing weekend!! I decided last Wednesday that I was going to go to New York for the weekend. We drove all night Thursday and I got into the city at 6:30am on Friday. I proceeded to get slightly lost looking for Allison's place, but once I found it I crawled into her bed and slept all day while she was at work. That night we had dinner with Paloma, Melissa, and Chev! Then Melissa and Paloma left us, and Megan and Ryan Anderson joined us, and then we went to an open bar party that Ryan knew about, which was pretty chill and fun, and then Allison left us, and so Megan, Chev, Ryan and I went to Webster Hall. Its definitely a decent club, its over 18 so we could all get in, but they have some bars so if you're over 21 you can drink. There are a few different floors, too, which was awesome... we danced for a long time, to cheesy music, hip hop, and then we went to the house room and watched the disco ball in steam and I had flashbacks to the clubs in Scotland, it was great! Eventually Ryan went home, Megan went to New Jersey (long story!) and Chev and I went back to her place and finally went to sleep around 5am.

The next day Chev and I met Brian Hirsch (now referred to by his full name at all times) at Giants Stadium for the Manchester United vs. AC Milan game!! The game was so great, I didn't even get to see a football game when I was in the UK, and Man U and AC Milan are both good teams. AC Milan ended up winning on penalty kicks that went into sudden death, it was awesome! The super Yankees of football lost!!!

After a nap at Brian Hirsch's house, we went with Pearlma and Kaitie to Lourdes' party, where we sang disney tunes and drank sangria. Well, actually the sangria came before the disney tunes... obviously. Megan, Brian Hirsch, Chev and I all slept at Chev's that night, and the next day we were going to go to a Yankee game, but that was sold out (we think). So instead we ordered Chinese food for breakfast at noon, and then went to the Museum of Natural History. Lazy but productive day. I caught the train to Harrisburg that night, stayed at home on Sunday night, and came back to Pittsburgh on Monday. Stellar weekend. Check out Chev's xanga for pictures! http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=UberChev

On Friday I'm going home and then to Florida. One more day in the Admissions office! And I got a new computer yesterday!! Oh its been a good week :)

Mondays are Icky
Not a fan of Mondays. I gave a tour by myself in the pouring rain this morning... great way to start the week. Oh well, it could have been worse. A lot of people were mysteriously missing from the office today, we had very few student workers and it was sad.

Anyway... Monday sucks a lot especially today because my weekend was both amazing and disappointing. On Thursday I went to KDR for like, the first night this summer, and had fun but dealt with a lot of drama. Not really a problem, and I heart drunk people (not really, only sometimes). On Friday I was going to go see the Bourne Supremacy, but instead I slept from 5pm until 9:30am the next morning. Yes, that is a lot of sleep. I still have not seen the movie (that would be one of the disappointing things about the weekend). I woke up feeling very hungry and having to go to the bathroom very badly. After taking care of those things, I went to the waterfront, where I had a list of stores I needed to go to, but only got to about half of them before giving up on carrying all that shit and then I just went home (this is the other disappointing part, because now I have to get my ass on another 59U sometime in the next week and that's just a pain in aforementioned ass).

Ok, but can I just say that Saturday night was amazing. I went back to KDR and hung out with Grace, Carrie, Jenny, and some of the brothers. There was also a guest appearance from Admissions Jamie, which rocked my world except for her Yankees hat, which I still disapprove of. The four of us drank, went in the pool, played some pong, all around we had a great night. Except Carrie, who thought she flushed her phone down the toilet, and then was stressed about that for the rest of the night. For the record, her phone was in her boyfriend's room the whole time, never in the toilet. Anyway.

Sunday I did nothing. I had brunch with Shai at Pamela's, which was definitely a good decision, and then I spent most of the day on the couch. It was good, except I got nothing done that I had planned. But that is ok, it will still be there tonight when I get home. I'm in admissions right now, supposed to be working but the website is down so I have nothing to do. This is ok because I am still getting paid. Today at work I watched Monty Python. Admissions is fun.

