Irony

It has been kind of cold and rainy here lately. Unfortunately for me, I lost my umbrella on Monday. I left it in my Italian class and when I went back the next day, it was gone. So I have been without umbrella all week. It was not good.

Today, I went to Wal-Mart and bought a new one. When I came outside, the sun was shining.

You have got to be kidding me.

Summer Goodness I Can Finally Think About Now That Classes Are Over

I was getting the feeling that my parents weren't too thrilled about my staying in Oxford this summer. I guess they had the right not to be, because who wouldn't want to live with me for the 3 1/2 months not already claimed by school? Okay. Actually I know what they were probably not so happy about was the fact that as of last Sunday I was still unemployed.

Well. There was the Print Center thing. And I had sent an application to several other places but they never got back to me. So last Friday before I went home I went to the Network Services office and filled out an application. These people were on the ball. They called Monday, interviewed me Tuesday, and on Wednesday I had a job. I was feeling pretty good about it, but I thought, it might be better if I had somewhere to work on the weekends.

Lucky for me, I have connections in IT Services through my English class--remember the camcorder project? Well, the "IT guy" is actually the head of Miami's IT services. And he e-mailed me this week asking me to give him a call about a job for the summer. I called to tell him that I already had a full-time job, and he said that was okay, but would I like to have a part time job writing documentation for other pieces of equipment in the lab. I almost died! I can actually be a technical writer! I am not killing myself over my English classes in vain!

So, because I was waiting to be hired before I wrote about all these things, here are my summer plans:

1. I will be working at Gaskill Hall this summer, in the Network Services office and the computer lab.
2. I will be taking two classes (speech and desktop publishing or something) from May 16-June 24.
3. I will be living at my new house, which is very big and very nice. Please feel free to visit.
4. I will be turning 21 on June 27.
5. I will not be lifeguarding, or getting a tan, or teaching swimming lessons.
6. I will be hanging out with all my friends who are also staying in Oxford.
7. I will be chick-sitting while Brendan goes on vacation.
8. I will be knitting a scarf (I'm planning ahead for once).
9. I will be reading about a million books.

It doesn't get much better than this, does it?

Happy 18th Birthday, Jimmy!

My little brother is growing up...aww...

Wondering

how I have become the type of person who ensures that her cell phone rings at least twice and carries on loud, unneccessary conversations with her classmate across the room just because she suspects that the girl who runs the open computer lab for Tech Comm majors is absolutely positively annoyed by it. I also enjoy using the fairly loud printer. I'm such a bitch.

oh by the way, I will be referring to my major as BATSC from now on: Bachelor of Arts in Technical and Scientific Communication. And you pronounce it Bat-Sick. Because for people like me, who absorb their vocabulary from written words, sometimes some words get pronounced wrong because they were taken in wrong. Like dwarf. or endeavor. or won. Good to see the writer's block is gone, eh?

Lists: Reflections on My Sophomore Year

Things I Learned to Love:

• Sex and the City
• Adobe Photoshop
• Grilled Cheese sandwiches
• All-nighters and nearly-all-nighters
• knitting
• Diet Cherry Coke (it is like the best diet soda EVER.)
• Will and Grace
• Guster
• my laptop. I fall more in love with you everyday, darling...
• the 3 1/2 hour drive home (if you're going to have to do it, you might as well enjoy it.)
• My university-hosted webspace
• Steel Drums
• lots of new fun people (i.e., anyone I met this year who I am still willing to be friends with. I mean, who is still willing to be friends with me.)
• Short haircuts

Things I Developed a Slight Disliking For:

• the Italian language
• User Test Reports for English 414
• Grown out short haircuts
• Certain University Services, such as the print center and parking services
• Sleep deprivation side-effects
• Car rides longer than 3 1/2 hours (you know in The Lion King when the hyenas say "Mufasa" to each other to give each other chills? That's what it's like for me and "Kansas." Or "Plains States.")
• Dealing with boys
• Riding a bike on campus
• Driving in the snow. Specifically, driving in the snow in the Spring.

ONLY TWO MORE DAYS. I'm definitely ready to be done, but it's been a good year.

Absence

Tonight Mike asked me what was wrong with my blog, because he couldn't see any of the stuff I'd written since Thursday.

And I was like, "that's because I haven't posted anything since Thursday."

So he told me to post something.

So I did.

(Seriously, though, I've been working on some things but nothing is turning out quite well enough to actually share. Give me a couple of days and I'm sure I'll find something good to write about.)

