Senioritis....a bad infection

Senioritis:

"noun. A crippling disease that strikes high school/college seniors. Symptoms include: laziness, an over-excessive wearing of track pants, old athletic shirts, sweatpants, athletic shorts, and sweatshirts. Also features a lack of studying, repeated absences, and a generally dismissive attitude. The only known cure is a phenomenon known as graduation ."

Well, I'm not exactly this extreme (hate sweatpants and I'm still making sure I look well-kept...and I'm still keeping on track with my work).
I really didn't think I could be affected by "senioritis"...I thought I was immune to it because I always thought of myself as a hard-worker (or, at least, trying to be one). But, like many of my other fellow graduating seniors, I am finding myself being pulled into other directions other than my work and studying. It's so nice outside...I have to pull the curtains shut in my room so that my eyes don't start wandering outside. Plus, there are some things of greater importance than this stuff professors like to call "work". Some things are more pertinent and mean so much more...
When I came home yesterday, I had these waiting for me.
My grandmother has a couple of lilac bushes and she always remembers, every year, how much I love lilacs so she cut a few branches off and brought down for me. They smell absolutely wonderful! And the purple shades brighten me up. And I like how they look so squishy and lush. I bet if you laid in a bed full of them, it would be so soft. I like burying my face in the little tiny blooms and breathing in deeply till the smell fills my lungs.

More than just a favorite number....

Well, I can say for certain now that the number 8 is, indeed, my favorite and lucky number....

I was driving home from Maryland on Saturday and once I hit the PA border, it got incredibly dark. Me+car+rain=bad. I hate storms to begin with, but driving in one...I was practically gripping the steering wheel. From past experience, I was smart enough to pull off at the Marion exit where I proceeded to find a gravel parking lot where there was another car waiting out the storm. That's when it really poured and I decided that I would probably be there for a while...luckily, I had some work with me. After about 20 minutes, I realized that slowly the parking lot was because flooded and turning into a good sized lake. But the rain was not abating!

After a while, I decided that driving in the rain while it was still light out was better than driving in the rain in the dark...as soon as I hit I-81, it rained harder...I guess I was driving right into the storm.

Sometimes, I like watching storms...they can be very beautiful and inspiring. But there are times when they make me more than just a little apprehensive. When I was a child, anytime there was a storm, I would think a tornado would come and I would start reading my book about storms and tornados...I was a paranoid child. I will always remember how one time, during a very bad storm, I was so frightened that I went to my room, knelt beside my bed, and prayed fervently for God to stop the storm. Of course, all storms stop sooner or later, but when it did stop, I felt God did it just for me and even now, it re-establishes my faith in His power and that He actually hears me.

That is what you call a child-like faith.

Happy and Sad..again

I got my mother and grandmother early Mother's Day gifts because, well, the presents were too pretty to just hold back and it's nice to enjoy them now. I gave my mother a hanging basket of black-eyed susans vine and my grandmother a hanging basket of...I don't know what they are exactly, but each bell-shaped flower looks like it has multiple blooms inside of it of pinks and purples. I think she'll like it.

I love flowers...I grew up with flowers and they always make me happy. I think that if a man is ever stuck on what to buy his sweetheart, flowers are always a good choice (not the only best choice, but a good choice). Flowers always cheer me up and I like looking out the dining room window and seeing the flower garden. Some day, I wish to have a house of my own with an extensive flower garden to work in and relax. No use in having a flower garden and getting someone else to take care of it for you...what's the point then?

On another note....now my maternal grandfather had a heart attack as he was sitting by the bedside of my grandmother who is in the hospital. They said if he wasn't in the hospital which is focused on heart treatment, he would have died. I called that a work of God...

