Then and now

I find it difficult to reflect upon all of 2008 since last December. What I do recall is having a great time, for the most part, regretfully at the cost of my academics. Grew a bit more as a person mainly due to summer experiences with the Film Festival which gave me a confidence boost about my capabilities, helped me become more assertive and improve networking, paired with Camp Kindle which was most humbling and emotionally exhausting.

Shame on me. I managed to procrastinate on my resolutions.
"Procrastinate less" is unquestionably one pledge I am making. The rest of the list is equally unspecific and banal, but true:

Eat healthier.
Give more.
Spend less.
Explore further.
Exercise more. Cut the holiday fat!
Study harder. Cut the fun!
Oh, and quit smoking, drinking, sleeping around...I jest, of course!

Big emphasis on cutting the fun this cold, cold quarter. I carry a full load with four classes, internship, work, CEC, radio, possibly participating in Dance Marathon and getting involved in Spring Sing. Insanity.

Sigh of relief that I was able to postpone jury duty. As a student, that's all you get, just one, beautiful postponement and maybe a transfer as well (my next step). Sure, I could have perjured myself with the ol' "I'm having surgery," "Caring for a minor," or "No speakuh Engrish?" certainly believable given that I was born and have lived here my entire life.

And now, a first day anecdote:

I snoozed and excused my way from 7:15 to 8:00am this morning, finally stumbled off of top bunk, looked up my classes, put on some oddly colorful and probably mismatching clothes (purple jeans with a green-white striped hoodie with new blindingly white sneakers? don't ask, I can't even begin to understand my thought process while selecting these), crane-walked over to French IV.

The TA had us pair up and ask introductory questions with a partner, whom we would then present in a few sentences. Just my luck, I was paired with dreamy looking Portugueuse Ph.D. student who spoke six languages. Of course, when he said that in French, I replied with an equally sophisticated "Wow" in French accent. Good times.

Class ended early, I hustled over to LuValle for a chocolate croissant (because it's darn good, not because it's French), then wandered into Dodd for American women writers. The professor is perfectly amiable, and not a crazy gung-ho feminist, and I'm fairly excited about the readings. The fault was all mine. I simply was not going to make it from 9am-1pm of classes with such little sleep. I performed the infamous doze-off-head-bob-sudden-wake move about three times, once involving my elbow sliding clean off the teeny arm desk, another involving me letting go of my syllabus which flew gracefully like a paper plane three feet away from me. My written notes also trailed off illegibly in downward directions. Embarrassing, much?

Three mini-naps energized me for English 10C just down the hall. The professor is young, anti-Norton Anthology (hurrah!), hyper and passionate about our learning. I am inspired.

Had an hour after 10C to get lunch before post office duties. Ackerman = "hell is other people." I was dumb enough to think I had a chance to possibly buy some Panda Express and textbooks. Gave up, bought my three-cheese Wetzel's Pretzel and did a bit of homework (uh huh, that's right) in the CEC office.

Post office had a line out the door, around the corner alllll day. To call it a train wreck is an understatement. At closing it looked like the Gaza Strip. We'd run out of bins, bags, with media mail and packages stacked almost ceiling high and trash galore. Sadly, that's most likely how it will be for this first week back.

Finally got to the textbook store after work, carried a stack of 17 novels in line to the register. "English major?" "Yep." Sigh. I did leave with some ASUCLA coupons and good reads. If only they needen't be annotated and analyzed to the core, I'd enjoy them so much more.

Roomie kindly picked me up from Ackerman Terminal, we Ralph's runned since our fridge consisted of butter, an onion, and various dressings. Got dropped back off at Ackerman for radio meeting. Too lazy to make anything we bought, Shawn suggested we order Thai Cafe. Ate well at his place, watched some of HOOK, conversed about Brain Age and what final age is good--apparently 20 is the best age score to get...so I've reached the peak of my intelligence. Uhm...sad. All downhill from here, Benjamin Button style?

Watched the new episode of Gossip Girl online, so horribly good, and here I am.

la fin.