Bria's Blogie

Babble

Be forewarned that this is going to be one of those entries that has no point and doesn't go much of anywhere. I just felt like writing.

I have one final left and then the semester from Hell will be over. *the Hallelujah chorus erupts* However, I am continually kicking myself about this final. I was planning on not really studying for this one because it's comprehensive over this semester AND last semester of chemistry. I'm no good at chemistry anyway, since it has so much to do with math, but I'm supposed to remember TWO semesters worth of crap that I really don't care about? Yeah, right. I am studying really hard though because I did terrible on the last test; if you happen to see my butt, please send it back to me. I think I've studied it off.

Simeon, my sugar glider, just woke  up. I got him a new branch to climb on today and some other play pretties. I think I'll go see if he likes them. He seems to appreciate the extra climbing surface. He's also rather scared of the washers I hung on a string. They move and shine. :-0 Doesn't seem to know what to do with the toilet paper rolls I threw in there. I had never thought of that, but when I was at the pet store today they were selling these colored cardboard rolls with shredded paper in them touting that "Critters love these things!" I recalled that my hamster loved such things many moons ago and was about to pick one up for Simeon, when I said to myself, "Woah, I'm going to pay $4 for a toilet paper roll and some shredded paper?" So I came home and pulled the empty rolls out of the bathroom, stuffed them with some TP and threw 'em in. We'll see how that goes. I'm having fun watching him be scared of the washers though. hehe.

Oh, I keep forgetting to tell the blog community that I get to graduate next May!! I'm so excited because that means I get to go to PT school on time, graduate with my friends and have a whole summer to myself! What a wonderful life. God really does come through the clutch. I couldn't be more pleased. However, the price is this summer; I'm taking three hours in may-mester and seven hours each summer session. You're only supposed to take six. Everyone keeps telling me I'm crazy. Three of those hours each session are an internship though, so really I'm just working. It will still be a challenge though. The real class I'm taking is physics... both semesters. *gag* When I took physics in high school I understood the first lesson... and that's about it. I've had friends do physics and an internship at the same time in the summer. (Actually, one's doing it this summer.) So I know it's possible. I may just go crazy in the process. Oh well. :-) I was crazy before anyway.

I watched Juno this evening for a study break. It was cute. I would not want my teen to watch it though. It kind of sends mixed messages about the kosher-ness (yes, I just made a word) of teen pregnancy. I thought it interesting though that big media put Juno saying no to an abortion in there though. However, there was one scene that was rather touching. Juno asks her dad if two people really can stay married forever. Her father responds with something like it's really hard and takes a lot of work. The key is to find someone that still thinks you're pretty when you look like crap and still likes to hang around you even though you're in a crabby mood. He said find that and you've got someone who thinks the sun shine's out your butt no matter what and you're all set. I liked that. Greg says I look beautiful a lot. The funny thing is that he most often says so when I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt, hair a mess and no make-up. This past month I've been in a perpetual bad mood, and I unloaded it all on him. I apologized for that last Sunday and he totally blew it off like it was no big deal at all. Like I had just stepped on his toe while we were dancing or something. I think I'll keep him.

Well, I'm getting tired and this blog does have to end somewhere. As Tigger says, TTFN, ta-ta for now!

(The Beginning of) My Dream Coming True

I realized at about 2:30 this morning that I am now less than a month away from applying to physical therapy school!!!!

OH MY FREAKING GOSH!!!!!! 

My dreams are on the verge of beginning to come true (hopefully).

I can't decide if I want to shout for joy or hurl in nervousness.

I suppose I should save the shouts for when/if I get in. And I haven't gotten sick over excitement in years. 

I guess all that's left is to pray. Do that for me, would ya?

Energy Crisis

When I filled up my little car this week it cost me over $40.

I long for the days that it took $10-15 to fill me up.

I also heard this week that in the next five years the price of gas may double. 

What will become of we in the U.S. as the price steadily increases? Will we continue to cringe and pretend it's going to be ok? I don't know about you, but my purse can't afford to keep smiling much longer. I already walk or ride my bike most of the week. Mostly I use my car for transport across town or to the grocery store. Myself and a few friends take turns driving the carpool here and there to social activities. I probably fill up twice a month. Gas was one of the main reasons I decided to move from home to my own place next to campus so I wouldn't have to fill up every week anymore. As anyone can see, I live a rather gas conservative lifestyle, or about as good as one gets in the U.S. So what are we to do?

