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!

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.