Finals Week

Picture only related in that the wonky angle is how I feel about my life right now.

This week is finals week.  I wound up in three writing intensive classes classes this year, and three of my classes have actual final exams.  Two of those are comprehensive.  I would say that my likelihood of leaving the apartment today is very slim.  I have a  paper yet to go and edits to be done on the second.  On top of that I am prepping for Manifest.  Which will be awesome... but more awesome once it's over.  This is my only Manifest, this is my only Manifest, this is my only Manifest.

Needless to say I wont be around much this week, and I think after Friday I will want to sleep for a week.  Good times.  Catch you on the flip side.

Right Now...

excited for the retreat I'm going on.  I get to use my new backpack to pack.  There's a pool at the place we're staying.

glad to be back in a routine.

really liking my paper topics.  Plural.  Because I somehow wound up with three writing intensive classes this semester.

looking forward to my sister coming to town next week.  We're going to have a blast.

going to sleep earlier.

needing to stop worrying about German.  I feel like I'm not learning it, but all the work I'm getting back and such seem to be decent.  Not fluent, but why should I be, I've only just begun.

started the 100 Push-up Challenge.  Not too hard so far, but looking ahead scares me.

Of Routines and Adjustments

As the semester continues and I become more overwhelmed, I am trying ever so desperately to get back into a routine.  A system of doing, finishing, and consistently working.  For some reason in my head that was going to be easier with a more steady job, but that's pretty much a flat out lie.  Even now I'm realizing that I forgot to change the laundry.

Honestly, how do people do it.  A job, school, and a life.  Can the three actually co-exist?  I'm beginning to believe in the "choose two" charts that I'm always seeing.

I think what I need more that a weekly routine though, is a daily routine.  I need to know that I will be able to write in the morning and have my quite time when I get home for the day.  I want to establish these as actual and true habits so that even when my schedule is out of whack I can still hold these things true.  I'm still trying to figure out how blogging fits into that, but it seems to be going alright so far.

*Rachel looks at the clock only to realize that it is just past midnight.  It is much later than she thought it was.*

Well, that failed.

Of Filming and Hand-Knits

Just wanted to share a few pictures of the week with you.  Last week was crazy busy.  I was busy on my day off busy, and this week is shaping up to be the same.  This semester is getting more tiring by the minute.

Right Now...

greatly enjoying organizing everything for school.  I can't even explain how much I love organization.  I am going to have to show you at some point.


watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I'm loving everything about Whedon-'verse.  Don't get me wrong, I totally understand why my mom didn't want me watching it, but I do love it so.

trying to figure out how to talk to people who aren't having as good a time as I am in college.  It occurred a few times over break and for some reason is coming up in full force now.

calling people on Skype.  Even though my webcam dosen't seem to want to work.  Speaking of technology...

being hated by technology.  My computer hasn't turned on in two days, the only time I'm on the computer is at work.  Granted, when I'm not in class or at work it has been nice to just chill out and watch tv.

21 Before 21: Skipping Class and Going Out for Breakfast

I decided that the more important part of this task was the going out to breakfast, and not necessarily skipping class.  My roommate and I went out for breakfast before our Wednesday class last semester.  I didn't take any pictures, but my roommate did.  They are on her blog, HERE.

It was fun to be able to get out bright and early.  I haven't had a meal like that in a long time, and probably wont have another in an even longer time.  I used to go out to breakfast with my dad every other Saturday (I would switch off with my sister), but that tradition has collapsed with our move to San Francisco, and the new tradition of going to the Farmer's Market for breakfast.  Don't get me wrong, I love that tradition too.  I just don't get diner food as often anymore.  Now that I think about it, that might not be a bad thing.

Picture Unrelated

There was this one time, my sister and I were watching Buffy and we wanted to go upstairs to get a snack.  We paused the DVD and this was the result.  Needless to say that there are multiple pictures.  Sometimes, she or I will make this face (or attempt to anyway) at each other when the other isn't expecting it.  We'll both crack up laughing.  We are awesome.

I spent last night eating far too much food at a gathering of friends.  I am so glad to be spending time with friends already this year and I just hope so much that I'll be able to keep it up this semester.  For now it is wonderful to spend time with people under no pressure of a projects needing doing, or homework to attend to.  I keep feeling like I should have something philosophical to say about school staring again, but I have no tidbits.  Of wisdom or otherwise.  School is school.  It's where I want to be right now and I don't care if that makes me a nerd.  In fact, all the better.

Today is the first day of classes for me.  I packed myself a lunch and got my backpack ready last night.  I also start work in a more official capacity this week which is exciting.  Not sure how much I'll be in this space in the coming days, but hopefully I'll be able to stop by and say hello.  In the meantime, I hope there are some people enjoying the snow as much as I am.

