Best week ever!

The power cord for my laptop decided to completely stop working the other day, so I've been pretty limited in my computer use lately in an effort to save battery power. Luckily, my dad was smart enough to get an extended warranty for it, so I don't have to pay $90 or something equally ridiculous for a new one. Unfortunately, it's supposed to take another two weeks for the new one to get here. Awesome.

I do have to say, though, that it has been a little bit of a blessing in disguise, if you will. I've actually been able to (gasp) read for the fun of it! I don't even know how long it's been since I've done that at college. So that's been pretty nice. Actually, this week has been kind of awesome in general. The highlights:

1. Basketball Game!
Monday night's game = definitely a good one! It was really close the entire time. The other team (don't remember who it was) was barely ahead, but Lee scored a three-pointer in the last few seconds and won. Any game that involves everyone in the stands rushing onto the court as soon as the game ends is pretty awesome to me. Yesss!

2. Taco Tuesday and Free Pancakes!
I love going to Tres Hermanos on Tuesday nights. I mean, really, 75 cent tacos? How much better can you get? I went with Christy and Luke, and was later joined by Ward and James. While I was there, Kristi texted me. Turns out it was also Free Pancake Day, so as soon as I got done with Taco Tuesday, it was off to IHOP with Kristi, Mike, Jon, and Tuna (some of my favorite people ever!). Good times. :)

3. No More Searcy!
My Ethics professor is apparently really sick and isn't going to be able to teach for the rest of the semester. While this is kinda sad, it also means that I don't have to listen to her ramble about snake handling churches anymore. I was initially a little nervous about who they were going to stick my class with for a substitute. These worries promptly ceased when Alan McClung walked in the room. Best. Day. Ever.

4. No Homework!
I have had no homework this week whatsoever. I hardly know what to do with myself. I haven't had a week like this all semester long. The past several weeks have been super stressful, so it has DEFINITELY been nice to have a break!

5. Cancelled Class!
My 9:10am class was cancelled today. I don't have another class until 2:35pm, so guess what? I got to sleep until 12:30pm on a Thursday and it was totally okay. That was probably the best thing that has ever happened to me, ever (or at least close enough). It's strange not feeling exhausted...

6. McDonald's & Spanish Soap Operas!
Last night, Kristi, Jon, and I went to Hughes' Open Dorm and hung out with Michael. We had nothing to do afterwards, so we decided to go somewhere to get something to eat (for me, because I have apparently have chronic hunger issues) and drink (for Kristi, who was actually thirsty for once in her life). After an interesting drive-thru experience at McDonald's...

"Do you have milkshakes?"
"Yes."
Long pause.
"Do you have Hi-C?"
"...Hi-C milkshakes?"

...we went to Jon's so I could get a doughnut (or two. I'm telling you, I think I have a problem). We ended up watching some intense Spanish soap opera that none of us could understand (minus a couple of phrases that I could make out when they weren't yelling at 150mph). Basically, all I got out of it was #1, pink envelopes make awesome fans, and #2, if you want men to fight over you, wear fuzzy pink and orange hair clips (to accentuate the pink and orange curls in your hair) and earrings that are shaped like pink baby bottles. Valuable life lessons, I'm sure.

"Be My Escape" by Relient K

Sometimes, I think this is going to take forever. Literally.

"I’ve been housing all this doubt and insecurity
And I’ve been locked inside that house
All the while, You hold the key
And I’ve been dying to get out
And that might be the death of me
And even though there’s no way of knowing
Where to go, promise I’m going because

I’ve gotta get outta here
I’m stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake
I’ve gotta get outta here
And I’m begging You, I’m begging You, I’m begging You
To be my escape."

Hello, sunshine!

It's amazing what a little sunshine can do for me. I know I mentioned this the other day, but all this wintry weather has been getting to me. I've never been one to be prone to depression, especially not just because of the fact that it's winter, but good grief, enough with the clouds already! And really, if it must snow, can we at least get enough to cancel classes? 'Cause that'd be awesome. Let's have one or the other, preferably the warm and sunny stuff. I mean, really, it's gotten so bad that I am super excited that The Weather Channel (best thing ever) says it's going to be 56 degrees on Sunday. That's almost 60! And 60s = SPRING, SPRING, SPRING!!! Don't let me down, weather.com.

