Whoa...sorry for the long delay in blogging. I've had some issues--the cooling fan in my computer stopped working, and my laptop has been out of commission for about a week and a half. So, to start at the begining...
Around the time my laptop stopped working, Mom and I were making plans to go to Ohio. Dad couldn't go anymore, because he had to work, but I convinced Mom to go with me. Uncle Ben made plans for me to tour the University of Dayton, so we decided that maybe I could visit other schools along the way.
It's funny how it all worked out--I'm considering two schools in Wisconsin (Milwaukee and Madison, because those are "near" home), one in Normal, IL (which happens to be on the way to Ohio), one in Indiana (which happens to be on the way to Ohio), and one in Dayton, which happened to be quite near our destination.
So, I e-mailed/called the directors of the various programs. Mom and I went to Illinois State University on Wednesday. We were able to meet with Mark Swerdlik, the school psychology program director. He was very nice, and answered all of my questions. I really appreciated him taking the time, on short notice, to meet with me. He told me that last year, they accepted 10 students: 4 into the doctoral program, and 6 into the EdS. Now Mom understands why I've been so worried about doing well on the GRE, etc. Anyway, he was very helpful, and I loved the campus, as well as the city of Normal. I think that Illinois State University may be my current favorite.
We spent the night in Anderson, IN, and then went to visit Ball State University the next morning. No one from Ball State was available to meet with me, but I did take an official tour (with a bunch of potential undergrads). It was a nice campus as well, but really big. REALLY big. And the city was bigger, which I actually don't like. I'm a fan of small cities, I guess. But it wasn't BAD--I did like the campus, and I could deal with the city.
After we were done at Ball State, we drove to Springfield to see my Ohio family!! It was so exciting. I've missed everyone. It was nice to see Sam and Ben, and their babies are SO BIG! Those girls are just adorable, for sure. Emmie is getting big, and she is crawling as well as pulling herself up so she can stand. And she smiles ALL THE TIME. She is incredibly content...unless she is hungry. Then she gets ANGRY, which is kind of hilarious. And Abbie? She knows her ABC's--she'll sing them in the car, again and again and again. She has them on her bedroom wall, and you can point to them in any order...she knows them. What a smart girl :) She still loves books, and will let you read to her ALL DAY. She's more chatty now, which I love. Also, she knows my name!!! It sounds kind of like "at-sy" so I don't always realize when she is speaking to me. But it's so cute! And sometimes I don't understand anything she says, so I just agree. But that turned out to be a problem. Sometimes I'd agree, and then she'd continue talking. But other times, after I agreed, she'd say "k" which meant I just agreed to either do something or give her something...but I never knew what. Whoops.
On Friday, Mom and I went to UD to meet one of Ben's coworkers, who would give us a tour. However, he went home sick from work that day. He did offer to come anyway, when I called him, but I told him not to worry about it. Mom and I can fend for ourselves. We walked around and checked it out. Mom talked to the crazy lady on the corner. Mom...holding a bright pink sign about hazing, had a giant red and white umbrella, and was wearing two pairs of sunglasses. She certainly didn't look sane. She told Mom that she had been in the doctoral engineering program at UD, and that they had tortured her, and tormented her, etc, etc. But she apparently stuck it out to get her degree, so I can't say I felt much sympathy for her. Why would you stay, if it was that bad? But now for the last 10 years, she drives out there once a week to hold up her sign. Yeah.
On Saturday, we went to swimming lessons with Samantha, Abbie, and Emmie. It was pretty fun. The girls really like the water. The instructor even had Abbie demonstrate something--Abbie must be a genious. She's so good at everything :) Then we hung out for a while, and had the Boss, Marion, and Hannah over for dinner. It was lots of fun, and we went to a winery after dinner for wine-tasting. I don't like wine, so I was the DD.
We left Sunday morning, and came home. Since then, I've: ordered my new computer fan, ordered my textbooks for next semester, and got my grades from Bangor. The ones that came straight from Bangor were kind of hard to understand, as they were the ECTS grades (European Credit Transfer System) which apparently isn't the same as US grades. I had two B's according to Bangor, and I definitely cried. Two B's would devastate my GPA. I've worked too hard for that! But it turns out, they are US A's. Wow. All that freaking out for nothing. Sweet life.
I've spent a lot of time with Becca this week. She is trying to pick out a site for her wedding ceremony, as well as her reception, because she is now ENGAGED. Another one of my best friends, engaged. And Bec and I have been friends since kindergarten, which is just so scary to think about. I get to be the maid of honor in her wedding too...I feel so popular. By the time I ever get married, I'm going to be a pro at the whole wedding thing. I drove all over with Bec and looked at reception halls, country clubs, etc. We narrowed down her list, which is nice because Tim doesn't exactly want to pick from 15 places. Ha. It's been quite an adventure but lots of fun. I wish I could say more, but I feel like this blog has gone on forever!