Right Now....

playing bloggy catch-up after my break for finals.

celebrating quite a few things.  I got the job I wanted for next semester (though nervousness is beginning to take over), and I got in to a conference I applied to for this summer which means I'm going to be spending a month in Germany.

happy to be home.  San Francisco is home to fog, farmers markets, cable cars, and me.

seeing a lot of old friends.

planning on how I'm going to be using some of the presents I'm going to be getting (*ahem*rockclimbinggear*cough*).

spending time with family.  My Grandpa is hear to visit for the week, and my sister is fun to hang out with when she comes out of her room.

Finals Week!

This is how excited I am that it's almost time for me to go home!

Finals week is this week and I'm so excited.  I have three exams, none of which I am especially worried about. I'm also super excited to be going home.  I hit up the airport Thursday night after class.  I'm pumped to go home and see my friends.  This will include going to my old school's nativity play, seeing my friend who spent the semester in Uganda, and giving my family Christmas presents that I'm super excited to give them.

All that being said, it IS finals week and I should probably go do some studying for those exams tomorrow.  Hopefully I'll be back with you guys on Friday, if not, I'll see you next week.

Right Now...

excited beyond belief to go home to San Francisco in two weeks.  Is that all?  It seems like so much longer.

slightly embarassed that I wound up writing a paper a whole week early fo my Monday class.  Whoops.  Oh well, now I don't have to worry about it.

ecstatic that I can go the weekend with minimal studying.  I have three exams, but all papers are done.

looking forward to this weekend's plan.  I'm going ice skating and then visiting the Chicago Christmas Market.

amazed at how positive this post is turning.

a little anxious about buying Christmas presents for family.  Thankfully I have a few checked off already.

cold.  We generally keep the heat off in our apartment to keep costs down, so if I get cold the best way to warm up is to cook something warm.  Unfortunately, that's not quite an option when you're knee deep into a research paper.  At 1am.

Right Now...

nervous, but confident about my job interview next week.  I think I'm going to get it, but the interview and application process is still a little nerve wracking.

beginning to get into the Christmas Spirit.  Ever so slightly.  I bought a chocolate advent calendar for December which makes me happy.  Looking for other ways to celebrate advent as well.

feeling the weight of the end of the semester.  I have a final paper to write in a week (it's my own fault for procrastinating), a few projects to do, and exams to study for.

thankful of my nerdiness allowing me to not study too much, but still get decent grades.  I go over my notes a few times, but I have never needed intense studying to get grades that I'm happy with.  I was even on the honor roll first semester (not sure that's ever going to happen again).  Hopefully I didn't just curse everything.

trying to figure out how to share work I've done in order to keep myself accountable, and be able to show off thing's I'm proud of, while at the same time not having to deal with copyright stuff.  Ideas welcome!

Right Now I am...

nostalgic of Thanksgiving.  It's always my favorite holiday and this year has been no exception.

tearing up over the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.  I don't know why I get so emotional over this parade.  I love parades.  Yesterday I watched bits of the Chicago parade from out my window while eating breakfast.  It was beautiful.

dreaming -- for no particular reason at all -- what life will be like after school.  I know I will never be done learning, but I wonder what form learning will take.  I also rue the day where I don't have to do homework at night and can just sit at home and watch television.

planning for next semester.  I'm applying for on campus jobs, and recently registered for classes.  Organizing myself for more organizing and planning for studying abroad which will be happening a year from next spring if all goes as planned.

feeling thankful.  For all the family and friends that I didn't get to see yesterday, and for the one's that I did see.

"baking".  It feels wrong to say that making peppermint bark is baking, but I can't quite think of what other verb to use in that situation.

beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.  Breaking out the Charlie Brown Christmas music and making lists of who needs presents and things that need doing.

getting ready for Chicago Tardis!  I can only afford to go Saturday, but I'm super excited.  My old roommate and I are going together and we're getting together to make costumes today.  I am planning on creating a masquerade mask from paper plates and construction paper.  It's going to be awesome.  Expect pictures.

Fascinating Stuff

I thought I'd share some excerpts from my weekend, because it was so interesting you guys (only half joking).

“American Icons”

This article talks about the characters on Jersey Shore, how they are becoming international stars, and how that represents Americans. As the audience of Jersey Shore is becoming international and the show is becoming more popular, international audiences are coming to view the people on Jersey Shore as the way that all Americans live. There has also been talk of filming Jersey Shore-type shows in other countries, with varied feedback. One documentary filmed in Saudi Arabia focusing on liberal young people was met with scorn in it's home country. It seems, the article states, that the world is always ready for American stupidity, but not willing to look at their own country in the same way.

I think this is a very fair assessment. I hate the fact that there are people who think Snooki is an example of all Americans, a clearly false idea. I can understand however, the reluctance to see your own culture under that sort of scrutiny, just as I dislike it. I think that as long as people can know and understand that the people on the screen are exaggerated characters, and not necessarily representative of the entire population, than shows like this are okay. But, a lot of people don't see that which creates problems.

