Ayo tricks.

It's my birthday! :D I'm twenty years old and that means I'm an old lady.

But this decade is going to be the best one yet, holla? Ohhhh yes.

We blew out of this town.

Well I have time on Christmas Eve to talk about the trip...!

We did it! Why? Here, a perfect example demonstrated through a text conversation between me and my friend, Mark.
Mark: I'm jealous of you and Katie having fun in the sun... down in Florida. The cape is so boring haha
Stephanie: Duh we already knew that, that's why we left!

Katie and I hit the road Saturday morning (I spent a good hour and a half at home before she picked me up to spend the night at her house haha) and headed towards Jupiter. We had every intention of driving straight there, but we decided to follow our parents' advice and get a hotel. Though then I remembered that my Godbrother, Ryan, recently moved to North Carolina, and he was amazing enough to take us in for the night. It was amazing to see him and catch up, I haven't seen him in years. We left the next morning and headed to Florida!

We spent that night and the next two days relaxing on the beach, shopping, and hanging out with Katie's sister, Rachel, and Rachel's fiance. I bought these amazing PJ pants at H&M that I'm obsessed with, got my free birthday gift and some lotion at Sephora, and walked away with a really nice, deep tan (at least on my arms and kinda my face). The trip was so, so, so worth it.




The drive was long and it was tough towards the end, but it was all okay because I was with my best friend. And it was FUN sitting in a car with her. We talked about everything underneath the sun and I really had an awesome time.

When we finally got back, I finally saw Samantha! We exchanged Christmas gifts (she got me Assholes Finish First by Tucker Max... such a trashy read, I love it. And I got her a framed picture of us and winter break coupons) and then went out. We went to Mark's house with another friend, Cory. My mom just looked at me funny when I told her I was going out, and I simply replied "Mom, life doesn't stop!" And she should know better than anyone.

Can't stop won't stop not once not never all day every day seven days a week. ;)

All in all, I've been having a fantastic winter break, and I've only been off for a week. Can't wait to see what the rest has in store for me!

Well, we did it. Stephanie and I drove all the way from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Jupiter, Florida. In about 25 hours each way.

It was so worth it to sit on the beach in 75 degree weather and leave with a tan line.

We'll update about it later, but it's Christmas Eve!

Finals are officially here.

You can tell, because today I spent an unusual amount of time in the gym, my roommate is about to clean our room to within an inch of its life, and I find it reasonable that I want to lay on the floor in my bra and sweatpants and do sit-ups (which I completely hate). No one is posting anything interesting on Facebook. 24 hour quiet hours start tonight at 11, but I doubt I'm going to be able to sleep any better.

Finals are here and I'm about to lose my mind.

It isn't that I'm stressed about finals--at least, not in the way Katie is. I don't get stressed like she does--but I guess I'm something else. A direct comparison between her and I isn't fair, so I'm not going to bother trying to make one. I don't know what I am about finals.

I just know I'm excited to drive down the east coast and be in Florida for a few days.

Almost homeward bound! (Remember that movie? It was so depressing.)

I have survived 2/3 of my finals. Nursing was Monday, psych was today, and then A&P is on Thursday.
But if you can believe it, almost going home isn't the only exciting thing that has happened lately. I've made some very good friends here in the past week, and I'm just glad that I have things like Florida and Stephanie's birthday and New Years and my wisdom teeth being removed to keep me occupied the month that we're home.
I can't even begin to write about it, so I won't.

I am just in such a good mood, the daunting task of starting to learn the Krebs cycle and metabolic/respiratory acidosis/alkalosis in less than 48 hours isn't even as depressing as it should be.

:)

We'll be sure to take an obnoxious amount of pictures on our way to Florida!

I plead temporary insanity.

Dearest Blogger,
Katie's finals week is next week. She gets four reading days and then has her finals next week. My finals are next Friday, after one reading day.

I don't think we'll be updating much until after our trip to Florida. So please forgive us and accept our plea of temporary insanity.

Thanks so much, and wish us luck on our finals!

XOXO,
S

Drum roll, please.

There's only two research papers and two exams standing between me and home!

Quick break from research to brag. Okay bye.

Edit later: Oh I should tell my story from today.

I got up early (for me on a Tuesday) and decided to go to the gym (which I do every single day now, yeppppp). Normal enough. As usual, I left my phone and my money and all my worldly possessions in my room and made my way down to the gym. I did my normal workout, but towards the end of working out I noticed a lot of people standing in front of the desk where I left my ID. I was not pleased, because I looked like hell and wasn't keen on going out there and retrieving it looking like I did.

Don't worry, though, my disturbing looks weren't the problem.

During my workout I noticed two firetrucks outside, in between my building and the freshman dorms. I vaguely thought "I hope my building isn't on fire" but mostly I was excited because I love. Love. Love firetrucks. And by love I mean LOVE. Anyway, I went about my business as usual, retrieved my ID and went outside to go into my building.

NOPE. Access denied. A fireman was standing outside turning anyone away who wanted to go in. A small crowd had gathered and soon my RD was going through, followed by someone else in housing who, over his shoulder, told us it would be awhile.

