9 Billion Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Later...

This morning my alarm went off, and my first thought was:

"WHAT IS THAT WHAT IS THAT WHAT IS THAT" 

In my panic and fumbled around in the dark and hit the snooze button to make the horrible noise stop. I then sat up in my bed and took in my surroundings. My second thought was:

"#@!#%^&*"

So I stumbled through the dark and found my trusty flashlight, which I now dress by regularly. When I have to get up before the crap of dawn like on Mondays, I set out my clothes the night before, like I am in elementary school.  Because at 5:30 I have the decision-making skills of a goldfish. Not even one of the goldfish that lives freakishly for 25 years. One of the goldfish that dies the second you buy it an actual bowl to replace the cancerous plastic bag it has probably been inhabiting for months. 

At dining hall work I seriously almost fell asleep where I legitimately made 180 grilled cheese sandwiches. That is an exact calculation. It felt like a million. It was my one real break, because we were understaffed this morning and therefore I was practically running around Campus Center dining hall for four hours straight. 

In Academic Writing I researched for my persuasive essay, in which I'm arguing that despite mission statements of feminism and progression, the majority of women's magazines encourage women to form their identities around consumption and sexuality. 

My life is nothing but a non-stop party. Really.

A lot of us in Boothroyd always bring lunch back to the dorm and eat together in the kitchen. It's a fantastic break in between classes because they're all hilarious. It felt good to be back. 

I then headed to Spanish, where I sat and thought about how much I used to love spanish class in high school. Now, I hate it. With a burning flaming passion. I went from there to journalism research, where we kept going over interviewing and such. 

This evening I had my typical all-radio evening, where I sit through multiple meetings with most of the same people for Now Hear This! and the news team. 

The weather is warm. Warm is now 50 degrees, and people are wearing shorts and flip flops. Let's see how long THAT lasts. I don't trust the weather anymore. It's been so fickle in the past. 

Someday I will tell my therapist all these things. I am pretty sure I will need a therapist, to cope with my overwhelming fame and success and increase my self-obsession. I think that's just how it's done in the great USA. 

Back to Reality

Already things are falling back into place here at IC. 

I'm already not doing what I should, and I've been loving reconnecting with everyone after the break. The difference here is that what I should be doing is not actually work--it's sleeping. 

Which is totally awesome. So I'm just going to take a moment and bask in that statement for a moment.

Okay. The rest of break was beyond excellent. A bunch of us celebrated friend A's 19th (!) birthday. Birthday's are always strange with her, because I've been going to her birthday celebrations since the 2nd grade. 

Apparently my friends and I have the social calendars of middle-aged, childless suburbanites, because there is nothing we love more than brunch. So I attended multiple. There is also nothing I love more than brunch. Sitting around and gabbing at mid-morning with a cup of coffee in my hand and fruit salad on the table is my kind of utopia. We cover all kinds of topics, ranging from government policy to our opinions on that weird unitard Kelly Clarkson wore in her last video.

Kelly, if you can hear us, we love you, but no one should wear that thing. It just does nothing good for anyone. 

In other news, I can hardly believe I only have a little less than 8 weeks left of my freshman year. 

WHERE DID IT GO?

Five thirty is one awful wake-up call, but I might as well finish off the semester at full speed.  

It's totally bedtime. 

Jon Stewart and Other Magical Occurrences

So haven't posted for a week because nothing all that interesting had happened to me while I enjoyed a peaceful break. 

Now, it's a different story. 

On Wednesday the four of us slid sluggishly into the van (well, Dad was alert and driving, thank God) and started the trek up to New York City. We were making the journey as a family to watch the taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. This show is something that we all enjoy with a man we all sort of worship. So it was exciting. We had a nice lunch and then went back to the studio to make sure our group of four had a place in line to get tickets for the show. One person could hold places for four, and Mom held down the fort while Dad, Claire and I searched for a bathroom that was:

1. Open to the public

2. Not nasty

3. Okay...maybe only a little nasty?

We found a bathroom at a visitor center for some huge ship that I would never board because of my fear of sea travel as caused by movies such as The Perfect Storm, Titanic, and Castaway. I have no desire to have conversations with a volleyball or die a frigid death, even if these fears are unjustified because the ship is decommissioned.  Gazing out upon the ocean, we also discussed Claire's fear of whales, as caused by...the existence of whales.

And actually, I must now add, that it was not the ocean we gazed upon, but the Hudson River. Unfortunately I wrote this post at 1:30 a.m. And unfortunately, I am an idiot. AND it is one really really big river. Aren't you glad my parents are dropping so much cash on a collegiate education for someone as qualified as me?

So we did a bit of sight seeing, while Claire and I made regular observations about the severity of our hair frizz because of the light drizzle that was falling. Then, we hunkered down in line with Claire's iPod and a really disgusting $3 pretzel, and waited for what felt like an eternity. 

It was WORTH it! We got amazing third-row seats. Jon came out to joke with the audience before the taping, and sometimes you had to wonder if he truly needed so many writers. Paul Rudd was the guest, and after Claire and I shrieked with glee, we attempted to convince my parents that yes, this man is famous. Lewis Black also did a segment, and he was actually funny. Which is kind of a rarity, in my opinion. 

After the show, we hit the road once again. Claire and I passed out in the back while Dad kept on driving. I seriously cannot imagine having to do that. I was unable to remain fully conscious when we stopped for food. In front of the Burger King I had a "Where am I, and how did I get here?" moment. 

Today, Claire, friend K and I randomly metroed down to the zoo. Here, we oohed and aahhhhed at cheetahs and elephants, and also wondered why the zoo is so huge and why it is on such a steep incline. We also observed people laughing at our conversation on the metro. 

And now, it's 1:35, and I have somewhere to be this morning. But I felt as though a post was long overdue. 

