Home Again

I'm back home. I don't know how I feel about that. My Christmas was great. I've been hanging out with the old Plainwell gang. I've had a ton of fun but I think that I'm ready to go back to campus. There is always a ton of food in the house. It's hard to get motivated to go down in the dark dingy basement to jog. It's just different I guess. I'm not sure if I will buy another group exercise pass. I can get to the fieldhouse for free. I really need to just work on running so I think it might be a waste of $10 but it's also a nice change-up. I don't know. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I need to get on the treadmill now so this will be an extremely short entry. Meh...

Mr. Spock Would Be Proud

I'm done with two of my exams. It makes me sad that I'm done with Logic now. GVSU doesn't offer any kind of advanced logic course or anything. When I left the exam, Pestana said "See you later." It made me so sad. I definitely had a ton of fun in that class. This morning I also found out that PS was in logic this semester. She struggled a lot with it so now, I feel guilty because I could have been helping her out all along. I did get to help a guy from my Logic class though. His name is Chris. He is really sweet. It seemed like things were really starting to click for him. It makes me wonder if I should be a teacher. Then I remember how small my tolerance is. I am seriously considering applying as a tutor for logic. I know Pestana would give me a glowing recommendation. Apparently, Chris talked to him during office hours and I came up. I'm intimidating, I guess. Nothing I didn't know but it's sort of different coming from the Bushman himself. I don't think I completely aced the exam but I would have to mess up severely to have the exam bring my grade down. It was wedged very squarely at an A before so I'm not worried. I'm not super confident over the Chinese exam. I think I got between an 85 and a 90. With the dropped dictation and quiz scores, I think I might even get an A in that class. I know that my Honors grade will go up to at least a B+ with my term paper. That overall makes my GPA higher than a 3.5. So I'm on the Dean's List (barring any major screwups on my IR exam) and I'm well on the way to keeping my scholarship. I also got my housing situation majorly improved today. I'm going to apply with Louise from the rugby team. She is a super sweetheart and we get along really well. We want to live in Murray or South B. They are kind of expensive but they are SO spacious and gorgeous. They seriously look like a hotel...a really nice hotel. I hope we get in there, but that's all up to the Freshman lottery.

The Life and Times of the Studious Mind

Today was very productive. The beginning was definitely mild. I got my phone back so I got to talk to Mom and Dad. I also went to go get a muffin for breakfast. They are fattening but damn those little suckers are good. I read through most of my Chinese vocab, trying to get some of the characters to finally congeal in my brain. I figure if I just keep hammering it in, some of it is bound to stick. Then, Dad called and I started freaking out because I had already talked to them today so I figured Soozy died or something because they were calling again. Instead, he was just calling to give me a break from studying and to have me look at some really funny stuff on YouTube. Thanks, Dad! Then, I had my Logic study group at 2. I went to the library early to do more Chinese. It was nice to have a change of venue. Kristyn and Matt were the only ones to show up but that was fine with me. We spent 3 hours there. It felt like a complete waste of my time. I was tutoring them more than we were reviewing together. I was getting really anxious after being in there that long too. I took my meds but I still had that annoyed sensation in my whole body. I came back here and putzed around for a little bit. I got some dinner and all that jazz. Then I took a nap because my brain just stopped working. Afterwards, I got an energy drink from the C-Store. They were out of most kinds (surprise, surprise). Then studied Chinese some more in the lower Great Room for 2 more hours. Part of it was spent joking around with Isabella, Joel and Gabe, but I did get a lot done. I'll need to do more tomorrow but my final isn't until 2 p.m. so I'm not super concerned. I do need to have some brain function so I'm going to bed. P.S. I got a 100 on my last Logic quiz. Yep, I'm pretty much a badass.

Refrigerator Box

I have recently gotten shafted out of my housing arrangements. Grace apparently asked Carmen to live with MaryBeth, Treena and her. This would be no big deal. They have 5-person units at Laker Village. The problem is Carmen is in a wheelchair. We would need to have handicapped accesible housing and those units are only for 4 people. So, Grace pretty much said "Sorry I fucked you over. Good luck finding new housing this late in the game." I asked Mikay if maybe I could apply with her, Laura and Jessica (my neighbors) and Nora. I'm not quite sure what they'll say but I need an answer pretty quick. Housing contracts are due on the 15th. This needs to happen now. I don't even have any checks left. I don't know how this is going to work. Maybe when my mom comes to pick me up we can drop off the check for the deposit. This is stressing me out so bad. Although, I have found a good lead on a new home for the pigs. Beth's mom works at a Girl Scout camp that they keep guinea pigs at. If they have room, she would be able to take them. All of that plus exams makes me really surprised that my hair isn't falling out. I'm going to a little holiday gift exchange/dinner with some of the rugby girls tomorrow night. That should be a nice little diversion.

deMorgan is My Homeboy

Yesterday was the actress/ activist orientation for Vagina Monologues. It was a lot of fun. They talked about feminism and activism. We were all in small groups and they asked us to use Play-Doh to represent what we think that feminism means. We made an equals sign among other things. I was just really excited to use Play-Doh. They let us take it home at the end of the get-together. I made a llama while they were talking. I'm really excited for the production. Today was also a pretty good day. Logic was kind of pointless. I discovered that every time I speak up to solve a proof, I use deMorgan's law. de Morgan's is as follows:
For any two propositions, p and q, the negation of the combined conjunction is equivalent to the disjunction of the individual negations and vice versa. The negation of the individual conjunction is equivalent to the negation of the combined disjunction. Symbolically: ~(p . q)=~p v ~q and ~p . ~q=~(p v q)
I use it a lot because nobody else in the class seems to get it so when it has to be used I'm the only one who sees it and says something. After class, Kristen and I were joking around and I said that I should get a shirt that says deMorgan is my homeboy. I should make Treena a shirt that says "Confucius is my Homeboy." Then we'd match sort of. My tutoring session this morning was...interesting. The walk to the Student Services Building was miserable. It was crazy windy and cold. Then, Jeremy was about 20 minutes late. He was still a little bit sleepy. It was funny. Then we ended up talking about how the Chinese radical for door is like a saloon door. Then we drew in cowboys in a shoot out on the white board. I didn't really gain much from the session, except I don't think I'll ever forget 'jian.' I'm not mad about it though. There is this miasma of tension over exams. I'm not too stressed out about it. I'm most worried about my Chinese exam. The exam for Asia is take-home and Smith said that it's really easy. Speaking of Asia, I got my term paper back for revision. I got an A- and it was only the first go-around. I was really surprised that they got our papers back to us when they said they would. It's so not like them. I need to clarify my thesis, clear up a few of my topic sentences, and fix a few punctuation and citing errors. These are all very easy errors to fix so I should get a solid A on the final. Hopefully, I can pull out an A- overall in the class. I had a B on the midterm. An A- would solidfy my GPA and I wouldn't need to get as freaked out about it next semester. The GPA requirement on my scholarship is a 3.5 which I think should only be applied after your freshman year. As it is, I'm stressed enough about the transition to college and on top of it, I have grades to fret over. I'm feeling better about it with my term paper though.

