…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.

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.

I have to say all this out loud, in front of people, from memory, in less than seventeen hours from now.

Je ferai un voyage au Suisse avec mon amie Léa.  Avant notre départ, nous téléphonerons à l'hôtel à l'avance pour réserver une chambre.  Nous achèterons nos passeport et nos billets, et informerons avec des sites Web et des guides touristiques.  Nous demanderons à nos familles de donner à manger à la chats et mon chien.  En Suisse, nous ferons du ski en les alpes, et goûterons la cuisine bien.
La Suisse est très célèbre pour ses montes (c'est les Alpes), sa chocolat, et sa neutralité politique.  Les langues officiel sont le française, l'allemand, et l'italien.  Vingt-deux pour-cent de le population de sept-point-sept million n'est pas suisse; il y a beaucoup d'étrangers, surtout enfants.  Les Suisses aiment lire et jouer du sport.  Aussi, ils font beaucoup de travail volontaire.  L'environnement est très important à les Suisses.
Suisse a commencé au un-mille-deux-cent-quatre-vingt-et-onze, comme le confédération.  Pendant La Reforme au la seizième siècle, les Catholiques et les Protestants ont divisé le pays.  Suisse a lutté avec Napoléon pendant le révolution française, le seul temps ils n'étaient pas neutre.  Suisse est devenu le pays moderne au un-mille-huit-cent-quarante-huit.
Si vous visitez la Suisse, il vaut mieux que vous fassiez votre valise avec des vêtements pour le temps froid.  Il est bon, mais n'est nécessaire pas, que vous sachiez le langue.  Il mauvais que vous oubliez votre argent.  Écrivez les cartes postales chez soi!  ne te perdez pas à la grande ville, et amusez-vous!
(La fin.)



…I'm kind of freaking out.

(I apologize.  You must be sick of hearing about my collegiate stress every other blog post…but I feel like it's consuming my life.) (Yet not enough of it to make me quit procrastinating.)

☮

See, Kiersten?  You did it.  Now all you can do is wait.  So stop being so stressed about tomorrow, because tonight darn well has enough stress of its own.  (To very loosely paraphrase Matthew 6:34, in the hopes of hammering it into my brain and my slightly nerves-nauseated stomach.)  Pax vobiscum, Kiersten.

A Few Mostly-Disheartening Facts About My Weekend (and the bipolarity that has been haunting me all day).

1. I REALLYREALLYREALLY want to go to Chicago on Monday with some fabulous friends of mine to meet John Green. This is like one of those massive not-going-to-come-again-anytime-soon opportunities.
2. I have to review sixteen freshman English papers and turn them into the professor I'm a TA for on or before Monday.  As of right this minute, I have three of them half-done.  It's surprisingly terrifying, writing on other people's non-honors essays in an official capacity, even in orchid colored pencil.
3. I probably won't have time to work on them tomorrow, because of the AutumnFest at church.  (I'm dressing up as a mime.  My costume is rather last-minute-makeshift, but it's going to be über, I hope.)
4. I probably won't have time to work on them on Sunday, because I have church, and Economist homework about democracy in the Middle East, and Dwell.
5. I have no money.  I spent my last 58¢ on a donut at Wal-Mart on Wednesday.
6. (Other complications exist which pertain to us as a group whole, like not having a car so we can drive to Michigan City to catch a train to Chicago.)
7. I D'KNOW IF I CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN.  *many headdesks of sadness and frustration*
8. I am going to be super diligent and sage about reviewing these ejkadhfkhagfjdhgka papers.  
9. Prayer is good.  I'll try that, too.