Mk.

My friend was outside and I went over to him, asked what was up, and he told me that someone had been smoking in their room and set off the fire alarms and sprinkler system.

I was irritated, of course, but I went back to the gym and got back on the machines while Facebooking through my iPod trying to get Katie's attention. THANK GOODNESS she happened to be on, because soon I was on my way over to her academic campus where she gave me a sweater and fed me. Then I sat in on her nursing lecture for an hour before I was aloud to go back.

Ridiculous, I tell you. But hey, firetrucks!

Today is Katie's birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY VERY BEST FRIEND.

And here is where the story of our relationship becomes Blogger-official.

Katie and I met in seventh grade, when I talked too much in math class and had to be moved next to the quietest girl in class. That girl was Katie, and we bonded over stupid middle school things. It wasn't until 8th grade that we became close, bonding at a friend's sleepover because of our mutual love of a stuffed monkey, who Katie named Stephan, which is how we became the monkey twins.

I think it was then that we became inseparable.



We spent the first two and a half years of high school with lockers right next to each other and in the same history class. We spent Friday nights at her house with James and Dylan, playing Mario Kart and Mario Party (which she always wins, and I've only just started to question why we bother playing). This remains one of our favorite at-home activities to this day.

Anyway, our junior year, we had a falling out. Whenever anyone asks why, I always reply it was over a boy- a juvenile enough answer, because the person asking always assumes it was a lot less complicated than it really was. Saves me the explaining. We stopped speaking, completely, senior year. Anyway, anyway, she went away to college and I stayed at home to attend community college for a year while figuring out my next move. But when I was accepted and decided to enroll in the college located across the street from her's, I knew that things needed to at least be different.

I ended up getting really lucky. We met on the town green and talked about what had happened between us, and before we knew it, we were falling back into step with each other. And it happened quick!



Today, I'm happy to (again) call her my bff. We go to school across from each other and we have weekly It's Like A Wednesday dates, where we venture to Harvard Square and get bubble tea in all it's deliciousness.

Tonight, I'm going out to celebrate with her and her friends from school. I already gave her her presents, which included a surprise party I threw at home for her so she wouldn't miss out on celebrating with friends from home. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE WAY, LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!

Dear girl who paces back and forth down our hall talking on the phone,

I now know that you got him Call of Duty for Christmas and yes, it's now facebook official. As much as I enjoy hearing your nails-on-a-chalkboard conversations fading in and out as you repeatedly walk past my room, I need you to stop. It's getting a little bit out of control, and I can no longer successfully slam my door in a passive aggressive manner as you walk by because of the copious amounts of wrapping paper and other Christmas decorations on it that are hindering its maximum slamming ability. So please, do every single girl who has complained about you on this floor a favor and stick to annoying only your roommate as you talk for (literally) hours on end.

Very sincerely,
Katie

PS- Dee called on the random communal phone across from my door, and she says her recital is tomorrow.

So crazy I don't know what to do.

I cannot believe how much this semester has flown by.

I got back this afternoon from Thanksgiving break. THANKSGIVING BREAK. There are only 20 days, including what's left of today, left in this semester. Amazing.

When my roommate got back, we had a little girly moment where we screamed and hugged and got hysterical over talking about our breaks and then we got serious. Well, it was the like shirt before the shirt: we got serious before actually getting serious.

Only Jersey Shore fans will get that, and I really feel alone on that one in this blog...

Anyway! Theresa and I were talking about how quickly this semester had flown by, and we reminisced on how we used to cry to each other about how we couldn't wait for it to be over. Literally cry, though.

This was a serious adjustment to make. I'm looking back fondly on my first two months here, however, and I think I knew deep down that everything would be okay. I mean, it was hard! Everything was hard!

I'm feeling really proud of myself right now. And, Katie, you were right. I did get used to it. Thank you for being there for me throughout it all. Love you!

I love my crazy friends.

I love my friends so much, I can't imagine my life without them. One minute we're sitting in the cold under blankets in front of a fire talking about Skipper Slips and having an elementary school reunion, singing the lyrics to our school song from ten years ago. Then the next moment we're on a Taco Bell run singing Like A G6 and Bad Romance and the next I'm getting moral support in dealing with stupid drama. Then we're playing truth or dare, arguing over who James is going to save from the hypothetical fire ("WHY WOULD YOU SAVE HIM INSTEAD OF ME I'M LIKE YOUR SISTER")

I just felt the need to write that down somewhere.

Katie's uh, eventful weekend.

So this was a weekend of firsts, sort of.

