Ok, I know this makes me a total nerd, but I can't help myself; I am rereading the Twilight Saga at least up to Eclipse in preparation for the movie coming out at the end of June. It was to be my incentive to write my independent study paper, and then I can start reading the books. This book series, like many many other people I know personally is my guilty pleasure, along with The Historian, but I, yes I, have lent that book out so I can't read it again until I get it back.
My incentive worked against me. I finally gave up and started reading Twilight anyway, even though I am not done with my paper, in fact, I have not even started writing it. This is bad. Very bad. Since I gave in to one of my guilty pleasures, I have no incentive anymore and the worst part is, I don't even care. I mean, I care about writing the paper and doing it well, but I don't feel bad about jumping the gun and reading something I don't have time to read when I should be writing instead. I truly don't care.
In fact, I've decided that this weekend is my selfish weekend. I'm doing everything I've wanted to do for a long time but have denied myself. I am going to go shopping for shoes and another pair of jeans and some shirts for work. I'm going to go see a movie, even though I saw a movie last night with Erica, I'm going to go again; hell, maybe tonight. I'm going to read Twilight till my eyes get so tired I can't keep them open anymore. And then, when I have done all those things, I am going to sit down at my laptop and start type up a rough draft of my paper until I can't sit and type anymore. It will probably suck, but at least I'll have something to work with.
Of course, I need to leave some time during my "selfish" weekend to clean my dirty apartment, disgusting would probably be a better word to describe it actually, and laundry will need to be done as well. There's always something that gets in the way of truly "selfish" time. Hopefully these things won't get too in the way though or else they will just have to wait for another time. Not the laundry though, that will definitely have to get done.
So that is my new plan of action for getting my final paper done for my only and last class at Luther Seminary. Over the summer and in the fall I will be working on my thesis and will not have to take anymore classes. WOOT!
Anyway, I got off track there...so my new plan for getting my paper done is to have a completely "selfish" weekend and get rid of all the distractions and then get down to business. Sometimes a person just needs to let loose and do what they want when they want to. This weekend is that time for me. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Awesome Presents!
This past Sunday I went to the fortress of solitude (aka my parent's house) and spent some time with my mother parental unit and brother unit. It was nice to just hang out and enjoy each other's company. Mom had asked me last week what I wanted for my birthday, so I sent her a list of movies, of which I figured she'd choose two.
After about an hour of solitude time, I went to the kitchen to look for something to munch on and noticed something I never paid much attention to before. My parent's a few years ago bought a Philip's radio with an ipod dock. I messed around with it for a bit to check out the sound quality and decided I wanted one for myself. Luckily, mom hadn't bought my present of two movies yet and bought a Philip's radio with an ipod dock for me instead.
We don't really surprise each other with gifts anymore. We all typically know what we are going to be getting, which for some people is appalling, but for us, we thinking of it as, "we are actually getting something we want and will use." I actually prefer this mode of gift giving, but sometimes it is nice to be pleasantly surprised.
I was slightly, somewhat pleasantly surprised by Jason's present, which was the first three seasons of The Tudors on DVD! I'm so freaking excited that I own that now! I haven't had much of a chance to watch it again, but now I can watch it whenever I want in the future! :) I was also slightly but pleasantly surprised by my workmates (who are awesome by the way!) as they threw a small Happy Birthday gathering with amazingly yummy treats for me yesterday. Lexie and Seth kind of gave it away on Monday, but it was still nice of them to bring treats to celebrate my birthday with me.
And I was completely surprised by the cards and present from Carrie and the cards from Michelle and Karen. Thanks ladies! I was also surprised by my boss's gift of two K.D. Lang CDs and a gift certificate to Target.
