So I registered for my final semester as an undergrad this morning!
It's so insane. I swear high school took way more time to finish. What is this madness.
Next semester should (hopefully!) be fun, though. More fun than this current semester at any rate. A lot of my classes I picked because they sounded interesting, not necessarily because I have to take them. I'm stuck the extra semester thanks to Spanish anyway, so might as well, right? Right!
So next semester's adventure includes:
a foray into film and literature
Studies of the novel (in its natural habitat, I assume)
Theories of Gender in Lit Analysis (which has the very unfortunate shortened name of "Theories of Gender in Lit Anal")
MY FINAL SEMESTER OF SPANISH OH MY GOODNESS
And an 8 week course in which I learn how to make books. Not write them. MAKE THEM.
C-c-c-crossposted from Tumblr. Because I need all the eyes on this shit.
SO, as it turns out, I am not making as much money as I need to be in order to… well. Sustain myself. I thought this job was going to be amazing like rainbows flying out of a unicorns ass, but as it turns out, unicorn poop is a lot like regular poop and is not all that it is cracked up to be. I WAS working around 50 hours a week before, and this was well and dandy. I was making good money even though I was not doing very much massage because of the sheer number of hours. NOW I am working around 20 hours a week and still not doing massage and I am making less than I was when I was at Warnimont's and as you can imagine THIS IS HELLA STRESSFUL. I've been dropped to working 3 days a week, from 8-7, but with a huge lunch break in between so while I'm tied up for the whole day, I'm not actually getting paid for all of it. FINANCIAL WOES, OH~
So, I am tearing my hair and wondering what the fuck to do because I have done oodles of online advertising and shit and have literally had 12 clients since July (one of them has been here multiple times but three of them were given free vouchers by my boss so I didn't get paid for them). RIGHT NOW I'm in the process of handing out fliers at the local business districts and hanging them up in like... the library and Starbucks, and leaving them around at the local deli and stuffing them in toilet paper dispensers so they drop out suddenly in public restrooms (okay, not that last one) but if it doesn't work and people still aren't coming... I will be looking for a new job. UNTIL THEN:
The point of the story is that I am a fully licensed, self-insured massage therapist with both a table and chair that is willing to travel. I know Swedish and deep tissue massage and can assist with conditions like PLANTAR FASCIITIS and CHRONIC MIGRAINES and CARPAL TUNNEL and OH MY GOD MY MIDTERMS ARE HELLA STRESSFUL.
If you guys are interested, or know anyone that might be, please let me know. I'm going to be running some mad sweet specials because at this point, getting underpayed for massage is better than my dog getting rabies and killing my family before getting put down by the National Guard because I couldn't afford to take her to the vet. >:C If I can think of a way to set up at a college campus and do chair massage for a dollar a minute without getting bodyslammed by campus security, I’d gladly do it.
I am generally free Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Hit me up.
So the other day I was driving to school for Spanish and this happened:
And I was like, shit, I don't know what to do. I didn't want to just keep driving (thankfully I was still in my apartment complex, so I didn't stop traffic or anything terribly inconvenient) because what if he fell off! And got crushed under my wheels! He's too cute for such a cruel fate! And while I sat there trying to figure it out, he crawled under the hood.
So yeah. Ralph came to school with me. Haven't seen him since, but he was not dead when I left him, so that is hopeful!
November is going to be intense. I'm in the midst of midterms this week, and like, everything is due and my head hurts because the weather is being stupid. Also, Nanowrimo.
But today in particular was interesting. I was hanging out in my first class, and when I went to go check my student email I discovered that some asshole had flooded the VERY BUILDING I WAS IN Saturday night, and that the other end of the building was still actually flooded. Apparently some dipshit thought it would be hilarious to turn on the chemical shower on the third floor and leave it on, expending a total of 6,400 gallons of water that spread from the third floor all the way down the BASEMENT (where my second class is supposed to be held). The damage is rather extensive, but in addition to the money this asshat is responsible for the relocation of tons of classes (a lot of them science, and several of them rather large), the destruction of a lot of science faculty's property and RESEARCH, and money-costing delays on others' research. All in all it was a super shitty thing to do and not, in fact, hilarious at all.
So yeah. Two of my classes have to be relocated, and quite a few of my roommate's have to be changed as well (which really sucks for her since she has a heavy load filled with science, and the hall that flooded is the damn SCIENCE BUILDING). And I guess the AV room got damaged, too, so the computer tech people are furious, and thanks to the construction that has to happen, there have been some serious delays in the scheduling for next semester which in turn screws up people trying to register next week.
The only positive I saw in this situation is that I discovered the secret awesome classrooms in the basement of another building (where my class got relocated) and holy shit are those rooms snazzy as hell. I kind of hope this is a permanent move, not gonna lie. There are giant TVs on like, two or three of the walls, and I DON'T KNOW WHY BUT THEY MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A SPY SO WHATEVER MAN. Classy shit.
And that's all I got for ya. I apologize if this post isn't terribly eloquent, but my head is killing me and I just wrote ten pages for my class tomorrow so I no longer care.
Here, have a song:
And by song I mean exciting as hell trailer for BioShock Infinite. I'm pretty excited for February. I should have Borderlands 2 playthrough 2 done by then, along with Dishonored. Woo! Song in the trailer is "Beast" by Nico Vega. Enjoy!
After a refreshing weekend visit from my dear Mouse (dat pumpkin), I have realized that wow I certainly have a lot of stuff to do in November. So you know what I decided to do?
Post.
Because that is the proper action to take in such a situation.