I may go to NYC this weekend. Mom hasn't gotten back to me about Michigan, so I guess I'm not going there. Jenny and I want to go visit Chavelli because we miss her, and Allie because she's there, and Lourdes is having a party. If Paloma comes to Pittsburgh, I'm not going to New York though, so I have to check with her about that. If I don't go to the city then I'm gonna go see Drew sing in the Lord of the Rings symphony at Heinz Hall. Not my brother Drew, Admissions Drew. The performance sounds like its gonna be really cool, and its only 20 bucks, so I'm game.

I think I'm done rambling now, its time to go home... love you all!!

New York City!!!
Once again this year I went to New York City for Paloma's birthday, and to visit everyone that lives in the city. Not nearly as much drama as last year (at least I don't think so...) and everyone I'm pretty sure had a good time. We left on Thursday, and let me tell you how much fun it is to ride in the back seat of a truck with two other people for 8 hours. Um, not fun at all. But that's ok because we got to Slewis's house safe and sound. Christi, Theresa, Newman, Brandon and I stayed there, and other people were scattered around with Lourdes, Georgia, some other people here and there, in addition to all of the people actually living in the city, of course.

Friday was absolutely amazing. We got up at like 4:30am (which is not the amazing part, but I'm getting there). We went to volunteer at a Kerry fundraising breakfast, and we saw Kerry, Edwards, their wives, and Hillary Clinton speak. They were all really impressive speakers, and I was very pleased with everything they had to say. Especially the part about getting rid of George W. But enough of my politics, I think everyone already knows well enough where I stand. AFter the breakfast we were feeling a little bit hungry, so we went to the diner by Sara's house and got brunch, and then Christi and I took the train downtown and went to the Met. It was absolutely amazing, a great mix of pure art and more anthropology-oriented pieces. The modern art and huge Egypt exhibit were my favorites, and the display about the Central Park installation art was really interesting. We spent about three hours there, and then had to head home to get ready for Georgia's barbecue. It was then that I finally saw Paloma!! And a whole bunch of other people. We ate and played and went in the pool and it was good times.

On Saturday we took a big group trip to Jones Beach. We actually made it this year, since we avoided having cars towed and other distractions. The beach was really hot and the water was freezing! I put lots of sunblock on and didn't get burnt, yay! I even tanned a little bit without getting red. It was an accomplishment. We only stayed at the beach until about 3pm, 'cause we had to go home and get ready for dinner that night, which was at the most amazing place ever. It was called Lucky Cheng's and its a combination Chinese Restaurant and drag queen show. There was lap dancing, our waitress (waiter?) definitely looked a lot better in a bikini than I do, and I think Paloma had a fun night (I know Jon Chin did, hehe!!) West was there for a few minutes, but he left before I got a chance to talk to him, and here's the best part, My Little was there!!! She's the best. I wish we could have spent more time together, but I appreciated the part of the weekend that I did get with her. They all went bar hopping that night, but those of us under 21 just went home and went to sleep. But thats ok because we were pretty much exhausted anyway.

Sunday we woke up and went grocery shopping with Slewis because she was hosting the barbecue that day. People finally made it to her house around 3 that afternoon, and we hung out and swam and ate some more. The five of us in the Pittsburgh crew started home around 5 and stopped at my dad's house for a little bit, just to eat and chat, and then we came the rest of the way. We watched Love Actually in the car on the way home, it was quality. I enjoyed all the Brit slang, too, of course. Anyway, we got home at 1am and I crashed right away. And that was this year's trip to NYC for Paloma's birthday. Like I said, not as much drama as last year, and we had so much fun, all very good times. If you missed it, hey it sucks to be you, but there's always next year.

On a different note, Paloma you know my prayers are kind of spread out right now, but I'm sending a lot of extra ones to you and your family. Whatever you need, just let me know, you know I'm always here for you! I love you.

TriDelta Convention!!!
Ok so first I must apologize for the rambling boredom that was my last entry. Sometimes I just need to write that kind of stuff down so I can get my thoughts organized and so I can look back at it later for myself.

Calculus is over!!!! I got a B, which is amazing after that final, which was ridiculously difficult. So glad not to have classes to worry about for the rest of the summer. Although I still have a lot of stuff to do, mostly for organizations and my own personal sanity. I'm also still working full time in Admissions, but at least I get real lunch breaks now.

