Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
I'm home
And I am very very busy. My mom isn't working right now, and my dad never works except for tax season, so it's kind of like we're all on winter break together! So far it's been awesome. I'm loving spending time with the whole family. I'm sure eventually it will get annoying. But until then, I'm happy!
Yesterday I went to church and we had a big family dinner at night. I was so happy to see my grandparents. I got my hair cut, nails done, and shopping today. I feel like when I come home I have all this maintenance stuff to do. So I got that taken care of before Thanksgiving on Thursday, and my cousin's wedding on Sunday. We are leaving on Friday to drive to LA and we'll come back on Monday. It'll be fun to spend some time with my brother. I was surprised that he wanted to come, but he does. So it'll be me, my mom, my brother, and both my grandparents. Then when I get back, I have lots of free time until the cruise. Life is great!
Yesterday I went to church and we had a big family dinner at night. I was so happy to see my grandparents. I got my hair cut, nails done, and shopping today. I feel like when I come home I have all this maintenance stuff to do. So I got that taken care of before Thanksgiving on Thursday, and my cousin's wedding on Sunday. We are leaving on Friday to drive to LA and we'll come back on Monday. It'll be fun to spend some time with my brother. I was surprised that he wanted to come, but he does. So it'll be me, my mom, my brother, and both my grandparents. Then when I get back, I have lots of free time until the cruise. Life is great!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
trying this for the first time
Well I am typing this on my brand new blackberry. And before you tell me that I am a spoiled brat, I have had the same phone for four years, so it was time for a new one. I am still very slow at typing, but getting better. And since Nicole is on our home computer, this will have to do. I am so happy to be home :)
Friday, November 21, 2008
On my way!
I had a lovely relaxing day today. The entire dorm was empty by the time I got up. The only people left are a couple residents who got an extension, and a bunch of RAs. All my favorite people! It was kind of cool having the run of the building. Daniel and I spent all morning cleaning and packing. Our room is spotless now. I love it when everything is clean. We did laundry and then packed everything up. It barely fit in our car, but we worked it out. We went out to lunch with Hope before she headed home to Colorado Springs and then we spent the rest of the day with Jeff. It's so hard saying goodbye to all my friends for six whole weeks, but I'm sure it will go by quickly. I really didn't want to go out for lunch and dinner today, so Jeff graciously offerred to cook dinner for us in his fabulous desk manager's apartment on the fifth floor. Daniel and Jeff went grocery shopping and bought all the fixin's for tacos. Then they cooked and we invited Nelson's desk manager Troy over, and a few other RAs who haven't left yet. It was really nice hanging out and having the entire building to ourselves. We could rent any DVD we wanted, and we used Nelson's Wii and played video games all night. So now it's time for bed because we are leaving bright and early at 5am to drive home. It's a 13 hour drive, so it will be a very long day.
I'm kind of sad that we won't be living together for the next 6 weeks. It will be hard for me to go to bed in my own bed, not with Daniel. But I'll be fine. I survived before this year sleeping in my own bed. I hope my parents aren't offended if I want to be over at Daniel's house. It will be hard to please my parents and spend time with Daniel and his family when I want. It's all part of being an adult I guess. Overall, I am very excited to go home!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Two days of amazingness
The last two days have been incredible. Ever since finals ended, my life has been a big, happy, party!
Tuesday I worked EARLY but then I went back to sleep, so my day wasn't too messed up. I took my very last final and then I had to supervise the NATS Physics class to deter any desperate people from cheating. Once that was over, the party began.
At 7 a bunch of my girl friends met down stairs to go out to dinner. It was so much fun from the very beginning. We were all dressed up and everyone looked beautiful! We took a ton of pictures and then drove to dinner. I think that car rides with a bunch of girls are a blast, and this one was no different. We turned up the radio and sang along really loudly and obnoxiously. When we got there, everyone was surprised to see 10 girls all dressed up really nice and giggling like crazy. They asked us what the occasion was and we had to explain that we were all so glad to be done with finals and our first quarter of the year. It was surprisingly easy to order. We picked out like 5 things that everybody liked and just passed it all around. That's the best way to do it. And Buca di Beppo is made for sharing family style. We all really wanted dessert, but of course we had reservations at The Melting Pot, so we restrained ourselves. It was like another 10 minute car ride there which again was so much fun. I think by the time we got there we were all high on estrogen and the waiters must have thought we just arrived from a bar and were all incredibly drunk. But we weren't! We were just having a great time and freeing ourselves from the stress and pressure of homework and studying. Some of the waiters came over and flirted with us so we left a list of our names and phone numbers (no I did not leave mine). They were really cute. It was just so much fun. We all agreed that it was one of the best nights of our lives and that we HAVE to do this again. Maybe a little cheaper though. It was about $30 a person, but for a really nice dinner and REALLY nice dessert, it's worth it. We got 4 different pots of chocolate, and our waiter was so nice he brought out unlimited plates of dippers. With ten of us, we still couldn't finish all the chocolate! Our waiter even lit our pots on fire and we roasted marshmallows over the flames. It was one of the best nights I have ever had. I love college.
And then yesterday, Daniel and I went up to Keystone and I went snowboarding while he went skiing. Last year I went boarding for the first time in like 3 years, so I sort of improvised and taught myself how to board - wrong of course. So I wanted to take a class this time to get it right. If you know anything about snowboarding, you have one foot forward (left if you're regular, and right if you're goofy) and then you lean onto your heel edge or your toe edge to turn and stop. Well, I was just using my heel edge and switching whichever foot was forward. That's really really bad and totally completely wrong. I was working my calves really hard and my shins not at all so I would get exhausted really quickly. I wanted to use yesterday to take a full day class and learn how to use my toe edge. Well there was an accident on the freeway, so traffic was backed up, and by the time we got up to the mountain, it was a half hour after the class started. I was really disappointed because the half day class was only $10 less, and it didn't start until 1:00pm. So I either had to wait until 1:00 to do anything or I had to spend an extra $40 on a lift ticket. I didn't want to sit around, so I paid the extra money and boarded wrong all morning. But it worked out, because I ended up getting basically a private lesson. Those are normally $400, but I got it for about $150! And he spent the entire 2 hours working with me on toe turns. The first time I got it, I was so happy! Honestly, I wasn't sure I would ever learn. So the next step was to link my toe turns and heel turns together. We didn't have enough time to get that down, but now I know exactly what I need to work on. I discovered that my stance was completely wrong. In snowboarding everything is about the front foot. You lean on the front foot, turn with the front foot, stop with the front foot. I have been using WAY too much of my back foot and leaning with my body to get myself to turn. That makes me loose my balance and center of gravity and I fall. I also have been staring down at the snow which makes me fall. So I need to practice leaning on my front foot, balancing on top of the board, and looking forward where I'm going. It's a lot to think about all at once, but I just need to practice so my body learns what it feels like. My teacher was awesome and really helped me a lot. I think I might take one more class this season. But I'll be really lucky if I get another private lesson.
