Four-Year Degree, etc.

I found out something wonderful today. Instead of graduating in May of 2008, I am graduating in May of 2007! Seriously, I can graduate in four years like normal people! It's complicated and boring to explain, but I've always thought I needed 5 years to graduate, but I actually sat down and looked at it all today, and I can easily graduate an entire year earlier than I was thinking.

Woo hoo!

A life without school...ah, what an idea. I like to think about what I'd do. Take up crocheting again, learn how to quilt, read books I actually want to read, cook regularly and actually do the dishes on a daily basis...ah. It'll be nice. Someday sooner than I thought. :)

In other news, Tech won today. Yay! It was a sloppy game all the way around, though. For a while there we couldn't complete a pass to save our lives. I was biting my nails off and yelling at the TV: "Who are you people and what have you done with my football team?!!" or "Agh! Please play football!" That may sound strange, but I like to talk back to the TV, especially when no one's around to be weirded out. Horror movies inspire me the most; I'm always yelling at the characters, "NO! Don't go down the dark alley!! That crazy demon guy you've seen 10 times always hangs out in dark alleys!!!" Et cetera. Yeah, plain old horror movies aren't my favorite. Around Halloween everyone starts breaking out the scary flicks, but I'm not really a fan. I like thrillers, like The Machinist or What Lies Beneath, where it's suspenseful and you're thinking hard trying to figure out what's going on, but I really don't like the movies with demons or slimy monsters or what have you. The demonic stuff is just too scary, since after all the devil is real and not to be taken lightly. And the slimy monster movies are just annoying. White Noise was one I saw recently, and it creeped me out and then irritated me because it had no ending! And the Scream movies are just flat-out stupid. But the old silent horror movies are great. I remember last Halloween my boyfriend and my roommate and I sat up watching a 1920's silent film version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and it was probably one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. Usually silent movies strike me as just kind of cheesy and ancient, but in this case, I think the lack of talking made it more sinister. It sure gave me the heeby-jeebies. But of course, it was 3 in the morning. Things are always scarier in the wee hours of the morning. :)

Gaude! Una hora somni addita!

J	Joyous
E	Extreme
N	Nice
N	Nutty
Y	Yum

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Good Morning...Rrr...

Well, yes, I watched the Astros lose the Series. It's a shame that in Texas' first World Series, our team didn't even represent. Didn't even win one game! Hmmph.

I have nothing more to say on that subject.

In other news, my boyfriend thinks I'm an expensive girl (haha), my brother thinks I'm a dragon in the morning, and my bed thinks I don't love her anymore since I haven't been spending much time with her.

My books probably think I'm in love with them, but they're wrong. I am just counting the days until that, um, holiday at the end of the year (I avoid saying the name to spare myself the despair of knowing how far away it is). That, and I am soooo looking forward to graduation and a life without school, but that's even farther away than Chr*stm*s. Bummer.

But in the meantime, life is still good. I get myself up in the morning with the music of Eisley:

"Wake up in the morning,
I shall wake up and so shall you and I,
Wake up, the sun is beautiful,
And it is warming you and I,
Fragile as we lie..."

Go 'Stros!

Okay, guys, it's time to get serious. The Astros are behind 0-2 in the World Series. As much as I like the White Sox (and I really do, I'm not being sarcastic), it's time for the 'Stros to start playing like the NLCS champions they are!

And it's time for me to go watch them! Sure, I've got lots of homework, but this Series just can't be missed. And besides, I need a little time to loosen up and relax. I've been stressing out all day about a test that didn't go like I wanted it to! Any time that happens, I am always tempted to turn into Big Mean Study Monster and go off the deep end studying till all hours. But tonight, I'm going for a more balanced approach. I'll watch the game and then let the ogre take over. :)

Celebrating a Year

Sunday was a special day for my boyfriend and me. We had been together for exactly one year! So we reminisced a little (yeah, last year, that was the day we went to see Les Miserables, and then we stayed up all night watching movies and baseball...), gave each other little gifts, and spent the evening at Gattiland! I loved Gattiland when I was a kid, and I hadn't been in ages. It was great fun; we watched the NLCS Game 4 while we ate our pizza, then ran around in the arcade for a while. He beat me at air hockey, but I beat him on the car racing game. And then we played Go Fish with the new deck of cards we had redeemed our tickets for. And then we went back to my apartment and watched Top Hat, which was also great fun because I love Fred Astaire. So overall, it was just a lovely evening.

Some of my girlfriends were a little shocked that we had planned to go to Mr. Gatti's for our one year anniversary. They said, shouldn't y'all be doing something a little more, you know, romantic? But they didn't understand that, for us, romance isn't tied to things like white tablecloths and roses or whatever. Romance is smiles, and laughter, and good conversations. Romance is doing things together that you like. Romance is growing together in love for God and love for each other. Romance is experiencing life, together. So there's nothing about going to Gattiland that's inherently unromantic. On the contrary, it was perfect. :)


Now on a completely unrelated note...this is a really great year for my football teams. Both my Texas Tech Red Raiders and my Indianapolis Colts are undefeated so far. Yay! But Tech probably won't be undefeated after this weekend. We're playing Texas, in Austin! Yikes. Still, we've got a chance. In football, you always have a chance. And we're pretty talented this year. We'll see what happens.

