So, you know you're in college when you're sitting around a pint of ice cream with two friends eating with forks cuz there are no clean spoons in the house. This was my last night. I took the opportunity to show them my supporting role in the movie Galaxy Quest while I simultaneously hammered away at one of the five huge projects/papers that I had to finish this weekend. That's not counting the two things I finished early that are also due on Monday. It's gonna suck. I'm down to two things left for tomorrow, but I've got 20 hours between now and my first class tomorrow morning and that's plenty of time to pump out a couple of papers. But after that, I'm practically done! I've got a final to study for on Friday and another take-home final which should be easy to do. Practically done. And at this time next week I'll be home in Sacramento!! That's actually kind of scary because I may not be coming back to Vanderbilt again (at least not for another semester). I'm definitely not prepared to just leave, I haven't really said my goodbyes or anything, but I still don't have any official word on what's going on with my student teaching. I'm living la vida en la rayita.
This weekend hasn't been all work and no play, of course. On Friday, my co-workers (half middle-aged women, the other half female grad students) took me out for a birthday/goodbye celebration. We went to this Baja Mexican restaurant and they had gotten me a couple of cards with notes from all of them and some money for my birthday. Of course, I wasn't carded based on the group I was with. Once they all got a couple margaritas in them, they started breaking out the first bra stories and I managed to tune out just when they started talking about a belt with clips to help a "sanitary napkin." But it was fun. We have a nice little family and I've been working there for three years. They've been loaning me their cars for my different errands, they are usually the first ones to hear me complain or explain about my day, and Carol, the coordinator of the group, is like my resident mom out there. So it meant a lot.
Plus, this weekend we had Rites of Spring here at Vandy. It's a big concert series with bands playing all day Thursday-Saturday. Guess who was the headliner on Thursday... Sacramento's own, Cake!! They were really good, although the set seemed really short. I liked a bunch of their new stuff so much that I even bought their new CD. I ended up not being able to go to much else all weekend because I had so much work to do. I was going to go see Hootie and the Blowfish play yesterday, but it was way too cold. Somehow it went from 75-80 and gorgeous for five days to 50 rainy and ugly overnight. After a week of awesome weather, shorts weather even, it was freakin freezing and gross yesterday. Today is one of those tricky it's sunny, but 49 degrees days. Anyways, from what I hear Hootie complained a bunch about the weather. And a bunch of drunk people were throwing beer cans at him, which I'm sure didn't help his attitude. They did it just cuz they were drunk and seemed like a good thing to do. I don't get it. I don't know why you would ever want to drunk. It's so stupid. Unless you're in a situation so awful that you want to make it through without remembering any of it. Other than that, I'm lost. Anyways, I don't think Hootie is coming back. Lucky for him, he's got the Burger King commercials to fall back on.
Oh, and to return to the QoD, I was famous for my gypsy impression. I've got it on video if you ever want to watch it.
Peace...
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Mat Espi and the Hotness
That's what I decided my rock band will be named, if I had a rock 'n' roll band.
And if we were a rock 'n' roll band,
We'd travel all over the land.
We'd play and we'd sing and wear spangly things,
If we were a rock 'n' roll band.
Alas, we ain't no rock 'n' roll band...yet!!
So, that was my birthday wish, of course. My birthday was chill. I didn't have time to plan anything crazy, but it still turned out nice. What was really cool was that there were about 10 of us, there could have been more if I had asked more, but these other nine people were all the friends that I'm closest to here. And that made me feel good. A lot of them didn't know each other because I know them from different contexts, but they all seemed to like each and get along and we had a good time. I didn't do much during the day except finish some projects and go for a walk. Then we all got together at this dodgy Mexican restaurant where we proceeded to eat and drink and have fun. Actually about half of my friends don't drink, so the drinking wasn't the most important aspect of it. I went to this same place for Ronnie's birthday and they brought him out a free desert and shot of tequila and they sang for him and everything. I got nothing! Totally jipped. I made it clear it was my birthday, maybe they just couldn't understand me with my slur. ;) Then we got ice cream and most people had to go back for meetings or studying, but Lan and Ashley drove me around and we saw a movie and made sure not to return until exactly midnight.
