Luck No More

So these past two or three weeks have been absolutely amazing. I don't remember the last time (or if there was ever a time) when I had such a long, consistent streak of good luck.

All that ended yesterday though. I can't remember the last time I got bogged down with so much work. Suddenly, I had too much stuff to do and really not enough time to do it.

I hadn't finished my math homework. I had quite a bit of reading for my history class. I had reading for my English class too, ON TOP OF a six-page paper I was still doing the reading for.

I could make excuses. I didn't learn the material on the math homework until Tuesday. My history paper was due Tuesday. Thus I didn't start my English paper until after that. Then there's the FreeP which was a little ridiculous this week.

But honestly, I know my cousin and I are inefficient and quite unproductive when we work together on math. My history paper was originally due last Thursday but he gave us an extension, plus I was inefficient and quite unproductive this past weekend myself when it came to writing it. Then everything my English professor assigns is on the syllabus, so honestly, I knew I had reading and the paper both due. The FreeP may be my only legitimate excuse.

Ugh, but after finishing my day (at 4 PM, though I had a FRA interview until 4:30 PM), I met with my cousin for an hour which of course was stupid and unproductive. Then after attempting to do more math, I ended up napping because I was so tired. When I woke up, I ate dinner with friends before heading to the FreeP at 8 PM, which is where I stayed for another three hours (it would have been longer had I not asserted for once my need to get out of there ASAP).

I honestly tried to do work again but since I was so tired I took another nap until 1 AM. Fortunately, FatMan kept calling me to make sure I was awake, and so I was able to get my [seemingly extra-tedious] math homework done, finish the reading, and then start my paper by 4 AM (I know, that's ridiculous).

Now, I usually take an hour to write a page, so you can do the math and calculate what time I actually finished. Yeah, so my 8 AM and 9:30 AM classes? I skipped both. I didn't leave my room until 11 AM so I could hand in my math homework before the 11:30 AM deadline. Then after eating a quick lunch, I headed to the computer lab to quickly Sparknote my assignment (I'll read it this weekend, I promise). Then I continued my day as I normally would.

Ugh, but I just felt so guilty. I can't believe I skipped two classes, not to mention I sent an e-mail to one of the professors claiming that I wasn't feeling too well (I can't wait for karma to bite me in the ass for that one), and then my paper was definitely something to be ashamed of. I admit it's not as bad as I thought it was as I was writing it, but I definitely didn't answer the task as I should have. I'm pretty sure most papers I write I usually claim that each is "the worst paper I've ever written" and that "I've never been so ashamed of a paper in my life," but I really think this takes the title. I mean, Tuesday's history paper was pretty atrocious, but it's history, and in my mind, as long as I had the info down I'm good. Yesterday's paper was an English paper though, and apart from the fact that there's personal importance to me that I do well in English, I would prefer not to get called out on stupid grammar or technical mistakes (or on writing a completely disorganized, nonsensical paper as a whole).

Sigh, I guess what's done is done. It's a rough draft, albeit it's graded, but hopefully out of the total 20 percent of the semester grade its worth, this draft will be worth less than the final copy.

Ugh, yesterday was just not a good day, but I knew I was running a happiness debt and the universe would come collect on it soon. I just hope I'm not downtrodden from this point on. It felt so good to be so happy and for so long, and if it's over, I don't know what I'll do.

Not to mention, I hope I wasn't riding on something that wasn't actually there. Alors, la vie n'est pas parfaite.

Girlish Tendencies

So this past weekend was an absolute fiasco.

I don't think I've ever laughed, giggled, or screamed so much in my life before.

You see, it would seem like the girls across the hall, my roommate, and I are in this strange mode of being. Let's just say that the feeling circulating around (apart from sickness) I feel is very Pride and Prejudice-esque (if you didn't get that from the brief reference in my last post).

As amusing the entire affair is, I feel it may be a little too personal on my friend's part for myself to share. I will say though that a charming [though admittedly cheesy] boy was enraptured with her (and she with him), and that he has followed through with contacting her after the party.

After a day of anxiety ("Do you think he'll call?"), she was very excited when she received a text message from him today. Of course we're all excited for her too, but doesn't the entire thing just ring a bell? Girl goes to party, girl dances with affable boy, boy is totally smitten with girl. Boy pursues girl and girl is absolutely lovestruck.

I'm having strong visions of Jane and Mr. Bingley. I told Izzy about this and she laughed at me and told me that I'm too obsessed with this book. Perhaps (no doubt), but can you blame me for wanting to witness this story unfold? In reality too?

