Sunday Sundays...

It's Sunday, and do y'all know what Sunday means?

Certainly, it doesn't mean a day of rest. For me, my day of rest was Saturday... as evidenced by the fact that I napped from 5:30-7:30, and then watched TV until 1... and then slept in until 10:30 this morning. Saturday is my "day of play". And Sunday, I hit the books again. (And go to Sunday Meetings for APO.)

This week looks a lot like last week...


I'm finishing up The Spanish Tragedy, by Thomas Kyd. I'm not convinced it's a tragedy, and I'm thinking of filming or writing a "Spanish Tragedy in Five Minutes" or something, because, bloody and trivial murders aside, it's really pretty funny when you break it down and summarize it. It'll be a good way to be creative AND do a review for me.


(According, to my mother, I am apparently turning my literature textbook into the bible with my little flags. Maybe my literature book IS my bible... I carry it around with me all the time as it is!)

Story time!

Thursday night, after a long day of class, studying, more class, and MORE studying, I went to work, went to Mom's for dinner (yummy salad and omelet!), and then to Barnes and Nobles for an hour or so to catch up on my history and linguistics reading. I stayed until they closed the store, and drove home in the miserable rain. By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was crash.

I parked my car and got into the elevator and there was a guy in there already holding a bunch of groceries and a dozen roses. Right before we got to my floor, he reached into his bouquet and gave me one of the roses. It was so sweet!


Thanks, Guy Who Lives on the Fourth Floor. You made my day so much better with your rose!

Vlogday - Guest Host!

So, I don't know if yall know this... but I am ridiculously fond of the little one named Emma.


Emma turned one on January 8th. Consequently, here level of cute has gone up exponentially.


Emma has little teeth now,


(and still has those big blue peepers!)


Not to mention she's still extremely fond of eating my camera.

She's sitting up all by herself. Not only that, she's army crawling (that huge head of hers has made her crawl and walk late. She hasn't started walking yet, but she's started to stand up!)


She is eating like any normal one-year-old should. Though she knows that she can hold out for a bottle before bed, and has so far mostly rejected the transition to sippy cups.


(She doesn't like sippy cups!)

And this week... she stood up for me!


Today, I held her hands and we walked all over the living room and kitchen.

And now... a vlogday guest host! Emma, herself!

Dear Boo

Dear Boo,

I miss you, Old Girl.


You arrived in our family in 1995, already a year old. You were already called Boo, and I loved that name. Since we didn't know when you were born, we gave you the birthday of October 31. Boo, like a ghost... haha!

I miss the way you would sing, and the way you would snap your jaw several times really quickly when you would want our attention.

I will always remember the way you used to scratch your back (rolling onto your back and then wiggling around until you fell over) and how when you sneezed, your whole body would move and I could hear it from the other side of the house.

I remember when Grandad came and visited and he spoiled you rotten. You must have gained so much weight then! Bentley was already gone then, so you had him all to yourself to beg for table scraps.

Do you remember when we brought Choco home for the first time, and you took one good look at her and then turned to look at us as if to say, "What is this, and when are you going to take it back?"

And when Topher joined our family, how he tried to snuggle up with you on your bed, and you immediately stood up and walked away.

You, my dear Boo, were the matriarch of our little doggy pack. You didn't take any crap from anyone. If you wanted that food, you'd snap for it. If you wanted that spot, you'd take it!

Even as an old girl, if you smelled pizza you'd come all the way upstairs and try and steal it from us. You knew your place, and you knew that you were the one in charge.

I miss you. I miss you so much, Booski. But, after sixteen years of life, I know you were ready to leave. Have fun with Bentley, Angel, and Petey up there in doggy heaven!

Your sister, Stefanie.

Complete: Week 1 of school

So I have successfully completed one week of school. It was stressful, it was challenging (which, in my opinion, doesn't bode well for the rest of the semester. The first week is always a challenge, though!)

I am (more or less) on top of my reading assignments, as you can tell by my planner with all of those crossed-out assignments!


So far, I've made a small dent into this week, which has more assignments (as would be expected.)


Since Friday was not productive at all (RIP Boo! I miss you, my old girl.) and Saturday was even less productive (Four words: Robin Hood, Season Three), I forced myself out of bed at 10:30 and made a pot of coffee and started to read.