So, later this week I'll the ladies I work with are taking me out to eat and get drunk. They are so funny. And I'm trying to think of ways to spend some quality time with all my friends just in case I don't come back next year. A friend of mine, who is a grad student here and she's supervised me in a couple of practica, had her mom pass yesterday. She's been a big advocate for getting me to be able to finish at home next semester. And now it takes on a whole different meaning when she tells me to make sure to spend time with your mother, and the rest will come along with time.
Anyways, the answer to the previously posed question....will be postponed to allow for more guessing to occur. ;)
And if we were a rock 'n' roll band,
We'd travel all over the land.
We'd play and we'd sing and wear spangly things,
If we were a rock 'n' roll band.
Alas, we ain't no rock 'n' roll band...yet!!
So, that was my birthday wish, of course. My birthday was chill. I didn't have time to plan anything crazy, but it still turned out nice. What was really cool was that there were about 10 of us, there could have been more if I had asked more, but these other nine people were all the friends that I'm closest to here. And that made me feel good. A lot of them didn't know each other because I know them from different contexts, but they all seemed to like each and get along and we had a good time. I didn't do much during the day except finish some projects and go for a walk. Then we all got together at this dodgy Mexican restaurant where we proceeded to eat and drink and have fun. Actually about half of my friends don't drink, so the drinking wasn't the most important aspect of it. I went to this same place for Ronnie's birthday and they brought him out a free desert and shot of tequila and they sang for him and everything. I got nothing! Totally jipped. I made it clear it was my birthday, maybe they just couldn't understand me with my slur. ;) Then we got ice cream and most people had to go back for meetings or studying, but Lan and Ashley drove me around and we saw a movie and made sure not to return until exactly midnight.
So, later this week I'll the ladies I work with are taking me out to eat and get drunk. They are so funny. And I'm trying to think of ways to spend some quality time with all my friends just in case I don't come back next year. A friend of mine, who is a grad student here and she's supervised me in a couple of practica, had her mom pass yesterday. She's been a big advocate for getting me to be able to finish at home next semester. And now it takes on a whole different meaning when she tells me to make sure to spend time with your mother, and the rest will come along with time.
Anyways, the answer to the previously posed question....will be postponed to allow for more guessing to occur. ;)
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Catalyzed at Last!!
Hey!!
Okay. So here's the latest scoop. Thanks to some advice from one of my professor's and from my counselor I've begun to push again for doing my student-teaching back home. It would really suck to have to come back next semester after being home all summer. So I've gone to the chair of the department and my counselor is going to talk to the dean of students, so we'll see if that helps at all.
I don't know why I haven't posted in so long. I guess I've been waiting for something or someone to provide the motivation. I've definitely been busier and have had more work due lately. I've only got two weeks left (almost exactly) and a whole lot to get done between now and then. But I've also spent some time being depressed not helped by the stress of schoolwork. Finally, today I found my catalyst---a major research paper and presentation in Spanish that is due in 14 hours and that I want to put off as long as possible. So, I'm going to take care of the business of informing you all instead.
I'm sure I've written before about the crazy rain we get here at times where it rains really hard, but not "hard" as in abundance or a downpour, "hard" as in each individual droplet is HUGE and soaks you like a water balloon. I've been caught many times outside without an umbrella during such a storm, but Thursday was the first time I've ever been caught in one while driving. It was so scary cuz the rain hitting the windshield was so loud I couldn't hear the radio and it hit so hard I thought for sure the glass would break and decapitate me. Insane.
