Summer: Day 13

I have come to accept the fact that this blog will be neither very witty nor very interesting. Such is life.

This has been a quite uneventful day, as I drug-tested, interned, ran errands, and did some stuff I needed to get done. In a way, I think I appreciate the alone time and down time before my summer gets crazy busy. I'm taking this opportunity to drink a cup of orange tea (delish) and relax a bit.

Most interesting part of the day: seeing my brother Tim wearing this hat: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/101/erapopgrape.jpg/sr=1 .If you knew him, you'd understand why I laughed and asked "Why?" Thankfully, my little brother Matt agrees as well. All Tim's life, he has dressed like a preppy computer scientist with a proclivity for argyle v-neck sweaters, shiny watches, and puma sneakers. This provided a great dinner conversation, as we questioned/discussed why he appeared to be changing his style, whether his friends dress like this, why he was wearing the oversized shirt, whether it was really a "joke" or not, and how my mother took off the sticker because she thought Tim forgot to take off the tag.

I should pin down some stuff I want to do this summer so I actually do it... zoo, beach, art museums, sketching, listening to new music, cooking new recipes... I don't want to waste another summer.

Summer: Day 12

Rain.
Caribou.
Essay help.
Ribs and well-made baked beans.
Games.
Opening a computer.
Remembering drug test at 8 A.M. tomorrow.
Goodnight world.

Summer: Day 11

Another relaxing day in my Memorial Day weekend... I went to Prairie Hill Free Church with Kevin because we're searching for a smaller church for him. I really enjoyed the sermon because I love the scripture that was spoken on: the "love chapter" of 1 Corinthinians ("Love is patient, love is kind...").

Also, I had my first stop at Caribou since I've been back. Small mint condition = win. Super pumped about their new "Buy 7 drinks, get one free" card.

The day continued with more cards with Kevin's grandparents and some mall time, where I just had to buy another dress... For $1.57, I couldn't help myself. :)

Summer: Day 10

A lazy day waking up to homemade French toast at Maddy's... I love her "guess and check" method of making French toast... I must make some this week!

Kevin's grandparents are here for Memorial Day weekend and the birthdays of Kevin, his sister, and his dad. Whenever his grandparents come, we play plenty of games, which I am so down for. We learned Sheepshead (so complicated), and I'm happy to say that Kevin and I beat them in cribbage twice.

So it's amazing how God can regenerate relationships. <3 Praise Him.

Summer: Day 9

I am officially pretty much re-hired at OfficeMax. I picked up my drug test and tried to get tested, but they wouldn't let me get in line even though they were still open for an hour... This means that  I will have to wait more than 48 hours to take my drug test, which is technically against company policy. Oh well. Not like I do drugs anyways...

Sleepover at Maddy's house in which we watched The King's Speech while I pretty much fell asleep. It was great to see Taylor, Ellie, and Maddy!  We helped make bombs as we watched TV. Not sketchy in the least.

Edit: These are not illegal bombs. These are tingoil ball/toilet bowl cleaner bombs.  I was engaging in legal activity, rolling tinfoil balls for Maddy's brother Jake/Jake's friends.

Summer: Day 8

I'm already on day 10 or something... here's a retrospective look at day 8.

My day started off decently early. Anytime I have to get up before 8 A.M. in the summer is early. I had an eye doctor appointment at 8:30 before my internship (the nice thing about unpaid internships is that they can't exactly get upset about you needing flexibility with hours for other commitments). Basically, I went to the eye doctor to make sure I don't have a rare genetic disease called Wilson's Disease, which my father has. Wilson's Disease is a very rare disease where the body cannot properly eliminate copper from the body, so it tends to build up in the body, especially the liver. Untreated, it kills. Another place it can build up is in the eyes- it shows up as a ring around the iris. (It's called a Kayser Fleischer ring: picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kayser-Fleischer_ring.jpg). Anyways, my dad thought my eyes looked different from normal and thought he might be seeing rings. Thankfully, turns out my eyes are normal, and I don't have copper build up. Thus, no Wilson's Disease for me. (Side note: I was tested when I was little, so this just confirms that test.)

I moved a lot of furniture around at my internship. People are surprised at how strong I am. Woohoo.

