Maybe not so much aging backwards, but aging in numbers, and not in spirit by any means.  Maybe it's because I totally understand myself nowadays and I've gotten myself out of being stuck in self-discovery mode like I was, but whatever the reasons, it's kept me in a really good mood for a while now, even with the drama of school, work, friends, and family happening around me. I've just reached a place of realizing that when things are bad, they won't be bad forever, and if something happens that you didn't plan, there's always a Plan B... or C... or D... and the list goes on. So yeah, even with all the crap, things have been really great. I haven't even been pissed off about my job not scheduling me in two months, but I'm also not yet flat broke, so... I technically haven't hit rock bottom with that yet.

I find ways to get things I need without even whoring myself out!

Tags: life, thoughts
Writing From: Louisiana
I Feel: happy
I'm Listening To: That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings

I don't think I've heard Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back" so much in one week EVER. The entire time I was in Florida, it was like the song was following me around! I'll get to that later, though! There's so much to talk about!

Kicking things off, I just want to say that my spring break in Florida was a blast! The week flew by, and when I was on my flight back home, it felt like I just flew out there the day before. I'm really looking forward to my next trip out there, which will be June 30th - July 14th. Two weeks! Well, actually a week and six days because I leaave at 6:00AM on the 14th, egads! Still, it's a long trip, and I'll be there for the 4th of July and my birthday so I'm really excited about that! I'm trying not to focus all my energy on my excitement about that trip because I have other things coming up to look forward to like the end of the school semester, the trip to Atlanta, helping my mom move into her new house, etc.

I've already talked about the MC Hammer and Fame Ball tour in my recent entries so I'll leave them out of this one, and talk about everything else I haven't touched on!

Work was actually a lot of fun. I wasn't working at The Art of Disney, though. Instead, I was placed in the Wonderful World of Memories, a shop that I thought was closed after the Design-A-Tee shop opened up. How wrong I was! I really did miss working at Downtown Disney, and all of my fellow cast members were really helpful and got me reaquainted with everything. There's not really much to say about work. It was good, I met new people, and had a blast! There was one awkward guest, though... This lady started yelling at her six or seven-year-old daughter about a charm bracelet right in front of me. I was in the middle of telling her the total for an Ariel charm. So awkward. I kind of just stood there for a second while this lady yelled in the store, and then finally just cut her off and told her the total. I was embarrassed for the lady because the situation really didn't call for yelling, especially not in public. Poor little girl. Enough about work!

I'll back up to my arrival on Friday, April 3rd... I was nervous about the weather on my flight in because I knew it was supposed to rain and according to weather.com, it was supposed to be raining when I got in town. Luckily, the rain stopped before my plane landed. Dee had class at 10:00a.m. and rehearsal for her one act at 1:00p.m., and my plane landed at 12:30p.m. so I had to wait at the airport for about two hours, which I know, sounds like forever, but I had already been warned, and I had my Nintendo DS and some cookies to occupy all that time. Plus, I was super excited about being in Florida again so my happiness acted as a cloud that shielded all negative thoughts. Dee picks me up and we head to Target to get snackage and dinner so we could eat before heading out to Jellyrolls that night.

So, Jellyrolls is this dueling piano and sing-a-long bar at Disney's Boardwalk resort that Dee and I would always talk about going to, but never went because we would go to Adventurers Club instead. How foolish we were! My first nice there, I wasn't really dancing or anything, just trying to get a feel for the place, taking it all in. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't just sitting like a bump on a log, I got up and did the tree dance! I fell in love with the place. Friends + Drinks + Music + Singing + Easy-on-the-eyes piano players = My kind of place. I really had a great time. The piano players are super talented, the atmosphere is laid-back and fun, and there's really no pressure about "ruining the magic"... something that seemed to be in abundance at Adventurers Club (it is missed).

Saturday, I worked and went to see MC Hammer. That subject has been touched on.

Sunday, Dee and I made our own version of crunchwrap supremes, and they came out well! So delicious! Dee also made these drinks with cotton candy and pop rocks. Yum! That was pretty much how we spent our evening. We also watched Rocky Horror Picture Show and just had a silly evening. Good times!

Monday, I just hung out at Dee's apartment while she was at work. Once she got off, we got ready and headed to the House of Blues to see Lady GaGa... another subject that has already been touched.

