These Days are Easy and Blissful. Can't Say the Same in a Few Months...

Yup. Summer arrived long ago. And yup, summer has set in legitamately. I'm lucky enough to be working almost every day while enjoying what I do at both of my jobs. I 'work' with some great, inspiring, admirable people, who not only keep me going each day but make every day fun and enjoyable. And during the summer that's enough. But that's not all. I get to schedule fun times with my friends, like going to free campus shows in the evening with my friend Sara, while watching a fellow Wichita-er Chris strut his stuff as an imaginary superhero on stage. I get to chat with people like April Bryan during the orientation Involvement Zone, while she shares her passion and knowledge about the majestic place not far from hear--East Campus. I get treated by a bestie who not only ensures that I get my much-loved dosage of fruits and veggies, but also my ever-important dosage of chocolate (Thanks, Rory!) I get lovely photo tags from my girl Kristina, who travels to far-off places and thinks of me while she's there. And I get to look forward to the hospitality of Jill White, who will be housing me Thursday night AND driving me to Grand Rapids for a day of shopping fun, followed by an airport venture to the land of NoDak (aka North Dakota, for those of you who have never heard of the most obscure of the fifty states).

All of this makes these past few days some of the best--not because they have been so memorable but actually for the opposite--because I am allowed to let such memories fade away into this span of time I'd like to call 'Summer 2010.' The Summer of the Traveling Ali. It's nice to take these reflective moments (at work, nonetheless...) to appreciate everything in my life, right at this moment in time. I'm about to appreciate everything that much more starting Friday. I'm so looking forward to the hugs awaiting me when I land in Bismarck air port at 8:30 pm. My fingers are crossed for three waiting faces peering through the glass as I walk through the long tunnel to the terminal, dragging my suitcase all the way. And then, after the long drive back home, regardless of the hour, I expect a complete ruckus back at home--two spoiled-rotten dogs, bounding and leaping, tongues lapping, tails/nubs wagging, and paws clawing my legs as my pups welcome me home. But wait--I didn't mention the chatter. Allll the way home (or maybe just part of the way home; it's a 1.5 hour drive...) I will probably be chatting away to Mom, Dad, and Jonah, with hopefully quite a bit of chatter coming back at me. If Zach were there, he would be the exception, but his quiet persona will be away at Interlochen, where he is right now, playing his clarinet and making music while perfect his already-superior technique. (I'll see you soon, Zach!)

Oh summer, how I love you! I capture summertime to last throughout the rest of the year...

Too Busy Living Life to Blog Lately

It's pretty funny when I realize that it's been awhile since I've last blogged, but I didn't realize that it had been FOUR DAYS! Haha, not really a big deal, just worth a little chuckle.

I'm gonna try doing a backwords re-count of my past four days...haha I'm gonna need some luck with this one, considering my memory skills...

This should be easy to start out with...I'm blogging right now in the Siedschlag lounge, sitting at a table with Rory across from me (he's working on coding homework for his summer class). There is a lovely breeze coming through the open window next to me (which is annoying Rory, but I'm absolutely loving this breeze right now! I'm considering a nice walk in a bit because the sunshine is out, too!) Awhile ago we had a legitamate Sunday dinner--a pasta bake (from a box of course!) with green beans. Pretty yummy, if I do say so myself! Rory had been working all afternoon and I had been doing laundry. I had been waiting awhile to get enough dirty clothes for two loads of laundry, but today was the last day I could wait since I have to wear my Bronco Bash t-shirts for the last mandatory shirt selling days this week.

There was some excitement earlier today because of a tornado warning. No real action other than some crazy lightning, wind, and rain. I was helping Adam take his stuff to his car earlier and that was during the worst of the downpour, so I was pretty much soaked through. No worries, I'm all dry now and it was pretty hilarious running in the rain, crossing the river (aka the street). Good times...

But yeah, Adam visited this weekend. We watched some soccer this morning. Not too much else but last night was fun because Rory, Adam, Josh Kohnert, and I hung out. My favorite was when midnight hit, and we were all being ridiculous while playing cards! Gotta love summer!

Saturday afternoon I had gone to Cyndee's graduation party--she graduated from grad school at Western! Woo hoo, congrats Cyndee! I went with April and her Mom Dolly and her Mom's boyfriend Bob. They are such wonderful people, and I ate some delicious food in great company! I even learned a new game called washer toss, which I ended up winning with my partner at the party! (I'm definitely considering setting up a version of this game for Jonah! I think he would love it!)