I should finish up with this: I have successfully made my computer work again! I printed out the disassembly instructions, which were relatively easy to find online. Dad basically took it all apart for me, but I put it back together all by myself (or almost all by myself...close enough). Becca was here, and we tried to figure it all out together. I tried to keep the screws all separate, but there were like 30 of them (literally) and it was so hard to know what went there. And then I got it together, but the touchpad didn't work. So I took it apart, and put it back together, and it worked...but then stopped. I must have taken it BACK apart 5 or 6 times. Dad finally explained, when he got home, that there was a certain way I needed to latch the wires. Right. Anyway, it works now :) And I'm SO SO happy.
Plans for the next few days: tomorrow, I am going with Bec to look at one more place (I think we're both getting a little tired of this) and then babysitting tomorrow night. After I get done babysitting (around midnight) I'll be driving all the way to Ripon. The next day I'll be going to a wake/funeral for one of my sorority sister's dads, who passed away unexpectedly. I didn't know him, but I want to support her, and I cried when I read the e-mail. It's such a terrible thing for anyone to have to deal with, and it makes me terrified for my own parents. I don't always tell them how much I appreciate them, but while they're reading this, I hope they know. I love them SO, SO, SO much, and have absolutely no idea what I would do without them. I can't imagine not having them around, and even the thought makes me cry. I have wonderful parents.
After the funeral, I'll be driving back home for Dani's bachelorette party. I know it'll be a lot of fun, but I don't really know that I'll be in the mood for a party. Hopefully it'll all work out alright.
And now, I'm going to read for a while and then go to bed. I'm so exhausted these days, I can never stay up past 10:30 anyway. Sweet life.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Adventures in Madison: Shopping, Sailing, and a Little Accidental Swimming
I've had a really good weekend so far. I work tomorrow morning at 5:30 am, so it feels like my weekend ends today. At any rate, it's been wonderful.
On Friday, I really wanted to sleep in. However, we're re-doing the roof and that started bright and early. BRIGHT and early. It woke me up at 6:50. Sad day. But I started this massive deep clean of my room. I want to be able to use my desk--I've never used it because I've always piled stuff in it. 21 years worth of stuff. I'm cleaning it out! I also helped clean up shingles that Dad and Chris tossed down. That was not fun--I really don't like shingles. At least I wasn't on the roof...so dang hot.
Friday night I babysat for a few hours. It was super easy--we played Monopoly for what seemed like forever, and then just chilled. I helped Meghan put some music on her iPod. Exciting stuff.
I woke up at 6 this morning, got dressed, and left for Madison at 6:30. I made it to Madison at about 8:45. Missy and I then wandered around--did some shopping, etc. We had an early lunch at about 10:30 (Buffalo Wild Wings...mmm!) and then we went sailing! Missy has been taking sailing lessons this summer, and she took me out on Lake Mendota. There wasn't a whole lot of wind...at all...but we had a good time. The weather was gorgeous, and it was really nice to just hang out and catch up with Missy. Well...for me it was hanging out...for Missy it was a lot of work. But it was still fun. Our only problem was when we needed to put the boat back. We got to the dock, but weren't sure where I should sit while Missy was taking everything down. We really struggled with tying the boat to the dock. Our boat almost tipped completely. I definitely ended up in the water, which felt pretty great actually. But then I couldn't get back on the boat, or the dock, so I had to swim to shore. I just about cried from laughing so hard--I'm pretty sure it was funny for everyone to watch too.
After sailing, we got ice cream and sat outside in the sun. It was wonderful--super relaxing, and not TOO hot. We went back to Missy's apartment, and I left for home around 3:15ish.
Now I can see that I am sunburned--it just showed up. Earlier Missy and I talked about the fact that she was clearly a little burned, and I looked fine. Not sure why my burn is always delayed, but it did show up. Oh well, it'll fade. And maybe I'll actually get tan? Ha.
All-in-all, it was a really great time. I'm exhausted, which is good because I have to go to bed in a few hours. I'm getting really tired of waking up early for work--going back to Ripon will be amazing. I'll be able to sleep in and everything--pretty sure my classes don't start until 10. That'll be great.
On Friday, I really wanted to sleep in. However, we're re-doing the roof and that started bright and early. BRIGHT and early. It woke me up at 6:50. Sad day. But I started this massive deep clean of my room. I want to be able to use my desk--I've never used it because I've always piled stuff in it. 21 years worth of stuff. I'm cleaning it out! I also helped clean up shingles that Dad and Chris tossed down. That was not fun--I really don't like shingles. At least I wasn't on the roof...so dang hot.
Friday night I babysat for a few hours. It was super easy--we played Monopoly for what seemed like forever, and then just chilled. I helped Meghan put some music on her iPod. Exciting stuff.
