Past. Present. Future.

Ever think about how intertwined the past, present, and future are? 

It really is a weave.  All three parts are required to make a tight, and warm tapestry.  Without even one thread, one tiny seemingly insignificant event, the entire weave can be compromised.  I suppose that means you have to believe you are in the right place at the right time.  Fate knows what you need to do for the greater good.  Believe that you are exactly where you need to be.

Now, for personal implications of PPF: for my mom's Christmas present this year, we took a little blast from the past.  Meanwhile, I was/am/have become slightly miffed about my rightnow present (stuck at home and not working,) and really excited for my soon-to-be present (moving into the Q in just a few days.)  Additionally, I'm wicked stressed about what is happening this summer, mostly because my plans are still way up in the air.  AHHHH!!!

  

Here's the deal with summer:

Angela offered me a full-time job at Career Services this summer.  AWESOME!  That means I know I will be getting 32-40 hrs/wk, unlike Kinney's which will give me only 15-maybe.  If I'm lucky.  I'm excited about trying to take this on.  1) Because it's my first full-time job ever.  2) Because that means I'll get to stay in/around Burlington for the summer.

Which brings me to part 2 of this little scenario.  I need a place to live for the summer.  After chatting back and forth with Angela, we've decided that maybe there could be a need for Summer RAs (meaning even MORE hours/wk plus potentially free room!)  Alternatively, if I'm working full-time at the college, I can rent a room from Spinner.  Click here for info.  Last year's rates went for about $320/month, which I know I'll be able to manage if I'm working FT @ Career Services.

I'd love to be a Summer RA if it means I get more money and I get free room.  Also, it'll give me even more experience on my resume.  BUT-even if I'm stuck at Spinner, I'm excited for that too.  Here's why.

This will be my first time living on my own-ish ever, with a full-time job.  This is exactly what I'm looking forward to post-college.  I really love the idea of this because it's another tiny step in me learning how to do things on my own.  I'm like a baby bird inching toward the edge of the nest to learn how to fly for the first time.  This will give me a chance to test my wings and see how I do. 

Also, this will be the first summer that I'll have my own car.  (It's coming in March!)  This will make it possible for me to live somewhere other than right at home in Lyndonville.  Not that I don't love my family!  But, I think it's time.  Because I'll be working full-time right at the college, I'll be able to get the reduced rate of $320/month living in a room at Spinner, and I'll figure out what it's like to live on my own, buy my own groceries, handle my bills on my own, pre-pay my mom again for phone bills and such, and see how I handle 40 hrs/wk!  It's another small step in me learning to do it all on my own before I'm just thrust out into the big bad world by myself. 

This is clearly a much better choice than only being allowed 15 hrs/wk at Kinney's. 

But-nothing is set in stone yet.  I'm really hoping and pushing for Burlington and working full-time for Angela, but just like having to believe you're in the right place at the right time, you have to believe that things will work out in the end.  That means learning not to worry so much (a laughable task for me, but I'm trying) and learning to let go.

Let the river of life take you where it shall.

  

Friends

I miss Ashley.  I miss Velvet.  I've missed Eden.  And I miss Ryan again.

Whyyyyy???  We should all just buy a house and live together.

Ashley is getting ready to have an awesome and amazing time in Ireland. 

Velvet is livin' the life in New York.

Eden is making bank in Plymouth.

And Ryan is stuck home with no internet and TV.

Poop.

I hope everyone is getting ready to have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.  Also, I'm excited to begin a new year.  Start fresh, and all that jazz.

In parting, I'll leave you with "Baby It's Cold Outside."

Also, I JUST LOST THE GAME!!!!

<3

Home

My bed never felt so good.  :)

Turns out, Kinney's doesn't have any hours to give me over this short break.

So?

I get to take 2 weeks and relax!  No work, no commitments, etc.  It's going to be wonderful.  :)  What will suck though, is no money.  Christmas presents from me are going to be pathetic, so be prepared.  Haha!

I'm going to try to read through as many of the 6 books I've still got saved from this summer that I have yet to read, as well as work on my Netflix queue.  I feel bad that Ryan probably won't be able to catch up with me because I've got so much free time, but hopefully he'll be able to fit in the majority of the things I've watched over break, and maybe even next semester.

This break in my life feels like it was planned.  This is a time for me to figure out everything.  A time for new beginnings.  To take the next few steps toward my big goals in life.  To start fresh.  To do things right.  Metaphor: this is a cocoon from within which I will begin my transformation from silly undergrad-college-student-caterpillar, to full-blown butterfly adult.  Whoa.

Get ready.  Because my life is going to be awesome.

