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I have mostly recovered from my stuffy nose and am feeling much better today. Hopefully, the sickness is over and I don't have to worry about it anymore. I got the pictures from Kristin's wedding up (finally). They are on the gallery page. Email me if you don't have the password. We mostly finished painting my dad's office today. It came out really well. Now, we just need to put all the stuff back and we'll be done. Oh, and get some art for the walls. I also went looking for yarn for my next project, but came up empty-handed. More stores to look at tomorrow. The trip to New York is now off because Anna can't go. It's probably just as well - I need warmer weather to really enjoy the city. I guess this way I can get back to reading my many books and working on my many "break" projects ;) Jenn posted at 2:38 AM | |
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So, now that I've been back here for a week, my body has decided to shut down. Dammit! I have contracted an evil cold, which has made breathing a luxury instead of a necessity. Sigh. Hopefully, this will get itself out of my system quickly because I have too much going on to be sick. Christmas Eve and Christmas were very nice. I wasn't really feeling the Christmas Eve services - might be because I went to all of them, but it's always good to see people that I don't see any other time of the year. Erin still has a basketball belly, being one of those annoying pregnant people that only is pregnant around her tummy. Have spent most of the rest of this week, alternately sleeping in and eating out. Had dinner with my cousin, Lisette and her husband on Monday to help clean out their fridge. On Tuesday, I celebrated Eugenia's last day at Borders by eating and drinking too much at Ruby Tuesdays. Last night I met up with the church girls (as they will forever be known, though none of us actually goes to church anymore) for Chinese and wedding pictures. Good times. Now, I'm just laying in bed, praying for even single-nostril breathing to return so that I may lead a normal life. Jenn posted at 12:57 PM | |
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I have finished my Christmas shopping and now only have the wrapping left to do. Hopefully I can get that done while my parents are at church, doing their many deeds as is required of them on Christmas Eve. It looks like I will be going to three of the four Christmas Eve services and somehow, I know I will be suckered into going to the 6:30pm service as well. Besides, Christmas shopping, my parents and I also went downtown today so that I could see the state Christmas trees and the Capitol Christmas tree. Plenty of pictures will be uploaded on Flickr later. Jenn posted at 11:49 PM | |
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I've never considered myself to be a lucky woman. Perhaps others would contradict me - I do live a pretty privleged existence, all things considered. However, when there's a chance things could go my way or not - "not" usually prevails. Luckily for me (and I mean that literally), that has not been the case the past two days and I am so profoundly grateful. Lucky Instance #1: When R and I left dinner on Tuesday and headed down to the car, I couldn't find our parking ticket. We had gotten it validated for 3 free hours at the restaurant, but when I searched my purse, the presents and the bags, I couldn't find it. After much searching in the car, we had to go upstairs and retrace our steps. While I scoured the restaurant, R asked the hostess on the off chance the server had turned it in - AND HE HAD! We were saved from paying the maximum fee of $27.50 (more than our two dinner combined!) by his thoughtfulness. Lucky Instance #2: Today, at 4am, I realized that my parents had not done the credit card authorization they usually do for my plane ticket (you're supposed to have your ID and the credit card you bought the ticket with on you when you check in and since my parents lovingly paid for me to fly home for the holidays, I wouldn't have said card). I roused my parents, bright and early, who headed out to National airport to take care of this, while I was on my way to OAK. The airport was crazy, even at 5am, but I got through the check-in with no problems, even though my parents hadn't done their thing. It was surprisingly easy, actually and I was profoundly grateful. Lucky Instance #3: When I got my boarding card today, I didn't have a seat assignment (though I could have sworn that I had picked my seats when I booked the ticket) because we had a smaller plane than was originally scheduled. After many tense minutes and me on the edge of a breakdown (after having been up all night), I got a seat in the first group of seat assignments called and in an exit row (on the aisle). Of course, when she asked me if that was okay, I said sure - but she didn't believe I was over 16! I've been told that this will be a good thing in the future, but looking nine years younger than my actual age now, just isn't fun for me. But I got on the plane without incident! Lucky Instance #4: If you haven't heard my jury duty story, you should ask me about it when I see you next because it's a long, involved thing that makes me hate my city. But the great news is that my group has been dismissed and the jury duty hassle is over!!! I really cannot express how amazing it feels to have that weight off my shoulders and really relax and enjoy the holidays and my break. I've been up since yesterday morning my time, so I have no idea what time it is - all I know is that I'm tired. No calls before noon and email is actually a better way to set something up. I'm here until the middle of January, so no worries about scheduling. It's nice to be back East, though I'm missing my Bay a bit already ;) Jenn posted at 11:12 PM | |