Snow Falling On Chelseas

Yesterday was ...interesting. I had class across campus in the morning. I actually felt like Christmas is coming with all of the snow. I even got a chance to use my new coat. It's so warm. I just kind of putzed around a lot during the afternoon. I did some homework, worked a little bit on my scarf, and took a long and luxurious nap. Later in the evening/ early night, I went over to Julia's. She made me eggs. They were delicious. I sat on her floor reading her French textbook while she was on the phone with Lee. Then at 9, we went back to Niemeyer because Ruthie's friend Dave said that they were having a poker night. They weren't there so we ended up hanging out with Izzy, Treena, MaryBeth, Chris, Lyndia and Andrew. We watched the last half hour of Memoirs of a Geisha. Then we went to Ashley's room to watch Kate and Leopold. It was fun. Not too high energy but it was nice to just be around people. It feels like I have been a hermit lately. It was a nice break from my hermitage.

20/20 Foresight?

I don't like the person that I am right now. I have been mopy and lethargic. The end of rugby season just sucked all of the energy out of me. I try to go to the gym but I only want to nap. I spend most of my time in my room. I want some big change to happen but I don't know how to help that along. I know I'm tired still from going out last night but I took a nap before I went out and was in bed at 2:30. I don't know what to do. I want to go home this weekend because it seems like that's the only place that I can get a decent night's sleep. I also have been there to pick out the Christmas tree every year. I don't want to miss that. Last weekend was spent sleeping mostly and reading for my term paper. I needed that. I don't know what I should do. Meighan says that she is feeling really lonely at CMU also. It seems like I spend so much time doing stuff that's insignificant and that I won't remember when I reminisce about college. I know I'll think about rugby and being in Vagina Monologues and band. I want to think about doing really stupid stuff too. That's part of why last night was a lot of fun. I was the only completely sober one but it was just hanging out and talking. I felt like I belonged in a group. I suppose I would have rather not been the only sober one but it's fun to talk to drunk people. I want more of those kind of memories in my life.

I Think A Change Would Do You Good

School is stressing me out a lot right now. I know that I can handle it but this is getting me back to thinking about Americorps. Taking a break after my sophomore year would be a good way to regain some balance. Thanksgiving had me worried about my term paper. I was distracted even though I spent more time worrying about it than actually doing it. The break was needed though. I got my paper done but I slept a lot. Seeing all of the girls (minus Meighan) was kind of awkward. I still had a lot of fun but there was definitely a new dynamic to it. I had a long talk with Jen today. We talked about that. She also gave me the final push to join university band. I registered this afternoon and dropped Arts at Noon. I'm getting sick of this semester. I don't have any pure fun classes. Most class periods are interesting, if not entertaining but there aren't any classes that I am taking just for me. I'm excited for Tai Ch'i and Band next semester. I heard my geography class isn't just "This is Africa...This is Australia..." It's a lot more anthropology and sociology. I'm also really glad that I only have three more weeks with Lai. I pretty much ripped into her on my course evaluation. I'm ready for some change.

Sunday With Sprinkles

I had a very lazy Sunday. I got some of my Honors reading done. Seriously, Buddhist doctrine is trippy. I went to the fieldhouse and watched "The Royal Tenenbaums" on the treadmill. I did 3 miles. I only ran for like 5 minutes of that total. I am working on it. If I keep it up over the winter, I think I can keep up with the team. I also got my IR presentation done. That was a good feeling. I got a picture of me at the banquet. So I included it in this post. I looked pretty. I'm going to bed now.

Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

Today has been semi-productive, I guess. My mom called at 9:30 this morning and it woke Kaity up. Mom, any time before noon is too early for a college student. I was online for a while and then I read some more of Sophie's World as well. I took a nap. I love naps. Then, lunch and more research on immortality. I am getting really fed up with the Wade-Giles romanization system. Pinyin kicks Wade-Giles's ass. At least Pinyin doesn't use frickin' apostrophes or have a p make a b sound. This year I learned that Beijing has always been pronounced that way. It's not a Bombay to Mumbai transition type thing. Peking is just the W-G way of romanizing it. It's really stupid. After I was bored to tears (or maybe it was just the old book must), I watched Mystery Men. I love that movie. Then, schlepped over to the field house. I did a half hour on the treadmill. I did intervals. Running at 5.5 for 2 minutes is getting easier. At the banquet last night, one of the guys who got the Coach's Award earned it by slimming down for rugby. I want to do that only even more. I know that it's a long way off. I don't even really care about losing weight. I just want to be able to keep up with everybody on the team. I want to last a full practice. Spring season is going to be a bitch but I'm going to get a lot of playing time. After that, I got dinner (sub and minestrone, yum!) and then tried to read more of this 43 page journal article that is really helpful but boring as hell. It's Saturday night and I'm in my room. Yep, what a wild college kid I am.

Clean Up, Clean Up

I was actually kind of productive tonight. I vacuumed, did the dishes, put away laundry and organized my bookshelf (that one's not all the way done yet). We got our logic quizzes back today. I got a 94. I'm happy with the score but I know I could have done better. I just didn't make one of my enthymemes valid. Kristen got 100. I'm proud of her. I took a nap. It was lovely. Then, I went to Chinese which wasn't bad. We got our quizzes back. I got a 90. I forgot a few characters. It's not that bad but I have done better. Our group had to lead discussion in Asia. It went moderately well. We did a powerpoint. We actually had fun making it last night. We were comparing Buddhism with religious Daoism. Some of our title were "Immortal Kombat" with the Mortal Kombat logos at the top and "My Karma Ran Over My Dogma." We didn't get too many laughs. It's so hard to lead a discussion. Nobody wants to talk. It kind of blows. Then, we went to Fresh for dinner. Treena really wasn't feeling well. I felt guilty eating around her. She looked so naseous. I'm going to bed now.

Dookie

I have a headache. I didn't take a nap yesterday so I went to bed at some ungodly early hour. I was reading about the search for immortality through religious Daoism and then suddenly it was 11:30 and my eyes were burning because I had just slept for 3 hours with my contacts in. Then I was up until 2ish. I need to get back into the groove. It's throwing me off way too much. I just got back from IR. Normally, class goes until 11:15 but today was all group work for our presentations next week. Our group had everything pretty well organized so it was just sort of putting things together and updating each other on where we are. I'm pretty happy with our progress. The presentation is 15% of our grade so it should work in my favor. I'm going to take a nap so I can actually focus on my readings for Asia.

More Good News!

