Ah. Welcome back from the summer. I have to admit, going from 8 weeks to nearly 4 months off was definitely terrible. I had no idea what to do with myself by the time June started. And classes still don't start for another two and a half weeks.

But all in all, not a bad summer. And now I'm getting ready for yet another exciting year in college. Not in the dorms this year, I and two friends have gotten an apartment. Nothing big, nothing fancy, just something manageable that is infinitely cheaper than the actual dorms. I moved in last weekend, because it was convenient and I have a camp I need to get to next week, and I figured my parents would appreciate it if I didn't ask them for a ride to campus at 6 in the morning.

The only bad thing about moving in a week before any of your roommates is if they have all of the furniture:

That there is the living room. And my sad lonely little chair. You can't even see the whole room my camera isn't that wide. So for now, that is the only furniture in the apartment aside from the kitchen table and what is currently in my room. It's a little lonely, and slightly awkward when you open the door for the maintenance man to come in and fix something. You can see his eyes try to do a once over of the room, but all they have to land on is that solitary chair. Like I'm trying to live all alone in a two room apartment and not doing a very good job of it. Oh well. Meredith should be here in a week, but Sam won't be joining us until but a few days before school starts up.

I moved in on Saturday, what do you know, it's hot. Every other day so far has been and every day leading up to it had been tolerable. But not the day I move in. My fridge was ironically too hot to touch and bring in when we first unloaded it from the truck. Thankfully I don't have a lot of things, or it would have been a long day of moving and unpacking. As it is, it still quite a fair amount of time to build my bed and desk up. but of course, once we're halfway done, we realize the piece we were missing was rather important. 

Thankfully the guy I bought the bed from happened to be in the area, and I finally managed to get a hold of him in time to have a bed to sleep on that night. So, once the bed was done, mom and dad left me to my devices, which mostly consisted of unpacking my clothes and wiring my motley assortment of devices. In the morning, I tried to organize what little there was left for me to do, and fixed up the bathroom. Damn shower curtain kept falling until I put some mounting putty on the ends. It worked perfectly. Until I took a shower.

It fell on top of me while I was in the middle of scrubbing my head!

I don't know what was worse, the scare it gave me or the way it hit me on its way down. But after I had wrangled it back in place, naked and thankful I was alone in the apartment, I went to go and clean up the kitchen. Put my dishes away, make some dinner. Mom found a rice steamer in the garage, I decided to give it a whirl (it's so tiny and compact and perfect for this, thanks so much mom!). How have I only been eating rice from a pot all this time?!?! I don't know how, or why, but steamed rice has  to be a thousand times better than the stuff from the pot. It was the best bowl of rice cereal I have ever made for myself.

Went to bed, feeling accomplished after all my hard work and praying the shower curtain didn't fall while I was asleep and scare me awake. My bed is rather close to the ceiling, see? Not so much to be a problem, but if I were to jolt awake at, say, I dunno a crashing and clattering of a damned curtain rod, it would very much become a problem. but I'm still alive today, so nothing could have happened. We'll just have to wait and see if the curtain tries to murder me again.

Today, was uneventful. I got the password for the study-room wifi, which conveniently comes into our living room and is how I am posting this today. Meredith was calling the internet people sometime soon, but I can live with this for now. The maintenance man came today as well, because on move in we discovered this little guy hanging out in the broiler drawer of the stove:

Poor little thing was completely glued to the bottom by its melted rubber tires. It took a little prying, but it came off without too much of a fuss. I definitely like the staff around here, they are cheery and professional. so much better than some student run apartment complex hosted by the university. But they are a little farther than the student ones, not that it really matters when you have a bike. Oh well. We'll just have to see how the year goes, one day at a time.

Tried doing a burpee today. If you don’t know what that is, basically you jump up, drop into a squat, pop your feet out behind you, pump out a quick pushup, hop back to your feet, and jump up, doing it all over again. I could jump, I can squat. What I forgot was that I can’t do pushups, and proceeded to fall on my face. I think I’ll stick with jumping jacks and bicep curls for now, with the occasional pushup routine thrown in, done slowly.

In other news, nothing too terribly exciting this week. Visited a friend twice, but she has cats and I forgot to pack medicine. I think I’m slowly inoculating myself though, as I seem to be lasting longer without dying every time I go over. I honestly thought about letting the cats out (she puts them in her bedroom when I visit, bless her) but then I thought that was probably a little premature, cocky, and insane. With my luck the cats would jump into my lap and I’d go into anaphylactic shock and die on her couch. So they stay in the bedroom still.