It started Friday- I skipped class for the first time this year because of Harry Potter the night before. That night we went out to celebrate Katie Mead's birthday. We went to this Indian place in Harvard Square, and it was really good. Only one problem: apparently I'm allergic to more than I knew, because I had a wicked bad reaction after eating. I felt so nauseous, and Isabel and I ended up leaving early and good thing- after getting out of the taxi back here, I got violently sick. Another first, since I can't say I've ever puked outside before. My throat proceeded to swell and after some miscommunication with public safety, an ambulance was sent to take me to the hospital. Yeah, there's not much like being carried down the stairs by two EMT's to attract some attention of people peeking out of their doors. I rode in the back of the ambulance, yet another first, and the EMT was cute, and I wished that I didn't have all these hives all over me. Isabel told me later that they let her push the buttons for the sirens, too.
Four hours, 50 mg of Benadryl, Prednisone, 800 ml of saline and one very sore IV injection site later, I left.
I'm just so annoyed when I think about it now, because I've eaten Indian food before and was fine. I guess it's just some new random, exotic spice that I can't have. And I don't even know what it was. But now the doctor that I spoke to is insisting I get a new epi-pen, so tomorrow I have to venture around trying to find some place to fill my prescription. Or maybe I'll just wait until I come home on Tuesday.

It was quite an eventful weekend, just not uh, in the way I would have normally liked. But whatever. It makes an interesting story, at least.

And today I did some shopping for my Secret Santa and some other people. I really like wandering around Boston on my own, even if it's not the safest thing to do. I just like the independence of it all.

Katie is mind blown.

I am so incredibly mind blown right now.

It's so bittersweet seeing my childhood almost come to an end. That's really how I feel. To literally grow up with characters and be the same age as them and to just feel like you know them, however corny that is, is something you just can't forget.

And even though it's 3:03 am, I have to get this down while this mind blownness is fresh in my mind.
It was a mob scene, but well worth the three hours of waiting in line, then another waiting in the theater. It was worth sitting through the shittiest preview I've ever witnessed (Cowboys vs. Aliens) and it was worth sitting next to someone obnoxious. It was all worth it because this is just simply my favorite series ever. And I can't believe that in a few short months, it will all be over.

I loved the movie. We all cried up when Dobby died, and one of Sarah's friends was sobbing hysterically and was annoying people near her. But I teared up, so I can't really talk. It was just so epic and perfect. Everyone is rooting for Ron, and it was really cool to see Hermione on screen thinking I've seen you in person before!

I just... I don't know.
Mind blown.


I have to make sure my kids read and love this stuff as much as I do someday. No excuses.
I also have to try and make myself go to bed, since I'm donating blood in eight hours and am probably severely dehydrated.

S: Being a brat about math. Again.

Nothing in this world has the ability to bring me to my knees and cry like math does. I take one look at anything with fractions and freeze up. It doesn't matter that I've been doing this stuff for years, I'll never understand it. The only reason I'm blogging right now is because I'm doing a math review and I got the the 3rd problem, which reads 'Verify that g(x)=f-1 by showing that f(g(x))=x and g(f(x))=x, where f(x)=3x-2, g(x)=1/3x+2/3'.
No thank you, I'd really rather not.

Sadly, this is not my last math class as I had hoped it would be. Next semester I have to take statistics because its a pre-req to Quantitative Measures in Psychology ew.

I need to stop stressing. The last exam I took for this class I totally bombed (but I was expecting worse, to be honest) but I feel like that has a lot to do with the fact that I had just said goodbye to one of my best friends for what I thought was going to be like, six months, I had gotten no sleep for the entire weekend, and I was stressed about a trillion other things. Plus I didn't study, at all. I'm hoping that this time I'll be better, especially since I'm super content with life right now and I'm actually studying.

I should count my blessings, though, since my professor gives partial credit and I'm basically relying on that to get me through the rest of this semester.

Which is only a month, in case you were wondering!

Katie reflects. Sort of. Can you reflect on stuff that hasn't happened?

This is my go-to thing to do when I'm exhausted but can't seem to quite get myself off the computer.

So we came home this weekend. I had a baby shower to go to today, and also my sister is moving down to Florida before I'll be back for Thanksgiving, so I had to say goodbye to her. It's going to be weird. This is going to be the first year she won't be here for the major holidays like that or Christmas. She'll be with her ~fiance. Which is cool, but scary. Because it means we're not the same little sisters that set up Barbie world in the living room and made them have ice skating competitions on the linoleum. She's getting married and I'm practically halfway through my college career and I'll soon be graduating and living in the city working as a nurse and will probably be getting married myself and will have baby showers thrown for me, and then I'm not a kid anymore. Heck, in three weeks I won't be a kid anymore. Technically. But nights like tonight when I'm at Stephanie's having dance parties to Willow Smith proves that we're not in danger of losing our kidness anytime soon.
It's just really scary to think about, you know?

But there's a lot to do before I get to my future baby showers. Like one, graduate, and two, find me a husband. Nbd.
Although, if you think about it, in eight or so years when it's our ten year high school reunion, I'll almost be 30. Which means all the good stuff in my life will be happening in the next eight years.
YIKES.

This is too much to think about before going to bed. I'm probably not going to fall asleep now.

Dear Emmanuel,

No it's really okay, I don't need to be a junior next fall. I don't need to graduate on time and save myself 42,000$.

So thank you so much for giving me the worst registration time ever on the day reserved for freshman. Much appreciated.