Tuesday, things started to get interesting. A few weeks ago, I managed to sprain my ankle while working out. It was pretty bad, getting around was a big pain. Luckily, my ankle stopped hurting before I got to Florida. One fact that I managed to overlook, I haven't worn flat shoes regularly in a while. It's been mostly sneakers, so when I decided to wear flip flops all day while out at Epcot and Hollywood Studios, my feet definitely did not thank me. My ankles were throbbing by that evening, which wasn't a good thing considering Dee, Leigh, and I were heading out to Jellyrolls. I chose to wear heels that night, and surprisingly, my feet felt a thousand times better in those than in the flip flops.

Side Note: Turns out, the week before Easter is one of the busiest times to visit Walt Disney World. Sue me for not knowing that! Getting around was insanity!

After Dee and I left the parks, we went to her college for her one act (The Philadelphia) rehearsal. I was really excited about seeing a rehearsal because I wouldn't be able to see the final show on April 22nd. The rehearsal was a lot of fun, but my presence there didn't really allow a lot of work to be done. In fact, Dee said that it was their worst rehearsal to date because the cast was goofing and showing off because I was there. I was so flattered! Haha! The cast in the one act were lots of fun, though, and I had to keep myself from laughing while they were rehearsing. I didn't want to be a distraction, so I kept quiet, but it didn't help. They just couldn't focus. Haha! The one act is really cute, though, and I'm glad I got to see it!

It was weird being at Jellyrolls with Leigh and Dee, not because they don't get along, they do, but because they get into the music in two different ways, and I had to split my attention between the two of them. Unfortunately, I was running on E in my energy tank and I was kind of all over the place, getting distracted really easily and whatnot. The 32oz Alabama Slammer didn't do much to help. It just made me more tired. I ended up going outside and hanging out in the cool night air about half an hour before the bar closed. Leigh texted me, wanting me to come back inside, but it was too late because they'd locked the doors already. Oh well!

I headed back to Leigh's place that night to spend the night because we were hanging out the next day, having lunch at Trail's End at Fort Wilderness and then going to Magic Kingdom. That was the original plan, at least. I wore the flip flops again... like an idiot. Lunch at Trail's End was pretty good. I liked the atmosphere of the restaurant (the drinks came in jars, ah!), and the Ceasar Salad...YUM! We didn't go to Magic Kingdom after lunch because the park was full, and went to Hollywood Studios instead. I got to ride Toy Story Mania for the first time! It definitely exceeded my expectations and turned out to be lots of fun. I prefer it over the Buzz Lightyear ride, for sure. After Hollywood Studios, we went to the Wilderness Lodge resort, and I had to get an ice pack for my ankle. I was actually visibly limping by that point. Sad.

I'd never been to the Wilderness Lodge, but always wanted to go. It's so pretty! Leigh and I were there for about an hour before Dee met up with us (she had class and rehearsal). Once my ankles started feeling better, we decided to go to Magic Kingdom since they were letting people into the park again. Dee and I rode Splash Mountain (LOVE!) and all three of us rode Space Mountain. I was determined to ride it at least once since it's closing down this month for refurbishment until November or something like that.

I spent the night at Leigh's again that night because we both had to work the next day around the same time. It was my last day of work for the week, and though that was exciting, I was way more excited about hitting up Jellyrolls one more time with Dee and her roommate. This cute guy from South Africa was sitting next to us at Jellyrolls, and he was definitely showing signs of some kind of interest. Unfortunately, I was so involved with the company I came with and enjoying the music and dancing, I was completely oblivious. I mean, I talked to the guy, answered his questions, and was completely charming, but wasn't coming off as receptive. Of course, I didn't notice this until he set his sights on another girl. Oh well, I'll just have to remember to be aware next time.
 
I totally would have made out with that guy. Just putting that out there.

Thursday night at the bar was so much fun, the music was awesome, everyone was getting into it and dancing, and we had a really good time. I knew I was going to miss the place when I left two days later.

Friday was a chill day. My ankles were swollen and gross-looking so I just rested at Dee's apartment while she was at work. Once she got off, we headed over to Downtown Disney and to the Virgin Megastore where I bought the White Tie Affair album, Walk This Way, and Dee got two Billy Joel albums. We didn't really do much besides hang out, and the same applies for Saturday.

Sunday, I headed back to Louisiana, and that's where I am now. So that was my week in a pretty big nutshell. Florida was a blast full of cute guys, music, dancing, and fun, and I can't wait to go back!