I woke up at 6 this morning, got dressed, and left for Madison at 6:30. I made it to Madison at about 8:45. Missy and I then wandered around--did some shopping, etc. We had an early lunch at about 10:30 (Buffalo Wild Wings...mmm!) and then we went sailing! Missy has been taking sailing lessons this summer, and she took me out on Lake Mendota. There wasn't a whole lot of wind...at all...but we had a good time. The weather was gorgeous, and it was really nice to just hang out and catch up with Missy. Well...for me it was hanging out...for Missy it was a lot of work. But it was still fun. Our only problem was when we needed to put the boat back. We got to the dock, but weren't sure where I should sit while Missy was taking everything down. We really struggled with tying the boat to the dock. Our boat almost tipped completely. I definitely ended up in the water, which felt pretty great actually. But then I couldn't get back on the boat, or the dock, so I had to swim to shore. I just about cried from laughing so hard--I'm pretty sure it was funny for everyone to watch too.
After sailing, we got ice cream and sat outside in the sun. It was wonderful--super relaxing, and not TOO hot. We went back to Missy's apartment, and I left for home around 3:15ish.
Now I can see that I am sunburned--it just showed up. Earlier Missy and I talked about the fact that she was clearly a little burned, and I looked fine. Not sure why my burn is always delayed, but it did show up. Oh well, it'll fade. And maybe I'll actually get tan? Ha.
All-in-all, it was a really great time. I'm exhausted, which is good because I have to go to bed in a few hours. I'm getting really tired of waking up early for work--going back to Ripon will be amazing. I'll be able to sleep in and everything--pretty sure my classes don't start until 10. That'll be great.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
GRE = DONE
I am OFFICIALLY done with the GRE. Done. DONE!
I took it this morning at 10:30. At 7, I got up and went for a two mile run. I took my time getting ready. Had a dance party while doing my hair. I even put on makeup (it made me feel more confident--I would have worn skinny jeans and heels if it wasn't completely impractical).
They told me to arrive 30 minutes early, so I left around 9. I was there around 9:45--parked a few streets down to avoid parking tickets. I can never to go UWL without getting a parking ticket. However, I didn't get a ticket today :)
I was ridiculously nervous. But I think it went ok. I did the two writing sections, which didn't seem bad at all. The verbal seemed kind of scary, but I've done really well on verbal on the practice tests I've done. The quantitative section was not as scary as anticipated. It didn't seem EASY, don't get me wrong. But I didn't panic (like I did on the first few practice tests). And the research section, where they test out new questions? It was verbal, and seemed super easy. That section doesn't factor into my grade, though.
After I finished the test, it asked me if I wanted to view my scores...or cancel that screen. I sat there for a minute or two...I mean, it's kind of scary. What if I did terrible? But, I decided it really didn't matter. I can always take it again if necessary.
So...I got a 1320. 660 on the verbal, 660 on the quantitative. For the verbal, I'm pretty sure that's a good score. I've been getting around the same score on practice tests, and it puts me around the 90th percentile usually. For the quantitative, I don't think it's a GREAT score, but I think it's a little higher than average. I had been scoring around a 590 on practice tests, which put me in the 50th percentile.
In 10-15 days, I'll receive my official score results in the mail. They'll tell me the real percentiles, so it'll be much easier to interpret my scores. For now, I'm going to say that they are good enough, and just be happy. I'm done!
Now onto fun stuff--making fruit pizza, veggie pizza, and taco dip for the bridal shower I'm hosting tonight! And now my blogs won't be about boring things like studying :)
I took it this morning at 10:30. At 7, I got up and went for a two mile run. I took my time getting ready. Had a dance party while doing my hair. I even put on makeup (it made me feel more confident--I would have worn skinny jeans and heels if it wasn't completely impractical).
They told me to arrive 30 minutes early, so I left around 9. I was there around 9:45--parked a few streets down to avoid parking tickets. I can never to go UWL without getting a parking ticket. However, I didn't get a ticket today :)
I was ridiculously nervous. But I think it went ok. I did the two writing sections, which didn't seem bad at all. The verbal seemed kind of scary, but I've done really well on verbal on the practice tests I've done. The quantitative section was not as scary as anticipated. It didn't seem EASY, don't get me wrong. But I didn't panic (like I did on the first few practice tests). And the research section, where they test out new questions? It was verbal, and seemed super easy. That section doesn't factor into my grade, though.
After I finished the test, it asked me if I wanted to view my scores...or cancel that screen. I sat there for a minute or two...I mean, it's kind of scary. What if I did terrible? But, I decided it really didn't matter. I can always take it again if necessary.
So...I got a 1320. 660 on the verbal, 660 on the quantitative. For the verbal, I'm pretty sure that's a good score. I've been getting around the same score on practice tests, and it puts me around the 90th percentile usually. For the quantitative, I don't think it's a GREAT score, but I think it's a little higher than average. I had been scoring around a 590 on practice tests, which put me in the 50th percentile.