I have eight minutes until my official registration time and I'm missing one class. Oh also, Emmanuel, I really appreciate the fact that I will not be taking any classes pertaining to my major, since the only one without any pre-reqs is filled. COOL.

Also you know my problem with taking classes on Fridays, so let's see to it that we make my schedule work. I want a three day weekend every weekend, please okay thank you.

Love always,
Stephanie

I wrote that before I signed up for classes. Here is what I wrote after:

Dearest Emmanuel,
I officially love you.

Thank you so much for allowing me to take four classes all on Monday and Wednesday, plus an online class that meets occasionally on Tuesdays. You have officially made my dream of a four day weekend come true. Now I can get a part time job and save money, plus with my course load this year (biology, statistics, sociology, short fiction and information technology, in case you forgot) I'll need all that extra time to study.

LOVE ALWAYS AND FOREVS,
Stephanie

S.

I just feel like I need to write somewhere how much I love, love, love my friends.

I was talking to one of my friends, Mike (the one who used to be my neighbor... too many Mikes in my life...), and just venting and he called me because Facebook chat decided to stop working. We talked for a good 45 minutes and he made me feel so much better about everything in my life, saying the things I needed to hear and making me laugh and making me feel good about life.

Then I got back on Skype and another best friend of mine, Samantha, who I hadn't really spoken to in weeks ("Why do I feel like we had a falling out without actually fighting?!") and I ended up calling her and talking in the stairwell. We talked for another 45 minutes, and I told her everything I had needed to tell her and we compared notes and shared gossip like those old biddies you read about in books do.

Friends are the best. I don't know where I would be without them. I feel so loved right now... I had a great weekend with Katie, a great conversation with my mom, a great talk with Mike, a great gossip session with Samantha... life couldn't get any better at this moment.

I'm going to go listen to happy music and eventually go to bed. :)

Kt.

I really need to learn to manage my stress. That is just one thing I do not do well. I hate to say that I rely on pills to do it, but at this point, I don't feel like I have any other choices. I have an appointment for after Thanksgiving. Or rather, I'm on a wait list because "people always cancel after the holidays". Whatevs.

I feel like I had a brief week of not having exams and stuff, but that's most certainly gone now. But people seem to be keeping me in check when I start to freak out, which is good. I need that.

What I do need to do is start thinking about my birthday! It's in less than one month. I've started my Birthday/Christmas list sort of. So far I have a Camelback water bottle and boots. Dream big, huh? But maybe I'll just ask for money. Becauuuuuse:
Stephanie, Sarah, and I came to an epiphany. My sister will be living in Florida in December and we're going to go drive down to visit her, then go to Harry Potter land in Universal! It would be such a fun roadtrip.
Admission itself would be a little pricey, especially around when we're looking to go. But we can make it work!

My life is conducted in weekends.

Last weekend was amazing. For once in my life I thought I was acting my age (blessing or curse: I've always acted as though I were a middle aged mom, you know, protecting everyone but me).
Last weekend was:
"Running into Emma Watson?" SWEET.
"Concert in the middle of a city I have no idea how to drive in?" SURE.
"Dance party at Brown til one in the morning?" NO PROBLEM.
It truly was a liberating feeling and I had a great time.

This week wasn't anything like last weekend, though I did see Paranormal Activity 2 (in IMAX... I love this city) and it scared me a lot. My friend and I left the cinema and we could only say "What WAS that?" It was way better than the first, in my opinion.

I also got all nearly all my work done through Tuesday. This weekend is Halloween weekend, and while I don't know exactly what I'm doing, I know it won't involve studying.

I wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween!

Katie gets a life, if only for a weekend.

This past weekend was more fun that I've had in such a long time.
Stephanie, Samantha, and I went up to Providence for the day. We met up with a friend who gave us a tour of Brown- and we ran into Emma Watson! My life is complete!- and later that night, we had our 3oh!3 concert, which was really good. One of the opening bands was called Down With Webster which I actually really liked, even if the songs are a teeny bit cheesy. I figured I can support them by giving $6 on iTunes to buy their cd, so I did. But anyway, after the concert we went back to Brown and had a really fun time, and came back Sunday morning.
And since then it's been back to school and back to exams. It's only Tuesday and I've already had a music exam and a nursing quiz. And a lab practical is tomorrow on the lymphatic, respiratory, and digestive systems. I'm just still stuck in weekend mode, and this homework is not getting done!

This weekend is Halloween obviously, and I get to finally wear my Gaga costume, so I'm excited. That's something to get me through these next few days!

~name change

Awhile ago, Katie told me that I could get more creative than a winking face. So I've been on the lookout for some inspiration, and it came to me in the form of a Tegan and Sara song called City Girl.

The lyrics go, 'I got so city girl on you/I got so crazy I don't know what to do'.

So I decided to test it out and see how we end up liking it!

3oh!3 tomorrow! :D

Every day I see my dream.