I got through my history reading I was supposed to do for Friday and my Art History assignment for tomorrow (we're starting with prehistoric cave paintings and such.) I still have another 10 pages of the Spanish Tragedy to read, and I have another chapter of my US history book to read... but I feel moderately on top of things.

At the moment, I'm trying to build up the steam I need to continue for the rest of the semesters. If I am going to be more open this semester, I may try and post my weekly assignments. I feel like if I make them public, I'll be more likely to follow through with them, do you know what I mean? I need guilt monkeys!

So, meet my clock.


(It's a circle, not a slightly oblong sphere. The angle at which it is hanging just makes it look that way!)

It's been my clock for ages! It's been hanging in my bedroom for years, a gift from my lovely Gramma. I packed it in one of the boxes to go to my apartment (I know I did!) when I packed it way back when, in the fall, when I packed up my room to go into storage. When I got to my apartment, however, I couldn't find it in any of the boxes I knew I'd brought over! I gave up on it, and figured I had accidentally put it into a box that went into storage.

Well, I found it yesterday! It turns out, it went into one of my yarn bins, the one that goes under my bed (also the one I never look into!) I was looking for a sewing kit and thought there might be one in there, but as it turns out there wasn't one... but there was the clock! I gave it a fresh battery and hung it up on my wall.

I still love the clock, Gramma. I love that it has my name on it, and it can be nobody else's clock!

Another vlogday!

A little more about my classes... and towel turbans. Welcome back to vlogday! Betcha didn't see it coming quite so soon!

Day One of School, also Vlogday!

Welcome to the first day of classes, me! I sold my soul for textbooks. :( Here's a vlog about my day, my textbooks, and my new obsession with calendars!!



B/Vlog tomorrow about my second day!

Spring Classes

It's that time again! Time for the spring semester to start... and time to let my mother know how to stalk me every week.

Et voila! My spring 2010 school schedule!


It may (or may not) change, and depending on how the first two or so weeks of school go, I may drop one of the classes. In any case, classes start tomorrow and I'm actually looking forward to it! Not looking forward to using my alarm, but at least my earliest class is at 10! SO much better than 8!

Bring it on, UT. I'm ready.

-----

So, I live right across the street from a gas station, and every once and a while, I spot a gem while they gas up...


AWESOME.

I Need Vs. I Want

I'll be honest - I have a problem with admitting that I am not perfect, and tonight, I really opened up to my friend Ally. She helped me realize that I have friends who I can depend on to help me... and be my guilt monkeys when I need someone to kick my arse into gear.

I have a habit of projecting the fact (or fiction) that I am totally put together and collected all the time, but in reality, of course I am totally not. In my mind, it is easier to project the image of being collected than it is to admit that I need some help. I struggle daily with the fact that I don't have it together all the time and it upsets me that I don't. Of course I know that nobody really has it together all the time, but for some reason, it really doesn't get through to me that it is okay that I don't.

I have these crazy expectations of myself to be perfect, and I believe that those expectations I have of myself are the same expectations that others (my parents, friends, and family) have of me.

The thing is, they're pretty high expectations that I wouldn't expect of anyone else. So why on earth would I expect them of myself? It has been something I have struggled with for a long time, but no matter what, I can't seem to get rid of them.

So when I don't do well, I shrug it off. If I don't make a big deal out of it, it won't mean a big deal to me. I can't help but feel like this is the wrong approach, because if it doesn't mean anything to me, how can I fix it?

After collectively drinking three (or four? I can't remember) pots of tea tonight, Ally encouraged me to write an "I need" and an "I want" list as a way to prioritize and set goals. I thought I'd share them with yall. They'll be on my wall for everyone to see.

I need...
-Grades that will keep me at the University of Texas. (I need A's and B's.)
-To consistently keep on top of reading assignments.
-To give myself permission to fail.
-To be me.
-To reconnect.
-To be okay with my vulnerability.
-To be honest with myself and others.
-To not brush it off.
-To eat breakfast.

I want...
-A companion.
-To (really) cook something every week.
-To not say 'no' so often and to take a chance.
-A lot.
-To learn something every day.
-To open up more. Truly open up.
-To write (and finish) another story.
-To try something different.
-To learn how to play a new song every month.
-To learn how to play that guitar sitting by my keyboard.
-To play the piano every day.
-To BE a writer.