I got a 93 on my IR exam. I am a happy camper! I think I did alright on my quiz in Chinese. I forgot a few characters but everything else I'm pretty solid on. I am also super happy about the results of the election. Both houses are blue now. Jennifer Granholm won as well. The only downer is that Proposal 2 passed. This is been a pretty good week. I'm still feeling a little overwhelmed but it is definitely better than earlier in the semester.

Vagina

I got a part in the Vagina Monologues!!!! I'm in "Wear & Say." Just wanted to let everyone know.

An Old Friend

Ruthie is back in Michigan!!! I went to classes and such just looking forward to seeing her. I walked into Julia's room and just gave her a huge hug. She was working on a tanagram thing from the back of a Rice Crispies with Julia and Sarah. It was funny. We still can't get the "sand shark." Mikay came by as well. We, minus Sarah, walked over to Kirkhof so I could buy my rugby banquet ticket. We also met up with Shelby and some other friends of Ruthie's from last year. Julia had to go to class and Mikay had just eaten but the rest of us went to Fresh. I felt like I sort of clicked in that group. I had only known Dave for five minutes and I was already questioning his masculinity with the rest of the group. I laughed really hard and it was refreshing to be around people who could appreciate my humour. Then, Ruthie and I walked back to Niemeyer. We were planning on going to Hip Hop but we had eaten too late and we just weren't quite in the mood to be jumping around and such. So, we just sat in my room and talked for a while and then watched "Big Trouble." I think Ruthie just needed some down time to sit and laugh and get her mind away for a bit. After that, we went over to Laker Village to visit Wes and Dave. I had so much fun. We talked for a while and played Apples to Apples. That game is really entertaining when played with the right group of people. They were definitely the right group. We kept mentioning cake and hamburgers through the course of the night so when we got tired of playing, we made a Wendy's run. I didn't get anything but it was really funny to watch Wes because he was driving so he couldn't eat and the smell was driving him crazy. During the drive, we introduced Ruthie to Dane Cook. It was really precious. "Hellooooooo! I'm a caaaar. Gas-o-line makes me run. Back seat. Trunk space." We stayed in the car for like 10 more minutes after we had gotten back to LV because we wanted to finish "Chicken Sangwich." We stayed for about another hour. Ruthie pretty much fell asleep the instant she hit the couch so Wes and I just talked for a while. Then, it was around 2:30 and I thought going to bed would be smart seeing as I had a 9 o'clock class this morning. We tried saying Ruthie's name a few times. I decided some slightly more extreme measures would be required. Wes had Perrier Lime in the fridge that nobody wanted to drink. I poured a capful into her mouth. Only a few drops actually got in. The rest went down her shirt but it was still effective. It was a really fun night.

Back On Track

Ok, so I haven't written an actual blog in quite some time. I'm currently still sweaty and gross from kickboxing. I rediscovered what I already knew. I have no stamina. Today was a fairly average day. Logic was easy although Matt did use the phrase "Oh as in surprise and alarm." He was trying to give the form of a syllogism and it was AIO. I suppose you had to be there to truly appreciate the humor. Then, my tutoring appointment went pretty well. They help a lot. Chinese was just pattern drills and going over vocabulary. It was kind of funny in Asia today. Smith came in late and then he had us all coagulate onto one side of the room. It was weird to change my perspective of the room. The down side was that the motion sensor was on the side of the room that we weren't so every ten minutes the lights would go out. The class was pretty good. Smith did the whole lecture so we digressed a lot. We ended up talking about the origin of the word "stoned." That and how hippies and beatnicks were like the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. It was actually pretty fun. I was looking all cute and put together because after class was the auditions for The Vagina Monologues. I'm pretty sure that I nailed it. It was a cold read. I was in the group that did The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could. I really hope that I get it. The performances are for the V-Day campaign. It's to raise money and awareness for ending violence against women. The first performance would be on my mom's birthday. I think that would be a cool present for her. Then, as you know, I went to kickboxing and it kicked my ass. I left early because I felt like I was going to puke. I am going to go back though. I just need to keep working up my endurance. Maybe, after that, I could actually make it through rugby conditioning. Alright, enough bloggage for tonight.

"Let Me Explain. No, There Is Too Much. Let Me Sum Up"

I have not been in very much of a blogging mood lately. If you want the rest of the Milwaukee story, call me. This past week has been pretty easy. No major mishaps in class or anything. I do have an exam in IR tomorrow. I'm not too worried about it. I'm going to go study some more for it. As a side note, Mitch Hedburg is awesome. "Don't bother ringing it up. It's for a duck."

Milwaukee

This has definitely been a packed weekend. Friday started with me doing the last bit of packing. I walked most of the way to Lot R looking like a pack llama. I had my rugby bag stuffed to the gills, my messenger bag and my pillow. I got all the way to Lot Q which is on the opposite end of campus from where I live when Prom Queen pulled up and asked if I knew where Lot R was. It turns out it's on the other side of GVA. I was doing the rookie thing and helping everybody load stuff onto the bus. Especially when you come just to support the team, you really are everyone's bitch. The bus ride there wasn't too bad. We watched Madagascar and Hook. Tameka and I had to share a seat but we are comfortable enough with each other that we kind of cuddled and used each other as pillows. They had stuff for PB & J's on the bus so we didn't have to pay for our lunch. Once we got to the hotel, everyone freshened up and got ready to go to the fields for a quick practice. We were ball bitches but I found out that I don't suck as much as I thought at kicking. That night, we got Fazoli's catering. I have actually never had Fazoli's before so I suppose I expanded my horizons a bit. That was the night that the Tigers lost the World Series. While we were watching the game, Leah decided that my hair needed to be braided. That was definitely interesting. She tried doing microbraids but she gave up after she realized that I wasn't lying about having a ton of hair. Then she did funky "turd braids" as Sharon calls them. It sort of looked like a faux-hawk with the one in the middle. When we went into Bob's room for the announcement of the lineup, I got a lot of compliments on it.

