being lame.

1. woke up before noon today and took a shower and got ready for the game! it was so much fun. we won and it felt so nice outside. 
2. went to dinner with a group of friends. yummy! then walked a lot and walked the dinner off, haha.
3. had a really fun night with friends chilling at a house.

don't have a blog topic for tonight. but i'll write a better one tomorrow.

wow.

1. italian class today; got my assignment for our first oral exam! mine is on wednesday but it shouldn't be too bad. 
2. had a nice lunch with a friend today; it was great to catch up with her.
3. craaaazy night.

insanity. madness. holy moly. i'm going to bed.

yum yum yum

1. long day of classes today. as per usual. but at least it stopped raining! 
2. out to the university down the road to hang out with high school friends. it's just what i need. 
3. i miss these friends a lot of the time. but i also love my friends from school!

short blog post tonight because i am with all my friends and i don't want to be antisocial for too long. but i am at least blogging and i will have more time tomorrow to blog about a more interesting topic. 

rain, rain, go away! come back on sunday.

1. busy day today! but wednesday is over; i'm over the hump and ready for the weekend. of course, i still have three classes tomorrow but they shouldn't be too bad. homework for them is almost finished. 
2. boxing tonight was hard! but we got our wrist wraps in and learned how to wrap our hands. then we got to put on gloves and hit these mitt things that our partners had on. after 30 minutes each of cardio and strength workouts...
3. ate breakfast for dinner! yummy. full of protein and carbs to replenish my depleted body after the two hour workout. oh, p.s. i got a 97 on my italian quiz!

i am going to bed! it rained all day and it put me in a bad mood. i'm sick of wearing rain boots! and my calves are big so my rain boots always rip on the back seam. hmph. so i'm totally over the rain, although we need it a lot. so that is why i'm not blogging! blame the weather gods! but it's supposed to stop by 10 am tomorrow so maybe tomorrow night will be better!

tired body

1. long day of classes and homework today...but i'm almost over the mid-week hump! usually from wednesday on i have a pretty low-key week. 
2. started the spring break 2011 powerpoint presentation! also contacted all the owners to ask about renting to a group of college students...we'll see how that turns out. also used another website and found a bunch more houses to sort through!
3. led my own workout session tonight before chopped champions finale!!! it was so good. i won't ruin anything for the viewers who have not yet seen it.

tonight is another short post because i almost forgot about it and don't have to time to do a good post before bed! but as a side note, all comments are appreciated, even if they are cynical. and a comment on yesterday's post raised a good point about the movie that i will address thursday when i have seen the entire movie and finished up discussion with the class. oh, i also got a ticket for the football game this weekend...couldn't remember if i mentioned that already. i'm excited!!! it's an afternoon game too, so that is very nice. but tata for now...ciao!

p.s. i love this picture.

a requiem

1. longest. day. ever. learned how to conjugate verbs ending in -are in italian today, watched parts one and two of when the levees broke, had a surprisingly interesting and heated discussion in history, meeting, boxing, (almost) bedtime. 
2. GOT A POSTCARD FROM SPAIN TODAY!!! it was so exciting, obviously. 
3. can't wait for it to be october 1st and can't wait for the wedding weekend! being at home during the fall will be amazing. 

okay, so as promised: an explanation. i would choose to vote republican over not voting at all because i know that my one vote switching from democrat to republican would not have an effect. on the same note, however, why just not vote at all then? something about not voting gives me the heebeejeebees. i don't know if i could not vote...that goes against all that i stand for. then again, voting republican does also. but i stand by my claim (obviously, because i'm stubborn).
truly am very exhausted so this will be semi-short. but it goes along with the tidbit i just posted above and relates to my watching of when the levees broke. OMG, WTF?!?! that movie is crazy so far. i was mid-teens when it happened and well aware of the situation but it blows my mind to watch it all again, five years later. clearly, the movie had political and social biases and implications, but even those aside, just the basic facts about the katrina disaster bloooow my mind. it's unreal to me. the sheer idiocy of george bush, michael browning, michael chernoff, everyone at the federal level is appalling. I HATE GEORGE BUSH. his smirk is possibly the most insulting facial expression i have ever seen. that's all that the federal government did to victims of katrina--add insult to injury. and yes, i will have the people who disagree with me, but i couldn't care less. oh, so we were in a war on terror and we couldn't deal with the horrifying terror that was thrown in our face in our own country?! real cool, america. and yes there were admirable and important and miraculous efforts from thousands of people in this country and abroad...but what about the millions of people who did nothing? to quote the lady in the movie, "i hope they can sleep at night."

tough choices...