Can't Touch This

There are few things more stimulating or invigorating than attending a self-defense class! Those who know me know that I can be a rather...errr...feisty/violent person so just imagine what a self-defense class can do for me! It wasn't even a full self-defense class...an officer from the campus police came in to the self-defense class that my Honors Introduction to Women's Studies class held and gave girls from campus (and a few guys) good safety tips and a brief demo of some self-defense moves.
Then, Officer Brennan (big man...) gave us information about the 12 hour self-defense classes he and another officer hold for 5-18 people during the semesters and summer. This summer, I'm going to go for it! It's free, very informative, and at the end, the officers "attack" you with three different dangerous predicaments and you have to defend yourself against them...they yell, swear, say derogatory things to you, make physical contact with you, and you must react to them...good thing both the officers and students wear protective gear...
Oh yeah...that pepper spray I bought about 4 years ago when we went to NYC for spring break (guhhhh...bad trip)? Yeah, they said I should probably get rid of it. And rape whistles? Bad idea...because people won't care about a stupid whistle being blown and the attacker can shove it down your throat....
I learned so much...imagine after taking 12 hours of a self-defense class! I was practically jumping out of my seat to sign up....

Happiness and Sadness

Tonight was so lovely, it was almost perfect. After an incredible gorgeous day, I attended the Honors Program Spring Banquet for Ship University, and it was so bittersweet. It didn't really hit me that this would be my last Honors Banquet until our program director got up and started talking and then all of us graduating seniors stood up to receive our Honors graduation cords and parting gift. I cannot believe how fast these last four years have gone by. I have changed so much that it would be hard for me to recognize the Emily from four years ago. And the fact that I have been with these people and learned and laughed and complained and suffered with them...it's so overwhelming. Really, with the Honors Program, we were a tight knit group, taking various classes with them, interacting and spending time with them. And now, we're all scattering off into so many directions...will I ever see them again?

But, tonight was not for sadness, but for reminiscing and enjoying each other company. I'm proud to see my friends succeed so well...we are the best of the best. And we could not have had it on a more perfect evening. I love spring.
On a sad note, my family just got a call from my mother's relatives...my grandmother is in the hospital again and her heart is "shrinking"...

I don't know what they mean by that, but I'm praying for good news...

From Winter to Monsoon Season

Rain is a good thing...I won't deny that. Rain is a necessity for things to grow. This is something everyone learns from an early age. Apparently, rain is also good for drenching poor Emily as she walks from the library on campus to her car while dressed up for an induction ceremony of which she is president of. Nice....at least I didn't fall down into a mud puddle. That is a big blessing.

It was crazy, though. It started off as just little, tiny droplets of rain, the kind that you sort of ignore because you brush it off as a passing mist. Then, WHOM. As if God started kicking over buckets and pails full of water to the brim. It was actually pretty funny and would have been really fun to walk in if it wasn't for 4 inch heels on my feet.

Then, at the ceremony, the campus catering people never showed up. I call them, asking them where the hell they're at because the ceremony's about to start..and we have no food. Turns out they said I didn't write on the reservation form where the ceremony was taking place. Hmmm...I thought to myself...that's funny, I thought I did. But, hey, my head has been in other places lately so I could have forgotten that. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Plus, they said they were trying to contact someone (i.e. one of the professors) but no such luck. So, I told them to just come as soon as possible. 45 minutes later....still no food. I get a message on my phone from them saying they are taking care of two dinners at that point and couldn't send anyone to give us our food! Why did they not decide to tell me this before?! OOoooooo...did the professors get mmmaadddd...and here I am thinking, Oh shit, this is my fault. One prof goes to get the food for himself while I log onto the internet with my laptop, check my email for the form I had sent, and lo and behold, I specifically typed on the form: Old Main Chapel. Granted, I didn't leave a space between "Location:" and "Old Main Chapel", but I figured someone should be able to figure that out. Apparently, not.

Finally, our professor showed up with our food that should have been CATERED to us...and it turns out they weren't even ready for him with the food when he showed up...and they gave him no plates, napkins, or utensils.

So when we left, we just left everything there for them to clean up.

Hopefully, catering can at least clean up. But I shouldn't hold my breath...

Had to shake a lot of hands...and take a lot of pictures...very awkward.