I'm not really sure why I'm even going to bother

Dear Miami University Print Center,
If you could please not lose the third application I send you, that would be just great.

love,
Loren

p.s. It would probably be in your best interest to hire me; I'm not one to go around ruining people's English projects.

(One should, when applying for jobs, take it as a sign to stay away from a place like this one. What am I doing?)

Wondering

How the people who wrote my Italian book decided that "alcoholism," "marginalization," and "disappointed" all belonged in the same vocabulary section. For some reason this really cracks me up.

Maybe one of the creepiest things that has ever happened to me.

I am a big chicken. I'm just going to throw that out there before I get started with this post.

On Sunday, Christina, Mikey and I went to see Sin City and ended up staying for The Amityville Horror. I like scary movies. I used to watch them all the time with Lindsey. Scream was scary, it was fun to watch. My favorite is probably Halloween. The Exorcist was LAME. Yes. I said it. I was not scared of Linda Blair's projectile vomit and inappropriate comments about the Priest's mother. But I am digressing.

So, Amityville Horror. We had to leave at the end to get back to Oxford in time for a meeting, so we missed about the last three minutes. Luckily, Cassie went to see it last night so she told me the ending. And then we were talking about it, and how it was based on a "true" story. Well I was unsure about what could be so true about a guy thinking his family were turning into demons and a house that wakes you up at 3:15 in the morning because, supposedly, that is the time that all the bad stuff happened to the family that lived there before. I mean, really. So I looked it up online. Turns out, it's pretty likely that all the drama surrounding the story is a big hoax. Whatever. Not really likely that your 7-year-old daughter is going to make friends with a girl she found in her closet. Especially if that girl has a big bullet hole in her forehead. And I continue to digress.

So, I go to bed last night and it is about 85 degrees in my room. No joke. And I wake up later, drenched in sweat, and I look over at my clock...and it is 3:15. 3:15. You have got to be kidding me, I think. And I try to go back to sleep, I really do, but it was so hot and miserable and ABSOLUTELY CREEPY that I happened to wake up at the time that we had just been talking about, a time from a movie with the word HORROR in it--How can you really expect me to just drift off to sleep after that?

At least I know I'm not posessed. I mean, I'm not cold all the time, and I don't have a basement to go sit in. I haven't mistaken anyone for a demon recently or EVER so I think we're in good shape. I just really hope I sleep all the way through the night, or I might have to stop sleeping altogether to keep myself from having to worry about it.

Wherein I Complain About Homework

I am at the computer lab, the BATSC computer lab that is just for my major. My final project for English 414 requires me to create a help program using RoboHelp, a ridiculously expensive program that the university only has in this lab. It is only open three nights a week from 7-10 pm. This is not good for me.

It is not good for me because I typically do my homework after 10 pm. Like, say, 12 am, or 11 on a really good day. There are much better things to do besides work. 7 to 10--those are VALUABLE hours!

Especially right now. I am unfortunately sitting beside the window. I live on a gorgeous campus and I am looking at it right now wishing that I could be outside enjoying it. But no. I am stuck in here. I am stuck in here because I did not come last night and I know I will not come on Wednesday. I have already procrastinated away a lot of time. I actually do have the program open, and I have typed in some text. I have also opened AIM Express, read some blogs, and facebooked everyone. (By the way, I just opened my Wall so you should go leave me a message.)

I could be taking a walk. I could be reading a book. I could be hanging out with my friends. But no. No, I am here in this computer lab, writing documentation for a Biological and Agricultural Journal Search Database that no one will ever use.

This is why I am very excited to be living here this summer. Hopefully I will be able to finally enjoy Oxford without feeling like I should be getting work done. As for now, I am going to go write the steps for browsing articles on sweet corn...

Quote of the Day

“They have names, you know, like Dana and Jeff and Eric” -My Italian professor, while trying to explain the rationale behind model names of cars.

Hello? Hello?

Over Spring Break, my phone started doing this crazy thing where I can hear the people who are talking to me but they can't hear me. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, so I tried taking the battery off and when I did I noticed that the screws holding the phone together were basically falling out. So I tried screwing them back in. Unfortunately, they are just too old and don't stay in anyway, so my phone is constantly in a state of falling apart.

At first, this was really annoying, because I would have to call people several times before finally getting my phone to work and not being hung up on. I realized that in lieu of having working screws, I could just hold my phone together with my hand. It works just as well and doesn't require me to find anything that could substitute as an only-for-tiny-screws screwdriver.