In 10-15 days, I'll receive my official score results in the mail. They'll tell me the real percentiles, so it'll be much easier to interpret my scores. For now, I'm going to say that they are good enough, and just be happy. I'm done!
Now onto fun stuff--making fruit pizza, veggie pizza, and taco dip for the bridal shower I'm hosting tonight! And now my blogs won't be about boring things like studying :)
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Reunited again: A weekend of good food, great movies, more good food, and one of my favorite people ever!
I've realized I miss blogging every day. It's really nice to look back on your day, and try to sum it all up nicely. We miss so much when we don't look back at things. I don't ever want to get so caught up that I fail to appreciate (or at least recognize) everything going on around me.
I had the BEST weekend with Lissa. After getting up terribly early on Friday, I worked for a few hours and then met Dad and Eric. We were supposed to look at cell phones at both Sprint and US Cellular. Dad and Eric were all done looking and figuring things out before I left work. Sad day. But it looks like we'll be switching to Sprint, and I've already picked out a phone. SUPER excited :)
I don't like the eye doctor, and I'm not sure why. It's not like the dentist, which is always miserable. Going to the eye doctor is completely painless. I just don't like it. Luckily, it went pretty quickly, and my eyes are exactly the same as they were last time :)
After visiting the eye doctor, Dad, Eric, and I went to Carlos O'Kelly's. Dad jokes that it's an Irish-ican restaurant. Or a Mex-ish. Ha. But really...it is. It's mostly Mexican. but they have Irish mashed potatoes. What?
Then I drove to Ripon--met up with Liss and Luke. Liss made chicken and dumplings for dinner, and she bought chocolate milk because we both love it :) After Luke left, Lissa and I watched movies on the Wii via Netflix! It was fun. We watched The Proposal, because we both love it (I should probably just buy that movie, but I'm still broke). And we watched some made-for-tv movie that was really terrible. But of course, we watched the entire thing because it was too funny.
We went to the bar to meet Kate' and her friend for a drink. It was PACKED. Ripon had this event thing, and then were so many people--both outside listening to the live band, and in the bar. Wow. We only stayed out for a drink...getting up at 4 am made me sleepy.
On Saturday, Liss and I decided to go to garage-sales before we went to the mall. It was a good choice. She wrote down addresses, and we programmed them into my GPS. However, the first few didn't actually exist, which was a little frustrating and definitely disappointing. It was, still, quite a bit of fun. We did end up finding some--ones that we knew about, and ones on random signs that we followed :) We bought some really random, miscellaneous things: a book about everyday life in Wisconsin (I'll probably give it to a sorority sister from another state); a really old, musty book of fairytales (for another friend); measuring cups (something Liss needed); and an end table. The end table was pretty great. It's a fairly small table, but very sturdy and nice. Plus it was only three dollars! Of course, after we bought it, we realized that it wouldn't fit in my trunk. And we couldn't put it in the backseat because the door didn't open wide enough. As it turns out, it fit nicely in the front seat. We decided to end our garage-sales adventures there, since Liss had to sit in the back for the rest of the day!
We went to lunch at Hu-Hot, the Mongolian Grill that is just awesome. And then we went to the mall. Macy's, Target, a cooking store, etc. It was pretty random, but a lot of fun. And just what I needed :) Oh, we also went to DSW to look at shoes, and on a wim, we explored the store next door--World Market. I'm in LOVE. It was quite similar to Pier 1, but so much better. There is a wonderful food/wine section, from all around the world. I FOUND MCVITTIE'S DIGESTIVES! I had them all the time in Wales, but couldn't find them anywhere here. But now I have, and I'm beyond happy :)
It did start pouring, which cut our shopping trip short. Liss had left the windows open back in Ripon! I made Liss stand at the mall doors with our stuff while I ran to get my car. I literally ran, and still got soaked. It was bad. I lost my shoe twice--it got suctioned to the ground :( And once, it got sucked into a little river of water flowing toward a drain. I had to CHASE my shoe--no doubt looked like an idiot. But it was all good in the end.
Liss and I ordered delivery from Roadhouse--pizza (canadian bacon and bacon, hahahaha) and broccoli bites. So good. We watched a couple movies--The Princess and the Frog (Liss was really excited, ok) and She's Out of My League, which was really funny! And then, since Lissa had to work at 7, we went to bed.
I slept like a rock on Lissa's futon, which is nice because I haven't been sleeping well here at all. Yet somehow, I'm exhausted again. I did study for a few hours this morning, since Lissa was at work and Luke wasn't back yet. I'm sure the math is getting easier, but it still sucks. Have I mentioned yet how much I HATE the GRE and will probably fail, and then have to be a bum for the rest of my life? Ok, so it's not quite the bad, and I'll still have a Bachelor's degree in a year, so that should count for something, somewhere.
