Everything is winding down

I have three big things left and I'm donezo. Number one is my crazy research paper, which is still only 20 pages, so I have to pull another 10 out of *somewhere*, but my advisor sent me an article he thinks will help, so hopefully with some recent developments I'll be able to add information to what I already have.

Number two is my SWOT Analysis. For you non-business savvies, that's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of a company. My group is doing Bank of America, and I am focusing on the weaknesses. With some recent developments in my research (i.e. an interview with an insider!!! very hush hush) I think it's gonna be a good paper, at least on my part.

Number three is my final exam on December 7th, but we're so not there yet.

My family will be here in one week!! I'm planning an epic itinerary for the weekend of sightseeing and touristy stuff, following by delicious (real! non-cafeteria!) food. Food that is not sandwiches. I seriously cannot wait. I don't think any of you understand - I've been literally LIVING OFF SANDWICHES. I AM NOT EXAGGERATING. I EAT ONE ALMOST EVERY DAY.

Anyhow, it'll be fun with Shawna staying in the dorm with me. I honestly think I might die of excitement when I see my family.

Three weeks from today, I will be in Germany! Five weeks from Saturday I will be in Sea Ranch!

It's still not sinking in that I might not see these people for...ever? My good friend from class who lives in Germany got an internship for next year, January through April, in...SHANGHAI! That's just so crazy to me.

Back to Thanksgiving, (sorry my thoughts tend to drift around) I was a little bummed that I might not get traditional fare. I actually had a nightmare a few nights ago that it was Thanksgiving and all I had on my plate was cranberry sauce and some mashed potatoes and I woke up crying because there was no stuffing to be found. ANYWAY, last night the cafe served a delicious T-giving feast! The green beans were oddly seasoned and pretty gross, but everything else (the mashed potatoes? gravy? STUFFING???) was delicious! Even the turkey was good! My friend Erin and I did a "dark meat" dance when we were serving ourselves. The caf was also showing a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, which was awesome. Childhood!

I applied for two summer internships so far, and I'm researching more. I figure I need to do this now, because if I don't, time from the end of the semester until like the end of March is absolutely nuts. December is obviously packed (Germany until the 21st, then Xmas, then Sea Ranch 26th-January 2nd). In January, I have a bunch of stuff to get done (dentist, haircut, surgery???) then I'm back in Claremont on the 17th. I'll have to settle into my new classes and everything, then before I know it it'll be parents weekend and my 21st birthday! After that is midterm season, then spring break (aka VEGAS!) then suddenly it's the end of March and I'll only have a month and a half until summer. TOO LATE TO APPLY THEN. Ergo, I am doing so now.

Finalmente, I am a genius. Instead of shipping all my stuff home, then packing it in my tiny car and driving to Claremont, I'm going to ship one box of stuff (bedding, summer clothes, etc.) to Rachel and have her hang on to it at Scripps until I get back. This way, I have one less huge box to put in my car, which will already be packed with my trombone, fridge, and far too many clothes. We all know me and packing light - it doesn't happen.

No pictures this time, kids, sorry! Nothing notable has been going on. Actually, nothing at all has really been going on, honestly. But I'll post some after Thanksgiving! Get excited!!!

One thing that even study abroad can't change

This happens every semester you guys. Sometime between the end of midterms and the beginning of finals, usually about a month before the semester ends (aka now) I start burning out. I get completely unmotivated, don't want to do anything, don't want to really talk to anyone, and especially don't want to do work or study. It's probably a good thing that my professor assigned a group project for the end of the semester because we'd all feel way guiltier if we slacked off because we'd be screwing the grades of three other people. I had a meeting with my group this afternoon and we've all started already - and this paper isn't due until the 30th. Thing is, I started, and now I've lost all momentum and don't want to do any more. I have some research, but I don't even have an outline yet and I need this paper done before Thanksgiving because I do NOT want this hanging over my head when the fam-bam is here.

So, yes. Basically, even though I'm in a new exciting place with new exciting people and studying abroad and amazing opportunities blah blah blah, I'm bored. I'm done. I want to go home now.

DON'T GET MAD AT ME I KNOW I'M SUPER LUCKY TO BE HERE AND EVERYTHING but I'm also super HOMESICK, y'all! This is the longest I've been away from home by FAR and I still have another month+ til I'm back in California and DC weather sucks. Probably why I don't want to leave my room, so thank goodness most of my friends live on my floor or upstairs.

I need to push through this. I need to do some research and start writing. Goal for the weekend: get a SOLID outline done plus all sources read and cited. LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN. I can crash in a few weeks when everyone gets here. I really cannot wait for Thanksgiving. I'm just worried that when they leave on the 29th I'm gonna get super depressio, but luckily after that I have literally one week of classes left and my final. Ten days after the family leaves, I'll be on a plane to Germany. I'm starting to realize that this semester is ending, but somehow I still don't care, even though I know I may not see some of these people again.

Okay, confession: I've already started packing. Mom and Dad are taking a suitcase or two of my stuff home so I don't have to ship a million boxes back at the end of the semester, which is nice, but packing away my sundresses made me really sad because I HATE THE WEATHER HERE. One of my friends was like "Oh, California's not that warm anyway, it's been 60-65, I've had to wear jeans and a jacket." I responded "yeah, the high in DC is 45. I'M FREEZING." No wonder I keep getting sick.

ANYWAY sorry for all the boo-hoo talk. Seriously. Sorry. I'm homesick - so sue me. I'm gonna try to do something on Sunday, like go to Arlington, because it's gonna be nice-ish out (68 degrees! glory!) and because I've been holed up in my room since Halloween. Okay? Bye.

Quick Halloween update

Crazy night. Went to a concert with a group of friends, which ended around 12:15 then made our way to Union Station for a party at off-campus housing. Some of the guys I was with knew the girl who was throwing it. Ended up taking the metro home around 2:15 and going to bed by 3:30, which was actually 2:30...DST.

Anyhow, some quick pics of the costume for you all.


I was a cat. I wanted something easy, cheap, and comfortable for the concert. The ears and tail were $7 total, then I wore a black tank top, black skinny jeans, and black converse. It was clear what I was, but I was still comfortable jumping around at the show, unlike some people who wore masks / ridiculous shoes/ skirts / etc.

Did my own french manicure for it! The whiskers, by the way, are done with a 99 cent eyeliner pencil and are perfectly straight because I googled "how to draw whiskers on your own face" (no jokes) and read that it helps to use a credit card or something to make them straight. GENIUS.

This is the end of the night, just so you could see the tail, because I didn't have any other full shots of the costume.

Ummm...yeah.

The end! (For now.)