To Catch Up...

Here are some things that I wish to share with you, and while they may seem unconnected, they all had some sort of root in my day today...

-My favourite sandwich is plain cream cheese, cucumber and pepper on whole wheat or flax bread.
-My new favourite colour, in addition to green and white, is yellow. (But not that awful mustard yellow)
-I miss Hawai'i, the heat and the tan that goes along with that particular US state.
-I think my fashion-forward friends would be quite happy with me today
-I had a shopping trip with my mother today, and we got along! No fight, no arguments, and that continued into the rest of the day.
-I am amazed that there are only 22 days left until my sister leaves for a 62-day trip to Europe.
-I am completely done my Bach. Arts. DONE! I handed in my last paper, and I don't have any exams!
-I am really looking forward to the Convocation Ceremony on June 4th.
-I most definitely want to go karaoke-ing with some friends soon.
-When I find out about JET, I will most definitely will NOT be announcing it on Facebook.
-The end of this semester was one of the best ever. Last class was in the pub, involved beer, home-made wine and beer, and mead.
-I really enjoy mead.

Regarding my Last Paper before I Have my Bachelor of Arts:

This paper is for ENGL 400, which is a course completely focused on reading the epic poem of Beowulf in its original Old English language (and we're talking English in 700 AD here folks, not Shakespeare; Shakespeare is Early Modern English).  The paper is a research paper, and is expected to be between twelve and fifteen pages long, and of course, arguing something that would enhance the reading of the 3182-line poem.

Eight pages later, four pages to go, and eighteen hours before it's due, my paper has a thesis.

I am one brilliant procrastinating hamster-ninja.

Update On Life

It's been a while since I last posted, so I thought I'd do a quick update.

I'm currently house-sitting for someone and their demon-cat, who used to love me, but has tried to swipe me five times already (and it's only been three days)!  I have a tiny glass of Pinot Noir by my laptop, and I'm glad it was such a miniscule amount, because it's disgusting.  I really don't know how anyone can drink that!  Too bad I'm cutting my sugar intake, or I'd add some to see what happened.

I have so many news stories buzzing around in my head.  There's one that I've wanted to discuss for so long, but I simply don't have the time to analyse it as well as I would like to before posting about it.  But now I've discovered that the BBC has taken it off their site, I can't find it in my bookmarks AND I've lost the hard copy I had.  It was about the negative effect ambitious parents had on their children....I'm pretty sure it was the BBC...

I cleaned my room for the first time in about two years.  And I took pictures to prove it.  A Before-and-After moment (hours!) if you will.  But now the camera is lost!

I've been working on a paper for my Beowulf class.  I really appreciate having this as my only class.  I wouldn't be able to handle another class with all the working I've been doing.

I still haven't heard anything from JET.  That won't be until sometime in April.  Which is really hard because a friend and I are trying to plan a trip to celebrate our graduation from Uni.  My worry and anxiety has gotten really bad.  However, I did recognise the problem, and through the grace and promises of God, I am worrying a lot less about it.  I'm also not thinking about it.  I actually went through the Bible and wrote down verses that seemed applicable to me.  I wrote them down on sticky-notes and put them on the dresser by my bed, so that they are the first thing I see when I pry open my eyes.  And then I made a set of verses for my purse, and another for my car.  I'll read those ones when I'm having a bout of anxiety.

I'm really clinging to God's promises right now.  So many people told me that whatever happens, happens for the best or better.  I KNOW that!  I've heard it so many times!  BUT, another friend put it a different way that really stuck with me.  If God doesn't put you in the program, it's because His plan for you is THAT much better.

It's amazing how simply changing the wording can really get one's attention.  In this case, my friend made God the subject of the sentance, and that makes all the difference, doesn't it?

And that's the way we should be living our lives, isn't it?  Because God really is the subject of the story that our lives live out.

One month to go!

Yesterday, a dear friend of mine pointed out to me that the two of us only have one month of university left.  One month.  And that blew me away.

At first, I was thrilled!  Only one more month of my B.A. studies?  Wooohoo!

And today I find myself back where I was before.  Not that I can't see the finish line any more.  My friend's point made me look up and see that (no more head-down anymore!).  But in light of my impending graduation, I find myself worrying even more.

I am having a very hard time believing that my plan for the next few years may not be God's plan for my next few years.

I want to get into JET.

Maybe God doesn't have that in store for me.

I want to become a teacher.

Maybe God doesn't have that in store for me.

I want to live in New Zealand (still).

Maybe God doesn't have that in store for me.

The list is longer, but I am just barely clinging to the promises God has given me.   And yet, I just reminded another friend (not the one above) that the plans God has for us, although they may not be our plans, these plans give us HOPE and a FUTURE.  And right now, that is what I am holding onto.

Procrastinating...

I am a student, therefore I procrastinate. I procrastinate, therefore I experience high stress. I experience high stress, therefore I try to avoid getting stressed, which then leads me back to procrastination.

A vicious semi-cycle, one that will only end if I could stop being a student, which I can't.

My geography final is at 7pm tonight, and wouldn't you know it, I started studying yesterday. And I hadn't read anything from the textbook since the midterm (that would be eleven chapters ago). I still haven't finished studying, but I'm using the excuse that I don't want a fried brain for the final, to take the time to post.

It also doesn't help that in approximately forty-four hours, I will be on a plane to Hawai'i. And that because the flight leaves in the morning (and none of my fellow travellers are morning people, I'm probably the closest thing to it), we will be staying overnight at the Fairmont Hotel located in the airport, which leaves me even less time to pack, and begins our trip fifteen hours earlier than if we didn't. I still have yet to buy shorts, tank tops, some unmentionables, bobby pins and a movie to watch on the plane (thank goodness for laptops!- Juno perhaps?). On the bright side, I DO have a bathing suit that I love, a make-up travel bag almost packed except for the everyday stuff, money converted into USD, the more dressy of my clothes laid out, manicure/pedicure and waxing done. Knowing that the trip will happen whether or not I study, and whether or not I fail is not much of an incentive to do anything but think about Hawai'i.

Hawai'i: must take surf lessons, must not drown, must tandem skydive, must not get a faulty parachute, must visit Polynesian Cultural Centre, must not act like a stupid tourist (I hate that!), must get a tan, must not burn, must relax, must not think about school, must get along with other travellers, must not trust everyone, must enjoy the delicious local food, must not gain weight.

Currently, I'm down 12.6 lbs.

Have you noticed, O reader, that this post is losing its cohesiveness, just because I don't really want to get back to studying? Ugh. I think every student who blogs, must have at least one post that is considering and lamenting the fallacies of and procrastination.

One more paragraph before I return to studying: it's a beautiful day, and I wish I could focus enough to allow myself to study outside. It's the first purely sunny day in a while, and I'm stuck inside the university library studying. There's about ten people in my line of sight from the window that are basking and studying in the sun. I am so jealous. It had better be sunny for the entire trip.