And with that, I'm off to bed. I only work on Tuesday this week, which is good because I take the GRE on Thursday and then have Dani's bridal shower that evening :) I am NOT setting an alarm tomorrow. Here's to hoping I can sleep past 7!
I had the BEST weekend with Lissa. After getting up terribly early on Friday, I worked for a few hours and then met Dad and Eric. We were supposed to look at cell phones at both Sprint and US Cellular. Dad and Eric were all done looking and figuring things out before I left work. Sad day. But it looks like we'll be switching to Sprint, and I've already picked out a phone. SUPER excited :)
I don't like the eye doctor, and I'm not sure why. It's not like the dentist, which is always miserable. Going to the eye doctor is completely painless. I just don't like it. Luckily, it went pretty quickly, and my eyes are exactly the same as they were last time :)
After visiting the eye doctor, Dad, Eric, and I went to Carlos O'Kelly's. Dad jokes that it's an Irish-ican restaurant. Or a Mex-ish. Ha. But really...it is. It's mostly Mexican. but they have Irish mashed potatoes. What?
Then I drove to Ripon--met up with Liss and Luke. Liss made chicken and dumplings for dinner, and she bought chocolate milk because we both love it :) After Luke left, Lissa and I watched movies on the Wii via Netflix! It was fun. We watched The Proposal, because we both love it (I should probably just buy that movie, but I'm still broke). And we watched some made-for-tv movie that was really terrible. But of course, we watched the entire thing because it was too funny.
We went to the bar to meet Kate' and her friend for a drink. It was PACKED. Ripon had this event thing, and then were so many people--both outside listening to the live band, and in the bar. Wow. We only stayed out for a drink...getting up at 4 am made me sleepy.
On Saturday, Liss and I decided to go to garage-sales before we went to the mall. It was a good choice. She wrote down addresses, and we programmed them into my GPS. However, the first few didn't actually exist, which was a little frustrating and definitely disappointing. It was, still, quite a bit of fun. We did end up finding some--ones that we knew about, and ones on random signs that we followed :) We bought some really random, miscellaneous things: a book about everyday life in Wisconsin (I'll probably give it to a sorority sister from another state); a really old, musty book of fairytales (for another friend); measuring cups (something Liss needed); and an end table. The end table was pretty great. It's a fairly small table, but very sturdy and nice. Plus it was only three dollars! Of course, after we bought it, we realized that it wouldn't fit in my trunk. And we couldn't put it in the backseat because the door didn't open wide enough. As it turns out, it fit nicely in the front seat. We decided to end our garage-sales adventures there, since Liss had to sit in the back for the rest of the day!
We went to lunch at Hu-Hot, the Mongolian Grill that is just awesome. And then we went to the mall. Macy's, Target, a cooking store, etc. It was pretty random, but a lot of fun. And just what I needed :) Oh, we also went to DSW to look at shoes, and on a wim, we explored the store next door--World Market. I'm in LOVE. It was quite similar to Pier 1, but so much better. There is a wonderful food/wine section, from all around the world. I FOUND MCVITTIE'S DIGESTIVES! I had them all the time in Wales, but couldn't find them anywhere here. But now I have, and I'm beyond happy :)
It did start pouring, which cut our shopping trip short. Liss had left the windows open back in Ripon! I made Liss stand at the mall doors with our stuff while I ran to get my car. I literally ran, and still got soaked. It was bad. I lost my shoe twice--it got suctioned to the ground :( And once, it got sucked into a little river of water flowing toward a drain. I had to CHASE my shoe--no doubt looked like an idiot. But it was all good in the end.
Liss and I ordered delivery from Roadhouse--pizza (canadian bacon and bacon, hahahaha) and broccoli bites. So good. We watched a couple movies--The Princess and the Frog (Liss was really excited, ok) and She's Out of My League, which was really funny! And then, since Lissa had to work at 7, we went to bed.
I slept like a rock on Lissa's futon, which is nice because I haven't been sleeping well here at all. Yet somehow, I'm exhausted again. I did study for a few hours this morning, since Lissa was at work and Luke wasn't back yet. I'm sure the math is getting easier, but it still sucks. Have I mentioned yet how much I HATE the GRE and will probably fail, and then have to be a bum for the rest of my life? Ok, so it's not quite the bad, and I'll still have a Bachelor's degree in a year, so that should count for something, somewhere.
And with that, I'm off to bed. I only work on Tuesday this week, which is good because I take the GRE on Thursday and then have Dani's bridal shower that evening :) I am NOT setting an alarm tomorrow. Here's to hoping I can sleep past 7!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
"I got MAIL! But it's from a lawyer? Awkward.."
I'm so sick of studying.
