Cat’s Home Away from Home

While I feel as though these should be the best years of my life, and I do sometimes feel that way, there are other times where I am ready to be done with it and onto the next chapter. I feel as though some of the people here are still stuck in high school, and I can tell that the same is true for other places as well. I look around Facebook, and I see all these groups and quizzes and applications, and I really have to wonder where the maturity lies in some of these things. For example, on campus there is an event which will take place in the near future called HvZ: Humans versus Zombies. I don’t see the appeal in it. Two different groups of students take the roles of humans or zombies, and then run around all over campus. The Humans shoot at the Zombies with Nerf Guns, or other Nerf weaponry, while the Zombies “eat” the Humans by just tagging them. Its a giant game of Hide N Seek with Tag mixed in, and I really don’t see how people can feel like they’re going through college when they participate in something like this…

I feel like I’m an outsider looking in on the “typical” college experience. The drinking, the partying, the general debauchery… I don’t want anything to do with it. I would rather sit with a few of my friends and play a game, be it board or video, or even just sit and watch a movie. Or do some homework, just enjoying the company as we work. But we are a scarce breed on a college campus. Some would say we are not living the true college experience. I would say that we are, but we just remember more of it. I have seen the kinds of people that take part in these sordid activities, and I want no part of their groups. These are the people that I did not want to be around in high school… But simply more of them.

Tonight, I’ll take part in one of the few activities that I think have meaning on this campus. I’ll go to the Alt-Hollywood Society meeting, or “Thursday Night Movies,” and I will watch a movie that I have never seen before, but others have recommended. And afterwards, I will have an intellectual conversation about that movie with the other movie-goers and my Humanities professor.

I’m on the outside looking in at the typical college experience, but I don’t mind. I’m outside the box, and the air out here is so very fresh.

Sitting here with the boys, waiting on a pizza from Greek’s. College life feels alright, we’re definitely used to it by now. This year has just been full of surprises, but its almost coming to a close. It feels like the summer can’t come soon enough, and even then, the next semester looks good too. I’ve changed my major to English: Creative Writing. I’m looking forward to it, because it feels like writing is the one thing that, even if my classes suck, I’ll still like no matter what. Architecture just started to feel like I was only going through the motions. My heart wasn’t in it anymore, and I didn’t feel like I really had time to do anything I really wanted to. Writing, I’ll be doing something I love and I’ll still have time to do things as well. It feels like next year is going to be what we had hoped this year would be. Dan and Nick are rooming together, so that’s a plus. I’m living across the hall, another plus. I don’t know my roommate, but that’s part of the experience of college, so I suppose that’s another plus. We’re slowly getting things together so we can move stuff back home, bit by bit. I’ve got a tub of clothes to take home this weekend (clean this time!). So I can drop those off and not have so much weighing down my drawers. I need to bring home projects, too, so those will be coming eventually.

For the most part, things are going well. We’re starting our final project for Studio in CAP, but we’ll still have a bunch of little projects for the other class, DCM. Hopefully its enjoyable, or at least tolerable. We’ll see. Been enjoying my other classes, outside of CAP. My humanities class is always my favorite, and my global studies class is definitely more interesting than people said it would be. I even like my PE class, swimnastics. That’s a rare occurrence. It feels good to have that workout, and everything just seems to work out.

In any case, I’ll be home at the end of the week, to relax a little bit, and to spend time with family.

Hopefully I’ll get some time to update soon. And hopefully that time won’t be cutting into work time or sleep time. We shall see… Plus, figuring out what I need to update would be good as well. Stay tuned….

Well, everyone’s just been updating, haven’t they? It seems like every day brings a new adventure, a new challenge, new stress, new relief.

This weekend, our schedules were posted online, and I eagerly checked mine. I was happy with it, I had all the classes I wanted… Until I realized I was wrong, and my favorite class, Humanities, had been moved to only Tuesday nights from 6:30 to 9:10 in the North Quad: roughly half a mile away from my dorm.