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One of the joys of living in a dorm (so I've heard) is that idiots like to pull the fire alarm at weird times, forcing everyone out into the cold night in just their pajamas (if they were wearing any to begin with). Some mavericks I know (including an ex-bf who shall remain nameless, but I know he reads this, so he knows who he is!), who would experience this several times a week or even several times a night, would try evasive manuevers, like hiding in the closet, in order to get out of the mandatory evacuation. Of course, they usually got caught and would have something bad happen to them from the RA. Never having truly lived in a dorm, I never experienced this joy. However, someone or someones in my building have decided to help me out with that. On Sunday afternoon, the fire alarm went off twice, both times while it was pouring down rain. The second time the fire department had to come and shut it off. And just now, the fire alarm went off again. It only went off for 5-10 minutes, but it's really annoying. It seemed to shut off, but the fire department has arrived anyway, responding to the false alarm. I know there must be real emergencies that SF Bravest are supposed to be responding to and it's just really annoying. I hope that whoever or whatever is sitting off the damn alarm knocks it off because I'm tired of it. Jenn posted at 2:03 AM | |
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I spent $64 on chocolate today and that wasn't even the best part of my day! I slept late, but got all my in-city shopping done. Tomorrow I will return the things I ended up not needing and finish up all the other stuff I need to do. Fun for the holidays! Tonight was our end of semester party and it was great! K & B, D, R and I all met at the Embarcadero Center for drinks and Mexican food. It was really nice to enjoy each other without the stress of the semester looming over us. We exchange Christmas presents, took pictures and just had a really great time. I can't wait to come back after break and hang out with them again. Still no grades and still no jury duty. Sigh. I guess the day can't be a total 10 all the time ;) Jenn posted at 2:14 AM | |
Then I was woken up again a few hours later to the sound of the fire alarm going off in the building. I stuck my head out my front door and met one of my neighbors. "So do we wait for the flames to come up to the door or what?" "I dunno," I answered. "We're only on the second floor and on a hill, so it's probably not that big a jump." The alarm stopped a few seconds later and I went back inside. Even though there was no competing game, my Fox affiliate wouldn't show me the awesome Redskins/Cowboys game, so I had to watch the ass kicking on ESPN's GameCast. It's just not the same, but the win still feels awesome! Right before I decided to shower and be productive for the day, the building fire alarm went off again. This time it went off for about half an hour and the fire department had to come out. When the fire trucks came, I threw on my shoes to find out what was going on. They turned off the alarm and stood around. I went back into the house and hit the shower. Jenn posted at 11:50 PM | |
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So, I decided to test out Kristin's blog search idea and interestingly enough, my name doesn't come up at all. Not Jenn [A] or Jenny [A]. If you just search [A], the most common result is Leonardo [A] who is a Republican Party spokesman. He was the official spokesman for the RNConvention last year. That in itself is enough to make me want to become a press secretary - just to have dueling [A]'s out there, really fuck with the press. Of course, I could never be a ps because I can't be that eloquent on the spot, but it would still be fun. The weirdest thing though is that my name pulls up my blog in the regular google search, but not the blog search. Huh. Jenn posted at 4:30 PM | |
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1. What is your #1 winter beauty product? Shea Butter lotion from Bath & Body Works. Well that or my red glitter nail polish - but I wear that throughout the year, even if it only works during the holiday season ;) 2. What's your favorite kind of Christmas cookies? Have you ever baked pornographic cookies? I love gingerbread cookies. Mrs. C makes the best gingerbread - I always looked forward to concert season when she was the choir mom because she always had such yummy baked goods for us ;) I'm not going to dignify the second part of the question with an answer because we all know I can't make anything and if I'm going to baked anything it's going to be with my mom's help and I would never ask her for help with that. 3. Does your company do a holiday party? Since I am currently in college, no. But we are having an end-of-semester night, so that's kinda like a holiday party, even if it's just for the small number of us. 4. What's the most embarrassing thing you've done at an office holiday party? When I worked at GII, I won 4 of the 5 "big gifts" in the gift exchange. I had only worked there for three months at the time and I felt so bad that I snagged all the big ticket items (by accident). Of course, if I had stuck with HPR through the holiday party to Vegas, my answer would probably be totally different (so maybe it's good I didn't!). 5. Have you ever had a martini? If so, what is your favorite? I'm not sure that I have. I think I may have tried an apple martini while out with the girls one night in DC, but that may have been something else entirely. I usually go straight for the cosmo instead. 6. What's your cure for a hangover? Drinking lots of water before I go to bed. When I wake up, pop two Excedrin with a caffeinated beverage (if I have one). Then go back to sleep until the pain stops ;) 7. Who do you think is the cutest person in your office? Again, no office and I haven't seen everyone who goes to my school. Actually, you probably know who I think is the cutest, but I'm definitely not going to write it down ;) 8. What are your plans for the weekend? Relax as much as possible. After the stress and lack of sleep of the last few weeks, I've totally earned it! Jenn posted at 2:27 PM | |