Also, I realize that this post only had about 3 sentences to do with being home.  Bear with me.  :)

XXOO

<3 Megan <3

Grad School Decisions: MSW

Choosing a school is scary shit.  I'm not going to make any ifs, ands, or buts about it, NOR am I going to beat around the bush and say "it's a very important decision in a young person's life."

This semester, I've started looking at different MSW programs at various schools all around the nation.  I feel like I did when I was a senior in high school trying to figure out where to go for undergrad...lost, confused, and utterly helpless.  It was, after all, merely sheer luck that landed me here at Champlain.  I didn't even want to apply at first.  I don't know why, but I just wasn't feeling it.  But my grandmother made me, and turns out, Champlain gave me the best financial aid package.  Although I was still hell-bent on the University of Southern Maine as my #1 choice for college, I didn't want to put a $13,000/yr Parent PLUS loan on my mom.  One year from sending in my acceptance postcard, I'm busting butt on papers and learning the layout of Burlington (on foot.)

I'm really bad at figuring out what to do or where to go with my life.  Obviously I love/want to/am good at/need to help people, which landed me (eventually) in Social Work.  Now that I'm in Social Work, I don't know which population I want to work with.  Because of that, I don't know what school I want to go to! 

The three colleges I have asked for info from and have replied so far are: Boston College, the University of Maryland, and Hawaii Pacific University.  (Why Hawaii?)  Let me tell you:

I'm in this funny predicament at Champlain.  The Social Work program isn't accredited.  Of course, the class graduating behind me will be, but that's unimportant.  What is important, is that the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) has declared that those who entered the SWK program in 2009 will be the ones graduating from an accredited program.  Here's where I come in.  While first starting at Champlain, I joined as a Criminal Justice major.  Unfortunately, it didn't really fit my personality, so I switched and fell in love with SWK.  I started college in 2008.  By the time I got back next semester to start semester #2/8, it was the year 2009.  See where I'm going?  Well, that's an awesome loophole (see, I'm adequate at CRJ!) but it won't help me when I'm graduating in 2012.  Apparently the difference between whether I'm "accredited" or not is what it says on my diploma/degree/certificate/whatever-they're-calling-it-these-days. 

So, I went to talk to some of my advisers.  Here's the thing.  I'm only going to be off by one SWK course or possibly two from the soon-to-be accredited class.  The reason accreditation is SO important to me is because it means a LOT in terms of time & money.  I plan to apply for Advanced Standing in whatever college or university I get accepted to.  Advanced standing for me will mean the difference between just taking 1 year to get my MSW, and taking 2-2.5 yrs to get my MSW.  Which would you prefer?  Yeah, I thought so.

The next piece: my FIRST CHOICE school to attend is UVM (right here in Burlington.)  The deal with that is I can start the graduate program a mere 2 weeks after I graduate from my undergrad program.  And if I get Advanced Standing, I'll be graduating with my Master's when Ryan is graduating with his undergrad Theater degree.  Awww, how cute!  Also, this choice would save me double on time and money as it'll be in-state, and IF I get A.S., it'll only be another year of school.

Here's the deal with me considering out-of-state schools.  UVM has the only campus-based MSW program in the state of VT.  I am NOT taking online courses to get my MSW.  That's crap.  Absolute crap.  Especially in my career field.

So - if I'm only accepted to UVM as a regular 2-yr MSW student, but I get accepted out-of-state with A.S., I'm going to consider prices and go with whatever is cheaper.  And if I'm having to go out-of-state, why not go someplace nice where I can enjoy myself for a year?  I'm a born-n'-raised VTer.  I've done my time with the winters and such.  Almost 21 years worth, to be exact.  If I have the chance to go to college in Hawaii, and it's cheaper than going to college here in chilly VT, whytheheckwouldyouNOT take that opportunity?

So, what am I doing over my 1.5 week break?  I'm going to sit down with my family and continue researching schools.  I'm going to share all of these thoughts with them (or maybe have them print off this post,) and start making this choice a lot less scary than it is for me right now.  I need some help.

I'll keep you informed as I gather more info on which way I'm leaning.

:)

XXOO

<3 Megan <3

1/2 Done Finals

Today, I only have 1 final.  From 3:30-5:30.  Tomorrow, my last 2.  It's almost over!

Ryan left me today and is heading home to spend time with his family.  Which is nice.  He deserves some home time, for sure.  I, on the other hand am still in Burlington until 3 tomorrow.  And then...the long winter break begins.  You know that feeling you get when you're watching the first Lord of the Rings movie, just after everyone gets into the Mines of Moria, and Gandalf speaks?

"Now we have but one choice. We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard! There are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world. It is a four day journey to the other side. Let us hope our presence may go unnoticed."