Today I am very very sore. Every muscle in my body hurts. I can't lift anything, open doors, reach for anything without my muscles hurting really bad. But it was all worth it. It kind of feels good because it means I worked hard yesterday. I'm not a very athletic person, so it's cool that I'm getting into a sport like this. And when you're living in Denver, it's really important to know how to ski or snowboard. Everybody does it. It's kind of expensive, but worth it to me. And it's something that Daniel and I can do together.
After my shift this afternoon, Daniel and I are going to go shopping! I want a really beautiful Christmas dress and Daniel needs new shoes. I think we're going to start at Banana Republic and see if there's anything there. I have spent so much money this week, but I also got a huge check this week, so I don't feel so bad. I go home the day after tomorrow and I can't wait! Oh! I also got a wedding invitation for my cousin's wedding in California. That's going to be awesome too. I feel kind of like I'm going undercover to investigate the secret world of scientologists lol. But I love my family, they're so fun especially Vanessa. And I love weddings too!
Tuesday I worked EARLY but then I went back to sleep, so my day wasn't too messed up. I took my very last final and then I had to supervise the NATS Physics class to deter any desperate people from cheating. Once that was over, the party began.
At 7 a bunch of my girl friends met down stairs to go out to dinner. It was so much fun from the very beginning. We were all dressed up and everyone looked beautiful! We took a ton of pictures and then drove to dinner. I think that car rides with a bunch of girls are a blast, and this one was no different. We turned up the radio and sang along really loudly and obnoxiously. When we got there, everyone was surprised to see 10 girls all dressed up really nice and giggling like crazy. They asked us what the occasion was and we had to explain that we were all so glad to be done with finals and our first quarter of the year. It was surprisingly easy to order. We picked out like 5 things that everybody liked and just passed it all around. That's the best way to do it. And Buca di Beppo is made for sharing family style. We all really wanted dessert, but of course we had reservations at The Melting Pot, so we restrained ourselves. It was like another 10 minute car ride there which again was so much fun. I think by the time we got there we were all high on estrogen and the waiters must have thought we just arrived from a bar and were all incredibly drunk. But we weren't! We were just having a great time and freeing ourselves from the stress and pressure of homework and studying. Some of the waiters came over and flirted with us so we left a list of our names and phone numbers (no I did not leave mine). They were really cute. It was just so much fun. We all agreed that it was one of the best nights of our lives and that we HAVE to do this again. Maybe a little cheaper though. It was about $30 a person, but for a really nice dinner and REALLY nice dessert, it's worth it. We got 4 different pots of chocolate, and our waiter was so nice he brought out unlimited plates of dippers. With ten of us, we still couldn't finish all the chocolate! Our waiter even lit our pots on fire and we roasted marshmallows over the flames. It was one of the best nights I have ever had. I love college.
And then yesterday, Daniel and I went up to Keystone and I went snowboarding while he went skiing. Last year I went boarding for the first time in like 3 years, so I sort of improvised and taught myself how to board - wrong of course. So I wanted to take a class this time to get it right. If you know anything about snowboarding, you have one foot forward (left if you're regular, and right if you're goofy) and then you lean onto your heel edge or your toe edge to turn and stop. Well, I was just using my heel edge and switching whichever foot was forward. That's really really bad and totally completely wrong. I was working my calves really hard and my shins not at all so I would get exhausted really quickly. I wanted to use yesterday to take a full day class and learn how to use my toe edge. Well there was an accident on the freeway, so traffic was backed up, and by the time we got up to the mountain, it was a half hour after the class started. I was really disappointed because the half day class was only $10 less, and it didn't start until 1:00pm. So I either had to wait until 1:00 to do anything or I had to spend an extra $40 on a lift ticket. I didn't want to sit around, so I paid the extra money and boarded wrong all morning. But it worked out, because I ended up getting basically a private lesson. Those are normally $400, but I got it for about $150! And he spent the entire 2 hours working with me on toe turns. The first time I got it, I was so happy! Honestly, I wasn't sure I would ever learn. So the next step was to link my toe turns and heel turns together. We didn't have enough time to get that down, but now I know exactly what I need to work on. I discovered that my stance was completely wrong. In snowboarding everything is about the front foot. You lean on the front foot, turn with the front foot, stop with the front foot. I have been using WAY too much of my back foot and leaning with my body to get myself to turn. That makes me loose my balance and center of gravity and I fall. I also have been staring down at the snow which makes me fall. So I need to practice leaning on my front foot, balancing on top of the board, and looking forward where I'm going. It's a lot to think about all at once, but I just need to practice so my body learns what it feels like. My teacher was awesome and really helped me a lot. I think I might take one more class this season. But I'll be really lucky if I get another private lesson.
Today I am very very sore. Every muscle in my body hurts. I can't lift anything, open doors, reach for anything without my muscles hurting really bad. But it was all worth it. It kind of feels good because it means I worked hard yesterday. I'm not a very athletic person, so it's cool that I'm getting into a sport like this. And when you're living in Denver, it's really important to know how to ski or snowboard. Everybody does it. It's kind of expensive, but worth it to me. And it's something that Daniel and I can do together.