Saturday morning I did a lot of chillin out because it was another late night the night before--that was when we had a semi-Gorgon reunion! Katie Ragan, Adam, Rory, Kristina, and Allie all went put-putt golfing with me! It was soooo much fun, especially when we followed putt-putt with arcade time, and I beat both Rory and Katie at air hockey (Adam was too good though....) We had some break-up cake for Adam which was delicious, and watched the movie Up and other random TV until really late. Earlier on Friday we had eaten out at a Pizza Hut/Wing Street, and Drew had joined us, which was really fun! (Luckily he came to eat up all of my onion rings and to hook me up with the salad that I wanted SOOO bad!) I was a little jealous because he was heading to hang out with my Wichi-whats! from ASB, but I will hopefully see them all some time soon so that we can all hang out!

And that brings me to Friday during the day...What did I do? Hmmm...not a whole lot. I got my mattress finally! SOOOO comfortable and so good to know that I have a sleeping-place secured!

I chatted with my mom on the phone yesterday, which was pretty awesome! Lots of talk about when I come home which is only a few days away! Hopefully everyone can come to the airport in Bismarck to get me--that would be AWESOME! Zach of course will be at Interlochen, so I wouldn't be expecting him, but he just got there yesterday, so hopefully he is already having a blast!

Ok, well that just about wraps it all up. I guess I can add in the fact that I got to see both Beth and Rory on Thursday, and we all had a grand time at the Orientation Involvement Zone. Those two totally spoiled me by buying me Ben & Jerry's ice cream, which I ate while watching Year One with them. Rory even bought me CHOCOLATE yesterday at the store! I can't wait to bust it open!

Only a couple more blogs until I'm home! YAY! <3

Wet Socks

Yes, my socks are wet. Thanks to the torrential downpour that started when I stepped out the door this morning, on my way to the Writing Center. Yup, rain, thunder, lightning, the whole deal. Thunderstorm. And the thunder part was so loud, my heart was beating fast and I felt...fear? Haha, it sounds silly, but ya had to be there. It's a short walk from Elmwood to Moore Hall, but it sure seemed pretty far this morning! The wind was pretty bad, too, considering my umbrella was blowing all around. It was ridiculous.

But yeah, I left pretty early to go to work this morning. I mean, I was all ready, so why not just chill at the WC, right? Come to find out no one was there yet, so I chilled outside the WC (in a chair in the building, no worries). John came later and opened up the WC--I guess the key was just upstairs--oops. It's ok, I played around with my iTouch. Yesterday while selling t-shirts, Kristen reminded me that my awesome iTouch has INTERNET ACCESS with APPS! Haha, I've been downloading crazy free apps since I had this realization! There are some pretty funny ones....like Air Horn, Dating 101 and Toy Story 3 (hasn't finished loading, I'll let y'all know how it is!) It's a good time. We work hard, us Bronco Bash staffers.

Other than the excitements of today, yesterday was fairly average. It was kinda just like my Monday because I picked up some hours at the Writing Center covering for Shannon. Good times. After work, Sara made us PANCAKES! I've been wanting pancakes for awhile now and it was a completely wonderful surprise!

Yesterday I tried to make it a mission to take lots of random pictures because this summer has been pretty void of pictures taken from me...I did an ok job, I should prob put those on FB today... Maybe I'll be better at taking pics in the future. Today I'm going over to visit Ben, Amber, and baby Adrian, so that should be tons of fun! Right after work, I'm heading on over!

Oh and quick recap of Monday evening--Sara and I went to the Cab show! It was SO great, I don't even remember the show being that great at my orientation! After the show, Sara and I watched Toy Story because she's going to see the third movie on Saturday (kinda jealous--hopefully I'll get to see it with Jonah when I go home!) TV time last night consisted of Hell's Kitchen--yeeee-uh--but I totally missed part of it because apparently it started at 8 and not 9. Oops. Oh well, it was two hours long.

And now...guess where I'm at??? The Writing Center!!! Haha, story of my life lately. Loooove it!

Technology Society

I will say this but probably not live by it: Us humans are way too dependent on technology. This has been brought to my attention thanks to a book I'm reading, a friend's situation, and my own recent observations of myself and others. Think about this (the following conclustions sparked from the book Rebuilt by Michael Chorost): Years ago, air conditioning and television did not exist. What did people do with their spare time? They sat on their porches or in their driveways, chatting with neighbors, telling stories, and just hanging out and enjoying the weather. No A/C to lock you indoors to 'conserve' the cold air blowing around. No TV to sit in front of, giving you another excuse to stay inside and to NOT socialize. It really makes sense.

Then there's my good friend April, who works at the Writing Center with me. She left her cell phone at home today and is LOVING it! I couldn't wrap my mind around it for a second--wait--left your cell at home?! But then I thought, "Who would REALLY need to call or contact me anyway?" I mean, for one day it wouldn't hurt. I might have to try it soon. No promises, but it would probably be good for me (although I would probably need a watch to make up for not having the time on me).