In this way, these are kind of my new year's resolutions, but kind of not. I didn't really make resolutions this year... probably because I was afraid of what I would tell myself to do.

What I want for this blog is for it to be a place for my honest thoughts. It is tough to admit to some things and easier to admit to others... but here I am, telling you that I am not perfect. I don't make good grades all the time, and I don't want to eat my vegetables every day. I would rather eat a bar of chocolate than an apple, and I desperately hope that my really cute neighbor notices my new haircut. I am terrified of what the new semester will bring, and I really, really would love to run away right now, but I won't. I am facing the new semester with a vengeance and it better look out, 'cause Stefanie has arrived.

Something New

Today feels new, do you know what I mean?

Today, I got a new haircut. One with BANGS. Bangs and I have not been friends during my lifetime. We... aren't necessarily acquainted. Sure, we've had our flings in the past. It looked cute when I was little,


but when I was five I decided that me and bangs have had our thing and I really, really didn't lik them anymore. Mom let me grow them out, and that was that. I never looked back.

I had my hair cut today with my favorite person (a lady named Linda) and she always does wonderful things to my hair. Today, she asked me what I wanted, and I replied: "Something different. Something short."

The result?

Bangs.


I know it's not a lot of bangs, but they're in my eyes and it's weird. And I know that people go around all the time, every day with bangs and they must be tolerable... but it's weird to have things in my eyes. I was trying to read a book, and they got all in my vision. Weeeeeeird!

Every time I look in the mirror, I see a different person. I like that person - she's kind of pretty.

To go with my new bangs, I bought new perfume. And a new belt (but I wanted the belt anyway, not because I need a new belt to be new or anything.)

So there you have it. New me, bangs and everything!

-----

As an aside, Siobhan has been telling me for ages to watch the BBC series of Robin Hood. They have the first two seasons to watch instantly on Netflix, and I'm not kidding - I've watched the entire first season in less than 24 hours... I AM HOOKED.

Later, I'll start the second season! If you have netflix and, uh, 10 or so hours to waste, WATCH IT. And then buy them as a present for your favorite blogger for Christmas next year! :D

ROSE BOWL!!

So guess what, yall?

I WENT TO THE ROSE BOWL!


Originally, I was going to just go and run the flag with APO. So in December, Mom booked my flight to go out there on the day before the game (last Wednesday) and to return the Saturday after. I was looking forward to running the flag with my friends and then going somewhere with my other friends who didn't have tickets to watch the game.

Since Mom had to pick up Mike from the airport at 3, and my flight was a 6:30, she combined trips and dropped me off super early, which was great because they had me on standby. I got through security just fine and found my gate, where I had to sit through two different flights (an outgoing to Chicago and an incoming from Dallas) and when I saw a lady at the desk, I went and asked if there were any available seats, and she gave me one right away.

It turns out that I was extremely lucky for that! As the hours wore on, they started calling for six people to give up their tickets for a $300 credit and get a flight on an 8am the next morning. Because there was no way I could do that, I sat quietly and boarded the flight when I could. I spent the flight talking with one of the only people on it who wasn't going to the Rose Bowl, poor guy. Almost the entire flight was full of people wearing burnt orange with pride! I heard so many people discussing the game, and how they were really optimistic. When I landed, I found a taxi and made my way to the hotel.

At the hotel, we had two rooms between twenty of us. It happened that for two of the three nights I stayed in the one of the rooms had nine people, and the other had eleven. My room was only for two nights, and so for the third I moved to the other one. Four of the boys claimed the bed (so unfair!) so I slept on the floor in front of the TV. Here's a diagram of the room that I just made in paint!


On Game Day, we were all up bright and early (7:30!) and were were at the field by 10:30.

We did a circuit of the stadium first, which (with seeing people we knew, and taking our own sweet time of it) killed about an hour and a half. We saw lots of fans, and amusing tents and tailgates...


(The sign says "NO TRESPASSING. Violators will be shot. Survivors will be shot again.")

I knew that my old spanish teacher from high school was having a tailgate with his wife and her family, and so I made my way over there to chill for a bit. We made hotdogs and put chili on them. Yay for chili dogs!

(That's him, Daniel Diffen. It's still really weird to not call him Sr. Diffen!)