After my shift this afternoon, Daniel and I are going to go shopping! I want a really beautiful Christmas dress and Daniel needs new shoes. I think we're going to start at Banana Republic and see if there's anything there. I have spent so much money this week, but I also got a huge check this week, so I don't feel so bad. I go home the day after tomorrow and I can't wait! Oh! I also got a wedding invitation for my cousin's wedding in California. That's going to be awesome too. I feel kind of like I'm going undercover to investigate the secret world of scientologists lol. But I love my family, they're so fun especially Vanessa. And I love weddings too!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Good news first, or bad news?
Okay, good news.
I'm making $35 while everyone else sleeps.
Bad news.
Everyone else is sleeping right now and I am not.
Why, oh why did I take the 3am-7am shift? I think I'll ponder that question for the next one hour and ten minutes until my shift is OVER.
I'm making $35 while everyone else sleeps.
Bad news.
Everyone else is sleeping right now and I am not.
Why, oh why did I take the 3am-7am shift? I think I'll ponder that question for the next one hour and ten minutes until my shift is OVER.
Monday, November 17, 2008
One down, one to go
My final this morning went very well. It was in my core class on classical art and music. I wasn't really concerned about it, which actually probably helped. I think that I could have gotten 70% on it and still gotten an A in the class. But I did still study, so I was prepared and I think I did well. I got through it in 45 minutes and came home and went back to bed until 11:00.
Daniel and I went to the post office and turned in my passport paperwork. One step closer to Europe! And Mexico in a month! While Daniel did mail, Hope and I figured out our plans for tonight and tomorrow. We are going to have dinner in the dining hall at 5 and then go shoe shopping. Then we'll go to the mall for the movie at 6:40pm. Hopefully I'll be home by 9 so I can get some sleep before work tomorrow at 3am. Yuck. I'll go back to sleep until my final at noon. Then I have to help out with NATS from 2-4pm. I'll probably celebrate and then sleep from 4-7. All the girls are going to meet downstairs at 7 and we have reservations at Buca di Beppo at 7:30 and the Melting Pot at 9. P.F. Chang's didn't work out because it was too far away from The Melting Pot. But Buca di Beppo is still really yummy! And it's better for big groups. We have eight girls going now, but more might join us. When I made the reservations they asked if we were celebrating something special like a birthday or anniversary. I told them we're celebrating the end of finals! We're all glad to be done. Every study room has been occupied all weekend and nobody is going out or anything. It's kind of strange actually to see a residence hall this quiet.
Last night I was reading up on Europe some more and I discovered that there is a whole series of guidebooks specifically for college students. It's written by Harvard students. They're called "Let's Go". I was looking on Amazon to see if I could get one for pretty cheap. A bunch of them said "ex-library books". Then I thought, maybe I should actually check the library and see if they have one. Our school library does have guidebooks. From 1978. Like that's really going to help. Our phoenix library has some from 2000, but I still feel like that's too long ago. I mean if it's before 9/11, then it's definitely out of date. So I bought some for pretty cheap on Amazon. I'm excited to see if they have more information on hostels. The Frommer's book we have considers $150 a night a "value" hotel. Yeah, right. And Daniel and I have saved almost $1000 towards the trip. That's just in about a month. So I think we're doing really well.
We have our first 2 1/2 weeks basically planned. We haven't found any hostels or bought our plane ticket, train ticket, international student ID card, or any of that yet. Right now we're just planning what we want to do. I'm most excited for Barcelona and Paris right now. I still don't know anything about Italy. I haven't gotten to that chapter yet. I am also excited for the train rides through Switzerland. I think it's going to be beautiful. I'm a little concerned about packing though. Everything I've read says you need to pack really light. Like one carry-on size bag. I don't think I have ever traveled without checking a bag. Let alone to the other side of the world for a month. But it's all part of the experience I guess. It will be an exercise in pushing myself out of my comfort zone and learning how to get past my anxiety. And I'm prepared now more than ever to do that. Besides, once we get married and have kids, we won't be able to do this. So it's now or never!
Daniel and I went to the post office and turned in my passport paperwork. One step closer to Europe! And Mexico in a month! While Daniel did mail, Hope and I figured out our plans for tonight and tomorrow. We are going to have dinner in the dining hall at 5 and then go shoe shopping. Then we'll go to the mall for the movie at 6:40pm. Hopefully I'll be home by 9 so I can get some sleep before work tomorrow at 3am. Yuck. I'll go back to sleep until my final at noon. Then I have to help out with NATS from 2-4pm. I'll probably celebrate and then sleep from 4-7. All the girls are going to meet downstairs at 7 and we have reservations at Buca di Beppo at 7:30 and the Melting Pot at 9. P.F. Chang's didn't work out because it was too far away from The Melting Pot. But Buca di Beppo is still really yummy! And it's better for big groups. We have eight girls going now, but more might join us. When I made the reservations they asked if we were celebrating something special like a birthday or anniversary. I told them we're celebrating the end of finals! We're all glad to be done. Every study room has been occupied all weekend and nobody is going out or anything. It's kind of strange actually to see a residence hall this quiet.
Last night I was reading up on Europe some more and I discovered that there is a whole series of guidebooks specifically for college students. It's written by Harvard students. They're called "Let's Go". I was looking on Amazon to see if I could get one for pretty cheap. A bunch of them said "ex-library books". Then I thought, maybe I should actually check the library and see if they have one. Our school library does have guidebooks. From 1978. Like that's really going to help. Our phoenix library has some from 2000, but I still feel like that's too long ago. I mean if it's before 9/11, then it's definitely out of date. So I bought some for pretty cheap on Amazon. I'm excited to see if they have more information on hostels. The Frommer's book we have considers $150 a night a "value" hotel. Yeah, right. And Daniel and I have saved almost $1000 towards the trip. That's just in about a month. So I think we're doing really well.
We have our first 2 1/2 weeks basically planned. We haven't found any hostels or bought our plane ticket, train ticket, international student ID card, or any of that yet. Right now we're just planning what we want to do. I'm most excited for Barcelona and Paris right now. I still don't know anything about Italy. I haven't gotten to that chapter yet. I am also excited for the train rides through Switzerland. I think it's going to be beautiful. I'm a little concerned about packing though. Everything I've read says you need to pack really light. Like one carry-on size bag. I don't think I have ever traveled without checking a bag. Let alone to the other side of the world for a month. But it's all part of the experience I guess. It will be an exercise in pushing myself out of my comfort zone and learning how to get past my anxiety. And I'm prepared now more than ever to do that. Besides, once we get married and have kids, we won't be able to do this. So it's now or never!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Weekends!