1. long day of homework! i literally did homework for about 10 hours today. and all for one class! whoo hoooo. classes tomorrow, homework tomorrow, meeting tomorrow, boxing tomorrow. the beginnings of my weeks are always jam-packed. 
2. my friend discovered this amazing website that i am now addicted to... http://www.outdoor-photos.com/
3. today was a tough day. but at least i have a blog topic...

there is this game, it's called would you rather. so i've decided to play it on my blog and answer some "would you rather..." questions. if you have any that you are interested in knowing the answer to, just post them in the comments section and i'll answer the next day! also, if you want explanation for any of these, just comment and ask about whichever one.
would you rather...
be blind or be deaf?     deaf.
go to italy or go to hawaii?     hawaii.
watch basketball or watch football?     football.
have an australian or have a french accent?     french.
be a model or be an actress?     actress.
lose taste or lose smell?     smell.
be invisible or be able to fly?     be able to fly.
have bad teeth or bad hair?     bad hair.
live at the beach or live in the city?     live in the city.
have a mental illness or a chronic physical illness?     mental illness.
vote republican or not vote at all?     vote republican. 
be from the north or be from the midwest? death by samurai sword!

bucket list item: stay at an open air hotel under the stars.

the best joke ever.

1. slept pretty late today...but still did some homework. so i had a semi-productive day. but i still have some homework to do tomorrow. a lot of homework to do tomorrow. 
2. we decided on halloween costumes! can't waittttt. i'll reveal the final decision later. 
3. had a fun night with friends. it was pretty chill, so that was nice. watched some hilarious videos from last night. good. times. 

i am taking a reader's advice starting tomorrow. but not for tonight. tonight, i am guilt-free going to sleep.

i want some pie.

1. yes, roommate, I AM TIRED. there, i said it. so surprising. NOT.
2. i think i did well on my italian quiz today but i probably won't find out until next wednesday. 
3. one week from today is the first of october. i could not be happier!

stop reading this blog, i feel bad already. because i said i would blog about something interesting, but here i am blogging the same thing i always say.

my room!

1. not-as-long-as-usual day of classes today. i love having my last class canceled. 
2. had a friend over, relaxed some, went to the grocery, and studied. 
3. watched the season premiere of grey's anatomy!!!

just another thursday night! i have a better post for tomorrow night, i promise. i'm just watching a tv show right now and i'm going to go out soon so i need to get ready. but tomorrow will be better. promise!

vivaldi

1. italian class today. it was good, we got out early, of course. quiz on friday and i want to do really well! i'm in a competition with my friend to see who does the best on italian quizzes. 
2. spent the rest of the day in my two psych labs doing lab-related work. then came home and took a breather before boxing club! 
3. english class is canceled for tomorrow! whoo hoo, that means i get out at 3:15. 

i am all booked up for my nyc trip on halloween weekend! i am very excited. i am ready for the weekend but very nervous about how it's all going to happen. i know that i can do well but it's all about my mindset. i will (hopefully) be meeting some pretty famous researchers and i want to make an impression. i am also gearing up for a hopeful poster for another conference next fall. got to get all that written up and submitted by the first-ish of february. on a side note, today was the autumnal equinox and that means...FALL!!! too bad it's still about 90 degrees here every day. i always try to rank the seasons in my mind but i never can. i think spring in full swing might be my favorite, but i also really love fall. a chill but sunny fall day is one of the best there can be for me. however, summer is always a classic choice because of the break in school, the opportunities for vacations, my birthday, the hot weather, sundresses, etc. but...i also really like winter! i love snow and cold weather and getting all bundled up. okay, so i'm partially really excited for fall in NYC because of all the fashion-y and chilly clothes i get to wear. yes, i can be that shallow. i love the seasons and i want to live in a place that has seasons, real seasons. where i am now there are seasons...kind of. where i grew up, now those are real seasons. but we'll see where the wind takes me. for now, i better go find another summer outfit for school tomorrow...so frustrating. it's time for jeans and sweaters and scarves and jackets and boots!
the seasons by james thomson.

now, stop! it's mantra time.

