Valentine's Day

As we all know, tomorrow is Valentine's Day. As a single gal, I'm kind of stuck. It's not because I hate Valentine's Day, oh no. But that's the problem: Most anything I say about it comes off as a pathetic whine about the greed of the corporations being the only reason for the holiday. Honestly? I love a holiday. Of any kind. I love any excuse to:

• Make/enjoy treats
• Get together with people
• Dress up

Especially the dress up part. I do love a good dressing up!
Usually I want to do something for the holiday like have a party, but I never do. I think my excuse is more valid this year, seeing as I'm still figuring out social circles in this town. (Friendship takes time!) I am going out to din with some folks though! Cheese fondue? Yes please.

It's funny because lately the complaints about Valentine's Day have been coming from couples more often than single people. "Romance shouldn't be a set date." True, but then again should giving to others take place at only one time of the year? No. It happens in December though, whether it's Christmas, Hanukkah or both. Yeah romance should be sporadic, but it's fun to have an excuse for something maybe a little special.

Actually, you know what makes me sad? Not giving Valentines out in class anymore like in Elementary school. That shit was awesome.

Are you doing anything fun for Valentine's Day? What are your opinions on the day?

The Road Trip Experience: A Recap

After the slightly spazzy post, it's time to tell the tale of my adventures of road tripping. It's kind of hard to blog from a phone, ya know? Still, I had to say something with that little tease. Let's start with a little background.

For all of my life, I've been a very follow the rules type of gal. I don't usually do anything daring, or super adventurous. Let's be honest, every actions I take comes with five thousand thoughts about it beforehand. I am not one who makes rash decisions. So what decision occurred a week ago was a bit out of the ordinary.

I don't know how it came about, but my sister and I were talking about me seeing one of my friend's school. She goes to school on semesters, so our schedules have always clashed. This term, I ended up getting done a week before she did. That's when my sister offered this suggestion:

"Why don't you offer to give her a ride back to Oregon?"

And then I thought, why not? Although it wasn't really for her. It was for me. I've never driven a road trip myself before. It would be something interesting to do. I'd be able to something that wasn't simply "safe".

Teenage rebellion? Sounds like it, but I don't think it was. Besides, don't you have to be a teen for teenage rebellion? The whole thing was more of a being able to do new things like driving far distances. Sure, that sounds like an odd thing to get experience with, but from what I've experience already in my life I think it's a good skill to have.

My mother was convinced I was going to die. She told my sister and dad to say goodbye "Perhaps for the last time." A tad over-dramatic, don't you think? It could have been bad because it was over the pass. Sometime, the pass is pretty snowy. However, on my trip it was completely clear. It was fine.

Total driving time in two days? 14 hours-ish. What was supposed to be apparently a 8 hour and 22 minute trip back home turned out to be cut down by a whole hour. Nice. The trip back was also supposed to commence at 9:00 AM, but that certainly changed when I was wide awake at 5:00 AM. Ended up getting home at 1:15, which was very nice.

As for my short amount of time in Moscow, it was nice. I met my friend's friends from over there, who were all very nice. Saw a very large, very soft dog named Zola. Ate dinner at 9:30 PM (OH GOD SO LATE). Saw the largest collection of the VHS movie Speed. One of her friends had about 250 copies of said movie. Why? Who knows. But it was just a wall of orange. Bizarre.

I didn't see a lot of U of I, but what I saw seemed very nice. My friend suggested that we stay a day, but honestly? I wanted to just get home. Plus, I wanted to get done driving.

Issues arose during the experience, stemming from paying for gas. As in, at first she didn't want to help. For such a long distance, it's going to take gas. I personally think that with offering a ride, I should get help with said gas. From this came the complaint that she didn't have money, despite not having to buy a ticket for the bus. Um, I saw the prices for a bus ticket. Plus, my car gets really good mileage. I only had to fill up twice. My total gas cost was slightly less than half of what a bus ticket was, but after the whole debacle she helped pay for half. If that. She mumbled how "she could have just taken the bus". The thing is, she thinks that I'm rolling in the dough, but I'm not. I'm extremely frugal is all. I didn't offer to give her a ride just because I wanted to do something out of the blue, I thought it would be a nice gesture. You can probably sense that I feel a bit insulted and disrespected.

The thing is, I'm beginning to see more and more of the bad qualities of this friend. And our relationship is beginning to be strained. Honestly, it's beginning to be hard to actually see the friendship. But that's an issue for another day.

'Scuse the little rant, but other than that it was a cool deal. Plus, I came home to find out that I won a blog giveaway from Gingersnaps! I've never won one before, how exciting! I need to email her. It's funny: when I read the name of the winner, because I though, "That blog sounds so familiar... Wait! That's me!"

Welp, I seriously need to go to bed. I am le tired.

What's the last road trip experience you've had?

The Fellowship Retreat

Hello world! Did you miss me?

This weekend, I went out on what was called a fellowship retreat down to "camp out" in some yurts. The whole thing was from APO, and about 20 or so people went. It certainly was an interesting experience.

The reason for the quotes around "camp out" is because... Well, have you ever heard of a yurt? Real yurts are pretty extreme, and Nordic tribes live in them. These yurts were definitely not that type. There were beds, a TV, bathroom, and heating. It was pretty much like being in a cabin made out of tarp and word. Not that I mind though, seeing as I'm a very non-camper type. Why did I agree to go camping then? Oh yes, to get to know people.