My boss has teased me the past week about getting so many gift certificates. The first one to Barnes & Noble I won for winning a contest of putting the name of the library with the picture at the Hennepin County Law Library. Yes I got them all right and yes I know that makes be a huge nerd. So what's new?! The second one I was gifted from the office for Administration Professional's Day (yes that is an actually day that is celebrated in the office world) to Target. The third one Jason's parent's sent me and it was to Barnes & Noble. I had a good amount of money to spend at both places and I took full advantage of it. :)
So yesterday after work, I took the bus home per norm and headed over to Barnes & Noble to use my $50 worth of gift certificates. I ended up buying two books: The Swan Theives by Elizabeth Kostova and The Help by, well I can't remember who wrote it but my mom raves about it and I know several other people who read it and really liked it. Then I headed to Super Target to get some groceries, but only ended up getting a few things because their produce section is quite disappointing. Now I have to go to Rainbow today after work to finish my grocery shopping for the next million years because I hate hate hate grocery shopping with a passion; but that explanation can wait for another blog. Other than that, I am going to attempt to start writing my independent study paper while listening to music from my ipod with my new spiffy radio. :)
After about an hour of solitude time, I went to the kitchen to look for something to munch on and noticed something I never paid much attention to before. My parent's a few years ago bought a Philip's radio with an ipod dock. I messed around with it for a bit to check out the sound quality and decided I wanted one for myself. Luckily, mom hadn't bought my present of two movies yet and bought a Philip's radio with an ipod dock for me instead.
We don't really surprise each other with gifts anymore. We all typically know what we are going to be getting, which for some people is appalling, but for us, we thinking of it as, "we are actually getting something we want and will use." I actually prefer this mode of gift giving, but sometimes it is nice to be pleasantly surprised.
I was slightly, somewhat pleasantly surprised by Jason's present, which was the first three seasons of The Tudors on DVD! I'm so freaking excited that I own that now! I haven't had much of a chance to watch it again, but now I can watch it whenever I want in the future! :) I was also slightly but pleasantly surprised by my workmates (who are awesome by the way!) as they threw a small Happy Birthday gathering with amazingly yummy treats for me yesterday. Lexie and Seth kind of gave it away on Monday, but it was still nice of them to bring treats to celebrate my birthday with me.
And I was completely surprised by the cards and present from Carrie and the cards from Michelle and Karen. Thanks ladies! I was also surprised by my boss's gift of two K.D. Lang CDs and a gift certificate to Target.
My boss has teased me the past week about getting so many gift certificates. The first one to Barnes & Noble I won for winning a contest of putting the name of the library with the picture at the Hennepin County Law Library. Yes I got them all right and yes I know that makes be a huge nerd. So what's new?! The second one I was gifted from the office for Administration Professional's Day (yes that is an actually day that is celebrated in the office world) to Target. The third one Jason's parent's sent me and it was to Barnes & Noble. I had a good amount of money to spend at both places and I took full advantage of it. :)
So yesterday after work, I took the bus home per norm and headed over to Barnes & Noble to use my $50 worth of gift certificates. I ended up buying two books: The Swan Theives by Elizabeth Kostova and The Help by, well I can't remember who wrote it but my mom raves about it and I know several other people who read it and really liked it. Then I headed to Super Target to get some groceries, but only ended up getting a few things because their produce section is quite disappointing. Now I have to go to Rainbow today after work to finish my grocery shopping for the next million years because I hate hate hate grocery shopping with a passion; but that explanation can wait for another blog. Other than that, I am going to attempt to start writing my independent study paper while listening to music from my ipod with my new spiffy radio. :)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
It's my Birthday and I'll Blog if I want to...
Today is my 28th year on this earth and it has been a great day so far! :) Usually I find myself reflecting on the year past but this year I am looking towards the future. 27 was a pretty great year, but it had its rough spots, like any year.
The good things: I fell in love and got engaged to the most wonderful guy I've ever met, I paid off almost all of my credit card debt, I got to travel a bit within the midwest for friends ordinations, a camping trip with amazing friends, and to random destinations to meet up with Jason.
Not so great things: having to say good-bye to a lot of wonderful people that I care about deeply and miss like crazy everyday. I am happy for their new adventures and I miss them all a lot. Living in a house that should have been condemned years ago for lack of upkeep was not the smartest decision ever but it led to some good things in the end. All three of us moved out within a month or so of each other, Karen bought a town house where she now lives, I moved into an apartment on campus where Jason and I will be living when he gets back from internship (and where ironically Ms. Natalie Gessert used to live. Seriously, we are walking in your foot steps, Jason being at the same internship site you were at and me living in your old apartment. :)), and Jen is off on wild and crazy adventures in Europe.
Even though there were some sad, upsetting, frustrating times this past year, 27 was pretty great. Though I don't know if anything is going to top 28. It's going to be a fantastic year! I'm off to read about how the volcano in Iceland shut down a continent in my TIME magazine and then head up to the front desk to answer phones this afternoon. Tonight's festivities include: a quick run to the grocery store for milk and a few other necessities, a Subway run, a few phone calls before LOST comes on, and general relaxation. Yeah for birthdays!
