41 posts tagged “shawn”
Ever since the semester ended, I've been adjusting to a lot of new changes. I really don't know how I want to sum up the past few months, but I think the best way to tackle the task is by creating a list and then expanding a little on each point. (This is what happens when I have to make lists for both work and school; it starts pouring into my personal life, too! Haha.)
Shawn and Kathleen graduated. I'm not a fan of going to big graduation ceremonies, but as it turns out, I had to go to two within the same month. Shawn had to deal with my bad mood that day (I feel like I kind of ruined part of the experience for him... Bah!), but it ended up going really well. He's completely finished with college and education for the rest of his life. I'm so proud of him, and I couldn't be more jealous. ^///^
Since Shawn graduated, he's been working full time for Kohl's Corporate. Whenever any of my family members, or one of our friends, asks how he likes his job, he always tells them that he doesn't really like what he does there. Even though he says that, I know he really likes it. He's been picking up a ton of responsibilities: going to meetings, being "on call" for days at a time, attending events held by his team, etc. Whether Shawn wants to admit it or not, he likes being needed for something. He really should feel that way, too, especially after all the work he's put into the past few years in school.
Kathleen graduated high school and has been getting ready for college. She's going to the same university that Beth and I are at, which I'm totally psyched about. <3 As happy as I am for her, I have to be honest about the whole situation-- it's been a tough few weeks for her and the rest of our family. We've all been going through some major adjustments and there have been a lot of hurt feelings. I'm not sure where I stand on all of the issues anymore, but I do know that I'm trying to focus on making Kathleen as comfortable as possible with her new living situation with Beth. It's interesting how so many changes in just Kathleen's life have impacted the entire family. Something like this has never really happened in this way before.
My internship is going well.
I'm moving in with Shawn in a few weeks. Even though Shawn and I have lived in our current apartment together, with Beth, we finally found a place for just the two of us. We looked around for a few weeks, did some research, and then found the perfect place for us to live for the next year. I started getting a little stressed out when we were looking, because I hated the fact that I felt "homeless" but everything worked out in the end. The biggest challenge for us now is buying all of our furniture and still having enough money for rent. Like Shawn keeps telling me, we "have to take it slow." I guess I'm just excited about the idea of having an entirely new place to live with all new furniture. It's like I'm putting together a new family or something! ^__^ Slow steps are good.
I had to tell Dad that Shawn and I were moving in together. I had to do it. I mean, after all the years that Dad and I haven't been able to communicate, I had to tell him that Shawn and I were taking this step in our lives. Honestly, I wasn't worried about talking to Dad, but everyone else started to freak out about it. Mom even told me, at one point, that she didn't want to be in the house when I was talking to him. *sigh* Every other person I talked to gasped and made me promise to tell him/her how it went.
The thing is, everyone knows how difficult my relationship with Dad has been throughout my life. His Filipino culture is extremely different from my own, and hearing that two people are moving in together before marriage can tear people apart. There are little secrets to situations like this though: you have to know people. You have to know how they function, how they feel about certain issues, how they react to specific situations, how their thought processes break down information. I did my research and I made a plan.
Last weekend, I went home to talk with Dad. I walked up to him and asked him if we could talk alone. Within the next two hours, we stood there in my parents' bedroom talking about everything. I told him about Shawn and me, and from there we started talking about family and beliefs. Huge breakthroughs were made, and I told him that I wanted to fix everything that had gone so wrong in the past. I know that Dad and I don't have what Mom and I share, but I'm only 23 years old. I can be an adult here and try to fix something like a relationship.
A few times during our talk, Dad broke down. A while back, Mom told me that no one but her had ever seen him cry, and even then, it had happened only twice during their marriage. When he started crying, he told me he felt he was a bad father. And then he kept repeating the same story about how he had left to go on a vacation at a time when things in our family were finally good-- and then how guilty he felt about leaving for those few weeks. Even though I had little recollection about this happening (since I was so little), I felt everything he felt. I know how one guilty memory can tear me to shreds so I did the only thing I could do at the time. I listened.
Not everything between Dad and me is resolved now, but at least we have some of the issues out in the open. I told him that we need to talk more, instead of letting Mom be the messenger between us, and he agreed.
