The Undergrads.

This first week and a half of the semester has been a whirlwind of crazy and getting used to new schedules. There are so many children everywhere. And by children, I mean undergraduates. The bane of my existence as a grad student. They take over all of my local watering holes (aka bars... even though half of them are technically not even 21 but ID's don't lie), restaurants, parking, busses... they're all flooding with undergrads.  Even my peaceful 6AM running time has been kidnapped. I used to see not a single soul out and yesterday I saw 4. What is that? Aren't you sleeping undergrads? Do you not have class till noon? I think you're doing college wrong.

The little town of Ann Arbor literally doubles when school is back in session and since I am officially old, I naturally hate all things that I wish I was: young, care free, and with soooo much free time.

A good chunk of the country (75% actually) went back to school weeks ago but Michigan is behind in the times and doesn't go to school until after labor day. It is apparently a law that started because child labor was invaluable. I mean, why hire farm hands to harvest your land when you can get your 10 children to do it. After all, that is why you had 10 children, right?

What I can tell you is that times are changing... though at a much slower progression than I would have originally thought and starting this late is stupid. The later you start, the later you get out. I miss being done the first week of December and not thinking about anything educational for a month (NMSU was so generous in their breaks). Instead, school roughly gets out the week right before Christmas and goes back the week after New Years... slashing my break time drastically in half. Not to mention our complete lack of Thanksgiving break which is essentially just Thanksgiving day instead of the whole week.

Not that this actually matters much for me anymore because science/grad school hates breaks, and holidays, and anything that actually makes one happy. This is a scientifically proven fact.

This also doesn't matter much because I'm not actually taking any classes. Unless you can count a weekly seminar in which I listen to people talk about their research.

Anyway, even though I'm not actually taking a class, I am teaching one. I know what you're thinking: is this girl qualified to teach a group of 360 undergraduate students? No probably not. Except, I actually think I might be good at it. I didn't think it was possible.

I'm historically bad at a lot of things and my aversion to public speaking made me question why I was doing this. And then I remembered I am required to teach. So I sucked it up and went to the absolute sorriest excuse of a GSI orientation in which I wasted 2 work days and learned the exact opposite of anything useful.

And then the real class time started. And I have to say, I really like it. I'm teaching Genetics which is one of my favorite subjects to begin with.  I have 3 discussions and about 75 students total. Because this is more of group talking and discussion based class than a lecturing style, I really got in to the swing of it. All I had to do was remember

1) I actually am smarter than them.

2)  2 years ago wasn't that long... I can relate, right? 

So besides the one kid who answered his phone in the middle of the professor lecturing... while he was sitting directly behind me... and then had a full blown conversation and then I nearly decapitated him in the middle of class. Yeah, besides that it's been going well. Granted, I've only taught one class so it could all fall apart by Friday judging by how things in my life go.

Side note, I got my very own pre-med undergraduate to mentor in lab which I thought was kind of cool, that my PI trusted me enough. And then after the fact I found out everyone else in lab said they didn't want one or will be "graduating" (supposedly) in the next few months. Therefore I was the last and only option. You know me, always trying to impress.

Jacked Up Sangria

I think it has come to be known that I like alcohol... but only the tasty kinds. And you know what, I'm not ashamed to say it. Mixed drinks are delicious and fun and as long as you don't drink them in too much excess you're fine. I mean, just go to the gym a little more and it shouldn't have that much affect on you. Don't try and get all drunk and eat an entire bag of chips and your life won't change that much. If you have a huge presentation tomorrow, probably safe to say you should stay in. And if you're drinking... this doesn't mean you have to get shwasted. You probably will by accident but I'm sure you're smart enough to think through your own life choices. I am and it's working out pretty well for me.

Follow these simple rules and your life will be sooo much better. Because alcohol is a happy magical elixir of life. You know... besides that it is in fact a depressant. If we choose to ignore this, it's all good. Besides your liver of course. I'm sure your liver hates you.