I went to Tridelt convention this past weekend!! It was in San Antonio, Texas, and I haven't been to Texas since I was really little, so that was a learning experience, you could say. I had so much fun, learned a ton of stuff about the chapter, met a ton of really cool people (both collegians and alum from around the country) and in general just had a really amazing time. I also got really motivated to organize myself in new and efficient ways, which is super exciting. We also listened to a lot of really amazing women who spoke at various meetings and meals throughout convention. Some of the things that TriDelta women have done with their lives are absolutely amazing, and I think that all of us still in college were truly inspired by some of the older women that we met there. My roommate and the other girls I met were also absolutely hilarious, and fun night at the ranch was definitely something to remember.

I'm really excited about using the rest of my summer to relax and get myself really ready for the school year, so it will be easy to stay in control of my life a little bit. Still have other stuff I need to do for Tridelt, Senior Gift, Orientation, and Dance Marathon, as well as working out so I can be ready for cheerleading. So the summer is busy, but not stressful... and that is key.

Anyway I'm supposed to be working right now, and I didn't have much interesting to say other than the Convention stuff, so I should probably go to my real job now. In the spirit of Texas...

Y'all come back now, ya' hear!

No longer worried...
about my unavoidable transition into the real world.

I met with my career counselor the other day, and I have decided to stop having minor emotional breakdowns about my future unless something drastic happens, like I don't get into any grad schools. I've basically decided to take the LSATs and the GREs, apply to law schools, International Relations graduate programs, and schools that offer joint programs so I could study both at the same time. Included in that will probably be some schools abroad, like St. Andrews and maybe LSE, or maybe something in Switzerland or another non-English speaking country. We shall see...

In the spirit of my trip to the career center, I've decided that there are a few things that I really want to do with my life. There's conflict resolution, like working for the United Nations or at an embassy doing negotiations, or I could be a journalist in a conflict region and do independent research and write about world issues. I also think that I would be happy working for an international non-profit organization. I would also like to do international law or work for a politician even. If I decide not to use my degree at all, I could be a carpenter. I mean, I love things like booth, and I really think that I could be good at it if I worked for a long time. This idea came out of the stage when I was asking myself if I was ever going to get a job and exploring my options in case I didn't. Also, I suppose the world could always use history professors...
anyway, the moral of all of this rambling is that I used to be worried about not being able to do everything that I want to do. Now I think that as long as I end up doing something I enjoy, I can be happy even if I don't get my dream job. And if I don't get my dream job right away, I can do other stuff and work toward it. See what a little chat with the Career Center can do?

In other news, I am so tired of all the pettiness that I encounter, especially among girls. Why can't we all just get along?? Love everyone else, work together, all that good hippie type stuff that I believe in... and the stuff that apparently the student workers in the Office of Admissions do not believe in. Yeah, work has been a bit stressful these past few days. Would it be impossible to have one drama-free summer, wait, make that one drama-free month, or week even? I've said it before and I'll say it again... I swear I don't create the drama, it just always finds me.

I went to Joe's Crab Shack at Station Square the other day and it was absolutely amazing. I had crab cakes and shrimp because I couldn't afford the crab legs or lobster tail, but I am so taking extra money next time I go... oh the yumminess :)

Only one more week until I'm done with Calculus!! My final is a week from yesterday, ack! And then I'm done with classes until September!

I'm going to study now, in the library, avoiding any and all distractions, especially those in the form of petty girls who want to bitch...

I heart everyone :)

Wow!!
Two entries in two days?? Gee, I must have a midterm to write. And I do. Politics in Film, essays about Nazi Germany, Russia under Stalin, Chile under Pinochet, and los desaparecidos in Argentina. All very interesting, but the essays are only supposed to be 2-3 pages each, and I have way more to say than 2-3 pages worth. Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter if its too long. I have to go home and do some Calculus homework, too, still. Why am I taking classes during the summer, again? Oh yeah, so I don't have to take Calc in the fall when I have a billion other things to do.