And then there's my observations. Nothin to do at this exact moment? Turn on the TV and see what's on. Nothin good? Oh well, just settle for this show, and something will come on eventually. I like the idea of going outside and soaking up the sun (with SPF 50 sunblock!) and reading a book much better. Or taking a lovely walk. Or making plans. It's just appealing. And less technology-dependent.

But that's just my two-cents.

On Saturday I DID see Katie Ragan AND I got a mattress for my lovely bunk bed that I'll be sharing with Tara in the fall. It was a great adventure, which even included a free rolly chair for me, yummy pizza, and a viewing of the original Toy Story. Good fun. (Now Katie is in San Diego--JEALOUS!!!)

Sunday was pretty fantastic, too. I got up, saw the sunshine and decided to enjoy it. I meandered my way to the track mid-morning (I slept in a little). I did a bit stress-free running/walking and then meandered my way back to Sara's apartment. I spent some time reading and lounging outside, called the fam (Happy Father's Day to my Daddy!), and nibbled here and there. Sara and I watched The Next Food Network Star (LOOOOVE it!). And that was my Sunday!

Today was interesting because I got to go to the Western Herald to look for old Bronco Bash logos in past issues. The 'morgue' is an interesting place...a room of old...newspapers! Imagine that!

Tshirt selling was simply wonderful (haha), and our weekly Monday meeting was pretty extensive (deadlines and to-dos are creeping closer for Bash!) OH! Guess who showed up today?! KRISTINA REESE! It was great! I saw her and gave her a GIANT HUG! I'm so glad because I'll get to see her again on Saturday (with Matt K, Adam, Rory, and Allie, too!)

Now I'm finishing up my Writing Center shift. I may or may not be motivated to do something this evening after work. It's supposed to storm, so that may be entertainment in itself.

Summin up my summer-y weekend

Memory issues...I dunno if it's from all the sugar I've had or what...

Wednesday was a Writing Center work day and then a fun movie day with Sara and her friend Amanda. Sara cooked us a feast of Shake n Bake and corn and baked potatoes. VERY yummy!

Thursday was t-shirt sales, Writing Center, and then chill time with Sara.

And then yesterday was Bronco Bash special meeting day--bands were on the mind for sure! No final decisions yet though...

I went shopping with Allie and Sara at Meijer and then hung out with Allie, Rory, and TARA BELL at Tara's house! It was fantastic! We helped with Tara's sister's grad party stuff, making delicious dirt cake and stuff! Then we had burgers, which were delicious! And then Tara drove Rory and I back to campus in a STORM! Complete with 75 mph winds, torrential rain, thunder, lightning, and HAIL! Very scary, but we survived with Tara's skilled driving!

The girl's lock-in night began shortly after I arrived back at Sara's, and Ali B. and Michelle had already arrived. We chatted, and ate lots of cookies, cupcakes and chocolate cheesecake all night. It was great. Scattegories, cards, and a movie were also on the agenda. AND a late-night walk, in which we saw lightning bugs, a tree that had gotten struck by lightning, AND we deduced that 'pudding can get you STD's.' (Haha, ask Michelle about that one...)

Good times with great friends. We woke up this morning and got donuts at Sweetwater's (very good, but now my stomach is sooooo full!) Now Sara and I are chillin at the library, gettin our internet on.

I GET TO SEE KATIE RAGAN LATERRRRR!!!

Great weekend!

Happy Day!

Yayyyyy! I'm back on track with thesis attempt #1,000,000! Haha, just kidding, but really, I'm excited with this new direction my thesis will (hopefully) be taking! I had a meeting this morning before work, and it boosted my mood for sure!

It's really weird outside because it's supposed to rain, and there are clouds AND sunshine AND occasional rain drops AND a breeze. Very indecisive, if you ask me! I'm wearing a sun dress and it will STAY that way, thank you very much! (Haven't quite decided whether or not I'm sticking with my sunglasses, but I can adapt with that.)

This morning I got up pretty early (my alarm actually woke me up for once!), and I headed to the SOC for breakfast because I left my mug and my cereal there yesterday! I figured it doesn't matter too much because I'll need it there tomorrow morning for breakfast; I'll just need to remember to bring it to the apartment tomorrow so that I can have breakfast this weekend! (I can't go without my morning cup of tea!)

Yesterday was pretty average. Office hours and t-shirt sales. I got info on residency for tuition purposes. I have questions about it, though, so that's definitely not a done deal. I watched Hell's Kitchen (TWO EPISODES!) with my wonderful temporary roomie Sara. We also watched Obama address the nation about the oil spill. I thought the majority of his speech was good stuff and informative, but the end got kind of cliche and religious. I'm glad we tuned in for it.