I e-mailed my counselor, telling her of my confusion, and asking why I was not in the class I had requested, and had priority scheduling, to get into.

Her reply was of no help, so the day I had my Humanities class, I spoke with the professor and found out that many others had the same problem. My professor proved, once again, just how great he is. Immediately after class, he went and talked with everyone. Today I received another e-mail, telling all Humanities students that things had been fixed. Well, that’s certainly better, because I would have dropped the class rather than walk back from the North Quad at night. That’s a big No-No, especially if you want to be safe.

In other news, I had committed myself to NaNoWriMo again this year, and once again, I failed. NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. It runs through the month of November every year, and I have tried twice. Unfortunately, I have found that my most frequent bouts of writer’s block occur in November. I could not eke out a single word in coherence with a “novel.” So, needless to say, I did not reach the goal of 50,000 words. I congratulate my fellow writers in managing to do it. Kudos to you, that’s most excellent. Unfortunately, I don’t have that sort of time nor discipline.

School-wise, we’ve had projects upon projects upon projects. My weekends are spent working on them, and the days are getting shorter… I’ve been putting more effort into my projects, but it seems like fruitless efforts, because apparently my work is never quite “A” range for my professors.

I still refuse to pull an all-nighter, even though I have ordered the shirt for the architecture students. It says:

So You’re In College, Pick Two:

-Good Sleep

-Good Social Life

-Good Grades

So You’re In Architecture,

PICK ONE.

I still think it’s true. Granted, my sleep isn’t that great, but I still don’t find it necessary to pull all-nighters… I work in studio and back in my room (another taboo), but I don’t stay up all night to do so. Occasionally Lindsay won’t get back until after 3 AM, and sometimes not until after 5 AM… I can’t do that. And I feel like I’m not putting out quality work because of it. If I even try to stay up later, say 1 or 2 AM, I’m really off the next day. I’m shaky, tired, and just generally not on the ball. So I chose good grades and good sleep. And then I tried to choose good grades. It’s not working as well as I hoped.

So, I’m at the point where we’re getting down to the wire. And its going to be hectic, but that’s okay. Usually I’ll just get up into the studio and get to work, my ‘puter by my side, with fancy music helping to pass the time. Even now, music is involved in my writing. I just took out my earphones because they were bugging me, so now its a little quieter…

I’ve realized that I’ve become accustomed to the noise of the studio. I can hear better, at least in loud places. Quiet places, my mind wanders and people still have to repeat themselves for me to hear.

This past week was Thanksgiving break, and it was a much needed rest. Dan and I were both tired of people.

Thanksgiving itself was nice, it was good to go home and be with the family.

Been looking around online for Christmas shopping ideas, have a few people figured out. Still need to figure out a few more things.

And FYI: There will be two packages coming from Amazon, don’t open them! Christmas is contained inside!

Only a week and a half of actual classes left, then finals, which won’t be bad (I hope).

So, until then, here’s hoping everything works out all right.

Well, we’re over a month into the school year now, and I’m almost done with one of my classes. My freshman connections class only meets two more times, so I’ll be able to have more time on Thursdays at least. Its been an eventful week, even though we’re only halfway through.

I’ve thought I was going deaf, but then believed it to be a cold… Which I still think it is, but also a part of my second discovery:

I have a wisdom tooth coming in, and it hurts a good deal. I really don’t think this is a good time for it either, especially since if I were  to get it taken out, I’d miss some class that I really just can’t miss.

I fell/slid down the stairs on Monday during lunch. Carol (the janitor) was mopping and hadn’t put up the wet floor signs yet. So I’ve got a bruise on my bottom, and a higher sense of awareness on stairs. We’ve got a couple of projects in my architecture classes that I really like, and I’m enjoying them both. For the time being, at least. I surprised myself with one of my drawings, and hope I can continue to do so. Especially since I have to make said drawing about 6 times as big as it is now.

Well, just wanted to let you all know that I’m doing alright, and now I have to get back to work.

Love you all.

Edit: Make that twice I’ve fallen down the stairs. Managed to do that in socks the other day, but went down softer. Nothing hurt, except my pride.