This was a fabulous weekend! I love being in college. :-) On Saturday I got home from my shift and took a long nap. It has been a long time since I have had enough free time to actually sleep. When I woke up Daniel had done the mail for me, so I didn't have to worry about that. He spoils me. We went out to this thai place for dinner. Daniel loves thai food, but we hardly ever get to eat it. Usually when we go out, he let's me pick the place. Tonight, however, it was Daniel's turn. So I encouraged him to order whatever he wanted. It was actually much better than either of us thought it would be. We were planning on going to a Denver Brass concert together, but I didn't really feel like going. I thought it would be a nice night to stay home and spend some time by myself for a little while. So Daniel went to the concert and I ended up on my computer for an hour or so reading up on Europe some more. That's my latest obsession.
At about 8:15 my friend Hope texted me and invited me over to watch a movie and do a little light studying for finals. Her favorite movie is Love Actually and I've never seen it, so she insisted that we watch it. It was very romantic, just like Hope. She likes anything that has to do with love. So Hope, Robin, and I went to Robin's suite to relax and be girly for a little while. We also drank hot chocolate, ate roasted walnuts coated with cinnamon sugar (delicious!) and frosted sugar cookies. I guess Robin's suitemate's mom brought all the stuff to make sugar cookies and roasted nuts, so they did a lot of baking earlier that week. I sure enjoyed it! The movie ended around 11. By then Robin's other suitemates had come home.
A bunch of them are in choir with me so I knew all of them. We watched youtube videos of Yelle, this really popular singer in France. Her videos look like they're targeted at eight year olds, but she sings about really provocative stuff. It's all in french of course, but I guess words like "pornography", "orgasm", and "favorite position" are cognates lol. It was obvious what she was talking about. So we danced around and made fun of Yelle for a little while. I called Daniel to find out if he was home yet, and he said that he was, but I couldn't come home because he was talking privately with one of his residents. Blech. Stupid RA stuff. Luckily the girls were perfectly willing to let me hang out with them in their suite until 1am when Daniel was finished. All in all, it was a great night. It made me feel very lucky that I am living in a residence hall at such an awesome school with great friends. It's nights like those that I will look back on and remember how much fun college was. I think everybody should experience living in a dorm. There's nothing like it.
Today I slept in until 11am. Blissful. I worked for a couple hours this afternoon. Daniel came and helped me study for core. Hope is also in core with me, so she came by and we studied together. 2 hours goes by way faster when you have friends with you. And studying is way more fun with friends too! My core final is tomorrow morning at 8am, so I need to finish up my studying tonight. Hope and I are at the top of our class, so I'm not worried. It should go smoothly. Tomorrow Hope and I are going to go see a movie and then Tuesday we're going out to dinner with Danelle, Katie, Nikki, Reema, and a bunch of other Nelson staff. It should be lots of fun! Then Wednesday is snowboarding. Thursday and Friday will be cleaning and packing. And then Saturday we drive home!
At about 8:15 my friend Hope texted me and invited me over to watch a movie and do a little light studying for finals. Her favorite movie is Love Actually and I've never seen it, so she insisted that we watch it. It was very romantic, just like Hope. She likes anything that has to do with love. So Hope, Robin, and I went to Robin's suite to relax and be girly for a little while. We also drank hot chocolate, ate roasted walnuts coated with cinnamon sugar (delicious!) and frosted sugar cookies. I guess Robin's suitemate's mom brought all the stuff to make sugar cookies and roasted nuts, so they did a lot of baking earlier that week. I sure enjoyed it! The movie ended around 11. By then Robin's other suitemates had come home.
A bunch of them are in choir with me so I knew all of them. We watched youtube videos of Yelle, this really popular singer in France. Her videos look like they're targeted at eight year olds, but she sings about really provocative stuff. It's all in french of course, but I guess words like "pornography", "orgasm", and "favorite position" are cognates lol. It was obvious what she was talking about. So we danced around and made fun of Yelle for a little while. I called Daniel to find out if he was home yet, and he said that he was, but I couldn't come home because he was talking privately with one of his residents. Blech. Stupid RA stuff. Luckily the girls were perfectly willing to let me hang out with them in their suite until 1am when Daniel was finished. All in all, it was a great night. It made me feel very lucky that I am living in a residence hall at such an awesome school with great friends. It's nights like those that I will look back on and remember how much fun college was. I think everybody should experience living in a dorm. There's nothing like it.
Today I slept in until 11am. Blissful. I worked for a couple hours this afternoon. Daniel came and helped me study for core. Hope is also in core with me, so she came by and we studied together. 2 hours goes by way faster when you have friends with you. And studying is way more fun with friends too! My core final is tomorrow morning at 8am, so I need to finish up my studying tonight. Hope and I are at the top of our class, so I'm not worried. It should go smoothly. Tomorrow Hope and I are going to go see a movie and then Tuesday we're going out to dinner with Danelle, Katie, Nikki, Reema, and a bunch of other Nelson staff. It should be lots of fun! Then Wednesday is snowboarding. Thursday and Friday will be cleaning and packing. And then Saturday we drive home!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Madama Butterfly
The opera was beautiful. The songs were so emotional and the singers were incredible. Some of the effects they used made the opera seem magical. There is a scene where they spread flower petals all over the entire stage to welcome her husband back to Japan. They have hundreds of light pink cherry blossom flowers and they sprinkle them all over the stage. They flutter to the floor and land lightly. Then, petals start falling from the sky. It looks like it's snowing flower petals! It was so beautiful. There's another scene where they use the lighting to show very dramatically the passage of time from sunset to sunrise the next morning. She is waiting for her husband to come home, but he doesn't. It's a very sad scene because she is so disappointed. The scene is like 10 minutes long while you watch the scenery slowly get orange and then dark blue and then yellow and orange again when the sun rises. She just stands there watching completely still. In the background (off stage I'm guessing) you can hear a chorus singing off in the distance. It's a beautiful song. And there's a little boy who plays her son. He must be about five years old. He was so well-behaved! He sat perfectly still on stage and did exactly what he was supposed to. It was amazing.