We left in different cars during the day on Friday, and since I had class till late, I went with the 6:00pm group. We ended up getting to the campsite around 9:00, and we were all starving. Well, I know at least I was, seeing as I usually eat like the senior citizens a little after 5:00pm. Yes, I know it's ridiculous.

What did we do, you ask? We had a scavenger hunt. We did team building exercises. We toured Reedsport, a small town that really doesn't have anything going on. We watched movies. I know, it doesn't sound like much, but it was quite eventful. This might sound bizarre, but I managed to slam my fist into my hand so hard for a rock paper scissors tournament that I might have bruised it. It was a very intense tournament.

I went on the retreat to get to know people, a reason for many of the things I've been doing lately. Did I get to know people? I suppose. I did learn about some very interesting people that I didn't really know much about before. The people I rode down with were very interesting. One of the girls was very funny, and I was surprised I hadn't gotten to know her before. Another person had the impressive goal of studying abroad in three different countries next year- plus she's poly-lingual. Geez.

Still, I'm not sure if I really know people yet. And yes, it's only been probably about a month and a half. I just feel like that geeky freak in the corner of the party, and everyone's wondering, "Who invited her?"
That's not to say I'm sitting in the corner, quietly observing. Oh no. I totally try to be a part of each game, I throw myself into conversations. I try to make sure not to be too loud, but I try to make myself heard. It's just my over-analyzing mind that freaks out at everything. Who knows? Maybe people really like me, I just don't know it because I'm blocking it out with my internal anxieties. So basically, I need to CTFO. Is chill the F out a thing? Or is there a variation of it? I definitely need to use it.
Actually, that reminds me of an interesting abbreviation that someone mentioned on the trip: FOMO. Her friend made it up, and it's a fear of missing out. The one who mentioned it said it was one of her biggest fears, and it's probably a fear that a lot of people have. Which is SO TRUE. No one wants to be left out.

So, recap: Fun trip, fake camping, freaking out over nothing. Good recap everyone!

On an unrelated note, no I did not take pictures. I know. I'm so bad at it. The truth is, my only camera on hand is my phone camera, which I feel ridiculous with sometimes. This is currently the state of my camera:

Heck, this picture is from my web cam because my phone camera isn't working. #firstworldproblems

I've tried turning it off and on, but it won't do anything. I don't know why. However, I don't want to save up or ask for a camera for Christmas, because I need to know that I'll actually take pictures with a camera. I used to take pictures all of the time, what the heck happened? I'm not sure, but that's not my current goal at the moment. We'll talk more about goals in another post.

As for this week, it's time to get organized, get work done, and get this freaking fly out of my room that's been in here for about five days. He just won't leave. Goodness.
I'll leave you with the song I totally have stuck in my head due to watching A Goofy Movie this morning.

Do you have FOMO? Have you ever stayed in a yurt?

A Recap of The List

Now that school is actually here, it just doesn't feel right. Alas, school starts tomorrow and a whole bunch of new is throwing itself at me. Once again, I'm just worried about waking up on time. The fear about classes has died down a little, but some of the big classes are making me freaked. Like Economics. Just a tad.

Since it is the first day of school tomorrow, I think it's time once again to bring out the list! The list that this blog originally started on, but now is pretty much a place for me to ramble on. See, there I go again. Back to the list, starting with:

1. Get a Degree.
Obviously I'm not there, but I feel like I'm moving closer and closer. I've been trying to apply for Pre-J status online, but it's not letting me. So there's that. However, I have classes that will work towards my hopeful major.

2. Not Gain the Dreaded Freshman Fifteen.
Yeah, I'm not a freshman anymore, but that doesn't mean I can't gain the freshman fifteen. Heck, I thought I might gain it this summer. My training has been kind of messing with my metabolism I think, but hopefully it will get back to normal.

3. Study Abroad.
Because I'm at a new school, my GPA won't get me studying abroad this year. Which is fine, since I was hoping to next year. I have to wonder how that will affect the classes I need to take. I asked the Journalism department advisor how likely it would be to graduate in 4 years, and she said very likely. How does studying abroad affect that though? I'm not quite sure.

4. Stay Out of Debt.
The average amount I've spent every month since October has been $179.20, and that's not including books. Oof! I have to pay for rent and groceries now, so it's time to start spending smarter. Then again, I don't know if that is as much as I think. Maybe I'm just frugal. (Or maybe I'm a crazy spender and just don't know it.)

5. Get Good Grades
I'm still a bit nervous about this, just because the teachers at WOU were so good. Another reason is because I've been hearing horror stories. I'll work as hard as I can, and just try to get the best grades I can possibly get.

6. Make Friends.
I've been talking about this one a lot. It's scary being a new kid in a town where people have already gotten to know their friends! However, I will not be a wallflower. I'll put myself out there, and I'm hoping to get involved! Yep indeedy! I sound like a camp counselor now...

7. Blog Every Day.
I've been pretty good at this one... for the most part. I officially missed one day, but other than that I've done a post for each day. I'm thinking about changing this one though, who knows? I mean, if I don't have anything to say, why post? My main goal will be to try to post about interesting things, and not complain. No one wants that!

