schooly things

Give me your right hand, but keep your left hand free. Let's run in circles, yeah let's make history!

ACHTUNG: Einer gegenstandlos, egoistische Aufsatz ist unter diese Achtung. Ablaufen Sie mit Umsicht*.

I believe it was Durbin who pointed out that the quotation above reminded him of the orangutan dance in the Jungle Book. Fitting, considering the song is about monkeys.

After doing some number crunching (anyone else remember that computer game?) I've realized that I'm, literally, one single credit hour over being able to graduate a term early. It's not really worrisome, just "grrr" frustrating. I suppose I can't complain, seeing as, regardless, I can graduate on time, if not early with some fast talking, with two entire Bachelor's degrees. Fancy me. You know what that means, though? I'm approximately one year, six weeks away from being a real grownup. Maybe I should go for a Master's, just so I can a) put off paying my student loans for another 3-4 years and b) pretend I'm allowed to be irresponsible for a little while longer.

What do you think the odds are of me convincing a richy-rich high school (maybe Neuqua?) that they need a radio program? Because that would be super kick-ass. Kick-asstic, if you will.

For once, school isn't making me crazy. Granted, academically, school has never really had to make me break a mental sweat, but deadline-induced stress-sweats have been numerous, especially since college started. Time management: 1. Cathi: 0. Having only two classes makes me feel like I'm getting away with something diabolical and evil, especially since the "homework" side of my day-by-day schedule is essentially blank. I will admit that, Dark Lord allegiance aside, it's really nice to be able to come home after class or work and think "What do I need to do? Watch two hours of Law and Order? Fabulous" without actually neglecting something of real importance. I assume this lackadaisical approach to life will end come Spring Term, but I pledge to enjoy it while I can.

I think I'd like to be an intern at WGN radio this summer. Yeah, let's do that.

Sorry if I bored you, but you can't say I didn't warn you.

Love,
Cathi

*Altavista's Babelfish translation: "NOTE: One articleless, egoistic essay is under this attention. Run off with circumspection."

Motional

If love is a labor, I'll slave 'til the end

Emotional people have never made a lot of sense to me. And when I say "emotional" I don't really mean "cries at the drop of a hat", I sort of mean "has emotions on a regular basis". I, for one, am in more or less of a perpetual state of contentment. I veer slightly off sometimes into mild amusement, gentle frustration, or sometimes even vague giddiness, but all in all I run on a pretty even keel. Even when I was a kid I never really saw much of a point in the wide and varied expressions of my peers. I was never one for running around and screaming or throwing temper tantrums. I've never even been in a fight with a friend. Nothing ever really seems worth it.

All of this is nice, of course, when it comes to maintaining relationships and being on good terms with my parents, but when my...wherever it is that emotions come from (hypothalamus? hippocampus? Heh. Campus for hippos) decides to kick in, I get pretty confused on top of whatever emotion has cropped up. My knowledge of how to handle emotions is about as extensive as my know-how of automobile maintenence, except I know enough about cars that I was able to help my daddy change a headlight yesterday.

For example: I didn't even realize how much Alex going out of town affected me until I started crying when I got off work. The thought process went something like this.

1) I can't believe how late it is
2) I'm really hungry
3) It's sort of late, what's open?
4) Dennys!
5) I should call Durbs and make him come get food with me
6) ...
7) ...oh wait.
8) Dude this sucks.
9) I'm crying?
10) I'm crying.
11) Why am I crying? It's not that big of a deal.
12) I'm still crying
13) Sad face.

Total incompetence in the emotional department has its perks as well, such as always winning "Honey I Love You" and being able to shrug off criticism. While it might make me robot-like, I'm pretty okay with it. It keeps me from flipping out on obnoxious customers and vapid lab partners, at hte very least.

Linda Thursday!
Cathi

2007

Build God, then we'll talk

I'm lucky, it would seem, that at the advent of every new year, I'm struck at how many amazing and new things I accomplished the previous year. It surprises me every single time at how much I grow in experience, if not as a person, between Januarys.

2006 was a good year for me. All things considered, it may very well have been my best year ever if we judge things on a good incident to bad incident ratio. My overall happiness throughout the year is slightly marred by my usual "winter melancholy" that cleverly disguised itself in the form of boy-angst for the first couple months of '06, and so when I think of good old 2006 I might remember first "oh boy was I ridiculously depressed about that thing" before I remember the good. Such is the way with minor trauma, I suppose.

2006: The Main Events

The Boyfriend - In late February I made my first ever "first move" on Alex, and he had the grace not to kick me unceremoniously from his house. A strangely indeterminate amount of time later we decided that yes, we were dating and yes, we were each other's boy/girlfriend. This confusion smoothed itself out into what eventually led to "I love you's", and keeps leading me every day into meaning it more than I did the day before. Sappy, I know. I'll give you permission to go throw up before I continue with the list.

The Internship - February was an important month for me, it seems. I spent the next few months taking the trian to Chicago at ungodly hours three days a week, as well as additional days for mind numblingly boring/face rockingly awesome promotion jobs. Q101 always had infinitely more interesting promotions, if only because when people came to the table I didn't have to hear them say "I've been listening to The Loop since before you were born!". Once I was bestowed a VIP pass, and anther time I ran meet and greets for some (pretty darn) famous bands. Sometimes I, myself, got treated like a celebrity and other times like dirt. All in all, I wish I could have stayed.

International Travel - Until the end of July, I'd never gone anywhere more exotic than Arizona, and suddenly I was whisked away to Ostroda, Poland for two weeks in the summer, and then off to Berlin, Germany for two and a half weeks just a couple weeks ago. I have a passport (with the worst picture of me in the history of pictures of me), visa entry/exit stamps, and lots of pictures. I now appreciate sparkling water, not bathing, and the metric system.

Independence - Much as I had suspected, living on my own isn't very different than living with my family, other than much, much more expensive. My apartment is finally beginning to feel like "home", and is messy enough to look like a home that belongs to me. I tend to neglect my mom and dad, however. I should probably start putting up post-it notes to remind me to at least call them every so often.

Twenty One! - yeah, whatever.

And now, without futher ado, my 2007 wish-list:

Dean's List (I really need to start achieving again)
Another internship (WGN?)
Keep the Boyfriend (lack of heartache always a plus)
Kick ass at Nationals (both of them?)
Good driver's licence picture (ha!)

That's all, really. I'm pretty low-maintenence this year.

Take this to your grave,
Cathi