Just an update from my life...

Well then...

I was home on Friday evening after a grueling move-out/in. Ugh. It was really fun to see my friends. The look on Ross's face when I walked into their sight-reading room was priceless. After band festival, I went home and unloaded the car. Later in the evening, Ryan came over and after a while we went to Ben's house and talked to Lyne. Around 10pm, Ryan drove Ben to Huron Breeze so he could help decorate for prom. Ryan and I stayed around and baby sat Doc for them. We played hearts for a while. I was losing the entire time, but Ryan lost in the end (it was partially my fault). I ended with 96 points.

Saturday morning we left for Grand Rapids. Anna is adorable. Hunter and the cats are pretty cute too. I had a dream about bagels last night.

Ryan needs to shave stripes into his beard.

My German paper was turned in on Friday around noon. The professor seemed quite excited that I actually did it and got it to him "on time".

Now I'm moved into my room/house here in Ann Arbor. Right now I'm in Amer's with Kim, a girl from the house. I can't figure out how to get the internet to work in the hosue.

So Alecia asked me to be her maid of honor. Awww. It made me feel special. :) I can't say I'm all for the fact that they're getting married so soon, but if that's what they think they need to do, then that's their choice. My best friend is getting married! How weird is that?!?!

The Inevitable

People say that college is so hard, that the professors are strict and unrelenting, and that can certainly be true. But mostly it's simply scare tactics. In elementary school, they said, 'You might be able to turn in your homework late now, but when you get into high school, they won't accept any late work... it will just be a zero.' Right. I got to jr. high and high school and I hardly saw any of that. The most impressive example of this was Perrin giving us two extra weeks on our speeches because no one had done anything. Then they said, 'You might be able to get away with all of this now, but when you go to college, they're not going to put up with any of this. The professors don't care how you do. You'll be on your own.' Ok, yes, there are some examples of this, but it certainly isn't the rule. Mostly, what I've seen are professors that are more than willing to help or give extra time for assignments or accept late work if you only talk to them. But then again there are always the ones who don't. I think the sciences are more strict too.

I had a German paper due Monday and a syntax problem set due Tuesday and, as of Tuesday evening, I hadn't started either yet. Nice, I know. I emailed by German professor Saturday and got more time (until Wednesday). But then on Sunday night I was freaking out (to put it mildly), which included repeatedly hitting my head on my desk, moaning, and other things. I then emailed him, saying that I didn't know what to do and that I was going to end up giving myself a concussion. The last sentence was 'please, tell me what to do'. When he replied, he said to either call him or, if I had already given myself a concussion, to go to the emergency room. All I had was a sore bump on my forehead, and so I called him and he calmed me down and gave me until Friday for the paper. Nice guy. And now I've finished the syntax problem set and made a considerable dent in my paper.

Both Tina and Jenny moved out today. I'm completely alone.

I spent the majority of the day packing. I'm sore now.

Bananas are good for you.

So... I have a phonology take home exam, a syntax problem set, and a German paper to write by Monday. I'm not going to get it all done. Yeah, I'm that pathetic. It's just that they all will take a ton of thought, thought that can't be rushed. And because the take home exam is the most crucial, I will not start the other two until I satisfactorily finish the final. I made some headway on it Wednesday evening, but not a lot. But then yesterday I worked for hours on it after going to office hours. I turned it in this afternoon. When I went to the linguistics office to turn it in, the lady who I've talked to every time jokingly said, "Just because you declared linguistics doesn't mean you have to be here everyday!".

I'm pretty sure that Jenny was having some sort of mental breakdown on Wednesday night.

Ellie moved out today. It's sad.

What have I learned in this semester, this school year?
I learned:
-that 9am classes are not bad when you don't have a roommate that keeps you awake all night. (I thought of this one in the shower this morning)
-that there are some really awesome professors and staff here.
-that there are a lot of resources here at the University.
-that standing on unstable chairs in the dark will turn out badly.
-that Jenny doesn't like it when I lean back in my chair.
-that I care deeply for my sandals.
-a ton about the history of German.
-about the logistics of health insurance.
-how to do triple integrals.
-that products of South Africa are very appealing.
-that apple juice bottles will break when you drop them on a tiled floor.
-that I'm happier when I have things to do (even work) than when I have nothing.
To Be Continued.