The good things: I fell in love and got engaged to the most wonderful guy I've ever met, I paid off almost all of my credit card debt, I got to travel a bit within the midwest for friends ordinations, a camping trip with amazing friends, and to random destinations to meet up with Jason.
Not so great things: having to say good-bye to a lot of wonderful people that I care about deeply and miss like crazy everyday. I am happy for their new adventures and I miss them all a lot. Living in a house that should have been condemned years ago for lack of upkeep was not the smartest decision ever but it led to some good things in the end. All three of us moved out within a month or so of each other, Karen bought a town house where she now lives, I moved into an apartment on campus where Jason and I will be living when he gets back from internship (and where ironically Ms. Natalie Gessert used to live. Seriously, we are walking in your foot steps, Jason being at the same internship site you were at and me living in your old apartment. :)), and Jen is off on wild and crazy adventures in Europe.
Even though there were some sad, upsetting, frustrating times this past year, 27 was pretty great. Though I don't know if anything is going to top 28. It's going to be a fantastic year! I'm off to read about how the volcano in Iceland shut down a continent in my TIME magazine and then head up to the front desk to answer phones this afternoon. Tonight's festivities include: a quick run to the grocery store for milk and a few other necessities, a Subway run, a few phone calls before LOST comes on, and general relaxation. Yeah for birthdays!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Saving Money and Netflix...
Ever since I signed up for my own netflix about a month ago, I have saved quite a bit of money. It helps that there are only a few movies out right now in the more independent theaters that I want to see. But I don't want to see them bad enough to pay for them. No, I'll just add them to my ever growing netflix list. And because I have a new movie to watch every few days, I have been eating at home more, instead of going out to eat. This also helps in my attempt to save money.
It is nice to have a job that pays me enough so I can pay my bills as well as treat myself to a movie every once in a while. At this point in time though, I would rather go home after work, through something together for dinner and watch my recently arrived movie from netflix.
Okay, so besides being thrifty with my money due to my new fascination and love of netflix, I am attempting to lose some weight. Making meals at home has helped as well as paying more attention to what I am eating and how much of it. My goal by September is to lose at least 10 lbs. and keep it off. Also to tone my body some more; get rid of the ever expanding bulge in my mid-torso section.
In other news, my class is going okay. I spent some time in the library Monday morning harrassing the reference librarian and today making copies of articles to read for my paper. It looks like I'll be turning in my thesis proposal sometime during the summer, more likely end of August. I still think I can get it done by the May 1st deadline, but my advisor is less optimistic. Way to have my back dude! Thanks! I'm still going to work on research and writing it though throughout the summer, even though it will not be officially approved until the fall. That's me giving the one finger salute to the establishment. HAH! I still need to write a letter of continuation though and pay the $169/semester I will be a student. Lame.
Some much freaking red tape and hoops to jump through. It's all just so stupid and frustrating. I just want to be done already. I'm still going to attempt to get my proposal done by April 30th. That means I might fall off the grid for a few weeks while I attempt to get all the paper work and crap done for it as well as finish up my independent study. I know I can do it. I've done it before. Now is the time to take a deep breath and immerse myself in the chaos for the time being, until all tasks are complete.
Here's me taking a deep breath..........................................and jumping. I'll let you when I reemerge. :)
It is nice to have a job that pays me enough so I can pay my bills as well as treat myself to a movie every once in a while. At this point in time though, I would rather go home after work, through something together for dinner and watch my recently arrived movie from netflix.
Okay, so besides being thrifty with my money due to my new fascination and love of netflix, I am attempting to lose some weight. Making meals at home has helped as well as paying more attention to what I am eating and how much of it. My goal by September is to lose at least 10 lbs. and keep it off. Also to tone my body some more; get rid of the ever expanding bulge in my mid-torso section.
In other news, my class is going okay. I spent some time in the library Monday morning harrassing the reference librarian and today making copies of articles to read for my paper. It looks like I'll be turning in my thesis proposal sometime during the summer, more likely end of August. I still think I can get it done by the May 1st deadline, but my advisor is less optimistic. Way to have my back dude! Thanks! I'm still going to work on research and writing it though throughout the summer, even though it will not be officially approved until the fall. That's me giving the one finger salute to the establishment. HAH! I still need to write a letter of continuation though and pay the $169/semester I will be a student. Lame.