Find more artists like LMFAO at MySpace Music

I've been listening to Yes by LMFAO a lot lately and I truly love it. Aside from my obvious love of songs I can dance to, it's like... every day I do see my dream, cheesy as that sounds. And okay, I've been doing a lot of soul searching lately trying to figure out exactly what my dream is, and I've basically decided that my dream is to be happy. Wherever I end and with whoever it is, I want to be happy with it. I always said that the difference between me and a lot of people is that success isn't what will bring me happiness... happiness will bring me success.

Eeeeeugh. Did I just write that?

OKAY MOVING ON. Today was a very good day. I woke up late, yet somehow managed to get to class early and not feeling as though I looked like crap. I gave my presentation in Philosophy of Law and I got an 83. Then I had College Algebra and I was bored practically to tears, but mainly because I understood everything perfectly, which is a rarity for me in math. We'll see how that goes when I take a quiz on it on Wednesday, though. And then I took an exam in Theory of Adulthood and got an 86. Overall, not a bad day academic-wise!

My class was cancelled on Friday, so I'm going home Thursday night. It's my best friend's last weekend on the Cape before he moves away for the winter! I'm so excited for him to get off-Cape, it's SUCH a liberating feeling to be over that bridge. Of course I'm going to miss his guts like crazy, but I can't wait to trade stories with him on Sandy Neck next spring.

But on Saturday (!!!!!) my two best girlfriends and I are heading to Providence. And for once it isn't for the mall. Nah, we're going to visit a friend of mine at Brown and then we're going to the 3oh!3 concert at Lupo's. I CAN'T WAIT.

S: So many good songs are coming up on shuffle right now.

I'm waiting for my roommate to come back and she's going to help me do my hair and makeup for my cousin's wedding today. I'm excited, but she's wicked excited. She's never been to a wedding before and has decided to live vicariously through me.

Clubbing last night. Oh my, what an experience. I had a ton of fun and I would do it again, because now I know what to expect. I honestly can't explain my time there, but it was fun. I think next time I go I'll have even more fun, since nothing will be a surprise. :)

Edit: Just thought it might be nice to document that the word of the night last night was 'interesting'.

Katie gets out for a night!

I haven't had such a good time in in such a long time. Last night, Vanessa, Stephanie, Theresa & I went to Rise. It's this dance club off of Arlington- on Fridays it's for college students. Well, until 1 am, then that's when the sketchy old men come and the drug deals go down. So we leave before then. But still, it was just so good to go out and dance, you know? Forget all the sweaty people around you and your feet hurting and having to pee but the line for the bathroom is too long and the fact that you're dehydrated because you refuse to pay $4 for a bottle of Poland Springs. It. Was. So. Much. Fun.
I wish we got some pictures while we were there- it was crazy.
Ah I just can't get over it. I'm always cooped up in here because of all my work. And granted, I still have work to do, but it was just time to get out.

Aaaand even though my head is pounding, I have to go get ready. My family is coming up with my sister's fiance, and I'm supposed to play tour guide. Even if it means getting out of bed early, it means free lunch not from Bartol!

And I'm also very excited for 3Oh!3 next weekend- that'll have to get me through the anatomy exam & case study this week. All of my classes sort of cycle together, so when I have one major exam, eleven more are bound to follow...

LOL FML.

Okay so I just, just, just finished my Psychodynamic Theory Of Personality (applied to relationships) midterm essay due tomorrow, and now I'm taking some much needed de-stress time to eat my strawberry ice cream and blog a little bit.

I very easily could start spilling my guts about college and all this other emotional, pent up crap that I have stewing away in my brain, but I'm not going to do that. For one thing, it would be long and embarrassing, and for another, it would make me sad which would just make me want to shop and spend money that I simply can't be spending right about now. Not if I want to go to Italy in May...

Which I will be, with the lovely Katie! Ah I'm so excited for it, but more details to come later, since we have a good few months to go before we can pack our bags...

We went for a walk today down to the rose garden and past the MFA, which was nice. I have a seriously bad sinus headache and am simply full of complaints right about now.

Want to see my to-do list? I know you do!
1. Study for my Theory of Personality Midterm.
2. Take down notes for the case presentation I have to do Monday for Philosophy of Law.
3. Bullet point and organize notes for Theory of Adulthood and Aging for the exam Monday.
4. Figure out what the heck is going on in math.
5. BUY. BLACK. TIGHTS.

Oh so in other news:

(Ignore that overtired chick holding my concert tickets)

We're going to see (don't laugh) 3oh!3 in Providence next week! I can't wait, it's going to be such an adventure. :) Because I hate driving in the city and we have to find our way not only to the venue, which Katie and I have been to before and if I remember correctly it was a pain to get to, but to Brown University to visit a friend. I hope Katie and Sam are as ready as I am to get lost a million times...!

Edited, the next day: I don't know why people think the end of the hall is a good place to have a private conversation. I can hear every word. :(

Stephanie's tired, what a surprise.

This weekend was a very, very good one. I came home for the long weekend and spent it with my oldest friends. :)

Although this week is going to suck. It's midterms already, but I only have one official exam; the rest of my tests are technically papers. I was looking over my notes for Theory of Personality earlier and I truthfully don't remember even writing any of this stuff, never mind what it all means.