Yes, that is the feeling I'm experiencing right now.  Winters in Vermont are definitely equal to the "long dark of Moria."  And winter breaks are equitable to hoping you'll get through it relatively unscathed.  I love Burlington, and I love some home time.  I love sleeping in my own bed, and catching up with family for a few weeks.  After those few weeks though, I feel stuck in a place that isn't where I feel I should be at this point in my life.  It's so uncomfortable to be in a town for longer than a week or two where hardly anyone else is your own age.  People move to L-ville to raise kids, or to retire.  There aren't flocks of twenty-something-year-olds bookin' it to L-ville to party, rage, and network. 

 

Fortunately, due to the most excellent choice by the Res Life staff here at Champlain, I have been selected to be an RA at Quarry Hill next semester. 

   

Which means I have to be back in B-town on Jan. 3rd.  Un-fortunately, this means I have to let Emily at Kinney's down again.  She was planning on having me work this winter break.  But now, I've only got a week and a half to offer my time to her.  Also during which time, I have both a dentist and an orthodontist appt where I get to drop about $350 for a new set of retainers.  Whoot.  (That was sarcasm, folks.)

 

Oy, well at least I have a job somewhere, right?! 

I'll do my best to post again when I can.  Right now I need to do last minute touch-ups on this presentation I have to give in my last final.

Wish me luck!

Aloha,
XXOO Megan <3 <3

Resident Assistant

Oh yeah, get ready.  This girl right here?  The newest RA at Champlain College!!!!

I'm soooooooooooooooooooooooo excited!!!  I'll be responsible for residents living at "The Q".  Curious about some of the perks?  $1,000 stipend over the course of the semester, free "room" (not "board" which includes the meal plan,) my own bathroom (with a tub!) and a chance to make some new and excellent friends!!!

Seriously, it's going to be a wonderful and fantastic time.  Can't wait to move in!

Keep you posted as more info is revealed!

Until next time,
XXOO Megan <3

Florida

Was. Amazing.

Seriously.  Take a look:

Kind of the best vacation ever.  :)

That is all for now.  :)

"Gentle Mornings"

Today's post is to explain to you how excited I am to have what I like to call

"Gentle Mornings"

every day over my Thanksgiving Break.  Here's a Wordle bundle of words for some adjectives (because I'm not as good at thinking of them on my own like Ashley is:



I apologize that it is so hard to read, but Wordle makes it difficult to save the image of what you've created after it's done.  :)

To explain further, Gentle Mornings are those mornings when you wake up in a nice warm bed, there are no noises throughout the house, the sun is beating in through the window on your comforter, and you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world.  Following getting out of bed at your own pace, you walk along the hardwood floor hallway out into the kitchen where you look through the full-length sliding glass door at the bright blue sky and the seagulls playing in the wind currents.  You find a nice, rotund bowl of fruit sitting on an island in your kitchen, you sit on one of the bar stools at the island, and take your time savoring the taste and texture of honeydew, cantaloupe, oranges, clementines, watermelon, apples, pineapple, bananas, and pears-a serious indulgence of the 5 senses.  Then when you find yourself full, you walk back along that hardwood floor hallway and slip in the shower.  Once clean, you are ready for your day.

See?  Doesn't that sound nice?

These kinds of mornings I don't get too often, so when I do, I hold onto them and remember them. 

Gentle Mornings do NOT include the following: cell phones, alarms, yelling, stress, frustration, junky foods, uncomfortable temperatures, rough fabrics, time limits, restrictions, crying (unless it's due to joy,) television, radio stations (unless there is soft/soothing music playing,) or any other person who exhibits or participates in anything listed above that morning.

Gentle Mornings are all about you, and getting your mind in the right place to do what you need to do for the day.  Kind of like yoga...but not so dangerous.  :)

 XXOO

<3 Megan <3

I'm Addicted

I feel like my blog is my baby.  I keep coming back to check on it every time I get the chance, even when I should be doing other things (like trying to write this 10 page paper before I have to leave and do my break.)  I mean, I technically could do it all on Saturday while I'm home before I leave for FLORIDA (I can't say that enough,) but who really wants to do homework on the first real day of break?  Seriously?!

Anywho, I keep hoping for more comments and readers, which is probably what has sparked me to write about 3 blog posts in 24 hours.  Would that help, perhaps?  If I treated my blog like I do my cell phone, Twitter, or Facebook, then we'd have a serious epidemic going on here--but at least I might have readers!!! <3

Until then, I'll keep popping back in to see what activity has taken place.  Do me a favor and surprise me someday.  :)

XXOO

<3 Megan <3

Keep Rollin' With the Punches

So, just when I think I have a good shot at being done homework before break, my professors come out with things like, "Oh, don't forget you have a 10 page paper due for us the Monday you get back from break!" 

Lovely.  Thanks for ruining my break.  Except not.  Because nothing is going to ruin the awesomeness of FLORIDA and BEACHES and HARRY EFFING POTTER!!!!