Saturday was a Rugby day! We drove to the fields and the coaches showed us the DVD that Katie put together of photos of the team. It was really sweet. Then, Bob gave a pep talk about how a national championship is something that you take with you forever no matter where you go in life. He started tearing up and so everyone got really pumped but misty-eyed. The field was miserable. We had to walk through a field and a ditch to get to the pitch. It was cold and windy and there was standing water out there. The girls looked like they were Smurfs. Any time someone got subbed out all of the girls on the sidelines stripped all of their wet, muddy clothes off and piled them with sweatshirts and blankets. It definitely led to some confusion when it was time to get all the clothing back to its rightful owner but they needed to get warmed up fast. All of the mud turned the shorts positively brown. Normally, they get speckly and patchy but that was absolutely solid dirt. Despite the crap conditions, we still pulled out a victory. Again with being a rookie, I got put in charge of washing the shorts after another dinner of Fazoli's. KB came and helped me because she's a sweetie and it's her first season being a vet so she is still in the rookie mindset. We rinsed them out in the washtub in the laundry room and the water coming off of them was opaque. I got as much dirt out as I could but the washer was still caked with dirt after the cycle was done. We also had our rookie skits that night as well. It was so much fun. I was in a group with Leah, Jo, Linda and Ashley. We did a little bit about practice. Ashley was Amy and talked about how great she was at directions. Then, Jo was Terra. While they were stretching, she yelled about how she was the only one counting and how she was going to slit someone's throat. Then, I was Abe and started getting really mad when they messed up a rucking drill. I threw my hat down on the ground and all that jazz. Then, I ran out to do the second half of the skit. I unzipped my jacket to reveal my bra and angel wings and I put on a little fuzzy halo. Then Linda, who works at Vicky's, introduced me as Victoria's Secret's newest model, Abeilicious. I strutted my stuff. We got some good laughs. However, we got shown up by the next group. They did the Irish Drinking Song from Who's Line about the team. It was fantastic! The last lines were:

So thanks for a great season;
We really had a hoot!
And if you didn't like it,
We'll just make Chelsea shoot the boot!

It wasn't exactly in a positive light but I was glad to be mentioned. It makes me feel like I'm actually part of the team, not just a sidenote. I am kind of done blogging for the moment.

Rushed

I have a class at 9 and I just got back. I shall write a long, in depth blog tomorrow. Suffice it to say, we won against University of Wisconsin-Stevenspoint 17-12 (I think). We lost of Iowa State University. It was a horrible/fantastic game. The quality of the play was phenomenal. Our girls got creamed. The final score was 32-17. That score isn't bad but two girls including one from each team had to be taken to the hospital. We had five concussions. Plain old bad news bears. We had to wait at the hospital for a good five hours and that is why we are home so late.

Packing

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. The page wouldn't load so I couldn't write anything. Yesterday wasn't bad. I found out that my class for tomorrow morning is cancelled. That was pretty cool. Asia was kind of fun. We talked about poetry pretty much the whole time. The discussion was on ancient Chinese erotic poetry. It was...interesting. After class, I joined with some of the ruggers to do a pop can drive. It was insane! We filled P.S.'s dad's van, Amy's Blazer and Kenny's little car. It took friggin' forever to return all of them. We also got free pizza from Hungry Howie's because Apple hooked us up. Then, we went to P.S.'s house to eat. She made us wait until we were all there to announce the total. $270!!! We covered the hotel room and made enough to make a dent in the room for two weeks from now. I won't be able to go if we make it to the final four because Ruthie is coming home that weekend. I want to support my team and all but seeing her is way more important. On to today...IR was OK. We watched a few video segments on nuclear arms production and deterrence. That can seriously make you paranoid. We had a quiz in Chinese. I think I pretty much aced it. I forgot the character for "sui" which is the measure word for age. It was just one thing. I'm confident on the rest of it. Practice was some what better. I made it all the way through continuity. It shouldn't be that big of a deal but I have been getting over a cold and I'm just plain fat so it is an accomplishment. P.S. did the final count of the people that will be in our room and there will only be 6 so it won't be nearly as packed as I thought it would be. The team was going to the Haunt together after practice. I sort of wanted to go but it's $10 even with the GVSU day discount. That and I also had a mandatory floor meeting. It was only a couple of minutes. No big deal. Now, I am doing laundry and I have nothing else to say.

Excluded

I need to remember my IR notebook. I forgot it for the second time today. It was an OK class. I'm pretty sure that I aced the map quiz. We have an exam next Thursday. I got an 89 on the last one but I want to do better. Chinese wasn't bad either. We did a lot of speaking drills and such. I need to work on my tones. I know that everyone messes up but a tiny alteration in the sound of a word can make for a drastically different word. "I have a cold" mispronounced becomes "I fuck cats." I don't want to ask for a chicken and end up with a prostitute. Such things are possible. I took a nap after class. Rugby practice was freezing!!! I had to take a break during continuity. I was only two lengths of the field away from making the whole thing. This cold is lingering longer than usual. I have this hideous smoker-sounding cough. I was actually able to keep up in the pace drill though. That was kind of cool. We did scrums and line outs and all that jazz. Right before we did unopposed, Abe told the playoff roster to take a lap. The rest of us just had to walk across the field. Not that I really wanted to take a lap, but I sort of resented the fact that he doesn't expect as much from us. I rode back to the dorms with Krista and some of the other girls. I ate dinner with Nelly, Tameka, Jo, Schulte, Meg, Julia (Meg's roommate) and Leah. I had a stirfry. It had red bell peppers and bean sprouts in it so it really reminded me of home. I just got a note on FaceBook on my wall from Rachel Moore. One of the girls in my IR class asked if I knew her because I'm from Plainwell. I said something about how she is an alcoholic. She said that Freshmen shoot off their mouths and I need to stop talking shit. I realize that I shouldn't have said that. However, I have always said exactly what was on my mind. It really shouldn't surprise her that I said that.

Discovery

Well, first off, I'd like to say "Hi, Mom!" Logic was easy as usual. I had run out of cereal this morning so afterwards, I got breakfast from the C-Store. I had my tutoring session this morning as well. It is really helping me out to have that power study time. I headed straight from the Student Services building to the bus stop. I went to Meijer and felt like such a college student. I bought Cap'n Crunch because it was on sale for less than half price. I got Teddy Grahams, also on sale. Juice boxes, barely but still listed as a "price drop." I also got Ramen but that is dirt cheap anytime. I felt very accomplished. I got back onto campus in less than 45 minutes. Not bad for round trip with shopping time included. I had Ramen for the first time as a college student. It's delicious and there is the added bonus that it only costs 20 cents a pop. Chinese was OK. It was just a lot of drills and such. Asia was kind of fun today. Smith did the first half of the lecture. It was about all of the poetry and such. Lai's half wasn't terribly exciting but I participated a lot. Last week, we signed up for our discussion groups. I was very ambivalent at the time so I didn't sign up so I could be put where ever. Turns out that I am with Carol and Adele. Kaity had to be in a group with them last time and she got no help from them at all. I'm also with John, the quiet kid. He seems nice. I don't really know because I've never even seen him have a conversation. I walked back to Niemeyer with Andrew and Alex. I am seriously falling for Andrew. I really should talk to him if I want anything to happen but I can't bring myself to do it. It was freezing! It was "snaining" according to Alex. She is a funny kid. We talked about rugby during the break in class. I want to get to know her better. She has one of those really wry wits. Hmm, can't think of anyone else that has one of those, can you? I did most of my reading for IR tomorrow. I will try and get it done before I go to bed tonight but I am kind of tired. I didn't really get a chance to take a nap today. That explains it. Alright, that was pretty much my day. Thanks for reading!