Cool.

But this coming weekend is my cousin's wedding, which will be fun! I only get to see this part of my family once a year, so it'll be a good time.

:) Life is good!

Katie is overtired and slightly delusional.

So in a moment of weakness, I'm going to ask myself what the hell I am doing.

I typed out something long and embarrassing, but it didn't quite make sense. So there's no sense in answering that open and highly irrelevant question anyway.

Um Katie's updating more than me??

Sorry I've been MIA lately, but after I took that horrific math test (which I got an 86% on, thank you very much!) I was feeling sick so I went home to recuperate over a long weekend. And at home I really didn't have much to update on. This weekend is another long one (an official this time, though!) which I'm very excited about.

Hm let's see, what else has been going on...? Not much.

My apologies for the bad update, but here have a picture.



Edit: Oh, oh, oh! I got a Halloween costume for a pre-Halloween party this weekend. I left it at home, so I can only guess now what it looks like. Something like

this. If not that exact thing. And my roommate is loaning me her boots that look like the ones in the picture. This costume was on sale, thank you very much!

I'm so ready to crawl into bed as it is now 10:28 at night. If only the people in the hall would hush.

Freeeeeedom! Sort of.

So I suck and didn't post yesterday, but I have good reason. I was having too much fun celebrating my freedom. After sitting in the quad and reading for a bit, I got caught up on shows I've missed, and even went to get bubble tea down near BU. It wasn't nearly as good as Harvard Square, but it'll curb my craving until next week.
Oh Stephanie, when you see this, the new Berry Line flavor is peach! We're going.

And now I'm off to celebrate some more. And study a little bit for a psych quiz tomorrow, but mostly celebrate.

A life? What's that? Katie seems to have forgotten.

I cannot remember what it was like to not have homework. To not stress about anything. To have free time.
BUT I'm tired of always saying how tired and stressed I am. So since I've diagnosed myself with duck syndrome (where you seem relatively calm, but am paddling and freaking out ferociously underneath the surface), I think talking about it less will maybe convince me that there's nothing to be freaking out about in the first place.

So happy things. On Friday I treated myself to a Bubble Tea down in Harvard Square with Isabel. It was supposed to be quick so I could come back here and get stuff done, but Isabel is very good at keeping me distracted. We ended up wandering around Harvard Square for three hours and I even dropped ten dollars on a scarf (gasp!). Our friend's birthday is in a week, so we were saying how maybe in Urban Outfitters we'd find something. Or this cute little boutique. Or in the burger joint that all the Harvard boys were sitting in. Etc.
And last night, I even went to the movies. We saw The Town because 1) We're in Boston so it's pretty much required and 2) I saw a scene being filmed last year on Yawkey Street, right next to Fenway. It was really cool then, and even cooler to see it on the big screen in a packed theater.

Today was lazy, though, and I've been studying and studying my ass off for psych, music, nursing, and my anatomy lab practical.
WHEN THIS WEEK IS OVER- or just after Wednesday, really- I AM GOING TO POST THE BEST THING EVER ON HERE BECAUSE THEN I'LL FINALLY HAVE SOMETHING FUN TO WRITE ABOUT LIKE OH I DON'T KNOW, GOING OUT TO A PARTY OR SOMETHING EQUALLY AS AWESOME BECAUSE I WILL FINALLY BE FREE AND ANYTHING IS EXPONENTIALLY BETTER THAN SITTING IN MY ROOM ALL THE TIME STUDYING.


I hope I make it through the next few days. I think I'm going to use up all the luckyness in my lucky bracelet by the time this week is done.

I'm sorry, but a shopping post is in order.

Hi, my name is Stephanie, and I'm a shopoholic.

It's bad. I haven't gone for real clothes shopping in WEEKS (I've been thrifting, and while I'm proud of all the clothes I got for under ten bucks, nothing compares to that new sweater/jeans/shirt/dress/shoes/bag smell). Every time I sit down to this here computer, no matter what for, I eventually find myself pursuing various websites. And I'm tempted. Boy, am I tempted.

My latest struggle is with rain boots. I actually do need them, not that superficial need like with the sweater on Forever21.com sitting JUST underneath the Blogger tab on my browser. No, getting to class in the rain with nothing but flip flops actually does suck. I've put at least five different pairs of boots in my basket on Target.com and then Xed out of the tab, convincing myself that the money I've saved can be better spent elsewhere.

Luckily, my roommate came to the rescue when she noticed my lack of a basic necessity. When she gets back to campus after going home for the weekend, she's going to be bringing a pair of boots she bought but can't match with anything, so she's giving them to me.

I'm excited, but still lusting after about a thousand sweaters from Forever21.

Let's mark this down as a con on Stephanie's List of College Pros and Cons; lack of room in my budget for shopping.

This is the part where Stephanie breaks down over math.

I am not, nor will I ever be, a math person.