Another thing that made my life a little happier today was seeing my Little Pal, Katie! I love that kid so much. Every time I go to the Boys & Girls Club, she always makes me really thankful that I finally got around to joining BPLP. We are so much alike. It's ridiculous. Not only do people say we look like sisters, we have tons of things in common. Neither of us are super girly (but not tomboyish, either). We both love outdoorsy stuff, reading, and art. Other than a zillion common interests, there are a bunch of little things, like the fact that we both randomly skip when we walk, or that we both really, really like broccoli (as I discovered today). You know, just random things. I love it. No questions here--we were meant to be!

Okay, it would probably be a good idea to do a little more studying for the Social Psych exam I get to take in the morning. (I'm super proud of myself--for the first time in forever, I have been exceptionally focused tonight!) Cognitive dissonance, self-efficacy, fundamental attribution error, blah blah blah. OKAYBYE!!

Here we go again...

I have been listening to Mae so much lately, especially The Everglow. Such a great album! The whole thing is amazing, but "The Sun and the Moon" has been my favorite song lately. One of those keep-it-on-repeat-for-hours kind of favorites. I love it. :) Their music in general is wonderful, and their lyrics are even better. (I really, really, really appreciate well-written lyrics, more than I appreciate most things, and that's saying something.) So. Good.

Something else I like: When professors say things in class that are 100% relevant to my life. Today in Social Psych, Dr. Sargent began his lecture with this:

"What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary."

- Romans 7:16

Um, hi, story of my life right now. Especially the second half. It's funny how I can spend months learning a lesson, think I've got it down, and then suddenly find myself right back where I started. It's frustrating, really. But it's becoming very obvious to me--again--that I really don't know anything. And I don't like that.

Here we go with the lessons in trust.

Again.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Most. Boring. Valentine's Day. Ever.

Seriously, I'm amazed I'm still functioning right now. I was pretty sure I was going to go crazy about 4 hours ago. I mean, it's not like I usually have a date or anything, and I'm typically pretty okay with that. But geez, I normally have something to do!

What My Day Has Consisted of Thus Far:

1. Church. (1 hour)

2. Walking back from church in the snow. (10 minutes)

3. Nap. (2 1/2 hours)

4. Sitting in my room, bored out of mind. (Uhh, 7 hours. Straight.)

I've been in my room ever since 12pm and have spoken to a grand total of three people. Please forgive me if I have gone insane by tomorrow.

¿Cómo se dice "taco"?

First things first: I finally got around to making a header for the blog. Not the greatest thing I've ever made in my life, but I think it works okay. :) I've been meaning to do it forever, so I decided to go ahead and do it now that it's finally THE WEEKEND.

(Insert complete and total happiness here.)

Speaking of the weekend, it's been awhile since I've needed one this bad! Staying true to traditional week-after-Convocation form, this week has been way too stressful for its own good. If this wasn't already true, it definitely is now: I officially hate research papers (see last post for more details). And to think, it was supposed to be a fairly easy paper on something I'm actually interested in. But no--I was still up until after 4am and only that soon because I basically gave up on it. Way to make a good first impression on your professor, me.

The snow yesterday was nice. :) It was the light, powdery kind that didn't really stick to the roads or sidewalks, meaning we didn't have a huge, slushy mess to trek through like we did a couple of weeks ago (though we also got to make a snowman). It was just really pretty and peaceful, which was exactly what I needed. Not great for playing in, but I'm kind of over that at this point anyway. I just want spring. All this cold and cloudiness is getting to me. I need sunshine! And warm weather! And green! Sigh. It'll get here soon enough, I guess. The lack of it is just making life in general kind of blah. Oh well.

In an attempt to make my life a little more interesting, my mom and brother decided to make videos for me. They're completely random, but they made me laugh a lot. Here's one of several:

Yeah, my family is ridiculous. The video served its purpose though--it did make me happy!

Why my brain exploded

I'm in the middle of writing a research paper for my Social Psychology class that is due at 9:10 tomorrow morning. It's just a 3- to 5-page paper, right? Um, yeah, it is 3:30 in the morning. I've been working on it for 12 hours now. Guess how much I have done? A whole page and a half!

...I'm pretty sure I just died.