'Tis the Season to Get Stressed
Err....so, I haven't posted in awhile. Time to update:
The flight home went smoothly. Aside from the fact that I lost my watch and decided to trust my phone, thinking I missed my plane only to realise the phone clock was an hour off, all went well. So I didn't miss any planes, thankfully. I got home just in time for the previous WW game to end, so I spent awhile posting their before going down for a nap (I had no sleep the night before, remember). That night, my family went to a religious service at a cathedral. It was interesting because it was a service for all religions. So, we got to hear speakers of all different types: Catholic, Mormon, Protestant, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and other religions. I thought it was cool to have a peaceful gathering of all religions and to hear different perspectives. Unfortunately, the microphone wasn't very loud so we had trouble hearing, and on top of that some parent were stupid enough to take their screaming children to the service. Screaming kids piss me off....that's what babysitters are for.
Thanksgiving itself was very nice, though uneventful. We watched the Macy's parade in the morning and ate our traditional meal in the evening: turkey, stuffing, green beans and cheese, potatoes, fruit jello, buns, olives, and pumpkin pie for dessert. Yum.
Black Friday. A very scary day. I participated last year in Virgina (mostly because my sister and her husband went and I had nothing better to do), and it was complete chaos. I didn't touch the stores this year. In Boise, it was really bad. The mall decided to open at 1am this time, which means people just sat in line for several hours (some were there since Thursday morning) and didn't sleep. Plus, the mall false advertised saying Wiis and $500 gift cards would be given to the first 100-500 people, when they actually meant only one or two of those grand prizes would be randomly given away to someone among the first 500. Overall, several thousand people arrived at the mall that night to shop. Here's a picture of the chaos:
Utterly ridiculous. Doors got broken and people got hurt. Thanksgiving (and the rest of the holiday season) has lost its meaning. Americans are too materialistic. Stupid sales. Well, I actually went to the mall on Saturday because I needed a new watch after losing my other one, plus I bought a fairy calendar and a really warm blanket. Surprisingly, the mall wasn't that busy and there were still a lot of stuff on sale. I bought socks half off because I can never get too many socks for my poor feet (which are always cold in the winter). In conclusion, Black Friday is totally not worth it. Quite honestly, I never pay attention to sales...I just shop when I need something. If something's on sale, then it's a bonus. I hate crowds too much to only go for sales. People stress too much over shopping on the holidays. Though I put it off, I don't stress over gift-buying; I enjoy it, actually (other than the fact that money is rapidly drained from my bank account). After all, the holiday season should be fun, not stressful.
Anyways, instead of hitting the stores, my family went to something called the Festival of Trees. Basically, it's a show with a whole bunch of thematically decorated trees. It's quite pretty, really...I actually helped decorate trees a couple of times in high school. And it's something my family does every year.
Other than buying a few things I needed, on Saturday I dyed my hair (the same colour I've been dying it), then went to see Enchanted with my mom and sister. It's a very cute movie; purposefully cheesy and the best part is that Disney makes fun of itself. I'm actually planning to see it again tomorrow with friends, I loved it so much. :D
I headed back to Boston on Sunday, resuming classes the next day. I hate the weeks in-between Thanksgiving and Christmas because they always end up being the most stressful. Simply because the semester is coming to a close, so all our big projects are due. I have a 15-20 page epic to write that I haven't even started to research for (I will this weekend, I promise). A film to edit and reshoot some scenes (our film came out quite well, but there were a few shots that were a tad too dark). And a final script to write (and I don't have any story ideas), plus a couple of revisions. Thankfully, the only thing I have to worry about in science is the test. I've got the research project out of the way; I got an A- on the paper and a B- on the presentation (because like I said, I'm a horrible public speaker). On top of that, I have to pack everything up because I'm moving out of the dorms at the end of semester. The idea of that is kinda sad because I feel my time in this suite has been so short and I don't know if I'll get to return to Piano Row. But still, I'm going to Europe, baby, and that makes up for everything else. :D
Speaking of next semester, I had to register for classes yesterday, something I had been stressed out about for the past week. It's been a complicated process, mainly because there aren't that many classes at the Castle, so I have a limited amount of options. I originally had my schedule planned out, until I realised that three of the classes I picked out are by one teacher, who's rumoured to be mean and horrible. So, I had to switch everything around. As much as I wanted to take it, I decided to drop Novel into Film and instead take Art History: Renaissance and Baroque. The professors are said to be awesome and plus you're learning about this famous art that you can actually go and see. I was pleased because I managed to grab the last seat for that class. I'm taking Media Criticism and Theory with the rumoured horrible professor mainly because I have to take it. Visual Society was a class I originally wanted because it looks like an interesting General Ed I have to get out of the way anyway. Lastly, I have to take an Ethics course and I was going to do it next semester. There were two options: a four hour class on Tuesday or a two day two hour class. The latter would've been more appealing expect the second class doesn't end until 6:15 on Thursday...the last class before the weekend. I registered planning to take the four hour class only to find it was full. And apparently no one wants the second class for the same reasons as me because it's only filling up very slowly. So, I decided to take an entirely different course: Intercultural Communications. I was interested in it originally, plus it's part of my Gen Eds. The only disadvantage is that it means a second class with that possibly horrible professor. I don't know, perhaps everyone is wrong and I'll actually like him. Anyways, I'm willing to take the risk. Bad professors are miserable, but still bearable.
So yeah, that's about everything that's been happening with me (or mostly everything, at least). I was looking forward to watching Grey's Anatomy tonight, only to discover it was a rerun. Damn! I want to know what happens to Seth Green...
