A GIRL'S PRAYER
Lord, before I lay me down to sleep,
I pray for a man, who's not a creep,
One who's handsome, smart and strong,
One who loves to listen long,
One who thinks before he speaks,
When he says he'll call, he won't wait weeks.
I pray that he is gainfully employed,
And when I spend his cash, he won't be annoyed.
Pulls out my chair and opens my door,
Massages my back and begs to do more.
Oh! send me a man who'll make love to my mind,
Knows what to answer to "How big's my behind?"
One who'll make love till my body's a 'twitchin,
In the hall, in the garden and in the kitchen!
I pray that this man will love me to no end,
And never attempt to hit on my friend.
Amen
--Unknown

As the people on the news just can't seem to get over, we had some record-breaking cold temperatures here in Oxford today. Luckily (if you look at it that way), I have been inside since about 9 this morning and haven't had to experience it, except for the small breeze that always manages to sneak through these stupid dorm room windows. It is never comfortable in my room--it seems that because we have no thermostat, Cassie and I are doomed to be either freezing or sweating. There is no comfortable temperature in this room.
Last night after having dinner with Chad, I went ice skating at the Goggin with Steve and Christina. I really love to skate, but I don't know why I do it. I have a weird skating technique--I am afraid/not coordinated enough to balance on my left foot, so I evidently look pretty stupid, or as I've been told in the past, "ungraceful." Not to mention that it reminds me of how my mom used to make fun of me for not bending my legs enough. It just makes me feel bad about myself. It also doesn't help when I have PMS and I want to cry about everything anyway. So, Steve and Christina and I finished ice skating and Steve (who thankfully gave us a ride or we would have frozen) wanted to go to Kroger, so we went and got some doughnuts (with chocolate...which made me feel a little better). Then we got this great idea to go get my car from the parking lot so Christina and I could drive to the rec in the morning. We spent about 20 minutes scraping the windows and getting the snow off, only to find that I was parked on a large sheet of ice and had no chance of getting unstuck. What were we thinking? So then we went to Peabody, watched The Cider House Rules, and all fell asleep. When I woke up, I had an amazingly sore throat and a headache, so I came back to my room and slept all day, but to no avail--I am still not feeling so great.
So, here I sit, home by myself on a Saturday night, box of kleenex and bottle of water beside me, finally understanding why people say the worst time to be away at school is when you're sick...

At about two o'clock today, I checked my e-mail and discovered that I had received a package. I was very excited and decided that I'd walk to Wells to pick it up and then go to Music and English. It was a good care package containing: The Sims(yeah...good for avoiding homework), pop tabs for Ronald McDonald house, Craisins (dried cranberries...they're like raisins. Get it?), a dollar from my Dad (haha) and some cookies (also from Dad, his first batch ever and not so shabby). Of course, if I had four snow days off school in one week, I suppose I could put some good stuff together too. I'm pretty jealous. Then I went to music. I walked in and my prof was writing names on the board...Amy....Andy...Loren...I was like, great, what am I going to have to do? So near the end of class I was thinking maybe we weren't going to get to whatever it was I was up there for, but we did. And it turned out that the names up there were the names of the people who got a 100% on their 25 question quizzes on Tuesday. Yes...go me. What a good day.

Had a fun night tonight. After a not-so-bad music quiz over gregorian chants and other musical stuff from the dark ages, I went to English and then to the bus stop where the bus gods were not with me as they were yesterday. I had to wait for the bus to Candlewood Apartments for like 25 minutes. When I got there, everyone was leaving to go pick people up. Oh well. Next week I'll think ahead. I had planned on just hanging out while everyone else played Halo, but we ended up playing MarioKart on Gamecube instead. (Kurtis, I just want to tell you that strangely enough, people here like to watch Diddy Kong hang off the back of the car too. lol) I did pretty well, and Nick and I as a team beat everyone except Tim and Matt, but we were doing those harder courses so I give us a little credit. Afterwards, Nick (thankfully) gave us a fun ride home, sliding on the freshly fallen snow all the way. Then Christina and I walked through the drifts to the Goggin, where she played her first ever broomball game with Kennapalooza. (She even decided to spice it up a little bit with a, "hey 22! Your mom is on the phone, she wants her kneepads back!") We lost 3 to 1, but we're getting better. Overall, it was an even win-lose night, and it was definitely a good night because I got to play MarioKart and we all know that I'm a little bit addicted to the only video game I've ever succeeded at. Oh well. Off to bed for me...