I'm also going to throw a few mini goals in here for now, which might change up.

• Get Toned! I mentioned this before, and I'll admit I haven't been doing very well with it. (I have been doing pretty good with the less sweets though.) I'm hoping that after the race I'll kick my butt into gear and get some stuff toned up. They also offer non credit classes here at the rec center, so those might be fun to check out
• Get Involved! I tried to do this at Western, but I guess I could have tried harder. I know for a fact they have a running club here (running capital of the country), and I've heard you don't have to be the best to be a part of it. Sounds good!

That's it for now. Now let's get ready for tomorrow! (Self pep talk. Just what I do sometimes.)

Do you have any "new school year" goals? How are your current goals going?

Hiking Adventures

As I said yesterday, I went hiking today!

I'm usually not the hiking type. I don't do camping, and hiking is similar to that. However, when a friend asks you to go hiking, you say why not? It was lovely.
I wasn't sure if the weather was going to be very good for hiking because last night there were some crazy thunderstorms. Fortunately, it cleared up and we were on our way.

We explored. We ventured. I fell on my ass in the river during the first 10 minutes, causing my lower half to be partially soaked for the rest of the hike. It didn't matter though, it was still a good hike.

The lack of pictures is due to the fact that after my fall, my bag was soaked and so my electronics (phone and camera) went into my friend's water backpack. Yeah, he's extreme. Actually, I can't find my camera at the moment, so no pictures at all. Boo.

This is the guy who started running this year, and basically became an extreme running dude. He's already run the distance of a marathon, but he's never actually run a race marathon. Today, he signed up for the Portland Marathon! Hurrah!

Speaking of which, I'm not ready to run tomorrow. Buh, I was so tired last time. I hope that tomorrow's run will be alright.

Have you gone on any outdoor adventures lately?

Fair Days, Making Decisions, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes

My body doesn't realize that Fridays are rest days. Apparently, neither does my mind.

The local county fair has been going on this week, and today was my day to go to it. I recruited two of my guy pals to come, and to hopefully recruit more people as well. It ended up only being us three, but it was still fun.
I like group things, what can I say?
Fairs... They're never really that exciting. Truthfully, you go in hopes of seeing people you know, and maybe looking at the silly animals. Wandering is what we did.
One of the qualities that seems to be missing from my age group is the ability to be able to make decisions. My two friends are not exceptions. Somehow, I ended up making every decision of the day, making my vision of myself a lot less dependent than I thought. I felt kind of like a wife or girlfriend dragging her boyfriend(s?) around while shopping. You know the image, right? We managed to go through everything the fair had to offer, including seeing a freakin' tiger.
Why was there a tiger there? I have no idea, but it was sweet.
And there was what we though was some mutated rabbit.

After going around to everything, we realized there wasn't anything else to do. So we left, ate a late lunch in town, went in a guitar store that Aaron wanted to poke around in, and saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

As for the verdict of the movie? It was pretty good, thought there was going to be more monkey battle mayhem. Still, good and entertaining. Strangely enough, there were a few parts where I was thinking:

"Ha, that's kind of funny. Wait, am I supposed to think that's funny? ...I actually think I'm supposed to think that's funny."

Plus, if you've seen one of the two original Planet of the Apes movies (which you should anyway before you see this movie), you'll see two homages to the films before. One is extremely obvious, which is the classic line from the original, the other you see and simply smirk at.

Oh, and before I did any fair-ing today, I stopped by Market of Choice to pick up a few things... including some fancy cheese. Hopefully that will see the light of day soon.

On a final note, I've just got to say one more thing about apes. Orangutans are my favorite ape ever. I think it's because 1. They are orange, and I dig orange; 2. They have flat faces which I didn't think I cared about but then I realized I apparently have a thing for animals with flat faces. And the biggest one 3. They remind me of Buddhas. They are the Buddhas of the apes.

Are you the decisive one in your group, or are you the wishy washy one?

Bakery Breakfast, Libraries and Travelling Solo

I love the feeling of a nice venturing day. Those days where you happen to do things that aren't scheduled, but just errands for things you want to do? That's what I mean.

I started out the morning with a bakery breakfast with two of my friends. I'm not used to eating breakfast at 10 though, so I naturally woke up at 8:30 and waited.
I didn't do much after that until I walked down to the library. Oh goodness, I love the library. It turns out that my card was expired though! Huh. It felt like I had just gotten it renewed. I went in search of only a few specific books...

... and as you can see, I got a little overexcited. I tend to. The book on the top intrigues me most because it's a collection of essays from women who have traveled the world alone.
As I've talked about before, I really want to travel somewhere. Yeah, I know I'm not the only one out there who wants to travel, but I'm not talking about family vacations somewhere. I really want to go somewhere I can explore, even if it's like California. Actually, I really want to go to California and explore things like the Chinese Theater, The Walk of Fame, and Hollywood. Whenever I mention this, I get the reply of, "Okay, you should do that! Who would go with you?"
That's where I hold my tongue. Truthfully, I want to go by myself. However, when I throw that idea out there I instantly hear the warnings of how a girl shouldn't travel alone, because it's dangerous for a girl, blah blah blah. I know that women will always have an elevated risk in traveling, but I'm hoping this book could educate me on safer solo travel and other solo traveler know-how.