Tags: concert, dancing, dinner, disney, drinking, friends, friendship, guys, jellyrolls, life, love, movies, music, pain, reflection, relationships, ride, romance, torture, travel, work
Writing From: Louisiana
I Feel: cheerful
I'm Listening To: George Lopez on TV

I went to see Lady GaGa's Fame Ball Tour with Dee on Monday, April 6th, at the House of Blues Orlando. To describe it in one word: Ah-maze-eeng! There were three opening acts, only one was disappointing, and that was Chester French. I'd heard of this band before because they play clips of their videos on MTV (It wasn't until they performed "Jimmy Choos" that I realized it was the same band), and though I didn't think they were so bad on TV, it's not so great watching them live. Upon seeing the lead singer, Dee and I both started singing the theme song to the Greatest American Hero. I had been on the fence about Chester French because of the music videos, but after seeing them live, I think I'm going to pass on them... until they have a single that I like, and then I might get the album, but probably not see them live. I couldn't get past the high school band feel of the entire performance. Gag.

However, Cinema Bizarre and White Tie Affair, the other two opening acts, were awesome! Cinema Bizarre is this rock band from Germany, and they were the first opening act. I must have missed when they said the band name at the concert so all week I was talking about how awesome they were, but actually had no idea, haha! They had a good feel to them, and it was enjoyable watching them live. In fact, they should have put Chester French before them. Oh well. White Tie Affair = OMG! They were the last opening act and were so good! Because I gave up on the radio years ago and I don't watch a lot of music videos anymore, I had never heard of them or their song "Candle (Sick and Tired)." They put on a really good show, had awesome stage presence, and really got the crowd moving. They were lots of fun! I went to find their album, Walk This Way, at the Virgin Megastore after the concert was over, but couldn't find it. Sad. I did manage to get my hands on it at the end of the week, and good thing I found it then because everything was on sale at Virgin. It's closing next month. Sad sad.

Before I go into Lady GaGa's performance, let me just say that Dee and I had a pretty decent spot for the concert. We weren't on the floor because by the time we got in, there was a big chunk of people there already, and both of us are short so it wouldn't make sense to be behind seven rows of people taller than us. Instead, we went up to a standing level, and angled ourselves so we could see the entire stage and had a monitor too, even though it wasn't necessary. We were by ourselves for a while, but the place soon filled up. There was this mother and daughter (We assumed) next to Dee, and they slowly forced themselves into this tiny space between Dee and another concert-goer. When I say slowly, I mean, we didn't even notice that we'd shifted until I realized that a part of the stage was being blocked by a pillar. It wasn't enough to be angry about, though, so I wasn't freaking out or anything. The thing is, this mother and daughter just weren't getting into the concert. They were leaning on the railing, just staring with their heads resting on their hands. So to battle this and to try to gain some space back, Dee and I decided to get wild and start dancing to try to push them back over, haha! I kept hip checking Dee so it would bump the lady next to her (the mother). It actually worked! We didn't gain back all of our original spot, but we definitely shifted in the right direction.

Lady GaGa. GREAT! She put on such a good show! I can't remember the exact order she performed the songs, but I know she opened with "Paparazzi," and then did "LoveGame." Then there was "The Fame," "Money Honey," "Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)," "Beautiful Dirty Rich," "Poker Face" (Piano version), "Future Love" (I love this song!), "Just Dance," "Boys Boys Boys," and "Poker Face" (album version). She was high energy, totally into her music and her fans, and it was apparent from the way she performed. I love her back-up dancers, and I was excited about seeing them in person, too, haha! Lady GaGa was everything I expected and more, and it was incredibly refreshing to see a truly talented performer live. I know lots of people think she's strange and can't get past that, but there really is no denying that she's got a good voice. Her new song, Future Love, as embarrassing as this is to admit, almost moved me to tears, haha! She has such a good voice, and it's a pretty song, even with the "f-fuck you hard as I can" line in there. I definitely would have driven to Tampa to see the show again, but 1) I didn't buy a ticket for that and 2) I had other plans. I can't wait to see her live again... that definitely won't be the last time. I'm hoping Elle will be able to see her live, too! It's too bad she wasn't going anywhere near Louisiana (besides Atlanta), but maybe next time!

