It's the Thrill of the Fight, Rising Up to the Challenge of Our Rival

WE DID IT!!!! We finished seeing clients and we are all done with Practicum 1!!

I was lucky to have the practicum experience that I had compared to some of the other people in my class alone. I had mostly consistent clients, I was challenged enough to see what I need to work on, and I didn't let practicum get the better of me. I did however let other classes get the better of me and now I'm going to be scrambling. But it will all be worth it. I get to see Brandi next week for her graduation. And then Hunter Hayes. AND THEN DISNEYLAND!

Girls Just Want To Have Fun

And sleep and not be stress out and not have to worry about studying things like all of the needless assignments for Multicultural class. AND GIRLS JUST WANT TO FEEL PREPARED FOR TESTS. Well everyone probably does but still. 

You Better Work B****h

And I did! Well, kinda. I did some assignments, looked into the budget, and sent out emails. Ilysa and I pretty much have our group finalized which is awesome sauce. Super props to her for being the liaison of that whole thing. I did some laundry and picked up the supplies for prac tomorrow. First day of clients!!! 

And then Danielle and I went to the gym and it was painful but good. And now I'm actually at work! Look at that.

You Give and You Take, You Come and You Go

I thought that using those lyrics as my title would result in me figuring out how to talk about my job and school starting back up (will I survive?!) but inspiration did not strike. As Monday draws near, the realization that this is going to be a stressful semester starts to sink in. It is kind of like being surrounded by that dark void in Kingdom Hearts as Sora falls and the theme song plays? You just have no idea what's going on and you can't get out of it? Yeah, that. Obviously I'm not attempting something really hard like parenting or working 40 hours a week on top of school but for me, my plate is still full. Juggling day practicum, running a group, normal course work, working 19-23 hours a week, self care, and being involved with other humans on a semi-normal basis just... 

also, My blog decided to delete this original post so I had to rewrite it. I hate times being wrong -_-

31 More Days

I tried to find a picture or a quote that fit today but beginning of the end stuff was all depressing and I didn't  anything in my repertoire that I could pass on to you for inspiration so instead, you get a pun. If you can figure it out I've give you a cookie. You know, because I'm avoiding those and I'm sure there are a ton to be given.

There are so many things that I didn't accomplish this year. Like cooking and losing weight. I need to go sign up for my pole classes which I will do tomorrow because it is my day off and this is stupid. I have spent a year holding my self accountable for all of my nonsense and I still just kind of shrug it off. I am not able to motivate my self with letting myself down as the consequence. It just doesn't happen unfortunately. Maybe with more time? I'll have to give it some more thought.

December arrived wet and with a high of 76 degrees. Christmas time is not supposed to be this Floridian but as my sister keeps saying: "it's El Niño." (Whatever that means, I don't actually know.)

December means that I have roughly thirty more days of being a lead at work and I couldn't be more excited to give the reigns back to people who want to control things. I'll stick to sweeping. It also means that school is  just around the proverbial corner and it brings light to the cruel truth that I did not save the money I was supposed to save. Yes I have some of it but for 7 months worth of saving, it's deplorable. December will hopefully see me get the rest of my life in order. I should have my lease signed and turned in by the end of this week which I am going to be congratulating myself for by going to see Hunter Hayes. Now if only I could clean my room.

Extended Birthday Activities

So Catherine and I are not quite done celebrating my birthday and we are going to start celebrating her birthday when we finish celebrating mine! We are headed to Disney World on Wednesday to do all kinds of fun things which we will plan shortly before arriving! 

After work I took the time and researched how much it would be for a stay on property. Shortly after I booked the hotel (IT WAS 27 DOLLARS A PERSON ARE yOU KIDDING ME) for Wednesday and then I continued to research all the discounts!! Other than that but of planning, I also planned t other trips to Orlando. One of them will be with Ilana because I've never gone with her. The other is more focused around the grad school living arrangements and working arrangements. Another castmember and I started talking about the perks and pro/conning everything. He thinks I should transfer to the parks which I understand but that would mean another 8 miles of driving. Tomorrow I am going to (hopefully) talk to Brett about some living options and then I continue to make choices from there. I want to have everything settled by December first.