Anyways, I don't know what people were feeding the children of Nashville today, but it needs to be banned. They drove me crazy and I left my final classroom experience of the day with my energy depleted and a headache (and unlike all you girls out there who think headaches are normal occurances, or at least once a month occurances, I hardly ever get headaches). So, here I am, tired and down, but having to read, write, and think in the language of Taco Bell. It's cruel. So, I'm planning on working straight through till class at 1pm tomorrow, stopping by work (to pick up my check and then sneak out the back door, slyly as always), dropping by the library to do some research on another project that I have to email to my group by Saturday morning, return to my room to research and write the stuff for this project, followed by writing two reflections on my classroom experiences over the past week, studying for a series of tests that I spent $400+ on and that determine whether I receive credentials or not, sleeping, waking up early to be at the test place by 7:30, take tests until 4pm, meet a friend and her family for dinner, and then pass out until............
!!!!!!!!!!!!MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday's my birthday, and I haven't even started to plan anything. I'm not even sure everyone who I want to know knows. I hope I do something cool though. I need a good night of heavy binge drinking to lift my spirits (spirits, get it?). But, I promised my mom I wouldn't do the traditional 21 shots, no more than 20 I say. But, first I need to make it to Sunday and that requires writing this paper. So, I better go. But first! A QoD trivia question, going back to the baby pictures posted.
As all children do, I liked to play dress up when I was little. Because I didn't live with my dad, these experienced typically involved my mother's clothes and jewelry, and trust me, the 80s meant lots of fun things to wear. So the question: What am I famed for dressing up as? (Mom, you can't answer!)
Okay. So here's the latest scoop. Thanks to some advice from one of my professor's and from my counselor I've begun to push again for doing my student-teaching back home. It would really suck to have to come back next semester after being home all summer. So I've gone to the chair of the department and my counselor is going to talk to the dean of students, so we'll see if that helps at all.
I don't know why I haven't posted in so long. I guess I've been waiting for something or someone to provide the motivation. I've definitely been busier and have had more work due lately. I've only got two weeks left (almost exactly) and a whole lot to get done between now and then. But I've also spent some time being depressed not helped by the stress of schoolwork. Finally, today I found my catalyst---a major research paper and presentation in Spanish that is due in 14 hours and that I want to put off as long as possible. So, I'm going to take care of the business of informing you all instead.
I'm sure I've written before about the crazy rain we get here at times where it rains really hard, but not "hard" as in abundance or a downpour, "hard" as in each individual droplet is HUGE and soaks you like a water balloon. I've been caught many times outside without an umbrella during such a storm, but Thursday was the first time I've ever been caught in one while driving. It was so scary cuz the rain hitting the windshield was so loud I couldn't hear the radio and it hit so hard I thought for sure the glass would break and decapitate me. Insane.
Anyways, I don't know what people were feeding the children of Nashville today, but it needs to be banned. They drove me crazy and I left my final classroom experience of the day with my energy depleted and a headache (and unlike all you girls out there who think headaches are normal occurances, or at least once a month occurances, I hardly ever get headaches). So, here I am, tired and down, but having to read, write, and think in the language of Taco Bell. It's cruel. So, I'm planning on working straight through till class at 1pm tomorrow, stopping by work (to pick up my check and then sneak out the back door, slyly as always), dropping by the library to do some research on another project that I have to email to my group by Saturday morning, return to my room to research and write the stuff for this project, followed by writing two reflections on my classroom experiences over the past week, studying for a series of tests that I spent $400+ on and that determine whether I receive credentials or not, sleeping, waking up early to be at the test place by 7:30, take tests until 4pm, meet a friend and her family for dinner, and then pass out until............
!!!!!!!!!!!!MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday's my birthday, and I haven't even started to plan anything. I'm not even sure everyone who I want to know knows. I hope I do something cool though. I need a good night of heavy binge drinking to lift my spirits (spirits, get it?). But, I promised my mom I wouldn't do the traditional 21 shots, no more than 20 I say. But, first I need to make it to Sunday and that requires writing this paper. So, I better go. But first! A QoD trivia question, going back to the baby pictures posted.
As all children do, I liked to play dress up when I was little. Because I didn't live with my dad, these experienced typically involved my mother's clothes and jewelry, and trust me, the 80s meant lots of fun things to wear. So the question: What am I famed for dressing up as? (Mom, you can't answer!)
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