So..1 Year Out!

Hey guys!  I haven't written a post on here in a little over a year.  A TON has happened since I last updated everyone about my life, so here are the highlights:

-Once I returned home from Cape Cod, I had a month and a half of FULL TIME job searching.  It sucked.  I was stressed, depressed, and all around just not feeling great about myself.
-Eventually, I was hired by a local social service agency dedicated to helping seniors in the community.  I work as a Case Manager which is PERFECT, because that's exactly what I went to school for.  :)  It feels great being able to put my degree to work for me and get a little ROI (return on investment).
-Oct. 15, 2012 is when I started this incredible new job.  I'm almost coming up on my 1 yr anniversary here, so life has been wonderful.  I've learned a ton and absolutely love the work I'm doing.  Perfect fit!
-Ryan and I are no longer a couple.  But it's okay, I promise!  We're still extremely close and went back to being besties.
-In Feb. I had to get a new car.  Space needed new roters, brakes, brake pads, etc., etc., and it just wasn't worth it to keep throwing money into a '99 vehicle.  I ended up getting myself a silver 2010 Dodge Journey which is a large SUV.  The only 2 drawbacks are that (1) it is an automatic (I prefer 5 speeds), and (2) it is only FWD.  Since my job requires me to do home visits to many (most) of my clients, I am often traveling up back roads and up mountains, even in the middle of winter.  I wish I had advocated more for getting a 4WD vehicle.  Oh well, next time.  I am proud to say that I was able to get the loan for my vehicle all on my own (didn't need a co-signer!) so now I am truly able to say 'my' car and mean it! :)
-I've been to Washington, D.C. with Ryan last year for my birthday (my first time there)!  We stayed in a hostel for 7 days which ended up not having running water for 3 of those days, so we ended up having to get a hotel room about 2.5-3 days into that madness.  I think we almost reached our breaking point in seeing how long we could go without showering.  It was bad.  BUT we were able to see all of the main highlights and tourist attractions, so it felt great to cross all of the main monuments and museums off my bucket list.
-I've been paying HARDCORE on my student loans.  I crunched the numbers last night and by the end of this year if all goes well [I'll explain in my next bullet point], I'll have resolved $11,430 in my student loan debt.
-"If all goes well...."  Okay, here we go.  I have 3 different lenders for my student loans.  My federal ones through the US Dept of Education, some through VSAC, and one through this other loan mgmt company on behalf of my college called MyCampusLoan.  They are managing my Perkin's loan (instead of Champlain having to hire staff to work directly on managing every student's account).  Here's the deal.  There are certain circumstances in which you may be able to get your Perkin's loan forgiven.  You also have to have worked at your job for a minimum of 1 year.  I applied for deferment a couple months ago (because I only just found out that this might even be a possibility for me), and was approved--so right my now loan with them is not accruing interest.  YAY!  Before applying for deferment, my Perkin's loan was my first smaller loan I was really going after.  I wanted to get that totally paid off so I could snowball my payments and put the rest of the money that was going to my Perkin's payment toward VSAC or my federal loans.  But, since my Perkin's is in deferment and is not accruing interest, I'm working hard on my VSAC loans since they are still accruing interest.  Anyway, once I meet my 1 year anniversary at this fantastic job, I can send in a Request for Cancellation form.  I don't know if I will be approved, but I really hope so.  My other hope is that they will refund me the $1800 or so I've already invested in that loan.  Because I can put that towards another one of my loans.  So, if all of this goes my way, I'll be $11,430 out of student loan debt by the end of Dec. 2013.  GET IT.
-Ryan moved to E. Boston to continue his studies and get his Master's in Community Theater at Emerson College, so that's exciting!  I can't wait until I can go down to visit and spend a few nights with him.  I don't know Boston that well, but I imagine I'll be learning over the course of the next few years.
-Lastly, I'm trying once again to lose weight.  Now that I have health insurance through my employer (although I'm not sure how that's going to change once the Health Care Exchange takes over Jan 1), I have successfully lost about 30 lbs since mid January of 2013.  I went to Physical Therapy to have them train me in how to push myself, how to do which exercises with my body, and how to execute proper form with many of the different exercises they gave me to work on.  Besides exercising and trying to be more active in general, I have almost completely done a 180 on my diet.  I'm trying to stay away from processed food as much as possible, and focus more on fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, protein, etc.  There are still the days when I need to stop at McD's for a breakfast or lunch, because my job often has lots of time constraints, but I'm not making that the foundation of my diet any longer.  I can't wait to continue with this journey now that I have support from my PCP (primary care physician), and other local community agencies to help me reach my goals.  :)

Annd...that's really about it.  I'm sure I'm forgetting a few different highlights, but that's most of what has happened to me since August of 2012.

