First Day of Classes

If you follow my life at all, you'd know that today is the first day of classes for second semester. This is what went down. I'm a little too tired to make any of it actually interesting.

First I woke up to my alarm, which first sounded like it was in my dream, and wondered what was happening. "Am I on fire? Where am I? Why is it dark?" I thought. "Oh crap."

I got to News II extremely early, because that happens on the first day when I'm paranoid. There are only like eight people in that class. This is does not mean that it will be a better learning experience or anything. It's News II so it means I won't get to make nearly as pained facial expressions without being noticed. Basically it is the same class as News I--the bane of my existence--but meaner. Fun.

Then it was off to "Ideas and Ideologies" and the only real impression it made was that I was entirely surrounded by freshmen. It's a foundation class for the politics major and I spent most of it feeling falsely superior and inexplicably irritated.

Then finally I went to my Special Topics: The European Union class, and the jury is still out on that one. It could be fantastic and informative and useful. Or it could be insanely boring. Stay tuned. It's in an old lecture hall and the seats on our little flip out desk-y things are really low and cushy, so I feel oddly small and have to look up to see my professor. In a weird coincidence, my environmental class is in the same classroom tomorrow. Because I have a politics class in the Center for National Sciences.

Of course I do.

We had our beginning of the semester meeting for crew, and as usual it was the least annoying part of my day. We learned our schedule for the rest of winter training all the way up to spring break, and got fitted for our uniforms. I nearly passed out from excitement. We also filled out documents for the sports information people, which will eventually go on the Bombers website. I used them all the time for writing articles, and now I'll have one! Now I too can have a little descriptive sentence saying, "Abby, daughter of Kirsten and Mark, is awesome. She swam and played field hockey at Albert Einstein. She was even a captain of the swim team, which makes her sound extremely accomplished. See how upstanding and well-rounded Ithaca College students are?"

Or something like that. Maybe.

Tomorrow, I have my fake science class and Legislative Behavior. And lifting at 7am. Which is totally cool and everything, because I don't have class until 10:50. Oh, but I will be there anyway. For funsies.

And THAT was my first day of class.

I Swear I Have a Legitimate Excuse

Okay so I know I haven't posted in like two weeks. I even got an e-mail from someone who was NOT Claire about it!

But I've basically had zero access to the computer these past two weeks, having spent some luxurious time in Massachusetts and here in Ithaca at my roommate's house for crew camp. Let's recap, shall we?

In MA everyone was kind of in and out except Claire and me, so we spent a lot of time crashed in front of the fire being happy we had no work to do. Claire's lounging was disrupted when we switched out an old couch for a part of a sectional we're getting. This caused significant dismay and the sectional piece was quickly labeled "the couch stump."

In the time we WERE all together, I remembered why I'm going to miss being with them all so darn much. They're hilarious.

On Monday we made the epic journey from MA to Albany to Ithaca, where Claire and I were dropped off for crew camp. It has been so much fun to put my favorite people all together in Ithaca. It's like my real family and Ithaca family merged, and it's made me SO happy. I haven't laughed this much and this hard in a long time.

And now, here I am on Friday morning, the only one awake. Luckily this led me to discover I could get internet on my computer. So now I'm sitting at the table with two huge dogs warming my feet. It's kind of nice.

Claire's leaving today, which I basically hate. That's what's tough about college. You're ALWAYS missing someone. Always.

On a somewhat relate note, today is my dad's birthday!

Let's just say I'm lucky, because I have the best dad in the world. He may not like our choices in fleece color, but he always supports Claire and me. He gives the best hugs ever and can make you feel better no matter what. What I admire Dad for is that he knows who he is. And by being who he is he helps other people figure it out. He's rational and compassionate, driven and a team player. And sometimes he is really, really silly. I love you, Dad. Happy Birthday.

It's Been a Decade and I Haven't Changed at All

So it's break and I have been doing absolutely nothing productive. My parents, of course, insist on being proactive and making me feel guilty abut it. My Dad was cleaning out the basement and found a little "About Me" project I must have made in like, first or second grade.

It further confirmed to me that I was BORN to be a college student. Please examine the "favorite food" section.

