How was your 4th of July?

I saw real fireworks for the first time in ages this year, albeit July 3rd. I was a little sad because Columbus' fireworks were not as...spectacular as I would have expected for a big city's fireworks. We were going to go another set of firework last night, but since there were tornado watches in the area, I wasn't too keen on it. Instead a group of us went to see Transformers. I was pleasantly surprised because I liked it! The graphics were pretty awesome. Of course, now I'm going to name my first child Optimus Prime. Haha!

Classes are going well. I actually enjoy my microbiology lab, perhaps because we usually work in groups of 4 and my group of 4 gets along pretty well. Psychology is pretty awesome too; tomorrow is our first quiz. Next week I have 2 midterms, which of course I'm not looking forward to.

This weekend is Sam's graduation party so I'm heading home for that. It'll be nice to be home, I hope. And well, I like eating party food :-)

It's a Self-Tanning Accident.

I've been trying out different self-tanners to see how they work for me. I had been using a "gradual" lotion variety (from Vaseline) and it worked pretty okay as long as I made sure to rub it all over without missing spots. It smelled kind of awful though. A few nights ago I bought and tried Neutrogena's Micromist tanning spray. The results the next day were lame, it only worked on my upper legs, not my lower legs (I only did my legs as those are easy to hide in case of disaster). So I tried again last night, focusing on my legs from about midthigh down. This morning I found out that I stink at being able to spray evenly and in the right areas. Needless to say, my ankles and feet are REALLY ORANGE. So much for the promise of not looking orange and no missed spots. The tan wouldn't look so bad if my feet didn't look so goofy. Ah well, it's only temporary and it just makes me laugh. I think I'll stick with lotion application style because I've had success with that.

For dinner, I'm making spaghetti squash. I haven't had it in years, so I hope that I like it. Last night was a dinner failure. At least I made a successful dessert!

Ah, the weekend. Relaxation!

My life is too mundane

So I'm back in Columbus for summer classes, and so far it's been pretty low-key. My Mondays and Wednesday are sort of sucky because I'm in class a large portion of the time between 9am and 4pm, but the other days I'm done by 12:30, so I can't complain too much. My classes shouldn't be too hard.

Since being back I've been hanging out with friends a lot more than normal which is nice. I went to ComFest this past weekend, which was essentially a big hippie fest--originally it was an anti-war street party and it's evolved into a music fest with vendors and stuff. It was pretty cool and it would have been cooler if the funnel cake lines weren't as long (too long to get one!).

In other news...I don't have much other news. It's muggy out today but since my apartment is well air-conditioned it doesn't matter inside. Uh...yeah, boring.

Listy Update

--I'm done with my 4th year at OSU. Of course, I didn't graduate, but I'm not feeling too bad about that since I have a plan for my future. So far 3 of my grades are in--I'm pretty excited about my A in Senior Design. I'm waiting for my history grade which I'm expecting will be a B+/A-.

--I went to my brother's graduation, in the freezing cold. It was weather suited for a football game. Ick.

--I'm 22. Pretty uneventful on that front.

--My bike is going to be all fixed up and ready for me to take it to Columbus. That's exciting because just riding it up the street and back made me realize that bike riding is fun!

--My mom lost her job due to...a variety of reasons, none to do with her worth or success as a teacher. Her school district is in a "fiscal emergency" wherein having tenure meant nothing. And a teachers' contract was passed through on very shady terms that allowed for the elimination of a mass number of teachers. Delightful. I'm trying to convince her to move to Columbus.

--Earwigs are my least favorite bugs. I've had close encounters with two since I've been home and I hate it!

--I realized that I'm truly a Columbus kid now. I wanted to grab something to eat after graduation on Tuesday (I did a lot of driving to make it in time due to Monday's cancellation) and everything I wanted doesn't exist in Elyria. I opted for Chinese food.

--I'm home until June 16th at which point I go back to Columbus and start summer classes. Yay.

Stop Supersizing Me!