But guess what, I'm 22 and in grad school and life is hard. I won't be this young forever and eventually I will in fact have to grow up. Not now. Not today. I know, I have white girl problems in excess.

That being said, it is probably never a good idea to have me make you a drink. Why? I don't believe in shot glasses. I don't believe in measuring your alcohol. I believe in pouring until it tastes good and if it doesn't taste good you add a little more. I believe in having good beers (or cheap beer really, I'm not that picky) with great friends. I wholeheartedly believe in 2 Buck Chuck. I believe in spiked cider on a cold day. I believe in boxed wine and Champagne. I believe in pretty drinks, girly drinks, fruity drinks, and manly drinks. I believe in alcohol.

In honor of my love of alcohol and my new found love for Michigan football, I decided to make a Fall Sangria for our Michigan vs Michigan State tailgate last weekend. And the number one comment I received was "I hate you and your sangria." This was of course after the entire batch was completely devoured.

Why? Because apparently my Sangria was a little too potent for some people... the kind of potent that you didn't actually realize until you're a full glass (or 4) in.

This is what Fall Sangria is supposed to be:

Fall sangria (courteous of nerve.com and my mama) 
2 oranges
1 lemon
2 apples
1-2 cup bourbon
½ cup triple sec
3-4 tsp hot sauce (they use Crystal)
¼ cup simple syrup
2-3 cinnamon sticks

Combine in a quart container and let marinate for at least a day.
Combine mixture with 2 bottles of sauvignon blanc and 3 cups apple cider and adjust to taste.
Garnish with chopped apple.

Makes enough for a small party (medium-sized punch bowl)..

This is what my Fall Sangria turned out to be:

Kaitlyn's Jacked Up Fall Sangria

4 Oranges

2 Lemons

2 Apples

1 Handle of Bourbon

1/2 a bottle of Triple Sec

Pour in hot sauce till you feel it looks like enough

1ish cup of simple syrup from Splenda (I mean, there are already enough calories in this thing, lets not add more) 

6 cinnamon sticks

Combine in a 2.5 L jug and let marinate for at least a day

Combine mixture with 2 bottles (The 1.5 L size) of Pinot Grigio and about half a gallon of apple cider.

Realize it is too sour. Pour some more sugar in.

Realize it is WAY too sweet. Pour a whole bottle of Merlot in and realize it is just right.

Obviously you have now moved to 2 - 2.5 L jugs

Makes enough for a small party!

You can clearly see the winner of these two recipes.

I'm sure you're sensing a theme from my recent blog posts but really, my life is a whole lot of work and school and nobody wants to hear about that. Do you really want to hear about last week how I was holed up for days in my room up until 2 AM studying for my biochem test. No, because that is boring, horrible news that nobody likes. Especially me. But in case you were wondering, I rocked that biochem test last week. Boo-ya!

If you were also curious about the development of Tequila Thursday... it won. It won big time. Just say no folks!! Tequila Thursday is no longer. RIP.

Now kids, please drink responsibly. We don't need anymore crazies out there than there already are.
 

If you really knew me...

This afternoon amongst my crazy multitasking... and by multitasking I mean watching a movie, watching women's gymnastics, archery, swimming, and diving in the olympics while not ever really getting out of bed... I received a call to duty.

On this lazy, dark, drizzly day fit for staying in and watching the Olympics, I would normally shrug off any call to duty mainly because I'm in my complete and utter useless stage. Actually, that is really the only stage I have been in all weekend and I surely do not wish to break my lazy streak on account of some formal call to duty.

However, this particular call can be done from my bed with the simple tapping of computer keys. All the while, the Olympics plays happily and undisturbed in the background.

So what you ask is this call to duty? Well, there seems to be a blog craze going around. Something simple in which you post about things people would know if they really, really knew you. My good friend, sorority sister, and fellow blogger Jenna posted it on her blog this afternoon and tagged me in the this blogging trend. So here it goes...