Plus there were groceries that were purchased today. I should have bought more green peppers.

So I can eat them like this.

Long run tomorrow... Oh dear. I'm scared, especially since I've been feeling a little off. I hope I'm not getting injured.

Have you ever travelled solo?

Goals and Weekends

Geez, it feels like I've been go go going! I just got out of school, what is this?

Now, being out of school, I'd like to take a look at the goals that I set at the beginning of the year. I know that the goals are for my entire college career, but since I've gone through a year, I thought it would be good to do another check up.

1.Get a Degree
Hmm. Well, I suppose that at the beginning of the year, I had no clue what type of major I was even interested in. Now with the transfer, I think that I'm closer to finding out what my degree will actually be. I hope. A year done, a year closer to earning that degree.

2.Not Gain the Dreaded Freshman Fifteen
This I think I've done pretty good with, especially since it is the end of my freshman year. Still, we'll have to see how it'll go with this summer. Yeah, today not so great with food today. I haven't gotten heavier than the beginning of the year, but I did get heavier from losing a few pounds during the middle of the year. Eh, I'm a good weight.

3. Not much to say for this one, so let's skip it.

4.Stay out of debt
Hmm. I feel like this will be a thing that I'll feel the affects of later in time. I was told that I didn't spend that much this year, but I still have to worry about paying for my apartment next year and earning money this summer.

5. Keep my grades up
This? This I did well on... not sure about this last term, but a GPA above 3.5? I think that's good. One thing that seems weird about this is that my GPA for WOU won't really matter when it comes to my major, or studying abroad. It's like I have to start all over again. Not exactly, but you know it just feels like that.

6. Make Friends

I think I was successful on this. However, it's another one I feel like I'm starting all over again. New place, new friends. I'm happy that I was able to meet some cool people though.

7. Blog Entry

Lookin' good!

Yesterday a super great thing happened. I passed the half marathon mile mark! 14 miles, aw yeah. And it felt like the running gods were all on my side! I felt good, it wasn't sickeningly hot... Ah. I did stop at mile three because I really needed to go to the bathroom... yeah, don't want to talk about it. Still, I ran that distance! That's all that matters!

Another thing that the running gods blessed me with yesterday was the happy surprise of the Saturday Farmer's Market! Plus, my phone camera decided to start working, so I snapped a few shots. If my Internet will want to work right. Maybe later.

As for today, we had a cake making competition at my aunt's house... this was my sister and I's cake:

I've got to finish up! Hope everyone has a lovely night!

What did you do this weekend?

Seeing the Changes All Around

Everywhere I go, things are becoming even more empty than usual. For example:

My room mate is gone. No, she didn't take the mattress, but it is making a nice mat for the ground in case I'm too lazy to actually jump onto my bed to lounge. I forgot how echo-y the room would be without being filled with school supplies and things from home.

Apart from studying most of the day, I went off to enjoy lunch with a few friends and acquaintances. One member of the gang was going to leave right after the lunch, and since she's transferring as well she's pretty much gone for good.

The fact that everything is coming to an end is finally starting to hit me. People are packing up, more and more people to say goodbye to everyday... Crazy.

With this, I feel like the starting gun for the race went off ten minutes ago and I'm still lacing up my shoes. Sure, I have a lot of things packed. I'll be done with finals soon. Still, I'm getting the feeling that I'm being left behind in the dust.

College hasn't felt like college. College has felt like I've been at camp. Is that how it's supposed to feel? Maybe I'll feel different next year. No RAs going through the halls for checks, no "camp" based activities... Who knows?

I've got to get to bed. Eight A.M. final tomorrow... Woo!

When do you finally start to feel the affects of a change?

Different Personality Friends, New Running Shoes and Gels

Sometimes, you simply wonder just where the time goes. It's already past 11!

So last night was the Cinderella Ball held by one of the dorm halls at my school. It was just a fun night to go out to dinner in fancy dresses and dance around like a crazy person.
I ended up going with two of my pals from school. It was fun going with friends because the last time I went to a dance with a date, it ended up being really awkward. Perhaps that's what happens when you ask a very shy sophomore to a dance. Oh well.

Not the best picture of me. Yikes.

Some people only see certain sides of you. Maybe it's so we fit better into the mold that society gives to us, maybe it's just so we have as many people as possible like us. I can't say. I bring this up due to the fact that the friends I went with are... a lot more religious than I am. Our usual conversations are alright, but it gets kind of awkward in certain situations. They'll start talking about worship, and I simply sit there thinking, "Please change the subject, please?" Other odd thing about our personalities? I think parties... college parties are fun. Ones that aren't as innocent as they were in grade school for someone's birthdays. I can't really show these guys this side of my personality, because... Well, I guess I don't know why.

I went to go buy my new shoes today! They're pretty much the same type of shoes that I had before despite being a different wave number or something. They're Mizunos again, and they feel a lot like my old shoes. I like 'em though. I don't know how my run is going to be with them though.

The other things that I bought at the running store? Some running gels!

