Life in Not-So-Slow Motion

It's a Tuesday, which normally means I have extra time in the morning to get things done. I usually wake up early and try to crank out some work on long-term projects and such. I've already done quite a bit this morning. 

This week is just packed. Once Wednesday is finished, however, I'll have a few things to cross off on my master finish-and-then-you're-free list.  

Yesterday everyone was struggling to get back into the swing of things, and I spent an unexpected hour wrestling with my swimming article with my editor in the Ithacan office. It's never exactly fun to do that, because it drags on and on, but I always learn a lot when I go, and my articles always turn out way better. 

I'm listening to so much Christmas music. Claire sent me a short text message yesterday saying, "I CANNOT escape Christmas music!" If she went to Ithaca, I would totally be part of the problem. 

I worked a little on our family's Christmas letter, which I write every year to avoid the horrible cliches  that tend to plague Christmas letters, like, "Last year, while our family was vacationing in Bora-Bora, little Becky discovered a passion for aquatic life and quickly became one of the most highly respected dolphin trainers in the universe. Also, little Jimmy got straight As again, as he always does." 

Maybe ours is no better. Who knows. 

Okay, seriously, back to work. 

Okay, so another tally on the "things destroyed" list

I stated at the very beginning that I would use the blog to keep track of the things I lost/destroyed while making the journey through the crazy world of college. 

It all began with that silly yellow towel, which is now a...well, puke colored towel. That actually is (was) the only thing on the "destroyed" list. Now, my lovely, cherished red Einstein Swim shirt will join it, as my pen exploded on me yesterday. I rushed it to the washing machine like an EMT rushes a crash victim to the hospital, but it could not be saved. But I'm keeping it anyway. 

This incident did, however, alert me to the fact that I have only ruined two items in three whole months of college, which is a huge accomplishment for me. You would know this if you have ever lived with me before. 

I haven't updated the lost list either, but I think I'll just have to estimate the total to about 4 lost hair ties. See Mom? I haven't changed! 

I have created a Christmas-color themed list of all the ridiculous things I need to get through to get to Christmas break and posted it on my closet door.  It goes with our lovely dorm Christmas decorations, which includes lights, a big santa on our door, and my candy wreath. 

It's good to be back.

Back at Ithaca

So after a long ride in the rain, I'm back at IC.  It feels good to be back, and my candy wreath is already quite popular.  So, good job on that one, Mom! 

It was such a great break that it's a bit tough to return back to the harsh realities of homework, papers, and exams. On the bright side, I have Christmas music, cookies, and friends to help me get through all that.  I'm only here for about three weeks, and then somehow I'll make my way back to D.C. 

My Christmas wish is that I could go to college... without classes.  

That would be SWELL.

Oh, and an interesting note. I will be here for about 19 days until I leave again. According to the weather forecast, it is extremely unlikely that I will see ANY sunlight for that entire span of time.

Yay.

It's Saturday Already?!

I haven't been posting during break, mainly because I directed most of my energy towards eating and being as relaxed as possible.  

I think I succeeded to a huge extent this week. I ate absurd amounts, lounged in front of the fire, and reunited with friends.  Now of course, the week is ending and tomorrow I'll head back with Amma to Ithaca, so it's back to reality. This was such a great break that I'm ready to head back, because I really miss everyone there a ton. Also, I'll be back for Christmas break in less than 3 weeks, so departing won't be too sad. 

Today I actually have to work on the anthropology paper and write up my article, two things I've been putting off all week.  Then, I hope to head over to the Einstein swim scrimmage against Whitman. It could be ugly. But I don't really care. 

The best part of this week? I finally can legitimately listen to Christmas music. I won't even get yelled at. 

Wow. I am Home!

The ride back from Ithaca was long, but largely uneventful.  Uneventful is pretty much what you want for a 6.5 hour car ride.  

This was pretty much what I did when I arrived at my lovely, lovely home:

1. Squealed with joy. 

2. Jumped out of the car and dropped all my stuff.

3. Scurried out of the cold into the back room that that an awesome fire going. Hugged parents. 

4. Scurried some more around the house I hadn't seen since August.

5. Contemplated why my bed and room seemed to have shrunk. 

6. Lounged on my favorite chair in the entire world. 

7. Died of happiness.

Then, of course, there was yesterday. If you ever come spend a weekend with the Paulson family, you will discover that my love of football is, in fact, genetic. Because you really spend the entire afternoon/evening watching football (with a little What Not to Wear thrown in) and no one will ever say, "Guys, this is our third game, can we, like, do something else?" Really. They won't. This is beyond excellent, because some times the best thing to do is nothing.  Sometimes it's just really fun to watch Texas Tech be absurdly embarrassed by Oklahoma State with your Dad. 

For the record, MoCo seems pretty much the same. Which, you know, I appreciate.  I relish the fact that I grew up in the weirdest place ever. I kind of want it to stay that way. Even if my own house is creepily clean.  This can be fixed, however. When Claire gets home, we will set things back to normal.  

I'm Coming Home Tomorrow!

Hopefully I will arrive in Wheaton, Maryland around 9 o'clock tomorrow. 

I haven't been there in just about three months!  

I'm so ridiculously excited!  

Tomorrow night I can lay on my couch and NOT THINK ABOUT ANYTHING AT ALL.

Except, oh wait, the Ithacan assigned me an article due next Sunday. A profile. So, basically, I have to do a profile of someone I can only talk to over the phone. I kind of like to meet the person I'm supposed to write about. Who that is, I really can't decide on.  Generally the Ithacan likes profiles to be about upperclassmen, athletes who have a history and attachment to Ithaca and also have paid their dues.  The problem with the mens swim team? They have solid seniors, but the big stories of the year are really the freshman and sophomores. They are just taking over the spotlight in a huge way. Hopefully I'll have things figured out after my section meeting tonight.  I'll talk it over with my editors, seeing as they've got the final word on everything anyway. 

Whatever. I can't even worry about it because home-cooked food, my bed, the DVR and my couch are calling my name!  

Also, I am totally loading all the Christmas music I can onto my iPod so I can blast it non-stop when I get back from break. Just saying.  

It's Really Cold. REALLY COLD

So I woke up this morning and checked the weather as I do every morning. I was thrilled when I saw the words, "10 degree wind chill." 

I guess I'm really going to have to put away the flip flops for sure this time.  

My R.A: "Please, you haven't seen anything yet. I'll TELL you when it's cold." 

Things are winding down around here. Of course, I have a political communication paper due tomorrow, but I'm well on my way to finishing it.  It's about political talk radio, and so I wasted about two hours of my life yesterday listening to Rachel Maddow and Bill O'Reilly whine as I took copious amounts of notes.  

Maddow was actually informative, if occasionally annoying. She does start off every episode with a report on the Iraq War, which I find refreshing because the conflict has startlingly little coverage in mainstream news.  O'Reilly...was O'Reilly.  

I come home on Friday! It's exactly a week until I see THESE loves of my life: Yeah, I know, this picture is wicked flattering of all of us.  But I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THEM!!