If you really knew me...

You would know that I cannot spell to save my life. I actually just misspelled undisturbed and my computer had to correct it for me. I'm surprised they let me out of elementary school.

You would know that I absolutely love soup. It's the best and most amazing food ever and comes in 20,000+ flavors and consistencies. My favorite being Chicken Tortilla Soup at 2 particular restaurants back in New Mexico.

You would know that I am completely and hopelessly addicted to 19th century literature turned movie. North and South, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Little Women. You name it and I love it!

You would also know that though I love the above mentioned movies, my favorite movies include Fight Club, The Boondock Saints, Die Hard collection of movies, and Saw collection.

You would know that I hate knocking on doors and ringing door bells. I avoid it all costs. It makes me uncharacteristically nervous. If I am visiting somebody, I usually call them when I arrive. I'm sure there is some deep seeded physiological reason for this but I'm not entirely sure what it is.

You would know that I cannot stand cotton balls, polar fleece, cue tips, or anything of the like. Don't ask... I don't have a logical answer.

You would know that when I get really excited, and I start to talk too fast I shorten words and don't even realize it. Not because it has suddenly become the cool thing to do but because my mouth is going much more quickly than my brain can process. The most common is because... which I often shorten to bees. As in... "I'm so excited bees in two days my sister gets here and then in 9 days I go back to New Mexico."

You would know that the very first thing I see on a guy always is his hair. Good hair is the difference between a cute guy and a hot guy. And a bad haircut on a guy can ruin everything. This also makes me very aware of when any of the guys around me have just gotten a haircut. Even if it's a tiny trim, I notice. 

You would know that I need alone time. I am not one of those people who can constantly be surrounded by other people. Being too social actually really stresses me out and makes me very grumpy. Not that I don't love being around people. I do... I just need space sometimes.This makes clingy guys a problem.

You would know that I literally have to fight myself to stay awake in a car if I am not driving. It's torture. If I'm in the passenger seat, I definitely want to be sleeping. Five minutes in a car and I can be dead asleep and not wake up again for hours. It's not by choice either. It's a physical reaction of being in a car that I just cannot help. It's so damn relaxing! Unfortunately, this makes me a really bad road trip partner.

You would know that I don't actually own a brush. No, I'm not kidding. I do not brush my hair or comb my hair really. I have a pick that I use to detangle my hair right out of the shower but that is it. Experience has taught me that my insanely frizzy, thick, wavy/curly hair is turned in to a straight up afro at even the site of a brush. 

You would know that I love ellipses. You know... those three little dots. I don't even think I use them correctly most of the time but that isn't going to stop me!

You would know that I am excited but really, really, really nervous to uproot the only life I have ever known and move to Michigan... a place where I know not a single soul, in a mere 13 days.

You would know that I love my life, I love my friends, I love my family, and partly due to this I take things very personally.

Character Flaws

I think we are all on the same level here. I am a failure. So, I am no longer going to apologize for my lateness in blogs or long intervals of time between some of them. There really is no point. It's a major character flaw that is a permanent fixture in my life. I've accepted it.

Right this very second I am doing my all time favorite activity... procrastination. I have a huge paper due tomorrow and I just don't seem to want to do it. I need to do it. It's 25% of my grade, so yeah I need to do it but I don't want to. This is also a character flaw. I've been noticing more of them lately.

On the positive, I have several pages of this paper done. There is no page limit or recommendation for how many pages we should have so I suppose this really has nothing to do with the productivity of the actual paper. I still have the virulence factors, a case example, and a health fact sheet to do. In case you were wondering, this paper is about Campylobacter jejuni a sweet little bacterial food-borne pathogen that causes some not-so-sweet problems with your insides.

But holly hell, this thing has like 85,000 virulence factors (factors which make it toxic and make the infected person really wish they had cooked their food better and washed their hands) which means 85,000% more writing to do. I should have gone with a simpler one who simply produces a toxin and causes you too poo. But no, I had to be difficult with my 20ish citations and hating life on my last week of classes.