Biofuel? Making gas from organic material like corn and soybeans? Is that the answer? I attended a seminar today on the very topic actually. The speaker said that he'd like to look into making biofuel from grass or some similar plant that is rather abundant. One thing is for sure-- we can't keep using possible food sources as fuels for our cars due to the world shortage on food that is also driving up food prices the world over.

So what other options do have in this energy crisis? Some other sort of fuel option besides the biofuel? Solar maybe? I don't know. Have any ideas?

The only other option I see is a huge overhaul of American culture. Getting one person to embrace the possibility that the culture they were brought up in might be hazardous to the world is next to impossible, but a whole society and the culture that proliferated from it across the globe? HAHAHAHAHA. Let me know how that goes. Look around your neighborhood and I'd be willing to guess there are streets, driveways, parking lots and garages, gas stations, mechanics, drive thru restaurants and maybe even a drive in movie theater. America is built around the automobile. The only sidewalks in my town are around the college campuses and down town. Riding a bike on a major road here is basically asking to be ran over. And this town isn't even that big!! I know it's not so much like that in the northern big cities, but riding a bike around Dallas or Atlanta, I'm sure I'd be ran over just for the sport of it. Americans are the most the most mobile population in the world too and I'll admit I'm probably one of the most mobile Americans out there. I love to travel so much that if I stay in the same place for longer than a month straight without going somewhere, I start to go a little crazy.

So, America, what are we going to do? I think I'll just sit here and blog about global problems from my cushy chair. Wait for the answer to magically appear. Sound good to you?

Meaningful Music

I generally keep this page as family friendly as possible; however, I have just added some music to my play list that I would not want any young ears of mine to hear.

Let me explain the play list first. Perhaps you've never heard it from this page. That would probably be because you're using Internet Explorer as your browser. For some reason, Explorer and Mozilla (which I use) don't register the side bar in the same place; the side bar gets tacked onto the end of the writing on Explorer and I haven't figured out how to fix that. I keep the play list mostly for my own benefit. It is a compilation of my musical history; most every song on the list has a special memory attached to it for me. Prior to today, I have kept the songs that are a little on the risque side off the list, but today I added them because they are as much a part of me as the others, unfortunately in some cases.  Never the less, the list is there and you're welcome to it. And if it pops up and you don't want to hear it, just click the pause button on the player and that will be the end of it.

I think I will explain the why behind my play list choices. The first 15 or 20 through Oh! Gravity by Switchfoot are songs that I've more recently enjoyed. The next one, Too Much Fun, was my favorite song when I was about 8 or 9 and I played the cassette so much that it broke. The next two, I'm Not Who I Was and Lovely Traces are for Kenny. Bring 'Em Out by Hawk Nelson is just a fun song and was on an NFL commercial last fall. Bet you never would have guessed they were a Christian band. The macarena. It brings to memory my learning the dance moves for that song at a birthday party when I was about 10. Mambo #5 was my warm up song for tennis for years. East to West by Casting Crowns touched me the first time I heard it and so it got put on there. En el Muelle de San Blas. I was introduced to that song in Spain. It's about a lady that sits waiting on a dock for her whole life. Just waiting for her long lost love to return. Really sad, but good. The next two and Runaway Train I just like them, and that's it. Greg likes it when I sing Bubbly, so I put that on there to practice. :-) Love Addict by Family Force 5 is a fun song and if it's long enough I'd like to surprise my wedding guests and have that as my recessional. *giggles* Creed's Higher is the first Christian rock song I heard and I fell in love with the song, Creed and Christian music at that point. The next few are all Disney songs and what American child didn't grow up singing along with Disney? Kiss Me and Not Afraid I just like the sound of them. Bring Me to Life recalls to mind my first trip to NYC where I saw that music video. Then Irene makes me think of one of my best friends in high school because she really liked that song. The next 8 or 10 are all country songs; I grew up on country music. Except Respect doesn't fit; I was looking for the version my Reba but got the original instead. Reba was a main stay in my house. Oh and I karaoked She's in Love with the Boy once and didn't get boo'ed off the stage! Every Time We Touch is a couple on the tennis team's song and they have choreography to it; it's hilarious and so the song makes me laugh. Supersonic I picked up from my coach. I can vividly remember one of my friends in middle school dancing to the Thong Song in the band hall. The first year I played tennis at my university, my doubles partner's favorite song was My Humps and so she sang that song everyday while we warmed up. Glamorous reminds me of a few people I know currently. Truly Madly Deeply reminds me out a few friends that I sang that song over and over again with while we jumped on a trampoline in one's backyard. Butterfly, I made up a dance to that song when I was about 14. And last but not last, Follow Me; that was me and my dad's song; don't ask why because I don't know.