I feel like Monday evening wasn't too eventful...watched TV...read more of The Time Traveler's Wife...I should be done with that soon, maybe today! I keep reading huge chunks of it in the evenings, so soon enough I'll be done and will need a new book--maybe from Allie--and I'll also need to watch the movie.

Oh and update: I have not yet stumbled upon a solution to my box spring/mattress/bed topper solution. Kohl's has some nice stuff to cushion the box spring that I saw online...might need to make a trip there. I keep checking Craigs List, too.

OH! And I checked my email a bit ago, and I got a free pizza coupon because my name is Brandy, and it's my birthday! Awesome, right?! And it's from Eribelli's! Delicious!

That was fast...

So. Today is blogging day. Who knew?! Haha, I thought I blogged yesterday... Nope. Guess not.

On Saturday, the adventure at Jill's was pretty great! We ate spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread! We watched good ol made-for-tv Disney movies (SOO cheesey but SOO good!). And we ate peach cobbler! I ate WAY too much! Haha, it was great fun, and we chit chatted a whole lot.

Sunday I tried to sleep in (fail...), did laundry and packed, and then...sat on my butt for awhile. Exciting, I know. Allie and Jon got back from camping and after they washed up (ewww, camping B.O.! Haha, just kiddin!), we packed up and headed to Allie's family's reunion. That was WAY fun because of course her family is spectacular and super-nice. I ate more great food, too!

Next stop was campus to dump my stuff at Sara's, pick her up, and shop at Meijer. Grocery shop, of course. I watched Next Food Network Star that evening and then called it a night.

Then today...woke up WAY early again. Bronco Bash office hours were spent logging band submissions (yay!). I ate cereal in the SOC, thanks to Aunt Cheri giving me a box of cereal! T-shirt sales were extra-fun, jamming out to Iryna's awesome cd's. I ate Pez, too. It was great.

Now I'm at the Writing Center. WOOO HOOOO! I'm kind of interested in looking for a legit mattress. Cuz the one that came with my bunk bed is a box spring. NOT a mattress! Hmmmm...

Peace.

Refreshed

A new look for the blog--I like it, bright, colorful, kinda summery, definitely fitting me and my personality (right?). It was very distracting making the changes. Soooo much to choose from, and I discovered all of this shortly after breakfast this morning, so I sat on my laptop in the room I'm staying in, absorbed in color schemes, font, etc. But then I had to get my lazy butt up because Aunt Cheri called, and I really wanted to go grocery shopping with her! So we did. She had gone with Uncle Brian for breakfast and for her hair cut, so I had nestled down on the outdoor porch with an English muffin, hot tea, and an apple. The best part? Two young deer were perusing the backyard, completely unafraid! It was really awesome to watch while I munched.

After the phone call from Aunt Cheri, I really did hustle myself to the bathroom to shower and get ready because yesterday I really didn't do too much. (More on that later.) I actually get to wear a skirt today, though, because it's 85 degrees outside. Mostly cloudy, but I see some sun rays out the window right now, so I might need to head out and get some vitamin D in a bit. After our lovely trip to Meijer, Uncle Brian and I polished off the rest of the sushi that he had bought earlier in the week. Absolutely delicious, and quite a treat for me, since I haven't had any real sushi in years! I just got done helping out with some house work; nothing too strenuous, just some sweeping and a tad bit of vacuuming.

But going back to the rest of Thursday... I was making oatmeal in the SOC (as I said in my last blog), and the fire alarms went off! (No worries, I hadn't been using the microwave yet, so it wasn't my fault!) But I left the SOC (with my id so I could get back in), and I went out in the parking lot. Of course no one else was in the SOC that early, but a few caf workers were out there. It was also a day for construction on the roof of the Bernhard Center, so there was a crane at work in the parking lot, and everything was blocked off from cars. Simply lovely, sitting there in the sunshine in the parking lot, watching the giant crane do its business. Who knows what the fire alarm thing was all about, but I'm almost positive that it wasn't a drill...

T-shirt sales were pretty amazing on Thursday! We sold over 70 shirts, which is our record this year! It's really a lot of fun selling because I get really into it, picking out people from the crowd to give my schpiel to about Bronco Bash. I love it when the first year students get excited about it, too!

After shirt sales, I met up with Aunt Cheri right away because she got off work early. We went to Walmart to get dirt (haha, buying dirt at Walmart!) and then I went to a greenhouse with her (my first time at a greenhouse!) We bought flowers and plants for some pots that Aunt Cheri had back at the house. She fixed them up very nicely that evening. For dinner, we had grilled chicken terriyaki, fresh salads, and chicken rice-a-roni (sometimes I feel like this blog is a food blog, but I love sharing the yummy things that I eat over the summer!!! MMMMM!) Allie came home from class on Thursday, and we watched So You Think You Can Dance while planning out camping trip to Mackinaw. (We were gonna three-way call with Kristina and Tara, but I found out yesterday that Tara's charger got left back in Galesburg for the week.) Oh and Aunt Cheri made us cookies! They were so delicious right out of the oven! I couldn't remember the last time I had a cookie hot out of the oven! (I said that AS I was taking a bite out of the cookie and had to translate for poor Allie! Haha!)