I really cannot take this paper right now. I have 2 weeks exactly before I leave for Maryland, then Boston, then Michigan. Does the universe really want me to be doing papers and taking finals... NO. The universe wants me to eat amazing food, drink tons of wine/liquor, have good old fashioned sleepovers, watch movies, go look at beautiful houses, visit my old high school one last time, and of course see all of my friends.

These are just some of the planned events I have coming up on my last 2 weeks. Obviously, there is no time for papers or finals. Or packing... I've decided I should really pay somebody to do this for me. Lets just graduate and be done with this nonsense.

At least work is done! Bye bye sheepies, and cowsies, and all other farm animals that I had the distinct pleasure of working with for the past 4 years. But really, it was time for me to move on from smelling like a barn and instead get ready to freeze my behind off in cold Michigan winters.

I am actually quite scared for this. I just watched The 5 Year Engagement on Monday and it was like my cold frozen life was flashing before my eyes (Emily Blunt ends up being a postdoc at the University of Michigan).

Well, ladies and gents I hope you enjoyed these random paragraphs of my life's nonsense but now a cup of very strong New Orleans Chicory coffee is calling my name along with the end of the school year. I must fight my ongoing battle with procrastination!

The Anorak

Now that you and the rest of my family/friends/world knows I am officially leaving this fall for Michigan, the number one thing I have been told was to buy a parka. And buy a parka now while they are marked down for spring and summer.

At first, I just laughed and thought yep it is definitely going to be cold and I should look in to something warm to wear. I have 2 pea coats (more like raincoat) type of jackets that I really just bought because they are super cute. Then I have 1 wool coat. A wool coat I bought about 4 years ago... it's missing a button and the black has faded in to a more of a dark grey. And that is the extent of my coat collection.

You just don't need coats in Cruces. A good sweatshirt is all you ever really need. Or a nice sweater. 11 months out of the year you never need a coat and for that 1 month that you may need one, people just don't go outside.

Just a couple of stats for you:

• Rain
• Cruces: we're lucky if we get .25 inches a month
• Ann Arbor: rains an average of 3 inches every month
• High Temp
• Cruces: It's March and we have already reached highs over 80 degrees and summers bring days with 95-110ish degrees
• Ann Arbor: Highs are generally around 80-90 max with a record high of 105 in 1934. Only 3 months out of the year Ann Arbor has EVER reached over 100 degrees and it rarely gets over 90.
• Low Temp
• Hardly ever do we see temperatures under freezing. And if we do, it is in the middle of the night but never during the day.
• About 4 months out of the year the average daily temperature is below freezing.

So... in summary... I am going to drown from all the rain and then freeze to the sidewalk. It is pretty much my decided fate in Ann Arbor.

In order to try my best to fight my destiny, though I think it may be hopeless, I decided I need to invest in coats... not only coats but parkas.

That is when I found myself in the mall looking in a department store in the coat section with a very concerned expression on my face. I looked through the meager 2 racks they had provided for me. And I found myself thinking... what in the world is a parka!?

No really... I don't have the slightest idea of what makes a coat a parka. I don't think I have ever even seen a parka. And that is when I knew for sure... I am indeed going to die in Ann Arbor.

I decided to do a parka google search. My good friend Wikipedia told me that a parka was originally called an anorak and made by the Eskimos. They are often fur/fake fur lined in order to keep you warmer and were originally made from caribou or seal.

Most importantly they are often ugly. Now it comes down to functionality and fashion. Do I really want to survive or do I want to look cute? Duh... I'm into surviving and being warm.

And there go all of my chances of finding a good boy in Ann Arbor. Damn parkas.

I was just informed that my "pea coats" are actually trench coats... and my wool coat is a pea coat.

Not only do I not know what a parka is... I apparently don't even know what a coat is. 

