From the Land Down Under...

Well, so much for writing a month later- how about six months later? Better late than never, I spose. But you are correct- I am writing from Australia! And I actually leave in 18 days back to the States for good, believe it or not. Why am I writing now, do you ask? Well, take a guess- you are correct... it's finals time! When else do I procrastinate so bad that I write an update to my blog? But as I DO have an exam to take in just about 15 hours (and of course I haven't started studying yet), I'm gonna make this snappy.

Finals went great last semester and I ended up getting the best gpa for a semester I've gotten since I started college.

China was crazy and amazing and interesting... neat place to visit, wouldn't want to live there. Look at my pics on facebook for a little bit more of a look at China...

The month back in the States after China and before leaving for Australia went really really quick- by the time I got around to seeing all my relatives and showed them pictures from China, it was time to say goodbye already!

The flights to Australia was GRUELING. It sucked. 19 hours in the sky plus two layovers by MYSELF really was not a great way to start out my semester. My flight from Chicago to LA got delayed because of weather, I therefore missed my flight to Sydney from LA, had to stay in the LA ghetto by myself for 24 hours, got to Sydney finally only to find out all my luggage was lost somewhere, and then had to miss my pre-orientation in the Blue Mts because I had no clothes or personal belongings!

But things got better- Tony got back from his pre-orientation in Cairns and so we had a few days to get settled, wait for my luggage to get in, and explore the city a bit.

Classes also suck, even moreso than at home. Even though we don't have daily homework, just a few papers in each class, they grade REALLY hard, and to be honest, profs don't care much about the students. It just makes learning and going to school that much more difficult.

Got the opportunity to go to FIJI for our two week spring break... by far the best week of my life! It was heaven. Amazing. Can't wait to go back! The people were friendly, the weather was amazing- not to mention we stayed at a 5-star resort with the biggest swimming pool in Fiji. Again- look at the amazing pics I posted on facebook. We got to parasail, go to a little island and lay around, went trekking through a rainforest and swam underneath a REAL waterfall, went snorkelling a few times and saw a real SHARK, and even got caught in a tropical thunderstorm on the water and saw a TORNADO! All in all, a completely UNFORGETTABLE spring break.

Back in Australia, Tony and I spent the 2nd week of our spring break sightseeing around Sydney doing the normal touristy stuff- going on sightseeing cruises, going up the Sydney tower and taking pictures, going the the aquarium, you know.

Since then, just been trying to balance class work with my internship (I'm a marketing intern and Habitat for Humanity here), while trying to relax and get out into the city still. A few weeks ago we went on a weekend trip up a few hours to Port Douglas, Anna Bay, and Newcastle where we went to the Hunter Valley Wine Region wine tasting (delicious!), hung out and enjoyed the nightlife of Newcastle, swam at the beach at Anna Bay, went whale and dolphin watching on a catamaran in Port Douglas, and slide sliding on the sand dunes there too! Again... great weekend!

A few days after that, I actually had to jet back to the States for four days for my brother's wedding. It was a lot of money to spend just for a couple days back there, but it was completely worth it. It was so great seeing family and friends (I have two of the best friends in the world that came all the way up to Green Bay to see me!) and the wedding was sooooo much fun. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Now I'm just preparing (or procrastinating) for my exams starting tomorrow, which will last for another 6 days... and then it's home free! Tony and I have booked a little day trip vacation down the south coast to see some waterfalls and buddhist temples and beaches and all that good stuff a week from tomorrow, then Tony won free tickets for us to see Sydney FC (soccer) play in town two days later, then the next day we have an aussie bbq party to go to with some aussie friends, the next day we have tickets to see LA Galaxy (and Beckham...mmm!) play Sydney FC (we'll be cheering for LA of course), three days later is our dinner cruise around the harbor for SAMBA NIGHTS ("sangria by the jug," dancing, samba music, food....), and then its the beach hopefully for 3 days until we catch our flights back to Wisc!

So yeah, hell for the next 6 days, heaven for the following 11 or so days, and then complete bliss once back in GB with friends and family!! Really, it has taken being across the Pacific Ocean for 5 months for me to realize how much the amazing people in my life mean to me... and I can't wait to get back to you all!

7 Months Later...

Well, I finally am getting around to updating the blog. There's a reason why I have neglected it though. My computer, for the third time I believe, crashed on me last semester. I went without for awhile, repaired it, and it crashed again. I was able to get at my files during winter break long enough to save my important files and pictures to an external hard drive, and then I installed a completely new hard drive, losing all of my hundreds of entertaining away messages. That explains why you haven't been more entertained by my messages, huh? Anyways, my AIM buddy profile was erased and I never really re-did it and put the link to the blogger back up there.