Oh, and during Boys Boys Boys, there was this guy behind me and Dee who was so into it. He kept jumping up and down and screaming "WE LOVE THEM!" I hadn't noticed him until then! It was nice that someone else around us was getting into it as much as we were, haha! There was another girl near us that was really into it, but she was singing every song really loud and really off-key, so she was annoying. I was really happy that Dee had a good time because she didn't know a lot of Lady GaGa's songs, just "Poker Face" and "Just Dance." I'd invited another friend, Leigh, to the show, but she didn't want to go because she didn't know any of the songs. Lame! Oh well, though, we had a good time!

Tags: chester french, cinema bizarre, concert, lady gaga, music, white tie affair
Writing From: Louisiana
I Feel: excited
I'm Listening To: Boys Boys Boys - Lady GaGa

I know I've given updates on school, working out, and animal gland problems, but I haven't really talked about everything in between.

Kicking things off, my mom is moving into a new house in about two months! I haven't seen the actual house yet, just pictures, but it looks nice from what I can see. What's even better is that she's moving closer to me! Not that she lives all that far away now, but her neighborhood is literally, right down the street from mine. So excited! I've been trying to convince her to let me have a birthday BBQ at her new place, but she won't have all of her furniture... and she said no, haha!

I won't even be home for my birthday, though, so I won't cry about it. I'm spending the Fourth of July and my birthday in Florida! 1.) Because I still need more hours at work and 2.) I don't want to be at home for the Fourth of July and 3.) I don't want to be at home for my birthday. So I'll probably head down to Florida at the beginning of July, stay for two weeks, come home a few days after my birthday, celebrate with my family, and then at the end of July/beginning of August, I'm going to Gulf Shores with some friends for the weekend.

The original plan was to go to Gulf Shores during my birthday weekend, but not everyone could make it at that time. Plus, I told Elle that if she couldn't be there the weekend I planned, then I didn't have a problem moving the date around a bit. She got upset when I booked the condo before she knew if she could go or not, though, but once she sent me her shift schedule for July and August, I moved the trip to the end of July. It took all of five minutes to do it, and it works out for the best because now I'll have time to finish my work requirement for Disney, I get to be out of town for my birthday, and I still get to go to the beach with my friends. Totally looking forward to it!

Speaking of Elle, we seriously have not talked in about a month... I'm not exactly sure what's up anymore. We had that "falling out" about the condo booking thing, and I ended up telling her that our friendship needed a break, but took that back about a week later. I think the last time I "talked" to her was when I registered some passes for the Red Stick Animation Festival for us, and let her know that I did so. I haven't really been stressing about it, though, because there was stuff going on with her family and she's been working, and she's when she's busy, she usually goes M.I.A for a while. Plus, I've been really busy with school and getting ready for this trip and stuff, and haven't thought about it too much. It didn't hit me that we hadn't been communicating until yesterday, actually. I don't know what's up, though.

On to the animation festival! So excited about going to this! I was going to volunteer to work it, but decided not to because I wanted to have the freedom to go to the movie screenings when I wanted to. I really wanted to get a gold pass so I could go see the Princess and the Frog lecture that's taking place there, but it seems that they're sold out or something. Sad. I'm still really looking forward to it. The festival is April 22nd-25th. On the 24th, I'm going with my family to the Princess Ball. Little girls dress up like princesses and they give out awards. It just sounds really cute, so I definitely have to see it.

I fell off my work out schedule last week due to being insanely busy, but I definitely plan on getting back in there when I get back home.

Hmm...what else... what else... I'm still not getting scheduled at that bookstore I'm employed at, but I don't plan on quitting. I'll just take advantage of the discount while I can.

I'm going back to community college for a semester and then back to the university. School is still lame, and I can't wait to be done with it.

My dad is getting a new motorcycle soon. I really don't want him to get another one, but oh well. I don't have a say in this decision.

I honestly think that's everything that has been going on! I'm really looking forward to the summer time so things can slow down some. I may be taking a Spanish class at the end of May, but that will only be for three weeks, so after that, I'm just kicking back and living life with hakuna matata for a little while.

R&R is so nice...

Tags: beach, family, festival, friends, friendship, home improvement, life, school, travel
Writing From: Florida
I Feel: cheerful
I'm Listening To: Spongebob Squarepants on TV

Florida has been amazing so far! I've been here since Friday morning, and today is the first day things have actually slowed down, even though I was thisclose to getting up early, riding to work with one of my friends, and then hanging out in a park until she got off at 1:30p.m.