I hope I didn't bore you with all the minute details of my life for the past 13 months.  There's lots of exciting stuff going on, and I love being able to share all this with you.  :)

What are some of the main highlights of your life in the past year.  In what ways have you grown?  What can you do this year that you couldn't last year?

Happy September, everyone!  Here comes the next holiday season!!

x.o.x.o.
Megan

First Week Back

Ashley showing school spirit by wearing copies of the latest edition of our school newspaper, The Current.

Left hand blue?

This picture is stunning of all three of us!  (Me, Ashley, Cassie).

Kitchen party!

Ashley and I looking adorable.

I successfully survived my first week of my last semester of college!  Whoo hoo!  My classes are mostly so-so, so far.  Hopefully I'll develop more of an affection for them as we move further along in this semester.  Unfortunately senioritis has definitely set in starting from Day 1, so I'll have to stay strong for the remainder of this school year.

Ryan will be joining our party tomorrow when he comes to move back into UVM!  I miss that boy, so that will be fantastic.

All but one of my textbooks have gotten to me in time for class, so I'm waiting patiently for things to get in order.  I have also been selling my textbooks on half.com.  Can I get a HOO-RAH for extra cash?  :D

In other news, my fish are all still alive and doing fairly well.  My plan for when my guppies, Killer and Diana Ross die, is to go to Walmart and get a new set of 5 and create a new bond with new family members.  <3

I don't have much else to report except for that I'm poor and waiting for my refund to come in from the school.  Ryan is going to help feed me over the next few weeks until I have money to go grocery shopping again.  (I love that boy.)  :)  Well will make it through!

What has your first week back to school looked like?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Today is Christmas!!!!

I hope those of you who celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, etc. that you have had a fabulous holiday season!

My Christmas was actually quite nice this year.  I spent Christmas Eve with Ryan and his family.  We knitted, watched movies, had a HUGE meal comprising salmon, steak, and assorted veggies, and went to church to carol and remember what Christmas is really about.  Now, I'm not a devoted Christian.  I was baptized Catholic as a child, however once my mother and I moved to Lyndonville we stopped attending church and that part of my life sort of closed.  I'm a cautious Christian now I suppose.  I am picky and choosy about what parts of Christianity I believe in, so I don't feel comfortable calling myself a true Christian.  I believe that there is some higher power, and that perhaps there is a sort of destiny for everyone.  However, I don't consider this as an excuse to lay back and do nothing with my life.  I am still the highly motivated individual I have always been, and always hope to be.

Anyways, moving along.  This year my family and I decided to open presents Christmas Eve as we had extended family coming on Christmas day, and it would have probably been a little awkward for them to watch our family hold our Christmas.  I believe in a small family Christmas-immediate family and a few close friends whom everyone knows intimately.  I feel awkward crashing someone else's Christmas when they are opening presents, and I don't like being put on display for others outside my immediate family and inner circle of friends and having to show and tell each of the gifts I receive.  It just feels weird to me.  So, we had our own intimate family Christmas and then hosted a few family members today, Christmas Day.  It worked out quite nicely!

