House Concert!

What an amazing experience!
I went to a friends house last night where they were having a 'house concert.' Apparently this is something they have done every year for the past 25 years. Usually they hire a band to play, but this year it was all familiy & friends and WOW. Such talent!
I had a wonderful time. Didn't make it home until after 2am, but it was so worth it.
/happy grin
Lucky and loving family and friends to do that every year - it's a lot of work. And crazy-lucky me to have been invited!
I went in early to help set up chairs and I was able to watch/listen to the performers practice. So really, I got 2 concerts!
I'm going back today to help them pick up the 70 odd chairs, assorted trash, and put their furniture back in place.
I'm invited to the one next year as well! Wahooo! Lucky, lucky me!

I see white

Everywhere I look there are layers upon layers of snow.
I'm not complaining, mind you. I love the flaky, glittery goodness that is snow.
Texas is sorely lacking in the powdery wonder that is snow.

Feeling sniffly and coughy and cold-ish - which I suppose I could blame on the cold weather, but I prefer to assign blame to the germ-spreading unsanitary people of the world!

I have to teach something in the Creative Expressions class I am ta'ing in and I have decided to do a shadow-box. I'm really excited because for my example I am going to do one about my trip to NZ - I have some pebbles, twigs, pictures, etc to put in there and then I'm going to try and compose something witty to write in there, a poem or something - OR! maybe take excerpts from my journal.... ooooooOOoooooOoooh the mind is turning over the possibilities. I love being crafty.

Things to do:

Talk to Financial Aid
Get License Plates
Make new Bulletin Board for Floor
Read for Education Research
Read for Advanced Ed Psych
Choose topic for Ad Ed Psych
3A Crochet Party tonight
Concert at friends tomorrow 4pm
Finish Letter of Application
Get one more Letter of Rec
Get copy of unofficial transcript
Follow up with Morris
Get Diploma

Easily entertained

I say it's one of the many perks of being an only child.
I'm having way too much fun rearranging my blog - even though it seems to be a never ending process this time around.

May have to kidnap Aya to help me figure out a few things though - since she's the all-knowing blog queen and it is her template I am using.

Yes, yes, I know....

I'm working on my blog still.
I acheived quite a bit last weekend, but got tired of working with it. Will try to get it all spiffy by next weekend.

Things are going well here. I seem to be making friends on my floor - was a bit shy to start with, but I'm working on getting out there. 37 new people = a bit intimidating.

First staff meeting tonight and they've started giving out certificates each week - I got one for my 4.0 gpa last semester which was cool. But the one I was really happy about was the Welcome Back one which read: "We missed you and now you know that the saying really is true, 'The children will play when Momma's away.'" I've heard of some of their antics last semester and I'd say that was true :) But it's good to be back and to have them welcome me back so warmly.

/love Linden/Birch staff

To fix...

*figure out what the heck is going on with my dates... always give me problems when I alter my blog template
*suss out which color texts I want where
*make the text a bit bigger - check on home comp
*find a more appealing layout - not just one box to the side - maybe a bar to seperate two
*create fabulous new header

See anything else I need to do? Any suggestions?

I really like the new font, it just needs to be a bit bigger.

And we're back to purple

Can I help it if my favourite colour is purple?
Possibly, but I kind of doubt it.

After at least 8 months of blue I've decided to return to shades of purple.
Much more pleasing to my eyes.

As always, when I update my blog template, I am having some minor technical problems. Hopefully I will figure it out without having to ask Aya for help ;) though she's very generous with her help!

With any luck I'll have it sussed out before the weekend is over!

PS: I love my new Bucky Link!

Darby Conley

Warning plug incoming

(not that I get anything from it - I'm just sharing the Bucky luv)

Who is that masked man?
Well... he's not exactly masked, just behind the scenes.
He's the writer/illustrator/creator of the comic Get Fuzzy.

I love his sense of humor - I love that the comic is about animals (a cat and a dog) - I love the way he portrays the animals - I love the comic!

Bucky: hilarious, rude, slightly crazy, schemer with what I like to call 'cattitude'
Satchel: sweet, loyal, trusting, forgiving, huggable puppy with a good heart
Rob: patient, witty/sassy/cheeky, human 'guardian' of Bucky and Satchel. But why does he put up with Bucky's shenanigans? Does he really love the cat in spite of all his cattitude? Or is it because he knows no one else could ever put up with him?

Put them together and you get the most dysfunctional human-animal household and a lot of laughs.

I love the one-liners and the quotes of Bucky: "Sweet cracker sandwich" etc...

