Sociology Rockstar

My head doth ache,
My hand doth shake,
I have a naughty pen;
My ink is bad,
My pen is worse,
How can I write well then?


As you may have noticed from the scarcity of updates during the past month or two, I have other things on my mind. Things like school. Things like the toughest semester I've had yet, with all upper division courses. Fifteen hours of work a week plus fifteen hours of school plus various other responsibilities like church and worrying about finding an internship equals me being one tired cookie.

The past seven days have been incredibly busy, what with school and work and going out of town on Saturday and researching for and writing two papers. If there is one thing that I hate about my major, it is the abundance of written work necessary. Sometimes I fantasize about being a math major, and simply having to solve problems all day long, with nary a paper in sight. Alas, it's too late to switch with a clean conscience, as after this semester I will be finished with the requirements for my major. But you know that if any of my scientifically focused friends offered to switch homework for the rest of the semester, I'd take them up on it without a thought as to what such a scheme would do to my GPA.

A friend of mine, who will be graduating this May, told me of her plan to burn all of her papers and notes that she has been accruing over the past four years in a happy bonfire. I think I may be obliged to do the same, especially since my December graduation will make for a better time to have a nice warm bonfire.

In the meantime, you and I will suffer together, achey heads and all.

Nightmares Return?

I used to have nightmares all the time when I was a little kid, and then they gradually went away, leaving me to simply have very strange dreams. I don't think I've had a true nightmare for several years.

Strangely enough, the past two nights, I've had unusually bad dreams- one in which half cat, half bird, half alligator type animals (150% terror!) hunted me down in a mountain village, and one in which I plummeted to my death in an incapacitated airplane. The airplane one actually woke me up out of fear. If there's one thing I hate, it's falling out of the sky at 4:17 am and then realizing that I have to go to the bathroom.

When I Grow Up

I'm telling you all this because if I tell it you, it'll give me some responsibility to actually do something. Like that time two years ago when I explained about my desire to go to Parts Unknown? So it really helps. I'm going to Career Services for the second time on Monday, trying to figure out what I'm going to do once I graduate (and possibly before I graduate, as well). Wish me luck: I took an interests inventory, and it told me I should either be an air traffic controller or a cheesemaker. I didn't even know "cheesemaker" was a career option.

And another thing! Here's something I haven't told to the world at large, although I have bragged about it to anyone who remotely seems like they'd be interested. One of my new year's resolutions was to floss at least three times a week, as per my dental hygenist's angry directions in December. I'll have you know that I have flossed all but two days this year. That's right, folks: forty-five days of flossy goodness. I feel so righteous.

Weekend Update

Plumbing situation: worse. We decided to call our landlord today, as only 3 of us were able to use the showers before sludgey water came back up the drain. My last roommate and I were obliged to bathe at a friend's house 45 minutes before church started.

As an added bonus, neither of our toilets work either. When we tried plunging one toilet, water came up into the other toilet and both showers. We don't think that's a good sign. Until the plumber comes and fixes everything, we'll just have to hold it or make friends with our neighbors.

Huzzah! Landlord just called to say the plumber will be here within the hour. Hopefully they will be able to fix it immediately upon arrival.

UPDATE: The plumber came, fixed the problem, (temporarily) and told us he thinks it's roots. Yay! That means the landlord has to pay for it. Which is good, because I'm perpetually broke these days.

I May Already be a Winner!

Today we got a call from Hunca Munca, who has been married for a few months and therefore no longer lives with us. She wanted to go on a walk. We wanted to eat ice cream. To satisfy both of our desires, we went and got blizzards from Dairy Queen, and then walked from our house to the park in our neighborhood. The park in our neighborhood where, unbeknownst to us, a Harambee festival was beginning.

Let me tell you, it is such a delight to stumble upon a free concert. We excitedly sat down, and pretended we weren't the only white people in the park while we listened to the jazz, R&B and soul music. We sat there, drank in the culture and the pure joy exuding from the musicians.

A woman came around, handing out strips of raffle tickets. A percussionist from one of the groups walked up to us, handed us a flier, talked animatedly to us, then wandered off to help set up the stage. The raffle started. A woman won some free pizza coupons, a young boy won a t-shirt. I won a vhs copy of the Official Earth Wind and Fire documentary, and two tickets to the local racetrack. I'm pretty stoked. Winning is an amazing thing.


PS. Um, plumbing issues? Ick. Sewagey water coming up out of the shower drain is NOT something I'd ever considered I'd have to deal with. This means a call to the plumber on monday. We are busy people. We work. We go to school. We do not have time to have a plumber over.

Another Culinary Masterpiece

This is what happens when you think you're smarter than the cake mix. Lesson learned: never use a mix again. I never liked them anyway. Now I have a reason.

The upside? They still taste fine.

18. Spill Everything

Well, I like the idea of this suggestion, but I've recently become very streamlined in what I carry with me- my wallet (not very interesting contents: one debit card, one credit card, driver's license, school/work id, library card and two insurance cards), phone, burt's bees lip gloss and notebook, all crammed into a pannier stuck onto my bike. Instead of investigating my bag, therefore, I'll tell you what's on my desk. Well, my half of the desk that I share with my roommate.

Here goes:

1 photo album, half full

2 picture frames

1 ceramic bowl, broken in half

1 camera+ connector cord

1 jar o' coins

3 head scarves

1 toque

1 pencil case

1 pencil jar, containing a rainbow of sharpies

1 basket full of various toiletries

1 belt

1 pair of pruning shears

1 ac car adapter

1 insides of a music box, plays Ding Dong the Witch is Dead

12 rubbings of sidewalk imprintations from on campus

1 moleskine notebook

1 empty container of Rx pills

1 burts bees tinted lip gloss

1 extra screw from my bunk beds

1 printer, Lexmark Z600 series

1 unopened bottle of emetrol, purchased after it would have been useful

2 smorkin labbits

1 lint roller

1 glass, purchased for 50 cents, depicting the 9th day of christmas

1 holiday Jack ball

1 mini stapler, orange

1 ziploc full of various unrecognizable hardware

1 travel floss

3 packages of airplane peanuts

1 albertsons vip club card

2 bandaids

2 bobby pins

1 empty tea box

1 grocery bag full of unused balloons and tape

1 pair of binoculars

1 handkerchief

1 notebook full of notecards

1 passport, 1 student visa, 1 used ferry ticket

1 mouse

1 bottle of advil

1 deck of uno cards, 1 deck of set cards

3 necklaces

13 pixy stix

6 tootsie pops

1 address label from approximately 14 years ago