City of Trees

Yes I know, you keep getting the same excuses from me as of late but I cannot help it. I am a mess. Really, I am a mess. I am in such an utter state of disrepair that I spent 15 minutes looking for a pair of pants yesterday. A pair of pants that I had swore I hadn't seen in over a month. A pair of pants, it turns out, I was currently wearing. But, I am getting much better... I think. I was super sick for about a week and now that that is done and I'm starting to get a grip on my life for the coming several months. Regular blogging is at the top of my list. Promise! For real this time.

Official updates:

• I am going to the University of Michigan come fall!! I am so incredibly excited. I think I knew the second I had my recruitment weekend up there that it was the school for me. I guess I have to get used to some cold and some snow... and apparently tornadoes like the one that hit them yesterday. It's going to be a lot of adjusting. But, I am going to be a wolverine. Which means, decent football!!! Not the crappy stuff we get thrown with down here. (Some of these pics are a little blurry because I felt like my fingers were going to fall off in the 15 degree weather!)

• I signed a lease for my housing this fall. I was originally going to get a place by myself. Then, I realized how expensive life is and how absolutely poor I am. My mother also felt the need to remind me that I will be getting paid below the poverty line next year. Awesome. Hello ramon noodles! Not to mention the fact that I need to buy a new car. So, after craigslisting for several weeks I found it! The cutest little house (okay not so little)! I'm actually going to have 7 roommates. SEVEN! It sounds a little insane but I am so excited. It's an instant basis of people I get to know and way better than moving to a town where I literally do not know a soul. To top it off, the days of skype have allowed me to even meet some of my roommates. It's going to be a good year. I can tell.

Looks little from the front but this baby has 8 good sized bedrooms, 2 kitchens, 4 baths and is a deep house rather than wide.

• I signed my lease for the summer too. I am living in this apartment with 2 other people down in a great part of Boston. Just a couple of T stops from work. It's amazing, this 3 bedroom apartment costs as much as the 5 bedroom section of my house in Ann Arbor is going to cost (my house is actually a duplex but we're renting as a whole. One section is 3 bedrooms. One section is 5 bedrooms). Boston is ridiculously expensive... and I think if I had decided to go to school there I would have had to sell a kidney.
• I am car shopping tomorrow!! I am not actually going to buy until probably early May but I am going to go around and look. I need a nice reliable car. If, I was to take mine it would blow up half way through Texas. Literally, blow up. Personally, I like the Honda Fit best. What do you think?

2012 Honda Fit

2012 Nissan Versa Hatchback

2012 Kia Soul

• Spring Break officially starts for us tonight after I get done with wine class. Not that it really matters... at all actually. I still have to be up before the sun every day except Sundays. I have to say losing those creatures is going to be the best day of my life!

Blowing Through Town

Hello friends. I know I have been sooooo slow with the blogging lately. It is because my mind has been otherwise occupied. And by occupied I mean my brain is slowing eroding away into nothingness with no sleep and anxiety out of the wazoo.

But, I have several good stuff to share with you I just have been wanting to wait for the right time to tell you. I suppose now could be the right time to tell you. I really am just looking to put off studying for statistics for another several minutes so I figure this is a good way to do that. Oh, the life of a professionally trained procrastinator... I think I should get paid for my relatively stunning abilities to intensely procrastinate anything and everything and still always get it done on time and in good fashion.

1. I am going back to Boston for the summer to do more research. Which basically means... 60-80 hour work weeks. Little to no sleep. Running (assuming I don't fall down another flight of stairs... which is actually more likely than you would think) around beautiful rivers and streams. Living another 10-12 weeks in one of my favorite cities. PLUS I have great people to work around in lab and a good friend who will also be there doing research. Additional plus, I get paid really decently and never had to apply. HHMI is amazing and I am glad they gave me the opportunity to go back.