Here is a list of some of the awesome gifts I received this year from my family (this isn't to brag-I'm just excited about what I've been lucky enough to receive!):

• My own personal Susan (a name Ryan and I have given the voice of the GPS put out by the "For Dummies" company)
• A car radio with a CD player, conversion kit, and CD holder for the car!  Space (my car) came without a CD player-just the radio.  This way I can make my own mixes again and listen to my own music whenever I want!  I just need the money to get to a garage to have a mechanic install everything for me.  :D
• A Tazo Tea kit with 2 tea mugs, Zen tea, and Calm tea (all of which I love).
• Clothing from Lane Bryant!  
• FUZZY SOCKS!  (My fave).
• Earrings from Lane Bryant.
• A necklace and earring set from JCPenny's (I believe).
• Candy dots.
• Hershey's kisses (already eaten).
• A few purses (that I think I am still trying to decide whether I like).
• Twin XL Sheet Set
• A flower-shaped cutting board, lady bug hot plate, and a strainer serving spoon (which is awesome!)
• Bath and Body Works Enchanted Life body spray, body lotion, and body wash.
• Bath and Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom Body Butter (I have used this every day since my sophomore year of high school and I looooove it!)
• 2 little Peppermint and Cotton Candy hand sanitizers from Bath and Body Works.
• Gift cards to the Mobil station and Price Chopper (Yay for gas to get back to Burlington and money to buy enough food to hopefully feed me until my refund check comes in!)
• Dermalogica Wash off, Bedtime for Breakouts, and Ready, Set, Scrub! products (which I also love.  I have tried them for the first time this past semester and they seem to work really well with my skin!  Hooray for gentle ingredients that don't actually do more damage to your skin than good!)

And from Ryan:

• A new pot to cook with since the Teflon was coming off from an old pot I had which necessitated my throwing it away.
• An amazing book he created full of memories between the two of us.  :)  <3

And from Ashley:

• A pair of earrings from Forever 21.
• A small clutch purse (which I love).  
• Yarn to aid me in my knitting endeavors!

Thank you to those of you who have exchanged gifts with me.  I love you all.  <3  Please go into the New Year safely, warmly, and heartily.  Drink and be merry-but also please be safe about it.

Safe and happy expeditions to you all!

xoxox

<3 Megan 

Its Been A Really Long Time...

Hello, everyone!

I haven't really posted more than one or two blog posts this past semester.  The truth is, I haven't really had much to say!  I've been too busy actually enjoying my life and having a great time of it to actually sit down and take the time to share.  So, here is an overview of important things that have happened this semester:

• Straight As!  Whoo hoo!!!
• Internship at The Arbors has been going well!  I'll be ready when I get back for next semester to pick up the pace a little and continue making my time there as awesome as possible.
• Making leaps and bounds through the Netflix queue.  Since Netflix split up its plan with the price increases, I've been subscribed online to the stream online plan.  Once I watch everything I can get through instant streaming, I'll switch to the physical disc mailing plan.  My most recent love has been How I Met Your Mother.  Words cannot describe...
• Grocery shopping and paying bills worked out awesome with my refund from the school up until the last 3 weeks.  I'll need to rethink that for next time.. Haha!
• Ryan and I are still going strong!  We sailed through our 5, 6, 7, and 8 month anniversaries.  April 5th of 2012 will mark our 1 year as an official couple!  YEEAHHHH!!!
• I bought fish!  I started off the summer with 5 guppies.  One died from the stress of the transfer from the store to my tank.  Then there were 4: Cappie (the only one with visible distinguishable marks), and "The Supremes" (the other 3 look-alikes).  Unfortunately now we're down to only two of the Supremes left (whom I have now dubbed Killer and Donna).  **Note, all my guppies were males--however, you have to admit that Cappie and The Supremes is kind of catchy...**  AND the newest addition to the family is a beta named Emmett.  He has his own tank and his own life, and I think that makes him happy.
• Space (my car) has thrived and deteriorated and thrived again!  We're hanging in the balance at around 160,000 miles.  We have winter tires but no snow....and we have oil and antifreeze that remains within the inner workings of the vehicle.  Win for all involved.
• Excellent drunken house parties have occurred: the very realistic Prohibition 1920s Speakeasy (where many of the attendees were underage [of course, this is college] so we all hid in the basement to manage the noise levels-good times), the famous Mustache party (yep-you guessed it. Mustache mandatory for attendance), ALL of Halloween weekend (3 parties in 2 days-not bad!), the quietish Christmas party between close Burlington-bound people in my life, and of course the other various nights that involved going to bars or staying in and mixing fun drinks by ourselves!
• Very few stressful nights worrying about homework and how I'm going to manage all of my classwork plus life in general.  4 classes per semester is PERFECT!  I'm so glad I put in all my hard times my Freshman/Sophomore years.  Senior year is a breeze so far, and I'm loving every second of it!  Sure there have been a few downs or hiccups in the general flow of things, but speaking overall, this has really been my best semester at Champlain so far.
• Oh, and I totally taught myself how to knit over Thanksgiving break via YouTube videos.  Oh yeah.  New life skills FOR THE WIN!