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Though it doesn't totally feel like it, I am done with Fall 2005. I only had a mini spazz out between my two finals today, but of course, it was in front of everyone. I'm cool like that. Finals are done, the semester is over and now I'm just going to become a compulsive grade checker. I doubt I made Dean's List semester (breaking my streak), but I finished and I only have one semester left to go ;) Right now, I'm going to nap on the couch until I wake up. If you need me, send me an email and I'll respond when I resurface! Jenn posted at 4:37 PM | |
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My study group has left and I am now on my own to prepare for my finals tomorrow. When they were here, I felt ready and prepared. Now, I just feel nervous - something about strength in numbers. I'm trying not to psych myself out and put today's unfortunate final out of my head, but it's proving more difficult than I would have anticipated. I just need to buckle down and work. If I can get it all done so all I have to do is review for the rest of the night, I think I'll feel better about my standing tomorrow. I just need to keep my eyes on the prize. Tomorrow at 1:15, the semester is over for me and I can finally get some quality sleep. Jenn posted at 1:14 AM | |
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Well, I just signed up for classes with no problems ;) I wrote down two of the registration numbers wrong, but managed to fix the error without too much trouble. Thirteen units and I am done! Feels a little strange to say that... I've been having a lazy morning, but now that registration is over, I'm going to get back to work, studying for finals. I've also got to clean the house up a bit since the study group is coming over tomorrow. Lots to do! Jenn posted at 5:03 PM | |
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I took my second final today, women's history. I feel pretty good about it, though it did make me a bit nervous about Prof C's final. Anyhow, that's one more class that's finished and it feels really good. This semester flew by so quickly, but I'm glad to have the stress level diminishing. I'm also almost glad I have jury duty next week because it gives me a crash to decompress after finals and just enjoy the holidays here for a few days before doing the family stuff in the cold, cold East. I don't have any finals tomorrow, so the day is going to be full of studying and all the stuff I've been putting off for the past few weeks. I'm also registering for classes (FOR THE LAST TIME - AHHH!) tomorrow afternoon. All my classes still have plenty of space as of the last time I checked, so I shouldn't have a problem, but cross your fingers, just in case ;) Jenn posted at 11:54 PM | |
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Well, I am officially done with my San Francisco class. I think I did pretty well on the final. I had to leave two of the fill-in-the-blanks blank (and I've since figured out that I got a couple of the ones I filled in wrong), but I think I did much better on the essay questions this time. I could have answer (correctly) all of the literary analysis questions, so I did two of those plus one on the film "Greed" and only one slide analysis question. It took me about an hour and a half, which is less time than I thought it would. Oh and I got a 95 on my McTeague paper, which really takes the pressure off. Now, I'm decompressing and preparing my study sheet for my women's history midterm. I get one page of notes front and back, which makes a nice change from today. I'm not too nervous about it, though I'm sure that'll change as the test gets closer. Fifteen hours to go... Jenn posted at 10:14 PM | |
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I didn't get much sleep last night, but I feel so accomplished that I just don't care. I went shopping last night and bought Christmas lights and candy canes for my classes. I strung my old Christmas lights up over the entryway to my kitchen (it took an hour, but I think it looks pretty cool - pictures will be coming!). I realized once I got home that the lights I bought have white bases, so I've got to return them (leaving in a few minutes) and pick up the right ones. I got up early this morning and finished cleaning up my apartment a bit. K came over around 10:30 and we spent the next three hours trying to study for Prof B's SF midterm that we have tomorrow. I feel like I know more than I thought I did, but there's still stuff I need to read and just drill into my head. I really need a good grade on this. Plan for today: 4. Finish fiddling with Christmas letter/write Christmas cards 7. Laundry Perhaps that's overly ambitious, but I've already accomplished more today by this time than I did yesterday, so I'm feeling jazzed! Jenn posted at 6:28 PM | |
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I have just woken up. I've been running on fumes for the past two weeks, sleeping for less than four hours a night any night this week. Today I didn't have anywhere I had to be, so I didn't set an alarm. Now, most of the day is gone and I haven't done anything. I mean, yeah, yeah, I know I needed sleep, but I also had a bunch of stuff I needed to do today. Sigh. Off to the shower! Jenn posted at 7:21 PM | |
