A JOB and SCUBA

Soooo today I received some awesome news. First off, I now have JOB!!!!! HOOORAAAAY! They called me today and let me know that I got this internship at a conservation and environmental high school program here in Chicago. My job is mainly to help the program participants with their powerpoint projects that they must complete throughout the program. But because I have a lot of background in environmental science (from a couple of Shedd Aquarium programs that I did), they are hiring me full-on to do other things with the program every day (rather than just a few days and hours a week). Stipend of $1600 for the 4 weeks. Im so excited. And I start Monday.


this is going to be me----->

And then, to top it all off, my mom surprised me right after I finished washing my hair yesterday and told me that she is bought me a groupon to get my scuba certification this summer!!!! I can't even describe how happy I am right now. I've been trying to get my certification for like 4 years now, but havent been able to due to funds and time constraints. I'm contributing a couple hundred dollars that I earned at school towards it, but who cares. Best. birthday. present. ever.



And now for some embarrassing moments at the gym. So far I've dropped weights on myself like twice during hang cleans and bench. i couldn't finish a rep and the weight got stuck resting on my boobs and on my legs in hang cleans. super embarrassing. especially when you have like 30 middle aged men staring at you in the first place cause you're the only female in the weight lifting area. All the men at my gym believe women are just supposed to do cardio.

Lastly, I should mention some good reads. First off, I read a lot of young adult books. You should know that.

okay so I loved this book called Matched by Allie Condie. about this different society with all these weird rules and predictions. interesting stuff.
Haven by Kristi Cook. A girl with special powers and goes to a school that is only for gifted people like her. teenagers with telekinesis, psychic abilities, etc. real cool.
and Wake by Lisa McCann. A girl who can jump into people's dreams. Super awesome series.

In terms of movies, I watched this movie called CAMP last week. really interesting. but i wouldnt say it was a great movie. lots of musically talented actresses, but not necessarily a great movie.

attempted to watch this movie called King of the Camp. I couldn't do it. The 15 minutes of it that I watched were absolutely terrible. i couldnt make myself keep watching it any longer.

i watched Unstoppable last week (that movie about the runaway train). SO GOOD.

Okay Mom is yelling at me now. We're going downtown. Bye ya'll!

first june post!

So I can't really invite my friends to come to a un-updated blog, can I? nope. so here is goes...

Second semester was extremely fun and difficult as a whole. During Hell Week, I had 10 papers to write before the end of the semester. There was a lot of boy drama (for me, at least), lots of partying (YEAAAAH!!!!), lots of friends made, and friendships solidified.

I'm still looking for a summer job. I applied to various places this summer, in either customer service, sports camps, or conservation, and haven't heard back from a single thing. I have an interview for the conservation job tomorrow, so hopefully that will go well.

My birthday is coming up soon! I'm real excited for it. I'm gonna have a nice small backyard barbecue with a small sleepover the day before. And the day after my birthday, we're going to Napa Valley!!! yessss. can't contain my excitement. I love Napa, and were only able to go like once every 5 years (assuming that my parents have enough saved to go).


This summer, I'm doing the training program for soccer and trying to get my scuba certification (again). I started the lifting program the week I got back to Chicago from school, and I have been doing it ever since. The hang cleans are killing me. i hate them! D: In regards to scuba, I've been trying to get my certification for years, but I finally saved up enough for it! But if I get a time consuming job this summer, than it will make it really hard for me to make time to get the certification. but i have to! I have to! I've waited so long to do it, and I feel like so many doors will open up for me once I do.

i finished the semester with two As and two B+ (yay!) and a kind-of boyfriend. After I left for the semester, we talked everyday the first week until he told me he might be coming to visit me in Chicago the next day. i was kind of back and forth about it because 6 hours is a long way to make anyone drive just to see you (and what if later on he determined that the trip wasn't worth it?). i would feel bad. so i sent kinda mixed signals over the phone, but tried to clear it up right after in a text when i told him i did want to see him and I did want him to come (I don't do so well over the phone so I figured a face to face interaction is what we needed). but then this happened: he never returned any of my phone calls or texts after that. I don't know what his deal is, but we're done. While I do wish I could talk to him about what happened, if he didn't have the decency to respond to me, that's his problem. I'm not making anymore efforts.

Alright, that's enough for now. later!