Well, I’m moved into Ball State. I’ve been keeping kinda busy, what with all the Welcome Week things that have been planned. I’m tired, too.

Lindsay and I are getting along fine, and we’ve been keeping up the room fairly well. We had an architecture meeting today after the freshman convocation, and as we were walking towards it, we saw a guy get hit by a car. He was following a large group of people crossing the street, and Lindsay said she could see the mental debate of whether or not to go ahead and follow. Well he followed, and stepped off the curb right into oncoming traffic, and in the path of a speeding jeep. The jeep slammed on the brakes, but still managed to give him a fairly good bump in the bottom, and he went to the ground. He probably bruised his tailbone fairly good, but we don’t know. He got up and walked away from it after being examined by paramedics, and when someone asked him if he was alright, he said “Well I would be if I hadn’t just been hit by a car!”

When something like that happens, it doesn’t occur to you to really do anything about it. You just sort of freeze and gawk. There was a prof walking by, though, and he called campus police, so everything was taken care of.

As for me, I look both ways before crossing the street, and make sure my friends do too. I’m doing alright, but had my first big batch of homesickness and unsurety. Just feeling like I want to be at home and not classes. But it’ll all be okay. Classes start tomorrow, and I’ll be going from 9-5. On Tuesday its a little more reasonable, 9:30-1:45. Thursday its 9:30-3:00. But I’ll get used to it and make it through everything alright.

Sending my love homeward to my family, I miss you a good deal. I love you all and will see you next weekend.

It still hasn’t hit me that I’m leaving in two weeks. In two weeks, I’m not going to be sleeping in my own bed anymore. I won’t have my own room anymore. I won’t be home alone for long periods of time where I can just sleep in or watch tv or whatever. I won’t see my parents every night… Or my pets.

So we’re starting with a new chapter in our lives, and I don’t know if I’m ready for it or not yet. Part of me wants to get going and see the changes, roll with the punches.

And another part is not ready for this. I don’t know if I’ll ultimately get along with my roommate, even if I do know her already. We could end up hating each other after the first week. I hope that’s not the case, but who knows?

To tell the truth, I’m worried. I’ve been getting things together this week because we won’t have much time to do it after we get back from vacation.

I know Mom’s going to try to get off that Wednesday I move in, but I don’t know if Dad is or not. I want him to be there, but I don’t know if he’s going to get it off.

I’m going to miss this summer.

Been looking around for computer necessities… Finally figured out what I’d need for school.

http://www.bsu.edu/cap/media/pdf/arch_computer_specs.pdf

That pretty much explains it.

Been feeling out of it, like I can’t seem to shake being lazy. I want to get up and do things, but I just don’t feel like it would help. Everything is too loud, and too hectic. Moe doesn’t ever want to shut up, and when there’s the possibility of peace and quiet… something else happens.

Watching the Matrix right now. Doesn’t seem like this first one is ever on anymore, but lo and behold, here it is. The first of any trilogy is always the best. I’m ready for tomorrow to come, just to get out of the house. I suppose I have a little cabin fever, but I don’t feel like that’s it. I suppose I’m ready for the fall, but I don’t know for sure if I really am. I know that as soon as I get there, I’ll probably be homesick. But I’ll deal with that accordingly. I’m trying to get ready, getting lists together of what I need.

Been trying to do financial aid stuff for awhile now. Still haven’t. Never time with both parents to be able to. When there is, we’re all tired. Mom already doesn’t like Ball State.

Doctor’s appointment today, just a routine checkup before I go. Dropped off paperwork and such as well.

Hopefully I’ll get to feeling more at ease… Don’t know though. I’m annoyed by the slightest things… I hate that. I wish I weren’t. It makes life hard for everybody around me, but I’m trying to be more tolerant. I really am. It just pushes and pushes.

I’m alright. But I’m hungry. And that is at least one thing which can be remedied.

Well, after long last, tyrannyofducks.net finally has some meat on it. Hi everyone.