I have to go read The Golden Compass now. Amazingly enough, it's actually a homework assignment. :)
The flight home went smoothly. Aside from the fact that I lost my watch and decided to trust my phone, thinking I missed my plane only to realise the phone clock was an hour off, all went well. So I didn't miss any planes, thankfully. I got home just in time for the previous WW game to end, so I spent awhile posting their before going down for a nap (I had no sleep the night before, remember). That night, my family went to a religious service at a cathedral. It was interesting because it was a service for all religions. So, we got to hear speakers of all different types: Catholic, Mormon, Protestant, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and other religions. I thought it was cool to have a peaceful gathering of all religions and to hear different perspectives. Unfortunately, the microphone wasn't very loud so we had trouble hearing, and on top of that some parent were stupid enough to take their screaming children to the service. Screaming kids piss me off....that's what babysitters are for.
Thanksgiving itself was very nice, though uneventful. We watched the Macy's parade in the morning and ate our traditional meal in the evening: turkey, stuffing, green beans and cheese, potatoes, fruit jello, buns, olives, and pumpkin pie for dessert. Yum.
Black Friday. A very scary day. I participated last year in Virgina (mostly because my sister and her husband went and I had nothing better to do), and it was complete chaos. I didn't touch the stores this year. In Boise, it was really bad. The mall decided to open at 1am this time, which means people just sat in line for several hours (some were there since Thursday morning) and didn't sleep. Plus, the mall false advertised saying Wiis and $500 gift cards would be given to the first 100-500 people, when they actually meant only one or two of those grand prizes would be randomly given away to someone among the first 500. Overall, several thousand people arrived at the mall that night to shop. Here's a picture of the chaos:
Utterly ridiculous. Doors got broken and people got hurt. Thanksgiving (and the rest of the holiday season) has lost its meaning. Americans are too materialistic. Stupid sales. Well, I actually went to the mall on Saturday because I needed a new watch after losing my other one, plus I bought a fairy calendar and a really warm blanket. Surprisingly, the mall wasn't that busy and there were still a lot of stuff on sale. I bought socks half off because I can never get too many socks for my poor feet (which are always cold in the winter). In conclusion, Black Friday is totally not worth it. Quite honestly, I never pay attention to sales...I just shop when I need something. If something's on sale, then it's a bonus. I hate crowds too much to only go for sales. People stress too much over shopping on the holidays. Though I put it off, I don't stress over gift-buying; I enjoy it, actually (other than the fact that money is rapidly drained from my bank account). After all, the holiday season should be fun, not stressful.
Anyways, instead of hitting the stores, my family went to something called the Festival of Trees. Basically, it's a show with a whole bunch of thematically decorated trees. It's quite pretty, really...I actually helped decorate trees a couple of times in high school. And it's something my family does every year.
Other than buying a few things I needed, on Saturday I dyed my hair (the same colour I've been dying it), then went to see Enchanted with my mom and sister. It's a very cute movie; purposefully cheesy and the best part is that Disney makes fun of itself. I'm actually planning to see it again tomorrow with friends, I loved it so much. :D
I headed back to Boston on Sunday, resuming classes the next day. I hate the weeks in-between Thanksgiving and Christmas because they always end up being the most stressful. Simply because the semester is coming to a close, so all our big projects are due. I have a 15-20 page epic to write that I haven't even started to research for (I will this weekend, I promise). A film to edit and reshoot some scenes (our film came out quite well, but there were a few shots that were a tad too dark). And a final script to write (and I don't have any story ideas), plus a couple of revisions. Thankfully, the only thing I have to worry about in science is the test. I've got the research project out of the way; I got an A- on the paper and a B- on the presentation (because like I said, I'm a horrible public speaker). On top of that, I have to pack everything up because I'm moving out of the dorms at the end of semester. The idea of that is kinda sad because I feel my time in this suite has been so short and I don't know if I'll get to return to Piano Row. But still, I'm going to Europe, baby, and that makes up for everything else. :D
Speaking of next semester, I had to register for classes yesterday, something I had been stressed out about for the past week. It's been a complicated process, mainly because there aren't that many classes at the Castle, so I have a limited amount of options. I originally had my schedule planned out, until I realised that three of the classes I picked out are by one teacher, who's rumoured to be mean and horrible. So, I had to switch everything around. As much as I wanted to take it, I decided to drop Novel into Film and instead take Art History: Renaissance and Baroque. The professors are said to be awesome and plus you're learning about this famous art that you can actually go and see. I was pleased because I managed to grab the last seat for that class. I'm taking Media Criticism and Theory with the rumoured horrible professor mainly because I have to take it. Visual Society was a class I originally wanted because it looks like an interesting General Ed I have to get out of the way anyway. Lastly, I have to take an Ethics course and I was going to do it next semester. There were two options: a four hour class on Tuesday or a two day two hour class. The latter would've been more appealing expect the second class doesn't end until 6:15 on Thursday...the last class before the weekend. I registered planning to take the four hour class only to find it was full. And apparently no one wants the second class for the same reasons as me because it's only filling up very slowly. So, I decided to take an entirely different course: Intercultural Communications. I was interested in it originally, plus it's part of my Gen Eds. The only disadvantage is that it means a second class with that possibly horrible professor. I don't know, perhaps everyone is wrong and I'll actually like him. Anyways, I'm willing to take the risk. Bad professors are miserable, but still bearable.
So yeah, that's about everything that's been happening with me (or mostly everything, at least). I was looking forward to watching Grey's Anatomy tonight, only to discover it was a rerun. Damn! I want to know what happens to Seth Green...
I have to go read The Golden Compass now. Amazingly enough, it's actually a homework assignment. :)