Happy Holidays (well... one's left...)

I bring to you, the wonder that is my holiday blog.

After spontaneously deciding to make my trip home occur immediately after my final final exam and not the following morning my winter break officially began. Technically I guess the first few hours of my break were in fact inhaling chex-mix as I drove south blasting christmas music and later singing until I was hoarse to my favorite CD. But... After this, the festivities truly began.

Day 1: Exchanging Christmas presents with my best friends. This included me giving a Sponge Bob DVD (which this particular 21 year old loved) and receiving a lovely book called Flirting 101. Apparently I need help.

Day 2: 7 hours at the mall. Woo-freaken-hoo

Day 3: Nothin' but cookie makin'... As you can see above, my brother and I truly have an artistic gift.

Day 4: Christmas eve!!!

Day 5: Christmas!! Woke up early. Got some awesome stuff went to VA, saw family... Got snow!!!

Day 6: So much snow. Again my brother and I show our true artistic talents.

And now I skip a few days... Just assume they are filled of happiness and love and joy. As we de-Chirsmasfy and take the cheer out of our home and decorations. Just so much happy is floating around our house as the lights and tree and presents allllll disappear and our home once again becomes what it always is, no more magic. Bye-bye.

BUT WAIT. There's still a holiday! There's still New Years!! I've never been one to really get all excited about New Years, it seems kind of silly but this year, I say good riddance 2010. I hate you. Go away, we can't get away from you fast enough. 

Stir Crazy

So... Who has finals until December 20th? Sarah does! And this causes problems... Mainly free time... and not the much needed kind, that wears off after the first 2 days. This is more the kind that gets to the point where you forget the busy misery you just came from and almost miss it. It's also the kind that you wish with all your might you could fast forward because:

1. You have tests looming over your head that cause guilt when you aren't studying
2. This guilt ridden time is all that stands between you and your carefree winter break
3. Facebook provides constant reminders that other people are on their breaks and done with their finals. 

So what do I do with all this free time you ask? Well I do a little studying. I spent yesterday doing a project for a final. I've made flash cards and looked over notes, but really when you have a 5 day break before your finals even start and then another 3 days between the 2 days you actually have finals not all of that time can be spent studying. Seriously, I would go insane. So here is what I did instead.

The last part is a little random...

Cheesecake and Basketball

I learned today all you need in life is White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. And I guess friends are cool too...because they take you to the place where the magical cheesecake is found. I went to the Cheesecake Factory with a couple of friends for an early birthday lunch. It was awesome... Did I mention the White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake? No, well... yes. It is quite good.

I then bought awesome hats. Cheap and pretty. Also two key things in life. Key in things you buy that is... not really in people.

And then I was approached by a very bubbly woman who gave me chocolate and talked to me about the Korean church. I kind of thought Koreans went to Korean churches. I am not Korean, nor do I look it... I found this a little odd.

Then the basketball game. GMU against UNC Wilmington. We creamed them. Heres a little bit of my excursion, its kind of like basketball on speed... Also, most of the video isn't basketball so don't get too excited. 

Crazy seems to be a theme

Helllllo

So happy late Thanksgiving! My break from classes was lovely and much needed. Spent the time with family and friends. Ate lots of food, played on a playground, and put up christmas lights... Some of our icicle lights are a little more vibrant than others, but hey, we tried....and that strand is at the far end of the house, therefore, its all ok. It was freaken fantabulous.


We had a mini birthday party while I was home and one of my presents was a little video camera, so naturally, I was dying to have a reason to use it. I warn you. This video is a product of the delirium caused by traffic on 95 adding an hour to my already 4 and a half hour ride back. That, and the fact that I thought I may just be creeping toward the apocalypse at about 5 miles an hour on the highway... Witnessing a 4 car accident, people pulled over sick, and rushing ambulances made the trip a teeny bit stressful. Please enjoy the crazy.

This is the walk back from my parking spot to my dorm... Its the closest parking lot I am allowed to park in overnight. Theres about 10 minutes missing from the walk. Joy!

Monsters, Monsters, Everywhere

Monsters. They're everywhere if you are a kid. In the closet. Under the bed. In the dark. Scary, plotting, waiting for their chance. If you were me it was Jafar, that creepy dude from Aladdin. Lurking there, waiting for his chance the minute so much as a toe hangs off the bed...

Growing up monsters change. The classic boogie man changes into horror movie killers or even real life murderers. Not so much fictional any more but the true fear that something could happen. Another person could become a monster or a situation.

Illness, tragedy, and the out-of-your-control monsters all creep into your life. People get sick, people get hurt. We call it different things, there are different reasons but really its just the monster communitie's doing.

Its a little simpler if you think of it like that. A monster did it. It kind of brings you back to childhood thinking of magic and mystery.