Summer: Day 7

First day of internship. Good stuff. Everyone is super nice and fun. I did typical intern tasks such as create documents + print them, verify stuff on lists, move lots of furniture... nothing too horrible. :)

Today I went to see Jane Eyre in Hopkins with Lindsay and Stephen. We were the only people under age 70, I swear. I don't know why, but all those white curly heads made me want to burst out laughing. They were too cute.

Summer: Day 6

Starting my internship at Martha O'Hara interiors tomorrow... so excited! AHHHHHHH. YES. Quite excited.

Other job-related news... picked up applications for Applebee's and Houlihan's. We'll see what happens.

Kevin has a homemade pizza recipe perfected. Win.

And that's life.

Jeremiah 29:11. God is where it's at.

Summer: Day 5

I think it's day 5... I have posts for days 3 and 4, but they're waiting on the netbook, which is starting up from an improper shutdown (not happening too fast).

I made a pretty cool chocolate peanut butter cake for Kevin's birthday today (his birthday was yesterday, but I was just getting home. It turned out well and had an excess of peanut butter frosting. Yum. The cake part didn't bake to its full potential unfortunately... the middle didn't rise/cook all the way. Oh well. When I have lots and lots of time I will upload a picture (slooooow upload speeds :p)

I have so much stuff. Seriously, my college boxes took over the living room. Today was spent unpacking and wondering where I will put this stuff.

Picnics are great. Kevin and I picnicked at Lake Riley for dinner today. Sunset + eating + outside = awesome.

Note: figured out that I can rearrange posts by deleting and reposting... not ideal, but it will do.

Summer: Day 4

Better late than never... wish I could rearrange blog posts!

Typing this up on my new netbook.  Drive, drive it away. Ann Arbor to home.  Let’s do a pros and cons of road trips with my parents.

Top 5 Favorites

1.     1.  Getting a chance to listen to a lot of my iPod.

2.     2.  Having a very comfortable van. My chair is perfect for falling asleep in.

3.     3.  Time to think about whatever Iwant for hours on end.

4.     4.  Getting to my destination. (on this trip: home)

5.      5. Responding to texts promptly on my part.

5 Least Favorites (“Least Favorite” is such an oxymoron if you think about it…)

1.    1.   Sitting for hours with limited movement. This cramps my style. I need to walk and stand up, so whenever we stop I get out.

2.   2    Feeling like I’m getting nothing done. I enjoy doing things, but I always forget to bring stuff to do on trips.

3.     3.  Having to use the restroom when there is nowhere to stop.

4.    4.  I don’t eat very well on trips. It’s really hard to get good vegetables to eat. I like vegetables, and they’re good for me.

5.     5.  Descending into a constant state of drowsiness/naptime. Almost impossible for me to avoid.

Yesterday, I had the strange sense of change, and I also was feeling uncertain.  My future is uncertain, and I’m not exactly anxious, apprehensive, or fearful.  I, in general, think of my future in positive terms, so I guess it was more a feeling of anticipation. 

It’s my wonderful boyfriend’s birthday today, so the sooner we get home, the better.

Summer: Day 3

Day 1 of the journey home. Ithaca, NY to Ann Arbor, MI.

Interesting event of the day/rant: I was bringing my last bit of trash to the dumpster, and I saw several plastic garbage bags mistakenly placed inside of the loading dock door by some mistakenly placed cardboard (everything is supposed to be taken to the bins outside).

I had written a nice long description of the events that followed, but word decided to randomly crash and get rid of it. I’m over it. 

Insert rant (indignant confusion) here:  You would not believe what people throw away at the end of the year here. It’s disgusting, and there is no good reason for it. If you go to college, you probably know what I’m talking about. If you go to a school where there are wealthy people who pay full tuition, you definitely know what I’m talking about. I will now continue to debunk any reason why people would throw perfectly good stuff away. 

Potential Cornell  excuses for throwing perfectly good stuff away:

1.      There’s no room in my luggage/I’m taking a plane.

a.      It’s called bigger suitcases and more of them.

b.      Guess what? You can ship boxes anywhere in the world.

c.      You’re coming back to Cornell, right? There are plenty of storage options.

2.      Storage is too expensive.

a.      It is, but can you share costs with a friend or friends?

b.      Do you have a friend’s house you can dump your stuff in for the summer? Some people stick around and may be fine with you leaving a few things there.