Not even kidding. If I don't do well on the GRE, and have to re-take it, I might just boycott grad school. I could live on the streets back in Segovia, Spain. I'll admit, doing practice problems hasn't been too bad. I mean, it's really exciting when I get them right--especially if I didn't know how to do the problem before studying. But it's also really disappointing whenever I get one wrong. Bah. I would just like to be done.
I took a practice test a few days ago--I downloaded free GRE prep software from ETS (ETS administers the test) and it came with two practice exams. I got a 1240. Which is a decent score, I'd say. Not that I REALLY know. Trying to figure out what the average score is has been terrible. Different websites say different things--most say that for the quantitative, I should aim for a 700. 700! Each section is out of 800. Anyway, the software did give me percentiles, so that gives me a pretty good idea of where I am at. For the verbal, I got 650, which is in the 92nd percentile. That's pretty good, probably because studying vocab is much more fun than studying math. For the quantitative (ie math) my score was 590, which is in the 51st percentile. So, really average. It works, I suppose, but I want to do really well (hence even more studying). There is NO way I will get a 700 on the quantitative section, haha. But maybe a really good verbal section will make up for my stupid quant score? I can only hope!
I take the test a week from today! I'm not excited to take it--though to be honest, I'm not nervous yet either. I just want to get it over with, and then never have to worry about it again.
Other than studying, I've just been working at Macy's this week. Lots of work, super early in the morning. It makes me really tired, and I can't wait to be able to sleep in again. I've been getting mail, which is usually pretty exciting. But lately, I've been getting letters from lawyers, etc. They read in the police report (stalkers!) that I was in a car accident, and they are interested in representing me. However, I wasn't at fault for the accident, and insurance is paying for the minor repairs. Funny thing...although the damage seems pretty minor, fixing it will cost the insurance company almost $1500. Ridiculous!
The most recent letter was pretty amusing--it wasn't from a lawyer. It was from the Wellness Foundation in La Crosse. They "heard" that I was recently involved in a car accident. Haha. At any rate, they wanted to inform me of the importance of taking care of your body. Injuries from an accident may not appear for months, but they could be there. So, the Wellness Foundation is offering me a FREE "stress reducing, tension-alleviating, doctor-supervised massage." Which, actually, sounds pretty good, although I'm not sure why it has to be supervised? I just have to redeem it within 10 days. The normal value of the massage is $127. But I feel like a faker--let's be real, I DON'T have whiplash. Even my car is barely injured. I hope they sent a certificate for a free massage to the lady of the pale pink Mary Kay cadillac--not only did she get hit harder, but she seemed a little stressed about all of it!
Alright--this has been a nice study break, but back to studying it is. Once it gets a little cooler out, I'll go for a run. And then it'll be to bed early again, because I need to be up at 4:15 tomorrow. But, after work, I am going to the eye doctor, meeting Dad to look at new cell phones (!) and then driving to Ripon to visit LISSA!! It'll be a wonderful weekend, again :)
Not even kidding. If I don't do well on the GRE, and have to re-take it, I might just boycott grad school. I could live on the streets back in Segovia, Spain. I'll admit, doing practice problems hasn't been too bad. I mean, it's really exciting when I get them right--especially if I didn't know how to do the problem before studying. But it's also really disappointing whenever I get one wrong. Bah. I would just like to be done.
I took a practice test a few days ago--I downloaded free GRE prep software from ETS (ETS administers the test) and it came with two practice exams. I got a 1240. Which is a decent score, I'd say. Not that I REALLY know. Trying to figure out what the average score is has been terrible. Different websites say different things--most say that for the quantitative, I should aim for a 700. 700! Each section is out of 800. Anyway, the software did give me percentiles, so that gives me a pretty good idea of where I am at. For the verbal, I got 650, which is in the 92nd percentile. That's pretty good, probably because studying vocab is much more fun than studying math. For the quantitative (ie math) my score was 590, which is in the 51st percentile. So, really average. It works, I suppose, but I want to do really well (hence even more studying). There is NO way I will get a 700 on the quantitative section, haha. But maybe a really good verbal section will make up for my stupid quant score? I can only hope!
I take the test a week from today! I'm not excited to take it--though to be honest, I'm not nervous yet either. I just want to get it over with, and then never have to worry about it again.
Other than studying, I've just been working at Macy's this week. Lots of work, super early in the morning. It makes me really tired, and I can't wait to be able to sleep in again. I've been getting mail, which is usually pretty exciting. But lately, I've been getting letters from lawyers, etc. They read in the police report (stalkers!) that I was in a car accident, and they are interested in representing me. However, I wasn't at fault for the accident, and insurance is paying for the minor repairs. Funny thing...although the damage seems pretty minor, fixing it will cost the insurance company almost $1500. Ridiculous!