And I received an email that I have been offered a TA position. Unfortunately, they offered it right after I had applied to another job, which would severely affect my hours of availability that I had reported. So I can’t say yes. I’m still holding out hope for the one I applied to; not only is it better pay, but I really really really want to do it. It’s basically a tour guide for that building I’ve mentioned before, the space one with the really cool open house and 3D theatre and the meteorite collection. I think I’m a good fit, but I’ve thought that before and still have never been hired, so I’m not holding my breath on it just yet.

Speaking of jobs, I go to camp on Monday. I get to be a counselor, which I’m hoping will be good fun, and that we won’t get rained on. Mostly because the Perseids meteor shower is going to be in full swing, and actually at the peak when we’re up in camp. It also happens to be an excellent stargazing spot, so I’m doubly excited. Now I’m just crossing my fingers that counselors don’t have a curfew, and I can go out around midnight, when the meteors are at their best. But I won’t be back until Wednesday, which also happens to be the day where if I’m selected as a finalist for the tour guide position, will be my interview date. Hooray, I’ll probably smell like camp.

And finally, I’ve got my room situated and cleaned. I’m really liking the set-up, and it’s cozy. The desk is huge, which I love, and the bed is big, which is new. I’ve actually got wall space to put up posters, though I haven’t got around to putting up my stickers from last year.

Here's my room as it looks from the doorway. I am loving this new bed, by the way.

And then a little to the side. There's my fridge, handy little thing, and my backpack on a hook that came with the bed. Just to the left of the frame is where my closet it, but that's not interesting so no picture of that.

My desk, with plenty of room for my computer, extra monitor (if you're a student, seriously, invest in a second screen. It is literally the most useful tool I've had all year) and any textbooks I'll be needing to use, along with space for my actual homework to be done.

And finally, my fishtank! Alright, so it isn't my fish exactly. It's my roommate's from last year. But I've really grown to like him, he is an interesting fish, at least more interesting than most. 

Oh, and I think I’ve learned how to use a gas oven and stove. The stove isn’t so bad, but the oven doesn’t ding or anything once it preheats, and everything smells like gas. I’m sure I’ll get used to it in time, but it certainly is a new experience. As long as nothing catches on fire more than it should, I think I’ll do great.

Like I said, camp will be until Wednesday, and I can’t see anything exciting happening this weekend, so you’ll probably have to wait until then to get an update. Unless something spectacular happens in between then and now. Which there won’t be. Because there never is.

Two posts in one day?!?! I must be crazy.

But, this one will be short. It's just sort of a status update really. Remember when I said to take care of yourself? Well, make sure you are surrounded by people who do the same. I am currently sucking down hot tea surrounded by fruit, trying to convince myself to go to bed. My roommate and suitemate were tossing bronchitis back and forth for the past month and a half, and now I think my last suitemate and I are finally succumbing to it in the crossfire. But that's what they get; they have terrible eating habits, terrible sleep patterns, and generally don't live well.

I even cleaned out our room and scrubbed the bathroom when they were really picking up in illness. There was bleach and lysol everywhere. The whole suite smelled anti-bacterial, and there was going to be no way I could get sick. If I'm sick during spring break, someone is going to die. I have midterms this week, I can't afford to be sick. For the love of all that is holy, if you live with other people, be courteous, watch your health. Maintaining yourself helps keep them happy. Because if I have bronchitis too, all hell is going to break loose.

So, if you don't hear from me soon, it's probably because when I'm not in class or doing homework, I'm sleeping. Because sleep and tea are always the best remedies. Let's just hope I can make a speedy recovery.

All right. Haven't posted in like two weeks, but I was insanely busy.

I have had three exams, a paper, an interview, and plenty of little things in between to keep me preoccupied. First off, the interview. It was to be a housing assistant, live in the dorms and keep an eye on the freshman sort of thing. I thought the interview went well. But I guess so did 500 other people. Yeah, I didn't realize how many people had applied. So, in the end, I didn't get the job. Now I have to figure out away to pay for another year of school. Hooray, universe, anything else you want to throw at me while I'm down?

Exams, let's not talk about them. They've all been those ones where you look at them, think 'I've got this, this makes so much sense!' and then they are returned with red marks everywhere. Ouch. And apparently studying doesn't work, because the problem is I'm not clever. I can do the math, I can do the theory. What I can't do is look at a problem and instantly know I have to manipulate it, turn it inside out, and then sprinkle it with fairy dust, look at it through an x-ray lense, and then it will be workable. You can't study to be clever.