I've recently come to a sobering realization--I'm gaining weight. I had noticed it awhile ago, but the number on the scale wasn't changing. Weight was appearing on my midsection that wasn't there before (I suppose that's a shift into being a woman rather than being a girl, dangit!). And there are the beginnings of stretch marks. However, it really hit home when I was pulling out my cute summer clothes and my jean skirts just WOULD NOT fit. One I can just squeeze into, but the other is completely unmanageable. This renders my "Barbie dress" completely unwearable because it was form fitting to begin with. Which makes me terribly sad because it's my favorite purchase ever.

I'll be honest, I don't look fat. And I know that I'm not what anyone would call fat, at 5'10" and 142.5 pounds. Hell, I'm probably still underweight! But I'm uncomfortable in my skin right now. And that's a very unhappy feeling. I'm not feeling pressured by the media (dear god, someone give all those "IT" girls in Hollywood a sandwich!), I just don't feel good about myself.

As of...well, probably when I get home from my mini-vacation from school, I am going to start working out. I'm bringing my bike to campus for recreation so I'm sure I can burn calories that way. Also, I have a $72 gym membership that I should take advantage of (it's a school facility that I'm automatically charged for as a student). It's also the season for fresh veggies, and I like veggies! Basically, I want to lose about 7 pounds. I want my clothes to fit because I don't want to have to buy new pants and skirts. That's all. I don't want to be frighteningly thin. Just happier again.

This is the first time I've had a problem with my own weight. It's upsetting. I wore cute clothes today, but I kept feeling self-conscious because my shirt was riding up over my love handles. And I felt very uncute at those moments.

Carbs are my enemy. I should purge my cabinet of pasta because that's my go-to food when I'm too stressed to make anything else. ACK.

I'm just venting because I'm upset, I suppose.

Ramble, Ramble.

When I wake up from a midday nap, my face is flushed. And it stays that way for hours. It's very annoying, especially when I need to go somewhere after a nap, and I look constantly embarrassed. Ack.

I hate when my boyfriend works the evening shift, because then I'm left to my own devices from 2pm till he gets off work at 10 or so. Today...it's homework to make my week easier. And to make it so that over Memorial Day weekend, when I'm visiting with my boy's family, I won't have to worry about the fact that I'm not doing homework.

My paper for my project is almost done. I'm waiting for comments from my advisors, which I suspect won't come till Monday anyway. Which is when it's due, so that's always helpful. At any rate, I'm calling my project officially done from my point of view. Unfortunately, one of my advisors is very adamant about writing publications about everything, so I think she'll be bugging me to write a manuscript about what I've found with my project and it's clearly not at that point yet. Ugh. Don't get me wrong, it would be cool to have a publication, but I just don't want to work on it.

I spilled lemonade on my keyboard on Thursday. This is particularly upsetting because my computer is a laptop, so I was pretty concerned about short-circuiting my computer. Luckily all I managed to do is mess up my space bar, which is probably because I don't know how to put it back on the right way. Oops.

I guess I'll get back to homework now. I have to read a bunch of things for history so that I can take a quiz on Tuesday. And study for a midterm. And prepare for a presentation. Sounds like a lot, but in all honesty I'm not that worried about it.

Tagged.

So far, this meme has gone through the following people...

Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
ML (Utah, USA)
Lotus (Toronto, Canada)
tanabata (Saitama, Japan)
Andi (Dallas [ish], Texas, United States)
Todd (Louisville, Kentucky, United States)
miss kendra (los angeles, california, u.s.a)
Jiggs Casey (Berkeley, CA, USA! USA! USA!)
Tits McGee (New England, USA)
Kat (Ontario, Canada)
Cheezy (London, England)
Paula (Orange County, California, U.S.)
Jeff (Colorado, USA)
Fringes (around Houston, US)
Tera (Somewhere In KY by way of OH, USA)
Nina (Cleveland Area, OH, USA)
Induced Homomorphism (Graduate school, USA)
jenomena (Columbus, OH, USA)


List your top 5 local eating places

(Erm...mostly not local. Very sorry. I like chain restaurants. And unsophisticated ones at that!)