The most recent letter was pretty amusing--it wasn't from a lawyer. It was from the Wellness Foundation in La Crosse. They "heard" that I was recently involved in a car accident. Haha. At any rate, they wanted to inform me of the importance of taking care of your body. Injuries from an accident may not appear for months, but they could be there. So, the Wellness Foundation is offering me a FREE "stress reducing, tension-alleviating, doctor-supervised massage." Which, actually, sounds pretty good, although I'm not sure why it has to be supervised? I just have to redeem it within 10 days. The normal value of the massage is $127. But I feel like a faker--let's be real, I DON'T have whiplash. Even my car is barely injured. I hope they sent a certificate for a free massage to the lady of the pale pink Mary Kay cadillac--not only did she get hit harder, but she seemed a little stressed about all of it!
Alright--this has been a nice study break, but back to studying it is. Once it gets a little cooler out, I'll go for a run. And then it'll be to bed early again, because I need to be up at 4:15 tomorrow. But, after work, I am going to the eye doctor, meeting Dad to look at new cell phones (!) and then driving to Ripon to visit LISSA!! It'll be a wonderful weekend, again :)
Saturday, July 3, 2010
The beginning of my FAVORITE month.
Well, a lot has happened since the last time I blogged. I doubt I can remember it all, but let's see if I can sum it up.
I didn't get ANY hours at Macy's last week (which is ok, because this week I work about 16 hours). However, I did babysit since it's hay season. I love love LOVE babysitting, and sometimes I wonder why I stopped. I guess I got busy, and finding a "real" job seemed more important. But babysitting is pretty great. I watched these two boys, ages 6 and 8. We had tons of fun--they have five week old puppies! I may have fallen in love with every single puppy. Too bad I have nowhere to PUT a puppy. We also went to the pool AND the Children's Museum. They told their mom that I am the world's best babysitter. I'm pretty much awesome. Probably because I actually play with them. We rode bikes, and I learned about the "green machine" which is similar to the bike, kind of, but is low to the ground and made to do 180s. We spent quite a bit of time on the trampoline as well, and my entire body is STILL sore. Ouch.
Then on Friday, it was my 21st BIRTHDAY! My friend Melisa came to visit--she was in Wales with me, and is visiting until Monday :) Anyway, we met up with Becca in La Crosse and went to see the movie Grown-Ups. It was good, I guess, but not as great as I had hoped. My expectations were so high--I really love Adam Sandler movies. Lately I seem to be a bit of a movie critic...I didn't like the latest Twilight movie either. Dani and I went to the midnight premiere, with about 9382452 million preteens. We both agree--the acting is just terrible. But mightnight movies are fun, so it was alright.
Back to my birthday--after the movie, we went down to Riverfest for a while. Not quite as exciting as I remembered...but then again, I used to go more when I was a kid, and everything is more exciting then. It's bigger and better. We DID get some mini donuts, because those are amazing.
Then we drove to Westby, to Becca's apartment, and hung out until Tim got home from work, a little after 6. He was our wonderful DD for the night, and I can't thank him enough. Bec, Tim, Melisa, and I decided on dinner at Olive Garden since Melisa had never been there. We did, however, swing by American Eagle first because I only had shorts--but Becca bought me these heels I REALLY wanted, and we decided that I needed to wear them...which I couldn't do with shorts. I now own skinny jeans--something I thought I would NEVER wear. They are dark and skinny, and just awesome. Plus they were like $14. My birthday present to myself :)
Ashley, her boyfriend Eric, and her mom Rose met us at Olive Garden at 8. It was a late dinner, but it worked. And it was delicious...I love chicken alfredo. I had a strawberry daquiri, which was pretty good. Our waitress was really nice. She was one of the many people who wished me a happy birthday :)
After Olive Garden, we went downtown. We went to a number of different bars--most offered a free drink or shot for 21st birthdays. One required me to ride around on a stuffed horse first (which is funny because I didn't even want that shot--I gave it to Ashley) and another required me to run around ringing a bell, telling everyone that it was my birthday. Colby met up with us downtown, and I ran into another old friend, Kyle.
My friends made sure that I was properly outfitted. Tiara, sash, flashing button, and shot glass necklace. It was certainly an attention-getter. I had SO many people who noticed the button and wished me a happy birthday. One guy noticed the tiara and sash, and asked if someone was getting married. Haha. No. I'll stick with celebrating wonderful birthdays for a while.
I probably disappointed the bartender at the second-to-last bar, as I only consumed water. But he was a good sport, and water was probably a good choice. (Look Mom, I'm all responsible and stuff). Our last stop was Brothers, because if you run around ringing that silly bell, you get a birthday cup, and free beer in the cup. However, at that point, I really didn't want another drink--so I ran around, got my cup, and promptly dumped out the beer in the bathroom sink so I could go sleep. Ha.