I'm not sure where the rest of us filter into the Bennet family tree. We've each experienced our own unique moments of disappointment or triumph and some of the characters are so ridiculous that no one else really resembles a particular one. The most I can say is that as friends, we certainly at the moment do seem to resemble sisters though, judging by the way we tell stories to each other and such.

Anyway, the important thing is that I am one who is inspired. I've already outlined a story based on all this, and I can't wait until Spring Break so I can start writing it.

It's going to be good.

Lovely Day

I had quite a lovely day today.

The only regret I may have is that I'm either blind or seeing too much.

"Can you die of happiness?"

Early to Rise

Let me just start off by saying how ridiculous this week has been... and for once I mean that in a good way.

It started off Monday afternoon when I woke up at sunset. Yes, sunset. I finally managed to roll out of bed around 5:15 in the afternoon (evening?). Fortunately, I had no classes.

Since I had to FreeP soon after, I didn't get any work done that day; however, I do have one good thing to say: strangely enough, that nocturnal experience did manage to set my internal clock straight somehow.

This entire week, I've managed to wake up relatively early and without an alarm (with the exception of Thursday, since I had an 8 AM class). It's given me enough time to loll around while getting ready and to eat a hearty breakfast with my roommate. It's really nice, and I really like it.

I always wanted to be a morning person, though my mastery of procrastination techniques has prevented me thus far from ever being one. Now, suddenly, by this strange twist of fate, I've effortlessly managed to become one. All it cost me was an entire day of productivity--though that seems fair to me. (Honestly, how productive would I have been on Monday anyway?)

This week has been a relatively easy week though. As I think I may have mentioned in a previous post, Tuesday classes were substituted by Monday classes, and I personally had both my discussions cancelled on Wednesday due to the four-day week. This means that Thursday was my only full day of classes; all the other days this week, I only had one one-hour class each day.

That means my workload wasn't too heavy this week either. Actually, the only homework I had was for English and history. I did more or less pull an all nighter on Wednesday night to finish reading Pride and Prejudice, but other than that, especially since the due date for my history paper was extended to Tuesday of next week, I didn't have much work.

So yes, it was a good week, though I should point out that I have a tendency to feel tired when I have work to do and awake when I don't, if that makes sense. In this case, I hope this change in sleeping patterns isn't a temporary thing, though maybe I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt and hope that I've really changed for the better.

In other news, after passing out for an additional five hours after lunch today, I hastily ran to meet my friend for dinner before proceeding to my first hockey game. To be honest, I'm not a fan of hockey at all, but I do have to say that I found it pretty entertaining (and I enjoyed joining in the [sometimes ridiculous] cheers)... although I was told that this game (against Northeastern) wasn't that well played and was extremely, extremely dirty. We ended up tying 2-2, which sucks because BU would have been first in our conference had we beat NU. I was a bit disappointed too since we had beat NU in the Beanpot 5-2, and I expected us to do the same again. Oh, but tonight was so, so dirty...

Speaking of Northeastern and the Beanpot though, I found this following post from the "Overheard at BU" Facebook group highly amusing:

(At the Beanpot)
BU student section: Fuck 'em up, fuck 'em up--BC SUCKS!
Northeastern fan: Why are they saying BC sucks? We're Northeastern I don't get it!
BU parent/fan: ... Because you guys don't matter.

Sargent Center Love

So I hope everyone's Valentine's Day went well. As for me, I think I can honestly say that for once in my life I was definitely, most assuredly in love.

Remember this? Okay well, that froze over completely and turned into this:

Frozen lake at sunrise.

Instead of the shore, I'm standing on the lake this time (or lying down to be precise). It completely freezes over in the winter and there's no danger in walking on it; the night before, we were told that the ice was around 23 inches thick. This and the picture below were taken Saturday morning when four of us went out to watch the sunrise.

Deep reflection.

Our actual first time on the lake though was Friday night after our arrival, and as gratifying as it is to watch the sun rise above the trees, there was nothing more breathtaking and awesome (in the purest sense of the word) than seeing the stars at night. Even if I could have taken a picture, nothing would have compared to what we saw. Being able to lie down in the center of the lake away from the camp lights (few as they were) allowed us an even clearer view of the sky. The constellations were fully visible and circled above, hovering over us in a perfect dome. A few of us observed that it was like being in a planetarium, but you must imagine what it must have felt like to know that this time, it was real.