The flight over here wasn't bad. I was nervous because when I checked the weather on Thursday, it showed that a thunderstorm would be going on when I landed, and after that plane descent into Arkansas during Hurricane Gustav (the major stuff was over, just a lot of wind and rain), I do not want to fly through a storm again. Luckily, it had stopped raining, and was actually clearing up so that was great! I had to wait a while Dee to pick me up because she had go to her rehearsal for her one-act that's being performed later this month (and how would that look if the director was missing at rehearsal?)

After leaving the airport, we headed to Downtown Disney so I could get my work "costume," which didn't take too long, and good thing it didn't because my friend and I were really hungry. We got food at Target, and then headed back to her place to eat and hang out until we had to get ready to go out that night.

Dee and I were heading out to Jellyrolls, this dueling piano and sing-a-long bar that we neglected to visit while Adventurers Club was open. We would always talk about going, but never made it. I'm sorry we didn't because Jellyrolls = SO FUN! After hearing stories about it from my friend, I was so pumped to see it for myself. The piano players are awesome and super talented! I'm really excited to go back on Tuesday with two of my friends. Oh, and I had a chocolate cake shot. It was weird, and I totally suck at doing shots. I can't get the whole thing down at once... so it was like I had two chocolate cake shots!

I had to work yesterday, and I had been going through this weird feeling of being excited, but dreading it all at the same time. I was more excited, though. I drove Dee's car to Downtown Disney (she was picking it up after work) and got there early because I knew I had been kicked out of the system... and I was right. The only thing I wasn't kicked out of was the door security system. I could still slide my I.D through it to unlock the door! Whoo!

I got to see some of my former co-workers who were still working there, but there were a lot of people I didn't know there, too, but they were all really nice. There was one creepy guy, but he meant well, and was nice too. He even recommended a really good breakfast dish at Crystal Palace, though I'm a little wary of it because he said that if I liked bread pudding, then I would really like it. I don't really care for bread pudding.

Speaking of breakfast, Wednesday morning, I'm going to Wave at the Contemporary resort to have breakfast with Leigh! Whoo! I've never been there, but the idea of a hot breakfast... yum... I love breakfast. We're going to hang out at Magic Kingdom after that.

Back to work, the store has changed A LOT since the last time I was there. Instead of two stores, it's now three stores, and now they have the Create A Hat section in there. I was nervous about that. I didn't want to mess up the stitching in someone's hat, obviously! By the time I left work, I learned how to do work the system without messing up someone's Mickey ears. Yay! Work was a lot of fun, everyone was really helpful with getting me up to speed about all of the changes. I can't wait until I get a chance to head up to Downtown Disney and just walk around to see everything, What was really cool, though, was how I really just fell back into place there... even though I was so close to asking someone if they had a Borders Rewards card. (Note to self: You are working at Walt Disney World, not Borders). I had a lot of fun, and I'm actually looking forward to going back on Thursday afternoon.

After work, Dee came to pick me up, I changed clothes, and we headed to Universal Studios to see MC Hammer perform for the Mardi Gras thing that Universal has. Okay, being from Louisiana, I couldn't really get into the whole Mardi Gras thing there. Compared to the actual thing in Louisiana, that was a joke. I was really hungry, but afraid to try any of the "cajun cuisine" there because it's usually not as good (or not good in the same way) as the legit stuff. After walking around the booths TWICE, I decided to give their shrimp po-boy a shot. I love po-boys, and the one I had was good, but I had a few issues with it. First of all, theh had it turned like a hot dog so it was a little difficult to eat, especially with the dressing they used (some mayo, pepper, other stuff combination) spread across the top of it like a hot dog. I got that stuff on my nose! Second of all, though it wasn't horrible, it tasted like they fried the shrimp in the stuff you fry chicken in. So, it wasn't the best po-boy I've ever eaten (what could I have expected), but it was edible. I wanted to get a funnel cake or beignet, but I was so full after eating the po-boy and drinking my Sprite that there was no way I could get that down, even if I tried. Oh well. Another day. Maybe when I go to Epcot. They sell them in America!

