MY SEMESTER IS NOW OFFICIALLY OVER

And I mean "over" in the sense that it has now come to its natural conclusion, not that something so dramatically awful has happened that there's no point in continuing with it.)

NOW I CAN HAVE MY FIRST COMPLETE SUMMER BREAK EVER.

(And work on getting a job.  And a driver's license.  And a car.  And applying for things like scholarships and other schools.  But, you know.)

I AM HAPPY.  Even the fact that I had to walk a mile in the rain doesn't matter.  I had great conversations with my professor and the wonderful coffee hut lady and some dude on the bus who's a total European history buff.

[ Also, I have a brand-new tumblr and it's a lot of fun.  

I also have fantastic books out from the library that I'm rereading (because now I have TIME and spare brainpower!) and THEY ARE SO GOOD.   (The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner.)  Go.  Read.  (Seriously, you should read them.  They're some of my favorite books of all time.  The Thief is the first one.  Do not be put off by the slow pace at the beginning.) 

Hopefully, I didn't fail my math final.  Keeping my 4.0 GPA would be a really nice cake topper right now.  (Unfortunately, KVCC is going to make me wait THREE WEEKS before they post final grades.  Yrrrgh.)

tasty.

Blogger interface updated today.

My first instinct is to say I kind of hate it.  More whitespace!  Less clearly organized but non-artistic text!  Obnoxiously larger buttons, because that's becoming a Google trademark!  ARIAL FONT.  Confusion abounds!  But maybe it will fix some of the weird glitches I've been having since I joined Blogger, so my one-woman jury will hold out a bit on passing judgment.  (Also, I don't want to be like one of those people everybody hates who rants about how despicable the changes to Facebook are with half a dozen status updates and a viral group.  Which I can confess to having been four or five years ago.)

This is a good day so far.

Plenty of sleep, happy-sounding indie music, all the dots connecting on my sociology project, vanilla caramel tea, Colossians 3, a house all to myself for a few hours.  Acting under the assumption that schoolwork will continue to progress excellently, I also have an episode of Sherlock lined up to watch later, and I might settle down with some theology books later, or maybe a novel (because *SincerityMode* I haven't done nearly enough reading of that sort lately) and more tea.

The Moon - Swell Season

   Shut the door to the moon
   Let the birds gather
   Play no more with the fools
   And let the souls wander
   And bleed

   Our friends that are lost at sea
   Throw down
   And I'll break the wasted space
   Slow down
   Slow down

        ———

A bit melancholy, (more than) a bit stressed, a bit self-grudging, a bit lonely.
Pensive music and a cherry-blossom scented candle are keeping me company.
It's a very calm sort of chaos.

[Heart of this post:]  Every day, I am constantly inspired, and so little inspiration takes the shape of actualizeable ideas. Even less of it comes to any fruition.

I'm going to sleep.

…Urban Sociology.

Also known as the bane of my existence for the next two weeks, even ranking above Finite Mathematics, which stands a decent chance of ruining my 4.0 GPA; and Literary Interpretation, which is currently extremely time-consuming and much less enjoyable than usual because—a certain literary critic/author named Jack Zipes—grrrr; and my Economist assignments, which are terribly boring; and my volunteer plunge next Saturday which will be long and wearying, even if useful; and…Conceptual Physics, which is kind of like a blip on the radar that amounts to "Oh, right, I'll need to show up in class on Thursday to take that exam.  Never mind that this professor has almost failed to teach me much of anything, aside from refreshing some forgotten bits of science trivia I learned in eighth grade."

COLLEGE.

AAAAHHHHHHHH.

Also, I need to get up at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow so I can sit at the computer for two hours to register for fall classes so I can do this all over again.  Faugh.

this is just so good.

You should listen to it.
I think it's my favorite album of theirs yet.

Homework?  Sleep?  What are these strange things of which you speak?

*headdesk*

In Which I Grouse About the Worldsuck Currently Taking Up Residence In My Life

Having a fever/upset stomach/constant headache/sore throat/no energy at all was vaguely frustrating when I was sleeping for 22 straight hours, absolutely horrible for four-ish more hours when I wasn't sleeping, a little bit fun when I spent a day and a half doing absolutely nothing but watching television, irritating when I realized I was getting teary-eyed over a show I have contempt for when I'm sane, slightly eerie when I figured out I lost seven pounds in two days, and rather panic-inducing now that I have to get back into the swing of things and my sleep schedule is erratic/currently at least six hours off and I have a whole weekend's worth of homework to do in half a Sunday.  It's more homework than the usual weekend's homework, too, because my English professor assigned us two papers instead of one, on top of the usual two math assignments, Economist summary-response paper, sociology readings, and the physics homework that was actually due last Thursday but didn't get done because I was alternately sleeping/throwing up at the time, and studying for the makeup physics test I will hopefully be able to take since I missed taking the actual exam at the same time I missed turning in the homework, for the same reasons.

I'm trying to vent my frustrations without devolving into a virtual quivering, loquacious wad of self-pity.  It's extremely difficult.   I might be failing, but am not in a very edit-friendly mood, for once.

Possibly-at-least-partially-wasn't-that-a-pretentiously-run-on-opener-because it's five-thirty in the morning and I have not gotten one wink of sleep, and I have to leave the house again in three hours, and I'm scheduled for art and connection counter at church this morning, meaning I have to function with both capable hand-eye coordination and extroverted social skills, and be present and accounted for in both services.  And I'm still sick enough to feel totally justified in being exhausted and grumpy, but not quite the stay-home-scot-free level of sick anymore.

Oh, help.

I hate what happened to my life in the last three days.

I'm also trying really hard not to look ahead to the month of double-time homestretch-of-the-semester academic fun I'm stepping into on Monday (e.g, trying not to curl up into a literal sobbing and terrified wad of very-not-loquacious self-pity).  And I'm also trying really hard not to revert back to dwelling endlessly on all those giant bigger-than-me issues happening in the world around me that really and truly outrage me (I'm refraining.  I'm refraining…)

I'm seriously whining.  Yes.  Sorry.  IAMJUSTVERYUNHAPPYRIGHTNOW.