But now it's finals week, and what else do I have to do but update my blogger? Lol. I just have one final left- Biology. How do you study for a cumulative final that has over a thousand paged text book? Yeah, I dunno either. So yeah, time to take a break.

Last semester was alright. Spent weekends either working, in Milwaukee with Tony, or hosting Tony here. Hmm, I can't even think back that far to last semester otherwise. Um, I turned 20 in February. I went skiing with my family in March. I dunno, really I've just been crazy/busy this semester with 18 credits, 2 jobs (quit ShopKo after 3.5 years and got a job with Options caring for a 45 year old Down Syndrome man), a long-distance boyfriend, tour-giver, different club activities, SIFE competition and the bizillion hours in preparation for it, and preparing for studying abroad.

YUP, that's right! I'm going to Australia!! :) Oh and CHINA! For my Human Issues class, we're going to China for three full weeks in... let's see... ONE WEEK. Pretty crazy. And when I get back, since its for a credit, we hafta do a paper and a couple more classes and a presentation, so I'll be in and out of Madison for a few weeks for that and probably working a few hours on campus (thank god for a flexible job and an awesome boss!). Then just a bit later on July 18, I fly out to Sydney for a whole semester! I'm very excited, but boy, if you contemplating studying abroad (which will be 100% worth it), know its a helluva lotta work! Semesters work a bit differently down under, from the end of July to the end of November, which means I have nearly 2 months off before school begins at Edgewood again! Best part is, is that I'm planning on going to Fiji and maybe even New Zealand in December once the semester is done with. Don't worry, I won't be completely on my own for all of this new crazy stuff. In fact, it turns out Tony got placed at the same university as me, so we'll be finally on the same campus for a semester. Don't worry, I too want a "real" study abroad experience and we've already thoroughly discussed how we're each going to make our own friends and have our own experiences. We don't want to be connected at the hip. And we're going through different programs and living on opposite sides of the campus, so really, it's kind of a comfort thing.

Annnnyyyyways, I could go on forever about study abroad plans and my life, but I really should get to my fantastic biology. Knowing me, I won't get around to posting again before China (but ya never know with me...), so look forward to hearing from me in a month with crazy stories from the Land of Pandas! <3

Sophomore Sensations

Welp, I'll try to make this kinda short and snappy, since I have early classes tomorrow and still need to study for my weekly Biology quiz. But, I'm a fabulous Sophomore now, living off-campus with four lovely ladies, and loving it.

Surprisingly, I've been keeping up with my classes for the most part. For those of you that don't know me that well, I am a HUGE procrastinator. And last year, though I would continuously promise myself that I would turn over a new leaf and stay on top of school work and actually DO the work and actually STUDY for tests, but I never really did. But this year I've done a pretty decent job of doing my homework on time, doing the readings, studying (a little, anyways), and... GET THIS: going to bed early! My bed times ranges between 11pm-1am. Pretty crazy, considering last year I wouldn't even think about schoolwork until Fear Factor re-runs were done with at midnight each night. So yeah, yay for me!

I haven't picked up my second job yet... Kinda procrastinating on that aspect. But that's okay I decided, since I wanted to get a daily ritual established and get situated before I brought on more responsibility than I could handle. But I spose beginning next week I should begin the job applications.

I also have been putting planning into the works about my traveling abroad. I actually, possibly, may be traveling to three very different countries in ONE year. Over winter break, I might be going to Cuernavaca, Mexico with Edgewood's Campus Ministry to volunteer there at orphanages and schools. Then, next semester I will be taking a class that will study China- its history, culture, and language- and will then actually GO to China at the end of May for three weeks. That would be a really amazing experience. And then... I am trying to plan my semester-long study abroad opportunity next fall in Sydney, Australia. There, I would continue my business classes as well as have a business internship in downtown Sydney. Wow, the opportunities I have, huh? The only drawbacks to the trips are: the money I don't have to spend on the trips, being away from friends and family and especially my boyfriend, and then missing my brother's wedding next fall. Really, I cannot miss my brother's wedding... So I'd have to come up with an extra $1500-2000 to spend on the plane ticket back to the states for the weekend. SIGH... We'll see how this all works out.