I had to be at the flag trailer at 3:30, and so we snaked the flag to the gate...



and were (finally!) let into the stadium at about 5pm. First, they had to waste our time saying "in thirty minutes" (forty minutes later, it was "in ten minutes". This continued until the band had already taken the field!) They had a dog search the flag to make sure we weren't bringing anything in it.


We finally took the field (sorry for the blurry picture!)


and did a simple open and close during the Eyes of Texas. We snaked the flag back to the trailer, and I took a last look at everyone in the stadium, trying to imprint it on my memory for fond recollections later in life. It was cool I didn't have a ticket - I didn't need a ticket. I got to run the flag at the Rose Bowl! How cool is that!

There were nine of us who didn't have tickets, and two of us had to take the flag trailer to the hotel, and so the rest of us started to walk back to the car to go find somewhere to watch the game. On the way, we listened to the people trying to get rid of their tickets, and one guy approached us and offered us his tickets for $150 a pop. He had seven tickets (two groups of two and one group of 3) and we bought them on the spot and headed to our seats.

Can I just have a moment here?

A $150 ticket! To the Rose Bowl! Face value was $233! Eeeeep!


So we went to our seats, and painfully watched Alabama beat us. But we fought a valiant battle! I feel so bad for Cold McCoy! But I won't dwell on that. The game was AWESOME. I was so happy to have scored those tickets. The crowd was pretty much evenly divided between orange and red.


The bands played... Enjoyed the halftime show.


After the game, we sang the Eyes of Texas. And it was beyond awesome. It shows our pride! Everyone in orange had their horns up!


We made our way back to the hotel. Everyone in our room was really disappointed, and we went to bed pretty early (around 2 or so). Apparently the other room stayed up a lot later and had quite the party. Of course, they did have Jose to make them feel a little better.


The next day, since my room was all going home, I moved down to floor six, went out to grab some coffee with the few people who were actually awake, and then we all went to grab a bite to eat,

And then to the metro station to see if we could see a bit of Hollywood.

(Oh look! Hollywood!)

We exited the station and were handed a flier for a map of Hollywood, and when we got to the place, the lady behind the desk offered us a 2 hour tour of Hollywood for $20 a pop. We jumped on the offer and hopped in the truck (which was roofless) to see Hollywood!


It was all a little bit unbelievable, and totally bizarre to recognize so much from TV and see it in person. Things like the Kodak and Chinese Theatres, the walk of fame, Sunset Boulevard...


We saw the trees in front of Johnny Depp's house (how clever of him to block it like that...)


And we saw one of Elvis Presley's houses.


The current owners have left his calling box and a little inscription that says "TCB 2" on the brick right next to it! And the door next to it has inscriptions and notes from his fans to him.


We saw where a lot of celebrities have their apartments. (The tour guide said, "Rob Pattinson lives there, but we only see him at night.")

We saw one of Sandra Bullock's houses.


(She also has a house in Austin!)

After the tour, we had dinner and celebrated Tina's 21st birthday with a round of beer. (The waitress might have asked if we were all 21... and nobody disagreed.)


And after that, we walked up the walk of fame and took pictures of stars!


And cause we were all Greens, we took pictures with Kermit the Frog!


We went into the Kodak Theater and I took a picture of...

Hooray!! (Dork moment, sorry!)

We went to the Chinese Theater and took pictures of handprints... Like Johnny Depp,


And Shirley Temple,


And the Harry Potter bunch.


With that, we turned around went back to our hotel. But before we got back, we went into this other hotel, which had glass elevators and took pictures of the city at night! It was so cool. They had elevators facing every direction, and we went up and down them all!




And we hung out in the comfy couches in their lobby for a bit, too!


After that, we finally walked back to our hotel and at around 12:30 or 1, I went to bed. Everyone else was still awake! I finally got to sleep on a bed... and it was a glorious 3 hours, but then I had to wake up and leave the hotel and go to the airport. My flight was at 6:10, and I flew from LA to Dallas, and then from Dallas to Austin... IN FIRST CLASS. It was my first time in a long time flying in first, and it was so nice. They served me breakfast, and I chose the oatmeal over the omelet. (Being able to choose kind of made me feel like royalty. Just a little bit...)

It was great to get home. I missed sleeping in my bed.

So, despite the fact that we didn't win... my trip to California was epic. I only hope that I can do it again sometime!!

Hook 'em horns!!