I don't know when I'm going to use them, but I became overly excited about buying them. Crazy? Perhaps. My real concern is knowing how far I should be running to consider actually use them. I grabbed Strawberry Banana, Vanilla Bean, Vanilla Orange, Mint Chocolate and the Pineapple one above. Gah, they make me just want to go on long runs!

To my runners out there: Have you ever used running gels? How far/long did you run to use them?
Are there certain friends you act differently around?

So About That Big News...

Remember how a few days ago I was talking about some exciting news? Well, I do have some news, and I personally believe that it's quite exciting.

The web cam and I? Do not get along.

I'm transferring to U of O next year.

I know that I go to a wonderful school, but I know it's not for me. The thing about my school is that because it's pretty small, there aren't a lot of options available for majors. And with the major that I'm now 95% positive that I want to go into, it's not available over here. I could go for another major here, but I don't think I'd be happy going for the majors here. They are terribly specialized in the main majors that they offer here, which is good. However, if you're not going for one of their main majors, you don't get much attention.

Another reason that I wanted to transfer is because the environment around here isn't for me. This is a beautiful campus, and the classes are fantastic. As for the weekends, there's not much going on. People usually drive home, or to Corvallis, or Eugene. If you do end up staying here, it's very lonely. Walking around is eerily quiet, like a ghost town situation. I'd like to be at a place where I could be in the action. I wouldn't have to drive pretty much back home. I know that a lot of people her go home for the weekends. I can't stand it.

This hasn't been a sudden decision. I've thought about it long and hard. This is what I want to do. All of my family members have been saying to me, "Oh, you're going to the same school as your sister! I bet you're excited about that." Honestly? That was almost a con. When starting school, I wanted to go somewhere that I could call my own, not my sister's school, or whatever. That was part of the appeal of WOU, it was going to be my school. Now, I'm okay that it'll be my school. I guess that it's my sister's school, but we'll have different parts of it be our school. My favorite places won't be her favorite places, and my classrooms that remind me of classes close to my heart will be different from hers. It may be her school, but I'll make it my special school.

Transferring is scary, but it's what I want to do. Some of the classes I've taken don't transfer as nicely, but I'll figure it out. (Some feel like a complete waste.)

I'll always love WOU. But I'm ready to love UO.

All of my family knows now, but I don't think anyone here knows officially that I'm transferring. How on earth do you break that news?

In other news, I've got to stop with the random dozing off! I think that this is why it's better for me to have more classes, because I've just been so lazy! It could just be this week though... Productiveness, full speed ahead!

Have you ever thought about transferring? What did you decided on, and how did you decide on doing it?

Psychological Situations, Dreams From Real Life and Talking Things Out

This week may seem pretty long, but I can't believe that it's already 9:30!

I'm fairly positive that Psychology is making me go insane. Oh, it's not because of homework. Psychology is giving me serious mental problems. From the three weeks I've been in the class, I've learned that no matter what my sister will have a higher IQ than me, and that I'm emotionally shut off. When we get to the point where we're testing my neurosis, my score will shoot through the roof.

Speaking of Psychological issues...

I've talked about how the room mate and I have had some trouble with communication, or lack thereof. I tend to learn more about her from her other friends then actually from her. Now, for the most part I am a complete pansy and I've had trouble talking things out. (The whole emotion problem, see?) Anywho, I decided to actually grow a pair and straight up ask, "Why don't you ever TALK to me?"
Not those exact words, but the general idea. This frustration plus the caffeine consumed too late in the day yesterday made me have trouble sleeping. Still, with the struggling sleep I managed to have a dream where I asked that, and the response wasn't a terrible fight ensuing. And you know what? That's exactly what happened. The room mate was more relieved than angry, and said that she was just quite. Which actually... she's kind of like that a lot, even before. There are still a few things I need to prod her about, but it's just one step at a time.

I would say that I should listen to my dreams more, but the night before I had had a dream where the Pope deemed Lady Gaga as next Pope in line. Maybe not.

I'm ready for the weekend! Or at least something other than academia to occur in my life.

Has a dream you've had ever been strangely similar to real life?

Happy Pi Day and Things I Have Learned from Fictional Characters

I can't believe that it's already so late! That's what happens when the time changes, and it's still bright out, isn't it?

First of all, happy pi day everyone! Unfortunately, I did not have any pie for the occasion. Oh well.

For a Things I Have Learned From Fictional Characters today, I'd like to take a look at something I've learned from a Harry Potter character. It was bound to happen people. This lesson comes from Neville Longbottom, who happens to be my favorite character from the HP series.

Today's lesson: It's okay to stand up against your friends.

If you've ever read/watched the first Harry Potter, you've seen the scene where Harry and the gang sneak out in the middle of the night to go save the day and all of that, when they come up against Neville. Neville, trying to be a good kid, tries to make sure they don't pass. It's after hours, and they could all get in trouble. It doesn't help him in the moment, but at the very end of the movie he gets credited for doing a good job.

I've discovered that this idea actually makes a lot of sense. The thing is, sometimes people don't stand up to their friends. They do whatever their friends want whatever their friends tell them to, all of that. That makes you think: Are they really your friends if they don't want to know your opinions? Friends should feel comfortable stating their opinions around friends. Besides, you don't want to have friends that have the exact same opinions as you. You would run out of things to talk about!