I'm so happy that this year has been going so well.  I can't imagine what this year would have been like with a schedule like my Spring semester of Sophomore year.  (That was when I broke up with Luke, was managing a 12 hr/wk unpaid internship, working as a Peer Advisor for as many hours/wk as was necessary, as well as working ~10hrs/wk for my mandatory work-study hours so I could have a paycheck).  I really wasn't sure I was going to make it that semester.  BUT-I did, and I'm stronger for it.  

I'm proud of myself for all I have accomplished so far.  I work damn hard and I deserve a lot of respect for all I do.  What is next on my list is to start applying for grad schools:  Boston University, Springfield College, University of Vermont, University of New Hampshire.  I'm working on getting all of my required application materials together over this break, and sending them out quite soon once I return to Burlington/Winooski.  

Lastly: I have been a busy beaver over break.  I got home on Friday evening, and it is now Tuesday.  In this time, my mother and I have switched bedrooms.  I'm enjoying being home SO much more.  I don't feel so depressed and aimless as I thought I would.  A big project like this is just what I needed to keep myself busy and motivated.  I seriously got rid of about 5 bags of garbage, and donated another 5 or so to the Salvation Army.  The reason for this is that my old room was about 1/2 the size of the basement (about 1/4 of the entire house).  I moved from this big room to my moms normal-sized bedroom that actually has windows!  She moved into the bigger room.  Therefore, I needed to really focus on getting rid of a lot of my old stuff so that it would all fit into this new, smaller, more manageable room.  I cleaned out everything: stuff from past boyfriends that have been sitting or buried in my room, things I haven't touched or worried about in years, stuff I thought I would definitely need/use but never got around to, and even some stuff I had been emotionally attached to.  However, it was time to let it all go, to let it be free.  While I may still have another bag or two of trash to take out, I feel great!  Cleansed.  Like I'm getting rid of everything so that whatever comes after Champlain will have room to take hold and lead me to where I'm supposed to be-without leaving too much behind.  So far both my mother and I seem happy with the trade.

Well, this wraps everything up rather nicely from the past 4 months of my life.  I feel like I need to find a new purpose for blogging again.  I wish I could be as dedicated as other folks in writing a fabulous blog-stuff other people actually care about instead of something that looks like a journal of my life.  I will gladly accept any and all blogging ideas and suggestions below.  Tell me what you'd most want to hear/learn about!  If it is something that lines up well with my interests or knowledge and expertise, I will try to move the blog in that direction--and work on posting more frequently.  :)

Auf Wiedersehen!

Waiting For You

Waiting For You

I breathe, I steady myself.

Can’t breathe, can’t for the life of me figure out WHY

Why you haven’t noticed…

Why you haven’t noticed me.

Sitting inches from you, ITCHING

Itching to feel you caress my face

With your big--

Your big, gentle hands that could never hurt anyone,

Except me.

You breathe in. I breathe in.

We exhale together.

So close but still so far…

So far you haven’t noticed.

Haven’t noticed that I…

I am yours.

Forever.

You breathe in.  I breathe in.

Our moment hangs in the balance for you--

For you to notice me.

Until then

I breathe, I steady myself.

Mismatched Cups

You know what's frustrating?

When you have a million mismatched cups and mugs in your kitchen cabinet and things don't fit quite right because of it.  But on the other hand, some of those cups have sentimental value, and you couldn't imagine yourself parting with them.

Welcome to college.

As I stood in my kitchen the other day putting dishes away, I had a flash-forward of my life.

My darling Ryan and I were happily en route in our life together: married, no kids yet, and I was still putting dishes away.  But we had an actual dish set.  Dishes that went together, that matched.  No more thrown-together plastic and glass dishware that consisted of my current dishware.  (And no more cheapie silverware from Walmart [5 for $1, anyone?]).