Oh, and did any of you watch the NLCS Game 5, Cards vs. 'Stros, last night? I heard only the ninth inning on the radio, but it was enough. What a heartbreaker! The Astros were 1 out away from going to the World Series for the first time ever, but one hung slider, and whammo! It's time for Game 6. (Yeah, I know, technically it was a base hit, a walk, and then a hung slider, but regardless of the men on base, if Lidge had gotten Pujols to strike out/fly out/ground out/pop out/line out/ANY OLD OUT the game would have been over and the 'Stros would have won the pennant.) But that's baseball for you. Until that last out is recorded, anything can happen. I like that about the sport, I just wish the Astros had won. Oh well...they've got another chance. I know what I'll be doing tomorrow night...

* * *

Heck yes my Astros are in the Series! Yay!

Expanding Vocabulary...the Fun Way

I love learning new things. That's part of why I like school, despite the fact that it stresses me out sometimes. Sometimes, though, the most fun way to learn new things is to do it spontaneously. Take, for instance, this morning in my apartment. As my brother and I got ready for school, we each learned a new word. He learned that "paisley" is the pattern of my unbelievably bright (relative to the rest of my wardrobe, anyway) new shirt. Before today he had referred to the pattern as "scrambled eggs." But the light went on for him today, and now he understands why Brad Paisley has such a funny looking guitar. I, on the other hand, learned that a "jihad" is an Islamic holy war. This came about because my brother was referring, somewhat dramatically, to a potential personal conflict as a jihad. In fact, he was making up a song about it to the tune of "Rawhide," and substituting "jihad" for "rawhide"...it was rather funny even when I didn't know what on earth a jihad was. (He's so bouncy on mornings when he's had enough sleep. He was poking me with his deodorant stick this morning and giggling when I made faces. Funny boy.) So now we're both more well-rounded people...he's being educated on fashion, and I'm learning about wars. Go figure!

A Better Day

Well, today was a much better day than yesterday. Hehe it had to be! My car is now fixed, and every time I start the engine I squeal, "Yay!" I'll probably be doing that for a month. I really appreciate my independence now that I have my transportation back. I ran around all over the place this afternoon. My mom came to town to transport me around while my car was in the shop, and that was really fun. We shopped and talked and had a pretzel together at the mall. Pretzels from Pretzelmaker (garlic pretzels!) are just heavenly, and they taste even better when I eat them with my mom. It's kind of a tradition of ours. Occasionally if I'm at the mall without her, I'll get one, but it never tastes nearly as good. I just kind of chew it up and that's it. It's a bummer.

I'll tell you what else is a bummer...my boss is leaving. I work in a pharmacy, and he's been our pharmacist-in-charge ever since I started. It's a sad thing to see him go. My being sad is kind of ironic, too, because when I first started, and for about the first year, he made me really uncomfortable somehow, and I really didn't enjoy working for him. Mostly this was because I found him really hard to read, so I could never tell if I was measuring up to his standards, or whatever. But after a long enough time of working with him, I guess I figured him out enough to be perfectly comfortable with him, and even to develop a certain fondness for him. He's been a good boss, and we've always respected each other. And now...who knows what kind of person will replace him? That's life, though...always changing on you. I bet everything will be just fine. :)

Okay, time for Bible study. I think we're studying Acts 6, which is the beginning of Stephen's story. Stephen the martyr...I'm glad we're studying about him, because he was amazing. So fearless...I just hope that someday, if I'm called upon to do so, that the Holy Spirit would make me just as fearless.

Hey, have a good night y'all...

Everything Breaks at Once!!!

Okay, so why does everything have to break at once? I am so frustrated right now. When I get off work this evening (late), my car won't start. This is frustrating. So then I decide to call my brother, but my phone says it's out of service. So I walk over to a payphone and call him, and he comes to give me a boost. Then I drive home, and on the way try to call my dad to tell him about my car, and my phone still won't work. So then I decide to turn off my phone and turn it on again, just in case it's the actual phone with the problem. I turn it off, and it freezes on the "goodbye I'm a Samsung phone" screen. It's still frozen there. My phone is broken.

So then, I decide to go to the Sprint store to get a new phone, and my car won't start again. Apparently the alternator is out. This is just too much for me. I grab the wheel and scream in frustration.

So now I'm stuck. I can't go get a new phone, and I can't call anyone about my car. Agh. My brother will be back in a little while...and we can start working on both problems. But until then, I am sooooo frustrated! And I don't have time for this! I have way too much studying to do as it is! I'll never get it all done, and now I'm going to be behind....AGH! Pardon me while I freak out!

