wednesday.

in reality, my life is far less boring than it appears in print. sleep, homework, eat, walk, classes, rinse and repeat. everything is going really well, which makes life pretty darn cool.

yesterday was a productive day. i went to my classes and turned in a couple assignments. i spoke up in class. my first journal assignment was handed back and i got a B. i am happy with a B the first time out. now i have a better idea of what the teacher expects from us. did i tell you i've started sitting in the front row? yeah, i'm that girl.

what else? let's see here... i picked up my student i.d., photocopied math pages in the library, paid my student fees (all $3 of them!), paid off my balance at the health clinic, picked up a case of dog food, organized my binders, fed lucy, started my math homework (and made a pretty good dent in it), made a salad, watered the garden, etc., etc.

oh, and i made a new friend. her name is annie. we bond over our love of funky footwear. i wore these yesterday:

crankypants.

don't ever tell me my life is boring, 'cause school is giving me something new every day. i am focusing a lot of my attention on my classes, even though this is only the first week. pushing myself and sticking with it will be huge for me, and i already have a sense of accomplishment. turning in a single assignment is a small victory for me. ginny made a really nice comment tonight when we were talking about school and my (up until now) lack of motivation. "of course this is important to you, or you wouldn't continue to go back and try again." something along those lines, anyway. there is a reason for me to be there, if only for the satisfaction i will feel once it is behind me. i can do this.

let's see here. i have already mentioned the classes i am taking this semester, but not in great detail. my math class is the second half of elementary algebra. unfortunately, i completed the first half a year ago with a C grade. this doesn't lend itself to success in math this semester, but i am trying to push that thought out of my head. basically, i will be living in the tutorial center for the next four months. i can succeed in math if i put my mind to it and blah, blah, blah.

my child psychology class will be a breeze. you can tell the instructor is a psychologist because she's been talking about how she doesn't want any of our class work to cause "anxiety." (isn't that the point of college?) we are allowed to turn in extra credit papers, which will act as a cushion for the tests. a nice, feather-y cushion with "thanks for the A" embroidered on it, i say.

i didn't love my english teacher the first class. she was talking and talking and talking. come to find out by the second class, she actually has some interesting things to say (besides just reading the syllabus). she recommended women in love by d.h. lawrence, which i picked up today for $4. i will have to cram it in between reading textbooks and math equations. ooooh, i should take the book out to coffee on sunday mornings.

and, i am starting my criminal justice class tonight. i picked up my textbook from home, so i'm all set. it's an online class, so i can make my own schedule. this can be both good and bad. online classes have been difficult for me in the past, but i am up for it this time around.

for kim.

dear internet,

things have been going really well. i've spent the last couple of weeks not updating here. instead, i have been going out for coffee (with ginny), reading, writing, walking. and when i say walking, i mean waaaallkkking. i will typically walk from my house to mom's house in order to feed lucy her lunch, and sometimes i walk her downtown (depending on the weather - don't want to take her out when it's too hot). and then i'll walk home, but usually some zig-zag way which means the trek is longer than you'd think.

i walked through oak hill park last week and there were two kids, maybe 14, smoking a joint next to the playground. and i thought to myself, 'dudes. i did that when i was a kid. big ups for wearing sunglasses to hide those bloodshot eyes, now go smoke in the bushes with the rest of the rebels.' geez.

i went to the swim center with melia. too bad i hadn't re-discovered it sooner, because it was a really nice afternoon of swimming & sunning. and only $3 to use. we were two of the first people there and had almost the entire pool to ourselves.

school starts tomorrow night. i have math from 7 - 8:30. i have everything i need, but need to get it together - pens in the backpack and such. also, i would hate to be the "do you have any paper i could use? i'll bring some next class" girl, especially the first meeting, so i should put my binder in my bag tonight. *writes mental note*

i went with annie & the boys to kohl's yesterday. i picked up an insane amount of underwear 'cause it was on sale and so adorable. is this the 24-year-old's version of new school clothes? hhhmmm.

hannah called yesterday afternoon and we met up for drinks and music at zebulons. we met the chef from the new restaurant graffiti (graffiti's?). i would like to go there sometime after the new-ness wears off.

oh, and i start housesitting on wednesday for ten days. it's cool 'cause they live near campus and i get to walk to school. i think i've mentioned that already.

xo,
annette

wednesday.

lesson of the day: it is hard to eat right during an incredibly lazy period when one refuses to go grocery shopping.

(i had an entire entry written out and when i pushed save, i only had the first sentence to show for it. $*&(*$&(*@$&)

it is also difficult to eat right when mom's house is full of party leftovers. thankfully, and thanks to mom and rita's help, most of the junk is gone and i will be back on track for the rest of the week.

i posted a 'strictly platonic' ad on craigslist asking for somebody, anybody, to take me kayaking. i have vague memories of kayaking as a kid, and i'd really love to go again. some friends and i spent time rafting in oregon, but it wasn't so much a sporty venture, more of a "let's go out on the water and drink beer" excursion. good times.

this one guy responded and wrote all about his job as a gold miner. and about how he wants to build a log cabin up in oregon. despite oregon's economy sucking harder than mom's rainbow vacuum, i love it up there.

what else? classes start in a week and a half. all of my books have arrived. binders are full of gleaming college-ruled paper. i am already plotting ways i can get out of going to class.

kidding! i will attend each and every class. whether i sleep through them or not is beside the point. again, kidding. no sleeping! i like to call it "resting my eyes during extreme lecture boredom."

garden faerie.

queen for a day.

more party pictures - mom.