I'm really excited and ready to push beyond my mismatched THINGS in college life.  I'm ready to have my own place where I can own a complete dish set if I want, where I can host Christmas cocktail parties and serve alcohol because I'm over 21, and where I can really get a snapshot of what the rest of my life is going to look like.  (And make some changes if necessary).

As for the mismatched cup era?  Well, it was fun.  Developing relationships with half plastic/half glass dish sets has been a good time through the hilarity of college.  But, I'm ready for something better.

  

Been A While/New Phone!

Sorry about the seemingly unrelated topics in the same post.  It has been a very long time since I made my last post, so I'm trying to make like a good blogger and actually blog.  :P

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewPhoneDetail&selectedPhoneId=5355&deviceCategoryId=2  This is the link to the new phone I am about to get.  It has landed in Williston, VT, and I am currently waiting for it to get dropped off at the Champlain College mail room so I can pick it up and be on my merry way.  I'm SO EXCITED to have a new phone again.  Verizon is wonderful about allowing me to upgrade/update my 2 yr contract just about every year, and they allow me to upgrade my phone for free.  Which is awesome.  Ordering this phone online was also completely free (shipping and handling included!) so I'm pretty excited about this.

For those of you who are wondering how Ryan and I have been doing...we're fantastic.  :)  Love is in the air, summer is just around the corner (you know, around the VT tornado and flooding,) and life is pretty good.

I'm trying to head home today amidst all the flooding/closed roads/erosion/sinkholes, so I'm taking a half day at work.  Also, I'm trying to beat the next bout of storm which should be rolling in this afternoon between 3-5.  So, wish me luck!

When I'm home safe I'll try to think of a well-thought-out, themed post.  Right now I'm still a little frantic about money woes and how I'm going to get home.  (At least if I'm not able to go home, I'll have gone for a nice ride and I'll be able to stay with Ryan for a few more days!) 

Things will work out somehow.

Until next time!

xoxo
Megan

Happier Than I Ever Thought I'd Ever Be

The day before last, I took the biggest risk of my entire life.  I laid everything down on the line, threw all my cards on the table, and put myself way, way out there.  Literally my entire life, my entire future was at stake, and I sat down to play poker with fate.  (Actually I can't play poker, so looking back on it, that might not have been my smartest move ever.)

HOWEVER, everything worked out sooo beautifully in the end.  For those of you who have been living under a rock  for the past 2 days, Ryan and I are now officially an item.  Oh, yes.  Burlington's new power couple.  After years of dealing with this in silence, I decided I'd had enough.  Now or never.  Time to reveal all.  And the result was something so much more magical than I could have ever expected.

Tuesday I was a wreck.  I gave Ryan the 6 page letter which housed my heart, future, and potentially emotional and mental stability for the next three years at least in the morning before school, and proceeded to act like a crazy person the rest of the day.  I'm pretty sure my body thought that I drank 4 cups of straight espresso every 3 hours or something.  Heart palpitations were in abundance.  I walked down Church St and fit right in with everyone else due to my talking to myself and the random hand gestures that were sure to have accompanied the conversations I had with myself.  Oh yeah, SO sane.

In order to give my body a rest I texted Ryan (as if nothing unusual had happened that day) and told him I'd probably be taking a nap right when I got home from work.  The nap worked out well, although I had some crazy dreams (not all that unusual for me) which I proceeded to text and inform Ryan of.  I got up a half hour before my staff meeting, and decided that I GUESSED I was brave enough to get online and check Facebook and stuff before staff meeting.  Waiting for me in my inbox was an e-mail from Ryan, subject "<3".

Okay, so now take my Church St persona and multiply that by 3.  It was safe to say I was FREAKIN' OUT!  I proceeded to read the sweetest, most vivid and emotional e-mail of my life.  I cried.  It's now saved forever in the catacombs of my e-mail folders.  Needless to say, Ryan said yes, and I found myself saved from total and utter destruction. 