And so, with this post, I am going to recount all the things I have done wrong in regards to school, and what I should have done instead. This is in hope that anyone reading this who is heading to college, still struggling with college, or even still in high school, because I'm coming to realize that as different as they are, college and high school can be pretty darn similar in terms of how to play the game.

1. DON'T PROCRASTINATE. This has been beat into the heads of everyone ever since we've started school. Heck, there are quotes and sayings throughout history about it. "Don't put off till tomorrow what can be done today" sound familiar? And guess what? They're absolutely right. There are times when I can be a day or two ahead of my workload, but it never lasts long. If you have free time, do your work. Force yourself. Once you start it, your brain makes you anxious until it is finished. It's like looking at a blank page before writing. It's easier to continue once the page has been started.

2. Eat right, and on time. If you eat junk, you will feel like junk. There were some nights when I would just grab a burger because it was there and quick. It was faster than waiting for a healthy deli sandwich or taking the time to make a salad. And those nights, and the morning after, I felt terrible. Tired, sluggish, uncomfortable. Also, don't skip eating. I don't mean eat constantly, just when you're hungry and make sure you're keeping fueled up. Take care of yourself.

3. Use your resources. I can't even begin to list off tutoring opportunities offered by my school. Online, study center, professor office hours, the list goes on and on. They are there for a reason. The lectures and text book are good and all, but sometimes you need that extra oomph to understand, or just one more explanation. People learn in different ways, find out what works for you.

4. Enjoy yourself. It doesn't have to be all work and no play, you just have to know where to draw the line. And sometimes, when you have to be clever with homework, doing something fun and creative can get your brain pumping. You're in college, a new environment, explore it a little. Go to that little ice cream parlor down the street for floats with friends. Explore the nightlife, if that's your cup of tea. This goes with taking care of yourself. Having fun recharges your batteries for those nights when you have to write a physics lab and it takes you 6 hours.

Let me know if you've learned anything else, or want more details on something. these are just my own personal mistakes I've learned from. But they were good lessons, and you can't get anywhere without a few knocks now and then.

My god what a busy weekend.

Interview for the CA position went along swimmingly. I went to bed so early, I actually woke up before my alarm. To my surprise, but it really shouldn't have been, my roommate and suitemate were still awake. Sort of. It was about 6 in the morning. This is what happens when you have Fridays off. You stay up all night Thursday, sleep all day Friday (I came home to my roommate still in bed after I got back from Chinese. At 2:30 in the afternoon), then stay up all night Friday and repeat this until you crash into Sunday night. And skid painfully into the first few days of the week. Though my roommate seems to have that figured out as well, seeing as she doesn't start class until 3 on Mondays.

I have seen her power walking and almost sprinting across campus because she woke up late to it. And it isn't even that far from our dorms.

But I digress. The interview was so amazingly similar to Academic Decathlon (which I did for some time in high school) that I fell right into my routine. Nod, smile, firm handshake, crack a joke, tell a good anecdote, use the buzzwords, ask the right questions. If I don't get the job, kudos to whoever can beat me out of it. But I'm like 99% certain I won the position, now it's just a matter of my placement. Got back to my room, grabbed my homework, and left them all still snoring away blissfully. My roommate's current boyfriend was supposed to interview at the same time as me, but I guess he missed out. There were a surprising number of people who were absent, which just raises my certainty that I'm hired.


Wrote a paper very quickly before I had to dash off to Moderator Training for the local comic convention. I'm quite proud of that paper, never thought I'd enjoy this humanities class so much, glad I got an awesome professor. He's the one who makes you excited about things you had never really given much thought to. Like how the ancient greeks totally knew the earth was a sphere and the exact radius of the earth. A guy, using basic geometry and a hired walking tape measure, was able to calculate it to within one percent of what we know it as today. How is that not mind bogglingly astounding? My mind was boggled, and this particular paper was about Galileo. Perfect.

Moderator training was a blast. Even though it was my first time, there were several other new people there, and we just sort of dove in. Sort of similar to 'Whose Line is it Anyway', there is a nonsensical point system in place that kind of has rewards. If you wear a nerdy T-shirt, 100 points. Make a reference, 10 points. Make one of the instructors laugh so hard he nearly chokes on his water bottle, 1000 points. I'm gonna win this game so hard, it's gonna hurt. We were regaled of horror stories of troublesome crowds, which were hilarious, troublesome guests (which I am under contract to not gossip about, sadly), and troublesome volunteers. The last one was a little sad; why would you screw up an opportunity like that? Some of the more serous offenders were banned from even visiting the convention. I can't even fathom not going. It's like one of the biggest highlights of my year every year.

