Blah... but at least Fluffy's cute

So... I have strep. Again. For the second time in four months. The last time being the week of my birthday. This time being finals week/commencement week. Why? I mean it, seriously, why?

I'll be honest, I'm in a very whiny mood right now (for which, I apologize). I have a physics final this afternoon that I haven't studied for. I don't want to study for it. And I don't feel like studying for it, I feel like sleeping all day and taking my stupid amoxicillin that I don't even want to take because antibiotics are evil (somewhat).

My itty-bitty rays of sunshine:
1) Fluffy: This super cute little stuffed animal that Erik won out of one of those claw-grabber-type games at Old No. One.
2) I'm making a pizza tonight. Not just throwing a frozen one in the oven. I'm making the dough and then putting all kinds of tasty goodness on it (mmm.... cheese, peppers and onions!)
3) I'll be done with tests by 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Then it's one little shift at work (I'll be non-contagious by then), followed by lots of rest and sleep.

Almost There...

Commencement is this Saturday! I just need to make it through three final exams, and then I'm free as a bird for the summer (well, sort of... I have a ton of stuff to do, but at least I won't have classes)!

Really, I just need to get past tomorrow's final. It's for General Physics I, and it's going to be painful. Very painful. Once I'm done with that test, I'm not as worried about the others. The exam for Global Change Ecology (Wednesday) won't have too many surprises on it, so as long as I put the time into studying I'm not concerned. And then there's Environmental Problems and Policy (Thursday). Just give me two hours to memorize the study guide, and I'm good to go.

I should be studying for physics right now, but I've come down with a cold and am having trouble getting motivated to study. I'm hoping that it's not strep again (have had a sore throat since Friday night) because I really don't want to deal with antibiotics again for a while. I'm hoping that when I call in tomorrow they'll tell me it's not strep, just an annoying cold.

Fun Times at the Hog Roasts

The Geology Club has had a long-standing tradition of having a Hog Roast (including tasty food, music, and kegs) as a college and community event on the last day of classes each spring. Though this year wasn't exactly a hog roast in the technical sense or open to everyone (just geology peoples) I like to think of it as my fourth hog roast.

Freshman Year: I had been to one Geology Club meeting and somehow found myself elected Vice President for the following year. So I was (along with the other new officers and some new geology majors--none of which I really knew at all) enlisted in helping with the year end hog roast. The day before the big event we got together to cut up the meat and put it into/onto the roasters. This is an ordeal that takes a decent amount of people and big knives. Then, this one kid shows up in a blaze orange jumpsuit and a Journey CD, and I thought to myself "What a joker?! But he seems pretty cool, I guess." On the day of the Hog Roast, we had absolutely gorgeous weather! A perfect day for a big potluck get together outside. Aside from helping out, I spent a good chunk of my time kicking around a soccer ball with orange jumpsuit kid (named Erik) and his friend Donnie.

Sophomore Year: All of the officers from the previous year were seniors and they basically said "good luck" and left us to figure everything out on our own. So, after struggling a bit, we managed to pull off a hog roast that we were told was a pretty good time. Aside from the fact that it was rainy, windy, and cold. But we pulled it off, and we were excited!

Junior Year: This year, me and the other co-president, were just about to get the ball rolling with plans for the annual event when Health Inspector Regulation Dude sends us a letter with a very large list of regulations (many of which would be impossible for us to comply with). Given that most of our food was potluck style, for instance, there was no way for us to ensure that everything was prepared in perfectly sterile conditions. But anyways, after a lot of drama, campus emails, and newspaper articles, the ladies at food services saved our bums and helped us with the technical aspects of meeting these regulations. Weather was fairly cool, and we had a pretty good time.