It's been an interesting few weeks. As always, I've been dealing with a lot of the stress by buying myself presents. *guilty look* I know I should be saving money for my new apartment, but having new dolls and accessories makes me feel so much better. They take my mind off of the stress. I'm trying not to repeat what happened last summer! So far, I've only had to take my stress medication for one week and I was able to stop after that. It's a good sign. ^__^
In a way, I feel like I've kind of graduated, too. Usually summer is a slow time for me, but so far, it's proven to be just as hectic as the school year!
One of my last semesters in college is almost over with, and I feel pretty happy with finally being able to, as Mom keeps saying, "see the light at the end of the tunnel." I think her optimism is in the family blood; I'm feeling more confident that, yes, graduation is possible. Senioritis hit me about two years ago, and it hit even harder last semester when I had to learn how to juggle my job with my classes. This semester seems a little less stressful, but I'll be just as happy to get it over with as I did in the winter.
As graduation draws nearer, my plans for life are falling into place. (It seems vague to say "life," but I'm learning to deal with how plans for the future are pretty vague most of the time anyway.)
My very last semester of college will consist of three English classes, all of which I have charted out at this point. My summer is going to be taken up by working more full-time hours again, and I'm hoping to turn part of my hours into an internship that's required for my English major. Turning a few hours into the internship will save me a lot of stress during the school year. In fact, I was worried I would have to somehow drop something in order to fit the internship in, but it looks like everything is working out for the best after all!
The best part about this whole working hard thing is planning for what I want to do after graduation. Shawn and I are currently working (and saving money for) an apartment for in a few months. Since Kathleen will be coming to live with Beth when she starts going to our university, Shawn and I decided it would be best if we started to branch off into our own little world. A few years ago, I would have thought moving in with a boyfriend was a big step, probably because of all the hype from silly TV shows and dramas. Honestly though, I've learned that a step like that can be simple if a couple is ready for it and really wants to progress in a relationship. This September will mark my six year anniversary with Shawn so planning for the future isn't just a plan; it's what I've been working towards for a good chunk of my life.
Shawn told me something that meant a lot to me the other day. Now, I'm not the one for mushy statements. We were standing in the kitchen making dinner together a few weeks ago, and we had been discussing something about his job. I think he was complaining about a few assignments he was given to do, so I turned to him and asked how he could put up with some of the tasks that his everyday job demanded of him. He turned to me and said, "Well, I do it for you. Actually, everything I do is for you." Hearing that made my mind wind back to a few years ago when he told me that if we hadn't started dating, he would have joined the army. He felt that he didn't have anything else to do in life so he thought he would try to look for meaning in some other form of work. Something like that didn't seem so profound to me until I casually told Mom about it during one of our conversations. She told me that a guy telling his girlfriend that says that he's living for that girl. And it's true. Shawn letting go of certain things in his life and choosing to work an office job would have never happened if we hadn't started dating. He's chosen to live his life with me, and everything he does-- from running to the store for soda because I have a caffeine headache to keeping a desk job and working long hours-- is for me.
I've thought about what Shawn has done for me a lot. So now, I feel like I have a reason for graduating and working towards finishing college. Even with all this busy work going on now, at least I know that something good is coming out of all of this. After we stay at our apartment for about six months (so until I graduate), we're going to be finding a really nice apartment and then save up for a house. Jokingly one day, we started to look at house ads online. After we browsed some beautiful homes, I realized that a beautiful home in a safe neighborhood is something that I do want to work for, even if it means working this hard. Who knew a future was possible? I didn't, until recently.
And sometime after we graduate, and some more time after we live together, we'll decide to take the next step. Marriage is an idea that many, many people have asked us about over the years. In fact, I think everyone else is eager to hear about a wedding announcement from us, but we've just decided to take things easy-- one step at a time. We're planning though, and we've found that confidence in our relationship is our marriage to each other. An official engagement will come in time. For now, all I need is this pretty amazing reality we're facing together. It's a pretty damn good reason to keep working and living.
And that's pretty much where I'm at right now...