Paper Cranes

Easter was kind of sad. I went to church, ate lunch in the dorms, did homework... I don't know. Cat invited Jenny and me to her (parents') house for Easter dinner, but I really needed to write my paper and Jenny doesn't like eating at people's houses. So Easter was rather blah.

I was supposed to get up at 8am Saturday so I could do something at 9am, but at 7am I decided that I would rather sleep... and so I turned off my alarm. 1) I didn't really want to go for various reasons and 2) I didn't know if I'd be back in time for the baseball game. I feel bad for not doing it, but it'll be ok.

You know, I really don't like endings. I think that whenever anything good and meaningful in my life ends, it feels like the end of a week of camp to me. It's emotional. Part of the reason I decided to stay here for the spring is because I wasn't ready for it all to end... but it will be completely different anyway. It's hard to let go of things that were so good and were only experienced for such a short time. And I guess that's part of the reason that I kind of want 'real life' to start... it's more stable, things aren't changing drastically every four years. And it's also part of the reason that I'm hesitant about going to Germany. It's like I'm forcing myself into another change that could be so easily avoided. Another reason I decided to stay is because I have some unfinished business.

Yeah, today was the last day of classes. We had a quiz in German syntax and it was open book, open notes, open friend, and open instructor. I still did bad. We spent the whole 90 minutes doing that and talking. The only other thing I had today was my GeoSci final. It was 35 questions and 80% of the grade. I didn't do wonderfully, but we'll see.

Tonight I decorated candles with Kat, Katie, Becky, Erin, Brad, and Josh. That was definitely some fun times. Then we had ice cream, but I don't really like ice cream.

My recent obsession has been making paper cranes. I currently have six of them.

Rain, Rain On My Face

Yesterday was warm! It was close to 80 degrees and humid. Ahh, it was nice. Today was really nice too.

I'm officially staying in Ann Arbor for the spring semester (May and June). I've arranged to sublet a room. Right now I'm signed up for two German classes: 325 and 449. I might change them though. I don't know.

There was a huge fire on south State St Thursday evening. I could see the flames from my dorm window and there was a ton of smoke. It was a thrift shop. Yeah, there have been a lot of sirens around here lately.

I'm nervous.

Tuesday is the last day of classes. I'm going to miss some of my classes, especially the one German class. I have one exam in class, one take home exam, one or two papers, one quiz, and one problem set left before I'm done. And then of course there is all of my study abroad stuff.

The weather is so incredibly nice. I can't get over it.

I went to a Tigers game today with Jonathan, Jaye P, Siew, Kathryn, Lauren, Jenn, and Josh. My arms got so burnt. They're radiating heat. The Tigers lost (big surprise there...) to Cleveland, 7-2. There was one homerun in the first inning.

Yesterday was eventful and yet not. I spent a lot of the day being lazy and lounging on my bed.

Thursday was Goodness Day and I definitely ate too much sugar... lemonade, cotton candy, jelly beans, and a popsicle, which was followed in the evening with ice cream from Cold Stone. Too much sweet. Getting ice cream was fun though. I went with Tian, Brianna, Tracy, and Jackie.

Right now I'm watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It's not my favorite.

My loser score is 82.

Yes, it's true. I am 82% loser.

Spring is in the air... warm weather and cool breezes, frisbees and hot dogs, protestors and picket lines, green grass and budding trees, blue skies and warm rain, papers and exams, an end amidst a beginning. I love Ann Arbor in the spring.

Today was the day of few emails.

A couple nights ago I tried to watch Saw II, but sadly it didn't come on when it was supposed to. Then a while ago as I was flipping through the channels I accidentally saw a few minutes of The Ring 2. I only knew it was The Ring because I recognized the freaky looking girl. Needless to say, I didn't keep it on that channel for long.

When Angela was taking Jenny and me home from church, I randomly saw my calc 3 professor standing on the corner of the road waiting to cross. It was fun...

I'm ashamed to say it, but I've fallen in love with a country song. It's all the UM Men's Glee Club's fault.

My second major was declared today: Linguistics. Yay.

