There is something exciting about leaving everything behind

Something deep and pulling leaving everything behind
Something about having everything you think you'll ever need
Sitting in the seat next to you.

-- Butterfly Boucher, "Another White Dash"

That is how I feel right now. Like I want to leave everything behind. All the papers, all the finals, all the obligations, all the drama, all the stress. I just need to go home and not have any cares in the world. I need to wake up late and read fun books and bake cookies and decorate my tree.

I just realized that my last paragraph had anaphora, repetition AND polysyndeton. Thank you rhetoric handbook. Just goes to show you how badly I need a major brain-rotting session.

Here's what I've been up to the past few days:

• Friday: Worked in the library for 20928975 hours on my Rhetoric take-home final. Turned in my Rhetoric final and then went to the library to read for a while. Watched What Not to Wear and then hung out with Daniella.
  


• Saturday: Cleaned my room in the morning, grabbed some lunch, read, took a nap, made Spongebob Squarepants macaroni and cheese, hung out with Kathryn, watched The Baby-Sitters Club with Daniella (she'd never seen the show, which is a TRAGEDY), had a popsicle party with the girls in the hall, took a bath and went to Bill and Frank's for the second time this week. That was fun; I wore a pretty new dress and saw a TON of my friends out.
  
• Yesterday: Worked on Ethics journals for the better part of the day, had dinner with Matty, froze my ass off on the way to my dorm from the dining hall, made myself a thermosful of hot cocoa and then froze my ass off on the way to the library to my dorm (even though I wrapped myself in a blanket AND had on a knit cap), reviewed for my PR final this morning, and went to bed bundled up under three blankets in a hat, shirt, pajama pants, and socks.
  

I am reaching the sad conclusion that I do not mix well with the cold weather. It makes me cranky. This could, however, be attributed to the fact that you lose something like 90% of your body heat through your head. Great.

On a more positive note, though, I think I got an A on my Public Relations final this morning. It was really easy. But what was an even better feeling than doing so well was throwing alllllll of my materials into the recycle bin in the library. It was extremely cathartic.

A fun night out and a productive day in

I cannot get over how much I love Bill and Frank's. Kira and I went last night (it had been forever and a day since we hung out last) and it was wonderful. I had two of my signature strawberry daiquiris and a bunch of laughs. It was nice to go out and not think about the library or finals or rhetoric for a change.

Today, however, was devoted to staying in. In the library, that is.

I arrived at 10:00 and worked on my rhetoric paper until 12:45. Stapling the papers together, all nice and hot from the laser printer, was absolutely amazing. I sighed a monstrous sigh of relief and then went back to my room to grab some books that I needed. While I was in my room, I grabbed a styrafoam cup and filled it to the tippy-top with cappucino fudge blitz ice cream from Publix. Yum.

Back at the library, I worked on my journalism final and my rhetoric final until it was time to turn in the paper at 2:45. From there, Kim and I went to the bookstore so I could buy back one of my textbooks; I got a measly $8.00. Hmph. Oh well, I guess I can't sneeze at cash, whether it is a lot or a little. I am, after all, a poor college student.

I went back to the library then, and realized that I needed to pick up a binder from my room. So I came back to Gordis, re-filled my ice cream cup and went back to the library to work on those take-home exams.

I threw in the towel at 5:30 so I could go wait on line to get free food at SGA's Reading Day Dinner. As of now, the only things I have to do are three questions on the rhetoric final, one question on the journalism final, five ethics journals, and three questions of the ethics final. Easy breezy beautiful.

Once I was back at my room for the night, I watched Jeopardy, hung out with Daniella (and found out that we are both ESFJs on the personality test thing), and watched Grey's Anatomy with Ashley, Linh, Allison, Katie, and Lina. Good episode, minus the Callie-weird-British-girl-lesbian-flirtation thing, and the Izzy-sleeping-with-the-image-of-dead-Denny thing.

In other news:

• Where did this semester go?
  
• I've been extremely tense lately, so I asked my mom for a massage gift certificate for Christmas. I really hope she follows through with that; my neck, back, and shoulders are tighter than Spandex. (Bad joke, I know).

• It bugs me that the one thing I really want for Christmas (hair), I cannot have. It is impossible to have shoulder-length locks by December 25th. Damn it.

Carpal tunnel and frozen ears

People have been asking me what I'd like for Christmas. I've finally figured out what I need.

A pup tent.

"But you don't go camping!" you say.

That's true. However, if conditions do not improve at school (translation: if my professors don't start letting up on the papers and take home essay exams), I am going to need to sleep over in the library at school.

I've already decided that the government documents section (the "gov docs" for us library nerds) is the perfect place to pitch a tent (insert sexual joke here) because nobody ever goes there.

I'd need to do this because I get my best work done at duPont-ball. Last night I was at the library for two hours (9:30-11:30); today I was there on my lunch hour and then for nearly five hours (6:15 to 11:00) in the evening to work on the dreaded Rhetoric paper (which isn't so dreaded after all; it's coming out pretty well. I am a little over halfway done). It's a wonder my fingers haven't fallen off from typing so much in such a short amount of time, though!

In other news, the weather here is close to frigid. I wore my "library outfit" tonight (jeans, a sweatshirt, and a baseball cap), but on the walk back to the dorm, my ears were so cold they were actually numb. It's times like these I wish I had hair. I also wish that earmuffs would be in style because let's face it, as much as I long for warm ears during these chilly December nights, I wouldn't be caught dead in a pair of earmuffs, the dorkiest accessory ever, unless everyone else was wearing them.

I realize that the last statement makes me the dictionary definition of a conformist, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

Other thoughts:

• Doing dishes is easily the most deplorable chore ever. I need one of these:
  
  
  


• Today was the last Ethics class I will ever have to take, and that fills me with oodles of joy
  
• I am actually looking forward to Stress-Free zone this year, mainly because I do not have to serve food to ungrateful students


• PET PEEVE: There is a boy at school who always rubs my head without asking. Nothing pisses me off more. Seriously. I am not a freaking Buddha for Christ's sake. Really, what is the point of that?


• Speaking of hair, I am excited the the stuff on my head is growing in, but I wish my legs would stay bare. I'd forgotten how much I don't like shaving. Luckily, though, this is prime long-pant-wearing weather, so maybe I can go another month sans razors.
  
• I'm majorly jazzed about the 97 that I got on my Public Relations final.
  
• Today there were Evangelists on campus passing out miniature Bibles. I got asked by TWO of them if I wanted one. I declined, of course, as Eminem was blasting on my iPod. The irony astounds me.