I remember the first Get Fuzzy I ever saw - my dad showed me a clipping from the newspaper back home: Rob tells Satchel to get Bucky. Satchel replies that Bucky won't come - he's just laying there. Rob tells him to pick him up. There's a picture of Bucky laying on his back, legs in the air, claws out - and Satchel replies, "But he's laying pointy side up."
I'm really not doing the comic justice there - but it was funny enough to capture my interest - lots of giggling and whatnot. I went looking and found a site online (see link to right) where I can check it everyday and I do! I love my Get Fuzzy!

I found an interview with Darby Conley which gave me some insight to the man behind the comic.


/steps off her soap box

But seriously, if you like animals (cats and dogs) and funny pop-culture references then I would highly recommend you check out Get Fuzzy.

Different Strokes

For Different Folks... And so on and so on...

Went to see A Series of Unfortunate Events with Aya, D, Holly, and Jer. I liked it and the others really didn't care for it much. I had read the first book so I had some idea of what to expect and was pleased to see the essence of the books captured on film.

Aya's cousin was with us all weekend. She and I got haircuts and then I dyed her hair purple (was already purple, just needed a refresher) and Aya dyed my hair for me (a bit darker brown with some highlights).

I'm finding it a bit difficult to get back into the student mindset - reading lots and taking notes and such. Oh well, I suppose I'll get the hang of it - hopefully sooner rather than later.

Speaking of... Advanced Ed Psych is calling my name.

Good to be home

For I truely see Bemidji as my home. I feel more at home here. This place, these people, the buildings, even the snow welcome me with open arms.

Was so wonderful to see my friends again! I think they missed me almost as much as I missed them and that's a wonderful feeling. Part of me was a little afraid they'd all forgotten me.

It feels slightly different - but very familiar. Hard to explain. I've been welcomed back and I have fit right back in the Res Life family, but there are subtle changes - hard to pin-point. That's the way life goes - people change all the time and we just notice it more when we haven't seen them in a while.

In any case, WAHOOOOOOO! I'm home!

Safe & Sound

We made it up to MN without any problems - the roads were mostly clear.
I spent the first night in Aya's room, didn't want to have to move all my stuff around to find sheets for my bed so I just made do in her room :) Was fun!
Moved all my stuff into my room today - it's bigger than what I was expecting = a VERY good thing - I was terrified it would be a little box. It's actually not much smaller than my old room.

Saw White Noise tonight - semi-freaky towards the end.
There are still a bunch of movies I want to see. I'm working on it though :) And Aya says she'll go see Series of Unfortunate Events with me!
Woot Woot

Gonna put together my new lamp - had to buy one because this room only has one light and it was crazy-dark.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

List time

I have so much to do before I leave and another list of things to do when I get there.

I'm feeling a bit stressed. I'm also at the point I reach before every trip - where I'm ready for it to be over. I don't relish long drives (even with pretty new cars) or long plane rides. But, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Besides, once I am there have settled in it'll be all good :)

I feel really bad because I haven't found time to see my grandmother in East Texas. With everything that happened here and packing and whatnot I simply won't have time :( I promised her though... I must be a sucky grandchild. I have to call her today and tell her I won't make it out to see her. /sigh

Rainy weather the past couple of days has not helped my energy level. All I want to do is curl up in my bed with a kitty or two and pass out. Must say I did do it for a bit yesterday and it felt really good.

Added to my stress and guilt is a sense of loss (grandaddy) and to top it all off a sense of... home-sickness? for lack of a better term. I miss NZ. I miss the people, I miss the atmosphere, the landscapes, the adventures I had. It already feels like a fading dream. Certainly a dream come true for me. Now it is over I feel as if a hole has developed in my heart (another one). I gained all these memories, experiences, etc, but now they've passed and another chapter in my life is ended. It's sort of like grief but on a different level. Hard to explain. I've adjusted back to my home life and soon will have to adjust back to my school life. It makes the past 4 1/2 months seem like this dream vacation and I have to stop occasionaly and remind myself it really did happen.

Hmm...
It really did happen, and I have the pictures and journal to prove it!

Gently breaking it in...

...before the long trek up north on Wednesday.
Yep, I still love my new car! :)

I've spent the past few days hanging out with family and I've started packing up my stuff. I really dislike packing - for any reason. The only thing I like less is unpacking after an awesome trip. Thus the state of chaos which surrounds my room... literally, it's spilling out into the hall.

You never know what you might find on The Onion. I discovered this site when I was in Mass Media in Society. I check it from time to time, but this is typical Onion.

Renee, I hope you are happier now... less stressed. I'd like to see you when I get back up north.