Back to School!

Well, it's official! I am back at school. I will say that returning as a sophomore is completely different than arriving as a freshman. The change is a huge improvement. Not only do I not have to worry about making a ton of new friends, but I also know what is going on, what is coming next, and how I will be occupying myself for the next year. I'm so excited to get back to work in the theatre (rehearsals for the next show I am stage managing for should be starting really soon). My classes look like they are going to be very interesting this year, and I look forward to spending more time with my close friends.

For those who are just starting out as a freshman, I will offer my unsolicited advice. The best thing that I did last year was to get involved. So jump right in there! Take a leap! Find something you are interested in and pursue it. Doing just that has provided me with countless friends, connections, and some useful experience.

Last year the thing that I focused on was getting involved wherever and whenever I could. It seemed to pay of pretty darn well, so I've picked something new to work on this year. I am going to attempt to put an end to my terrible habit of procrastinating. I'm hoping to gain some good time management skills this year (something that was unfortunately never taught to me in high school).

In case any of you are curious, here are some pictures of my new room. To get to my room, you have to walk through my roommates room. It's pretty small, but it's nice and private. I'm really going to enjoy having my own space!!

New Plant and a Halloween Costume Sneak Peak!

Here is my new plant. He is an ornamental pepper plant and his name is Fox Mulder (he goes by Fox while sporting his peppers).
And here is a sneak peak at my Halloween costume! I am going to be Spike, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I just finished putting the costume together today (I had to start early so I could get it done before heading back to school).
And just in case any of you need a point of reference, here is a picture of Spike:

Newest Addition

This is my newest addition. I saw her at Home Depot and just had to buy her. She is really little, too. Her name is Scully.

... I need to stop buying plants...

Mo!

I recently acquired some new plants, one of them being a Marimo ball which I named Mo! I is an algae ball native to Japan, Iceland, and Estonia. They require very little care and like to live in cold water. They can even be refrigerated on hot days! Here is a picture of Mo in his jar, as well as a picture of the lid that I decorated for him. In the first picture, he is pearling (which is what they call it when he forms little oxygen bubbles during photosynthesis... the bubbles stick to him and take on the appearance of little pearls).


For more information about Marimo Balls, click here

The other plants that I bought are all names after characters from Buffy (go figure).

This is Tara. She is a Hawaiian Volcano Plant. Recently she had been dropping leaves, but after moving her to a sunnier location, she seems to be happy.
















This is Willow. She is a Money Tree.


















This is Giles. He is a Palm.


















This is Angel. He is an Asparagus Fern.



















This is Buffy. She is an African Violet.












I have no idea how and where I am going to put all of these plants in my dorm room when I go back to school, but I will find a way. :)

#2

Here is the second collage in my series of 4 (not yet glazed). The colors I used are a sort of midnight blue and white.



Here they are together (sorry, the picture isn't that great)



Still to come:

Doctor Who
X-Files

Crafty Fun

Today my friend Alexa came over and we decided to get our art on. We ran to the local art store, got some supplies, and went back to my house for some crafty goodness. We both decided to work using acrylic paints. She painted a lovely picture, and I made a collage. You might recognize the style. It looks quite a bit like my pot and is the first in a series of 4 that I will be doing.

Here it is (sorry the photograph is a little dark):

Coming Soon: Angel/Buffy, Doctor Who, and of course, last but certainly not least, Mulder.

A New Pot for Spike

Yesterday I figured out just how I wanted to decorate Spike's new pot. So, a lot of time, glue, pictures, and acrylic paint later, I found myself with this:

The Mess:

The Process:

The Masterpiece:




Spike in his new home:

Meet Spike!

When I was little I would always go into nurseries and other shops that carried plants. I was always amazed by the colorful cacti and thought it would be really fun to own one. So, yesterday in Home Depot I found this little guy and decided to buy him. Considering my current obsession with Buffy, I decided to name him Spike. So here he is :).

It Must Be Magic

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, I've become rather obsessed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Last night I finally got to watch Once More, With Feeling, the musical episode of Buffy. It was so amazing that right after the episode finished, I was on iTunes eagerly searching for the soundtrack. Unfortunately, they didn't have it so I had to hop over to Amazon.com. Ten minutes after finishing the episode, I had ordered the soundtrack and was eagerly awaiting it's delivery on Friday (I got free 2-day shipping). This was at 11:00 last night. You can imagine my amazement when, upon telling her that I was expecting a package to arrive on Friday, my mother informed me that it was already outside. Sure enough, I went downstairs and my cd was waiting for me on the doorstep.