Being away from Vox for so long has caused a very unnatural feeling to settle in. I don't know why, but I let the guilt consume me even when I know that I have a perfectly good reason why blogging has to be put on hold. Yet, through the weeks of extreme labor put towards projects, papers, my dreaded exam, and no blogging, I've survived. I think that all the panic and stress built up over the whole semester are the reasons why I feel like I almost don't exist anymore. My life for the past few months has consisted of two things, and two things only: school and work. In my mind, I keep thinking, "Am I really here right now? What work do I have to do next? What is going on?" In fact, I still feel somewhat confused about the sudden amount of time I have for myself for actual relaxation. And then the best part happens; I take a step back, just like Mom taught me to, and I let that ever-so-natural feeling-- the one I know I deserve-- take the place of that unsettling feeling. I'm finally, finally home.
Despite the stress, the last few weeks' worth of work I put into my classes paid off. I didn't think that I'd be able to keep my grade point average (GPA) as high as I normally do, but shockingly enough, it's about as high as I normally get it: three A's and one B. Needless to say, I'm relieved that I can multi-task up until a certain point. One thing I have learned, however, is that sometimes the job of multi-tasking means dropping one of the important tasks in order to really pull through. And you know what? I've also learned that not being perfect makes living life one step closer to perfection in happiness and satisfaction.
As the exam period started to take over my life even more, I just knew that I'd need some time for myself. I decided to request for some time off as a little vacation reward for all the work I've put in to the last year of my life. There were some major landmarks that took place in 2007 for me, personally, and I thought that deserved some recognition. Here are some of the personal goals that I reached, ones that I'm totally and completely proud of:
- Shawn and I had our five year anniversary in September, and I've almost known him for half my life. I realize that not many couples are as lucky as we've been so I'm really proud of how far we've come.
- I finally got a job that I'm content with. I used to get "made fun of" (or teased, I guess) by Mom, Beth and Kathleen because of how, er, lazy I was with being responsible. I think I'm still considered the least mature out of my sisters, ironically enough. Either way, I have a job and I'm finally making my own money.
- I've chosen a major and a career path that completely suits my skills and passions in life.
- I found out when I'll be graduating college. *jumps for joy*
- I've maintained a blog (for the most part) that I'm happy with and pretty consistent with.
- Kitties have finally entered my family, after years and years of waiting and wanting.
- My toy army has grown to amazing numbers! It's made up of dolls, plushies, vinyl toys, plastic toys, paper products, oodles of Sanrio products.
Speaking of my kawaii army, its numbers have especially grown in the past few weeks. Thanks to the holidays and my birthday, I received some really awesome gifts from family and friends. I haven't been able to take photos of everything they gave me, but I did get the opportunity to capture a few. Shawn's family surprised me with a huge box stuffed with vinyl toys (Dunnys, toy ink cartridges, Moofia figures, etc.); Mom gave me ten Dunnys; Kathleen gave me six huge sheets of Sanrio wall decals (which now adorn my room) and a Gloomy Bear puppet; Shawn gave me ten more Dunnys and my new white fawn plushie, Purin; Beth gave me six Re-Ment sets (accessories for my dollies); Celena sent me two adorable Maffy figures and a bunch of clothes for quite a few of my Blythes. It's been an exciting few weeks!
Like I've mentioned in the past, I'm a firm believer in rewarding myself. (Everyone should feel that way once in a while. ^__~) I wanted to have something to look forward to so I decided to splurge on a huge birthday present for myself by using some of the money I received from Mom and Grandma. With their money combined, and a little of my own, I was able to buy a dream ball-joined doll (BJD). I've waited a couple weeks and I was just notified that she's on her way to me this very moment. I haven't looked forward to a new doll in such a long time. I'm anxious to see if the faceup I requested is done the way I'm hoping for. *crosses fingers*
Today was my last day of work for a whole week. It's the first time in about a year that I have more than a weekend to do anything I want. I don't have a schedule to live by or a deadline to get work done by. I just get to relax and spend time the way I want to. I think a lot of naps, reading and dollies will be involved. This is what life should always be like.
Featuring Shawn and Lauren (me),
courtesy of Beth's beautiful photography skills.
And, as always, there's more to come.
My hair is so freaking long now. I'm very tempted to get it cut, but I'm resisting that temptation because I know it will just grow out to be this long by the time classes start up again. Now that I'm earning my own money, I'm beginning to realize why cutting back on "unnecessary expenses" is very, very necessary.