Played pong last night... I think my midseason slump is over!! Either that or its just teammate chemistry... either way, I'm not playing like shit anymore. I also love that we treat pong as though its an actual sport. We also played King's Cup, and although I didn't draw any spades, so I didn't get to lick Brian, a number of the guys did... but Newman made up for the boys when she drew her spade... good times as usual.

I need to get in touch with Michael. He sent me an email that worried me a lot and now we can't call each other and I need to talk to him soon. I'm sure he'll be ok in the end, but I'm still concerned about him... and he's not the only one. Oh the Scotland drama...

I need to get my computer fixed... the cluster is just boring. And surprisingly full and noisy right now. I know there are people sitting on the couches at Tridelt watching movies right now. I could be doing my midterm while watching movies if only my damn laptop would work! Bah!! But maybe its better this way. Probably...

Ok, considering only Chile is done and I have three more essays to write, I think its time to stop searching for ways to procrastinate and just do my work.

Its been awhile...
but I've been surprisingly busy considering its summer and I'm only taking two classes. For the past three weeks I've been working in admissions, taking calculus and a politics in film class, and just doing nothing really.

Admissions is great, even though the work is possibly the most boring stuff ever. The people are awesome though. Most of them I knew before, and the new people I've met are all absolutely hilarious. We sit around shredding papers, blacking out names on folders, cleaning stuff, filing stuff, and stuffing envelopes, and its still one of the most entertaining jobs I've ever had. I get to give tours for admissions, too!! So fun, I've been wanting to do this since freshman year and now I finally am :)

Classes are alright. Calculus is half over, which is excellent. The politics in film class is really interesting, but I have a midterm due Monday... icky. Once classes are over I'm gonna start working all day in admissions, and I'll build the loft and paint the room, and get working on some other projects I need to do this summer. And start reading for fun, finally!! I think I'm the only person in the world who hasn't read the DaVinci Code by now. Its on the list though, along with some classic novels that I haven't read yet, and possibly the Harry Potter books.

For some reason, I've decided that since its summer, I can still go out every night, despite the fact that I have to be at work at 9am every day. I don't know where this logic has come from, but I feel like I'm getting less sleep now than I do during the school year. Ok, maybe its not that bad, but I still need to get more!! Its ok though, at least I'm having fun most of the times that I'm getting to bed late. Must play more pong though...

I'm going to write my midterm now... or work on my clac homework... or make a to-do list to get myself organized... something productive, anyway!!

Wine pong...
rocks my world!! Even though my Little and I only got to play one game 'cause we were playing like shit, it was lots of fun. Last night was fun, Allie and I were back to our normal drunk-sober roles, so it was less confusing than the night before, too... Circle of Death anyone... "before drinking you must lick Brian while doing the Allie ass shake!" Good rule Liz, thanks.

I'm in the cluster even though its Saturday in between semesters. Why? Because I want AIM and yes, this is me still bitching about my computer being broken.

I start work in Admissions on Monday, yay! I've been wanting to give tours since freshman year, now I finally can do it!!

Graduation is tomorrow... watching everyone getting ready for it is so odd, because this is going to be me next year. I can't believe its this close to being over already. I am so making the most of my senior year!

I'm sitting here trying to write an email, and its one of those emails that just won't sound right no matter what I do. Maybe I just don't wanna send it, or am too nervous too, or something. What is wrong with me recently??

My little is leaving tomorrow :( I will miss her lots. I heart you Megan!!

Finals, Kennywood, and the Beginning of Summer!!
I'm done with Spring Semester!!!! My grades should end up semi-decent, too. Sweet. Finals was a little stressful, true, but theyre over now. And summer classes start on Monday... yay Calc.

Last Saturday I went to Kennywood with Christi, Steph, Dude Man, Jerbear, Liz, Kaitie, and Conway. Theme for the day: Ride and Fried. Ride all the stuff we can and eat as much fried food as humanly possible. Good times. Didn't get to ride the sky coaster, though, again this year that failed, but it was ok, still had a lot of fun, and Jeremy won some really big stuffed prizes for Liz. Dude Man was so funny, too, it was hilarious to see him run around the park. I heart Kennywood.