***

Update: the phone is now working. The car is not. But my brother and his uber smart engineering friends (wink to Karen) know what is wrong, how to fix it, etc. Yay for boys! And my mom is coming to town tomorrow to taxi me around. Yay for moms! I'll be particularly sleep-deprived this week, but oh well. God is good, whether my stuff works or not, and no matter how tired or stressed out I am. And acknowledging that, of course, puts everything in a much more manageable perspective. Peace out...

Bllaaeeeerggghhh....

Mondays are tough days for me. Not only is it the day you get back into the daily grind, it's just the longest day ever. From 9 am to 11 pm I'm either in class or at work or at lab (I do get a break for supper. That's it.). I got out of lab tonight planning on doing some homework, but my brain has just been overloaded today and can't handle ANY MORE.

So I'm just enjoying the sounds and smells of an open window as I drink a cool glass of water and ramble to my blog.

Interesting fact: in football, the 2nd place guy in the Big 12 for points scored plays for Tech. Guess who it is? Nope, not Hodges. Not Hicks. Not Henderson.

It's Alex Trlica (the kicker)! He doesn't even kick all that many field goals...he gets all those points because our offense scores so many touchdowns! (Those PAT's add up.) I think being a kicker for a football team would be a really sweet gig. I'd be the kicker if they'd let me. I kicked field goals in high school PE, and punted too. I'm totally qualified. Too bad I'm a girl. But oh well, Alex ought to get something out of life, he's already at a disadvantage since his name is missing a vowel.

I think I'm going to bed now...

Alone on Friday Night

Have you ever heard people talk about being alone on Friday night as if that's some magical litmus test for how big of a loser you are? I hear that kind of thing all the time, especially here in college. "If you don't get involved in such-and-such organization, you'll end up spending your Friday nights in the dorm!" I've even seen self-help books with titles like, Never Be Alone on Friday Night Again, or, you know, Never Eat Alone Again, and stuff like that. It cracks me up because I've always wondered who decided that spending a little time with yourself is such a bad idea. After all, a little break from the craziness that is social life can enhance your ability to relate to people. I am a much calmer/happier/nicer person if I get a little Me Time every now and then. You know what I mean?

So anyway, last night was a Friday night I spent alone in my apartment. It was quite nice...I really needed it. In fact, I even turned down more than one invitation from the girls at my church, who were having a girls' night. I'm a huge fan of girls' night, and I hated missing it in a way (where else can you giggle, paint your nails outrageous colors, dance like a hooligan, talk about absolutely anything, and watch really cheesy movies...without shame?), but I just needed an evening to unwind. Socialization of any kind saps my emotional energy, and eventually I reach the point where I can't do it anymore!

So what did I do instead? Well, I went to Barnes and Noble, which is therapeutic in and of itself. (Thanks for the birthday gift, Alisha!) I just love to browse around in bookstores; books are friends too, and much less demanding ones at that. Of course, this therapy has a price: I pretty much can't go in without buying books, and if I plan on buying one book, I end up with four. (But give me a little credit: buying four means I've reluctantly left 20 on the shelf that I really really wanted.) It reminds me of a quote my roommate had on her desk...something along the lines of, "When I get money, I buy books, and if I have any left over, I buy food and clothes." Hehe. In this case, I went in looking for an English translation of the Aeneid, which I'm currently translating from the Latin text, and I ended up with that, and a copy of the Iliad, and a copy of the Odyssey, and a book of Celtic myths. The really ironic thing is that I already have copies of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and a different book about Celtic myths. But these were better translations of the epics (the ones I had were the cheap public-domain translations, and these new ones are by Stanley Lombardo, who is almost magical in the way his translations manage to be very literal and yet very smoothly poetic), and I simply can't turn down any book on Celtic myths. It's a small obsession of mine. :)

So yes, I spent a bit of time in my favorite store and then spent the rest of it eating supper and translating Latin. The translating part may sound awful to some of you, but I am being completely honest when I say that I love Latin. I love languages and translating generally, but Latin is extra special (somehow Greek doesn't have quite the same charm); and when I am not trying to get the translations done as fast as I can, I enjoy it even more. Yes, Virgil is very difficult (it's like a non-native English speaker translating Shakespeare), but the Aeneid is just so wonderfully grand and poetic. I was translating a particularly stirring passage last night, about the death of Priam:

Haec finis Priami fatorum, hic exitus illum
sorte tulit Troiam incensam et prolapsa videntem
Pergama, tot quondam populis terrisque superbum
regnatorem Asiae. Iacet ingens litore truncus,
avulsumque umeris caput et sine nomine corpus.

This was the end of the fates of Priam, this exit
bore him with his destiny, seeing Troy burned and
Pergama fallen; formerly the lord of Asia, proud on account of so
many peoples and lands. He lies, as a huge trunk on the shore,
head torn from his shoulders, and a body without a name. [my translation]

That's a literal translation, and not very stylish, but the power of the original comes through anyway. So yeah...There's the nerdy classicist in me coming out. :) And the nerdy homebody! So now that I've thoroughly convinced you all of my craziness...I'm going to end this and pick back up in Virgil!

(But not for too long. I have another interest that competes with Latin: football! Go Tech!)