So tell your friends how you really feel. That way, you can find out if your friends are actually interested in the same things instead of just doing what they want you to do.

Well, I need to sign off for the night. I've been drawing character renderings for most of the day... ugh.

Good night!

Advisors, Room mates, and Things I Have Learned from Fictional Characters

Now that all of that Superbowl fun is done, let's get on with the week, shall we?

Who watched the Superbowl out there, anyway? I asked around my hall and no one was watching it! How disappointing. Perhaps it's just because I enjoy football and the commercials. Seriously, even if you don't like football, you watch it for the commercials, right? Here's my favorite:

...That sounds a bit odd, watching television to see advertisements. Anywho.
Of course, I was a fool and forgot my camera, so no pictures of the festivities. I really ought to get better at that. Stories are more fun to read with pictures, aren't they?

I had a meeting with my advisor today to discuss majors, next term, and career paths. Also known as the advising hold appointment. I met with my "official" advisor, who was a nice guy. At first, I felt like he was just another one of the advisors who tell you just the basic details, but he was really able to go in-depth with me. He was... dare I say it? Helpful! That's not always the case.
The odd thing about making advising appointments and such is that I feel a lot more on top of things than other students. I've asked if other people had made their appointments, and some of them didn't even know it was time to do that yet. When showing my advisor all of the things I'd been thinking about, he even mentioned how ahead I was in studying up information on these things than other students. It just seems... odd. Aren't I supposed to be lax like other people my age? More power to me I guess.

When looking up classes to add next term, I decided I was just going to look at classes that sounded intriguing. One that caught my eye? C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling. OH MAN YES. Despite being a higher level, I talked to someone who knew the teacher, and that the only thing you need to do is read all of the books beforehand. Um, spring break by the pool? Entirely doable.

Speaking of books, Julie and Julia came into the library for me today. I know that it's very 2009, but I want to read it! Reading about cooking and food make me want to learn how to cook.

Before I forget, it's once again Monday and I'd like to include a Things I Have Learned From Fictional Characters. I'll make it short, since this post is already pretty long. Today's lesson comes from Goofy:

Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself. We all make mistakes, we all have times were we look... goofy. Do we freak out about it? No! I know that I've gotten pretty bad about things that aren't that large, and I've gotten better at not being so tense about it.

Okay, I lied. I do have one last thing to say. As you know, I've had some tension with my room mate. The thing is, one of the main reasons has been because we just hadn't been feeling like friends anymore. However, the last two days she seems like my good ol' pal again. It's nice. I mean, she even bought me a doughnut when she went to Portland!



Old Dirty Bastard. One of the most delicious doughnuts ever.

 How freaking nice is that? But it's not even the doughnut. It's nice to have my friend back.

And so I say adieu to you! Hope your evening is grand!

Was your advisor helpful in school? Or did you have to be more self-relient?

Timing, Itunes, Advice from Music and Social Life

For me, getting out of class for the day is like sliding into a hot tub. It's that "aaaah..." feeling that comes over me, because I know that my weekend is basically here. Well, except for class on Friday, but it's a lot less pressure than the rest of the week.

One thing I've come to realize this week? I need to start doing more work during the weekend. Lately work has felt like it piles up onto Wednesday, even though I work through the whole week. The problem? I don't work as much as I should on weekends. It could be because I'm doing things, but I think there's a decent chunk of time I could give to studying in the weekend.



This is not a good way to live.

 I received some itunes money for gifts, and I've been perusing itunes quite a bit lately. I may have money for itunes, but one thing that I love about itunes is its free single of the week. I suggest taking full advantage of it! The free single of the week a lot of the time are some of the worst songs you have ever heard, but I have been able to find some gems in there. My favorite that I've gotten is a song called Marathon by Tennis. I know I've mentioned it before, but I just love it! I don't know why.

Speaking of music, while listening to What to Do by Ok Go today, I noticed some peculiar lyrics that perked my interest. It says, "Mediocre people do exceptional things all the time". This might sound kind of negative, but I actually think that this could be some good advice. Those words make me think of people who might not be blessed with the most amazing talents, but work their butts off to achieve their goals. You see? Kind of good advice.

Something with my social mojo is most definitely off. I think the extreme social awkwardness of some of the people I hang out with is rubbing off on me. I was working so hard to act normal socially, but I think my subconscious has given up on me with this idea.
With that idea, I've discovered something a little bit depressing about myself. Usually, I tend to draw in friends who are on completely different sides of the spectrum. Some of my friends have been those who enjoy partying, getting stoned, and chilling through life. The other friends have been people who are timid, awkward, and don't have many wishes to go out to party very often. What I want are those who are willing to go out and have some fun, yet still have days where chilling out is fine too. That brings me to my confession: I'm jealous of my the friends my sister has. It's a little embarrassing to admit, but her friends are the perfect happy medium. Do I simply lack that potential to make said friends, or are they just not around? I don't know.

Hopefully I didn't scare you off! The weekend is here (sort of)! Huzzah!

What peculiar advice have you gotten from songs?

The Fighter, Contradicting Concepts and the Need to Finish Things

I don't think I want to believe that it's already Saturday night. Nope, I don't think so.