1. Jimmy John's. I love their vegetarian sub to death, and in the 4 years I've lived here, I think I've only ordered a different sub once. My mouth waters just thinking about it! Tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, sprouts, provolone cheese, and avocado spread on French bread. Mmm.

2. Amul India. Either lunch buffet or menu-driven dinner. I love me some Indian food, but I'm not too daring. I did make the switch from always eating chicken curry to chicken tikka masala, purely because it's the better of the two dishes there. And garlic naan. And kheer. Oh dear. YUM!

3. Pesto Creative Italian Bistro. I don't go often enough, but it's delicious. It's run by an OSU alum, and it's a "Chipotle for Italian Food" type concept. They have a list of menu choices and you choose to eat it as a salad, sandwich, pizza, or pasta. It's pretty cool. And their gelato is good.

4. Skyline. I think I'll have to live near one for the rest of my life, because homemade and frozen are not quite close enough to satisfy my hardcore Skyline desires.

5. PF Chang's. Their chicken lettuce wraps are divine and their fried rice doesn't make me feel like I'm greasing up my insides. And I can make the fried rice last for 2 meals past the initial dining out experience. PF Chang's has pretty much replaced fast food chinese takeout for me because it just feels healthier.

Hey, I managed 2 truly local places! And a "regional" type place, if you can call Skyline that, which I do. I still maintain that I'm pretty unsophisticated. Places that didn't make the cut, but that I thought about: Panera, Pochi Bubble Tea, and bd's mongolian bbq.

And I can't tag anyone. Go me.

An Update to Show That I'm Alive

This week has been a little stressful for me, I had an anatomy exam on Monday (94%), a history quiz on Tuesday, my senior design presentation on Wednesday, and a presentation for my MSE class on Thursday. So today I'm taking a bit of a breather, since this weekend I have to work on my 10-15 page senior design project report (due May 21) and a 2-4 page "letter home" based on a book we read in history. Very soon, I'll be able to breathe a lot more easily. In fact hopefully I'll be finished with my senior project report by next Friday so that I can relax next weekend. I only have 2 finals at the end of the quarter, so that's excellent.

Other events coming up include a trip to "Grandmawl's Farm" for Memorial Day (the boyfriend's grandma has a farm in KY that is the place for family gatherings), my 22nd birthday (sheesh I'm finally getting old! lol!), and my brother's high school graduation. My birthday and his graduation are both on June 4, so since I'm going home for graduation, I'll actually be HOME for my birthday for the first time since high school. I think that's neat! Granted, I'll be home for less than 24 hours, but I want to support my little brother. I just hope I can make it home for my sister's graduation in 2 years...I don't want her to feel that I like my brother more.

Tonight I'm making a dinner that's totally inappropriate for hot weather: roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans. But I'm craving my favorite meal, so there you have it. And yes, I'm aware you can buy the chickens that are already roasted, but that takes most of the satisfaction out of making a meal.

I'm pretty boring right now. I'll post more excitingly soon, perhaps!

Oh my...

I just watched Apolo Anton Ohno and his Dancing with Stars partner dance on Ellen. My crush on him had dwindled (largely because he's not very visible if the Winter Olympics aren't on), but now...I think I'm more in love than before. That boy can shake it!

I'm going to fan myself off now.

When I thought of this post, I had more to talk about than ducks.

Yesterday I spent lunch with the ducks and geese on Mirror Lake. I swear, had I not been more diligent about watching my sandwich, Mr. Goose would have stolen it right out of my hand. Then he proceeded to take a nap not more than 7 feet away from me. If I could get the pictures off my phone, I could show you, but alas I have no clue how to do that. It's baby duck season, and oh my, they are the cutest things in the world! From their tiny little cheeps (especially when Momma Duck swims away from them) to their fuzzy little bodies, I'm in love. I want to live on a property that has a duck pond (or in a "community" that has one).

I thought I had more to write about. In fact, last night I was listing topics in my head for a "rambly" post. But they apparently drifted out of my brain overnight.