Rest of Spring Break

 

So after the New York trip, came back home. David and Marissa were visiting, so I made sure to hang out with them over break. My dad and I picked David up from the Green Line and he slept in the back room for a few days. He gave me a KILLER massage (after begging the world for one since the first week of soccer season! lol)

Hung out with David, kept lifting, and then hung out with Jaz, Mar, Te, and David downtown. We went to the Kerasotes theatre to see Limitless – amazing movie, but had too many puke scenes for me to want to see it again. Hung out at a Baskin Robins/Dunkin Doughnuts for a few hours just talking. Really fun. Rachel F. visited Chicago for a day, but I didn’t end up hanging out with them and didn’t get to see her. My roommate Adele was also in town and was staying in a hotel downtown, but I didn’t see her either cause she was busy with her family and me with mine. But it’s alright – I would see them both in less than a week.

Went to a Lady Eagles soccer game in the middle of their losing streak with hopes of my presence being a good luck charm. Anali showed up too and we had a reunion (and they won the game. HA!) Got to see all my socca girls! it was great and FREEZING (what the hell Chicago?!)

Having some major family issues. In short, Karen’s being more stubborn than usual and not saying/doing the brightest things and spends all of her time on the computer. Grandma’s having a hard time on her  own and in moving into a nursing home. Over break, she slipped in her apartment and fell. But the problem is that she is so weak that she wasn’t able to get up at all, and basically laid in the same spot by the foot of her bed for 1 and a half days. Couldn’t reach a phone to call for help, wasn’t near any food, etc. For over a day. After my dad discovered her in the apartment 2 days later, we took her to the emergency room where they held her there for a few days and they recommended physical therapy. When we visited her, she could hardly talk and couldn’t move on her own. Poor Grandma.

ISo now its back to school, with all these unresolved matters back at home. How can I keep an eye on Grandma from over here and leave things with my sister and parents as they are?

Spring Break – New York

 

Okay, so it’s been a really long time since I’ve written something. Not because I’ve been busy (which I have), but because a lot of things have happened lately and I’m not sure of how to write about them on here without giving a way too much. but I’ll try.

Right now I’m at home during Spring Break. We got two weeks for break, and I took the school shuttle back with Jazmine and David. First I spent 4 days in New York visiting the family and such. We went to the movies to see Beastly (the book was much better, but the movie was decent), an Off-Broadway performance called Fuerzabruta. It was hella weird. First off, there were no seats for this performance; everyone was standing in this warehouse type room looking up at the stage. It started with this man in a suit running on a treadmill/walkway thing with rain and getting shot dead. Then they do the whole thing again (with him running and getting shot), but THEN they do this badass water sequence that was really cool. A bunch of women on a tank above our heads creating patterns and shapes in the water. Here’s some quick clips:

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Anyways, certain aspects of it were amazing (like the water stuff and the music), but the performance as a whole was quite repetitive (how many times do I have to see that man running and getting shot?). It was a cool idea tho. Im glad I experienced it.

Had some fun shopping and hanging out with the cousins. Also before Fuerzabruta  we went to Dylan’s Candy Bar and Wildwood BBQ (delicious!). Dylan’s Candy Bar was a really big deal – I’m a serious candy lover and it was a place I have wanted to go for years – and I finally made it there! It was amazing. 3 floors of candy everywhere. I was in heaven.

The rest of the trip was great – and the best part was chillin’ with my cousins. My sister and I’s presence automatically puts my cousin Melissa into a better mood (Melissa told us this). We watched some movies
(Secretariat), went shopping (Target at CityCenter), and ate dinner at the Melting Pot. Great trip!

2 Weeks of Winter Break Left!

Listening to: The whirr of my laptop

I go back to school in 2 weeks. and the weird thing is, I CANT WAIT. i miss my friends so much and working out daily. :P

i am trying to get an internship at an aquarium store for the summer, and im going to be going to a soccer camp. since i cant pay the soccer camp fee, im going to work the younger kids soccer camp and not get paid, so that i can attend the older kids camp for free. :D we'll see though!

and today i made a cake with my sister. looks-wise, it was an epic fail. but we'll see how it tastes! it is passionfuit cake with raspberry passionfruit mousse filling, passionfruit icing, and white fondant. im hoping we dont go into sugar shock.