Last night I went to a campus sponsored midnight movies in the next town over with some friends to see The Fighter. Even though it was a battle to actually get into the right theater after changing theaters three times, I was so glad to go. The Fighter was such a great movie, ah man! It was seriously a movie that pulled you in and messed with your emotions. And though he's crazy, Christian Bale is a fantastic actor in this. Also, he is a freakin' stick in this movie.


Someone get this guy something to eat!

I also liked Amy Adams a lot in this movie. And of course, Mark Wahlberg was a good golden boy.

It's funny how when we resolve towards a different concept, we like to drift in the opposite direction. For me, I said to myself, "Hey, you shouldn't go buy things." Then I went to the movies. However, it was two dollars cheaper than regular movie tickets, and I really want to see as many of the 25 movies to see before the Oscars as possible. You just need to make compromises I suppose. I think this month I'll try to not eat out as much.

I visited a friend today, and when I came back to my room this greeted me:

Well, maybe not the food, but everything else.

How obnoxious! Especially since it took some paint off from the wall. Apparently these walls won't let you attach anything.

I need to seriously get on my homework. I've started one reading, but as I've seen next week is going to be packed if I don't get started on it all ASAP.

Have you been watching any of the Movies to Watch Before the Oscars? Which ones have you enjoyed the most?

Old Friends, Old Setbacks

My dad is watching The Proposal right now. I think it's safe to say that living in a house full of females for more than two decades has melted his masculinity. I wish I liked that movie more, but I just don't feel like Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds have enough time to actually form their relationship into love. Yes, this is me over thinking a movie.

Today I dined with two of my old friends for lunch. Being with them brought back feelings I wished I didn't have. Feelings of... inadequacy.

The weird thing is while I was talking I realized I've been doing some really great things. I did well for myself first term, I've been working hard at making my life into something special. Heck, I'm training for a half marathon! Yet in the presence of these friends, I feel unaccomplished. It could be their expressions, their tone of voice, the way they talk about their lives. Strange thing was, when I thought about it later I realized that only one of the friends was like this, and it was the one who I used to be closer to. She felt pretentious, really. The friend who was more distant before seemed interested, and made the conversation feel more equal.

What do we do about these friends? I've started to learn that I shouldn't hang out with people that make me feel like a lower life form. It's just strange because I've been close to this friend for a long time. Is it better to have a friend who makes you feel like a loser or to lose a friend that you've created many great memories with? It's a hard thing to decide.

I woke up at 11 today. That is the latest I have woken up in a freakin' long time. Wonder how much later I'll wake up this break. This might mess with my 8:00 am classes next term.

Christmas Loot, Running With Bad Fuel, and Old Friends

How was Christmas day for everyone? Or, how was yesterday in general? I had a lovely day, in case you were wondering. I also received many lovely gifts. Some things that I got I didn't even know I wanted, but as soon as I unwrapped them I thought, "Oh my gosh I needed this!" Well... maybe I didn't really need it, but I really liked.
In my family, we actually enjoy receiving clothing so I got quite a few clothing items. I won't show the clothes, but I will show you some of my other gifts.

My grandma gave me Apples to Apples, and I am seriously glad she did. It is one of the funniest games to play ever in my personal opinion.
I asked specifically for the three books on the right. My personal library now has a touch more of Internet-based literature via The Book of Awesome and Stuff White People Like. I am currently trying to see just how white I actually am.
I also asked for that harmonica necklace, and it is a pretty cool necklace. People notice it and it's fun to play with.
The running calendars are really cool. I can't wait for January to start recording in the book! Right now I use my school planner.
The tea set is from my aunt, who I didn't even know was getting me a present! How sweet!
Other gifts not pictured include some head wear (hats), a necklace from my sister and the game Balderdash from my sister. I had never played Balderdash before, but it is hilarious. I suggest you play it.
Yes, I realize I'm pretty spoiled. At least I admit it, right?

Christmas isn't all about gifts of course. We had a lovely day with some of my family and played games until late in the night. No one knew that it was 1 am by the time we were done! Simply put, it was high up there on the good Christmases scale.

I went on a run today, and boy my body let me know it was not pleased. My body hasn't seen a decent amount of fruits and veggies in days. I honestly haven't been eating extremely large quantities, but it's only been pretty much sugar. A chocolate Santa for breakfast on Christmas day? Nuh uh.
During the run, the body bitched me out. Oh, it moved perfectly fine. However, the stomach was screaming. I did manage to get 10 miles in! I'm happy about that.

I visited one of my best friends from high school this evening! It felt kind of weird though. Mainly because she has a boyfriend and acts a bit like she's married now. Not something I'm used to. Well, she's still herself. Funny thing, we got the exact same GPA for our first term/semester at college! We rock.

I hope my rambling wasn't too much for y'all out there! I hope you all enjoyed your lovely holidays!

What's an interesting gift you received this year?

Friendship Breakthrough and a Plethora of Letters

I am so ready to get over this cold. Unfortunately, my body someone also thinks it’s a good idea to not let me sleep and wake me up at ungodly hours of the night…

Yesterday something I forgot to mention was that Danyon and I had a breakthrough. We both realized that we felt unwanted around the “locals” (Our Hawaiian friends) and it felt bad. It was a bit of a revelation. We also both realized it’s really hard making new friends, and it’s not just hard for you like you think it is. A strange thing to bond over, but bonding nevertheless.