I asked Beth why my hair was growing so fast in such a short amount of time, and she suggested that my birth control pills could be responsible. I'm happy that the pills are helping the pain from my Endometriosis, but I wish some of the side effects could be a little less severe. I've noticed my hair growth rate increasing, weight loss and feelings of horrible nausea early in the morning. The nausea only lasts for about an hour, but the sick feeling is still something I've come to dread. I always try to sleep through it, rather than wake up and sit through it alone.
The hair growth and weight loss are side effects that I've come to deal with, and I don't really mind them. Ever since I switched from the first birth control pills I was on to the brand I take now, I've been much happier and a lot more energetic. (At least, that's what Mom tells me every time she sees me when I go to my parents' house.) The weight loss is something that Shawn's been worrying about lately, but I'm trying to make sure that it doesn't get serious in any way. I don't like it that he has to worry about me in that way.
A little over two years ago, I went through a major life change that affected the way I live-- mentally and physically. I'm not going to go into too many details right now, because I plan on writing a post dedicated to staying healthy in the future. My little "life story" kind of goes along with that post. For now though, I'll just say that a lot has changed in the past two years. I was never "bigger" in any sense, but I did have a little extra weight that was unhealthy for me in an emotional way. I wasn't happy with who I was and I couldn't grasp that fact at the time. After realizing that I needed to make a drastic move, the new, healthy part of me started to slowly take its rightful place in my life. I went from weighing 128 pounds to weighing 104 pounds. The loss of weight was slow, so in no way did I just drop the pounds.
The weight loss was completely unintentional. I never thought I was fat, but now that I look back at those days, I realize that I just wasn't the best person I could have been-- I wasn't happy with who I was, which makes me think I was "fat" with unhappiness. Now that I don't eat greasy or fast food like I did before, and now that I watch what kind of meat I eat, I feel fresh and clean all the time. When I first started taking the birth control pills, my doctor warned me that there was a chance that I'd either gain or lose a few pounds, which made me feel uneasy. The very idea that I would be changing who I was, yet again, just didn't sit well with me, especially since it didn't seem like I'd have control over my own body. After seeing that I have control over how I feel now, I don't feel as threatened by the pills. If anything, I feel more in charge. And I'm definitely in less pain!
Another factor that may be weighing in *chuckle* is the amount of work I've been putting into my life. Never have I been so adament at making sure that I'm kept busy during, what used to be, a vacation time. I grew up spoiled with the idea that Summer break means lazying around the house all day, but now that I actually have life goals for myself, I want to make the best of my time by working towards something I love. Knowing that I get to help maintain an amazing blogging site every day makes me so proud. I'm proud because I finally have a job that I enjoy doing, and I get to use my experiences here to throw myself even further into the adult world-- along with the dream of someday having my own life with Shawn. My future with him is what's keeping me going right now. He gives me reason to want to do well.
That's why I owe a lot to Shawn right now. I recently found out that I will be an official Six Apart employee who works full-time! I've been taking on more and more responsibilities with Vox ever since I started, and even though everything with my job has seemed to go extremely fast, I'm happy to know that I get to incorporate myself even more into the blogging network through such a great company. It's nice knowing that what I'm giving to my team and to Voxers really matters and makes a difference. My main objective right now is to get through the school year and then, hopefully, go full-time for good. (I'll have to cut back on some hours when classes start up, but I still plan on trying to maintain a regular work schedule.)
Knowing that I'm working hard has made me smile more than anyone can imagine, and it's made Beth, Shawn and Mom even more proud of me. That's something that means more to me than... anything. Life is good right now-- busy, but oh-so-good.
I wasn't planning on making another post until my Kawaii event, but as it turns out, the "secret packages" that are on their way to me are taking longer than expected. They should all be here within the next few days. I didn't want to fall out of my good routine of posting, so here I am!
I never thought I'd get into Twitter, but alas... I couldn't resist. The main reason I decided to try Twitter out is because I wanted to experiment with my Vox sidebar widget. The entire application turned into a small phenomenon with me overnight. I had remembered Twitter being mentioned all over Vox, so I thought I'd give the cute site a shot. Who knew how fun updating my status could be? I knew everything was meant to be when I saw that the user name "milks" was up for grabs.
My milks Twitter is now up and running, and my sidebar looks all nice and pretty with the widget. I am one happy Voxer.