That was really long and you probably don't care, but I had fun visiting some good memories. Do you have a song or two or 50ish in my case that are meaningful to you?

The Not So Distant (Anymore) Future

It's rather late to be writing not much of anything on a school night, but I need to get everything that's swimming in my head out before I can go to sleep.

In talking with a fellow honors student yesterday, I discovered that I may not have to take the honors capstone course-- my class seems to have somehow slipped through some loop hole-- and that would leave only one, four hour class that I lacked to graduate in August 09. If I could stuff that in next spring-- which would make next spring really tough with tennis and 17 hours, but I did it last spring and survived-- then I could graduate in August and get to PT school on time instead of a whole year late!!! I am so excited and crossing my fingers. There may be one more obstacle, however; I may need six hours of random elective junk-- two upper level courses in some field other than my major, meaning six hours of crap I don't care about. I'm going to talk to my advisor sometime in the coming weeks to figure this all out. I'm crossing my fingers, because I would really like to not put life on hold for stupid capstone or electives.

I came across this possibility while putting together my schedule for next fall. I'll be taking 17 hours in the fall as well. Tough but not impossible. I also learned that I will be taking my last Spanish course in the fall and so complete my minor! The last course isn't a language course either-- it's a history of the language class, really-- so after this semester I am basically done with Spanish! Yeah!!! I am slowly beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

In the midst of all this rejoicing I realized that the semester ends in only five weeks. I am looking forward to that because this semester hasn't been so fun academically, but I tear up at the thought of the end too, because that could mean adios to two dear friends all at once. Daniel and I became friends last spring because the girls' tennis team needed a lot of help last year and Daniel helped me out. We chit chatted over tennis ball rallies and found ourselves with a lot in common and a new friend. Our friendship is of a rare sort. It defies explanation but I treasure it all the same. I hate to see him go, although I know it's his time to go on to bigger and better things and wish him all the luck and hope this world and the next has to offer. Then there's Sarah. She's so much fun and slightly insane, in a mostly good way. She just arrived here in the fall, but we became fast friends and she may transfer  upon the semester's end. Again, if she does go, I will hold the memories we've created together close to heart. That's two that I may not see again for a long while. Then Lisa, another really good friend, is studying abroad next fall. All three keep me company on the tennis team. With all of them gone... I sure hope some sweet freshmen come in, that's all I can hope for at this point. If none do, I suppose I'll live; I wasn't close to anyone on th team my first year and I'm still alive! Thankfully, Lisa will return in the spring and of course I'll have my house-mate, Tink, even though that's just for the fall, and Kassia and Meredith so I won't be totally close friendless.

I'm looking forward to the future whatever it holds, even though I know some close friendships will retreat into memory. Thank goodness for modern technology so we will be able to at least stay in touch! I was thinking, this is probably the first time I've had to say good-bye to more than one really good pal at once, since I didn't have too many friends left after high school and even those that I would have considered friends if I had any went to school in the same town I did, so it wasn't that big of a deal. The only ones I've ever really said good-bye to were Eric G. when I was like 7, Steph at 10 or 11, and Erik I. last summer. But you know, each of those has a special place in my heart, just like the current ones do and always will.

Well, now that I'm sufficiently blubbering, I'm going to go to bed and dream of all my friends. You all know who you are-- even if I didn't just mention you by name-- know that I love and appreciate every single last one of you and treasure every moment and memory we have together!