Many Christmas Trolls Have Eaten Pudding

"Never ask an elf for advice, for he will say both 'yes' and 'no'."

Well, my registration appointment was Friday at 3pm. Because I'm not sure if I'm going to go to Germany or not, I didn't know whether it would be better to sign up for classes or to sign up for study abroad. I also didn't know whether I should sign up for spring classes. And I still don't know if I'm going to go to the Goethe Institut in August. My parents pretty much want me to come home for the spring so I can work and so they won't have to pay for me to stay here, but I really want to stay here.

You know, clipping huge thumb nails is like buzzing down an afro.

Friday night after Cru, I went with Brianna and Craig to some Open Mic thing in the League. It was definitely interesting, and they were all good because it was the winners from all the other ones that they had this year. It was a nice variety. I liked the acapella quintet a lot, but I forgot what song they sang. There were these two guys (Uday Trivedi and El Mahdi Ahmed) who played some mellow stuff on guitars. I really liked it... and the one looked really familiar, but I don't know why.

I was in my German professor's office this afternoon and the chair that I always sit in is against the north wall right next to the door. At one point he made me get up and log onto his computer and, as I was standing there, I noticed the north wall for the first time. And so I naturally said the first thing that popped into my mind, 'I think this is the first time I've seen that wall', to which he responded, 'Yeah... there's a wall there'.

This afternoon after going to Meijer, Ellie and Tina and I did a little stalking. Um... yeah... it was interesting. I have pictures.

I went to the Men's Glee Club concert tonight. It was really good and I thoroughly enjoyed it. While I was listening to the music, I came to the conclusion that there is nothing better in the world than [good] live music, and especially good vocal music. They mentioned that Michigan is the university that has one of the largest collection of songs written about it and that John Phillip Sousa said that Varsity and The Victors was the best college march. They sang one song in German and two in latin. I have more to say about it but I'll tell you more later... maybe. Ah, I love a guy in a well-fitting tux.

Jenny is probably the most conservative person at this University.

I think I'm more confused than I am...

You know, my life really isn't interesting. I've been so caught up in certain things lately that I haven't had any time to think about or do anything out of the ordinary. And the stuff that I do that means something to me isn't really stuff one writes about on a blog. I actually do write about most of it, but you'd never know because I never explain it. Langweilig.

Ok, I am now going to repeat myself for the third time: two of my classes were canceled on Monday. I slept until 9:20am. Very nice. At 2:00pm, I had coffee at Starbucks with the pastor of the church I attend. Um... but there wasn't any coffee involved, just talking. He's a nice guy.

My stomach has been freaking out on me lately. But I guess I brought that one on myself...

I have this phone number and I don't know what to do. Should I call it? Should I ignore it? What would I say if I called it? I don't know (and this isn't like I got some guy's number. No, this is a completely different situation).

My linguistics professor laughed at me on Tuesday when I went to his office horus. Apparently I was giving him a really weird look. I think I tend to do that.

Yesterday my German syntax class was cancelled because the instructor was sick. Fun times.

I gave a presentation in my linguistics class today. It was about 15 minutes long. Impressive, isn't it? But my participation and I were pathetic in German today. And I currently have a 91 in my Sound Patterns class.

"I need to take a class in blackboard management."
-Marc, my linguistics professor today

We're all completely insane.

In the span of seven days (or five class days), four of my classes were canceled. I don't mind. I only have one out of the usual three tomorrow. However, on Friday we had to go to class even though the professor wasn't going to be there. I went and so did 10 others, but it was a total waste of my time. We were supposed to work with partners, but I didn't work with anyone. I could've slept in.

The Campus Band concert was this afternoon. It was ok. I'm just glad that it's done. Ross came with my parents. My band played Cajun Folk Songs II, Rhosymedre, The Footlifter, and Courtly Airs and Dances. It would've been better if a certain person would've learned how to play right notes though. ...And I'm not referring to myself here. If I don't remember the key signature or if I don't know how to play something, I simply don't play it.

Cru was good on Friday. I've enjoyed the past two Crus a lot.

Saturday was fairly miserable. I was quite sick for most of the day. Ugh, let's not talk about it.

Would someone please tell me which social groups I identify with? Jenny told me one (band geeks) but I need four more.