The next morning Allie and I didn't sleep in much because we had been used to waking up all week, so we got right to work at making PANCAKES! I'm really beginning to love eating AND cooking pancakes! I added mushed up banana and peanutbutter to my bit of batter and made it thick and fluffy, just the way I like it! (I added some chocolate chips while it was cooking, too! SO YUMMY!) We were nice and made Mike a pancake, too, which he discovered conveniently, JUST as it was done being cooked! After chillin a bit, Allie headed off to pick up the boyfriend from his orientation (I saw him when I was selling Bash shirts on Thursday!). When they got back, we had lunch, and I sent them off on their weekend camping trip. So THEN I spent the rest of the afternoon lazing about, reading, staring off into space while I sat on the back deck, watching a little tv. It was pretty nice just chilling out and relaxing. When Uncle Brian got home, he had a giant PIZZA! Aunt Cheri wasn't too far behind him with ICE CREAM! I enjoyed the pizza, which was from a place called the Pizza King. Then we watched Avatar. I got sucked right into the plot--pretty good movie! And it was extra-great, simply because there was an ice cream break in the middle!

Today, I'll be heading over to Jill's apartment to keep her company while Brian is away. We're planning on some movies and some foods. She mentioned something about dinner and dessert or somethin like that, so we'll see....

Back to the days when I was 5...

Yesterday was a 5-year-old day for two reasons:

1.) I ate lots of sweets that were delicious (although I feel like that isn't a very good reason since I eat delicious sweets often).

2.) I got lost.

Yup. Both are true. Yesterday was Chocola Tea day with Michelle and Ali B. CUTE little cafe where the three of us goofed off and ate GREAT food! I got peanutbutter mousse and chocolate tea, Ali B. got an ooey gooey chocolate chip cookie dough brownie and an egg nog steamer, and Michelle got Chocolate French Silk Pie and an italian soda. And we shared EVERYTHING!!! MMMM good! And yes, dessert is one thing that I WILL splurge on! My once a month splurge...and it was fantastic! And somehow after all of that food, I still found room to eat a yummy burger that Aunt Cheri made last night and asparagus and some dark chocolate! It was a great day...

But between Chocola Tea and dinner came the scary part of my day. Because I was suppposed to successfully direct myself back to the Butler house with Ali B. driving her car, but that didn't work out so well... I got us pretty close--even the correct street! Except we kept driving up and down that country road and didn't go far enough. I was freaking out because my phone had died and I didn't know anyone's number, and we must have been parked on the street corner for half an hour. I was just about in tears. Yeah, I panicked... BUT FINALLY we saw Aunt Cheri turn down the street, so we followed her allllll the way down the road and found the house! It was great, and I am totally going to make it up to Michelle and Ali B. for causing so much grief after a spectacular afternoon! They picked the next dessert destination (rightly so). What great friends I have for not booting me out of the car on a random country road...

On Tuesday I sold t-shirts at Orientation, as scheduled, and then had a meeting about my thesis, which is kinda at a deadend right now. Fingers crossed for progress soon...I might have to start over/re-think things... I guess it's good that I started early. I also saw Rory and Beth on Tuesday, which was pretty cool, except Rory felt the need to win another competition--Crazy Eights this time. I have decided that he is choosing the next competition because everything that I choose, he wins at. Grrr.

Tuesday night was beef hash dinner with steamed broccoli. Absolutely delicious, especially since I don't think I've ever had beef hash before then! We chilled out and watched tv, which I'm coming to appreciate quite a bit.

I feel like I don't have too much more to say. I'm about to make some oatmeal here in the Student Organization Center because I'm cool like that. In case anyone cared to know...

HEY! Have YOU submitted your band's press kit to perform at BRONCO BASH 2010?! You really should. ;)

These Days Will Be Really Great--I Know It.

Yesterday was fabulous. Orientation is SO exciting; I'm so glad I get to be a part of it for Bronco Bash!!! Telling all of the freshmen about how great it is to go to Bronco Bash is really fun, especially since they don't yet know how great it is to go to Western in the first place. And then selling t-shirts is like a competition, and I know that once we get the knack of it, we'll get better and better! (80 shirts in one day WILL happen! I wonder how many we sold yesterday...I had to leave early to go to work at the Writing Center.)