We were lucky to get such great seats too. The theatre has 4 levels that stack way up to the ceiling and we were on the very bottom in the first row of the back section. That means there were no heads to block our view. This theatre has this new technology where they display the words on the back of the seat in front of you. The opera is in italian, so you can choose english, spanish, or off. I kind of got dizzy looking back and forth from the stage to the captions, but I didn't want to miss any of the words and the meaning. There were just a couple funny parts, but many sad parts. It is a tragedy, after all.
After the opera Daniel and I got some hot chocolate from starbucks to celebrate the first snow of the season (though it all melted by noon). It was very VERY cold outside last night and I insisted on wearing a dress. I wanted to look beautiful for the opera, and pants just don't feel beautiful. I did wear tights, but they didn't keep me that warm. Daniel seemed to think that I was overreacting, but he was wearing a full suit when it was 30 degrees outside. So I don't think he has the right to complain. We had to work at 11pm, so we rushed back home. It was a beautiful night.
In the program they had an advertisement for the other two operas they are doing this season. They are offerring a valentine's day special. You get a 3-course dinner at the super fancy restaurant right next to the opera house, "premium" seating for the show "The Pearl Fishers", and then after the show a cocktails and dessert reception with the cast. And during intermission you get access to an exclusive lounge or something. It's $350 for a couple which I think is a very good deal for everything you're getting. Our tickets were $100 a piece for last night, so that would make dinner and cocktails and dessert with the cast only $150 more. Except we'll get even better seats. It sounds like a beautiful Valentine's Day. I think we'll save up and make that our gift to each other.
It's my last Saturday here on campus until January. I have studied a little bit, but not enough to be ready for my two finals. I'm sort of putting it off. I keep thinking that I have plenty of time to study, so I don't want to waste any of my free time studying. It has been 10 long weeks since I have had a weekend with no homework to do and no classes to worry about. This break is going to be so relaxing. I'm going to spend lots of time with my family and with Daniel's family and all of my friends back home. I can't wait!!
We were lucky to get such great seats too. The theatre has 4 levels that stack way up to the ceiling and we were on the very bottom in the first row of the back section. That means there were no heads to block our view. This theatre has this new technology where they display the words on the back of the seat in front of you. The opera is in italian, so you can choose english, spanish, or off. I kind of got dizzy looking back and forth from the stage to the captions, but I didn't want to miss any of the words and the meaning. There were just a couple funny parts, but many sad parts. It is a tragedy, after all.
After the opera Daniel and I got some hot chocolate from starbucks to celebrate the first snow of the season (though it all melted by noon). It was very VERY cold outside last night and I insisted on wearing a dress. I wanted to look beautiful for the opera, and pants just don't feel beautiful. I did wear tights, but they didn't keep me that warm. Daniel seemed to think that I was overreacting, but he was wearing a full suit when it was 30 degrees outside. So I don't think he has the right to complain. We had to work at 11pm, so we rushed back home. It was a beautiful night.
In the program they had an advertisement for the other two operas they are doing this season. They are offerring a valentine's day special. You get a 3-course dinner at the super fancy restaurant right next to the opera house, "premium" seating for the show "The Pearl Fishers", and then after the show a cocktails and dessert reception with the cast. And during intermission you get access to an exclusive lounge or something. It's $350 for a couple which I think is a very good deal for everything you're getting. Our tickets were $100 a piece for last night, so that would make dinner and cocktails and dessert with the cast only $150 more. Except we'll get even better seats. It sounds like a beautiful Valentine's Day. I think we'll save up and make that our gift to each other.
It's my last Saturday here on campus until January. I have studied a little bit, but not enough to be ready for my two finals. I'm sort of putting it off. I keep thinking that I have plenty of time to study, so I don't want to waste any of my free time studying. It has been 10 long weeks since I have had a weekend with no homework to do and no classes to worry about. This break is going to be so relaxing. I'm going to spend lots of time with my family and with Daniel's family and all of my friends back home. I can't wait!!
Friday, November 14, 2008
No work tonight...
Because I'm going to the Opera! My grandparents bought Daniel and I awesome tickets to see Madame Butterfly! I think I'll make a list of things that I am very happy about today.
1) it snowed last night
2) I got an A (not even a minus) in biology for the quarter
3) I'm done with three classes, only two to go
4) it's pay day!
5) no work tonight
6) I'm listening to Smetena's "The Moldau" and it's beautiful
I love my life. Isn't it wonderful?
1) it snowed last night
2) I got an A (not even a minus) in biology for the quarter
3) I'm done with three classes, only two to go
4) it's pay day!
5) no work tonight
6) I'm listening to Smetena's "The Moldau" and it's beautiful
I love my life. Isn't it wonderful?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
I wish I was asleep right now.
I'm ready for this quarter to be OVER. I am very very tired of waking up for my 8am class/ my 5am shift at work. $8.70 is not worth it to wake up this early. Next quarter I will have 9am class every morning. I am greatly looking forward to it. It's not much later, but at least it's a steady schedule. This quarter I wake up at 7 on Monday, 8 on Tuesday, 4:45 on Wednesday, 9 on Thursday, 9 on Friday, 8 again on Saturday, and I get to sleep in on Sunday. It's quite confusing. I'm sure my circadian rhythms are not happy with me.
I'm also very excited to go home! The whole family is going to be together for Thanksgiving. We are all together so rarely now that it feels like a family reunion when we are. My parents are very glad that we are coming home too. Then they will be gone for two weeks which will be nice for me. It will definitely be a relaxing vacation. I think everybody should get 11 stressful weeks followed by 6 of vacation. It really helps you to push through until the end to think about 6 blissful weeks with no homework or studying or tests or waking up early.
Next week is actually pretty calm. I have one final and one optional final on Monday, and then another final on Tuesday and I'm done. We can't leave until Friday or Saturday because Daniel is an RA. So we have Wednesday and Thursday with basically nothing to do. We decided to go skiing on Wednesday. We're going to go up to Keystone. I'm going to take an all day class. I want to get good enough that I can snowboard all day and have fun. Right now it's a lot of work and although I'm looking forward to it and I know it will be fun, I'm also a bit nervous. I get scared when I start going too fast down the mountain so I lean back on my heel edge the entire time and that takes a lot of muscles. I end up very very sore the next day. I never quite got the hang of my toe edge, so instead of boarding front foot down the mountain, I switch back and forth on my heel edge. Hopefully at the class I will learn the proper way to board once and for all.