Excerpt from my Marshall Field's paper:

D. H. Burnham was a successful architect who planned not only many of Chicago's building, but also came up with what he called “The Chicago Plan” of 1909, subtitled “Paris on the Prairie”. He is most noted for designing the structures that were used for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The Chciago World's Fair was the largest of it's kind and brought people from all around the world to see the city of Chicago who in turn got to see the feat of skyscrapers and cutting edge architecture that made Chicago different. This included the newly completed Marshall Field's Annex as well as the finery of Field's original store on State Street. The Annex is a mix of Chicago Style and Early Renaissance Style Architecture, creating a bold, angular structure save for a few entry-way arches. The building was loved by patrons and office works who ran their business from the top few floors, but scorned by many in the Chicago Architecture community. Louis Sullivan in particular critisized the building as the death of Chicago Prairie Style Architecture. Unfortunately for Sullivan this building, paired with the World's Fair (also called the Colombian Exposition), gave new rise to neoclassical revival Architecture in Chicago.

So, there's some interesting stuff.  Yup.

Right Now...

jumping on a band wagon that has probably been going around for a while, and following in the footsteps of SouleMama, The Frugal Girl, and my friend Paper Armor in doing a "Right Now" post.

bundling up for the cold.  Chicago weather has turned to winter and I couldn't be more excited.  I'm one of those weird ones who loves winter like you wouldn't even believe.

wearing lots of lovely layers.  Also, moccasins.  Because apparently moccasins keep you very warm.  Seriously, I'm not even wearing socks today.

knitting up a storm!  Elspeth, of the afore mentioned blog Paper Armor is teaching / reminding me how to knit and helping me through my first project.  I have about a foot of scarf going so far in a week.  which I think is pretty good time for a first project.

getting frustrated over a group project.  Earlier this week I saw a set of pie charts on what students are supposed to learn from group projects, and what they actually learn from group projects.  In the second chart the majority of the pie was "Trust no one".  That's kind of my life right now.

missing San Francisco.  My mom sent me a picture yesterday of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco covered in fog.

planning my meals out meaning I don't spend as much as I used to at the grocery store.  I still feel like we have a lot of food in the house, but I suppose that's good if I'm spending less money and not going hungry.

looking forward to next semester.  I'm getting the just-after-midterm-blues, plus last week I registered for next semester's classes.  Plus, I'm applying for a job for next semester (along with the Teacher's Assistant gig I have this semester), so I'm going to be busy, but it'll be fun.

Muffins and Tea

The calm before the storm this week is.  Or maybe the storm before the calm depending on how the next few weeks turn out.  Next week I start my second year of college.  I feel like the time has flown by at lightning speed and I don't even know what to expect out of this year.  For now I'll just sit at my little IKEA table, eat my muffin, and drink my tea like a normal girl.  I have no idea what comes next, but I couldn't be more excited for the unknown.

Bring it on.

Of Summers and Playdates

Remember when you were little?  How when you finished school summer stretched out before you like an open playing field.  Summer was the time of dreams.  You would be free from school, free to do whatever you wanted.  No one was going to stop you from having a great summer.

Then summer actually came and you spent the first month of it relishing.  You slept in as late as you wanted.  You went to the playground and mastered the monkey bars, nothing could hurt you.

All of the sudden it hit you: summer was actually really boring.  There was nothing to do.  Sure, in a few weeks you were going to camp, but that was only for a week.  Maybe you were going to go visit Grandma and Grandpa for the 4th of July, but that was just a weekend.  Before you knew it, you were counting down the days until school was going to start.

In the meantime, Mom made you start doing chores.  You went out for playdates with people that you would see every day during the school year.  You spent a lot of time with the children of your parent's friends (which was fine if they were nice).  For the most part you sat around at home and played by yourself.  You watched movies with your siblings and argued over what games to play.  If your mom was anything like mine you also did a worksheet of math and reading every day so that your brain didn't deflate.

Now the weird part, is that I'm in college now and I'm doing the same collection of stuff.  About once a week I go rock climbing with a friend or two from high school (playdate).  In a few weeks I'm going on a family vacation (4th of July at Grandmas, figuratively), but I'm only going the weekend because I'm taking a summer class at City College (worksheets).  My sister and I are watching our way through Buffy the Vampire Slayer (movies) and occasionally we go shopping (which sometimes leads to fights).  Last week I volunteered for my church's Vacation Bible School (camp).  And today, I went out to lunch with my mom, mom's friend and her daughter (parent's friends children).

Now granted, I'm actually pretty okay with this.  My summer so far is pretty awesome.  It's just fascinating how little has changed in my summers.  I have gotten to reconnect with friends and been able to do things for myself, and that's enough for me.