Spring is Here!

Ahhhh...I know, I'm a bad blogger! It's been too long, but things have been rather busy.

It was so incredible outside today, that I decided to take some pictures around the yard that were clear indications that winter is out the door and spring has finally come! There were some fat bumblebees buzzing around...I almost had a very close encounter with them when the rock on which I was standing on almost toppled over.

My mother has a rock/flower garden and sometimes I like to go out and pull the weeds from it...I like gardening, despite what everyone in my family says. I suppose I should put it this way: I like to do it on my own time and terms...it's cathartic, like ironing. Sometimes, my mother goes out there with the pruning shears and goes all Edward Scissorhands to the pine trees, cutting away at the branches until there's hardly anything left...poor trees.

Today was an awards ceremony at Shippensburg University so I had to go in to receive an award and I met up with Jenn and Tami. Look at us...from high school to college, we still managed to stick together and we came out in the end being the best we ever could be. The only person missing is Nicole (but, she a Chambersburg girl...) Just kidding Nicole!

I would have to say, this is one of my favorite times of the year, but it's so bittersweet. We're all going off onto separate paths, no longer connected by school. This isn't the only thing that is making me sad, but that is for a different story...

For now, I'm just going to enjoy what I have.

The Student Teaching the Teacher...

So today, I took on the task of teaching Jean-Nicolas how to create a blog...very interesting task indeed...so now when he goes back to France, I can continue to see what goes on in his life!

In a sense, a blog is a good bridge that closes the gap between two cultures. It is an amazing tool to use, to keep in touch with people so far away. I hardly ever get to talk to my sister who lives in another state, but by looking at her blog ( http://ljcfyi.com/ ) I get daily updates of what she's done or interesting things that's happened to her. Plus, she is very talented in the blog area...she conducts her own blog while being the chief blogger for Kodak! ( http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Feed=BW&Date=20080403&ID=8433243&Symbol=EK )

Speed Demon

So, apparently (according to people), I'm a bit speedy when I'm behind the wheel of my car. And, perhaps, a little (just a little) hot-headed when on the highways. Only just a little.

It's rather ironic. Everyone in my family is a slow driver, especially my father. Sometimes, I just want to rip the wheel out of his hands and drive the car myself. Really, I don't understand where I get it from...obviously, driving habits are not genetic.

I think the more I have to drive on highways, my speed and impatience increases. But I'm not a bad driver! After backing into my father's truck two years ago, I'm very careful (knock on wood!). I try not to do anything else while driving (that's one good thing) and I limit how much I talk on the phone which makes the speaker option on the phone very handy!

I don't know what scares my passengers more...the way I drive or my reactions to other drivers...sometimes I think they overexaggerate!

And, every time they're in my car, they always point out how someday, the metal star I have hanging off of my rearview mirror will someday cut my head open or gouge my eye out. I find it merely as a defense weapon that may come in handy some day...they have affectionately coined it as my "Chinese throwing star".

Maybe that should be my "one good thing a day" thing...not to get mad at people while driving.

The Bane of My Existence

Most people who know me know that I am deathly afraid of one creature: a spider. I really don't understand why more people don't despire them more. Seriously. They are probably one of the most ugliest, vilest, horrendous, scariest, most evil thing on earth. Personally, anything with more than 4 limbs is unacceptable to me (unless you are human and have a mutation). And I mean, come on...a spider first bites you to numb you, then wraps you up in a tight, suffocating silk cocoon (which I think is ironic because we see silk as being rich, luxurious, and a must-have). Once you're all wrapped up, you must await your terrible fate until the spider feels hungry enough to suck you dry of all of your body fluids.

Can't you see why I hate spiders?

It probably doesn't help that when I was very, very young, I was running around the corner of the house and got caught right in the middle of an outstretched cobweb...that scarred me for life.

