I Wanna Jump in the Cold Water

I have not been good about updating this and for that, I apologize but I have had a lot going on and no real time to sit down and write about it. This might also have been the most literal title I have ever used. So, things I have to say about life right now:
1. This weather is insane. It goes from pouring rain to really hot within hours. I don't want it to be fall yet because then it gets too close to the real cold but this heat is a little ridiculous. It's back to be being too hot to sleep! Maybe that's just me though... Also, my room tends to be warmer than the rest of my house and we can't really figure out why.

2. I now live in the Women's Center. I really wish I had discovered it earlier! Today I got to make buttons, like turn them from paper circles into full pins. It's surprisingly awesome despite how lame it sounds. The people who work there (because you don't have to be a woman to work in the Women's Center) are fantastic. They are funny and silly and just great people to be around.

3.I feel like I might be falling behind on Vagina Monologues things but I don't know what I could be doing differently. We got our scripts this week and started pushing people to sign up for auditions and getting forms which is all super exciting. We are really looking for support and ways to get people to donates something! Whether that something is time or items or monetary support, we just know that we have a lot of options to help us fund-raise. Our goal seems reachable but it's still daunting.

4. I love my roommates. Or I guess housemates would be a better term for them since that is what they are. We have been hanging out playing video games, watching TV together (especially crazy wedding shows) and then just getting "stuck" downstairs. By stuck I mean going downstairs on a mission and then taking forever to make it back upstairs because we get distracted by spending time with each other.

5. Classes are going pretty well, they are not that different from other semesters. I don't have one class that I am in love with like I usually do that but I don't know if that is because I am lacking classes that I truly dislike also so on a relative basis, they are all good.

I guess that is all I really have to say tonight. The heat is making me distracted because all I want to do is jump in the shower and then try to get some sleep before I overheat again. Well, for tonight, I shall be going.

A Moment, A Laugh

I actually have time to sit and write something! I know it's been a while since I have written an actual update as to what has been going on but the truth is that there has been a lot. I am co-producing Lehigh's production of The Vagina Monologues this year and while the show might now be until February, there is a lot to be done before we can even work on getting together a cast. Being producer was never something I thought was a possibility but so far, it's been pretty amazing and I know it's going to be even more work than it has been already but it will also get even better as we get more people involved with all the new ideas that my co-producer and I hope to incorporate into our show.

Other things, classes have started. Senioritus exists already but nowhere near as badly as it did in high school. Maybe because I don't have a job yet or maybe because I am more engaged with my classes now than I was in high school. It's going to be a good year academically. The new STEPS building is awesome. I am a little sad that I don't have a class in there. I might have to schedule an elective there just for fun next semester.

It's been really nice being back, seeing people I haven't seen in six months, meeting people from all the organizations that I am rejoining as time has passed. This is shaping up to be a really great semester. Stay tuned for how things shape up to be.

Let's Get Together

Senior year starts tomorrow and to be honest, I am finally psyched. There is a ton to do that is all super exciting and at this point, almost all of my friends are back and it has been amazing seeing all of them as well as meeting a ton of new people. I missed out on recruitment last year so I am catching up on meeting our new pledge class and so far, they seem like a really great group of girls.

My room is still a bit of a disaster zone for now but a light week of class for now should make that a little bit easier to fix, trying to make sure that I can stay focused and not watch "How I Met Your Mother" instead.

And it happened... I got distracted... I got to talk to my roommates (they are seriously awesome) and then started watching more DVDs. So I will leave it with this for now, because to be honest, it's almost midnight and I have senior things to do tomorrow before I really start class but it's kind of an anti-climactic last first day of school. Still, my schedule this semester, is awesome.

It has been a really strange summer so far and it is bound to stay this way. The main reason that this is so weird is that part of me feels like this is not my home anymore. Most of my high school friends are not sticking around as they are paying higher rent than I am and as a result are living in their apartments/houses. I came home thinking I needed a break from being in new places, but now I wonder if I should have just appreciated my summer before the "real world" starts. My life is split between being here, back at school and a little in DC. I am thinking that if I choose to get a job, DC might be the best place for me, specifically, somewhere on the red line would great. It's strange feeling like I have no real place to call home anymore. Is home where my parents are or is it someplace else? School is home in a more general sense because I move from room to room each year.

Part of me is ready for the next year but the uncertainty of what follows scares me. I have no idea what I want to do. Do I want to get a job and push off grad school if I go at all? Do I want to go to grad school for a degree that I probably can't pay off? Do I want a job in the profit world where while I might make more, I may not be as happy? Or, if I get a job I love at a non-profit, can I afford rent?

My sister just graduated from high school, the same one I did and I realized that I will probably never have to set foot on that campus again and it was a bittersweet feeling. There were good times and bad had on that campus but it's no longer meant for me. She's going to start college (not a Lehigh but another great school) and eventually, I think she is going to start feeling what I am about being divided. Last night I told her she scares my friends because they only know about her graduating and remember her as a little kid rather than who she is now. It still scares me that she drives but I know what they mean because I feel the same way about their siblings. Liz then told me I scare her friends for the same reason she scares mine. Scare them? Right..... Try scaring myself. People I graduated high school with are done with college already. I could be done with college already. It's like going to camp on the first day, scary but exciting all at the same time. I miss camp and all that it is as a little bubble.

Well, I am at work and am now going to go finish putting labels on binder tabs.

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

First of all, sorry that it has been forever since I last updated this. It's been a hectic couple of weeks. Since I last posted here, I finished my semester at Georgetown and moved back to Lehigh before coming home for the summer.