That's right. Ramen noodles. Have you ever met a little first grader whose favorite food was RAMEN NOODLES? No. They would probably say something normal, like "ice cream" or "chocolate."

I chose nutrition-less pasta chock full of delicious sodium and fake meat tasting flavoring.

Also, a normal child would say spring or summer as their favorite season. I chose winter because I am a glutton for punishment and was obviously destined to go to Ithaca. And say "Brrrrr...." frequently. And stand near dead trees.

My favorite color is still the same. I love purple. My favorite hobby was reading, and it's still something I love to do. My favorite book is definitely not The Great Railroad Race, which was totally one of those "Dear America" books I love so much. I am pretty sure Dennis Lehane did not write that book.

My handwriting is still ugly, but now I only write in cursive because I am pretentious, and it is faster. I am also not as cute as I am in that picture, but I basically have the same haircut.

Oh how things have (not) changed.

More Winter Break

All this stuff happened before the New Year. And to fulfill my New Years Resolution to stop worrying so much, I'm writing my Christmas post on January 3rd. See how I did that? Now my procrastination and failure to be timely seems rebellious instead of lazy.

Maybe.

Anyway, I ACTUALLY TOOK SOME PICTURES.

The day before Christmas eve, we bought our tree!

And by we, I mean Claire and Dad bought our tree. Probably the last one in Massachusetts. They got it from some guy selling out of his front yard, which is, you know, awesome.

On Christmas day, we went ice skating on the lake. I am pretty sure I live in someone else's sentimental memoir.

But of course, we had some reluctant following of safety precautions, because we're us.

Hahahahaha.

But it was pretty.

At some point, my family played Scrabble. Because that's what they do. I didn't play, because I hate losing and if I play scrabble with my family, there's just no way I'm winning. Ever. I am also five years old. Here's them laughing because they're actually ARGUING about the rules of Scrabble.

Please note the mechanical dancing Santa in the background.

And that's all I really have to say about that.

I love holidays.

The Decade: Yay for Time-Appropriate Nostalgia!

This decade has encompassed my entire transition from child to pseudo-student-adult. Regardless of my age I don't think I count as an adult until I pay my own utilities. Just saying.

Anyway, at the beginning of this decade I was in fourth grade. I spent a lot of time writing, reading, and daydreaming excessively. Indoor recesses were generally spent with my friend Sara, pretending we understood the rules to Jenga and drawing pictures together. In outdoor recesses, we joined my friends Anna and Kelsey and other friends to play heated battles of four-square. Kelsey usually won.

I rang in the New Year with all of them.

In fifth grade I was under the impression that we ruled the school. I was also under the impression that overalls were the best article of clothing on the planet second to clogs, so don't trust my judgement there.

In sixth grade I went to Sligo, spending most bus rides wishing I didn't. Early that September we were herded into the gym and told nothing while planes fell out of the sky. I sat behind a blonde girl in math class. We became friends and would later become senior swimming co-captains in high school. Funny how that works.

In seventh grade we were sent to Newport to relieve overcrowding, and everything got a little better. I got my first and only C because I refused to pay attention to things like actually turning my work in, in favor of going to the library every other day for another book to devour. I went from an hour and a half of basketball practice straight to two hours of swim practice, and I never got tired.

In eighth grade I did pretty much the same thing, just waiting for high school. Snipers forced some of my field hockey games to be cancelled because it was dangerous to be outside.

Starting high school I recoiled at being the bottom of the food chain. I dropped year-round swimming and tried new things. I survived the 200 IM and 500 freestyle every meet of my high school career. I played field hockey. I tried lacrosse and learned how to quit something. I even acted in a one-act play. During rehearsals for that One-Act, during which I had no voice, I got my acceptance to Ithaca College and danced around while silently cheering.

I also made some new friends. Two nights ago we made our annual trip to the Brookside lights and watched Titanic for the 1 millionth time. We provided our own commentary and ate freezer appetizers, bagel bites, and chocolate for our highly nutritious meal.

Freshman year of college I had to handle what I wasn't anymore. To the outside world, I wasn't a twin. I wasn't an athlete. I had to create an identity from scratch. I covered sports and wrote the same article over and over. I got on the radio and realized other mediums could be fun.