Tomorrow I have this fantastic test on 150 pages of a textbook I have yet to read, along with 10 articles I have skimmed.
In the coming two weekends, with the 'help' of a group, I must conduct primary (focus-group) and secondary (internet!) research on a project of my own devising and create a survey that will reach 80 potential consumers.
I've got some ridiculous phone case project, which started out okay, but now my grade hangs on the ability for a somewhat incompetent adult to actually make a decision on his own and give me a prototype to create a KickStarter webpage for him.
Then I've got another three exams, two quizzes, and two fifteen-page group essays due, which are ten times worse than any normal essay because I have to work with people who literally write like they are in the fourth grade like honestly Missy my friend you would shed so many tears over this writing I mean this ridiculous run on sentence displays more elegance and grammatical propriety than some of the things these terrible excuses for scholars vomit from their fingers.
But the best news is that I only have one final. And then I have fifteen more credits.
...and then what?
Is that even good news? Then I graduate? And get a job? And go somewhere? Alone? With someone who won't be any of you guys?
I feel like everyone has their shit together and I am sitting here not reading a textbook, listening to this ridiculous song on loop and regretting life decisions. Sometimes I think the only thing I ever did right in life was meeting people like all of you (and also Brendan I guess).
What are your plans for the future?
This song is super catchy, except for the way it just cuts off at the end. Either it's designed for mad-sweet looping, or it just becomes part of another song which is super sweet.
Did I ever tell you guys how much I hate people? Not any of you, no, of course not. You are all fine examples of human beings, and a general exception to this rule.
But aside from you all, I really don't like people. So you know what that means? That means that I MUST have at least five group projects this semester, with five different groups. That's twenty people I'm working with that I don't know and probably don't like.
So far it's all been okay. Half of the teams are usually pretty nice, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't rather just be writing all of these group term papers myself.
Positives: there is this foreign exchange boy from Belgium in one of my groups. His name is Jelle and he is sweet. And a girl from South Korea, named JiHyun. She is quiet. They are my favorite group members, probably.
Negatives: There is one overbearing girl in a serious group project we are conducting. She does not know how to compromise and is full of generally terrible ideas. She also doesn't understand punctuality or responsibility. No, you can't call in sick when your group is giving a formal presentation in an hour. We discussed this last night. You said you were taking the last two slides.
Anyway, it's getting chilly out! Time for sweaters and tea and hot foods. Crock pot season. I'm looking forward to being generally cozy around my house. Also, snow. Also, winter break! I won't be home until New Year's though, so I hope you all keep that night clear for some more basement shenanigans!
And for those of you wondering what an anklegator is, they look like this lovely lady below:
In any case, I've been doing a bit of game-playing recently. I acquired Bastion last semester, and didn't sit down to play it until last month. It was a fantastic game. Bright and colorful art, good game play, nice plot with all sorts of hidden information, and a few moral considerations here and there. Also an awesome narrator. I highly recommend it.
Before I even played the game, though, I listened to the soundtrack. All summer long. It's what got me through work and sad times.
And just for the heck of it, here's the whole soundtrack:
Seriously. What the hell was I thinking, scheduling my classes this way. Wednesdays are AWFUL.
Posting as per Morgan's request. I've not been up to much except school stuff and video games. A quick list:
Wednesdays are awful. I cannot stress this enough.
Borderlands 2 is giving me so many feels. I am nearly at the end, and oh my god. I think...I think it may have done the impossible for real. I think it just took BioShock's place as my most favorite game ever. I know I said I thought it might a week ago to some of you, but after that mission last night....Holy shit. I have never had a game fuck with my feels like that before.
My OCD is experiencing an upsurge in inconvenience. Hopefully it'll knock it off soon.
Writing another novel (maybe I'll finish it? hahaha what am I saying) for my lit class.
Speaking of writing, got a few things in the works with Mouse. We'll see where it goes!
I can't wait for winter break (Morgan returns! Everyone returns! HOBBITS!)
And that's...pretty much it. Would appreciate some Autumn-appropriate musics, por favor, and some reading recommendations. Is anyone else on Goodreads? Get on Goodreads. Friend me. Send me recommendations. DO IT.
So I'll have been in London for two weeks tomorrow and my brain doesn't know what year it is. Two weeks alternately feels like two years and two days. And morning doesn't yet feel like morning, though night is definitely night because, shit, it's dark. On top of that, even though it's October, classes just started Monday and all the trees are still green. WHAT YEAR IS IT.
But at least I'm beginning to settle in at long last. The first week I was a walking ball of anxiety and tears and now London and I are getting on pretty well. Who knows where we'll end up. London has got excellent biscuits though (oh my GOD I'm bringing as many Hobnob packs back with me as can fit in my suitcase - and then I will make you eat some), so it's made the adjustment easier hahaha. Enough about me and my strange process of settling in.
HOW ARE YOU LOVELY PEOPLE DOING? Even though I'm really loving this city and my classes are great and my flatmates are good people, I miss you all terribly. Since everyone can speak English and England looks very similar to the bit of US we're from at certain moments, so sometimes in the early morning it's easy to forget where I am. It takes me a minute to remember I can't just drive two hours to see Amy or four hours to see Sarah and Megan, or take a jaunty walk down the street to visit Trisha, etc.
So, when you get a chance, let me know what you're all up to! Even the everyday stuff! Especially the everyday stuff! Or just music! While the UK has got wonderful, chocolate covered cookies at every turn, they don't have Pandora. I'm trying to make friends with Spotify. We'll see how it goes. I did find this, though.