I hope Phoenix is nice and sunny and warm. It just got cold here the past few days, but still no snow in Denver. It has snowed everywhere else around Denver. It has been high 40s and 50s during the day, and freezing at night. To celebrate a new ski season I bought a new coat on Monday. I got tired of wearing the same coat every day last year so I bought myself another one that will be better for snowboarding, but also work for walking to class and stuff. It's one that has a fleece that zips into the inside with a waterproof outer layer. It's very warm and cozy. My other coat was not meant for sports. It wasn't waterproof or windproof, just really warm. So this coat is very nice. And it goes with my ski pants well. It was on sale for really cheap so I couldn't resist.
I think I'll eat breakfast now. It's very quiet for a college residence hall. Somebody has to be awake somewhere. Right?
I'm also very excited to go home! The whole family is going to be together for Thanksgiving. We are all together so rarely now that it feels like a family reunion when we are. My parents are very glad that we are coming home too. Then they will be gone for two weeks which will be nice for me. It will definitely be a relaxing vacation. I think everybody should get 11 stressful weeks followed by 6 of vacation. It really helps you to push through until the end to think about 6 blissful weeks with no homework or studying or tests or waking up early.
Next week is actually pretty calm. I have one final and one optional final on Monday, and then another final on Tuesday and I'm done. We can't leave until Friday or Saturday because Daniel is an RA. So we have Wednesday and Thursday with basically nothing to do. We decided to go skiing on Wednesday. We're going to go up to Keystone. I'm going to take an all day class. I want to get good enough that I can snowboard all day and have fun. Right now it's a lot of work and although I'm looking forward to it and I know it will be fun, I'm also a bit nervous. I get scared when I start going too fast down the mountain so I lean back on my heel edge the entire time and that takes a lot of muscles. I end up very very sore the next day. I never quite got the hang of my toe edge, so instead of boarding front foot down the mountain, I switch back and forth on my heel edge. Hopefully at the class I will learn the proper way to board once and for all.
I hope Phoenix is nice and sunny and warm. It just got cold here the past few days, but still no snow in Denver. It has snowed everywhere else around Denver. It has been high 40s and 50s during the day, and freezing at night. To celebrate a new ski season I bought a new coat on Monday. I got tired of wearing the same coat every day last year so I bought myself another one that will be better for snowboarding, but also work for walking to class and stuff. It's one that has a fleece that zips into the inside with a waterproof outer layer. It's very warm and cozy. My other coat was not meant for sports. It wasn't waterproof or windproof, just really warm. So this coat is very nice. And it goes with my ski pants well. It was on sale for really cheap so I couldn't resist.
I think I'll eat breakfast now. It's very quiet for a college residence hall. Somebody has to be awake somewhere. Right?
Thursday, November 6, 2008
A terrifying evening
My dad called me this evening and told me that my sister was in a car accident. Immediately I thought it was just a fender bender, but then he told me the details. Nicole was the least hurt, and she fractured her heel/ankle. She told me that it's swollen to the size of a baseball. She has a splint and is using crutches to get around. Worse than that, Mike was injured badly. His spleen was ruptured so he was rushed into surgery immediately. He's expected to be fine after a few days of recovery in the hospital. The other driver was not so lucky. He isn't expected to live. He was only 16 years old.
Luckily, it's nobody's fault. Both insurance companies will take care of the costs. I feel so relieved that Nicole is okay. But guilty, because the other driver was not. And this whole thing has made me realize that I care about Mike simply because I care about Nicole. And I don't want either of them to be hurt. I don't think I have ever wanted to speak to my sister as badly as I have tonight. Her phone was broken in the crash, so there is no way for me to contact her. She finally called me a few hours ago and as soon as I heard her voice I started to cry. Ugh. I hate crying. But I'm so glad she's okay. I can't imagine how she is feeling. When she mentioned the ride in the ambulance it was like wow this is real, she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. She must have been terrified; I know I would have been. And I know that I wouldn't want to leave Daniel's side for an instant. She said that her and Mike were separated immediately at the hospital. But they let her see him for a second before he went into surgery.
I wish I could be there with her. At least she has some family there to take her home and take care of her for a few days. Of course Nicole is worried about a test she has tomorrow. I'm scared for the day that she comes home for Thanksgiving and she's on crutches. I don't know if it will take that long to heal. I hope not. I couldn't stand to see that.
Pray for Mike. And the other driver's family. As difficult as my night has been, theirs must be a million times worse.
Luckily, it's nobody's fault. Both insurance companies will take care of the costs. I feel so relieved that Nicole is okay. But guilty, because the other driver was not. And this whole thing has made me realize that I care about Mike simply because I care about Nicole. And I don't want either of them to be hurt. I don't think I have ever wanted to speak to my sister as badly as I have tonight. Her phone was broken in the crash, so there is no way for me to contact her. She finally called me a few hours ago and as soon as I heard her voice I started to cry. Ugh. I hate crying. But I'm so glad she's okay. I can't imagine how she is feeling. When she mentioned the ride in the ambulance it was like wow this is real, she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. She must have been terrified; I know I would have been. And I know that I wouldn't want to leave Daniel's side for an instant. She said that her and Mike were separated immediately at the hospital. But they let her see him for a second before he went into surgery.
I wish I could be there with her. At least she has some family there to take her home and take care of her for a few days. Of course Nicole is worried about a test she has tomorrow. I'm scared for the day that she comes home for Thanksgiving and she's on crutches. I don't know if it will take that long to heal. I hope not. I couldn't stand to see that.
Pray for Mike. And the other driver's family. As difficult as my night has been, theirs must be a million times worse.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
It's cold today!
Well winter is definitely here! It's cold outside! I think it's like 35 degrees. Brrrrr!
