Here Comes the Sun, Here Comes the Sun, and I Say, It's All Right

So here goes the next update on my life because I feel guilty not keeping up a little.

I decided to go back to camp this summer to lifeguard.  This is the first summer that I don't have campers and the first summer back since 2008.  It's strange because so much has changed but there are other things that have stayed the same as they always have been.

I love being able to spend most of my time in the sun after being cooped up inside last summer and a fair amount during the year.  The people who are working this summer are great and it's been great to get to know new people and spend time with my old friends who I haven't had much time with over the last few years, mostly due to the distance.

There are no updates on the long-term future yet other than a move to DC might not happen until January since the potential roommate will be moving then rather than September as originally planned.

Sorry for being boring :) but camp rules my life right now in the best of ways.  I really needed a little time off while I continue to look for a job and figure out the long term.

I Never Want To Fall Apart

So using this blog as my usual procrastination tool, here I am.  I know I still have a fair amount of work left to do today since I got nothing done yesterday due to other engagements but I just keep having moments where I sit here and think, "I should tell more people about this moment."  Right now, I am a little annoyed because I am in the serious library in the quiet section where everyone who does not want silence has headphones in but the place should be silent otherwise.  However, there are two people talking, lacking all hushed tones necessary to not get the evil looks from EVERYONE else.  Someone also left their cellphone on ring, a big faux pax in the library but to make it worse rather then immediately silencing it and taking it outside to take the call, she proceeds to take the call inside.  I don't know if this would bother me so much except that it is the weekend before finals when getting a seat in the library is an ordeal in itself due to demand and everyone is here to get work done, not just have a quiet place to see friends as is sometimes the case during other weeks.  

If I tell you all my plan for the rest of the day, the likelihood of achieving it is greater since then I feel like I am being held accountable to someone besides myself.  I have to finish my section of the group deliverables for project management then I am going to finish my question set for 306 then work on my study guide for global studies.  I can finish the study guide and work on the paper tomorrow but I want to get as far ahead as possible so I can get some more sleep tonight since even the guy at Johnnys told me I was looking tired.  That is never a good sign since he sees me maybe twice a week.

I need to have dinner at home since I am trying to finish eating everything I have in the freezer at the moment, I am currently down to some frozen pizza, pirogues, waffles and cake.  I think I may have one other lean cuisine type thing.  

At the moment I miss three things about the Georgetown library, one is coffee, two is the company and three is the lack of windows.  Their coffee place was conveniently located near the table that our group took over and open almost the entire time I was there with good snacks and fantastic coffee options.  I miss Ashley and the others and our (almost) 24 hour study table as all of us tried to finish our research papers, issue papers and finals.  They all provided a much needed break every once in a while and constant security which was necessary for food runs.  Finally, it is a beautiful day outside right now and all of the windows in this library are just showing me what I am missing out on.  Sitting in Georgetown's library meant getting a glimpse of the outside world but no real constant taunting like I am getting right now.  I just want to be past all of these things being due so I can enjoy the sun and go do fun stuff.

I do get to look forward to a little time in DC next week to help Liz and see Reagan for his birthday.  Very excited since that should also be the end of my college career by then.

It's a Brand New Day

School starts again tomorrow.  I got to spend a week in glorious weather to come back to cloudy blah.  It was shockingly rocky on the boat which was different than what I was expecting.  I am not one to get super motion sick but even I thought it was bad.  The weather was fantastic minus the first day and the last day but the worst weather was the first day so it just got better.  A whole day at sea down south meant everyone spent the whole day at the pool which was great.

Spring break was nice to hang out with friends, some I see a bunch and others who I haven't seen in ages but also meet some new people.  There were a ton of other spring break kids on the boat so it was a lot of fun since there were a ton of other college kids around rather than only a ton of families.

Second semester is rough when we only have the one week off but it was glorious to have the time to relax We spent multiple days doing nothing but laying in the sun and reading.  I love to read so I actually got a chance to kick back and read for fun.  It was a chance I haven't gotten very often with other breaks because there were places to go and people to see.  I didn't have to worry about anything this week other than sunscreen, there were a lot of very sunburned people on this cruise and it looked very painful.  I currently have to catch up on a lot of TV shows from this week.  Of course all my shows were on a mini hiatus the week before spring break and then I missed them all while I was gone.  I have some work to do but it's not as much as past breaks.