Some much freaking red tape and hoops to jump through. It's all just so stupid and frustrating. I just want to be done already. I'm still going to attempt to get my proposal done by April 30th. That means I might fall off the grid for a few weeks while I attempt to get all the paper work and crap done for it as well as finish up my independent study. I know I can do it. I've done it before. Now is the time to take a deep breath and immerse myself in the chaos for the time being, until all tasks are complete.
Here's me taking a deep breath..........................................and jumping. I'll let you when I reemerge. :)
Monday, April 12, 2010
Twins Baseball from 48 floors up...
I got to experience a unique view of the new Target Field today on this Twins Opener. At 2:50 this afternoon, fighter jets flew over head, but to me, they were flying eye level. The fireworks seemed miniscule from 48 floors up, but it was still really cool to watch. I am slowly losing my funk from last week. I also discovered today that I've been completely off the mark with my reading so far for my independent study. So in the next month I have to basically start from scratch except for a few books I've already looked at that will be helpful and write a 25-30 page paper on my findings. Well at least it will keep me busy and motivated (eh...maybe motivated isn't the right word here. ;))
Well, better go. I'm going to see if I can't watch a little more Twins baseball from 48 floors up. :D
Well, better go. I'm going to see if I can't watch a little more Twins baseball from 48 floors up. :D
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
That Time of Year...
It's that time of year again, when I get bored with life. Nothing particularly bad is happening; in fact things are going pretty good right now, I'm just bored. My motivation factor is at zero and I have little patience for anything. Exhibit A: a particular person is throwing a temper tantrum right now because something isn't working fast enough for this person. Three guesses who that might be (but you'll only need one.) I have zero tolerance for that right now. And the world is about to fall apart because the copier ran out of paper.
I don't know why I get this way, but every year around this time I always find myself wishing I was doing something else, traveling somewhere or doing something wildly different than the normal routine. I get bored with being an adult and attempt to try new things. Last year, I started belly-dancing lessons. This year I have no idea. With work and the amount of reading I need to do for my independent study, it leaves little time to take a community class, let alone keep up with friends and family. Here's to hoping this funk goes away soon. It's pretty lame.
I don't know why I get this way, but every year around this time I always find myself wishing I was doing something else, traveling somewhere or doing something wildly different than the normal routine. I get bored with being an adult and attempt to try new things. Last year, I started belly-dancing lessons. This year I have no idea. With work and the amount of reading I need to do for my independent study, it leaves little time to take a community class, let alone keep up with friends and family. Here's to hoping this funk goes away soon. It's pretty lame.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Scary moment but all is okay...
Since the Sunday I got back from visiting with Jason in Milwaukee I had been having some pain in my lower left abdomen. I won't go into details but as the week went on, it started to hurt more until this past Sunday when I was going to head down to the basement and switch my laundry and I doubled over in pain. I immediately looked up doctors' offices and made an appointment for Tuesday morning. The pain was equally bad on Monday and I wanted to rip my shoulders off on Tuesday while I was at work. After several pokes and prods, nothing was found to be abnormal. I just have a cyst on my ovary which is supposed to be there and will go away after my menstral cycle. If the pain continues after that, then I have to go back to the doctor.
Well, you can probably image the initial panic I was in because I had not experienced this before. I mean, maybe for just one day and some over the counter aleve or tylenol would take care of it. This was different. But thankfully I checked out okay and it won't happen again.
In other news: I am behind in my independent study, still totally obsessed with The Tudors, and miss all my friends very much. I like living alone, but sometimes it is isolating. These are the days when I wish being an adult wasn't so time consuming and we could all live care free lives and travel to see whomever, whenever we wanted. Maybe when I finally make my millions, it will be so.
Well, you can probably image the initial panic I was in because I had not experienced this before. I mean, maybe for just one day and some over the counter aleve or tylenol would take care of it. This was different. But thankfully I checked out okay and it won't happen again.
In other news: I am behind in my independent study, still totally obsessed with The Tudors, and miss all my friends very much. I like living alone, but sometimes it is isolating. These are the days when I wish being an adult wasn't so time consuming and we could all live care free lives and travel to see whomever, whenever we wanted. Maybe when I finally make my millions, it will be so.
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