After we ate, Dee and I headed to find a spot to watch the MC Hammer concert. We thought it was going to start at 8:30p.m., but we were wrong. It started at about 10:15 or 10:30ish, and people were getting cranky by then. I was being patient, though my friend was ready to bounce out. At that point, though, we had already waited around, so why leave? I remembered that I loved the "Please Hammer...Don't Hurt 'Em" album, but I forgot how much I loved it! So many memories as a kid for me. Oh, and after watching his show, I totally wanna be one of his back-up dancers, haha! Anyway, he can still dance really well, but kept going off to the side of the stage to get water. A lot of people there were all like, "Wah wah wah, he keeps getting water, wah wah wah, he's so old and can't do all that stuff anymore." Screw that. It's been almost twenty years (or twenty, I don't know) since that album was around, so he's twenty years older than he was, and he can still dance, so... if the man wants water, let the man get water. You aren't up on that stage dancing, so stop being such a hater. We left after he performed U Can't Touch This. A lot of people did, actually. I was willing to stay, but my friend was ready to go, and she drove, so we headed out, stopped at Wal-Mart, and then back to her apartment.

Dee and I are supposed to be going to see Lady GaGa on Monday, but apparently, she's been postponing shows. I hope the one we're going to isn't postponed! As of now, I don't think it has been. We checked last night, and there was nothing about that particular show, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We have back-up plans in case the show doesn't happen, though, so either way, I won't be disappointed!

That's everything that's been going on so far. Today is a chill day. We're making tacos for dinner tonight and watching Rocky Horror Picture Show, so that'll be fun!

I'll probably write another entry right after this to give an overdue home update.

Tags: dancing, disney, food, friends, guys, jellyrolls, mardi gras, mc hammer, music, universal studios
Writing From: Florida
I Feel: bouncy
I'm Listening To: Fairly Odd Parents on TV

The number of people that don't believe me when I say that I'm getting my bachelor's degree for my parents/everyone else pushing me through college truly baffles me. It's pretty much everyone. Their reasoning is always, "Well, with your degree, you'll get better jobs and have better opportunities than someone without a degree." Okay, that may be true, but that's an understood result of college (and not always the case...just sayin'.), and that alone does not make me feel like I'm doing this for myself.

Once again, I am getting my bachelor's degree for my parents. Lots of people think that's a foolish mindset to have on getting a higher education. Screw them. I'm being real. I'm not a willing student. Sure, I like learning new things. Sure, I'm loving my current major. Sure, I like being in a good position to be successful in life, but I'm also pretty good at reaching my goals. I would not be worried about myself if I decided to drop out, and I wouldn't be sad about it. I've never been a college person, and I've been vocal about it, which is why it surprised me so much that my father was so shocked when I told him that I hated college after he asked be if I even wanted to be in school. (Uh, no, Dad. Duh!)

Don't worry, I'm not even thinking about dropping out.

My point is that I always have a plan. I'm getting kicked out of LSU for the fall 2009 semester, just so everyone knows. I got royally screwed over (mostly my fault) as far as my schedule goes, and I don't need over half of the classes I'm taking. I'm also flunking Economics, but when I requested to drop it, my request was denied because the reason I needed to drop the class was controllable, and it was suggested that I go speak with my instructor to see how to bring my grade up. Nevermind the fact that I don't need it for my major, nevermind the fact that the instructors and counselors talk about how difficult it is and that lots of students take it at another school, that's controllable. I didn't plan out the requirements for my major, I didn't tell them to say that stuff, therefore, UNcontrollable, haha! Oh well.

In a class that is only graded by exams, two of the four, I've already failed, there's really no way to bring that up. As a result, my semester GPA will be screwed up, which doesn't help since I'm on scholastic probation, and I won't make the cut. I've accepted that. Instead of crying about it, I just gave LSU the middle finger and redid my plan for the next couple of semesters. Luckily, I was able to plan it out in such a way that if everything goes according to plan, I'll still graduate at the time I expect myself to.

I'm going to talk to a counselor (I have been in that office so many times this semester!) on Wednesday about how the whole readmission process works, just to make sure the whole transferring credits thing goes smoothly. I'm not sitting on my butt for a semester, waiting until I can apply for readmission. That's lame, and it would totally set me behind.

Instead, I'm going back to the community college to finish up the few sophomore level classes (about four) I need, and one junior level.

I don't let myself fall to pieces over crap like that. Where there's a will, there's a way...

...and I always find a way.

