Summer

I kept thinking I would have more time to update this thing during the summer when I didn't have homework to worry about, but, it turns out I don't. I blame Angela. She lent me her DVD's of seasons 2 and 3 of 24 and I've been watching them nonstop for the past two weeks. The other part of this I blame on work. I spent about 70 hours at work last week, mostly just trying to compensate for my own stupidity. And as a reward, I got reprimanded via email this morning for not exiting the building the "after hours way" over the weekend. Great way to start the week.

In other news, I wore my contacts for the entire day today! Well, entire day being about 12 hours, but that's longer than I've worn them since the middle of March (March!), so I was happy about it. My eyes still look a little bloodshot by the end of the day, but I can't remember what they used to look like at the end of the day before all of this happened, so I'm not sure they're really any worse. It was amazing to run outside and go to the gym and actually be able to recognize people that I passed, see the skyline clearly, and remember that trees have individual leaves. I also never realized how much contacts block your eyes from the wind.

Almost two weeks ago, my newly graduated roommate left for a month-long trip to Europe. I have the apartment to myself until the end of the week, when my roommate's girlfriend's twin sister arrives to sublet. At first it was nice to have the place to myself because I could have the remote whenever I wanted and the bathroom stays neater with just one person. But it's really boring. I used to think that I'd want to live alone for a while after I graduate next year. I've always lived at home with my parents or with roommates, and it seems like having my own apartment is one of those milestones you're supposed to hit in life. But I don't really like living by myself. Too much quiet, and there's no one else around to kill the giant bugs that invade the apartment from time to time.

So, just four more days of work and then it's off to Houston! Mmm... margaritas at Mely's. :)

Get Over It

I don't fully subscribe to this attitude, but I would call myself a mild pessimist, which is why when I read this passage from Conquering Your Quarterlife Crisis, I laughed out loud:

"Will you always hate going to work?" asks John Pozniak, a 1999 Salisbury University graduate. "Yes. It is a way of life. There is a support group for it called Everyone, and they meet at the bars on Friday. It if was all sugar and cookies, why would anyone retire? The key is to find a job that doesn't suck 'as bad.' The good thing is since your job sucks, everything else you do seems that much better and more rewarding. A candied apple isn't as sweet when it's given to you as when it's something you work for. And after a long day's work, how good does a beer taste? Going on vacation, buying a home, these are all things you can't accomplish without a job. Plus, how nice is it to sleep in on a Saturday? Wouldn't be the same if you did it every day; it would lose its luster. Work is like a hangover. People should learn to appreciate both. I've accepted the fact that there are going to be crappy days, really crappy days, and 'eh, today wasn't so bad' days, but, honestly, that's why work is called work and not called 'fun' or 'naked Twister with the Swedish bikini team.'"

Florida

I've been so lazy since getting back on Sunday. I kept thinking I would feel all "refreshed" and "motivated" when I got back, but the only productive thing I've managed to accomplish since Sunday morning is buying groceries. Tomorrow I'll get back on a regular schedule, I swear...

Florida was awesome. :) We spent Saturday & Sunday in Jacksonville with the parents, and then drove through St. Augustine on Sunday on the way to Orlando. We spent Monday at Cocoa Beach, where I got to meet the real people I had to impress: Josh's nieces and nephew. Adults are relatively polite even if they don't really like you, but little kids are pretty honest about their feelings. They, of course, were adorable, and I was glad that we got to go to Disneyworld with them on Tuesday, since the park is so much more magical when you're under 10. But Disneyworld was HOT and crowded because of all the Memorial Day kid traffic. We finally made it through the line at Splash Mountain by the end of the day, and then of course it was time for pictures... so here we are in front of Cinderella's castle, appropriately damp:


My eyes looked pretty red and freakish by the end of that day, so we didn't go back for the parade of lights at night, which would have been cool. My eyeballs didn't look much better on Wednesday, so we spent most of that day just lounging around. Thursday we went to Busch Gardens in Tampa, and it turned out to be the perfect day - there was a huge thunderstorm in the afternoon so the park mostly cleared out after that, which meant that all the rollercoasters had less than a 10 minute wait to ride. I think we rode Sheikra 5 times in a row. :) The ride is crazy - you go up the initial hill and turn a short corner, and then the car dangles you over the edge of the first drop for about 5 seconds before throwing you down a 90 degree dive. Just enough time for you to gape at the track and pee in your pants. If you're interested, you can watch the video here, but I don't think the movie does it justice - the ride at least feels a ton faster in real life.

The night before we played some mini golf on a course that included a scavenger hunt and some live alligators! I was all excited to find out that they had alligators, but then later we went to a Go Kart place that also had alligators... so apparently I'm a big sucker for tourist traps.


But it seems that the alligators aren't the real thing you should be watching out for...


Ahh, vacation... I miss you already.