The best part of this situation, however, is that people who know about my phone and see me on the caller id will actually tell me to squeeze my phone. The conversation goes something like this:
other person: "Hello?"
me: "Hey, it's Loren, I--"
other person: "Hello? Loren?"
me: "Yes. I am here."
other person: "Hello? Loren? Loren. Are you even squeezing your phone?"
actual conversation commences.

It's hilarious. Not quite worth the broken phone, but funny enough to laugh at everytime I call someone.

Decisions, Decisions...

So, while sitting in English today I somehow stumbled upon an ad for another blog hosting site, myblogsite.com. I signed up. It has everything I like--I can even import all of my old posts from this site--but there is one problem, I have to use one of their templates. I can't do my own html design. In fact, my page currently looks like this.

So: you tell me. Is it worth it?

Good News.

I scheduled today, and my schedule for next semester is AMAZING:
I start at 1pm Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

I start at 11am Tuesday and Thursday.

I am always done by 5:30.

Just thought you'd like to know. So you can be JEALOUS.

Procrastination Material

Find out your Emo Song Name

Want to know which song was at the top of the charts when you were born? See it here.

The Three Best People I've Gotten to Know This Semester

It’s my first free Monday night since probably the beginning of February and I’m not quite sure what to do with it. I already played a Psi vs. TBS kickball game, but I don’t know what to do now. Because I am used to being stuck in a dorm room with Mike, Marybeth, and Brendan.

This is my pledge class. The Alpha Phi class of Kappa Kappa Psi. (I apologize for all the away message confusion--I'm not pledging the sorority Alpha Phi. In fact, we decided to pronounce Phi like "f-eye" instead of "fee" to differentiate.)

The pledging process is a big tradition for our chapter. It has been a crazy experience and one I feel amazingly fortunate to have experienced. It was rough at first to be a sophomore among freshmen, and it was rough to take 2 400-level classes and juggle a million different responsibilities. I am so glad to finally be a Brother, but the past 3 months were so special.

So this is for them to know that they are some of the best friends I’ve made at school. We worked so hard and got so close and shared so much. Thanks for being such great friends to me and even more amazing brothers.

Kickball Champs

Yeah, that's right, we won it for the spray-painted dining hall tray.

Here it is

Needless to say, we are very proud of ourselves.

Something That Bugs the Hell Out of Me Because I am an English Major

When people write "YOUR the best!" or "YOUR so cool!" or some equally obnoxious sentence. You're, people. YOU'RE. For my sake, add the ' and the E. Thank you.

Please don't take this personally.

Not artistic ability, just a fluke

I did, in fact, go to all of my classes today. I even went to an extra one to hear a guest lecture. I just shouldn't have had to go, that's all.




Marybeth and I painted this the other day and I am just so proud of us that I had to post this. This, however, is not the finished product. I will post a picture of that when we FINALLY finish it.

Reasons why I shouldn't be expected to go to classes today

I only have two of them.

Sunbathing seems to be perfectly acceptable when it's 65 degrees. Why not join in?

Frisbee seems like a more useful way to spend the afternoon.

Sleep seems even more useful.

I have no clean clothes left to wear to said classes.

Last night at 2:30 am I had to go help Christina get the keys out of my locked car. So I deserve a day off.

Do ENGLISH majors even need to speak a foreign language?

I don't enjoy daylight savings time, so I shouldn't have to be on time to anything until "Fall Backwards" happens.

Because I've been so good about going the whole semester....

This is why I am afraid of wild animals

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050405/LOCAL/204050321/1078

And they make fun of me for being afraid of deer. Which are bigger than I am and could MAUL ME TO DEATH. Those bats are only two inches long.

wild animals=bad news.

Wondering

Will the ring of the standard dorm room phone continue to make my stomach flip-flop, or will that end now that I'm active?

No, I don't have ADD.

I don't like it when professors post assignments online. Because this is what happens.

1. I get online, which also requires me to sign-on to AIM.
2. Being on AIM requires me to put up an away message.
3. Unless, of course, someone starts talking to me, which requires a conversation and then the away message.
4. I open up my browser (finally). Now here, my mind wanders and I have forgotten where I was going. So I might read the news, or a blog, or check the weather.

In fact, that is how I ended up writing this--because I clicked the "Blogger" bookmark instead of the "Miami Libraries" one. Off to read about Botany...I hope this exercise in procrastination was as time-wasting for you as it was for me.