ALSO! I had to miss out on a great deal from Ulta today because the stupid website refused to save my cart and to recognize my account information even though the link I was using for the deal was from an email they sent to the email address they were telling me was not on file. 

Back to Home

I have two posts to make up for because all my focus was on my interview day and not dying. Today I came back after surviving said interview and got to go to work! I spend one night at the mothership and then I get to help run one of the pods! My brother in law calls WDW the mothership so I figured I'd run with it. 

After work I was FINALLY able to see my own house and to take a shower. These are glorious things. Then it was straight to football watching because Florida State faced Notre Dame tonight. Now I don't normally watch these things because if I watch we lose. However, my brother in law is a fan of the Irish so I had to participate. I watched (and counseled) until the last 25 seconds of the game and then I went to write the post. I officially have no idea how it ended but it was nerve wracking. 

Bullet Point List

Highlights for today:

   -I got to see Catherine

   -I got to have this weird cheese pasta thing.

   -Work was stressful. Like more than usual. Holy god.

   - I'm really tired

   -I decided not to go to the far away interview.

Planning For Disney

I have known about my interview at UCF for sometime now and I cannot be more grateful for the opportunity. Because it is in Orlando and I cannot drive myself, my sister and her family get to take me.  Which she decided was a good excuse for an impromptu trip to Disney while I am at my interview. So I got to plan their trip for them which eventually ended up with me going with them the night before to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

This just became so much more exciting and nerve wracking than it already was!

All Caught Up

I may or may not have just written the last three days worth of blog posts because these last few days have been chock-full (I JUST LEARNED THIS PHRASE WASN'T CHALK FULL) of illness and being tired and fighting with whatever is on my nose.

I worked today, not like anyone is surprised. But it was the first time in forever that I felt kind of back to normal illness wise. Tomorrow I open and I plan on it being a successful, stress free day come hell or high water.

I also learned that my transcripts and all my recommendation letters are in for both of my schools so now it is just up to my interviewing abilities to decide my future. I can do this. I believe in my abilities. I get to go to Howl-o-Scream on Friday.

Phenomenal Cosmic Powers

Despite all this disappointment and stress yesterday, today made up for it a little bit. I am finally able to do all of the computer actions I haven't been able to do because my status was finally updated in the computer! Yay! Hopefully this is a sign that now that I have freaked out about everything it is all going to get better. 

I also talked to UCF today and found out that I could have submitted my application without my recommendation letters months ago. Isn't that just lovely? I submitted it today and now I just have to wait for one more letter for it to be complete! And for my transcripts to get there. 

Feeling Slightly Overwhelmed

With all the good and bad news these past few weeks I have been really struggling to find a good balance. I am so thrilled to be gearing up for holiday time but there is just so much informant to learn at work and I'm a self teacher. However, this isn't something I can teach myself. I have to learn it in a timed and busy environment which is what the real challenge is. 

Other than that life is going okay. Wednesday is permit day so I have been reviewing road rules and signs whenever I can. I need to email some more UCF people to let the know that my transcripts may be arriving late due FSU revamping their transcript system. I also need to reserve th first t Fridays in October off for possible interviews. Oh boy.

Finally Caving In

As you might have guessed, I caved. What did I cave on? My 113 days of being soda free. I have been debating giving myself a cheat day for a while but I have ALWAYS denied myself that luxury. I didn't want to drink the stuff. Today however, it was necessary. I haven't gotten more than six hours of sleep on any given night this past week. Between my final meetings with my sorority, the ceiling leaking, work, wanting to make it to all of my last classes, and my practicum PLUS all of the tests and assignments that happen the week before final's week, I haven't had the ability to be asleep by 12.