Dude Man left, too. He went back to Turkey for a few weeks, and then traveling around Europe for awhile before he goes back to Israel. Itzik and Elram are staying longer, though. I don't know whether its worse to send the Israelis back one at a time or all together. Lots of sadness all at one time, or less sadness at once, but more times being sad?? Can't decide... lots of memories and old feelings coming back.

I'm in the cluster. Computer broken again. Bastard.

If you will be in Pittsburgh for the summer, let me know!!!

That's it I think, I'm gonna go enjoy the absolutely gorgeous weather :)

Less than 24 Hours...
Until I'm done with my James Joyce class!!!!!!! My final is from 5:30-8:30pm tomorrow, and then I'm done done done! Now I just have to write a 10 page paper before then... and figure out what the hell Ulysses is about. Yeah that little part. Oh well, at this point I'll just be happy to have the paper written and fudge my way through the final. Its not my major, its a class for fun (a damn hard class for fun, but whatever) and in the end I don't care what grade I get in the class. Yeah right... but I'll tell myself that and eventually maybe I'll believe it. Then I just have an 8 page paper due on Wednesday and another final on Friday and then my semester is over! And what a semester its been...

Dance Marathon event on Wednesday!!! Come to Baja Fresh, bring the flier, eat good food and raise money for St. Judes all at the same time!

Pittsburgh for the summer anyone? I'm taking classes, working, and just hanging out. Will be back in CPA a little bit, but not very often so if you're there get me while you can!

Tridelt won the Philanthropy Award at Greek Awards today!!!! I'm so proud of my sisters!!!!!

Ok paper for real now...

Such a procrastination thing...
How come I only update when I have insane amounts of work that I should be doing? This time its a final paper for my Women in South Asia class. Its due at 9am. 9 hours and counting. Its only 7 pages though, so it shouldn't take too long... once I actually start writing, that is.

Carnival was awesome!! Drew visited, and had fun staying in the sorority house (surprisingly, haha...) I danced and drank and danced some more and watched N.E.R.D. Excellent weekend all around, as is every carnival, of course.

Ok, so you know when you're walking on campus and you see someone you know, you say hi to them in different ways depending on how well you know them, how comfortable you feel with them, etc. There's the head nod, the "hey, what's up?" and the flying hug techniques, among others. So, if you randomly hook up with someone, and kind of see them once in awhile, what kind of greeting does that warrant? I say a head nod, maybe a "what's up" if it wasn't a really random hook up. But I don't think an enthusiastic "hey how you doin' lets talk about your life" is necessary. But maybe I'm wrong, or not being girly enough about it.

Also, and Allie will back me up on this one, what's up with the guys on this campus not wanting to talk about their girlfriends. If you have a significant other, and then talk about things like dating, the weekend, etc, you would think they would come up. When its clearly a conscious decision to avoid mentioning the girlfriend, what does that mean??? That boys are stupid??

This past Thirsty Thursday provided some excellent quotes:
"Who did you think it was, Allie's ugly friend?"
"72-0 Your Mom!"
"What, are you ashamed of me?!"
Not to mention some very drunk people passing out and just asking to be made fun of later... gotta love Thursdays!! Only two more Thirsty Thursdays this year... it won't be the same without Jerbear... but next year's are in Allie's CA room in Resnik, so they should be kick ass, too.

Can't believe its the last week of the semester. Next year I'm gonna be a senior. Damn that's old. I should totally figure out I'm doing for the summer, and get moving on my finals. At least I know where I'm living... Pittsburgh for the summer, yay!!

DANCE MARATHON LETTER WRITING PARTY!!!!!!
It's time for the DANCE MARATHON LETTER WRITING PARTY. In our first year,
Dance Marathon raised over $6000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
This year we're looking to raise over $10,000!

Dance Marathon is in October but we must get ready now -- organize your
teams by Thursday!

We need you to commit your team for DANCE MARATHON by Thursday, April 22.
Your 5-8 person team does not need to be established yet, you just need to
know that your team will attend the event. If you gather 250 mailing
addresses for our DANCE MARATHON LETTER WRITING PARTY, we’ll waive the
registration fee of $15/person for you -- that’s over a hundred dollars off!