Accomplished

I got up at a reasonable hour this morning (9ish) and did laundry. Yesterday, I had made plans to go workout at the fieldhouse with the girls and so I did that around 11. It was good to have other people counting on you showing up. It helps a lot. I tried to jog as much as possible but I still can't keep it up for more than 4 minutes or so. I know that I am improving but I definitely have serious room for improvement. Erin told me that Spring rugby season is totally different. The practices are pretty much all conditioning. I need to keep some sort of schedule up over the Winter. I don't particularly like running but I love rugby and I want to play on the A side so badly. I know it will take a lot of time and dedication on my part but it is possible. I feel bad because everyone else knows at least 2 positions but they only ever taught me to prop. I want to make myself the best asset I can to the team. I lift for the line-outs and all but that's not its own position. Even though the season is over, I still can make an impression on the coaches by coming to practice and working my ass off. I have something to prove. I only hope that I can have the wearwithal to go through with it. It just kills me that it comes so easily to so many of the girls. They have to push themselves a little bit but it's not really any big deal. I'm getting gradually more energy at the end of each practice but I am still beat. Back to my day, I went to lunch with the girls (Luigi, Leah and Tameka) at Fresh. It was still during brunch time. I've never seen the whole "omelet chef" thing before. That was kind of awesome, not going to lie. I had an awesome salad, laden with tomatoes, cukes, chickpeas and feta, and a bagel with cream cheese and peanut butter. Let me say, that flavor combination is the gift of the gods. I was a very happy camper. I did most of my reading for tomorrow. I don't even bother doing the reading for Logic any more. It's a waste of time especially with how excruciatingly time consuming the Asia readings are. However, for tomorrow, we do have to read "The Ballad of Mulan." I almost peed from excitement when I saw that. I keep saying that we should watch it in class so I know that they are going to ask me about it in class. I still haven't finished the readings so, hasta luego!

Going

Today was the Bowling Green Game. I got up at an ungodly hour. Apparently, Java City doesn't serve lattes at 5:30 in the morning. I was not a happy camper. The bus trip was uneventful. I slept a lot. I had to run errands for everyone. The joys of being a rookie! The game was really tough. The sir was Tum-Tum's older brother who goes to BG. He was being a total d-bag. He was calling bogus penalties on GV and not calling anything against BG. I was getting so pissed. A brawl broke out. Huggies got thrown in the sin bin. We ended up winning 39-15. Next weekend, the team is heading out to Milwaukee for playoffs. Of course, I am not on the playoff roster but I really want to go. The university is funding the roster's hotel and food but I have to pay my own way. The bus is obviously covered. I could probably sleep on the floor. I really hope that it'll all work out. I love those girls to death! I want to be there to cheer them on. The bus ride back was equally uneventful. Pumpkin and I talked a bit. Then, Luigi walked back to the dorms with me. We got coffee and chatted for about an hour. She is a lot of fun! She seemed so shy but now that I get to know her, she has really opened up. I am seriously thinking about applying for housing with her. I have been thinking it over and I really don't want to be an RA. I'd much rather just have a regular job without all of that extra pressure and responsibility. After the coffee, I came back to the room and cleaned. It's not quite there but it is considerably more tidy. Now, all I need to do is organize my desk. Jenny, Ashley and Isabella came over to the room to watch movies tonight. That was fun. I need to hang out with them more often as well. During the course of the night, Isabella got beeped on her phone by a drunk guy looking for a booty call. It was absolutely precious! He kept asking her age and all that jazz. Every couple minutes, he interjected "So, you want to have sex now?" We still have no idea how he got her number. It may just have been a random number punching. As we were trying to end the conversation, the following lines were spewed and hilarity ensued.

Isabella -"I can turn my phone off you know."

Romeo -"Why would you do that? I already turned you on."

Coming

Crotch posted some rugby photos today so I thought that I would put one up. It's from right before the tug-o-war. We all look lovely as it was right after practice. I really need to get to bed but I figure I have been good about writing in the blog so why break the streak? Logic this morning wasn't bad. It wasn't great but it's class so how amusing can you expect it to be. We are past abstracting concepts and such so there is no more Pestana yelling, "Well, that's a wallaby!" Good times! I went to pick up my coat that came in the mail yesterday. I love it! It's orange and warm but really quite light. It's perfect. I went home, did some of the reading for Monday that I plan on doing more of on the bus. I, of course, took a nap. Then, I got lunch and putzed around on Puzzle Pirates for a while. We also had dual team dinner at Crotch's house tonight. I rode over with Pumpkin, Luigi, Tameka, and Cups. Crotch has this super fat, ugly, old pug that I was having a little too much fun with. Like I said, it was a dual team dinner, so the guys were there too. I'm having so much fun getting to know them. I taught Blinken, Luigi, Tameka, Pumpkin and Vinny how to play Mao. That was precious, especially because Blinken was reticent to learn a game where you couldn't take but then he got so intense and into it. As I said, precious. Once I was back on campus, I went to Mikay's room to have movie night. They were watching Closer when I came in. It was at the cybersex part. Not the most comfortable moment to walk in on. That movie is messed up. All of the relationships make everyone around me look so non-dysfunctional. Then, I ran back to the room to borrow Mulan from Kaity. It was great because everyone was singing along. I'm pretty sure that we were pissing off the people in the room next to us but screw them. We were having fun. Now, I have to wake up in about 3 hours and 45 minutes so I am done.

Tug

Today seems like it has been a very long day. IR just seemed to drag on forever! I was practically nodding off. It doesn't really help that Au Sable is the perfect napping temperature. Such is life. I was crazy hungry at the end of class so I stopped by Taco Bell for some bean burritos. I love those things. They are so delicious. Then, back to the dorms for a nap! I know that it sounds so childish but I do get cranky if I don't have at least one each day. After my nap, I had Chinese. We finally got our Chinese names. I am Li Qiao Xi. I would write the characters on here but seeing as I have no idea how to do that on here, I will just settle for giving you the pinyin. It's cool to have an actual mingzi and to write the characters knowing, this is me. However, it does sound like a five year old with a mouth full of peanut butter saying "Chelsea." We also had another dictation that I'm pretty sure I aced. The tones were a bit shaky but the characters were pretty much down. It's truly amazing how much just that hour of guided studying at the tutoring center helps. So, after Chinese, another nap! I love them so much. What can I say? I had to get up for rugby though. It was such a tough practice. Apparently, Tuesday was even worse. We ended up doing lots of diamond drills and continuity and that equals lots and lots of running. I was heaving and I puked a little bit. I feel so out of my league with them. I know that I improve with every practice that I go to though. I just need to not drop the ball at the end of the season. After practice, I headed over to Kirkhof with some of the girls. They had one of the homecoming contests, Tug-O-War. Yeah, it was awesome. First, we got hot apple cider and donuts. I was freezing at the time so that made for a very happy Chelsea. I thought that I would be pulling but Crotch really wanted to so I didn't get to. Each team consisted of 4 guys and 4 girls. We had Sunshine, Apple, Ren, Crotch, Caleb, Gimli, Tum-Tum and Towelie. We kicked such ass! We did our cheers while they were pulling and if they were kind of losing steam, we would just scream "Squeeze! Dip! Drive!" which is what you say to get a bit of a burst of energy in a scrum. To no one's surprise, we won. Then, I had to kind of power walk it to get back to the room in time for Grey's. I heart that show. Now, I am going to bed because, you know, I didn't get enough sleep yet today. That and I am getting sick and I played rugby today so I actually have a legitimate reason to be tired.