Senior Year: While not an officer this year, we're a close bunch and so we know all about what's going on in the club. We weren't quite so lucky this year with help from outside groups, and realizing that we can't possibly meet all of the health regulations it was concluded that we would have the event as we wanted, but only for geology related people (thus avoiding public health concerns--yay for small private groups!). The day began with the usual shenanigans of trying to figure out where to cook the meat and such (Jamey's old research lab? sounds good!) and then running around town doing errands. And then, surprise, surprise, Morris is chilly and very windy... brrrr... Being right next to a lake didn't help with the wind at all. Then a cop showed up asking for a permit (which we didn't have... oops!) so we made some quick changes (no more keg, but cans of beer are okay) so as to avoid any legal entanglements. After everyone had supped, people focused their attention on various ways of keeping warm. Some played frisbee, some ran around, some did simple little dances, but eventually those of us left at the park late into the evening ended up kicking a soccer ball around in a small circle. Orange jumpsuit kid was there too, but this time he was sporting an orange wind breaker. Seems he has a fondness for orange.


Photo: (Taken by my Mom) Me and "orange jumpsuit kid." We've been dating now for 2 years and 7 months.

Friendly Bloggers

Thanks Kathleen (Easy for me to say...)! It's been really nice getting to know you better as well via blog posts. I'm looking forward to seeing a bit more this summer since I'll be around.

As for passing the award along to the next person, that's a bit more difficult because I don't really follow that many blogs. So... I think I'm going to go with Erik (best friend/boyfriend) at This 'n That of Life. And even though he doesn't post all that often, he's still amazing and has been there for me through a lot.

Pointless Vent

33 days until lease is up.

24 days until I move out.

I'm thinking about keeping my toothbrush, toothpaste, and my face washing stuff in my room for the remainder of the time. Then I can get ready in the kitchen.

Some people's kids...

Baraboo: Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Friday:
- Left campus around 1:00 p.m. and began the slightly-less-than 7-hour drive to Baraboo, WI, home of some sweet geology.
- Car ride full of goofiness and miscommunications.

"There's a lever under the seat!"
"A what? A leper?"
"A leopard??"
"Lovers under the seat? What??"

"*singing* Who built the Ark? Noah, Noah. Who built the Ark? Father Noah built the Ark!"
"What? Where'd you learn that song?"
"At Vacation Bible School."
"Geisha Bible School??????"

- Nice sunny, warm weather. Arrived in Baraboo. Set up camp. Started to get dark, so we headed into town to have dinner (Pizza Ranch!) and buy groceries for the rest of the trip.
- Starts to rain and thunder a bit as we go to bed.

Saturday:
- Rain.
- Grape nuts for breakfast, with some sugar for flavor (and by some, I mean a TON, because I accidentally spilled way more than I wanted into my bowl... oops!)
- More rain.
- Head out for a day of structural geology sites.
- Rains harder.
- Arrived at the first outcrop and see another group of geology students there as well. Huge crash of thunder and lightning. Other group quickly enters van and leaves. We stay. (Sweet crossbeds, ripplemarks, parasitic folds, and slickenlines though!!)
- Eventually it starts to rain a bit less at other stops, but we're already soaked at this point so it didn't really matter. Day of geology ends (but we got some sweet samples of brecciated quartzites!)
- Back to camp. Thinking it might be decent for the rest of the evening. Ooops, thought that too soon, more rain! Gotta love eating dinner in the rain.
- Poured all night. Barely slept. My options: Curl up to stay warm and avoid touching the edges of the tent (but be uncomfortable and unable to sleep), or stretch out and touch the edge of the tent and possibly let lots of water in. I did a little bit of both, as did Beth, my tent buddy.

Sunday:
- Woke up with some puddles and leaks in the tent. Parts of our sleeping bags were wet. At least we didn't have a "river" flowing under half of our tent like the boys did.
- Still raining. Blah...
- KAB gave us the option of toughing it out and seeing more geology or packing up and going home. Yay for having a choice!
- We packed up.
- We drove home.
- Started reading a book for fun in the car, and it's got me wondering what in the world is going to happen next!
- Arrived in Mo-town around 3:30 (?). Hurriedly unpacked the van, and went our separate ways (thanks for the ride home, Beth!).
- Shower.
- Clean clothes.
- Comfort food.

Also, I didn't manage to take any pictures this weekend. Knowing that the forecast included thunderstorms, I didn't bother to bring my digital camera. I'm hoping that Beth, Emma, and Donnie will have some pictures I can post eventually. Someday, it'd be nice to go back to Baraboo to be able to enjoy/study the geology some more when morale isn't negative and dripping wet.

Photo: taken by Donnie of my fluffing up my pillow while setting up camp

Camping Trip!