1. watching chopped champions! this is the last round before the ultimate showdown. i love this show; i  never get tired of it. 
2. had a so-so day today. i woke up and was just exhausted. but i'm over the mid-week hump and wednesdays are usually better for me. i just have to pace myself homework wise and i should be okay. 
3. i was draining my chocolate pudding cup of the film of liquid that sits on top and it fell into the trashcan! i was so upset. not a good ending to my day!

had a blah day today but while i was working out towards the end of the night, after i most likely re-injured my quad muscle (we'll see how it is in the morning), i realized that i need to have some mantras that i repeat to myself daily. so i have written them down elsewhere since mantras can be somewhat personal. but whenever i notice myself thinking in a particular way, i will say my mantra until i am thinking on track again. the power of positive thinking! i need to stop writing so much about myself, though. even though this is my blog...tomorrow i will have a topic that is more compelling and more applicable. can't wait?!

ouchie.

1. boxing club is so fun. i like it a lot now. and my two friends and i volunteered to be social committee chair members. we get to plan fun social events! whoo hoo!
2. long three hour class today after italian class. and i also watched two long movies but they were both pretty good--inside man and jackie brown.
3. still some homework to do. ugh. and the roach count for the day is two: one dead, one alive. now dead. 

have a migraine. strained my quads at boxing. tired and want to go to bed but can't. need to shower still. long day of classes tomorrow. miss my family/home friends/boyfriend/home/kitty. these are all the reasons i am not writing a long blog post! sorry...goodnight. talk tomorrow? YES!

no longer a teenage dream

1. talked with my boyfriend for part of the day. it was good to catch up and talk. i miss talking with him face-to-face, so computer talking will have to suffice for now. 
2. make pancakes for breakfast (!), cleaned the apartment living room/kitchen, did laundry, organized my room, did homework, made a red and green bell pepper and provolone quiche for dinner. um, can you say domestic?! 
3. read about premodern and early genocide allllll day. such a depressing topic! and not really helpful in my quest to remain upbeat and cheerful. but, i finally finished the 205 pages of reading and am getting to bed relatively early in prep for classes/homework/boxing club tomorrow. 

it*s a beautiful day. today has been a better day. an even better day will come in 104 day! that's not so long...right? i'm taking all of this a day at a time. just...life in general. my eyes are currently having trouble focusing since essentially i've looked in the same place all day today (two feet in front of me). but i am optimistic again and excited for the winding down of september and the starting up of october. i just had a thought that it will be very interesting for me to read through all these posts once the year is over. i've done it before, in may or somwhere in there, but reading the entire year from start to finish will be so gratifying. i'm glad that i kept note of three things from each day simply so i can be reminded of how things went on a daily basis. i want this year to finish out quickly, but that also means that another year is gone! 2010 has been so good to me so far, quite a bit better than 2009, that i'm nervous for it to end. 2011 will be a stressful year! okay, okay i've got to stop looking so far into the future! i think reading all this history is what makes me think long term (like two years is long term). my plan for the next time i have some downtime is to go back through and read the hunger games series. can't wait for that downtime to roll around! my bucket list item for tonight is rather mundane, but important to me and it needs to be set in stone: pick classes for the remaining three semesters that really are interesting to me and fit into a schedule that i am totally happy with. 

 

trying

1. had a long, hot afternoon sitting in the boiling sun for a football game that we didn't even win! the atmosphere was...fun for the most part. 
2. went to never ending pasta bowl night at olive garden with friends. it was so much food! but i didn't eat much during the day, so it wasn't as bad. i got three bowls and had leftovers from the last one. yummy carbs!
3. had a pretty boring night. we were all carb drunk and not into moving around much. then again, other people had fun but i just kind of sat there.

i'm trying to stay positive and trying to stay upbeat. i'll let you know how this goes...hope all is well for everyone reading this post. and this blog. thank you all for reading. i'll post better tomorrow when i'm feeling a little better.

lateness

1. so freakin' tired, this is unbelievable. have to wake up pretty early for the football game tomorrow too. but i'm excited!
2. having people over tonight for seven layer dip and cookies--let rock bottom friday begin! 
3. good day of classes; got out of italian early...again! and had a few participants to run before going back to the apartment to relax.

have to book my trip for the conference soon. i'm excited that october will be a busy month. staying busy is a good thing for me! i was kind of irritated tonight for a few hours but pretty much got over that when my friends came over. and i got to see friends from high school! that was fun. anyway, i've got to get some sleep before the football game and whatever antics are happening on saturday night. happy friday!

sono bionda!