Full

Today was a good day! I got sort of dressed up. I went to logic where we got our midterms back. I got a 98 and Pestana wrote a note on their that I should major in philosophy. I won't of course but it is very encouraging to hear. Then, I headed over to Kirkhof and got some breakfast. I sat in the solarium area while I was reading one of my assignments and eating a muffin. That's the bucolic college life I want. Then, the Leadership Luncheon started at 11:45. Shingi and Kevin from ELR were there. Shingi wrote a poem at ELR and they had him read it at the luncheon. He is a really cool cat. I saw quite a few people from ELR but that was to be expected. Treena got nominated for the Immediate Impact Award. She has so much on her plate. I couldn't imagine doing all of the stuff that she does. She has considerably better time management skills than I do. I should probably take a page from her book. Then, I walked back to Niem with MaryBeth and Treena. I wrote my journal for Asia at the last minute, like always. I had to walk back to Kirkhof for the East Asian Studies Reception. They were really pushing hard for study abroad. It makes me want to go to Taiwan even more. The walk over to Lake Ontario was considerably more pleasant today because I wasn't in an ungodly rush, not to mention that the weather was gorgeous. Asia was a lot better than it was on Monday. We also had discussion and that always makes things go along faster. However, we had the anticipation of getting our papers back through the entire class period. I got a 93 on my midterm but I got a B- on my response paper. I have to say that I agree with that grade. My paper was disorganized and most definitely not my best work. I'm getting A-'s in my other 2 classes so I am still stressed about grades but it does ease the pressure just a little bit to know that I am at least on the right track. I went to Fresh with Treena, MaryBeth and Grace as usual. I also met Mary and Marie Angela. Way too many Marys! I had Hip Hop tonight as well. Much to my dismay, Monica, the instructor, didn't show. Some of the girls in the class are really good dancers, though. They have been doing a routine while they do laundry and they taught it to us. It's really fun. It incorporates just about everything from the last few weeks. It's also a lot more complex than the other things that we have done thus far so it was nice to have to really think while I dance. Now, I need to get to bed. As you can see, it has been a long day.

Sponge

I was up fairly early this morning. IR was fine today. We didn't really get a lot done though. Then, I headed over to Kirkhof. I went down to the lower level and discovered that there is a food court down there! I have been craving tacos for sometime and Taco Bell Express just doesn't quite cut it. The tacos were delicious but the rice was disappointing. I did some of my Chinese workbook while I was eating my lunch. I was planning to go to the time management workshop that started at noon. However, that particular session was geared toward faculty and staff. They told me to come back at two but obviously I couldn't because Chinese starts at two. Chinese was actually pretty good today. The class as a whole bombed the dictation on Thursday so we got to retake it. I feel that I did better but I still missed a few small things. Holly, from Chinese, has seemed really frazzled lately so I asked if she needed to talk after class. We ended up walking back to Kirkhof and picking up the time management packet while we were talking. She has had a lot of relationship issues and family problems so I let her vent. I think that she really appreciated it. I came back to the dorm around 4 because she had to get to class. I ended up taking a nap but I slept through my alarm so I didn't get up for rugby practice. I don't really feel all that guilty about it because I don't have any games left that I'll be playing in. Kaity had some people over. We watched Dancing With The Stars. I got sucked in. Then, Branden knocked on our window. He needed to be let in so he could study with Mikay for Algebra. I stayed with them for a little bit and helped Branden learn logarithms. Then, Kaity started plotting a little prank thing on Chris from down the hall. It's a long story and it involves sweat pants.

Productive

I actually got stuff done today. I went to Logic. We won't get our midterms back until Wednesday but I'm not stressing out about it. Then, I came back to the room to take a shower. I had my tutoring session today. It went pretty well. I think that Jeremy is getting frustrated with me but I need help with characters so it really shouldn't be any surprise. I feel like the sessions are helping even though today was only my first one. Then, I went back to my room and had some lunch. Broccoli cheese soup! Chinese was pretty good. I definitely feel more confident in that class with the extra help. Honors seemed to just drag on forever today. Lai did the whole lecture and something about her was just really getting on my nerves. I was just jittery during the entire class. After that, I putzed around a bit on Puzzle Pirates and finished up my character workbook for this lesson. I went to the IRO meeting tonight. I sort of feel guilty going to them because it doesn't feel like I contribute anything to the group other than the occasional comic relief. I guess I fear taking on any responsibility because I don't want to fail any of them. I need to get over that so I can prove that I am an asset to the group.

Whore

Saturday is a rugby day! I got to the pitch early so I got to see everyone trickle in and start bitching about how cold it was. Then, warming up and all that jazz. I'm starting to be able to keep up with the girls during the lap. I still start lagging toward the end but I don't have to walk or anything. I'm glad to see myself improving. We played against a combined team from Flint and Grand Rapids Community College. My parents came up to watch me play. They were adorable with their matching fur hats. I was following the game on the sidelines during the first period as usual. Then half way through the second period, Twigs calls me over and tells me to grab a jersey. I say, "I already have one on."
"No, you aren't playing for Grand Valley."
Needless to say I was just a little put out by this, but I tried to view it as a learning experience. It was definitely interesting to have to scrum in a totally different way. It kind of forced me to analyze my own style and adapt it. It was also kind of refreshing to take out aggression on my teammates. GRCC/ Flint is a lot fatter than GV so I felt so fast playing with them. I would still be jogging while the other forwards were winded and tottering. I felt pretty good. With about 10 minutes left in the third period, Apple stiff armed me in the throat. I was OK but I was having a hard time breathing. Then, she did it again and I was just not able to go any longer. My parents got to see me play even if it wasn't for Grand Valley. GV won, of course, 54-7. Then, we went to the Laker Village Clubhouse for Hot 'n Readys. P.S. brought her new puppy, KooGa to the social. She is soooooo adorable! Then, I went to Kirkhof with Luigi, Leah and Tameka while we were waiting for the guys' game to start. We went out and froze our asses off while watching our guys. It was a lot of fun. Then, I went to B.F.E.'s for the guys social. Luigi tagged along but she was getting really uncomfortable with all of the drinking and the songs. We dropped her off and then headed to D2. Gracie had to take a shower and said that I could go stay in her friend's apartment while she was getting ready because I really didn't know any of the guys and she didn't want me to feel uncomfortable. I took a shot of Jack while I was at Gracie's friend's flat. Then, I got a few more beers in me at D2. Some of the other girl ruggers were there as well. It felt so good to be around some testosterone. Of course, I was flirting up a storm but I didn't do anything with anyone. I had a really fun time though. I rode back to campus with Tum-Tum.
Today was pretty low key. I slept and finished rereading "Bloodsucking Fiends." I forgot that I could read quickly when it isn't ancient Chinese literature. I seriously love Christopher Moore. Kaity got fish this weekend. Their names are Jake Jake and Princess Sophia. She is so excited about having fish. It's funny because she will just sit there and stare at them. I'm pretty sore, especially my neck but that was to be expected. I also got some cleat bruises on my thighs. I got some "Dublin Mudslide" from the C-Store. I love Ben & Jerry's more than is healthy. I have been pretty good about moderation lately so it's not some major concern. I have more reading to do, so that's it.