In math class, there are a million more things to be thinking about than radicals and exponents and the nth power of a million. Like should I go to the gym later?, I wonder what's for lunch, and other things, like shopping, boys, my law homework, the long weekend coming up, and pretty much anything that does not involve numbers and somehow solving them.

That's what happens to me, I start thinking about all this crap and suddenly there's a board full of notes I have yet to copy down. I glance at the clock and realize that only five minutes went by--excuse me? How can anyone learn all this in five minutes?!

I press on because once I finish this, I only have to take quantitative measures as far as math goes for the psychology major.

Anyway, I'm super stressed out, so I'm going to go put on some running shorts and head out for a small jog. When I get back, I'm hoping I'll be too wiped out to care much about anything.

Nothing like a little shop therapy for Katie.

I am always, always, always stressed. About nothing. About everything. About exams, quizzes, homework, and labs. About if I left my straightener plugged in, the lights on, and if the food I'm eating has gluten in it. About if I should go to the gym. About not going to the gym. About my health.

I am literally perpetually stressed. That's probably why I got sick in the first place. That and my general disregard for coats or sweatshirts when I go to class because it'll mess up my hair, but I'm always using Purell, though, so I thought maybe that would negate the carelessness. I guess not.
But in the next two weeks, I have one quiz, two exams, and a lab practical, as well as the one quiz I had today. How will I do it?

I have this poster in my room here that says "Keep Calm and Carry On". I bought it because it went with the ~indie wonderland theme my roommate and I have, but also because I'm desperate to stop sweating the small stuff. I thought maybe if I see a giant reminder plastered to my wall everyday, I'd have to do it. I try, and maybe I'm getting better. But it can't stop me from getting stressed at all.

So anyway, my roommate showed me Etsy.com today- specifically this one seller in the Philippines who makes adorable necklaces out of pocket watches. She has lots of really cute other things too. So naturally I bought one, but it was only 20$ with the international shipping. That's practically all of my allowance that I allot for each week, but whatever. I didn't spend any last week when I was home sick, so it evens out. Here's a picture of it:


And now I must go get something done before this afternoon where I'm helping my friend do a photoshoot for her photography class. I have to dress up all classy and go to a T stop, where the concept is to capture a story. I guess I'm going to be fighting with one of my friends or something, haha. At least I'll look cute even if I'm making a fool out of myself in public.

Advisor Meeting

I just got back from the meeting with my advisor, and it actually wasn't too bad. My roommate came back from her meeting with the same advisor moments before I left for mine completely stressed out. And as it turns out, I'm still stressed for the same reasons-being a freshman and having to take summer courses- so at the very least, I have nothing new to worry about.

It still sucks, though.

But I was confirmed that I'm able to take summer courses without messing anything up. I guess I don't have the maximum at community college yet (yay?) so my college is still able to accept classes from there. I just have to get them preapproved and go through a long process...

But I guess that's what college is, y/y?

Anyway. I just have to declare a track for my major, and I'm a little conflicted. I have four choices; neuroscience, counselling, developmental, and general psych. I need to figure out which is the best to obtain a graduate degree but also something I'm passionate about and can do for the rest of my life.

Ugh this is so complicated. Do not like.

O hai, I'm Katie.

Okay okay, Stephanie. I'm finally making time for this!

I apologize that it's taken four of Stephanie's posts to get to one of mine, but like she said, it might be like that for a teensy bit, unfortunately. Because at this moment, three things consume my life: classes and their subsequent torturous labs, homework, and this God awful cold I've been carrying around. (And everyone calls me a hypochondriac- but if I'm really sick that doesn't count, right?)
But a small introduction is in order, I suppose.
I, too, am from good little Cape Cod. I'm technically a 'wash-ashore', but that doesn't matter. I'm a Cape Codder at heart- Sandy Neck bonfires, tourist bashing, 40 hour work weeks starting when you're thirteen, etc. And while Stephanie was there a little longer than I was, I still love and miss it. Last year I ventured to the big bad city of Boston, and like was mentioned, am attempting to endure the rigorous nursing program at this overly-priced college that never fail to empty my bank account. I like it though, or I wouldn't be doing it. So far it's been the preliminary stuff- chemistry, anatomy, nursing research, stuff like that- but today, actually, I have my first (six hour long) nursing lab at 3:00. It's vital signs and easy stuff like that, and I'm pretty excited. So if you're in close-vicinity to me in the upcoming weeks (Stephanie, ahem) prepare yourself to have your blood pressure and pulse and temperature and respiration rate taken an obscene amount of times. Just sayin'.
I wish I had more time to enjoy the city, though. I try to make a point of going out at least once a week. Last week alone I ended up at some sketchy house party in Allston where this kid (whose real name was Bexley or Baxter or something btw) actually believed me when I said my friend was related to Taylor Swift, as well as some party in the North End where an entire hostel filled with foreign kids were- and I learned a few additional swears in Russian. Phonetically, if you say "Pzdietz", that means bullshit. I like that one.
And I guess I should mention this is the first time in four years that I've been 'single' officially- and that's really scary. Not like it even matters, when I'm cooped up in my dorm room all night long, but I feel like that's a little important.