Oh, life is good...today, I needed to catch three different buses and it seemed like they were running exactly on my time...I accidently deleted my English paper BUT I think the rewrite is much better...I got to see Herm wearing two pink feather boas tonight and while I'm not sure that's entirely a good thing, it was definitely good for a laugh. Let's see...I'm also feeling not so bad about my classes right now. I'm even going to enjoy the mountains of snow and slush I have to hike through to get to my classes because hey--campus is much prettier all covered in snow. And, my family is sending me a care package. It doesn't get any better than mail at school, and that is the best kind. (I'm not hinting at anything here, but...if you want to write me I'd be more than happy to get you my address, just let me know.) Well, that's all for now. More later :)

Hey ladies! If you're interested in a younger man (age 17) from northeastern Ohio, I have just the man for you. Tall, blonde, athletic and funny, my friend Scott Underwood would make the perfect boyfriend for an outgoing, fun-loving girl. Let me know if you're interested!

lol...love you scotty...

Brr...not only is it freezing cold here in Oxford but it is also snowing like crazy. What a way to end my weekend. On Friday night, Christina and I went down to Ditmer and drove around in circles--but she learned how to drive standard/stick shift (whatever you choose to call it). I'd like to think I was pretty patient, and didn't freak out too much. Then we all piled in to my car went to the hockey game, where I had a great time talking about some loud people with Scotty and Christina. After that, Cassie, Justin, Megan and I played Catchphrase in my room as I got ready to go to the Princess Party at 708. I had lots of fun, even though I have come to school to discover that I have NO fooseball skills. It's just because none of you at home will play with me so I can practice! On Saturday, Twila brought Bethany, Marissa and Laura to visit, so Seth and I showed them around campus. I took them to eat lunch at Alexander, and I think they were in awe of all the food. On Saturday night Christina and I just couldn't decide what to do. We went to Kroger to pick up some laundry detergent and ended up getting me some hair dye and a movie. We dyed my hair, which isn't easy in a dorm bathroom. Then we went to the second hockey game (which MU won, 7-1!) and then watched our movie in Christina's room, where I met a bunch of fun people from Peabody, not to mention hung out with Steve and Justin as well. And then when I woke up this morning--I mean, afternoon, actually--There was snow everywhere, and I had to drive through it, not only to get my car back to Ditmer, but also to the movie place to return my movie. Christina and I headed out, facing the twisty, snow-covered hills of Western. Luckily, my car loves me and we made it out without getting stuck or hitting anything. But I do have to say that the roads off campus are much better than the roads on campus. I guess they forget about people having to drive. Now, we're getting some freezing rain. I can't wait to walk to class tomorrow morning!

Did you know? Wednesday was National Hug Day! Hopefully you gave someone a hug.

I don't have much to write about but since my company is my roommate, and she is talking about Barbaloots walking around in their barbaloot suits (weirdo! :) ), I decided that I ought to write a blog. Oh, wait, she's correcting me, they are *brown* barbaloot suits.
Guys, I never would have thought this would happen but I miss Ornithology from last year. First of all, my Zoology prof. starts every class talking about a different bird. And because I know what kinds of birds they are, I like that. I think that after sitting through other classes feeling like a complete loser, actually knowing something we're talking about makes me feel good.
Also, as I sit here writing this at 11 pm, I realize that in 9 hours I have to go to Chemistry lab. And just like I have for the past week, I find myself daydreaming about scheduling classes for the fall. Can you believe that? I'm pretty pathetic.
Oh well. I am going to go to bed now, but first I'm going to lay there dreaming of classes that start at 10 or 11 am...

What a day! Christina and I started off our Saturday with a trip to the mall, where I decided that I will from now on wait until January to buy ANY winter clothing ever again. Everything is on sale so we had lots of fun. After that we had dinner with Dudas and Justin, who cheered us up even more than the shopping. (Four words to describe Christina: "Aww Hell...no way") Then we got invited over to Tim's and picked up Cassie on the way. We played gamecube MarioKart, which, if you read my blog over break, you know that I'm pretty good at. Then we played N64 MarioKart, which I'm not so good at. But that's okay--I don't take it too hard when I lose at videogames. Then we headed over to 708 for my first party this semester. It was lots of fun to see everyone even if I'm not sure they all remember seeing me. I was the driver, so I took some sorority-rushing girls back to the dorms and hung out in Peabody where I found that I also like this game called Soul Caliber for XBox. Who knew I was going to start liking this kind of stuff in college? Maybe it was just that Cassie and I were the only ones not drunk who were playing so it made us look good. I don't know. Then I went back to 708 to give some people rides and I got some good advice from an intoxicated Phil: "I've been with all kinds of girls from cheerleaders to show choir girls. Just be with who makes you happy." Then I headed back to Peabody and hung out with Anne, Steve, and Katie until they all went to sleep. Christina and I decided we'd walk around for a while, and we met a new student on the Miami Western Campus. His name was Michael and he was a pretty interesting guy--he was willing to share with us that he is a drag queen. Ah, Western... So after a while Christina and I decided to head to bed. We ended up staying in Steve's triple room, because there's no one living there except him. It was lots of fun, and definitely a good way to end the first week of my second semester at Miami.