And today: homework. Lots of it. It's not so much that I don't do it in a timely fashion, though my procrastination certainly contributes, it's just that my teachers don't assign anything too terribly early, and when they do every single one of them assign at the same time. Can we make a motion so that different subjects are due on different days? Sciences can be due Mondays, humanities on Tuesdays, labs on Wednesdays, etc etc. I think that would definitely help streamline my work load, and I could plan my week accordingly. Plus, the teachers would be able to be stricter on due dates, since it was clear from the first day of school when homework would be turned in. I like this idea, I don't know about anyone else, though.

But so far, that's all I have to report. Another long week, though without anything too major happening, so hopefully it'll be nice and easy to get through. My post-it note to-do list never seems to get shorter, but I'm gonna try and make a dent in it tonight. Wish me luck.

Honestly, how many life skills do these kids not posses? This morning there was a fire drill, because someone couldn't coo food properly. They made cinnamon buns in the lounge kitchen, which went just fine. But they put the used pans back into the oven and forgot to turn it off, incinerating the leftovers and setting off the alarms. It wasn't the first time. Another person burned popcorn a few weeks ago.

Just last week I found an entire egg crate pad for a bed shoved into a washer machine. The lid wouldn't shut at all, and the pad was streaked with blue as though someone had poured soap all over it. Why can nobody do anything without being so helpless? I can see it right in my own bathroom, when I walk in to see these things:

What is this? When you finish the roll, you replace it. Common courtesy.

Okay, I can see you've gotten a new roll, but that isn't replacing it. Seriously, you've already gotten it from the pack, you might as well put it on the holder.

Closer, but I think you may have missed something there.

 Seriously, I'm glad we've managed to stop the elves, but take some responsibility. How hard is it for these kids to grow up? There's a very distinct line in my room between where Ramesh has her stuff strewn and my nearly spotless half. I'm not saying I'm the cleanest person, but at least I have some semblance of organization on my side. It's the same in the bathroom. Meredith and I have signed for next year to share a suite, but I'm going to be in my own room. I can't wait.

Well, I should probably be getting to bed soon, big interview tomorrow. Wish me luck, here's to hoping I get the one opening in the honors college, but if not, I suppose I could CA for the regular kids.

Oh, and I forgot to talk about my little fetish animals from the Christmas trip. Aren't they the coolest things ever? They get to sit up on that shelf and watch me as I try to convince myself it's time to get off the internet and start doing homework. I can feel them judging me.

They stare into my soul, and can see how unproductive I am.

All right, it's been a week since my last post, and what a busy week it's been.

First off, went home this weekend, partially for the Superbowl food and partially to keep adding to my hat inventory. And boy was the Superbowl food delicious. I bet if I learned to make the thing mom made, I'd be the most popular person in the dorms. It was really hard to be productive with my homework and hats when all I wanted to do was keep eating that dip.

Then coming back to school, everything got kicked off into a blur. Last night, we had mock interviews for the position I applied for, and it certainly was helpful. Not only is there an individual interview like what most people think of when they think of an interview, but there's also a group aspect where various interviewees are watched by the employers to see how well you work as both a leader and a member of a group. That's going to be on Saturday, but last night was a little more relaxed. Groups went well enough, thanks to my years of group work in high school classes and clubs. And thank you Academic Decathlon. When I got to my individual practice interview, my mentor was amazed at my answers.

I'm good at the interview game.

She told me that it was going to be perfect, and that if she was hiring, I'd be hired on the spot. That was certainly heartening, seeing as there are going to only be one or two openings in my category, unless I tell them that I'm okay with working in the non-honors dorms. I might do that, just to be on the safe side for the position. Of course, I was feeling good after last night, when my mentor told me that it was almost guaranteed.

Today was free pancake day at IHOP. Tristan and I went off to it, and surprisingly, for an IHOP so close to a college campus it was pretty moderately empty. We got in an out of there in an hour, maybe a little more, with plenty of time to head back to class. Classes were normal, just like every other day, and then later I went to a training for an overnight ambassador position that I may or may not get. It isn't because I won't be qualified, they just have more ambassadors than visitors coming. I met a few of my friends there, and we were talking about the previous night because most if not all the people there were applying to be a CA.

Remember how I mentioned feeling good about my chances. Well, one of my friends, Ian, told me he kept hearing them mention to everyone being interviewed how well they were doing. Well, dammit. If we were all doing great, how are we supposed to compete? Now I'm a little uncertain, but hopefully the nerves are gone by Saturday. Thanks, Ian, for ruining my hopes.

Now I'm just hoping to get through the week and rock the interview. Yay for jobs!