Think 250 mailing addresses is a lot? Don't worry, we'll provide
information about how to get 50 names fast for each person!

Worried about finding a team? Gather your teammates from:
- student organizations
- greek organizations
- friends
- your dorm
- athletics
- ANYONE AND EVERYONE!

-----------------------------
HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Dance Marathon Letter Writing Party
Thursday, April 22nd -- 8pm to 10pm
UC Connan Room

Pizza and t-shirts are first-come, first-serve

Teams of 5-8 people
250 addresses per team
e-mail dancemar@andrew.cmu.edu with questions
-----------------------------

Help children. Have fun. Get free stuff.

Soooooooo busy...
so please forgive me for not updating. I literally haven't had the time, because I for some reason feel the need to make these big long entries about my life, and really thats unnecessary. So here it is, the last month of my life in a relatively short entry ('cause I have a paper due tomorrow, but hey, I might as well update anyway because its not like I'm going to sleep tonight, whether I write now or not).

Greek Sing was so much fun! We won the Philanthropy Award, which means my house raised the most money for the Greek Sing charity this year. And we looked awesome on stage, too! I'm a proud girl :)

I've started organizing my to-do lists into "must do" and "should do." This really eliminates a lot of the guilt I feel for not always finishing my to-do list for the day.

Easter was yesterday. I went to noon mass at St. Paul's. Extremely uplifting, as usual. I love church on Easter Sunday.

I love softball. Every time IM sports rolls around, I am reminded that I really wish I was still playing on a regular basis. But co-rec with frat boys will have to do for now.

Carnival is this weekend! No classes, Drew's visiting, buggy races, and booth-building is all this week!! Definitely the best time of the year at CMU. Let's hope the weather stays nice and I somehow get to meet Pharrell after the N.E.R.D. concert. (*Does a little really excited dance*) Also related to booth, I'm considering dropping out of school and becoming a construction worker. Or just making power tools a really important, almost full-time hobby that I get paid for. Then I can just be one of those interesting construction workers with a degree in international relations. Trading Spaces, here I come!

Tridelt owns me and my body hates me for not working out ever and then doing a full weekend of booth and buggy. My muscles are angry. I am so behind in one of my classes that my guilty academic conscience is beginning to hate me, too. Speaking of that...

I'm getting really tired and definitely still have at least three more pages to write. So I'll be getting back to that now... wish me luck on staying awake.

Eternally (it feels like) in cyert,
Caryl

Spring Breaks Reflections
I went home for Spring Break, to Central PA. It was okay. Highlights: Drew’s Court of Honor, shopping with Kaitie, and talking to Michael (again). I would have gone somewhere cooler, but I sort of exhausted my funds while in Scotland. I took the train back to Pittsburgh because its Thursday so my dad had to work and therefore couldn’t drive me. That’s okay too. I got some work done and it gave me some time to think. Prepare for the “Reflections on Study Abroad” entry…

I was on the train, eating my prepackaged sandwich, looking out the window at farmland, reading a book written in British English. For a second I had deluded myself into thinking I was back in the UK. When the guy gave me my snack, I nearly said “cheers” instead of “thanks.” Then I realized that the train was almost empty, the farmland was dead brown instead of bright green, my book was for a CMU class, and I was drinking coffee instead of tea. Nope, definitely in America.

I don’t dislike it here, and I wouldn’t even say I prefer the UK. They’re just different. I’ve been at home for just about two months, a little longer. Two months feels like a lifetime. For that matter, the four months I spent in Scotland feels like a lifetime lived in a dreamworld. It honestly feels as though I went to sleep for four months and then woke up, back in Pittsburgh. My memories of St. Andrews are fuzzy. I sort of remember the way cobblestones caught the heels of my shoes, I don’t really remember at all the way Sallies food tastes (although it’s probably better that way.) I don’t recall the way my flat smelled when we were unsure of the existence of toxic paint fumes. I think I heard Dreadlock Holiday a few weeks ago, but that could have been in a dream. What’s free Bailey’s taste like again? The point is that only the people are real... like when I talk to Michael. If it weren’t for his voice every so often, I may have convinced myself by now that it wasn’t real at all. And the pictures. I got my last roll of film developed. And there they are ~ Happy Dan, Heather, Mikel, Pete, all the people that made my experience what it was, just hanging out in my flat sometime in December, all with no idea what was going to happen one month later, when half of us were back in America and the other half left in St. Andrews. Keeping in touch, or not, being surprised sometimes about who's lives you are keeping up with.