Anyways, back to current times. This weekend will actually be the first weekend here since classes started that I'll be IN Madison with no plans. Every other weekend, I've either went to Milwaukee to visit Tony, had him here, or had some sort of SIFE activity, such as going to Minneapolis for a conference or running a seminar. So it'll be really really nice to just relax, party, and get ahead of some schoolwork and begin studying for my midterms coming up next week (yikes!).

So yes, time for some late night tv and bed now, and then hopefully to continue on my kick of non-procrastination I'll write again soon! :)

As Summer Closes...

Whoops- Two months without an update to the blogger. What can I say- Summer has been amazing so far. Both good and bad, I've been working about half the hours than I did last summer. I desperately need more money, but I'm 100% glad I have a social life this summer. I haven't really gone anywhere or done anything too out of the ordinary, but it's just been fabulous hanging out with friends, relaxing, and not having any pressure from school or work.

Let's see what else- in addition to my sister's engagement, my brother is also newly engaged to Shannon- FINALLY! I'm sooo excited for their wedding in Oct. 2007.

And I attended my first Dave Matthews Band concert this summer! Had no idea what to expect, but next year we'll know to bring lots of friends, tailgate ahead of time, and get insanely drunk for it. In July I also visited my babe Cassidy in Monroe for a few days- just hung out, had a cook out, sunbathed, got our hair done... Great to see one of my Edgewood friends for the first time all summer.

This past weekend I had a girls weekend up at my trailer which was also much enjoyed. Basically never stopped drinking the whole time we were up there, went swimming at the beach, played drinking games, watched movies, and ate ice cream. And once in back to Green Bay, I went with everyone to the drive-in for movies. I'd have loved to make it to Noah's Ark or Michigan for gambling, but we'll still be able to have a week-long party at my house when my parents go out of town the week before I leave for college, which will consist of lots of alcohol, fun sleepovers, a cook out, a bonfire, and hopefully even a poker night.

But in exactly 16 days I will move back to Madison... and out of my house permanently. I don't plan on living here in GB over winter break or even next summer since I'll have an apartment I'm already paying for in Madison and a full time job there. It's sad to think I'll never live in my house again... won't ever live with my parents again. Exciting, but sad. Let's just not think about it. But I'm pumped to go back to Madison soon. I'll have my Edgewood girls nearby again, my UW-Wisc girls there, and lots of good partying! Not to mention my own apartment with four fabulous girls. Of course I'm dreading having to think and concentrate again for school work, have two jobs, and be away from the rest of my GB friends. It's tough to think this is the last summer all of us will be together, since most of us will be staying in our respective college towns next summer. There will be lots of visiting and road trips to each other, but still... Not to mention my favorite new kid will now be 45 min away instead of 45 seconds away- literally. Ahh, well- what can ya do?

Anyways, I'm gonna try to update this thing again before heading back to Madison- I've got lots more to say, but more exciting things to do yet tonight- like fold my laundry and watch a movie ;)

Summer has Begun!

Well, I'm officially finished with college for the summer- woo hoo! My first week off was spent relaxing, catching up on sleep, and unpacking. Then I drove back down to Madison at 3 30 am to catch a flight to Kansas City, Missouri for the National SIFE Competition (think business competition).

The competition was... stressful but a good experience. Though KC isn't my favorite city- not a whole lot to do besides shop and eat and look at fountains. Which there are a ton of, considering it's the "City of fountains." Anyways, after four days, we headed back to Madison, got there at 11 pm, and then I had to drive all the way back to Green Bay. Yuck. Thank God for Mountain Dew, Monster, and sugar-coated gummi worms.

I still haven't unpacked from the trip, but I applied to a few more jobs for the summer. It's been really nice not having a full time job yet, but that'll hafta come if I wanna stay in college. I think I'll just end up going through a temp agency. I plan on staying in Madison next summer so I don't really need a permanent job summer after summer, and this way I won't need to go back to KI.

Eh, we'll see what happens...

Holy Crap- I'm Almost Done!

...Done with my Freshman year of college, that is. That seems absolutley bizarre to me. It went hella fast! Which... is a good thing. Looking back at the four years of high school, it seems like that was a long period of time. And college is another 4-ish years. And one year is already pretty much done! I wonder if the rest will go just as fast. I sort of hope so.

They say college is the best years of your life. And I don't doubt that. It's been really fun so far! I've met a ton of kewl people and made new friends. I've partied a lot and made a lot of bad judgement calls, hehe. But that's what makes interesting memories, right? "Education is what you get from reading the fine print. Experience it what you get from not reading it." I remember in high school reading a college friend's blogger entry about how she realized even though she's in college to learn and get an education (and paying big bucks for it!), the most valuable stuff she's getting out of her years in college is the life experiences- whether it's living on your own, learning to have roommates, tap a keg, clean a toilet and do laundry, or take care of yourself when you're sick with the flu and not relying on mom to bring you some crackers and orange juice.