For anyone that isn't familiar with what Twitter is, check out the main Twitter page to browse the current happenings or to sign up. Either way, I think you'll find yourself having a good time with all the kawaii icons displayed all over the place. I didn't know that Twitter was so popular in Asia, but from the looks of it, more people are signed up for the application there than in the states. o_O
Before I put up my Twitter widget in my sidebar, I wanted to make sure every single detail on my Twitter profile page looked just right. I had been home the day I set up my account, and none of my parents' computers have Photoshop on them. (I didn't feel like downloading a trial version.) Instead, Shawn was nice enough to follow the layout I drew up. The sketch involved Twitter's basic layout, Roonies and Meep, and lots of pretty bubbles. Whenever I have a profile or a descriptive area on website, I have to make sure it's absolutely perfect as far as design goes.
Unfortunately, how my background image appears on Twitter depends on the screen resolution on the computer it's being viewed from. So, depending on your computer screen, my profile could either look kickass or only "eh."
Edit: I forgot to mention that adding a Twitter widget in my sidebar required me to edit the dimensions in order to make sure the entire application fit without getting cut off on the edges. If you're interested in adding a Twitter widget (or any other widget that's slightly oversized), all you have to do is change the length or width to smaller numbers. There were two places in my widget's embed code that needed to be changed, and I believe I used the width of 160px to make mine fit nicely into my sidebar. Message me for more information on how to change the dimensions if you're having difficulties. ^_^
In other news, the Lovedrug video that Beth went to Chicago for a few months ago was finally released! (You can hear more about her experience in this post.) I was shocked when I first saw the video, because there's a clip in the very beginning of the song that is focused directly on Beth's face. She winks at the camera and smiles-- it couldn't be more perfect. My little sister is a true Lovedrug star. At least, she is in my eyes. So, without further delay, here's Lovedrug's newest music video, "Pushing the Shine," featuring my totally awesome sister, Beth.
One thing that has always remained and been with me on that day is using sparklers. When I was little, I kind of felt like sparklers were mini fireworks that I could hold in my hands. I mean, seriously, those are even better than the real thing! Every time I hold one, a thrill goes through me-- the very idea that I'm that close to something that's seemingly "out of control" is exciting.
I surprised Mom and Kathleen on Tuesday night, figuring that Kathleen and I would be able to catch up by staying up a good amount of the night. I have the worst timing though, because when I got home, I found out that Kathleen had gone to Summerfest with her friends and wouldn't be back until midnight. When she got home, we were only able to talk for a little while until she fell asleep. I was disappointed, but we were able to talk and be crazy together the entire next day. After waking up at two in the afternoon (I needed to catch up on my sleep), I quickly got ready to head over to Kelly's house. Kelly and I rarely get a chance to just sit down and have some girl talk, so like I said in the card I gave her, seeing her on her birthday is like a birthday gift for me, not just her. ^__^
Kathleen and I danced around the front yard taking a good mix of funny and serious photos. The hardest part about taking photos of sparklers is getting them close enough to me without getting too burnt from all the sparks. I think Kathleen and I pulled that trick off pretty well, although, I did hear some complaining coming from Kathleen every once in a while. *giggle* I've never been able to photo log a nostalgic piece of my life like that before so I'm really happy with how they turned out. (The photo to the left makes me look a bit cheeky, but I love the angle-- Kathleen took that one.)
While Shawn had been grilling, I took photos of miscellaneous objects outside: orchids (that Mom made me photograph-- not my idea); Beth's Blythe, Jillian; and my little Laramie. I think taking photos while Shawn grills can be another new tradition that Shawn and I start together for this holiday. Now I have something else to look forward to every year on this day. ^^
I've learned my lesson. I already knew that I wasn't a person who loved to socialize in big groups, but for some reason, I sometimes try too hard to make other people happy... which leads me to do things I know I'm uncomfortable with.