Anyway, after watching the sunrise and eating a hearty breakfast of eggs, potatoes, pancakes, muffins, et cetera, we headed out to go cross country skiing. It was a little hard to get used to at first, but once we started on the trail, I picked up the form (sort of) and was able to move pretty naturally. We went on a long and relatively flat trail with a few inclines (and one ridiculously huge one that everyone fell at); I fell over a lot throughout the whole thing, but it was definitely one of the funnest things I have ever done, not to mention a great workout for your entire body too.

Afterward, we came back for lunch which consisted of chicken, bread, and other foods, though I was still pretty full from breakfast. Then after lunch, we went to feed the chickadees that are in the woods, and they were so trusting that they would perch on our fingers for a few moments to take a seed out of our hands before flying away. They're very cute, and I was happy to have had one of my childhood wishes finally satisfied (hah).

Chika-dee-dee-dee-dee.

Soon after that, we headed out on a snowshoeing adventure. It wasn't as fun as skiing in my opinion (and when going uphill, somewhat more exhausting), but it was less demanding on the body as a whole and so it gave us a great opportunity to just take in the sights. And naturally (no pun intended), they were beautiful:

Along the river.

And I took the following picture with my cell phone:

In the woods.

When we concluded the hike, we were given a few hours to do whatever we wanted before dinner. Most people napped and did work for an hour or two, but after a long rest another girl and I headed out to ski again. Unfortunately, I fell down that really steep slope again and bruised my finger this time around, but even though it hurts to bend it, it didn't swell or anything so I think I'm good (if it still hurts I'll visit Student Health later in the week... hah).

Anyway, we came back right in time for dinner, the highlight of which was the main entree--salmon and shrimp. I had one piece at first, and despite feeling full after finishing the rest of my plate, I still went back up to get another piece. It was delicious, and I wasn't about to pass up my one chance to have not only a good meal but good fish while away from home. Then there was apple cobbler for dessert with homemade whipped cream, and of course I absolutely had to force a big bowl of that down despite my already filled-to-capacity stomach. I was bloated for hours, but it was worth it.

Then after relaxing by the fire and letting ourselves digest, we went out to the meadow for a basic astronomy lesson. One of the camp people pointed out several constellations, and they also set up a big telescope for us and zoomed in on Sirius (I think, or some other really bright star). What's pretty interesting though was that after a number of people went, the star would move out of the telescope's focus. We thought it was because we kept knocking into it or something, but in reality, because the telescope was so zoomed in on the star, the earth's rotation was causing the star to shift out of sight. Pretty cool, right? Anyway, we were also told a few other things, such as where to find Venus. A few of us went out to the lake after to check for it, but we kept mistaking planes for the planet, and the sounds of ice shifting was unusually loud so we left soon after (even though it's supposed to be normal and we knew we were completely safe).

After returning to the cabin, most people were doing work, and aside from the people who left to go out on a night hike, the rest of us crashed between 12 and 1. We were actually so tired, that this morning none of us could get up, and it took us all a while to make our way to Northern Lodge for breakfast, which consisted of eggs, sausages, potatoes, french toast, et cetera. Then after breakfast, we were allowed to do whatever we wished, and so the majority of us went skiing again (during which time I fell again and scraped my wrist, ouch). The group I was with also went out to feed the birds again before heading back for lunch consisting of various breads, meats, and cheeses for custom sandwiches and wraps.

But yeah, that's basically it. After lunch we headed back to our cabins to pack and then return our equipment. We were all sad to go, and it felt horrible to think that such a wonderful place could possibly be closed down and... empty. But we all agreed that we would do whatever it takes to return before August 31, and personally, I feel more invigorated about saving Sargent Center than I did before.

Because as humans we are in love with what makes us happy, and it's important to preserve that with which we are in love.

And here is where my heart lies.

Unbridled Joy

For starters, I know I've been neglecting the blog a bit, but I've just been so busy with work and the FreeP and such (plus I've been taking care of my sick cousin the past week). Believe me--I am not staying up until 4 AM every night on my own volition.

But that said, I feel the need to report that I must have looked like a total idiot today because I couldn't stop smiling as I was walking. I don't really know what or why it is (or maybe I do have a slight idea, just saying), but for the past week I've just been so extremely... happy.

I'm thinking the weather is playing a HUGE role (it's been above freezing for how many days now?). I went out with just a sweatshirt on Sunday and Wednesday felt like spring. Today was a windy and somewhat rainy day, but it was still warm apart from the wind, and I think I even started to feel a bit nostalgic or inspired or something along those lines--it was refreshing.

(On a side note, I also got to wear this somewhat-fluorescent light yellow cardigan that I've been saving literally for a rainy day. Don't mind my narcissism, but I admit that I felt quite special standing out against the usual winter palette, not to mention strangely optimistic too.)

