Saturday, December 18, 2010

Today was cool, I guess

I just graduated from college--that's all.

And I spent some fun time with some of my closest friends in Fort Worth, plus my family, but I mean, whatever.

Oh and I'm about to get 8 hours of sleep, no big deal.

Right?

Wrong. My mind is blown. Today was an incredible blessing that I could not have foreseen. Praise God, and epic thanks to him for giving me such huge gifts of love.

So now I'm no longer a student. I'm officially unemployed :D
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Monday, December 13, 2010

This is what paper writing looks like for an almost-graduate.

So, I told myself that I would finish the paper that's due tomorrow at noon BY today at 5pm.

Why the heck would you do that? - you may be asking.

Well, meany face, I'd like some sleep tonight since, oh, tomorrow at noon I'll be taking a different final exam.

And because the paper is also accompanied by a video editing project.

Why the heck haven't you finished it already? - you may be asking.

Well, meany face, I've had 4 other finals, I've moved, I'm graduating, I'm exhausted, and quite frankly, I've misplaced my work ethic.  It must still be packed away with everything else...

So here I am, at 5:24pm, staring at the killer outline of the paper that I will be writing until very late tonight.

And I'll be studying in a few hours for that big mean final.

And I'll be editing that video project very very late tonight.

But ya know what???

At 2 tomorrow, I'll be done with undergraduate college assignments.... foreeeeeeveeeeerrrrrr...

knock on wood.

Mkay but you need a dose of happy positive things in your life, not this whiney desperate crawl to the finish line kind of stuff.  So here's a list of lovely things in the world right now!!
  1. I got a new devotional in the mail today and I'm SUPER PUMPED ABOUT ESTABLISHING A QUIET TIME! :D
  2. Christmas is, no joke, 11 days away.  Try not to wet your pants.  Or panic because you haven't even started gift shopping yet.
  3. Wednesday is nesting day, when I clean the house and build things and paint things and put things in drawers rather than liquor boxes.  It's also the day my friend Rachel and I are going to make Christmas cookies and watch White Christmas.  So this is going to be an especially awesome day for my roommates.
  4. I type faster writing blog posts than I do papers.  But this isn't really a lovely thing for me at the moment.  But it will be once I don't have papers to write.  PS, I'm totally procrastinating right now.  Remember how I told you I lost my work ethic?  This is proof.
  5. Aaaaaand I love you.  Love IS a lovely thing.  And you have some, wrapped up real pretty from me to you.  Let's call it an early Christmas present, yes?
God bless us, every one.

Cole

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Digital Religion 8-10 page paper

Mmmmmmok.

So.

About this paper.

It has to happen.  Like, in a pronto-kinda-fashion.

But my brain just DOES. NOT. WANT. TO. GO. THERE.

It's the last undergrad paper I ever have to write, and I seem to've hit the wall.

Good news - I have a basic idea of what it's going to be about.

Bad news - knowing that I have the basic structure has given me a false sense of accomplishment.

So...

I'm about thisclose to the PANIC! bit.

But not close enough to "begin working furiously fueled only by shame and fear."

And if getting 85% of the paper done is making an 85 on the paper, then that's PLENTY close enough, because I just have to make a 78 on the paper to snag me a good old fashioned, final-semester-of-college-style B in the class.

And when you take a class called "Digital Religion"--"B" stands for Beautiful.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Godsend

So, I have this dear, lovely, hilarious, wise coworker friend sister.  She rocks my socks off on a daily basis.

But yesterday, she overdid herself.

She got me a Christmas present.

"Ok..." you may be thinking, but nay.  Ya know how you think about getting someone a Christmas present, and you want it to be perfect--that thing that they want that's not too flashy, but maybe they are unable to get it on their own, but it'll be a true sign of your friendship that you remembered that they wanted it?

Mkay she got me THAT Christmas present.

She found THE tea that I've been longing for--for a year.  Haven't seen it or tasted its glory in a very long time, and SHE FOUND SIX BOXES OF IT!

I thought I was going to cry.

Or maybe that was the impending doom due to being unprepared for a final exam or 2...

Either way, I am incredibly happy right now, sitting at my computer, studying social theory... AND DRINKING HONEY VANILLA WHITE TEA CHAI.

Finals don't look nearly as scary with a cup of tea and a cat at hand.