But actually my day yesterday started waayyyyyyy earlier than orientation, since I kind of woke up when Allie woke up at 5:30, and that was after waking up a few other times and not sleeping well. Oh well, I definitely caught up my sleep last night! I watched the premiere of Hell's Kitchen before my office hours started yesterday, so hopefully I can keep caught up with it. I do love my food shows! I tried to watch the premiere of The Next Food Network Star, but it's not posted online. We'll see if I catch it on TV (I'm sure at some point...)

But yeah, AFTER orientation I did go to the Writing Center, but no appointments. There was confusion about evening appointments, since Obama came yesterday to campus to be the speaker for Kalamazoo Central's graduation. They won a national video competition (it's on youtube, check it OUT!), and of course everything was pretty busy with traffic, security, etc. And then the first day of freshmen orientation at the same time... It worked out, though, I helped pass out Freezee pops to the freshmen for awhile because that's what the Writing Center helps to do every summer. Then I met up with Aunt Cheri and we headed home (or at least me home for the week!). Rory is going to be jealous, but when I got a snack yesterday, I ate freshly cut PINEAPPLE! It was goooood! (But Allie finished it off, so don't blame me that I didn't save you any! Haha, it sounds like I'm talking about my alter ego self.)

I was soooo tired yesterday evening after not sleeping well the night before. I wanted to nap but decided that if I did, I wouldn't have slept well last night, so I just fought the sleep and stayed awake. I worked on my thesis a bit and then went to help Aunt Cheri cook up a delicious chicken stirfry with brown rice. It had asparagus, red onion, red pepper, carrots, broccoli, and mushrooms! Absolutely yummy! I accidentally made WAY too much rice, though...oops. Then we had DESSERT of strawberry shortcake--homemade biscuits, fresh crushed strawberries and Cool Whip! YUM! But let's just say, I was definitely sleepy for bed not too long after dinner!

Oh yeah and we watched the President speak at that graduation ceremony on TV/online. The speech was actually really good and impressive, but I was pretty annoyed at the dumb kid snoozing right behind him!!! That's what they get for letting an underclassman sit RIGHT BEHIND THE PRESIDENT instead of graduating seniors. It's all over now, though, and seemed to go smoothly, other than that. I told Zach about it over texting, and he said he'd check it out--I mean, c'mon, MATT LAUER was in Kalamazoo yesterday. It was kind of a big deal, ya know?!

Anyway, this morning I've been chilling in the SOC...by myself mostly. Chatted with Chris Sligh and Amy a little bit this morning...we've got the beach on our minds...mmmmm! Orientation to begin again soon and then my extra-special meeting with Dr. Malott later. Hopefully I'll be able to make a lot more progress with my thesis soon!

And that's that. I'm going to go think up something productive to do in the next few minutes...wish me luck!!!

I live in a HOUSE!

Sitting perched on a cushy couch enclosed by an indoor porch, with the sunset through the glass, beyond the trees, the sound of the dryer in the background, a full stomach from a delicious pot roast dinner, and thoughts of a comfortable bed in my near future. Summer happiness. Yes, I moved into the Butler house today, and I just know that this week is going to be great! I slept in this morning somewhat and found that the fam had called! After readying myself for the day, I returned the call, packed up my belongings and soon found myself headed off campus with Aunt Cheri, my stuff all in the back of her van. We had a fun adventure at the fabric store (so many designs, fabrics, CRAFTY things!) and then I got treated to a delicious lunch at Lenny's sub shop! I even got a free cookie and drink for being a college student AND there was leftover sub for my lunch tomorrow! A quick trip to Meijer then followed, and I'm so grateful to Aunt Cheri and her family for not only having me at their house this week, but for also being such kind hosts and cooking for me.

Now that I've been here for a few hours, I've already had more adventures, including a beautiful walk in the wooks, in which I saw poison ivy AND deer! I had some homemade guacamole AND fresh pineapple, and I got to welcome Allie home from her weekend excursion in Homer. She is on her way to dreamland now, since she has to wake up early for work, but I actually have to wake up early, too, since I'm going in with Aunt Cheri around 7:15. Good thing I'm a morning person! :)

Back-tracking now, Friday didn't end up being the Art Hop excursion that I had hoped for because we didn't leave campus until 7 or so, but eventually Rory and I did end up heading out to a candy store...that was closed. Sad. Oh well, we perused what was left of the Art Hop, but the best part was seeing We Know Jackson, who I now love! Then we made a quick stop at McDonald's, where I had a delicious shake! MMMM! The rest of the night was pretty ridiculous: Rory and I started a competition that will last all week. Basically anything and everything is fair game. Score right now: 1-2. He's winning. But not for long! (I won at building card towers; he won at Hangman and Rock Paper Scissors).