Its odd, too, because if the people that knew me in Scotland were to see me at CMU, I think they’d be surprised to the point of disbelief. Maybe in between work, vacation, visiting girlfriends, and playing golf, one of them will find their way to me here in America. They can see me in my element, doing all the things I do here. But until then, should then ever occur, I’ll work on my “exhausted funds” situation, so I can go back there, for who knows how long.

Oh the rambling… see what happens to the mind when stuck on a train for six hours??

I heart you all,
~ C

PS. I repeat: Tina, where are you?

Leap Year
Since I'm pretty sure I won't have this blog in four years, I think that this is going to be my only opportunity to post an entry on a February 29. And I haven't updated in awhile. But it has to be kind of quick, because I have four things due tomorrow! And are any of them done?? Guess...

Liz, Christi, Chev and I attempted to go to St. Paul's to get ashes on Ash Wednesday. Due to some confusion, we failed there, but came back to campus and managed to succeed. I still don't know what I'm giving up for Lent. Procrastination, maybe, but I think that would be just setting myself up to fail.

Tina, where are you?!?!

I'm so busy, its actually stressing me out. I had two semi-public breakdowns this week. Not good at all. I can't wait for spring break. Even though I'm just going home, any time off from school is more than welcome!!

I bought a practice LSAT book yesterday. Freaked me out a little bit, to be honest. There's really no avoiding the future... if only I knew what I wanted to do with it...

Highlight of my weekend was definitely talking to Michael. He went home for the weekend to Glasgow, so he called me!! It was great talking to him, despite the fact that we are both kind of stressed right now. Made me miss Scotland though, as if I didn't miss it enough already. I told him I'd go visit him sometime... can "sometime" be tomorrow??

Today: midterm writing, greek sing practice, paper writing, book reading, studying for exam, tridelt meeting. Why do I get the feeling that today is going to turn very quickly into tomorrow, without me getting a chance to sleep in between??

Jer-Bear is my Hero!!
He fixed my computer and I have internet now!!!!!! He said it still may shut off randomly, but hey, one step at a time and the important thing is done!!!

I got a cell phone, too! Still have to activate it, but look at that, I'm back to being communicatable all at once. Sweet!!

My mom sent me a Valentine's Day package with some pajamas, new underwear, candy, my cell phone, and a card with money in it. Awesome Valentine's Day present. Sad that it came from my mom though... sadder is the quote from her when I called to say thanks ~ "Yeah, I figured no one else would be getting you something for Valentine's Day." Thanks for that Mom, love you too.

There was a lot of excitement right at the beginning of this post. Not exciting part: I'm in the cluster, AGAIN. This time for a Modern Soviet History paper. At least this time I have some clue what I'm going to write, unlike the last paper, the James Joyce one. Which, by the way, I did not get a stellar grade on. But decent, considering I have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to senior English classes. Oh well, getting through it.

Tridelt still rocks my world. Dance Marathon, too. I went for my first committee meeting for that tonight. It was good, I'm excited for next year already...

Next on the list: get an on campus job. I'm tired of being poor!!!

Hangover and Hot Date
That was my Friday. The first half of the day was pretty bad, I was quite sick. But Tridelt mystery date dinner was that night. As promised, my date was really hot and really nice. There were a few complications, but it was alright. I could definitely be friends with him, but I don't think much more is going to happen. Too bad for the entire admissions office, which apparently was really looking forward to this blind date.

Yesterday was Lunar Gala. The designs were really cool, for the most part, and the show was really good. And Andrea kicked ass on the dance floor!!!! After that we went to Paloma's Immorality (Immortality) Party, which was hilarious and also tons of fun. Other than that, not much is new. I have a ton of work to do and I'm gonna go do it!! No classes tomorrow doesn't mean I can slack tonight, unfortunately!