The structural geology class always takes a field trip to Baraboo, WI to check out some quartzites. Well, almost always. I took the class last year, and the trip got canceled to do a blizzard at the end of April. So, I'm going to tag along (so are some other students from last year) with the current class as they go on this camping trip.

Yay! I haven't been camping since October, so I am looking forward to that a lot. Hopefully, the predicted thunderstorms, however, will end up being mild or absent. That would be nice. Field work in the rain is miserable.

Here's hoping it's a fun trip! I'll post some pictures if I get some good ones. :)

Summer hurry up!

I keep stumbling upon blogs that belong to rubber stampers that post their wonderful cards, and they have so many cool ideas! It's making me want to stamp big time!! I haven't really sat down to stamp some cards in a long time, because I don't have my stamping stuff at school and I haven't really had a summer that wasn't full of traveling or geology in a few years. So, needless to say, I have not had the time or the ability, really, to do any stamping. I can't wait until the summer!!! I am going to bust out my stamping supplies and make some sweet cards.

It's also my goal this summer to tie up all the loose ends on any scrapbooks that I've started. I'm not allowed to start new scrapbooks. Well, I'm not allowed to make any scrapbooks with any digital pictures that I have. If I want to scrapbook those, I am going to do it digitally, unless I really come upon a great idea for a scrapbook. But, I've got a bunch of pictures in boxes and folders lying around my house that need to get put into already existing scrapbooks. Like my trip to Germany junior year of high school. Yep, still haven't finished that one. Thank goodness I actually kept up with my travel journal on that trip, or I would have forgotten everything from the pictures.

I can't wait!

The Club

On Tuesday I joined the club of students who have completed their senior seminar and are ready to graduate. Thank goodness. The last few weeks were just go-go-go as far as needing to get stuff done. And, true to form, I performed well under pressure and got things done (yes, Erik, you can say "I told you so" now...).

Most of the actual seminar was a blur. I remember conversations I had with people before I started lecturing (Microsoft Powerpoint: "Cozzarelli? Do you mean Mozzarella?" Me: "No, but, dang it... now I want cheese!") and then the questions and comments that followed, but everything in between is a little bit fuzzy. I made Shannon promise me that I really hadn't babbled on the whole time, and that I actually made a bit of sense, because for all I knew I was mumbling, mixing up my words, and being repetitive.

It was also a relief to find out today that KAB (a prof who is known for asking tough/intimidating questions and having high expectations of students) thought that I did a good job. I was a bit worried as to what the profs thought about my presentation when my own adviser, JFPC, (who I have had issues with in the past, though I've never flat out confronted him about it) asked me really tough/mean/whatever questions at the end of my seminar (during which, by the way, he spent a good portion of his time dozing off). I was a bit frustrated with his questions, but thought that I may have exagerated his harshness given that I don't happen to think very highly of him, until my friends came up to me afterwards and asked, "Who is that prof and why was he such a *insert term for mean person here*?" Oh well... As long as I get a grade that is fair, I will never have to deal with this prof again (if I don't, he'll be getting an ear-full, and probably not just from me). And time to stop venting about my non-adviser adviser and move onto something not related to school.

I'm super relieved to be done with my seminar, but the rest of this week has not felt as relaxing as I had originally imagined it to be. I blame that partially on work (and partially on the rut that I seem to have gotten myself stuck in regarding other aspects of life). I was originally scheduled 13 hours this week, but after a short phone call with my manager that got changed to 20 hours. I guess we're short on staff at the pharmacy this week due to injuries and illnesses. But oh well, at least this will beef up the paycheck a little bit. Which reminds me, I need to start applying for summer jobs right away. Tomorrow though, it's time for sleep now.

Photo: www.german-business-etiquette.com

This is procrastination, but...

... I needed to get this out of my system.

Tweak seminar/finish up loose ends on powerpoint,
sleep (?),
8:00 a.m. physics lab,
seminar run-through,
memorize memorize memorize,
caffeine caffeine caffeine,
print hand-outs,
change clothes/make-up/useless primping,
6:00 p.m. present seminar,
and done (a.k.a. dinner and drinks followed by sleep),
especially sleep.

Okay, yup, I can do this...