Last night I went to bed around 2:00 am and had to be up at 6:30 to be at my practicum site by 7:00. Thank you so much to the amazingly, WONDERFUL Brianna for letting me crash at her house and then waking up with me at an ungodly hour to drive me to my practicum. You're a beautiful human and I love you.

Today was technically my "last" day with my practicum students and in order to completely all my hours on time, I had to get to the site BEFORE IT OPENED. This is all because my evil practicum teacher (not affiliated with the site) refused to let me turn in my signed hours if my hours extended past 12 on April 25th. Word cannot describe how excited I am to NEVER have to deal with this woman ever again. Anyway, I spent ten and a half hours at my site. During this time I managed to get in an almost 2 hour long nap thanks to some really boring war movie that the staff decided to have them all watch. I was a little sad to see some of the kids leave today. It finally hit me that after next week, I won't be involved in their lives anymore. I won't get to ask them how everything was or sit with them and help them succeed in a subject. These kids need permanent guidance from someone and I was so privileged to have been that person for these last few months.

My day is not yet finished though. After my practicum I had to go straight to work where I have been and where I will stay until 2 in the morning. Woo. 

Preventing Check Out

Because my G.R.E. worries are over, I officially have nothing to do on a day to day basis. My classes are really easy and I can't be at my internship anymore than I already am. My time with my sorority is almost at an end. I have nothing to stay on top of other than my grad school applications. 

Having this much free time doesn't work well for me. You see, now that I'm not stressed out I'm not as motivated to stay on top of everything. This is obviously a problem. I skipped class on Monday to take care of the key situation. Well, because my first class was canceled today and because I didn't have any reason to be on campus anymore after work, I skipped my last class of the day. This. Isn't. Good. 

I need to find something new to stress about which I think is going to be packing my life back into boxes and preparing for the move back home. Hopefully that will give me motivation for class. 

Maybe not.

Sidebote: my first of three graduation ceremonies is tomorrow!! 

Change Not Accepted

Warning: a rant is ensuing

My school kind of did this thing where it changed some stuff and now everyone is mad. You'd think it wouldn't be that big of and deal but everyone is very, VERY angry with the people behind this change. Including me.

As I walked home from class today, I finally figured out what exactly makes me so mad about all of this. Launching the campaign titled "Ignition Tradition" and then telling us that change is the best way to keep tradition was their first mistake. Tradition is about repetition and sanctity. It does not experience large changes. By changing a tradition too much it becomes a new tradition all together. I repeat, NEW TRADITION. You are no longer upholding the same tradition as before. You literally cannot drastically change a tradition and call it te same as before. 

Their second mistake was failing to alert and involve the student body in the changes. These people took something that was recognizable and sacred; something that displayed power, conviction, and determination to everyone who saw it and altered it with out asking the majority of the target population's opinion. They short changed the hundred of thousands of people who they want to buy the new product. They tried to shove the unwanted change to

our tradition down our throats and expected us not to say anything. How is that a smart business move?? How can what is essentially a business look at its target audience and say: " Yes, I think its a good move for us to change everything they are used to. They will obviously like it because we like it,"? Thats a pretty large gamble in my opinion and while they did ask for some approval, they didn't ask where it mattered. 

The choices made by all parties involved make me really angry with my school's judgement. I feel cheated and played. How would they feel if the students rallied together and suddenly unveiled a new uniform policy for all the staff that made them were Daisy Duke's and Hawaiian shorts everyday of their life and just expected them to be fine with it?

We are supposed to represent a tribe that is unconquered. Unconquered. They stuck to their guns and played the game smart to remain a tribe and not be picked off the planet by invading humans. Telling the student body to accept something we hate is essentially telling us to give up. Admit defeat, sell our lands and build casinos. It is telling us to stop being unconquered. It is saying that we have no say in our school and that we are to deal with what we're given. 