Just thought I would share my excitement.  As for the paper...well...maybe I can work on it in my free time at the beach?

XXOO
<3 Megan <3

Cee Lo Green

\

Definitely inappropriate.  Definitely one of my favorite songs, lately.  :)

Watch the Glee "clean" version here:

Montreal

As promised, here is my rundown of what happened in the foreign country of Canada this past Saturday.

Your challenge?  Put them in order and tell me what I did.  :)  Kidding!

Most of the balcony railings I saw in Montreal looked/did something like this.  It looks like there's an especially dense vortex of gravity outside....

One of the dragons from the Chinese restaurant we went to for supper.

The menu/timings of the place we ate supper.

On the way in to Montreal.  We crossed over that bridge.  This was taken looking back at where we just drove.

Another bridge!!!!

On the bus on the way into the urban area.

Some factories and businesses on the way in to the city.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH which way?!?!?!?!

French.  Whoa.

IDK who he was, but NICE HAT!

Another picture taken off the bus.  Notice the people in the advertisement running together.

French French French French.  Ashley's best translation:  "Park avenue (something) north direction.  (Something) October 11th: Risky due to congestion of traffic."

Ohhhh yeahhhh.

I can't decide if that is sketchy or not.  Also, the cart entering the frame is interesting.

The view from the Champlain campus building.

Hollah!

What I feel like all this week with all my papers coming due.

My lunch at the Indian Restaurant.  It was called "Butter Chicken."

I called it "Orange."

This is why Canada rocks: awesome architecture.

Another street!!!!!

My fave.  :)

The lady on the left is Patricia, our tour guide...for 3 hours...

Pipes left over from the Industrial Revolution?  Also, the guy on the left was our Champlain guide around Montreal (to make sure us American kids didn't get lost and couldn't find our way back to campus.)  He was actually there my 2nd semester of my Freshman year, (the first time I visited Montreal) also.  Hmm...

There were three different writings etched into the stone.  These were signatures of various tribes in Canada, apparently.

I took this for Ryan.  It was beside the pipes in the ground.  His birth year is displayed in Montreal.  Whoot!!!

A random factory.  :)

A glimpse of Chinatown in the daylight. 

There's a face in the wall!!!!

One of the dragons guarding the entrance to Chinatown.

This is the exact Starbucks I sat and drank hot cocoa and a cookie my first time here.  (I was lost and was by myself.)

Excellent staircases are rampant in Montreal.

All in all, Montreal was pretty awesome.  Here's the itinerary:

9 AM- Leave Bader Parking lot for the boarder.

10:15 AM-Reach the border.  Have to get off the bus to go inside, have all of us hand over our passports, etc.

11:15 AM-Reach Champlain's Montreal campus.  *Note*-the "campus" is a tiny building with 3 floors, but only about 30 square feet per floor.

11:45/12 PM-Head to the Indian restaurant for lunch.

1:15 PM-leave the restaurant.  They had the BEST water I've ever drank in my life.  It was smooth going down...if that makes any sense?  Either way, it was amazing.

1:30-4:30 PM-Tour of Montreal.  Three hours.  What. the. heck.

5 PM- Arrive back at Champlain Montreal campus.

5:30 PM-After walking down to Chinatown, we have a half hour of free time.  I then commence buying presents for the roomies!

6 PM-Eat the 'ehh-so-so' Chinese buffet that was $18.60.  Wasn't impressed.

6:30 PM-Walked back to Champlain Montreal campus.

7 PM-Board the bus to go home.

7:45 PM-FINALLY make it out of the city.

9 PM-Make it to the boarder again.

10 PM-Arrive back at Champlain's Burlington campus.

All in all it was a good time.  I love displacing myself and unplugging everything for a day every once in a while.  Because Canada is a foreign country, I decided to leave my cell phone at home because I knew I would be tempted to text all day long.  It was rough not being able to text every passing thought I had to SOMEONE on my contacts list, but also strangely refreshing.

Also, I realize when I go to Canada how inadequate I feel.  Nearly all the teenagers in Montreal are bilingual.  I'm just the stupid American that can only speak English, and in the process completely butcher and stamp all over others' languages like a wild elephant on a rampage.  Seriously, why didn't I take French or Spanish in high school?  I might not feel like such a failure.  Latin definitely did not teach me any accents, although I suppose it did help learn more of the English vocabulary.  Derivatives of words were my favorite. 

But I digress.  I am an American, and I suppose one way or another, I should be proud of that.

Montreal was very fun, and I enjoyed the day away--the break from the normal.

I hope you all get the chance to completely immerse yourselves in a new culture someday.  Also, when you do it, go with a group and leave your cellphones at home.  Tell me what happens.

XXOO

Megan