TransAllendale

I woke up really late this morning. I rolled out of bed and threw on clothes really fast. I booked it over to Lake Superior for what I thought was just a quiz on propositions. It turns out that it was our midterm. It wasn't that hard. I don't think I completely aced it but I'm pretty sure that I did well. I feel bad because one of the girls in my class missed on Wednesday and facebooked me to see if we had a study guide or some such thing. I told her we just had a quiz. I still feel terrible about that. I thought it was easy but she may have been totally screwed by that. Then I had lunch and took a shower. I hate that feeling of going to class without showering. I always get paranoid about rank B.O. I was planning on meeting Mikay at Kirkhoff to see TransAmerica. She showed up but then cancelled. I'm getting really sick of her not doing anything. She goes home almost every weekend. I ask her to go with me to different things and she never does any of it. Heaven forbid she do anything on her own. It's no wonder that she doesn't like it here. I think she stays in her room pretty much all of the time. Granted, I spend some good time in my room. I do homework (a.k.a. FaceBook) and things of that nature. However, I go to group exercise classes and practice. She doesn't do anything. It worries me. I don't think that she gets any exercise other than going to class. It's not that she's gaining weight or anything. I just worry for her health. Back to my day, TransAmerica was very good. It was different than what I expected. The mom from the movie reminded me a lot of my mom. Not to that extreme of course. But then again, I'm fat, not gender dysphoric. Then I just came back to my room. I got dinner with Kaity and did some of my reading for Honors. I want to get that reading done before this weekend. I'm excited for the game tomorrow. I want to finish up the reading so I can enjoy my weekend without worrying.

Guilt

We had snow this morning. It looked quite chilly. Yup, we are in Michigan all right. International Relations was an easy class today. We had a map quiz that I am fairly certain I aced. Then I had lunch with Veronika, a woman I met at the Emerging Leaders Retreat. She's fun and has a lot of things that I can learn from her. She's 34 and is pretty much a professional student. We have a lot of things in common. It was nice to catch up with her. Then I did some last minute studying. Professor Smith was gone so we had his wife. She was nice. She taught us even more things about time before the dictation. I didn't remember everything but there was a lot of material to cover so, all things considered, I think I did pretty well. I even saw Liz, also from ELR, today coming home from Chinese. As I said, it was ridiculously windy and cold. I chose not to go to practice today. I feel guilty about it. I know I could have toughed it out but I made that decision and I will own up to it. Instead, I got dinner and spent some of the evening in Mikay's room. I hadn't spent much time with her so it was good to catch up. Then I came back to my room to watch Grey's. It wasn't the best episode but I still love that show. Right now, I'm talking to Ruthie on IM. I miss her so much. I have a Logic quiz in the morning so I think I am done for today.

Limbo

I did finish my midterm but I'm not really satisfied with my performance. I got most of my ideas across but it still needed some polishing...a lot of polishing actually. Today was a pretty good day. Logic was really easy. It was just review for the quiz on Friday, symbolizing propositions and all that jazz. I finished my midterm and took a nap and headed on over to Mak for Chinese. We talked about the Taiwan trip the entire time. I really want to go. I think it would be such an amazing experience and it would really solidify all of the Chinese that I have in my head. Honors was not bad at all. We watched "The Emperor and The Assassin." It's about the unification of China at the end of the Warring States period and the beginning of the Qin Dynasty. I swear it's not nearly as boring as it sounds. It was in Chinese and I could occasionally pick up on a word or two. It wasn't much but it made me feel like I'm actually retaining some of what I am learning. Then I had dinner with Treena, MaryBeth and Grace. Afterwards, I putzed around until hip hop. Tameka stood me up which I guess was a good thing because I started talking to other people in the class. The routine wasn't really all that great today but it was still a fun class. I'm totally making it part of my weekly schedule. With hip hop, rugby, Calorie Killer and CardioMix, I work out 6 days a week. I'm starting to lose a little bit of weight. I know I could help things along by restricting my calorie intake but I am trying to create a healty relationship with food. I eat when I am hungry. I make sure to have fresh vegetables in every meal and all that jazz but I'm refuse to feel bad for having pasta or the occasional bite of ice cream. I am being very physically active so I know that I am doing good things for my body. I won't be guilty about fat grams or such things. I want to be able to feel good about me and I think that I am on my way.

Procrastination

I am supposed to be working on my midterm for my Honors class but I need a bit of a break. I had IR today and we got our tests back. I got an 89. That was cool seeing as the scores overall were pretty low. We also had a map quiz on Southern Asia that I'm pretty sure I aced. They have been pretty easy thus far but they are getting progressively harder. Rugby practice was a lot of scrimmaging today. I had a good time. I tried to keep up with running but I'm still really slow. I guess I keep hitting the other team's flanker in scrums. I'm bending my arm or something but Bose kept saying that I was whacking her in the face. I don't know how I'm supposed to be doing it because I hold on to the other prop's jersey but I can't go in super far because my arms are short. I guess I should be glad that I have something that is so easily fixable. It's still frustrating. Also Crotch decided that I could no longer be Wide Set because the team didn't vote on it. She decided that my new name is "Nef." Only she wouldn't tell me what it meant. So I told her that I wouldn't respond to it but she still didn't crack. This is really bugging me but I can't tell her that because that is exactly what she wants. I need to get back to the midterm seeing as it is due tomorrow.