I had a pretty terrible afternoon. Apparently my insurance company has almost no providers here in Denver so it's impossible for me to find a doctor in this area that will take my insurance. They told me that there were no family practice/general practitioners within 45 miles of my dorm. That's ridiculous! It's not like I live in the middle of nowhere. I'm 15 minutes from downtown Denver! I spent like 2 hours on the phone calling my insurance company and then a bunch of different doctor's offices, trying to get an appointment before I have to go back to Phoenix. I was so tired of being put on hold and speaking to rude people who didn't have the answers to my questions. I finally called an office that's for hispanic families like 20 miles away. It's not too far, so I'll deal until I get back from Christmas break. And maybe I can practice my spanish. ha.
Then I went to turn in the paperwork for my passport. I was actually really excited because I am going to Mexico in December and then Europe (!!) in the summer and this is one step closer to both trips. I got my picture taken at Walgreens on Monday. I went back 90 minutes later (they said it would be done in an hour) and the pictures were still not ready. I was so irritated because we took a special trip and they weren't ready when they were supposed to be. So today we picked up the pictures and went to the post office. We waited at the post office for 30 minutes until someone finally helped us. Then we got up there and the lady told me that she couldn't take my paperwork because I had a copy of my birth certificate and not the real one. She was really rude about it too. I thought it was a certified copy, but apparently it wasn't. So all of that was a total waste. 3 hours of my afternoon were completely wasted on the phone and waiting in line. I felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown. All day I have had terrible customer service. It makes me want to make sure that whatever job I have, I am friendly and courteous to every person I help.
So I came home and went to bed. It made me feel better to get under the covers and just be by myself. When I woke up, it was time for dinner. I went downstairs and a bunch of my friends were eating dinner so I joined them. That turned out to be a great decision because it cheered me up right away. There was a group of like 10 RAs (and me) all sitting together and it was like one big family dinner. Then some of my closest girl friends invited me to Starbucks. And I agreed. It makes me realize how much I've changed since high school, or even a year ago. In Boston, or in high school, I would have just gone home and watched TV or done something by myself. But now I like to spend time with friends. We celebrated the first cold day of the year with some hot chocolate. And we made plans for celebrating the end of finals! We want to get dressed up and go out for a nice dinner with just the girls. We are going to P.F. Changs and then The Melting Pot for dinner. I am such an extrovert! I amaze myself.
I had a pretty terrible afternoon. Apparently my insurance company has almost no providers here in Denver so it's impossible for me to find a doctor in this area that will take my insurance. They told me that there were no family practice/general practitioners within 45 miles of my dorm. That's ridiculous! It's not like I live in the middle of nowhere. I'm 15 minutes from downtown Denver! I spent like 2 hours on the phone calling my insurance company and then a bunch of different doctor's offices, trying to get an appointment before I have to go back to Phoenix. I was so tired of being put on hold and speaking to rude people who didn't have the answers to my questions. I finally called an office that's for hispanic families like 20 miles away. It's not too far, so I'll deal until I get back from Christmas break. And maybe I can practice my spanish. ha.
Then I went to turn in the paperwork for my passport. I was actually really excited because I am going to Mexico in December and then Europe (!!) in the summer and this is one step closer to both trips. I got my picture taken at Walgreens on Monday. I went back 90 minutes later (they said it would be done in an hour) and the pictures were still not ready. I was so irritated because we took a special trip and they weren't ready when they were supposed to be. So today we picked up the pictures and went to the post office. We waited at the post office for 30 minutes until someone finally helped us. Then we got up there and the lady told me that she couldn't take my paperwork because I had a copy of my birth certificate and not the real one. She was really rude about it too. I thought it was a certified copy, but apparently it wasn't. So all of that was a total waste. 3 hours of my afternoon were completely wasted on the phone and waiting in line. I felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown. All day I have had terrible customer service. It makes me want to make sure that whatever job I have, I am friendly and courteous to every person I help.
So I came home and went to bed. It made me feel better to get under the covers and just be by myself. When I woke up, it was time for dinner. I went downstairs and a bunch of my friends were eating dinner so I joined them. That turned out to be a great decision because it cheered me up right away. There was a group of like 10 RAs (and me) all sitting together and it was like one big family dinner. Then some of my closest girl friends invited me to Starbucks. And I agreed. It makes me realize how much I've changed since high school, or even a year ago. In Boston, or in high school, I would have just gone home and watched TV or done something by myself. But now I like to spend time with friends. We celebrated the first cold day of the year with some hot chocolate. And we made plans for celebrating the end of finals! We want to get dressed up and go out for a nice dinner with just the girls. We are going to P.F. Changs and then The Melting Pot for dinner. I am such an extrovert! I amaze myself.
Estes Park, Election, etc.
Last weekend, Daniel and I finally went up to Estes Park. This was supposed to be for our anniversary, but it was the first weekend that Daniel was free. We drove up on Saturday afternoon. There were still beautiful fall colors on the drive up. We checked in and found out that we got Pueblo, one of the oldest cabins. My family stayed in it like 5 years ago. We expected it to be cold up there, and maybe a little snowy, but it was 70 degrees. Actually a little warm. We were disappointed. The point of the trip was to see what the weather is going to be like around the date of our wedding up there, but I don't think this weekend was a good representation. There were elk all over the grounds grazing. They were a little scary. Much bigger when you get up that close.
When we got there, we walked down to this little creek and up to a little valley on the other side. It was strange to be there in the fall. It's much quieter and everything looks dead. I'm so used to it being green and crowded with families. Then we came home and Daniel cooked a delicious dinner for us. It was so good and I ate way too much. We rented a board game and played for a little bit. We took a walk, but we realized that it is very dark outside and we didn't have a flashlight. There were elk all over the grounds, and I was seriously afraid we would run right into one. Then we baked some cookies and went to bed. We were both really tired because we worked all night on halloween. The next morning we had leftover cookies for breakfast and checked out. Daniel has always wanted to hike up bible point, so we decided this would be the perfect time.