2. Guess what folks... it's official. I don't have to sell all of my belongings and head to Italy to become a hippie farmer who mainly spends most of her time drinking wine. Though, I will still continue the wine drinking wherever I may go. Also, I just learned how to make some bomb Sangria in wine class which was so delicious. So, I expect to be making this for friends, family, and of course myself very soon. Oh wait... the point... I got in to graduate school!!! I don't know where I am going yet and I am not going to tell you my options as of now. I'll let you know when I decide. But the main thing is that no matter what, I am going somewhere. It's pretty epic.

3. I will be writing a weekly wine post as promised but I don't think I am going to start it for a while. I have a couple of other things to concentrate on like... graduating, deciding where to place my life for the next 5-6 years, work, finding a place to live (probably should be at the top of my list right now), and my favorite thing in the whole world: sleep! Of which I am currently/ lacking (I'm actually always lacking sleep but it's gotten more intense within the past month or so) as my plane got in this morning and I didn't get home till around 1:30 am and I have very insanely long school day including a test. Speaking of planes, I have more traveling stories to tell you all probably tomorrow.

Stay cool my friends. And if you're in Las Cruces, welcome to the windy, dusty, really too long season of spring. It's officially started as indicated by the actually rather low 30-40 mph winds outside... which really put a damper on the otherwise pleasant temperatures of the next several months. Try not to blow away. I know it can be rather difficult at times.

A Half Melted Ice Cream Cone

I am a firm believer that bad things happen in threes. So far, 2 incredibly bad things happened today. I guess not incredibly bad. Just, you know, the route of my future that I had planned for myself is currently in a state of warfare and I am losing. Badly.


People told me for a while that I was aiming too high for my plans in life. To these people I said: F You! Really, who honestly says that to another human being? I don't care if you are thinking it. But you sure don't say it.

I was blasted for months about this. But me, being an idiot, thought to myself: I have worked insanely hard for YEARS. I had jobs that were supposed to get me places. I networked with people. I did good in my classes. I sacrificed a lot of time with friends and I blew off relationships with people because I knew my future was important. I knew I was going places. Much bigger than I could accomplish in this town. I put happiness aside at times for things that I thought would make me happy in the future.

Turns out, those people were right. After all of that hard work I have absolutely nothing to show for it. I feel like I have wasted the past 11 years of my life. I could have been doing something I love. I could have been caring less and have been happy and had fun. I could have been baking and cooking and drinking wine but instead I chose this path.

Why? Because I had these preconceived notions that if you are an incredibly hard worker and you do things that are aimed to push you to a good future you are going to get some place with your life. Nope. Not true people! Life doesn't work like this.

Life couldn't give a crap about hard work. It's all about politics and name brands and money. It really is quite horrible.

Sorry for the Debby Downer talk over here. I thought 2 hours at the gym would alleviate my anger and stress but it hasn't. I'm just angry at the whole world right now including myself. To top it off, I am very very sore.

So... here I am, currently waiting for bad thing number 3 to happen. And then the universe will be like:

Oh. Hey Kaitlyn. I really couldn't help but notice your life is going down the toilet. I mean really, I tried not to notice but hey I just couldn't resist watching. It's like a train wreck. You know something bad is coming but you just can't seem to take your eyes off of it. Here is one thing that I thought would cheer you up!

And then the universe will hand me a half melted ice cream cone and be on its way planning for another set of 3 really bad things.

I PROMISE I won't be this mopey and whiny again. It's annoying. I'm starting to get annoyed with myself too. I need to start packing bags for my future in Italy anyway. That is a much more productive use of my time.

On the most happy of things... because really, all I have to look forward to is alcohol - I am starting a new weekly post entitled A Day at the Vineyard where I shall chat about my adventures in wine tasting and maybe you can pick up a few winerific tips along the way.

This is some good advice right here



...Life doesn't have to suck. Be happy. Be happy now. Not later. This I have learned first hand... and take frequent naps. It makes for a better outlook on your currently sucky life!