I should apologize now for the spelling mistakes and other mistakes because I am still exhausted.  The time change today was also a little rough knowing how much stuff I had to get done today but so far, I got some food, went grocery shopping and then started getting work done.  There are so many things to do!

With that, I have to get some real homework done now.

Keep on moving through all this hustle

Today I fell in love with a new album.  It is Katie Costello's Lamplight and although I am a little behind on the times, her EP Cityscape.  There are very few albums I can listen to from beginning to end without skipping any tracks partway through even on the first listen but hers has been the perfect soundtrack to my day from start to finish.  I haven't flipped past a song yet which is mostly due to the amazing music and partly due to the desire to protect my hands from the freezing temperatures outside.  I have heard Katie perform in person at a benefit my sister put on when Katie was a Junior in high school at my alma mater.   It's hard to find artists these day who sound just as good in person as they do in their recorded music but she is one of those hard to find artists.  From Facebook, it's obvious that her growing fame has not caused her to forget who she is as an artist and a person and she has kept her friends close even though she splits her time between two very distant cities.  While I cannot claim to be a friend by any means, it's still pretty cool that we went to the same high school and I did have the pleasure of passing her in the halls during the two years we overlapped.

On to my life.  I am finished with classes until after Spring Break which would normally be a liberating feeling but I have soooo much laundry to do (I have been pushing it off for a while...) that I won't have a chance to enjoy the freedom until all that and the packing gets done.  Along with what seems to be half the school, my best friend and I are headed off on a cruise to get some sun.  The dilemma with second semester is that we only get spring break meaning that we have to wait through seven weeks of class to get a break which is not a natural break in the semester to then come back and go back to full steam ahead for the next seven weeks before finals.  I am convinced that this is a good portion of the reason second semester drags far more than first semester.  The other reason is of course the weather but I will get to that in a minute.  First semester, we get pacing break at the beginning of October and Thanksgiving at the end of November which splits the semester into three roughly equal parts which works with the testing system most teachers utilize.  I got lucky and had no tests this week and none the week we get back so I sort of get away with not doing anything over the break.  I will admit to having some classwork to finish but the likelihood of it getting done while I am on the boat is minimal.

Spring break seems to split students into two groups, the ones who head south with friends for what they hope to be a crazy week and the other who head home or to a friends with the intent of re-cooperating and refreshing for the rest of the semester, some of the latter group tries to get ahead or catch up on more independent work.  I am happy to say that I think I fall in between the groups, I am going to get some sun but also get some rest.

Okay back to the weather.  It has been a very tricky thing of late.  Today, it was freezing, last week it was nice and sunny.  I would like it to sort itself out.  Almost all of the snow and ice has melted from the warmth of last week but it's time for winter to be over and for spring to come.  It would be nice not to have to pile on a million layers to walk to class.  I have shorts that I would really like to wear when I get back from spring break.

I think I have made up for the lag in posts with this monster post.  Be back after spring break!

Little Darling, the smiles returning to the faces

Since I have been in DC, I have started skimming the headlines of the New York Times almost every morning on the bus. I have watched my friends get increasingly frustrated by their schools and heard about the thousands of students who have tried to change the way their education is being handled.

I am so glad I don't have that to deal with. Yes, Lehigh is a private school but you can get out in four years if you pay attention. One of the things that is driving me crazy this summer is that I pay for tuition and a meal plan and housing but that doesn't cover everything that I need to get by. It seems like a really small thing but the fact that Lehigh doesn't charge for printing is privilege that I will be thankful for from now on. There, I don't have to strain my eyes reading page after page of information I need for a paper either on the computer or in a minuscule font that I was forced to use to not have it cost me a fortune to print. Their system of what I can use my dining dollar equivalents for makes no sense and is just annoying. Plus, food off campus is far more expensive than around Lehigh but there are pretty much similar types of options if you know where to look.

I know this is starting to sound all complainy so I am going to stop.

Lehigh is beautiful around this time. The snow is melting (or completely melted in some cases) and all the green is coming out again, and the flowers get planted and you can wear dresses again. Whoo, it really is one of the best times of year. I got to wear a dress and sandals after work today!

Oh Lehigh, how I miss thee. Oh by the way, did I mention we are going to the NCAA tournament! SOOO EXCITED TO WATCH MY SCHOOL!