Shawn and I have been dating for almost five years now, and he's sacrificed a lot for me, including time he could spend with other people. Because of this, I've been trying to balance our time alone and the time we spend with other people. We both easily get annoyed with most people (it's true), but he's trying really hard to fit in and do well at his internship-- so part of this means socializing with other interns. Unfortunately, the other interns are party people. They love to go out every night, whether it's a work night or a Friday night, and they love to come back absolutely smashed. Shawn and I just aren't into this scene. I think part of Shawn wants to be, only because he feels left out when the others go out and we stay in. I'm a very introverted person, so the idea of going out with a huge group of mostly drunk people just isn't appealing to me, however, making Shawn happy with his job and his friends means a lot to me. I want him to be happy and to feel comfortable around those he has to work with on a daily basis. Basically, for the past three weeks, I've been trying to sacrifice more of my time to give a little more to our relationship. Plus, that gives me more excuses to spend time with him, even if that means having other people around.
Week 1: There's a nice volleyball court right on campus, so the interns like to go out and play every now and then. I really love playing volleyball, and I know Shawn does, too, so we've joined them a couple of times. Since I hadn't played volleyball in a few years, and because I was no longer up against scrawny high school kids, I wasn't used to the amount of force that goes into hitting and bumping the ball. Before I knew it, my arms were sore, bruised, full of broken blood vessels, and almost unusable. I stayed there, playing, because I'm used to getting a little sore in sports. Sometimes it just takes a few bruises to have some fun, and I don't mind a little pain once in a while-- after all, I was getting exercise. My arms were like that for the rest of the week.
Week 2: I guess I didn't take the hint from the previous week. My arms had actually healed by the next Sunday, so Shawn, his roommate, Nick, and I went to do some simple practice bumps outside-- no harm done. This other guy decided to bust out of nowhere and ask if he could play with us. Because we had four people, we figured we would be able to play a small game instead of practicing. After about an hour of playing, I checked my arms to make sure they weren't too beaten up this time. That's when I noticed how something with my hand looked out of place. My knuckle and wrist areas on my right hand was completely swollen and a bone looked twisted in an unnatural way. I immediately called Mom to see what I should do. (Having both parents in the medical field is extremely helpful at times.) Within the next half hour, I was at the Emergency Room at the local hospital getting X-rays and getting a splint put onto my hand. The doctor said I hadn't dislocated or fractured my finger/hand, but it was probably sprained. I ended up taking two days off of work (since I couldn't type) to let my hand heal, and I felt bad about leaving my team with extra work, so I took off my splint two days early. It's healed pretty well since then!
Week 3: Even though Shawn and I had been out with his friends playing volleyball, he still felt a little left out when it came to the weekends-- when all of the interns head out to the bars. I told him I'd go along and hang out with them (since he's always done that for me when I'm with my friends in the past) when they went out on Saturday. I never go outside of what I feel comfortable with as far as alcohol goes, so I only had a little drink after we ate at a restaurant. The night pretty much included: waiting for over an hour for a taxi to pick us up, eating a dinner when I was already too full, going to a bar to watch the interns play drinking games, a boat ride on a polluted river, and then randomly stopping into a club. Finally, we were able to do what I wanted to do: go home and rest. About and hour after Shawn and I went to sleep, we found out we had food poisoning. We were sick for the rest of the night and morning. It was one of the worst nights I've ever had.
I've learned my lesson. As much as I like to make Shawn happy, I'll just let him do his own thing on his own time, and I can join him when I know we'll have fun in a type of way that I'm comfortable with. I've known for years that I'm not a party girl. I love my time spent inside, on the computer, reading a book, watching a movie, or just... relaxing. Going out for a bunch of drinks to the point where I won't remember what happened the previous night just isn't me. Even though I always stayed within my own personal limitations and tried to have fun in a more sociable way, I realized that I'm so much more content not doing any of that stuff at all. I love the quiet and the simple.
Since my three weeks of revelation, I've been taking every day as easy as possible. I fell back into playing Maple Story, which I've come to rely on yet again for relaxation. I've been buying new little outfits for Roonies, which you can see throughout this post. She also has a new friend-- her pet yeti! I've named him Meep (a word that I fell in love with because of my friend, Misty), and he's pretty awesome to have around to train. One night, after playing Maple Story, Beth and I were too awake to go to bed. We stayed up to six in the morning, talking about how we weren't happy with our living situation. The people (mostly students) in our apartment are too obnoxious, and we've been harassed with people ringing our doorbell while we sleep. We're tired of the immature people on campus, so we've decided to look for another building in the area instead. The location may not be as ideal, but we'll be happier in a quieter place with a little more room than this building provides us. We started our apartment hunting today, and we already have a person interested in subleasing the apartment we live in right now.As if that didn't make life a little more complicated, I just found out that I'll be taking on more hours for work. My schedule will be changing, and I'm looking into going full-time for the rest of vacation. Even what I'll be doing for work will be changing in extreme ways, so I'm a little anxious to see how the next few weeks go with possibly moving and more work.