A Little Bit

Listening to: Jack Black singing on Jay Leno's Late Night

sooo, i dont have much time, but this is an excerpt from an email I sent the team (and is reworded a bit). it will count as an entry. :P

so as hardly anyone knows, I looooooove Cake Boss. Its totally awesome. Buddy makes these amazing cakes that look so effing delicious its wrong...and you get to experience of his Italian family dramas! the ultimate, right? yes. so anyways, the other day, my sister and dad were glued to the tv, and what were the watching? A new Cake Boss reality competition called The Next Great Baker. Now this show is AWESOME. Ever seen Project Runway or Top Chef? Pretty much just like these shows. They design their cakes based on a theme for competition, and then a baker goes home every week. Its sweeeeeeeet (haha no punintended!). But im super excited cause watching the show inspired my sister to want to bake me a cake with an underwater theme! kuh-YEAH!!! We''ll see how it turns out. :)

So movies.....I saw TRON last week, which was really cool. (and even more awesome cause I saw it in 3D) but I also saw Tangled and loved it! Rapunzel has always been one of my favorite stories, so maybe I'm a bit biased...but still. i really liked it. Black Swan looks hella creepy. Im stayin away from that shit.

Er...books! It's kinda funny but I actually read that Hilary Duff book (Elixir)last week! got it from the local library, and read it with low expectations. but you know what? i liked it. I mean, she's no amazing or even great writer. She's average. But the story was cool and kept me interested. And when I finished it, it kinda left me wanting a sequel. Okay, maybe more than kinda. but you get the point. Books I recommend? they are all guilty pleasures. The House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast. These books are AWESOME. One of my most favorite series ever. (did I ever mention that I really love book series?) but yeah. the series is about vampires, but they are different from all of ther vampire novel (for starters, they spell vampires differently. -vampyres-). and the main character goes to a vampyre boarding school. Its so exciting and addicting. for realz. The Pretty Little Liars is great, and if you like murder mysteries and young adult books, read THE PRIVATE series. seriously. might be my favorite series ever.

so i would talk more, but I have to run. My family is driving up to Connecticut to go to one of my cousin's (and my) favorite stores: a store called House of Fins that sells live animals for aquaria. there was a manatee there last time I went that kept surfacing and was really friendly. hellz yeah.

alrighty. peace out!!!

In the Sky

Listening to: Ashin’ Kusher by Kid Cudi

Location: On a plane in the sky (on my way to LaGuardia Airport in New York)

So it’s been a really long time since I’ve written. I think I owe it to myself, and to my friends, to share a little bit of what has been happening in my life. Writing down how I’m feeling always seems to help a little bit.

Even more family stuff has happened. Karen is doing better, but is still struggling. She’s been in and out of the hospital a few more times. I’m still worried about her, as I have everyday. Last night, I woke up several times in the night to sound of her whimpering and becoming restless in her sleep. I considered waking her up a few times, because I thought I should save her from her nightmares (as we did for each other when we were younger), but left her alone. I asked her about it, and she told me that they weren’t nightmares and that it was her medication. Her medication makes her restless throughout the night and causes her to wake up crying and such. And I feel really bad that she’s going through these things, and I don’t know how to help her. I feel kind of helpless with my own sister.

Well my first semester of college is officially over. It’s weird because it seems like it went by really fast looking back on it now, but during, it lasted forever. But this is nothing new. That always happens with time consuming things. I think I did pretty well – I accepted early on in the semester that I wasn’t going to get straight A’s like I had hoped. I’m hoping that I got an A in tutorial, and probably got B- in Calculus and a B in Chem. Damn Calculus II. Thank goodness I’m done with Calculus. I liked Inorganic Chem tho…and Marzluff was one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. Speaking of that class, an upperclassmen friend is taking it next year. He needs to buy my book! He probably will though; unless one of his friends will lend it to him for free, he won’t be able to find it for less. I need a ton of book for my classes next semester. I’m taking Intro to Anthro, Intro to Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, Intro to Bio (Genes, Drugs, and Toxins), Jazz Traditions in America, Writing Lab, and FLOOR HOCKEY! Very excited for floor hockey. Now that soccer is over, I need to feed my competitive nature.

Next semester I’m going to have two new jobs. I quit Phonathon to work for my soccer coach with a youth outreach program, and to work for Nancy in the Athletic Dept. dubbing sports film. Yay!

Made some awesome friends. Hanging out with the soccer team is really fun, but I wanted to make sure that I met other people and had other friends. So now I have a nice sized group of good friends that I hang out with on a regular basis and they are awesome people.

Winter waltz and SoccerBall were the best out of all the parties so far. tons of fun and dancing.

Next semester I plan to audition for Noteworthy! I miss singing too much to not try to join. Alright, I’m getting sleepy.