And now sophomore year. I'm a sister and a daughter and a friend. I'm a student and an athlete again as I head into the new decade. When this decade ends, I'll be 29, which is terrifying. I'll be paying my own utilities. So, I'm going to try to live in the moment.

Because 19 feels pretty good.

Fake Break Snapshots

It is break. I DID IT. And it feels amazing. Now, Ithaca College, if you could give me my grades please that would be fabulous.

I thought I'd provide you with a few snapshots for you to understand how great break has been in just a few short days. Not that I actually have pictures. I totally left my camera at home after Thanksgiving break, because I would do that. Guess I'll just have to write a thousand words or whatever.

Here's a non-existent photo of Ashley and me saying goodbye. I am probably inexplicably tearing up and envisioning a whole month without Glee dance parties and cheeseburger conversations. Oh, and there I am smothering her in a hug.

Here's one of me loading insane amounts of junk into my grandparents' pick-up truck. Note their stunned faces in reaction to the amount of stuff I thought I'd need for a month.

And then there's this great one of Amma, Pappa and I all dressed up, heading into the Buffalo Club. Now note MY stunned face at the amazing Christmas decorations. It is almost the same face I had when I saw the chocolate cake for dessert.

Here's one of these insanely flexible Christmas-ornament people from the Cirque de Soleil Christmas show. My face is a mix of wonder and fear, because these people are totally going to fall and die, I KNOW it, bodies don't bend like that, OH MY GOD DON'T DO THAT STOPPPP, oh....well, that was actually awesome! They survived! I am enjoying this.

Here is a picture of Amma and me bowling. That stank face I have on is merely a natural reaction to the fact that I was losing. Repeatedly. It was actually a blast though.

And then there's Amma, Pappa, and me at the Sabres/Penguins hockey game, only a few rows away from large men being thrown largely into the glass over and over and over. We are extremely happy because we got to eat cheeseburgers AND have awesome seats. I am wearing my hat because it's kind of cold but for the first time ever I am actually dressed appropriately.

I know, right?

Here's one a stranger took of me sprawled in the airport for forever, because DC decided to get buried under snow for forever. But I got there! And then waited for Claire for forever, with my Dad.

And in this one my Dad and I are sitting in the car and he is exasperated already and trying to convince me my eye isn't going to explode just because it's a little irritated. I'm not buying it.

Here's Claire and me with our girls in the back room with a fire. We are eating brownies and cool whip and watching and providing running commentary on this year's Lifetime Christmas movie. Which is totally not about Christmas at all. "What the hell!" asks Laura, "WHY IS IT JULY IN THIS MOVIE?"

And here I am, blogging in my bed, getting ready to head up to the great New England for Christmas.

If I don't blog before, have an amazing, happy, and healthy Christmas.

I refuse to complain any more about finals

I do.

Things are great. Ish. I mean, I really shouldn't complain.

I did go a little crazy this afternoon when the two fake-ly tanned orange girls next to me in the computer lab wouldn't stop squawking at each other in Jersey language. I even stopped working on my paper for a minute and tweeted about my anger. I then realized I for a split second I was that jerk in the computer lab on Twitter. Sigh.

I also finished News Writing and Reporting I today. Forever, WHICH IS AMAZING. The name was totally misleading because it should have been called "Fight With Irrelevant and Useless Technology to Say Something Kind of Sort of Coherent That You Could Have Just Written About in 500 Words and Been Done With It for a Semester...I." Obviously I am not in line with the times. Why did I sign up for this again? Oh right. To be a writer. To seek truth. Etc.

Sigh. Again.

Anyway, I emerged from the cave of News I after listening to 2.5 hours of presentations and found the ground entirely covered in snow! I was gleeful. I am not going to lie to you. There was more than a little frolicking occurring on my way back to my dorm.

Now I'm watching the snow fall and semi-writing my last paper. Then, tomorrow I'm buckling down for my last exam on Thursday.

Yes. Cue the final countdown music. Or some sort of dramatic montage of my past accomplishments. Fade out on a picture of me on top of some sort of mountain, gazing out heroically on a gorgeous future of couch-laying and wood stove fires.

So maybe my brain's a little fried.