Oh man, my head hurts, its that dang invisible-tiny-hammer monster again banging away at my head.

Wow, did you see that wreck? The friggin' gravity monster came out of nowhere and pulled his car to the left.

Oh my gosh, I wish I would stop sneezing, this stupid dust monster needs to get lost.

Seriously. Its like the Ancient Greeks. If we can't explain it make it a god or goddess or in this case Mr. or Mrs. Monster. That is certainly more fun, and a little more relaxing than being realistic.  Sometimes blaming it on a monster just makes you feel like a kid again anything is possible.

If a earthquake is caused by the giant-invisible-bouncing-ball monster than why cant we plan to live on the moon within the next ten years?

Random Night

In my world things are much more interesting. 

There was a random alien encounter on campus and now half the students can hover to class. And beavers are taking over for professors and professors are taking over for beavers. Chomping on wood and building dams. Important work... Maybe they'll hurry along the construction.

I discovered that my math professor really was some random person they picked up off the street and offered a job. She quickly accepted payment in the form of only cookies (a payment she increases by forcing students to bring more to her when their phone rings in class). This also explains her obsession with "wasting our money." It means nothing to her, the cookie queen scoffs at money. Dollar bills? What are they?

It's also true that my room is haunted. It's cool though, cause we are friends with Gus. He's a cool guy. Sleeps in the bathroom and holds my hairbrush... This explains why it was so cold and why both my roommate and I do odd stuff in our sleep. He's on vacation though. Backpacking in Europe.

Rant!

It is time for a rant.

Although, what to rant, I am unsure of. I feel the need to just take a topic and tear it to pieces and yet I have no idea of one thing that is offensive to me at the moment. Its just that kind of time.

One is that growing up sucks. A lot. I mean this whole self-discovery crap is a pain in the butt, one minute I'm happy in the little section of life I've chosen and then suddenly, or more I guess slowly...the little undecided monster creeps up and plants these tiny questions that start gnawing at how I feel about what I'm doing and then they  become billboards screaming take the next exit. It's just like BLAMMO what the heck am I doing? And the ever annoying why? Why am I in this major, why am I here, why do I like this?

I have more. Math professors need to teach, not throw Oreo cookies at their students. Libraries should have their plays in some sort of close vicinity to each other, not spread out...I'm sure there is a reason for this but I don't care; Mr. logical-reason-for-spreading-out-plays, you suck. Wind, you need to get a grip when it's cold outside, again I'm sure there is a scientific reason but its very annoying and makes the cold colder, so stop.

One day I will post something again that isn't complaining. It will happen. I swear...just not today.

On the topic of conversation

To me talking is like getting into a pool of jello. 

Sometimes you say "hi" and thats about it...its like you go to the edge of the jello pool look in think to yourself "hah! Like I'm stepping in that!" and then you walk away not letting on your fear.

Then you have the conversation thats a little more extensive, feeling like your trying to slowly walk across the top of the jello to the other side. You'll step, test it, find it stable, and then move on until you reach the goal and then quickly run away until you want to test your luck again.

Then there's the ones where you slowly walk across the jello top and suddenly there's a pitfall and your up to your eyeballs in jello and you have to eat your way out...you do this because your so scrambled now that you don't realize the ladder is right there, within reach, and if you just stop it you can get out before your in too deep. Instead you try to fix it, try to talk yourself out of the giant jello pit, you keep going and going and eventually your left in an empty jello pool with a sick feeling in your stomach because you ate too much and also feeling kind of dumb because now, after all that, NOW you see the ladder (which is also now out of reach, you missed your chance, your not that tall). And now both the conversation and your love of jello are dead.

Since I've been home

I was hoping by now there would be some pictures but I am slacking. BUT in spite of this it has already been an adventure!

I came home yesterday, the lovely 5 hour drive was only made better by the fantastic cold I have keeping me one slow blink away from sleeping as I drive home. By the sheer magic of diet coke and twizzlers I successfully made it here.

After dinner I went on a walk with my mom and we run into the neighborhood crazy woman (who always insists on bringing us food and apparently she has our license plates memorized...) and some random girl who was locked out of her house. Mom was nice enough to invite her back to our house to use our phone. Once inside my mom went off into her own little world texting while my grandparents and I sat here staring at each other and watching Jeopardy as she called half the world trying to find her parents. I'm still wondering if I am the only one who thought it was incredibly weird.

After an awkward 20 minutes we go to drive her home and we get to her house she doesn't say anything. We drive by and she doesn't even twitch... only a couple houses later she goes "oh, wait. that was it." Turns out someone was home AND her cell phone was in her purse on the porch the whole time. Wow.

A Gas Leak??