Well they're wrong. I don't have to deal with it. I don't have to buy anything or like your decision. I won't be conquered by consumerism and greed. 

Working At It

Considering I didn't finish crafting until 1am and I didn't get home and fall asleep until 2am, I already knew that waking up this morning was going to be exceptionally difficult. My alarms started gng off at 645am and I didn't even hear them. The first alarm that I heard was the one that starts at 750 and I finally acknowledged it at 758. My ability to sleep is mind blowing sometimes. 

I decided that I could skip my first class because A) we were watching a movie, B) I was exhausted, and C) my throat was killing me. So I went back to sleep expecting to wakeup feeling better for work. This was not the case. I woke up 20 minutes before work and I felt awful. My theory was still hurting, I couldn't breathe through my nose again p, and my whole body was aching. Needless to say I called out of work and spent the whole day resting, taking medicine, and fundraising for Dance Marathon. 

What I'm working at is having less of these days. I really don't like missing things but I have felt awful these past few weeks more times than not. I want to feel normal. Normal would be nice. I am also working at raising the last 150 that I need for my DM goal and helping one of my sisters raise her 150 in order to dance!!

Two Steps Forward

I worked toward a few of my goals today by completing assignment after assignment after assignment for my practicum class. I have one more that I have to start working on in order to be completely finished but I'm sure it will be easy. I also booked my test date for the G.R.E. EEEKKKK!!

 This upcoming week will consist of catching up from two weeks ago and then going home to see my nephews! I can't wait to see them and also be able to go back to work at the store while I'm home.

Finding Some Success

Amidst all the craziness surrounding this week I am happy to announce I only missed one class and only cut three hours from my internship. Why am I happy about that? Well, the two weeks prior to this week have seen 7 classes being skipped, 1 missed test, around 10 missing hours from my internship as well as 3 canceled physical therapy appointments. I'm extremely happy with this weeks accomplishments. This week also consisted of three assignments for my practicum plus a test in one of my class. Two and half out of three of those assignments are finished and I'm fairly certain I aced my test this morning. OH!! I actually ended up CATCHING UP on my hours for my internship. 

I was also able to talk to an old professor of mine who gave me some advice about grad school, the GRE, and helped me with one of the three assignments. I'm pleased with the end of this week and even though the talent show will not be happening tomorrow, Brandi and I have decided that we WILL finish the dance and once it is finished we will post it so that the work can see hour efforts. 

On a broader note, this is the end of month two for the blog!!! I'm so excited that I have been able to keep up with it for this long and I am so proud of my self for actually sticking to it. I only technically missed one day and it was only by a few minutes and it was due to that stupid dance. One thing I am not so pleased about though is how I kind of slacked of on the quality of this blog. Tomorrow I will start trying to incorporate more than just my life rants and what not. I need to do another check in with my goals and then maybe I can get this thing back on track. 

Death by Dance

"All my people on the floor, let me see you dance" Me Against the Music- GLEE version

I've been dancing for nearly three hours and now I've found my self on the floor because I'm exhausted and annoyed with a section of the song.

We have until Saturday to get this right and we are now a day behind because of this. Not good.

In addition to this I have a ton of make up work and a test on Friday. AND I almost missed yesterday's post. 

This week and this dance are going to kill me 

Climbing All Around

Today was full of sisterhood bonding activities and exploring canyons in Georgia! Even though my team didn't win  the sorority Olympics today was still tons and tons of fun! There was plenty of physical exertion and laughter as well as singing. Have I mentioned the copious amounts of pictures? No? 

Well, pictures are a fairly common thing in my sorority. Every retreat we take group pictures and class pictures and individual pictures. Of course there are the pictures that are snapped during events and the candids as well as all of the pictures every individual sister or Nu took of each other/ the canyon. 

Overall it was a successful, final sisterhood retreat and I am glad to have had the opportunity to visit Alabama and Georgia. Now to get back to school and choreography and preparing for real life.