Mercenary

Today was an OK day. We learned about truth tables in Logic. I've already done them in PreCalc so it was way too easy. I probably sounded like a smart ass in there. I also had my first tutoring session for Chinese. That went well. I think that it will help a lot. Plus, my tutor is kind of cute so it should be fun. Professor Lai wasn't in Honors so it was just Smith today. He went off topic a lot so it was refreshing. I also found out that he's a private pilot like my dad. Then I went to the Calorie Killer class tonight. It was a lot more ab work than I was expecting. It was fun though. I think that I am going to make that part of my regular thing. Now I have something for almost every day of the week. I still haven't gone to CardioMix on Fridays but I will this week. I really need to be working on midterm. I have put it off for too long. So, I'm going to work on that now.

Make Up

I didn't write last night so I have two days to cover. Saturday morning involved me going to my Uncle Gene's Halloween party. My parents were having friends up so Maggen came to Plainwell around ten to pick me up. Then we drove to her house in Portage. I met her house mates. Nelson is nice but Lucy is a spoiled bitch who eats constantly. We drove to Niles while I got a good nap. We were a few hours early so we helped cook and set up. Natalie and Nicole are getting so big! Their hair is getting longer and of course, Nate is just as crazy as ever. I tried to explain rugby to Grandma. She was getting really excited about seeing me play. It was so adorable. Like I said, I helped cook. There were pork loins, a turducken and a venison ham. Everything was fantastic but I kept nibbling on the venison while I was slicing it. Yum-O! We had to leave before the Haunted Hayride because Lucy was getting whiny and didn't want to stick around any longer even though she slept for a good 5 hours so it wasn't like she could have been sick of being there. I'm sure she can be a nice person but all I saw was obnoxious.
Today, we had a full family breakfast (Greg included). My mom made sweet potato pancakes. Delicious as usual. I did some of my reading assignment for Honors until Andrea came. We picked up Rachel and then went to Twinstar to surprise Becky at her hockey game. There are lots of stupid pictures that we took while we were cheering/ freezing our butts off. Due in part to said cheering, Becky scored a hat trick! I'm so proud of her and happy for her. She takes on so much and she still is genuinely concerned for the needs of others. She was hungry after the game so we thought "Culver's is right across the way. Let's go over there." As it turns out, it wasn't that simple. We got to Culver's by climbing up onto some rocks and ending up in a landscape supply lot. After our dashing adventuring, all of us got delicious frozen treats and ate out on the patio area. Becky brought the notebooks so we read through those and reminisced about high school. The way back to our cars was ever more interesting. We crossed the "fire swamp," a marshy, briary swamp thing. It was definitely made more interesting by the fact that I was wearing a skirt and sandals. Becky and Andrea got their pictures taken inside some heavy duty construction equipment. Overall, it was a very enjoyable outing. Then, my dad drove me back to GVSU. That brings us to now. As a little ending note, I really miss playing Warcraft. My parents got DSL so I got to play this weekend without lag. It was fantastic!

Home?

I decided to call my dad to come and pick me up so I am now sitting in Plainwell. I'm glad to be back here. I just don't know if I really even consider it home anymore. My puppy has a very itchy, irritated belly so she is being an attention whore. I don't mind. I missed her so much. Tomorrow/Today is the big Halloween party at Uncle Gene's. It should be a lot of fun. I miss Natalie and Nicole so much. I got to see them a lot this summer so it feels like they know me and are comfortable around me. It's so cute to get to know their mannerisms and ideosynchrasies. It's been far too long since the last time I saw them. They are 20 months old now. Oy, it seems like just yesterday that I saw them for the first time and it was so easy to tell them apart because Nicole was about a pound and a half heavier than Nat. I feel bad for missing the game tomorrow/today. I wouldn't even be dressing for it not that it makes it OK to not come to the game. I just missed my family and the party only comes around once a year. I also haven't seen Maggen in forever. Last time I was home, she was in Indianapolis with Greg. Lucy, her new housemate, will be coming with us as well. I'm excited to meet her. I'm also really close to finishing Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth just found out that Mr. Darcy paid for the wedding expenses of Lydia and Wickam. I love this book. On the school front, I got a 94 on my Logic quiz. I thought I would have gotten slightly better but such is life.

Endorphins

I am going to be so sore and bruised tomorrow. We did a short field scrimmage so there was a whole lot of hitting and such. It was fun because it was pretty much all contact and tackles with minimal running. That makes for a very happy Chelsea. I did get the ball a couple of times but I got crushed under a huge dog pile afterwards. It was still a good practice and I felt like I did my best.
We had a test in Chinese. I don't think that I aced it but I think I did relatively well. I understood everything that was on it but I just forgot some of the characters. International Relations was also today. I really like that class. I guess that's a good thing seeing as it is my major. I'm in the group that is covering Sub-Saharan Africa. One of the kids in our group lived in Zambia for a few years so that should give us a unique perspective.
I am tired and hungry and therefore, I am done with this blog.

Looking Up

I didn't completely bomb out on the Chinese dictation like I thought I would. I got a 78. It's not fantastic, mind you, but it most definitely could have been worse. The logic quiz wasn't hard at all. That was nice. I went to lunch with Erin, Isabella and SuperSoulFighter. It was the hippy theme day. They had 'shroom burgers and tie-dye ice cream. However, they had all disposable dishes and silverware. That seemed sort of contradictory to me. Just a thought. I have my hip hop class tonight and Tameka is coming with me. I had a lot of fun last week but I think it'll be a lot more fun with someone that I know. Asia was so boring. I was doodling and writing limericks. Then we had discussion but I was in a group with Adele and Carol. They have horrible breath and no original ideas. They are just disturbing to me. I went to dinner with Mikay. I haven't seen her in a while so it was nice to catch up with her.

Inaugural

I don't know if anyone will be reading this but I suppose that's OK with me.
Today was kind of a sucky day. I had a test in IR that wasn't that bad but I spent so much time worrying about the test that I didn't spend any time on Chinese so I bombed the dictation. As soon as I got out of class, I went to the Student Services Building and signed up for a tutor. I really hate admiting that I need help academically. It has always been my strong suit and now I am struggling. This whole college thing is a lot harder than I expected. But I guess that's why I have rugby, too take out all the stress and anxiety of my classes.
I'm tired from rugby today. I had a lot of fun at practice though. We went over the game against U of M. That was nice to go back and analyze it. Then we went through the rest of our warm-ups (plyometrics etc.) and did continuity. I'm starting to be able to keep up a bit more. I like feeling myself improve. We did more tackling and a weird rucking drill. I hit Huggies pretty hard in the face. I felt bad about it. Then we did relays for the last section of practice. I was with Tisha and Megan, a girl that is relatively new to the team. Everybody went out to Applebee's after practice but I forgot my wallet. Megan and I walked back to the dorms together and so we got to talk. Then I had a gigantic slice of pizza from Kleiner. It was delicious. That pretty much brings me to now. So...I'll write tomorrow.