Hello, Hello, Hellllllo

Today was...unique. We had a gas leak on campus and as I was sitting here enjoying the wondrous invention that is Netflix I received a text from our schools alert system that read along the lines of "blah, blah, blah, EVACUATE NOW" and I'm serious. It was all capital letters. So, naturally, it was right next to my dorm and although my dorm was not listed it is right across the sidewalk from the 3 buildings that were listed.

I get that we're the outcasts, no one cares about the people in the prison dorm  but seriously. If I can smell it when I stick my head into the hallway, thats too close. If when I get outside my dorm is connected to caution tape, thats too close. So, needless to say, I decided I should probably move to the other side of the campus for a while.

Fortunately though, nothing exciting happened other than the interruption of my Netflixing. My math class that was in the building right next to where it leaked wasn't even cancelled. It was really pretty disappointing in an odd kind of way.

Insanity

So I just made a video for this but I'm just not happy with it. It has been deemed unworthy. So instead I bring you this random old video I made while bored. It's like 3 years old.

Word of advice. If you are the kind of person who is usually on time or early and the person you are meeting is always late: call before you leave your house to go see them. Otherwise, if you forget (like I did) you may just end up waiting in their driveway in your car for a half hour. Thats when the insanity sets in...

Don't be like me. Call ahead.

Things I "Love"

Helllllo all. This is probably one of my most random posts but hey. Why not?

and yes...i was on skype while filming it...with the ENEMY!

(cough cough my lovely competitor who is such a wonderful person)

The Cold Monster

First of all, I sadly have no pictures or videos for you today. At least not recent ones.

Dear Mr. Cold Monster, I see you, lurking around the corner, using your evil little minions to start preparing the way with cool, rainy days. Why do you do this? Aren't you tired of being just a big mean cold blob? Seriously...you could easily go chill in Alaska or Washington State...or did you get confused? This is near Washington D.C...not the state of Washington. Buy a map and be gone.

Or you could convert ya know. Luke-Warm monster is much less intimidating and you would have more friends. Trees and flowers wouldn't play dead just to get away from you and birds wouldn't fly south for a few months to avoid you. Who knows, bears just might not take such long naps and actually come out and play.

Just giving you something to consider.

Thank you for your time.

P.S. If this happens again this year...I'm transferring south.

Dorm Livin'

This is a NEW dorm on campus. Pretty huh? Yeah, its not mine. Its what I get to look out to every morning from my 30+ year old prison-ish dorm. My white cinder block walls bring in the homey feel while those people experience dry wall and kitchens...who needs that when you have a hole in your shower's ceiling?

There are many wonderful things about going to college, though right now I'm not in the kind of mood to think of them, they are here. I promise. Today though I wanted to focus on the Dorm. This is a very...special experience. Living with people in small spaces with walls that have little effect on retaining sound is full of loads of interesting experiences.

We have one guy who every night for the first 2 weeks went down the hall yelling "INSAAAAAANE ASLYUUUUM!" (some one has a sign that says that on the door and he just can't seem to resist.) As happy a phrase as this is, at 3am on a Tuesday its not one you wish to hear.

D.C.

Mr. Awesome himself. The original Kermit the Frog.

Today a friend and I ventured into D.C. for one of my classes. We braved the packed metro and hit 3 museums in one day. The mission: Find 3 'Great Ideas in Science' in 3 museums in one day.

Kermit wasn't quite a great idea in 'science' I guess...but to be a frog and internationally know is pretty fantastic. Needless to say, I was distracted being in the vicinity of a world renown frog.

Of course I also took time to appreciate how awesome and historic D.C. is in more than just being the home of the greatest muppet ever known, I saw many exhibits and found my 3 ideas. We went to the National Book Festival for a few and then of course got lunch at a random hot dog stand like true tourists. 

Sitting on the mall, admiring the Washington Monument I gracefully dropped my hot dog in the dirt throwing my camera to get it as soon as possible. I am now part Washington D.C...I have consumed some of its historic soil.

The view from the site of the tragic hot dog drop. 

A Friday's Festivities

 

The glorious thing that is the velcro wall...I didn't get very high up....

Mechanical Bull!! I lasted about 7 seconds....but it was soo awesome...must do it again. (as you can tell by the face...i was a tad tense)

First Post

Apparently there is a dead mouse in the wall at home. I know this because my parents told me. Here I am, away at school, suffocating under piles of homework and classes happy that its Thursday night and I can soon come up for air and they tell me there is a mouse in the wall at home and they are suffocating because of the smell. Gotta love the family unity.

The dogs won't leave that corner of the house but my family couldn't be paid enough to stay. Its one of those days I'm thankful I'm away at school.

Since this was a spur-of-the-moment kind of deal I am unfortunately unprepared picture wise. Next time, this will not be the case.