Okay, I need to get some homework done before lab starts. I get to be all official with my stethoscope and duffel bag filled with medical goodies- and starting next week, my scrubs! I'm excited for that.

I'll try to post more, though!

A mini baby update.

I'm supposed to be on my way to the bookstore to pick something up for my baby sis, but I'm not doing that yet. Obviously.

A little update on Katie: Despite going to school right next to each other, we barely have time to see each other. Plus, she was sick last weekend, and she's a nursing major in a super intense program so her updates will hopefully be soon, but I'll probably be the one posting most. Not a big deal. Hopefully I'll get to see her pretty face, or better yet, con her into coming over for the season finale of The Real World on Wednesday. ;)

Again, I have no homework and too much free time on my hands. Hopefully my last class of the day will give me SOMETHING. I already did all my reading for Philosophy of Law (sounds impressive, no?) and my dad overnighted my algebra book sooooo I can't do my homework for that until I get it tomorrow. Not a tragic loss, actually!



Tomorrow I have a meeting with my advisor to figure out how I can be a junior by next fall. Hello, stress!

Okay, Lauren, I'll go to the bookstore for you now. I don't know why you need a Vera Bradley change purse SO BADLY but whatevs. Love youuuuu.

XOXOXO,
S

So a lot has happened.

I moved to Boston, met my roommate, started classes, keep falling in and out of serious bouts of homesickness...

I just had my first group meeting with my advisor and realized how stressed out this is making me. I'm a trucking freshman, again. For the next year, I'm going to have to bust my butt to have junior standing by this time next year. You can imagine how upset this make me. I have to complete a year and a half of work in one year, and make sure it complies to my major or else I'm looking at ANOTHER year here.

Which, broken down, equates to this:
Keep my four classes this semester, in an effort to establish myself in the city socially and emotionally so I stop getting homesick and thinking "Beauty school is always an option".
Take five classes next semester.
Take two classes over the summer at stupid community college, where I swore up and down I'd never go to again.

Half of me is basically thinking "I hate my life" while the other half is being reasonable and thinking that so many worse things have happened and it's not the end of the world and I want to get a PhD for crying out loud, so this will not be the only stressful part of my education.

Regardless of how level-headed I'm being about this, I'm laying low today until class later, and then I'll probably continue to lie low until the Jersey Shore party tonight.

Boooooooooo stress, do not like.

Edited, about ten minutes later: I just went down to check my mail in the other dorm building. I actually got three cards of encouragement from my family. One was from my little cousin, Olivia, one from her, my other cousin, my aunt and uncle and they got me a 20$ Dunkin Donuts giftcard and one from my mom containing 25$. So I suppose things are starting to look up for the day.

h3llo again.

I'm thinking about bringing another girl on board this blog, Katie. Katie, like me, is making the transition from beach town to big city (except she did it last year while I was stuck at community college and is now back in her second year, lucky bitch). Her and I have been friends since eighth grade, minus two years we spent hating each other. Which btw, is irrelevant and inefficient!

We've had plenty o' blogs together in the past on the now dead GreatestJournal. The point is, she's a great blog partner, a great writer, and my best friend. You'll love her words, pinky promise.

I'll let her introduce herself, she's probably sleeping now. She moved to school a week before me, and has class in the morning. Silly girl.

MEANWHILE, BACK ON THE BEACH.

We're prepping for "the big one", Hurricane Earl. I'm not okay with my last few days on the beach spent on house arrest because my mom is a wee bit paranoid. Guess how many flashlights she bought today in preparation for this storm? Oh, only fifteen.

No big deal.

Although I did go to the beach to see the waves with my sister and ex-boyfriend/good friend. They weren't too impressive, height wise, but you could just hear how powerful they were. Then we watched the stars for a bit and saw the Milky Way. I'll miss stuff like that, but I can't wait to shout 'later!' to my hometown.

Til later...

Oh h3y there!

Allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Stephanie, I'm a nineteen year old psychology student studying in Boston. I attend a small, private college in the city but I've lived in a small beachside town my entire life. Contradiction? Oh, I certainly think so.

On one hand, I'm a total born and bred beach bum. I have a cutesy pink surfboard, an extensive bikini collection, and one trusty pair of $3.99 black flip flops I wear with everything from yesterday's shorts to my so-called evening attire (a sundress?). At home, I've always been shy and timid, not really one to go out. At home, most of my nights are spent with my closest friends just... hanging out.

The other side of me, however, no one has met yet. Hell, I've barely even met her. Her name is Stephanie, too, but she's completely different from the girl on the beach. This particular Stephanie actually enjoys wearing three inch heels. She loves her party dresses, shopping, and soy decaf cappuccinos at Starbucks. She's a completely different person in Boston than in that teeny tiny beach town. Boston Stephanie is everything the old me wishes she were.



I was bored one day and made that, which aptly compares the person I am/was, to the person I am/will be. Click it, it will make it bigger.

I'm more than ready for this transition. I've long outgrown this town. Bring it on.

XOXO,
Stephanie