Wow... that's all I have to say...
So I just talked to Olga this morning, for the first time since I left Scotland! She updated me on everything that has been going on since I left. And yeah, wow. Definitely wishing I was still there, things are just getting MORE interesting!! And that's saying a lot...

I should be writing my five page paper right now
But I'm not. I'm procrastinating. I basically have accepted the all-nighter. There comes a point when you judge how long something is going to take, and if it ends up that you'll be done at about 6am, at that point there's just no reason to go to sleep. This means that you have to find something to do for four hours, just until other people are awake enough to keep you awake. I decided to take one of my hours before I started my paper and go to India Garden for food. Then I decided to take another hour and look at stuff online and update this thing. So now I just have to occupy myself from about 7am until 8:30, and I'm good! Well, and then I have to stay awake for all of tomorrow... but the hard part will be done, my first all-nighter of the semester. Yay.

Mr. Fraternity was last night. It was hilarious, definitely a really good show. Mr. Beta won, but both CJ and Ryan Anderson we excellent contestants. Looking good, guys! Gotta love Mr. Fraternity, definitely one of my favorite philanthropies.

Not much else is new. My classes require a lot of reading that is really easy to put off, but I'm trying to avoid that. I've managed to keep up pretty well in some of my classes. Others... eh, not so much. But that's ok, I always figure it out somehow.

I'm pushing buggy for Sig Ep again. Hopefully this year I'll get a T-Shirt, and still not have to practice too much. Yay for being sober for Carnival!

During the course of my procrastination, I was reading all of my old entries from Scotland. So much of that whole experience feels like a dream. I guess I really need to get back online and talk to people, and then I'll feel better, like it was real. It sucks that I can't walk outside and feel the North Sea, and I can't go into Sallies looking forward to crappy food because it means I'll see people, and I can't complain that the cobblestone streets are wrecking my new shoes, and I can't buy something and pretend its okay because in the States the price tag would say twice as much. I miss the superficial things, like the accents, the legal drinking, the tea biscuits. I'm really happy at CMU, don't think that I'm not, I just feel like some part of my brain (or maybe my heart) is still floating around St. Andrews, waiting for me to come get it. I'm jealous of Chunko and Mikel, not to mention the people that get to go there for four whole years. One month ago right now, I was frantically cleaning my flat and calling a cab to come get me to go to the airport. Its only been a month, and I still feel like I'm losing the memories already. I need to go back. Soon. Just to remind myself.

Ok, wnough of that. Paper time for real. Anyone have any good ideas on how to stay awake from 7-8:30am, or what to write about the women protagonists in Dubliners?

I don't have mono!!! Yay!!!
I was really sick last week. In the words of Christi, "Yeah, you really looked like shit." Thanks for that. But I felt like shit, so there ya go. Must have been the fact last Friday I went to dinner right after taking a shower, with soaking wet hair, and then Saturday I got in a nice little water gun fight at KDR and then walked home with wet hair again. And I don't own a hat and the temperature has been in the negatives. So this getting sick thing was probably my own fault. Oh well, live and learn. But anyway, I went to health services and found out that surprisingly, I'm not pregnant. Yay. But also, they told me I might have mono. Then they email me and tell me I have strep instead, the kind that drugs won't help and I just need to wait it out. But I've been feeling better since I started taking that penicillin, so I'm just gonna go with it.

I'm so freaking behind in classes. Its insanity. My internet is still misbehaving and I can't check my email very often and its very frustrating. If you want to get in touch with me, the best idea is to show up at Tridelt or the library, I'll be one of those places for the next few weeks. Fortunately I think that I'm staying on top of all the Tridelt stuff. Hopefully. I hung out with the new members yesterday. They are super fun!! Newman makes a great "your mom," too.

Harry the fish died. RIP Harry. There are a few theories on why Harry actually died. They involve Pittsburgh water, swing music, the fact that his home was a Chick-fil-a sweet tea gallon container, and his very existence as a goldfish who had already lived for 8 months.

My mom says she sent me a cell phone. I don't even know my mailing address, so I don't know how the hell she found it out. Who knows what's going on with that.

Gotta go read...

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