6:30 am

I fell asleep while reading Durkheim theory excerpts. Contacts in, makeup on, clothes on, teeth needing some love... A candle was also burning. I quickly blew it out when I woke up, but gosh the house smells wonderful now...

This is a stream of consciousness post. Because that's what happens when Cole posts before 9am. Oh hello, cat in my lap. He lounges and purrs so loudly that his whole body vibrates. I have that annoying Train song stuck in my head, replaying the strange part about him wanting to kiss her on her left side brain. That gives me an uncomfortable mental image. And it just keep playing and playing. Just that part. Why do our brains do that? If I'm tired, songs get stuck in my head so much more easily. It's like having my mental tv stuck on the wedding channel--I can't escape it and often I don't like whatever it is that I am hearing.

I want to watch 500 Days of Summer again. I saw a preview for it and I'd forgotten how much I liked that movie. I have red fingernails, and I rarely paint my nails, so the bright color while I type this on my phone is kinda distracting. But it's my favorite color so it is a pleasant distraction. It's a deep, shining red that looks like it was the inspiration for candycane stripes. I can't wait to finish my finals so I can organize my room and think about Christmas! I'm definitely feeling the Christmas spirit this year.

I'm excited for 2011. More excited than I was for 2010. Not sure why. My journal entries about new years last year (this year?) were so draggy, like I could not for the life of me get excited about this year. It's like I knew ahead of time that it would be a rough year.

Ok, more Durkheimian study time. Exam tomorrow, exam Tuesday, 10 page research paper due Tuesday, video project due Tuesday. I can make it through Tuesday. I know I can.

Could you please pray for my mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being for the next week... Thank you :)
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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

My Brain Has Cabin Fever

My brain isn't in school anymore. It's pondering bigger questions and wanting some healthy exercise really badly. Healthy exercise like discussion without a grade attached, where I don't have to take notes or figure out how to fit that into a 7 to 8 page paper. My brain wants to be flirted with a little! You know, fun, intriguing conversation... A stroll around the cerebral park. But for 6 more days, its tests and papers... Tests and papers... Cabin fever inside my own head.
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Traditional Finals Week Post

Well folks, it's that time of year again.

I'm already behind on my proposed "finals week work schedule."

I'm so optimistic and driven when I make those schedules.  Really I should have used that time to read/study/write my tush off.

But I made killer pancakes tonight with Preston and Chelsea, so that makes up for it, right?... I mean, productive is productive, right?...

Is making pancakes considered productive?

Well... So tomorrow I've got work , class, a dance performance final, and then HOURS AND HOURS of potential productive time.  Really, I have no excuses for not being productive tomorrow.  Everything is working in my favor.

Everything was working in my favor today as well, though... Eeee... Sometimes senioritis is bigger than we are prepared for it to be.  Especially during your last semester, turns out.  I'm just glad there are so few December grads because I would be feeding off of the graduation frenzy and then I'd be even LESS productive.

Did I mention that I have a 10 page research paper due in a week?  Plus 2 final exams between now and then?  None of which I've for reals started on?  Cool.  Just so, ya know, everybody's clear on that bit of info.

But on the bright side, this time next week I will be DONE-DUNDUN-DUN-DUN--DONE DONE!  And such lovely things are happening after that :) So 6 more days of this mess, and I'm there.  Doesn't sound so hard!

Right?

Monday, December 6, 2010

Alive and Kicking!

It's probably unkind to leave readers hanging after a post titled "boom." I'm alive and well. Eight days of finals, and then I'm done.

Finished.

Completed.

No more undergraduate college- EVER.

CRAZY.

It's so strange because this is the point I've been working toward for 21 years, and people say so flippantly, "oh yeah? What's next for you?" like this is something rather insignificant. I mean, yes, I have a full exciting life ahead of me, but do I have to have that planned out right now? Can I savor this moment for a little while?

What did YOU do right out of undergrad? Did you have a game plan? Better yet, how did God take that plan and make it His own?

Here's my challenge for myself and for you for the next 2 weeks, whether you're trudging through finals or not: every waking hour of the day, take note of a blessing- big or small. It sounds like a big assignment, but think about it. This hour, I'm blessed with a writing outlet from my warm bed on a Monday morning. Amen??

Write them all down if you can, and post one or two as your Facebook statuses or tweets every day. Spread your joy, thankfulness, and wide-eyed wonder with those you know and care about.

It's so much sweeter than sharing negativity and germs.
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