The Top 10 Moments of Spring Semester... Thus Far

The beginning of school has been particularly interesting. And by interesting I mean: Absolutely horrible (with few minor exceptions) and I wish to fast forward to May and never think on these past few days again. 

For your information/enjoyment/knowing-that-your-semester-is-probably-way-better-than-mine-and-can-feel-good-knowing-that-somebody-may-just-have-it-worse (Though I know people have it way worse than I do and this doesn't make me in the slightest happy. But hey, whatever floats your canoe) I have made a list of the top 10 moments that have occurred with school starting. Which, I kind of think is a huge feat seeing as how we are only 4 days in to the semester.

1. I had to drop my statistics class. This is a HUGE problem. No statistics = no graduation. Who really wants to graduate anyway? Not me. So why exactly did I have to drop it? In short, because my teacher was an insane crazy person (I realize insane and crazy describe the same thing. But really, she needs both of these adjectives) who has absolutely no respect for the school's scheduling system. She declared that all of her tests were on Thursday nights and not during our scheduled class time of 8:55-10:10 on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Well, one of the tests is on a day I am heading to Michigan for an interview. After class, the teacher blatantly told me she didn't care that I had an interview and I would indeed fail her class. I think this is illegal. The ONLY reason I am in college is so I can go to graduate school and now you're telling me that because I am actually striving for that I will fail your class. Which in turn would not cause me to graduate thus meaning no graduate school. Well, you are an awesome teacher. As a matter of fact, your awesomeness was so incredible that I just couldn't handle it and I had to drop the class.

2. Obviously, I had to find another statistics class. I did. The only one available: from 4-6:30 at night on Tuesdays. So now, I leave my house at 6:15 am and don't get home until 6:15 at night which makes for a very exhausting day.

3. My new statistics teacher uses a different book than the old teacher. I already have my book from the old class which I bought from somebody on amazon and cannot return it. So, I had to spend an additional $70 on another statistics book. Both of which cover the exact same things. It's ok. I like to throw away money every chance I get. It's actually a hobby of mine.

4. I received my first rejection letter from a graduate school and felt officially defeated by my last first day of school. I knew they had to come but it doesn't make seeing them any less hard.

5. In my fluster of a horrible first day of school, I thought my new statistics class was on Thursdays and not Tuesdays so I stayed at school till 4 and found out I was indeed wrong and I had just wasted the last 2 hours of my life waiting for class to start. Did I mention I also forgot my wallet AND lunch so after having a 300 calorie smoothie at 6 in the morning I didn't get to eat again until I finally got home at 4:30. Apparently, eating is overrated anyway.


6. Found out one of the universities I applied for grad school to received my GRE scores... then lost them through a computer glitch or whatever. And never reviewed my application. As this was the last thing that happened on my very horrible first day of the semester, I had a complete meltdown in the middle of the dirt parking lot after walking all the way back from my class that was never actually scheduled to be on Thursday. 

5. I had an interview with a professor from Duke which was amazing. His work is exactly the type of science I am looking to get in to. But, I won't hear back from them till March and thus the continuation of the waiting game!

7. My sister's guinea pig, Nutmeg, passed away on Friday morning. Her other guinea pig, Lola, passed away two weeks ago so this was a very hard time for her and my mom. And my dogs who keep going in the pigs' room and crying/sleeping under where their house used to be. It really is quite depressing.

8. WINE CLASS. Spectacular... 7 wines in one night with snacks and actual learning going on. In 14 weeks, I plan to be a wine connoisseur. You can forward me your pressing wine questions then!

9. I got to sleep in on Sunday. It was the absolute best gift somebody could have given me. The first day in about 3-4 weeks that I have slept past 5:30. Granted, I only slept till about 7:15 but it was splendid. And guess what... I get this WHOLE upcoming weekend off.

10. I got sick :(

I am a little concerned for how this semester is going to turn out... You shouldn't be. It'll make for some good stories.