Saturday was a sleep-in day again, but Jess and Nate left at 5:30 in the morning to watch the sun rise at East Campus...it was quite the mystery for me to figure out where they had gone to! I was pretty productive with my thesis, but by lunchtime realized that Adam wasn't coming down to visit as he had planned. Bummer. He better come soooooon! Instead, I hung out with Kyle, Jess, Nate, Rory, and Josh, and we all played basketball outside in the drizzling rain. Then Tyler joined us and Kyle, Jess, Nate, and I went with Nate's roommate to play disc golf. I'm not good at all, and it was extra hard with the mosquitoes who like to eat me, but it was an experience. Jess, Kyle, Tyler, and I all headed to the candy store (my attempt #2), and we had a great time! Jess was super kind and bought me a fudge Snickers bar and 2 truffles--what a treat! I came back to Elmwood with Jess and had an EasyMac dinner. Rory and Josh were watchin a movie, and after I ate, Josh, Rory, and I played some card games. Will joined us because he was headed to Galesburg to see Tara. We played Uno, and it was great! Then we headed for Frosty treats at Wendy's. Rory and Will were ridiculous, ordering combo flavored twisted Frosty's. Crazies! Then later that night we had intense weather with tornado warnings. It was pretty fast, and I was tired anyway, so it wasn't too bad, just LOTS of rain and such.

And there. All caught up. Tomorrow is a BIG day! Office hours for Bronco Bash from 9am til 11am, and then Orientation presentation/tshirt sales from 11-3pm. Writing Center hours from 3pm-6pm and then on home with Aunt Cheri. She says we'll be having chicken stirfry for dinner with strawberry shortcake! mmmmm! Anyway tomorrow is also the day Kalamazoo Central graduates from high school on WMU's campus, so President Obama will be speaking at their graduation. It's going to be crazy tomorrow. AND it's the first day of orientation! Hopefully it won't be TOO insane! (Fingers crossed!) It's also a big week for my thesis progress, hopefully. Meeting with Dr. Malott on Tuesday...

OH! I have an important message for the readers of my blog: I miss my family!!! INCLUDING Uncle Jim, who I've inspired to write a blog himself! I'm looking forward to reading it and finding out everything he's been up to lately! It's been a loooong time since I've seen certain relatives--hopefully that can change soon!

I chatted with Mom on the phone awhile ago. We're starting to chat about stuff for when I come home! It'll be exciting, I'm sure I'll have tons to say over blog! I'm thinking I should probably wrap this up to allow for some bed prep time at some point. Gotta get my zzzz's for that busy day ahead of me! I'll be wearing my Bronco Bash shirt proudly!

Great Day Already!

I woke up this morning without an alarm clock! Ahhhhh glorious feeling! Jess and Nate were stirring about making themselves breakfast before class (poor summer students! Oh well, getting ahead and learning lots, I'm sure!) And even Josh headed out to work, but me, I was in my pj's until around 11am! It was pretty spectacular! I was kinda productive, though. I did dishes, cleaned up a little bit, got dressed, made myself a POT PIE (yum!), and read some of the book I am reading (The Time Traveler's Wife--pretty good so far!) Although it wasn't all that sunny out and still isn't ideal, I had the windows open and blinds up, letting in the fresh air. And then before I ventured out to the library (where I am right now), Jess came home and said that she thinks she did pretty well on her physics test! Yay! Who knows what the rest of the day holds, maybe brownie-making, maybe art-hopping, maybe visiting ADAM who may or may not be able to visit...but hopefully!

On Wednesday, I had planned on going to a kickball game for the apartment complex with Sara and the Kohnert's, but we all changed plans, and I had a girls game night at Sara's with Michelle and Krista instead. It was a ton of fun--we played some Crazy Eights, Apples to Apples, Mad Gab, Dirty Minds, and Would You Rather. Lots of chit chat and giggles! Then I went back to the Kohnert's where we watched the new Alice in Wonderland movie, which was actually pretty good! I LOVE that Alice is a strong female protagonist!!!

Thursday morning was the Bronco Bash photo shoot with us coordinators and Lynnae. It was a lot of fun taking pictures with the girls around campus with our amazing Bronco Bash t-shirts on! And then at work, Kristina called me and we chatted for awhile about her amazing trip to IRELAND, but then Rory came to the Bash office and crashed the party, so I got distracted and we had to end the call (RORY!) But it was actually a pretty busy day because after that, Rory and I went to Meijer. We got a bunch of random stuff, including diapers and formula (presents for baby Adrian!), and we got some REALLY funny looks from random people as Rory and I took turns pushing a cart full of baby stuff! Haha, it definitely made me laugh! So later we delivered the baby stuff, and I got to see cute little Adrian again! After that, we rushed off with Allie Doty and went to TREAT STREET for ice cream (hey, I had free ice cream coupons, we HAD to go! Grasshopper ice cream was great!) But we actually did have a mission: to pick up my new mattress from Tara's house! We got the mattress but it was very much squished in the back of Doty's Yukon (which she switches out for her new Trailblazer today!), and I had to crunch beside the mattress in the back, but I sat against the spare tire and it was pretty comfy.