Tim was the best DD ever, and he made sure that we all got back to their apartment. I'm feeling quite fine today, which is good. It was a ridiculously fun night. We had a fishbowl (which took forever to drink) at Who's on Third, and weren't sure if we could keep the bowl--but we wanted to, so Ashley snuck it out under her shirt. Typical Ashley, to be honest. I love it :)
I had a really good birthday, with my family early in the day, and my friends later. Mom made ice cream pie, which is my FAVORITE, and it was just an all-around great day. I'll be celebrating my birthday again next weekend, because I will be taking a trip to visit Liss in Ripon! I'm super excited, because it feels like forever since I've seen her. Not ok. It'll be another really great weekend.
To finish up this weekend, we'll be hanging out tomorrow and then going to fireworks at Riverside. I love this holiday!
I didn't get ANY hours at Macy's last week (which is ok, because this week I work about 16 hours). However, I did babysit since it's hay season. I love love LOVE babysitting, and sometimes I wonder why I stopped. I guess I got busy, and finding a "real" job seemed more important. But babysitting is pretty great. I watched these two boys, ages 6 and 8. We had tons of fun--they have five week old puppies! I may have fallen in love with every single puppy. Too bad I have nowhere to PUT a puppy. We also went to the pool AND the Children's Museum. They told their mom that I am the world's best babysitter. I'm pretty much awesome. Probably because I actually play with them. We rode bikes, and I learned about the "green machine" which is similar to the bike, kind of, but is low to the ground and made to do 180s. We spent quite a bit of time on the trampoline as well, and my entire body is STILL sore. Ouch.
Then on Friday, it was my 21st BIRTHDAY! My friend Melisa came to visit--she was in Wales with me, and is visiting until Monday :) Anyway, we met up with Becca in La Crosse and went to see the movie Grown-Ups. It was good, I guess, but not as great as I had hoped. My expectations were so high--I really love Adam Sandler movies. Lately I seem to be a bit of a movie critic...I didn't like the latest Twilight movie either. Dani and I went to the midnight premiere, with about 9382452 million preteens. We both agree--the acting is just terrible. But mightnight movies are fun, so it was alright.
Back to my birthday--after the movie, we went down to Riverfest for a while. Not quite as exciting as I remembered...but then again, I used to go more when I was a kid, and everything is more exciting then. It's bigger and better. We DID get some mini donuts, because those are amazing.
Then we drove to Westby, to Becca's apartment, and hung out until Tim got home from work, a little after 6. He was our wonderful DD for the night, and I can't thank him enough. Bec, Tim, Melisa, and I decided on dinner at Olive Garden since Melisa had never been there. We did, however, swing by American Eagle first because I only had shorts--but Becca bought me these heels I REALLY wanted, and we decided that I needed to wear them...which I couldn't do with shorts. I now own skinny jeans--something I thought I would NEVER wear. They are dark and skinny, and just awesome. Plus they were like $14. My birthday present to myself :)
Ashley, her boyfriend Eric, and her mom Rose met us at Olive Garden at 8. It was a late dinner, but it worked. And it was delicious...I love chicken alfredo. I had a strawberry daquiri, which was pretty good. Our waitress was really nice. She was one of the many people who wished me a happy birthday :)
After Olive Garden, we went downtown. We went to a number of different bars--most offered a free drink or shot for 21st birthdays. One required me to ride around on a stuffed horse first (which is funny because I didn't even want that shot--I gave it to Ashley) and another required me to run around ringing a bell, telling everyone that it was my birthday. Colby met up with us downtown, and I ran into another old friend, Kyle.
My friends made sure that I was properly outfitted. Tiara, sash, flashing button, and shot glass necklace. It was certainly an attention-getter. I had SO many people who noticed the button and wished me a happy birthday. One guy noticed the tiara and sash, and asked if someone was getting married. Haha. No. I'll stick with celebrating wonderful birthdays for a while.
I probably disappointed the bartender at the second-to-last bar, as I only consumed water. But he was a good sport, and water was probably a good choice. (Look Mom, I'm all responsible and stuff). Our last stop was Brothers, because if you run around ringing that silly bell, you get a birthday cup, and free beer in the cup. However, at that point, I really didn't want another drink--so I ran around, got my cup, and promptly dumped out the beer in the bathroom sink so I could go sleep. Ha.
Tim was the best DD ever, and he made sure that we all got back to their apartment. I'm feeling quite fine today, which is good. It was a ridiculously fun night. We had a fishbowl (which took forever to drink) at Who's on Third, and weren't sure if we could keep the bowl--but we wanted to, so Ashley snuck it out under her shirt. Typical Ashley, to be honest. I love it :)
I had a really good birthday, with my family early in the day, and my friends later. Mom made ice cream pie, which is my FAVORITE, and it was just an all-around great day. I'll be celebrating my birthday again next weekend, because I will be taking a trip to visit Liss in Ripon! I'm super excited, because it feels like forever since I've seen her. Not ok. It'll be another really great weekend.
To finish up this weekend, we'll be hanging out tomorrow and then going to fireworks at Riverside. I love this holiday!
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