I can't even put into words how happy I am.  It feels so refreshing to get everything off my chest that I've been holding for 2-3 years now, and to be able to finally recognize my feelings and drag them from the dark into the light.  Ryan always has been and always will be my everything.  I don't know how I lived before him, and I can't imagine my future without him.  I love that I can reach out and touch him now whenever the urge strikes me, and I don't have to just pretend I'm just "WTFing" him or something else of the sort. 

I have a boyfriend again!  But Ryan not just my boyfried, he's my best friend.  I am in the most perfect relationship I think I could have ever asked for, and my life finally feels complete.  Thank you to those who helped me through this rough weekend, and who kept me from shattering into a million pieces.  This is the understatement of the year, but WHOA, what a week!



(This is obviously us.  Can't you tell?  LMFAO!)



It's Been A While

Hello, everyone!

So, with my laptop finally back in my possession, life is good again.  As of Friday I will be totally ALL caught up on my homework, and I'll be in a good place.

Speaking of Friday, our beloved Eden is coming from 4 hours away at PSU to stay here in Burlington with Ryan and I for the weekend!  This is the first time she'll have been able to see the UVM/Champlain campuses (campii?) from the Meg Ryan point of view.  It is going to be spectacular.  :)

In other news, I've been very gluttonous the past few days.  It sucks.  I need to kick it up a notch.  I was treated by Res Life to an amazing dinner at the Olive Garden last night, and I ate soooo much.  And Ryan got me a bag of Lindor Milk Chocolate truffles....which are mostly gone.  So...needless to say...I should maybe do some crunches tonight?!  I need to lose this weight!!! Even if I have to find a way to shake and shimmy every night for an hour or so!

Another factoid of my life: I may or may not be able to get a car over Spring Break.  So, here's the deal.  My 21st birthday falls on Spring Break from college.  This year (along with receiving the legal right to drink alcohol,) my mother was planning to get me my first car EVER!!!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!  BUT-this is all dependant on when she gets her Federal Tax Refund back.  She sent her forms out about 2 weeks ago, and they JUST got there the day before last.  Um...what?  Post office fail or federal government fail?  Maybe both.  They're the same thing, really. 

Soooo...here's my deal.  I thought I would finally have the chance to feel like I'm on equal footing (or tires?) with everyone else my age.  I've been driving my mothers car since I was 15.  It's really hard to hear other kids saying "Oh, let's just take my car" as if it's no big deal for 6 years.  It gets old after a while.  It shouldn't be such a touchy subject, but for those who don't have something that everyone else takes for granted...it's frustrating. 

Having a car is something that Vermont kids (especially) place a lot of value on.  Having your first car means you can finally have freedom.  Because it takes at LEAST a 15 minute drive to get anywhere worthwhile in VT, if you don't have a car, you're pretty much stuck.  I'm so sick of having to depend on other people's schedules and moods to determine whether or not I get to go somewhere.  I've dealt with it for 21 years of my life, the past 6 of which have felt extremely long.  I want to be a normal person with a car!  I would like to not have to depend on stupid bus schedules or mooch off friends for rides to the grocery store!  I would like to not have to barter with my mother during my breaks from school about if she has to work tomorrow, and if I can borrow her car. 

Long story short...this has been a long time coming.  I feel like a donkey with a carrot being dangled in my face.  The federal government better get their $H!T together and hurry up with my mother's refund so I can stop feeling like an inadequate college student.  Please and thank you.

(One vehicle my mom told me about was for sale in W. Rutland or somesuchplace.  It's a black Saturn Vue.  My mom currently has a blue one, but black works for me too!  We're looking into getting a standard because I have so much fun driving a stick shift.  Here's what one will potentially look like:)

Cute, right?  :)

I'm going to do my best to be patient.  I mean, even if I don't get the vehicle (which I really hope I do...otherwise some other plans of mine might be a little screwed...) I can still do this:

FYI...my mother has plans to get me drunk.  It's been a plan in motion since I was 9.  :)

SO-I hope this catches you up to where I'm at in life.  I have missed Blogger!  It feels good to write this out of my system.  <3

Until next time...
May the road rise to meet you (but not too quickly...)
XOXO
-Megan

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

Florida

Was. Amazing.

Seriously.  Take a look:

Kind of the best vacation ever.  :)

That is all for now.  :)