Boy, it's a good thing I'm not graduating- I'm totally not ready and don't think I've gotten my money's worth of "experience" out of the college life. Good thing I've got 3 or so years left, huh?

For the past few month, I couldn't wait to get done with Freshman year and start summer! And I still am pretty darn anxious. I'm pretty sick of school work and tests and studying (though I really haven't done a ton until these past few weeks- that'll teach me to procrastinate! fyi tho- I am doing a lot better at getting what needs to be done :) ) . But now writing this and thinking about moving all my crap out next week (9 days to be exact!) is making me realize how much I'm going to miss this over the next 3 months. I'm really going to miss Madison- always a party to drink at and something to do, as well as my friends here. I know we'll keep in loose touch over the summer (thank god for facebook and AIM- what did people do before that???) and make a few random visits to each other, work schedules permitting. I'll also miss my comfy bed, having only one job (that I really like!), watching all "my shows" everyday (especially Fear Factor every single fricken night... and ABC Family afternoon shows: Boy Meets World, Full House, Gilmore Girls), having all my food made for me at Phil's (and ice cream novelties- mmm!).

But at home I'll have my own room and own reign over t.v. shows, a car, and closer to my other friends. I've heard it said that the hardest thing about college isn't the schoolwork, but balancing the two competely different lives. Here's a facebook forward that is a little bit over-dramatic, but says it pretty clearly:


In a few weeks... A year has passed, and now we stand on the brink of returning to a world where we are surrounded by the paradox of everything, yet nothing being the same. In a few weeks, we will reluctantly give our hugs, and fighting the tears, say goodbye to the people who were once just names on a sheet of paper to return to people that we hugged and fought tears to say goodbye to before we left. We will leave our best friends to return to our bestfriends. We will go back to places we came from, and go back to the same things we did last summer and every summer before. We will come into town on that same familiar road, and even though it has been months, it will seem like only yesterday. As you walk into your old bedroom, every emotion will pass through you as you reflect on the way your life has changed and the person you have become. You suddenly realize that things that were most important to you a year ago won't seem to matter so much anymore, and the things you hold highest now, no one at home will completely understand. Who will you call first? Where are you going to work? Who will be at the party on Saturday night? What has everyone been up to? Who from school will you keep in touch with? How long before you actually start missing people barging in without calling or knocking? Who will get breadsticks with you at three in the morning? How long until you adjust to sleeping in a room by yourself, or how long until you realize your four best friends aren't in the beds next to your room?

Then you realize how much things have changed. You realize the hardest part of college is balancing the two completely different worlds you now live in, trying desperately to hold on to everything, all the while trying to figure out what you have to leave behind. In the matter of one day's traveling time, we will leave our world of living next door to our best friends, walking across campus to eat, instant messenger, 8:00 classes, and perpetual procrastination to a world that will seem foreign to us, despite the fact that we have lived in it for nineteen years.

But it is different now... we now know the meaning of true friendship. We know whom we have kept in touch with over the past year and whom we hold dearest to our hearts. We've left our high school worlds to deal with the real world. We have had our hearts broken. We have fallen in love. We've helped our best friends through the toughest times of their lives, something their even best friends at home couldn't be there for. We've stayed up all night just to be there for a friend. We've parties the night away, doing stupid stuff, but we were always there for each other afterwards. There have been times when we've felt so helpless being hours away from home when we know our families or friends need us most, and there are times when we know we have made a difference. A few weeks from now, we will leave. A few weeks from now, we take down our pictures and pack upour clothes. No more going next door to do nothing for hours on end. We will leave our friends whose random emails and phone calls will bring us to laughter and tears this summer. We will take our memories and dreams and put them away for now, saving them for our return to this world. A few weeks from now, we will dig deep inside to find the strength and conviction to adjust to change and still keep each other close. And somehow, in someway, we will find our place between these two worlds. In a few weeks... are you ready?


Oh boy... I don't have a choice, do I?

Moving On...??

Let's make this short and sweet. I'm not sure why I feel like I'm seeing everything pretty clearly and simply now, but apparently nobody else is. Why can't people just let go and MOVE ON?? I'm not one to counsel people in their lives that don't want it... so instead I just rant to myself. Ahh well, all the better for me to realize what I want and need I guess.