3.      I don’t have time to go store my stuff.

a.      Well, that doesn’t excuse you from throwing it away. See 4 b.

4.      I don’t want this stuff anymore.

a.      It’s completely fine to edit your possessions- just do it in a more responsible way. See b.

b.      Put the stuff you no longer need (if it is unbroken and in decent condition) in or by the large bins about 10 feet away from the loading dock. These are the dump and run bins. What you put in here will be sold and the profits will go to local charities.  You can help others and get rid of your stuff.

5.      I’m too lazy to walk the extra 10 feet.

a.       You’re at Cornell, you already have walked thousands of feet more than that. It takes seconds.

b.      You shouldn’t be at college it you’re too lazy to walk 10 feet.

c.      You have at least one friend who is not as lazy as you. Ask them to put your stuff in the dump and run bins.

6.      I didn’t know about dump and run donation bins.

a.      Do you read posters plastered everywhere? Maybe you should. I bet you did.

7.      What about my unopened, non-perishable food items? Dump and Run doesn’t take them.

a.      The food drive does. Downstairs RPCC has been a donation point for weeks.

                                                    i.     Starving children should make you cry.

8.      I don’t go to Cornell.

a.      Put a large sign that says “Free” on top of your stuff and leave it at a key point on campus. Win.

Why am I writing this? Well, during the time while I was packing, I have seen things being thrown away that most certainly should not be: clothing in perfect condition (and not ugly either), perfect condition 3 ring binders, unused cosmetics/shampoo, notebooks, unopened and unexpired non-perishable food, and more.  It made me want to cry. Seriously.  I can see how this world has a problem with garbage accumulation and overconsumption. So these past few days, I did something slightly embarrassing. I “dumpster dived.” I never entered a dumpster bin or touched food, but I did pull out a few bags of clothing and put them in dump and run, separating things I liked or could use. I also looked inside some garbage bags on the floor by the cardboard recycle a few times.  My best find? A digital camera that worked, with the SD card still inside. It’s only 5 megapixels, but it will be a great backup for me or camera for someone who needs one. That was my best find, until today at least. In that misplaced bag, I found a charger for something. Then I found what it was for: a small black HP netbook. Yes, it was a garbage bag. Used Kleenex and empty wrappers clearly marked it. I did not steal a netbook. It worked, and I cracked the password. Hold your applause- the password was the same as the password hint. I did want a netbook, because my laptop is huge and heavy, and I think carrying it to class, up all the hills and stairs, has been causing my screen damage. God is so good, in such unexpected ways.  Thanks for the early birthday present, God.

That was the big event of today... lots of driving followed my find.

Summer: Day 2

It's the last time I'll type to the glow of this desk lamp. I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for this room already, despite it's flaws.

Today has been... hectic. Packing and moving take so much more time than anticipated. Also, for some reason they stress me out, as I woke up with a sore throat this morning. I downed plenty of Propel water, but alas the sore throat slightly remains.

So much more I could say, like my thoughts about the year, but it got too late... until later.

Summer: Day 1

I created this blog with the hope of keeping friends updated on my summer life... So here it goes. During the school year, I'm just too busy to maintain a blog, but I've always wanted to try having one. I also hope to do some sort of design/interior design blogging, and if that gets too distracting to the blog, maybe I'll start another blog. Since I already have horrible writer's block, I'm really not sure how long this will last. I'm going to give it a shot though!

10:55 AM
Even though I'm not home yet, school is over. Therefore summer has begun. It feels AMAZING. Almost as good as graduating high school. I slept in today, and I already feel like I'm in a summer lazy mode. I do have a lot to get done today though. I have things to pack, a psych study to go to, a check to deposit at the ATM in collegetown, friends to see, and birthday presents to buy at the mall (for the first time this year I'm going to stop at the TJ Maxx that is on the other side of the main road, across from the mall... it was never convenient to spend the extra time crossing the road during the school year).  Despite enjoying my lazy time in Ithaca, I am very much looking forward to getting picked up to go home. I'm ready to go home and be with my family, boyfriend, and friends.

It's raining, as usual. Ithaca has given me a last week that is true to its true nature.Time for me to get some stuff done!