Supernatural forces must be at work here.

An Evening with Dad, Anthony, and Mario

Today I went with my dad and my best friend from kindergarden, Courtney, to see Pixar's new movie up. It was really cute, and well done (as all of Pixar's movies are). The short at the beginning was amazing -- by far my favorite one so far. After that, my dad and I went to see Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali at the Paramount. It was amazing! They were both hilarious and extremely open to the audience. It was nice to hear famous people be real for once, without listening to them dance around questions because they're afraid they are going to piss someone off. My dad even got to ask a question. It was an all around wonderful day.

Now I'm off to watch some more Buffy in my newly rearranged room (maybe I'll get some pictures up here eventually). Buffy is one of my new obsessions. I'm on season 5, and I can't get enough.

More later.

That's What She Said

Yesterday my parents picked me up from college for the summer and we stopped by Spokane to spend some time with the relatives. This evening my father dissolved into tearful fits of laughter in response to a series of "that's what she said" jokes posed by my uncle and me. I've been at college for too long. I don't know what his excuse is.

A Chill Saturday Night

My roommate is gone for the day, and I'm spending a relaxing Saturday night cleaning my room. The music is playing, the night is cool, and everything is going well.

This entire day has been pretty laid back. I ate breakfast with some friends who I don't usually get to hang out with, I went to rehearsal and came out with my stomach sore from so much laughing, and I've been hanging out with various people all day.

It's a pretty quiet night. The Thetas initiated today, however I did not. I've decided to depledge and see how the rest of the year goes before deciding whether or not I want to be a part of sorority life. I can always rush again in the fall.

For the moment I'm focusing on school and rehearsal. I'm currently stage managing for one of the one acts. Things are going very well and I look forward to going to rehearsal every day.

There have been some assaults on campus this year. The last one happened about a week ago on the main field around 8 at night, so one of my friends has been walking me home from rehearsal. My group of friends has vowed to use the buddy system.

Classes are going well. History, though it is my favorite subject, has been rather difficult. We are assigned a lot of reading, and unfortunately that is the subject I put off the longest. Thankfully class discussions have been great thus far. Shakespeare is even more fun than last semester. We ended with Hamlet in the fall, and we started with it this spring, which is exciting because it is my all time favorite play. I'm enjoying the larger class and the different professor. This semester is much more discussion based, and I am learning a lot more because of that. Acting had been fun, but terrifying. I am definitely learning a lot in this class, though the professor is scary. It doesn't help that his reputation precedes him. CORE is fantastic, as always. We are currently reading Othello, which I will be reading again in a few weeks in my Shakespeare class. So far three people in my dorm have come up to me begging for help with Othello. Apparently I'm the resident Shakespeare expert.

Overall, it's been a pretty good start to the semester. We will see where the next few weeks take me.

Some Sad News

Today my parents had to take Maddison to the vet to be put down. She's been really sick for months, and over Christmas break her health really started to deteriorate. By the time I left, she was having trouble standing on slick surfaces. She was 11 years old, and I got her when I was 10. I pretended to faint when I found out she was for me. She used to love to eat cat food, and she went crazy whenever she smelled chicken. She was a loud snorer. She has been an important part of our family, she is dearly loved, and she will be missed.

R.I.P. Maddison

A New President and a New iPod

While you can imagine I was very excited to receive my iPod touch in the mail yesterday (a day early, no less!), I will admit I am more excited about having a new president. My friends and I all got up at 8 to go over to Maxey and watch the inauguration in the auditorium. After witnessing a great moment in American history, my friends and I went back to my room for some celebratory first family cookies. They were delicious and a lot of fun to munch on!







I'd also like you to meet my new friend, Spooky. He is the 32 GB iPod Touch which I have been saving up for. As some of you know, Fox Mulder has been referred to by many as "Spooky" Mulder, a nickname which he dislikes but jokes about occasionally. Leave it to me to name my iPod something related to the X-Files.




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