I feel like such an adult.
The lies. I would like to take a little time in this entry to clear something up. A friend of mine recently notified me that a MySpace (gross) page was put up using pictures of me in it. False information was used, and the user did not have permission to use my own photographs or to pose as me. When clicking on some of the photographs, porn sites were brought up. Let me say this now: I was in no way affiliated with that MySpace page, so don't hold anything you see that's not in my Vox against me! I've had people steal my photographs and samples of my writing in the past and claim it as their own. I'm never happy when this happens, but putting my work up for public viewing is always a risk-- one that I'm willing to take. If you ever stumbles across work of mine (or anyone else's), always inform the rightful owner.
The transition. Whenever summer vacation rolls around, I tend to go through a transition of three: physically, mentally and emotionally. All three types of transition usually revolve around my relationship with Shawn, mostly because our schedules change radically within a very short period of time. About three weeks ago, I helped Shawn move into the my university's dorms. As luck would have it, Kohl's decided to be even more kickass and give Shawn housing right down the street from my apartment. Not only do I get to see Shawn more often, but I get to go over to his place whenever I want. The first week went by fine, but then I started to notice I was hearing from Shawn a little less I usually do. I'm normally just fine with that, but with my daily routine with sleep and work, I noticed that my goal for the day was to get through everything so I could reward myself with a little Shawn time. The problem with my "need" is that Shawn was starting to adjust to his own new life at the dorms-- meaning new friends, new social life, new routine.
At 7 in the morning, I finally got a text from Shawn asking what was up. He, of course, had been sleeping at his new place. Apparently, the connection between cell phones is just bad in his huge building sometimes. He immediately came over, and since then, I've been able to keep myself calm and collected. That kind of small breakdown happens every year around this time for me. It's a scary experience that I hate going through, but my mind and body has never dealt well with change in any way.
The girl crush weirdness. Speaking of dorm life, I've had some pretty interesting experiences at Shawn's place. The girl interns he works and lives with have crushes on me, which I'm not quite sure how to take. (It's all in good fun, but this sort of thing usually happens to Beth, not me!) Since they met me, they've been asking and talking about me with each other and with Shawn. I've never had this happen before, but I think it's really funny. I didn't believe Shawn at first when he told me that two girls in particular are obsessed with me. Then, just last night, both girls blatantly told me: "We have girl crushes on you. No, seriously, we talk about you all the time." We all laughed it off, but then I started to think about the past few days I had been there. They would crash into the room, completely wasted (of course), and come up to my face and talk directly to me. Oh, dear god. Shawn thinks it's hilarious, and I'm completely bewildered. I tend to smile and nod whenever they're around because I honestly don't know what to say.
If anyone is interested in having a Moo card of mine, just let me know by leaving a comment in this entry with your email address and the Moo card you're interested in having. I have a limited amount of each, but I thought it would be fun to give a few away to my Vox friends, since you're the ones who inspire me to keep writing and Voxing!
The Cookie Bottom: The semester is finally over with! I completed all of my exams last week, and I was able to finish my ten page paper at the same time. I knew it could be done, because I've had worse semesters in the past, but knowing that all the stress over schoolwork is gone for a few months really gives me comfort. I feel like the freedom is sinking in.
I started and finished my ten page paper in a matter of about five hours. I know that I should be happy that I could finish a paper that I was proud of by the end in only a few hours, but I still felt that I struggled at first. I never take more than a few minutes writing the introductory paragraph. Something didn't click as quickly as it usually does this time around. Whatever the problem was, I felt a huge rush of relief as soon as the paper was out of the way. After that, I focused on my three exams: Irish Literature, Oceanography and Intro to Linguistics. All of them went fairly well. This was one of my rougher semesters, so I'm just happy to get my last science class (ever!) over with. From here on out, I'll only be taking level 300 and higher English classes that specifically focus on Technical and Professional Writing. The cookie is looking mighty yummy. ^___^