Class has been going well. In anthropology, history, and math, I admit I'm kind of just skirting by with however little work I can manage, but I really love my English class (the class and the people) and I really find my acting class (especially the people) to be so much fun.

I can't stop smiling about last Sunday when for our drama assignment three of us met outside the Kenmore Classroom Building to do our "repetition game." Basically the game consists of making observations and having the two people repeat what the other person has said from his or her point of view, and then all this eventually takes on the tone and feel of a conversation (so it always changes depending on the people it involves). Example:

1: "You're smiling."
2: "I'm smiling?"
1: "You're smiling."
2: "You're laughing."
1: "I'm laughing."
2: "You're laughing!"
1: "I'm laughing!"

And so on and so forth... It's hard to explain concisely. If you don't get it, it's not important, but anyway, we had to do this while trying to achieve an objective and by employing various tactics. For example, my objective was to get the other person to be concerned about me, and so the tactics I used was to act distant, not make eye contact, etc. My charming classmate, however, decided that his objective was to get both my hands out of my pockets, and proceeded to carry out a variety of tactics, which included scaring me, shouting at me, and even flirting with me! Forget about what strange things we were already shouting out for everyone walking along Comm. Ave. to hear--by that point I was thoroughly embarrassed. But I admit that it was incredibly funny, and honestly, I have to say that I actually really quite enjoyed it.

As for my English class, everyone is so wonderful and nice. I've never had a class before where everyone gets along so well with everyone else. Speaking of which, I was talking to one of the News Assignment people at the FreeP tonight and she was telling us how in her philosophy class she asked the girl next to her about a point her professor made, and the girl said something along the lines of "I don't share notes with lazy ass people who can't take notes for themselves." How despicable! It's times like that I wish karma existed to strike down people who deserve it... Seriously, even though that's probably an extreme case, this is one reason why I'm glad I'm not pre-med or even a science major anymore.

But anyway, back to my English class, I really find our discussions quite enjoyable. It's funny too how I've also established this thing with a few of my classmates where we automatically glance at each other and smile across the conference table when something funny occurs. It happens naturally and all the time. I love it.

We're also reading Pride and Prejudice at the moment, which I would think is influencing my feelings were I actually reading it instead of skimming it and relying on my memory of the book to carry me through class. Still, I find the relationship between Lizzy and Darcy to be quite tantalizing. This apparently makes sense too since, as my professor notes, the cleverly-written book is highly erotic (cue the glances and giggles).

Ah, what fun. And I've got a great week coming up. I'm heading to Sargent Center again this weekend, this time to go cross country skiing and snowshoeing! I'll be back Sunday afternoon, meaning I'll still have time to enjoy the weekend (or do work, depending on how responsible I feel). Then next week, as much as I actually like my classes, Tuesday runs on a Monday schedule and both my discussions are cancelled, meaning I have my usual four classes on Thursday but only one one-hour class on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday! And I don't even have to teach next Friday. What luck!

Because of my necessity to think that all these good events must be balanced by bad events, part of me is somewhat-jokingly dreading what has yet to come. But I guess in the end, I'm not too concerned. I'm just so thankful for everything that's happened lately. Maybe the universe just decided to randomly give me a break.

Thank you, Universe!

Oh, and I almost forgot; I found this article very touching:

40 years' worth of thanks

Surprise, Surprise

So today was full of surprises...

8:30 AM: Bad surprise - No hot water. Cold shower. Not fun.

10:30 AM: Funny surprise - Anthropology professor is lecturing on mutations. Picture of a fly with two big red dots on its wings pops onto the slide next to a population of normal flies. Professor's words: So here you can see it's mutated. It's like, "Dad... I have red balls."

1:00 PM: Scary surprise - Everyone starts receiving alerts from BU. Something is happening at one of the main buildings on campus.

1:30 PM: ...continued... - Everyone is told that police activity in the area has concluded.

4:00 PM: Scary surprise - I find out that a student reported a person who appeared to be holding an ammunition clip and a bullet. No suspect is found.

6:30 PM: Yummy surprise - Blueberry pie. Mmm.

8:00 PM: Funny surprise - Conversation at the FreeP is lively tonight. Laughing at a person's rather accurate comment about how our place is filled with "bitches and a Ho" (if you know who the editors are, you'll understand).

Hm, I suppose that's it. Sorry for the lame post. I think editing at the FreeP takes away my willpower to write. But yeah, just wanted to record the day's events. Hopefully I'll be able to write more this weekend. But for now it's back to work work work.