so yeah. i probably have a parasite. i mean i tested positive for one, and i hope it's really true and not a false positive. it's called Toxoplasma gondii. and it's pretty sweet because nothing happens really unless my immune system gets compromised. and AND it may or may not cause personality changes liiike:
- Increased risk taking behavior
- Slower reactions
- Feelings of insecurity and self-doubt
- Neuroticism
it's been suggested that the colony of toxoplasma living in my muscle and brain cells be named but i haven't been able to think of any good names so i'm open to suggestions.
ready set go!
Show us a great smile.
also. hello lj friends!
Show us change.
Submitted by quornflour.
i mentioned earlier i was taking the LSATs and that i would post about how i did. well, i got my scores back about a week ago. i did alright but not awesome, so i'm not sure if i'm still going to apply to law school or not. meh.
on a happier note: HALLOWEEKEND. so much fun. so much alcohol. so much face paint...
Show us a self-portrait.
Take a photo of something in motion.
Inspired by Meg.
ohhh college.
the puppy compels you!!!
also. today was the first day of course request. i have mixed feelings because i'm pretty sure i'll get most, if not all of the classes i request because of my senior status, which is awesome, but at the same time this is the beginning of the end.
this is the last time i will have to request classes at virginia tech, and the first time i have to think seriously about graduation. it makes me feel queasy to think about leaving here; it seems like just yesterday i was moving in as a freshman. people warned me that these four years would go by quickly, but i had no idea they would fly by so fast. i have had fun and learned a lot, but i am constantly doubting my level of preparedness for "the real world." *shudder* anyway. i'm kind of looking forward to next semester because i'm going to get to take some fun and hopefully interesting classes. i'm requesting:
medical dilemmas and human experience
sociology of death
ethical theory
language and logic
wines and vines
i have never taken any sociology or philosophy classes at tech so this should be fun. i really hope i get the schedule i requested; if i do get it i won't have any friday classes! hooray for 3day weekends!
well i'm going to go watch more arrested development (go watch some if you never have. it is amazing.) my family introduced me to it and now i'm hooked. must. keep. watching.
so much for returning to reality...i'll do it next week.
i don't really know what happened to me these past few weeks. i think it was just all too much and i kind of shut down and began to avoid reality. i pretty much took all last week off - i didn't do much of anything, and while the break was nice, i think i'm ready to go back to real life.
all of this stressingness started like three weeks ago but the real trigger was september 28 -- i drove to and from charlottesville in one evening with a group of friends to go see of montreal. seriously probably one of the best shows i've ever been to. the band was amazing and i got to hang out with emily for a little too so that was nice. some of the kids at the show were so awkward but i was there with jeff and siri and ryanharne so it was more fun than anything.
everyone in the band was so cute too. i just wanted to hug all of them.
but honestly, the drive to and from charlottesville killed me. especially since i was averaging about 5hours of sleep per night that week. it didnt really help that less than 48 hours later i took the LSAT at 8:30 am. they went alright (i hope) but after i was done with that 4.5 hour testing extravaganza my brain felt like oatmeal. mmmm.
well after the test i ran and got dressed and went to the (very disappointing) VT vs. GA Tech game....i was slightly upset that i hadn't skipped the game to nap, but there was no time to cry over what had already happened. there were things to do! like get jeff's apartment set up for our sweet communist party.
seriously. if you are ever looking for a fun time, throw your friends a communist party. it's fairly simple. here are the steps we followed that worked amazingly well:
1. buy lots of vodka. we went with about 5 handles and used 2 for punch, and about half of one for jello shots and the rest were for straight shots. we had a lot left over, but we only had maaaybe 20ish people drinking. you know your friends so estimate accordingly. also we got vladimir instead of aristocrat vodka - just to give our party that extra little russian touch.
2. color is key. basically everything at our party was red or yellow. we had red punch. red and yellow jello shots. red solo cups. red wall decor and all the guests were required to wear red (dress codes should be strictly and evenly enforced.)
3. remember: no one is special. in the USSR individual birthdays were not celebrated, everyone is the same. it was actually one of my friend's 21st birthday, so we made a comrade cake and there was no singing. we also encouraged the use of the title COMRADE.
so yes. have fun with your communist party. and if you throw one/want help throwing one let me know, i will be all over that.
anyway. back to the story of not sleeping enough and drinking too much. after the party we spent sunday recovering. then hell week began. on october 5 i had three tests in a row, genetics, plant biology and introductory parasitology. after the parasitology exam i was walking back to my room and i was so tired i just ate it on the drill field...i still have a pretty nasty cut on my foot.
the next day i had a 6page paper due and then a lab practical in parasitology lab. immediately after the lab practical i got into my car, picked up siri and sam and drove to virginia beach. it was nice and rainy out and since drivers in virginia are stupid it took us 7 hours to get home. blahhhh. we picked up emily in charlottesville, so it was a nice full ride, much better than driving alone and exhausted.
it was crazy being home since i hadn't been home since late july. mom is pretty lonely only having isaac at home, and he's a pretty busy kid so she's alone a lot, that was kind of hard to see. i also went and saw james. i don't really know what compelled me. i mean i kind of do, but it's hard to explain in words...especially on the internet. anyway. that went horribly and basically made me feel like a terrible person. and it was sad because james is an awesome guy; we used to have a lot of fun together.
the important thing to derive from this, though, is that home was emotionally draining. and i was still on the no more than about 5ish hours of sleep per night plan. we left home on monday afternoon, much much later than expected/wanted and after a 1.5hour delay in charlottesville with emily and harris teeter we got back to tech around 9:30.
after everyone got all dropped off i back tracked it to roanoke and picked up one of my residents who had flown home to new york for the break and needed a ride back. so pretty much i was driving on and off for almost 12 hours. gross.
so after all that i decided to avoid reality for pretty much an entire week. i didn't really do much school work and i went to the bare minimum of classes. i got full blown sick the day after we got back to school, so i got to use that as an excuse instead of trying to relay that whole story you just heard to everyone and their mom.
sorry for the long and whiny post. i wanted to catch you all up on where i am and what i've been doing. i don't want to neglect this blog, and i really miss writing so i'm going to try to update once a week at the very very minimum.
things to look forward to: final undergrad course request session (next week), lsat scores posted (two weeks)
here are some more photos from the communist party. enjoy:
Show us something you use every day.
This is my hokie passport. it's basically my life here at tech. without it i can't eat or get into my building or do laundry or...or anything! i've had this passport since my freshman year; actually since freshman orientation. let's all take a moment to look at how cute freshman abigail was (awww). ok. but yes. i use this EVERY SINGLE DAY.
it's going to be weird when i have to grow up and function in the real world where i don't have my hokie passport. /shudders.
so i apologize for never updating but life is seriously crazy. i'm trying to stay on top of classes, as well as all my RA stuff annnnd do the marching virginians AND study for the LSAT. ugh. i feel so behind with everything. it's awful and i hate it.
but on a happier note. i marched my first show as a marching virginian yesterday!! and we owned Northeastern pretty hard (38-0). vt football games are amazing and being in the band made it more fun. i love dancing around like a crazy person, and now i have an excuse. my throat actually still hurts from yelling so much.
so i'm the one all the way on the right second from the front (my face is covered up with a clarinet). and what's even better is that i didn't mess up the hokie pokie! yayyyy!
sorry this has to be a quick post; just wanted to tell you i'm still alive! and that i'll try to update more often, because i love you all.
think of me tomorrow on your day off, i'll be in class (lammmme) <3s