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The sweet hum of my printer indicates that I have finished my redistricting paper! Though Prof C indicated that we could write it in as few as four pages if we included tables, my paper is sixteen pages long, not including the title page, bibliography and appedices. He's been teasing me that it's more like a master's thesis than a undergrad term paper and I fear he may be right. I feel really good about this paper, better than I have about anything I've turned in at State thus far. Hopefully, Prof C will feel the same way. I get to sleep in a bit this morning as I only have one class, which is nice. Now that my papers are done, I'm going to do a bit of Christmas stuff before I buckle down and start my studying for finals. This time next week, I'll be cramming for Prof C's and Dr. E's finals, having already taken three previously. Craziness! Jenn posted at 8:42 AM | |
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I am so close to being done with the semester and I'm totally ready for that to happen. I have one paper left to revise and I finished my data gathering this afternoon, so I'm ready to do that tonight. Then there's just finals - I have a final in every class, but I think I'm going to do okay. I gotta remember to buy blue books tomorrow, though. I tried to put my Christmas tree up this week. Turns out the lights have gone bad after being in my closet for two years so I'm going out to get new ones over the weekend. Fun stuff. Jenn posted at 12:44 AM | |
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I am *so* close to finishing my data gathering for my redistricting paper! I've put it on the back burner since Prof C changed when its due, but I'm trying to get it done this week. I only have to do election results for 2004 in the senate and US house and I'm done. Then it's time for analyzation - the fun part ;) It is ridiculously cold in my apartment, but I'm scared of the heater in my room, so I will just have to deal with the cold hands. Classes were good and I was able to sneak in a lot of work on my data, which really helped a lot. Tonight, I'm going to a lecture by Evan Handler (Harry on Sex and the City) with R and then coming home and writing my women's history paper. Good times! Jenn posted at 8:37 PM | |
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I got three hours of sleep last night and I'm still going strong. Classes went well and had a great break as well. Hard to believe I have my first final a week from today, but it's true. Nothing do tomorrow, so I'm trying to catch up on all the stuff I need to do. After The Daily Show, I'm passing out ;) Jenn posted at 1:58 AM | |
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I had so much fun last night! It was B's birthday (or it will be in a couple of weeks) so K invited to come out with them and 60 of their closest friends for dinner and clubbing. I discovered a new Mexican restaurant that has spoiled me for all future Chevy's fundraisers and had my first club experience. We drank, we danced and just had a lot crazy good times! And even though I drank more last night than I usually do - no hangover! I guess one per week is my limit - fine by me!! Jenn posted at 6:21 PM | |
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A friend of mine wanted to borrow my Sarah McLachlan Surfacing CD, but when I got out the case, it was empty. Going to my iTunes, I realized that I hadn't loaded it into there either, meaning it had been missing for a while. Tonight, I decided to go on a little quest. Pulling out all of my CD cases, I looked for doubled discs. This summer, Anna and I rotated CDs in my 12-disc changer and put the extra CDs back in random cases if I didn't bring it along. But no luck. I pulled out the box of crap that I've still never unpacked from my closet and sifted through. After a year and a half, there's a lot of stuff that I can finally throw away - downsize to a smaller box. I found some CD case notes and some CD-roms, but no Surfacing. Then it hit me - my portable CD player was also in that box - what was in it? And there it was - Surfacing by Sarah McLachlan, my old friend, come in from the cold. I have loaded it onto my iTunes/iPod and am happily listening to it for the first time in ages. Mmmm, Sarah... Jenn posted at 1:38 AM | |
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I woke up this morning to sunshine and dry pavement. Looking around, despite the carpet of dead pine needles, you'd never know we had a monsoonish day yesterday. Man, I'll just never figure out the weather around here - everytime, I think I know, it just trips me up again ;) Jenn posted at 6:41 PM | |
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Since late last night, the wind has been blowing and it has been pouring. The windows are shaking and it looks black as night out there even though it is mid-afternoon. I have to go back out there to the library and I am not looking forward to it at all. Jenn posted at 5:04 PM | |
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...Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." --Mark Twain I'm in between papers and just a bit tipsy, but it's all for a good cause. Am home from the PSSA fundraiser at Chevy's. Can't remember when I've laughed so hard for so long. My face still hurts! Was advised today and my major and minor advisors both say I will graduate. I need to check with the GE advising department, but everything should be square there too. Whoohoo! There's more to write, but I just can't focus right now. Just know that life is good in Jenn-land ;) Jenn posted at 12:50 AM | |