This is another guest blogger. Loren doesn't know i am doing this but i think it will be funny when she checks her computer later. Loren is AWESOME. Okay thats all.
Christina

Alright. Now that I have had all of my new classes except Chemistry Lab (and I am figuring that it is going to be the same, since I have the same instructor), let me give you all an overview of my lovely second semester:
My week starts off with a wonderful 8 am Chemistry session led by Dr. Hershberger. I find that this is a definite improvement over last semester, as she brings us breakfast and lets us play with liquid crystals...my bio lab TA seems to think that my class has the ability to look at her example on the t.v., take notes, look at our own microscopes, draw pictures, and listen all at the same time. I never thought I'd miss my 115 lab class...And let me tell you, my first assignment for "Great Ideas in Western Music--Honors" was to write an essay about my favorite kind of music. Due tomorrow. Ugh.
My favorite thing about this semester, though, was that as I was looking for seven poems to take to English class last night, I received a letter from the University telling me that in order to keep my J.M. Smucker scholarship, I have to have a cumulative gpa of 3.5. No problem, right? Hmm...not so much. To bring my 3.06 up, I'll have to get a 4.0. Probably not going to happen. I'm not saying I'm not going to work. But the thought of getting an A in Chemistry, and possibly Bio is...kind of unrealistic. C'est la vie. My parents won't kill me...right?

Looking back at my older blogs, I realize that I have stopped being interesting. I'm sorry about that and hopefully something truly worth writing about will happen to me soon.

Well, I'm back at Miami, preparing for my second day of classes. It's good to be back, it was almost like coming home instead of leaving. It just feels like everything I need is here. Actually, I was a little worried about coming back, and bringing up my grades, but yesterday when I ran into people I knew both in class and on my way there. Also, the books I picked up for English class have that soft-gloss cover that I really like, and being one of those people who does judge her books by the cover (but only actually books, I'm not being theoretical), I'm thinking that I'm going to like them. I definitely feel like I'm right where I belong and that this semester is going to be a great one.

Quote of the Day: "I think she should dump his ass."

alright...i had the best post written and then...it was lost. How sad. Now you all have to listen about my wonderful last few days of break. First, I have been designated to be my family's chauffer/laundress. Yes, yes, I have been employed to do mountains of laundry and take not only my sister to school but also my brother's girlfriend. I mean, I know I am being helpful and I know it's for the good of everyone else, but it's still making me want to get back to school.
In other, happier news, my all-time favorite video from my childhood, Fluppy Dogs, has been found (thank you Mom) and Dad recorded it onto a DVD. This was major cause for celebration because I loved that thing and since it was a bootleg, we couldn't really find it in a store. I know I sound pathetic but it was a pretty good little show.
Well, now I'm going to get going...Kurtis is here and we're going to have another go at Mario Kart...just like every other night for the past two weeks. How long till I'm back at MU???

You know, you go away from home and when you come back, everything is the same, but you're different. I think it is a fact. No matter what you do, you're never going to be able to stay the same person forever. And you learn all these crazy things about yourself when you find the same patterns in your new life as in your old...but then, you discover some great things that you never knew you had. That's one thing that scared me about college that now I'm really thankful for. Being able to become my own person has made me happier than ever before. Even though I'm home, I've learned how to be who I want to be, not who everyone else wants me to be.

Lots of fun last night! Our annual New Year's party was fun, even though I spent lots of time losing Bunco and also sitting at the loser tables. Then Monica and Kurtis and I went to Kurt's for our own party, played our favorite game (Clue), and fell asleep watching Pulp Fiction. It was definitely a nice New Years. Let's just hope 2004 keeps getting better!