1. long day of classes today, but my last class let out about 15 minutes early, so that was nice! and i didn't have much homework for friday so i got that knocked out quickly. 
2. finished mockingjay today! it was so so so good. and heartwrenching. but i won't spoil it any more! i want to go back and read them all very soon, probably over christmas break.
3. out to eat with my friends tonight; ladies' night is starting soon so i'm excited for that. i need some fun in my life right now. 

i've been the lamest blogger ever lately! someone asked me earlier why i had a blog and i explained the new year's resolution and how i wanted to make one that i actually stuck to this time around and he accepted it as an answer and gave the typical response of "oh, that's cool." but then i started to wonder why i really am doing this blog. it's been such a long time since i started this blog, or so it seems. i have to reacquaint myself with my reasoning. because sometimes it really is a pain in the ass to blog (as you can tell from my apologetic, short, lame blog posts). sometimes it just feels like a routine that i have to go through and a way to prove to myself that i can stick to a resolution. but then doesn't it seem a tad disingenuous to continue if my heart isn't in it? perhaps, but that's how spiteful i am. and stubborn. and determined. this is kind of like the italian homework i had tonight: describe yourself using adjectives you have learned so far. the ones i just used weren't on the list, unfortunately. anyway, i'm trying to be better about blogging. tonight was a semi-long post! i need to have more funny ones. maybe when i'm in a funnier mood. hopefully that will come soon!

let's fly away...

1. italian class today, a break during which i ate lunch and read for class/pleasure. then had lab time for two hours! boxing club tonight; it was hard, as always.
2. got stuff all worked out for my travel scholarship, i think. also got an email today about how i can apply for a travel scholarship for italy in the summer. that'd be nice!
3. you know i'm thinking you and your family...

don't feel much like talking tonight. i'm really tired and it's been a long day. lots of things are on my mind and most of them are stressful. i wish it were the weekend so i could just relax some and de-stress. but i'll keep on plugging and get through. i feel like i've been emotionally and mentally and spiritually boxed as well as physically.

destiny's child?

1. long day. lots of homework, three classes, some interpersonal stress to boot. i really enjoy all my classes though, so that is a definite plus. the one i was most excited about in the beginning of the year (history of genocide and the holocaust) will probably end up being one of my lesser favorites simply because of the time frame. but i like my southern lit class and my film and culture classes a lot. and italian, obviously.
2. saw some friends today i don't usually see. talked with my mom and sister and boyfriend. got ready for school tomorrow. skipped crossfit because it was supposed to be hella hard (like, squatting with people thrown over your back like a sack of potatoes and bench pressing people. that kind of hella hard). and i walked a fair amount today and was also still a little sore from boxing. i need to catch up on sleep, too.
3. buuuut what might prevent that sleep catch-up is the new book i started, mockingjay. i won't say anything in case people want to read it, but it's great so far! it's so easy for me to devour novels...why is it not that easy to read academic material?

being independent is important to me. it always has been and it always will be. i like to be strong, stubborn, and my own person. college has really helped me embrace that part of myself and to move away from the high school-y clique-ish mentality that so pervades life as a female. i care less now about trying to please everyone, especially if it means being fake, and just living my life to make myself and those i care most about happy. obviously i'm not turning into some sort of monster or anything, i just don't care as much about stupid drama anymore. reason number high-on-the-list i am not involved with greek life. i have really come into a state of happiness in these past several months and i'm overjoyed that college is suddenly turning into the time in my life when i figure out who i am like everyone told me. it just feels right and it feels good (although one part of my life is currently residing elsewhere). so these are good feelings and i get good vibes about this year. we'll see how it goes! so far i was right about 2010 being a great year, but there is still time for the universe to throw that in my face (ever superstitious!).

let's be real.

1. such a long day today, it was ridiculous. only had two classes but i had a quiz in one and the other one is a three hour class that meets once a week. and in between classes i had to watch two movies and read a lot and write a response. it's been crazy.
2. took a fifteen minute nap before boxing club. it was so hard, of course! but i think it'll be worth it for sure. going with friends makes it a lot better. 
3. have been working ever since i got back from boxing. still have to find time to take a shower and then finally get some sleep. ahhhh please let it be the middle of the week already. or better yet, the weekend!

i hate enablers. i was watching this show on drug addicts and got so angry about the families. they just excuse the addiction and make it seem not as bad as it is and continue the cycle of addiction. an addiction is inexcusable and totally beatable. it takes unbelievable will/determination/support. but families cannot be a copout for addicts. they cannot feel this sense of responsibility and loyalty when it is destroying the addict. that is unfair and horrible and will slowly ruin the addict's life. i know that i've never had to deal with an addict but it's just not fair how families perpetuate addiction because they don't want to be forceful or mean or harsh. but sometimes tough love is the best way to show how much you really do love someone.