Tags: improvement, school
Writing From: Louisiana
I Feel: calm
I'm Listening To: Tiny Toon Adventures on TV

Animal DRAMA yesterday! I warn you, it's a LITTLE gross when I get to the dog story. Only a little.

I'm sitting on the couch relaxing after getting out of class at 9:30am, resting my ankle, and being generally bored. All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I see something heading towards a window in the kitchen, and THUMP! Obviously, my first reaction was "What the...?!" I thought someone threw something at the window with intentions of breaking it. My imagination ran wild. In the span of five seconds, I went from, "WTF?" to "Someone's out to get us! It's the fuzz!" Yeah, weird. My family is probably the least crime-breakingest bunch ever. Okay, not really, but still. No. I decide to investigate. I look out of the window, but nothing is there. I go outside, nothing. The only explanation is that a bird flew into the window, but didn't hit it hard enough to break its neck, and flew away. A bird. Flew into the window. The window. Is not clear or anything. The window also has a tree in front of it. Was the bird drunk or high on life? Maybe.

My dog has been acting pretty weird the past two days or so. I told my dad that I thought it was strange for her to lay around all day sleeping and not doing anything, but he was like, "Well, no one is at the house at this time so we don't know what she usually does. She probably sleeps." No, Dad, no. I know my dog. She was being weird. So I finally notice that my dog is ferociously attacking her bottom, licking and biting like the world depends on it, and I'm like, "Okay, that's not right." I grab her and see that she has pulled out fur near her pooper. Not only that, it's swollen on one side. I was right! Something was wrong with the dog! I launch into research mode and I found out that dogs have anal glands, and these glands usually empty whenever they go Number Two, but sometimes, they don't empty and they can get swollen or infected. The dog will lick the fur, scoot, and behave strangely. Hmm.... sounded about right. It was swollen in that spot.

Further research said that there is a way to empty these glands so if that is the problem and it's not infected, you should have to take the dog to the vet. After reading how to empty the anal glands, I definitely DID NOT want to do it. Foul smelling brownish liquid? Um, no thank you. But my poor little Peanut was so uncomfortable and I didn't want to see her that way. So I looked to see if there was a video about how to do it.

Of course there was.

After watching it [and gagging], I really wasn't looking forward to performing this action. I tried to get Joel to do it, but he was being a girl. As usual. I am a girl, so...lucky me! Anyway, I suck it up and try to do it. You're supposed to hold up the dogs tail, hold a paper towel near the anus [so when the the juices come out, you can throw them away easily], and then push in an upward motion on the anal gland that's to the side of the anus (there's one on each side). It was not working out. Peanut started whining and howling, and no, just bad. I couldn't have been doing it right, anyway.

Luckily, today the swelling had gone down. Unfortunately, she pulled more of the fur out. I'm going to see how she does this weekend, and if she's still having issues on Monday, I'll just take her to the vet.

Anal glands. I learned something new.

Tags: animals, anus, bird, dog, life
Writing From: Louisiana
I Feel: learning
I'm Listening To: typing on a keyboard

The workout plan has been going really well! I've been at it since last Friday, going to the gym everyday (except Saturday because I was supposed to go out to a parade that day, but the weather was too gross), but I hurt my ankle two days ago. It was my fault, doing cardio with poorly tied sneakers, then proceeding to work out on it ANYWAY, yeah... not the best idea. I am now sitting on my couch with my ankle and foot all bandaged up and elevated. It hurts to just walk on it.

Even so, I'm really happy with the way things have been going. I'm skipping out on cardio tomorrow, for obvious reasons. Plus, I deserve a break. I'll still do weights and other stuff to make up for it, though.

My first "weigh-in"' is on Friday morning. *crosses fingers*

Tags: improvement, work out
Writing From: Louisiana
I Feel: happy
I'm Listening To: The Most Extreme on Animal Planet

I really want to see Avenue Q!

I had a good weekend overall. I spent time with friends, spent time with family, hit the gym a few times, shopped, and had some down time since I didn't have homework to do or anything all weekend that couldn't wait until today (I have two short stories to read and critique that I nearly forgot about). It was super nice. Yet, between all the good things that actually happened, there were some... not so much "bad" as "What the...?!" things that happened. What I'm focusing on today is about various people in my life expressing their thoughts on my personality/things that I do, and I am not talking about the positives! Well, my mom said I was motivating her. That was nice.

So on to the topic at hand! I thought I'd delve deeper into these things since it was such a recurring theme over the past few days. No need to say who these things were said by, the fact that they were said is quite enough.