I don't care that spiders make the world a better place because they eat other bugs. There's actually a commerical where a man gets up, walks to the window, and starts singing with a cricket who is perched on the window sill. Together, they sing into the night, looking out at the bright stars. Suddenly, a cluster of stars blink, become eyes, the camera focuses on the horror on the man's face, and then pans out to show a spider that had emerged from the dark and was quickly wrapping up the singing cricket into a cocoon as the poor cricket's voice fades away. How horrible!

Anyway, last night, I was opening up a binder that was laying innocently on the floor. I almost passed out. There was a spider in my notebook! Arrrghhhhh! Of course, my first reaction is "KILL IT!" so with the palm of my hand, I frantically started pounding on my binder to smoosh it to death. There are few things in the world that is worse than half a spider on your papers and half of a spider embedded in the palm of your hand. I almost cried right there on the floor...

Hence why instead of a picture of a spider, I posted a picture of lambs...lambs aren't scary.

The Joys of Ironing

*yawn* I have a problem now where I wake up at 4:00 in the morning and can't fall back asleep till about 5 or 5:30. When 4:00 rolls around, bam, I am wide awake and in a cold sweat. Hmmmm...perhaps a bad REM cycle around the same time each night? Bad dreams that I can't remember? Either way, I'm finding myself getting drowsy in the late afternoon.

I find ironing my clothes a bit like meditation...until I burned my finger because it was so close to the steam. Although I would never want to do ironing for hours upon hours, it's kind of soothing as long as you pay attention to what you're doing. Just grab some clothes, pour yourself some iced tea, pop your ipod on, and iron away! I get such a sense of satisfaction when I hang up my crisp, ironed shirts in the closet.

I can't imagine what would happen if my mother stopped ironing my father's clothes...he would probably go to work looking like he just rolled out of bed. He can't even use the DVD remote so I can't imagine the state of his clothes if he attempted ironing.

Of course, ladies, if you happen to not be as motivated to iron as you wish you could be, perhaps one of these ironing boards would stimulate you to pick up the iron.

And for the men out there who can actually iron for themselves, there are special boards for you as well.

Sicker than a ...?

I am anxiously and patiently awaiting for some signs...any signs...of spring. Mother Nature is playing a cruel trick on me.

On a brighter note, I've decided to take the advice Jenn gave on her lastest blog post and I am going to do at least one good thing a day for someone or, as she says, one random act of kindness. Of course, my definition of an act of kindness may be slightly different than what others may think...

Sigh...I may have to nurse a sick dog tonight. Silly me, I left the door to my room open and when I couldn't find Wally (my dog) anywhere in the house, the words "oh no" and "stupid dog" can immediately to mind. Lo and behold, I jumped in front of the door and out ran said dog with a wrapper in his mouth. Not a good sign. Neither was the almost completely consumed milk chocolate and peanut butter egg from Easter laying smushed on the floor of my room. You know, usually he goes in there and swipes the errant sock, some other articles of clothing, or a tissue. Now the dog is pilfering my candy!

Any one want a sick dog?

Life's Passion #1

Ughhhh...I shall never bug Jenn for not updating her blog ever again. I am terrible at this. You would figure as much as I like to talk, I would be better at this blogging stuff...
I have noticed something different in me in the last couple of months. And I think I owe it to my friends. Because of them, I've made decisions that have made me a better and more vibrant person that I don't regret. I got out of a relationship that was hurting me, I got my hair cut into bangs (which, I think, released the Emily inside), I laugh more, I enjoy the little things more, and I am more aware of the little things that make me the woman I am. Grazie/Gracias!
One of life's passions is full, true, laughter. Not the forced, conversational laughter, but laughter that cannot be held back and comes somewhere between the heart and soul. I always feel so good after I laugh because it renews me, energizes me, and just plain makes me happy and whole. It's cathartic and makes us human.
Wikipedia mentions that laughter can improve your health and increase life. Laughter can make your abdomen muscles stronger, protect the heart, lower blood sugar after a meal, and may increase antibodies in the body.
Laughter makes you feel closer to your peers and others. It is a social tool to build stronger relationships (friendships and otherwise).
So laugh more!