Since coming home, I was working at my usual camp in the office to pass the time because it was impossible to go from doing a million things at once to not doing anything. After about three weeks of that, I went on a cruise to Alaska and had a really good time. It was probably the most exhausting vacation I have ever been on. I came home and slept for more than 15 hours! I never do that.

So I went back to camp for a week and then yesterday started my internship. I don't really know how it's going to go but everyone has been really nice and I know that I am going to learn a lot.

I really can't wait to get back to Lehigh. There are so many new things going on and I am ready to get started already!

I'm heading out to Philly for my cousin's wedding and am frustrated that I can't get to Lehigh to visit even just for a little while. I am however, enjoying the guacamole made possible by the abundance of good avocados in Southern California.

Join the crowd of aging beards a'many

For some reason, this past semester has caused me to have a lot of discussions about mustaches. I think it's because one of my co-workers is growing one which has led me to pay more attention to the people around me with them and has also led to all the interns looking up pictures of the mustache competition. We have also been led onto events like the mustache growing competition to raise money for charity. I guess I wad finally prompted to discuss this because I just saw a man in the library coffee shop with a beard i just don't understand. I am not a fan of facial hair at all and as a result I have great respect for the wives of these bearded men. I also just don't understand. A well groomed beard or mustache can be fine, but I don't get it when they are not well groomed and just look gross. It is still hair, and like the hair on your head, it should be neat if you want to be taken seriously. There are very few men that need facial hair, some really do or else they look way too young but for the vast majority, it is unnecessary.

So more about this library. It can be really frustrating sometimes because there are so many places to study but there are only a limited number of outlets. It can be very frustrating since most computer batteries don't last very long. I understand that there are certain places that are perceived to be okay for it to talk. That is fine, but the privilege shouldn't be abused. In Linderman, it is okay to talk a little and whisper but no one yells like they do here. The other night, it was so loud, it was impossible to hear myself think and I have a very loud thinking voice. It was probably a good thing that I wasn't doing real work at the time. To actually get some work done, I have to go hide in the lowest level of the library where my phone doesn't work and there are very few outlets. It might be easier to concentrate here but that doesn't mean I get very much done anyway... I am kind of a procrastinator, if we didn't figure this out already.

I'm super excited to see some family next weekend! Actually, all sorts of family, some of whom I haven't seen in a while. Plus, I get to hang out with my favorite two and half year old.

Do I really have to graduate?

So our class schedule for next semester came out this week. Normally, I love this time of the semester. It's so full of opportunities to learn something new and there is the whole puzzle about how to get everything you need at the best times. I know I'm a dork but it's kind of fun.

This semester is different though. I am going to be a senior. Talk about scary. I technically need 23 credits in order to graduate which means that I actually get to take a real free elective. I might take something with friends but who knows, I could also just take a light schedule with only what I need and then focus on all of the other exciting things that I have going on next year.

Through talking to other people about scheduling while I have been here and as I have previously mentioned, I really appreciate Lehigh's scheduling and registration process. At Georgetown, from what I understand, they pre-register for classes meaning that they make requests of the class they want and then the registrar makes the schedule for you. Changes can be made at the start of the semester but I feel like this is confusing and a lot can happen those first few days. Who wants to be behind before they have started?

My co-worker from Australia told me that at his school, he chose his courses and then the registrar would make the times work for as many people as possible so you would know what classes you were taking but you didn't know what times until later.

I like the system that we have that most people register on their designated night at 10:00 and know exactly what they are taking by 10:05 unless something went wrong and schedules must be reworked. We have time to sort out our classes until about ten days into the following semester and the registrar maintains the right to change the class times but I have never heard of that happening. It's nice to have it all figured out and plan extracurricular activities accordingly.

Graduation already seems to be looming in the distance, fast encroaching on the life I love I can only imagine how I am going to feel throughout the next year. I thoroughly plan on making a bucket list with my housemates to accomplish everything we want to before graduation but there is so much that needs to be done! I have to admit that I haven't made a huge effort in the past but starting with this semester, I have tried to make more of an effort to experience things and have no regrets. I went to the cherry blossom festival yesterday which made me miss Lehigh more, not because of the cherry blossoms themselves but because by taking the entire afternoon to take a long walk and go see things, I came back to a really heavy feeling of stress with all of the things I have to do as a shadow over the experience. What frustrates me is that when I get an assignment at Lehigh, most of the time it really matters that I do it, usually for the educational content. Semester long projects are usually done in steps. I currently have projects that I am attempting to work on for the entire semester, but there is no time! I mean, I have class from 9-3 with only an hour break on Mondays and Fridays, I work 9-5 on Tuesdays through Thursdays and then have class from 6-8 on Mondays and Wednesdays. By the time I get back to my room, I am exhausted. I barely have time to do laundry or clean my room, let alone work on my research paper. That exhaustion continues to the weekend when no matter how much sleep I try to get, something always needs to be done and something is always more pressing than my paper. Now, we have group debates and another paper for a different class which all require the same amount of time each week as my research paper. Maybe this is why Georgetown gives so much time off? They know that students need to recuperate more often from the insane amounts of time spent on school work. I honestly don't know what I would do without this four day weekend coming up, especially because in theory I can take Thursday off from work but I would rather go to work than procrastinate all day and work is less exhausting then classes. I like that Lehigh professors seem to have a better sense of balance and while we might have one or two bad weeks with a lot of stress, that tends to lend to another couple of weeks with a far lighter load.

Now I must go and write my debate speech for tomorrow. Whoop de doo.