1. I am a moocher, one that tries to get things for free, one that begs quite often.
Is it really so wrong to ask for things that you want? I don't think so. It's not even like "yes" is the answer all of the time. Most of the time, maybe, but that's only because I ask for the right thing with points to back it up if I need them. For example, I'm not going to ask my dad for $100 for no reason. I would get shut down so fast. I know that I've said in the past that I am a manipulator...

I'm not, and when I said that before, I was talking about my parents, but really? No. Not at all. I like to pretend that I could be manipulative (what a weird thing to pretend to be, right?), but I lack the skills required to purposely seem genuine about being nice to someone when I really don't feel that way. Civil? Sure. Relunctantly nice? Absolutely. Genuinely nice? I have to genuinely like you.

2. I am selfish and inconsiderate.
I was going to make selfish and inconsiderate two different points, but they tie in together so well. Everyone has selfish tendencies! If some person sat in front of me and told me that they have never been selfish in their lives, I would slap them with a fish. With that being said, selfishness = NOT a dominant trait of my personality. Neither is being inconsiderate. I would say that I was actually insulted by these two. For the past five years or so (maybe longer), I've dealt with this tug of war between friends and family. Usually over time spent, so I spend a lot of time balancing the two. So I should make this clear:

I don't just make decisions without thinking or caring about how they will affect other people.

Obviously, some things don't require that. (Should I go to the bathroom now that I'm doing the chicken dance? Or should I wait until I get back from the movies?) If anything, I think about it too much.... no, not too much. Just. Right.

I don't think my friends, family, or the world owes me anything. I rarely ask for money back that's been borrowed from me. (For those of you that don't know me and read this, do not try to take advantage of this fact because it's not like I lend out money all willy-nilly.)

For someone who is emotional, how stupid would I be to not take other people's feelings into consideration?

I could say more about this one, but I think I'm going to stop here since all my thoughts are running together at this point. Selfish and inconsiderate, though? There are negative things I will admit to being, but those two... NO.

3. I am dramatic.
I'm not that dramatic, maybe a little at times, but not usually. Like, I wouldn't freak out if I dropped my last piece of candy down an elevator shaft. (Random!) I'm merely passionate about certain things. That is all. So I'm not totally debunking the dramatic thing, but... it depends. Everyone's a little dramatic! So I guess I could say I'm dramatic, but not overly dramatic? I don't take a lot of things seriously.

So that's my short list of things I've been thinking about over the weekend. Not too bad. I am a good person. Sure, I slip up from time to time: I have a bad habit of joining in on trash-talking people when I'm with some friends, but in every other situation, I don't do it at all. It's not something that naturally comes to me if I don't know the person or haven't been given a reason so say something mean about them. (I'm trying to stop doing that. I hate the guilt.)

 I just had to get it out there, and let it be known that yeah, I may be emotional, somewhat dramatic, gossipy at times, etc... but I'm GOOD.

Not saying that people who selfish and inconsiderate and mooch and are overly dramatic can't be good people too...they can be. It's just not completely ME.

Tags: confessions, emotions, family, feelings, friends, friendship, good, life, opinions, random, reflection, relationships, thoughts
Writing From: Louisiana
I Feel: inspired
I'm Listening To: typing on the keyboard

Last night, I cancelled my condo reservation for my birthday trip. A mere four hours after making the reservation. I'd been getting so much grief about it from Joel and Elle yesterday that I didn't feel like I even wanted to go anymore. I cancelled everything else around the beach birthday plans too (Facebook event, stuff on my calendar, etc.).

Once I slept on everything that happened, though, and looked at it a different way, as soon as I got up this morning, I contacted the real estate company to attempt to cancel the cancellation. I'll probably call to confirm that it wasn't cancelled later, though. I don't know if the office is open today. So we'll see. If the cancellation goes through, then... yeah, I did something stupid.

Stupid because my father paid the deposit as his birthday gift to me. If I cancel, part of that money won't be refunded. I felt bad thinking about blowing my dad's money like that, and even though there's now a damper on the trip, I would still go.

Okay, I had way more to say, but I'm currently emotionally spent, and that's the gist of it all.

UPDATE: Checked today, the room hasn't been cancelled. Good.

Writing From: Louisiana
I Feel: tired
I'm Listening To: Tiny Toon Adventures