It probably wasn't a great idea though because we weren't adjusted to the elevation up there. It's a short, but very steep trail. I had a hard time catching my breath so we stopped to rest frequently. But it still took us less than an hour to get to the top. We took a few really beautiful pictures and then headed back down the mountain. We drove home so that I could finish my homework before work that evening. It was a really nice weekend. A little disappointing that it wasn't cold, and we weren't able to get in to see the cabin that we want to get married in because there were people staying in it. But that just means we'll have to go back. :-)
I gave both of my presentations yesterday. Spanish went pretty well. I think my professor was just glad that we actually followed her instructions unlike the other two groups that went before us. Hopefully that will work to our advantage and we will get a good grade. Psychology went amazing. Way better than I thought. She handed back our comment sheets immediately after. I got 100% and tons of really positive comments. She loved my part of the presentation, and my whole group really. I am so incredibly relieved that they are over. All I really have now is one HUGE paper for psychology, and finals and then I can just not think for 6 whole weeks. The end of the quarter has been really hard. I'm exhausted and stressed out to a point that it's almost unhealthy. I just keep telling myself 2 more weeks.... 10 more days.... 4 more classes....
Last night was very exciting, especially being on a college campus. I had class all the way until 6pm so I missed the early election coverage. I ate dinner quickly and then met some friends. We walked to Ben & Jerry's because they were giving out free ice cream for election day! Then we walked to the cable center which is like a convention center that the university owns. They had this giant 2-story tall TV. It was broken up into cubes so they had CNN really big in the middle and then fox, abc, msnbc, and cbs in the four corners around it. It was a little overwhelming. There were tables set up with snacks and games and prizes all around. They even had pin the tail on the donkey/elephant! The local news broadcasted from here and interviewed the president of the Students for Barack Obama and College Republicans. It was fun for about 2 hours, but then a ton of people came and it got really crowded so we went home. At home we watched comedy central (they have the best coverage anyways). And to our surprise, Jon Stewart announced that Barack Obama won. We, of course, thought he was joking so we turned to CNN to discover that it was true. So that's where I was when it happened. Sitting in my dorm with four friends watching The Daily Show/The Colbert Report.
My 8:00am class was cancelled so I'm going back to bed in 45 minutes. I wish I didn't have to wake up at all. But at least I don't have to go to class after this. It's supposed to snow tonight. This weekend it was like 75 degrees, and all of a sudden last night the temperature dropped and winter is officially here. I think it's going to stay cold this time. We've already been lucky with unseasonably warm weather, but I think it's gone for good now.
I am very excited to go home for Thanksgiving. Much more now that I found out Nicole is coming home, and my parents are going to be gone for two weeks. I think six weeks at home with them would be a little too much, but this way Daniel can stay over at our house and I can still see all my friends and bake and cook and do all the things that I miss from home. And eat lots of In-n-Out burger! Oh how I wish there was In-n-Out here.
I want to go back to bed.
When we got there, we walked down to this little creek and up to a little valley on the other side. It was strange to be there in the fall. It's much quieter and everything looks dead. I'm so used to it being green and crowded with families. Then we came home and Daniel cooked a delicious dinner for us. It was so good and I ate way too much. We rented a board game and played for a little bit. We took a walk, but we realized that it is very dark outside and we didn't have a flashlight. There were elk all over the grounds, and I was seriously afraid we would run right into one. Then we baked some cookies and went to bed. We were both really tired because we worked all night on halloween. The next morning we had leftover cookies for breakfast and checked out. Daniel has always wanted to hike up bible point, so we decided this would be the perfect time.
It probably wasn't a great idea though because we weren't adjusted to the elevation up there. It's a short, but very steep trail. I had a hard time catching my breath so we stopped to rest frequently. But it still took us less than an hour to get to the top. We took a few really beautiful pictures and then headed back down the mountain. We drove home so that I could finish my homework before work that evening. It was a really nice weekend. A little disappointing that it wasn't cold, and we weren't able to get in to see the cabin that we want to get married in because there were people staying in it. But that just means we'll have to go back. :-)
I gave both of my presentations yesterday. Spanish went pretty well. I think my professor was just glad that we actually followed her instructions unlike the other two groups that went before us. Hopefully that will work to our advantage and we will get a good grade. Psychology went amazing. Way better than I thought. She handed back our comment sheets immediately after. I got 100% and tons of really positive comments. She loved my part of the presentation, and my whole group really. I am so incredibly relieved that they are over. All I really have now is one HUGE paper for psychology, and finals and then I can just not think for 6 whole weeks. The end of the quarter has been really hard. I'm exhausted and stressed out to a point that it's almost unhealthy. I just keep telling myself 2 more weeks.... 10 more days.... 4 more classes....
Last night was very exciting, especially being on a college campus. I had class all the way until 6pm so I missed the early election coverage. I ate dinner quickly and then met some friends. We walked to Ben & Jerry's because they were giving out free ice cream for election day! Then we walked to the cable center which is like a convention center that the university owns. They had this giant 2-story tall TV. It was broken up into cubes so they had CNN really big in the middle and then fox, abc, msnbc, and cbs in the four corners around it. It was a little overwhelming. There were tables set up with snacks and games and prizes all around. They even had pin the tail on the donkey/elephant! The local news broadcasted from here and interviewed the president of the Students for Barack Obama and College Republicans. It was fun for about 2 hours, but then a ton of people came and it got really crowded so we went home. At home we watched comedy central (they have the best coverage anyways). And to our surprise, Jon Stewart announced that Barack Obama won. We, of course, thought he was joking so we turned to CNN to discover that it was true. So that's where I was when it happened. Sitting in my dorm with four friends watching The Daily Show/The Colbert Report.
My 8:00am class was cancelled so I'm going back to bed in 45 minutes. I wish I didn't have to wake up at all. But at least I don't have to go to class after this. It's supposed to snow tonight. This weekend it was like 75 degrees, and all of a sudden last night the temperature dropped and winter is officially here. I think it's going to stay cold this time. We've already been lucky with unseasonably warm weather, but I think it's gone for good now.
I am very excited to go home for Thanksgiving. Much more now that I found out Nicole is coming home, and my parents are going to be gone for two weeks. I think six weeks at home with them would be a little too much, but this way Daniel can stay over at our house and I can still see all my friends and bake and cook and do all the things that I miss from home. And eat lots of In-n-Out burger! Oh how I wish there was In-n-Out here.
I want to go back to bed.
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