winter break check in

My break from school is going well so far. I've been fairly rested, didn't gorge myself on the big holiday meal, was somewhat conservative during my holiday gift giving, patiently waited for the return of the cupcake battle, played tons of spider solitaire, contemplated some frivolous actions but restrained myself, continued reading a book that I didn't finish over the summer, and am jotting down as many ideas as I can cram into a journal since my horoscope said that I'm at an all time high for creativity. Whew!

I still have a lot to do...

... like cleaning out my closet. Now, I'm all about organizing, but my closets are 2 inches away from being useless. They are long and narrow (but not in the good sense of the image) and I have to walk in sideways to be able to get to my shelves. I've done the best I could. But it also becomes a matter of trying to keep up the organization. So, my other has wisely said that I can take care of the closet in the office. I think this was said for two reasons; because he knows that I would probably kill him if he got in my way, also because for some strange reason I can't recall what I ate for dinner last night but I could tell you where every object in my house is when asked because of where I put it.

... like knitting. I miss it and haven't had the time for in since the summer when it's too hot to do it. I've been meaning to make scarves for friends as presents, but it either takes me too long to make anything or it gets too complicated. It shouldn't. It's just a scarf. Perhaps I'll make a bunch of wrist warmers instead.

... like growing out my hair. I had my hair cut, and I had it highlighted, and it's short and blond. Everyone seems to like it but I'm still in a double-whammy shock. The color just needs to mellow out a bit and I just need to grow an inch or two of hair and it'll all be fine.

... like catch up on my theatre going. I recently saw Peter and Jerry at Second Stage and it was wonderful. I love Edward Albee's work and Bill Pullman who starred, and I've now fallen in love with Dallas Roberts who played Jerry. I can't believe I waited until the final weekend to see the show, but thank god for Friday matinees and student rush tickets.

... like start to think about what will happen to me once I graduate. In a little more than 4 weeks I'll begin my final undergraduate semester. I'm excited and sad at the same time. I like the safety of school but at the same time I'm so ready for it all to be over. But I don't want to grow up and get a real job but I don't want to be in school for the next 10 years.

... like have an early mid-life. Just for the heck of it. Maybe. No. Yes. Not sure. Yet.

working for a living

The following scene took place in the box office today between 6:00 and 6:20pm.

Isaac - (seeing a brush, hairspray and deodorant in my hands) Freshening up? Worked the afternoon shift and now you're going back for the night shift.
me - Yeah. By the way, can you go into my bag and grab the Summer's Eve?

what was your christmas wish?

crack is back!

Look at what I got as my first Christmas present (from IPJ). Yes ma'am, they're here and they're a habit-forming substance... so get used to it! Cadbury Mini Eggs, aka little eggies, chocolate abortions (courtesy of IPJ), and crack eggs. As you can see, I've already opened my bag up.

IPJ must really like me or else he wouldn't have gotten me this present, or he just thought that I'd go as crazy over these as he did. I'm not complaining. So far, this is the best present I've gotten all year.

Update: As of 1:42 pm, I sucked down my eggies. That'a right, I blew through my stash. Now I'll be in withdrawls until Easter.

fuck the to do list!

I tried. I really tried. It's been so rough and I don't want to admit that I bit off more than I could chew, but alas....

So, the holiday gift boxes were finally mailed out as of this morning. All done, bye, bye. Some house keeping, check. Showered and shaved, check. Rice pudding, check and yum.

I don't know why I even make a to do list, much less put any faith or hope into it. Perhaps it's because I want to have goals and it's an exercise for me in trying to obtain those goals. Ok, enough psycho-analyzing the damn to do list.

OMG... Isaac is playing Oregon Trail and I'm on his wagon (it's not the first time I've been on or off the wagon). He just said that I have typhoid fever. Quickly, he said "and you're going to die!" What a way to end my day. Please God, just let me get dysentery and get it over with.

to do list... let's try it again

1. finish the holiday buying, packing, shipping.
2. laundry
3. seek and destroy notes and papers from the semester
4. tackle the spare closet (it beat me last time)
5. make rice pudding (I'm half way there, I have the rice cooked)
6. clean out the fridge
7. bake cookies, or pies, or something delich so I can eat it all in one sitting tonight
8. work on a crafty-type of project
9. grocery shopping
10. pat my self on the back if I can get at least 5 of the above things done

learning to end world hunger

Have you ever been in the situation where you had to prepare for a standardized test but you couldn't stop thinking about how to help end world? Me neither. But, you guys still have to check this site out. It's called FreeRice.com. Essentially, you play an SAT prep type of vocab game, and for every correct answer the site will donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. You don't have to sign up for anything, it's completely anonymous.

The money that is used to pay for the rice is provided by groups or companies that advertise on the site. The site is administered by Poverty.com, which was started by an individual who wanted to let people know about the problems with world hunger and to find practical solutions. The site has no religious, corporate, or political affiliation.

Please make sure to check out the site (and other sites) and pass it along to all of your friends.

I miss...

(in no particular order)...

free time.

year-round tropical weather.

cupcakes.

first kisses.

being really excited about a play.

roller skating.

boogie boarding.

acting.

my sanity.

my friends Shayla and Jamie.

sleepovers.

clubbing until 3am.

espresso milkshakes.

date night.

feelings

I don't know why I feel so anxious right now. Maybe it's because I'm not on any meds right now (side note: I recently had to quit a medication I was on because it was screwing up my system).

Or maybe it's because I can feel the clock ticking down towards several events. End of the semester and end of the year. Reflecting on this feeling, I'm thinking about what I will end up doing for New Year's Eve (nothing) and thinking about what I will do with my first true day off from school (sleeping). I'm not going anywhere for the holiday and perhaps that's a good thing. It should give me enough time to catch up on the things that I love but don't have the time to do; ie: go to a museum, catch an art flick, read a book for fun, knit a new scarf. I have a lot to look forward to.

As you can see from the above list, I didn't mention drinking and sex. It's not because I don't love these things (I do, I really do!) but it's because I don't need to catch up on drinking and I don't want to talk about sex at right now (touchy subject).

Perhaps there is a way to combine my passions in life. Like drinking at a museum opening. I'll let your dirty minds come up with the other possible combinations.

long-term thinking about a short-term goal

Today is my last free day from work & school (like peas & carrots = 1 vegetable item at some diners). So I decide to spend the day at the school half of my life. Despite my beautiful office-like setup at home, I can't seem to get anything done while in my apartment. I love to find excuses so I can procrastinate. For example: the dishes really need to get done, there's a Ken Burns documentary on channel 13, I have to write a post for my blog. You know, the usual.

So, I have a big goal for myself today, and that is to make sure the majority of my work is done. Majority, for formal purposes, means at least 51% of the total. Majority, for me, means at least 3/4 of my total final amount of work. That gives me some wiggle room, about 24% to be exact, to do less and not be upset by it. There are already too many things for me to get upset over and I'm not going to let school work be one of them.

Perhaps if I had a goal to work towards. Or an incentive. And I'm not talking about some crappy incentive like "it'll make you feel accomplished" or "the reward is knowing you did a good job." I mean something like a big fat cupcake! Or a movie. Or a cupcake that I snuck into the movies. (this is getting out of hand).

So here's the challenge...as my friends, I need someone...Anyone!... to make a suggestion as to what I should look forward to for accomplishing today's goal. Please do not put cupcakes as an option... unless you will provide me with one personally. In which case, I probably won't consider it a reward since I'm in a cupcake challenge. But in any case, I'll gladly accept it with little to no fuss.