This break is going by so quickly!

Almost There!

Every important thing I had to do before break is pretty much done.

All I really have to do tomorrow is drag my sorry butt out of bed at 5:30 and stumble in the general direction of the radio room and write up and perform something about the bailout plus other news of the day. Then two classes, a nap (well, I'll try. I haven't yet succeeded), and relaxation until my ride home Saturday morning. 

Oh, and did I mention that I had an interview with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers yesterday? I managed not to hyperventilate during a quick interview for a public relations internship. I just can't believe I GOT the interview. Cool stuff. 

Besides the occasional chat with an NFL media staff, my life has been pretty dull the past couple of days. Way too much time spent writing and studying and testing. That's midterms, I guess. 

Our sports section this week was awesome. Two fronts and the spring sport insert, in which I had my crew preview run with the coolest picture ever. My article and the picture take up an entire page. Pure excellence. 

I am essentially brain dead at this point. I apologize for the lack of actual interest or personality expressed in this post. 

Now, I'm heading off to my section meeting!

I Feel Hostile Towards This Stupid Weather

I really do. I have been straight up angry after walking out the door the past two days because it is insanely cold and insanely windy, and I am just a bitter, whiny, Southern person. 

I actually came home last night from my meetings, chucked my stuff on my bed, sat down at my computer and ordered a hat online. It was seriously the most aggressive online shopping anyone has ever done. I considered shouting out loud, "Yeah, take that, stupid wind!" and shaking my fist to the heavens. I will honestly try to wear the hat, but in reality I bought it to make sure that the weather is way too warm for me to wear it by the time it arrives in a week or two. Because that would totally happen.

I have so much work to do, that I can't even stomach it. I keep all my lists in the little notebook I carry, and I have been sneaking peeks at it for the last hour and had my stomach churn. Then I shut it and do things like this instead. This little book is all pink and innocent looking. But it contains my life. I am kind of a scatter-brained person. This is what a typical page of my notebook looks like:

03/03/09

Submit Global Studies

+800 words-Short Story Paper- due Thursday

Respond to Robinson, Orlando -> regatta dates on calendar

Study for spanish- Chapter 8

Academic writing response

sneakers, TEA WHEN HOME

VANCOUVER! PPD!

Walker reading for j research

J research- The importance of community? Medical risks? Source list by Friday.

So, in sum, someday historians will find this notebook and assume that the owner was on crack. Or a journalism major.

I want my hat.

***Edit

Okay, so I just received this e-mail from my mom in response to my blog post. And I decided it was necessary to publish it. I seriously started cracking up. The title of it?

List of Abby's Hats That Should Be in Ithaca

I can procrastinate with the best of you!

Einstein Swim and Dive hats (should be somewhere in your dorm room)

One Amma knitted that matches a scarf (never mind- saw this in the basement yesterday)

Hat Claire gave you that ties under your chin (like Eicher or Mary Coyne hat)

Light blue or white angora hat that matches gloves

hood for new parka

wrap one of your million scarves!

You see? I have absolutely no hats.

(That I don't look stupid in)

I love my parents. They can parent-school me from many miles away.

A Musical Soundtrack Kind of Day

As previously noted, my stress level is always reflected in my choice of music. Right now, it's about medium high, so here I am going through my "musical theatre" genre. Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth will serenade me as I shove my laundry into my drawers and work on my millions of papers. 

By mid-week I may be at country music level. Beware. 

Anyway, it was a pretty productive weekend for me. Weekends are always productive, but this time I spread out my productivity instead of cramming it into the last four hours of Sunday night before I hit the sack. 

The men's basketball team suffered an absolutely shocking loss to Nazareth yesterday. We were the number one seed. We had one loss through the whole season. People can't even believe it. It's so disappointing. At Ithaca we seriously dominate the Empire 8. This just doesn't happen. This weekend was also the championships for the mens swimming and diving team, and they placed second in the state and smashed 2 college records! Let's take a look at the final places:

Final UNYSCSA Standings

1. Alfred- 1,149 points

2. Ithaca- 1,063

3. Rensselaer- 1,039

WIN

However, Claire still managed to be awesome enough to win the gold medal in the novice women's Adirondack erg sprints competition at RPI with a 2k time of 7:45.05. Because she's awesome, even if her swim team loses. I am so proud of her!

I now must go make up more "analysis" for my short story paper. I get to write about symbolism for 4 pages!

Barbara Walters, Pants, and Jon Stewart

I am not going to bore you with my usual "I should be working" whine. 

Well, I guess now I have. 

Anyway, I would first like to point out that I was featured in my friend's blog, which highlighted our incredibly intellectual conversations. Which we have frequently. 

I went to all my classes today without doing anything spectacularly stupid or intelligent. It is not a first, but it sure it a rarity. In journalism research we talked about interviewing techniques. I learned about all the things I'd been doing wrong (and right) and actually discovered that once upon a time, Barbara Walters actually had something intelligent to say. Then, The View happened.

In academic writing we talked about television addiction, because in our study of persuasive writing we read some articles on television addiction. If college has improved my health habits in any way, it's truly that I never watch t.v, save for a little Jon Stewart now and then. A healthy dose, actually. A spoon full of mockery helps the absurdity of reality go down. 

Oh, and breaking news: I hate Nathaniel Hawthorne and what's he's doing to my life. I mean really. I think my short story professor just assigns us multiple Hawthorne readings because english professors see the labels of "pretentious"  and "dull" as a positive thing. I mean, I love intricate writing as much as the next nerdy Ithaca student, but this is some flowery overkill in a language that Shakespeare would look at, squint, and ask, "What is this crap?" 

Today it got all the way up to 41 degrees. People were playing frisbee on the quad and wearing flip flops. Welcome to my alternate reality.