I received so much mail today! I felt so loved. I got my shirt for my Halloween costume plus 4 letters! Wowza!

Since I can’t run with my headphones in during the half marathon, I ran without my iPod today! On a treadmill, which seems crazy. However, it was great! I felt amazing, even though mentally I was not all there. During the last mile or so, I was full on talking to myself in my mind.

“C’mon girl! You can go faster, can’t you? What?! That’s madness! Perhaps I am mad! Hahaa!”

39 minutes for 4 miles. I’m still sick, but I should have tried to go faster. One thing that felt really good was when I was done, and a girl next to me said something about me being skilled. It was pretty cool.
My room mate is going home for the weekend. Why? Just because. Even though she has class tomorrow… Eh, her loss.

My birthday is tomorrow! I wonder what that'll be like... Woo!

Who do you get letters from? Do you send letters?

Battle in Seattle Recap

Hello everyone! The end of Sunday draws near, something I am not ready for. I need a rest day, and today was not it.

Yesterday was Battle in Seattle. We all got up to pile into buses at 9:30, and by 10 we were off. My room mate ended up not going. She didn't even stay the night in our room the night before. Any who, in the bus there were two seats in each space. I grabbed one near the front near some people from my hall, but the coordinators were like, "Oh, we need the front spaces, can you sit somewhere else?" I ended up sitting with some people from Landers I had met before a few rows back. Keep in mind the few rows back thing.

I talked to the Landers girls. I tried being social, but somehow it didn't seem like they were feeling it. Sorry that I'm trying to be friendly, I didn't know it was that awkward getting to know people you don't live with. Another thing I did was get excited to say "First one in Washington!" Apparently no one on the bus has ever done that in their lives. Lame. Though no one was too excitable, at least we watched good movies on the way up.

Then this happened. Finally, we get to a rest stop. I go over to my two dorm mates that I hang out with usually with my room mate. One of them says this, "OH my gawd, we could hear you the whole time. It would be quiet, then we'd hear you and be like, 'Oh my god Hannah shut UP!" Maybe they were trying to be funny. I didn't even think I talked that much. But it hurt. One of my biggest fears is that I'm annoying people, so it means they don't want to hang out with the annoying weirdo. Is it better that I remain in the background and fade away so that no one really notices that I'm there? Or is it better that I'm actually trying to get to know people, be social? This shut me up for pretty much the whole ride. I was texting my cousin Ali and mentioned it, when suddenly my sister calls. Odd. I answer and hear,
"Who does this effing b*tch think she is? Who the hell says that?!" It turns out that my sister was with my cousin and was reading the texts. I couldn't really talk to her about it on the bus, because *someone* would hear me from my over-ly carrying voice. That's something I really love about my family. They're extremely supportive.

Finally after arriving in Seattle, I dashed over to two of my other hall mates to hang out with them We ended up walking around and eating dinner in Seattle. It was great! I didn't feel as worried or judged, and we had a great time!



Cool people!



The game was... okay, the game was awful. We played HORRIBLY. Let's just say our team sucks and does not understand how to play the game intelligently.It was also freezing. I did get a free t-shirt though! Plus hanging with the hall mates (the non-bashing ones) was fun. They had never been to a college football game, and one of them had never been to a football game period! Wild.

When coming back, I noticed that the girl I sat next to before was napping and put her bag in my seat. Subtle. Once again, I was tossed into a random seat. The ride back was not so great because:

• I was exhausted and couldn't get in a comfortable position to sleep
• I hadn't eaten much, and my body could tell even if I didn't feel too hungry
• As I said before, I have a cold and it's getting to me. I was seriously feeling it by this time.

We got home around 2, so I ate something and went to sleep. When I woke up I felt terrible, but I've gotten to feeling a lot better. I also ran today! Nice. I ran on a treadmill today for 40 minutes. I was going to use the nice treadmill, but just as I walked in, a guy stepped on it. He gave me that kind of puppy look, you know the one I'm talking about? The one where they know they've done something to tick you off, but secretly are kind of happy? That's the one. This wouldn't have bothered me as much if he was wearing something else. You know what he was wearing? Jeans and a sweatshirt. That's what ticked me off. So I don't know officially how far I ran because the other treadmill was buggy and started at about a mile, but I'm almost positive I ran about 4 miles. I was so glad I did, because it felt so good. Plus, it's training!

I was going to write more about today, but I've already written a lot. I'll just mention a last thing that today was weigh in day! The scale says... 131 lbs. I can tell. I can feel it, I can see it. What did I do differently?

• Last week I didn't run as far, but I ran little incriments every day. This week was longer mileage, with days inbetween. I don't want to overwork myself, so I'm continuing the running the same way.
• I ate top ramen twice this week. Once is enough for any week. I had it as a meal each time, but even then it doesn't do anything for you.
• Finally... I've been eating too much granola. I need to start eating something else for breakfast. The problem with it is that I will munch and munch and munch on it. Not good. I need to find a breakfast with protein and carbs to give me energy and fuel for the day other than that!

Too much talking! I'm gonna finish some more work, read a little then go to much needed sleep! P.S.: I haven't seen my room mate since Friday night. I wonder where she is?

What do you do when someone bad mouths you?