With the mattress successfully in Rory's room back on campus, we said good bye to Allie because the poor girl was super tired. (I would have been tired if I were her too--it sounded like a looong day of work, class, and then Ali/Rory adventure!) I'm really excited to live with her at Aunt Cheri's this next week! Every week is an adventure! Ok well, now I have to get going finishing up my second draft of my proposal. I'm doing my best, but it takes a lot of effort to get started each time...

Who knows where I'll be next time I write???

Funny When the Days All Run Together...

Yup, I forgot this morning whether my last blog had been yesterday or the day before...and it was actually the day before! Haha, I was pretty shocked at how fast the days have been going by! Before I know it, it'll be next week and orientation will start up--meaning that I think my weeks will be going by even faster! It should be a ton of fun selling t-shirts and seeing all of the excited freshmen and parents. We have to get them allll excited for BRONCO BASH! (I remember as a freshman, I was SO pumped to go--I heard how big it was and that it was FREE, and I just couldn't believe it! I'm pretty sure that's why MY dad bought me a shirt!)

But yeah, as of yesterday, I have all of my Bronco Bash shirts to rotate when I sell shirts for orientation in June. Allll of June...and then I'm homeword bound for the first week of July! Haha, for all I know, I've been repeating this info in every blog, and it's probably pretty old news by now...but I'm pretty sure it'll never be old news for ME!

Wow, my memory is really failing me, I can't even remember where I was when I blogged the last time...I can usually remember where I typed it and that helps me catch up from that point on. Oh well, I'll just figure that it was late Monday night. So basically I just have to chat about what went down yesterday.

I woke up early-ish and packed breakfast to-go so that I could 'make up' my Bronco Bash offic hours. Not extremely necessary because I'm in the office a lot anyway, but whatever. I applied to work at the library yesterday finally and also put up the Bronco Bash orientation bulletin boards with Iryna in Britton and in Shilling. It had been sooooo long since I had been to the Valleys! But I got to see Amy, so that was awesome! I sold her our first t-shirt! And Danielle liked the design, too! I can't wait to see people WEARING the shirts now! But yeah, putting up bulletin boards brought me back to the good ol' RA days. Good times. It's funny how my housemates joke about puttin up bulletin boards and other RA-type stuff in the house next year. Riiiiiiight....

OH! And I saw Katie Ragan yesterday! It was sooooo exciting! We chit chatted for awhile and caught up on summer life. She promised she would visit soon to actually hang out, which I am excited about! I also tried to talk with Kristina over the phone yesterday, but that didn't quite work out because I had tentative plans that became a delayed reality (to be explained in minute) and SHE had to play chef and make dinner! Sounded yummy--sausage, corn on the cob and KEY LIME PIE! MMMM! The closest I've ever had to key lime pie is the key lime pie yogurt. Side note: I tried red velvet cake yogurt yesterday, and it was pretty scrumptious! Ohhhh dessert!

But anyway, my evening-ish plans were originally to go with Rory around 6 to visit Ben, Amber, and baby Adrian, as I mentioned in my last blog. And then Rory says he has homework and couldn't go. Now THAT didn't fly with me, so I asked my good pal Nate (who was over at the Kohnert's apartment) if he could help Rory with this crazy computer science-y stuff. And he said yes. So they worked on that stuff for an HOUR!!! Wow, I was patient, but wow. THEN we headed off to the Kennert's house. (I had finished reading Wuthering Heights AND started to read the Time Traveler's Wife during their work time. Yay for reading time!) I got us a lil lost on the way to the Kennert's, but we found it, and I saw Adrian who is ADORABLE! He makes some really cute funny faces and he keeps his mom and dad busy, that's for sure! Haha and I learned something new: Pampers are better than Huggies. Lesson of the day!

Wanna hear some exciting news?! Tara and I have bunk beds! I'm excited! They are getting delivered to Tara's house on Thursday, so it's actually gonna happen--I'm gonna have a BED!

Continuing on with my evening yesterday...arrived back at the Kohnert's, watched a documentary with Jess and Nate about the history of the telephone, and then said bye to Jess, Nate, and Josh who were all headed out. I chilled out and got ready for bed because this morning was another early one in the Bronco Bash office. But there is still a little down time for blogging, so that's good.

It's a pretty exciting life I lead, right?! I worked on my thesis a little bit yesterday, too, and luckily the changes aren't as intimidating as I originally thought. Yeah, THAT'S exciting! Haha, I won't kid myself. But I'm still loving summer. I styled my hair all fun today, trying to make use of this long hair while I still have it. We'll see what I do with it tomorrow...