I need to get better with time management.
How is this month over already?
I've managed to keep myself pretty busy since starting back with school. Mostly trying to get into running (still don't have the self-discipline to really make it a habit yet), going to school, doing absolutely nothing on cold/ice days. Pretty much the same old thing, so that's why I've been so reclusive lately.
Thank God for mid-winter television!! The Bachelor viewings with Lichiel and Leah (and Todd, but he wouldn't want anyone to know he sits down and watches with us once he puts Alex to bed) have been really entertaining, though I really miss the days when the girls would get together to watch it at Longwood. American Idol and LOST have taken up much of my free time too. Yes, TV has taken over my life once again.
Sometimes I pretend to have a life, though. MLK weekend, I drove up to Dumfries with Shawn and Leah to visit Steve and Amy. Our first night, we had the traditional Japanese dinner at Sakura's with some of Amy's friends and Lissie. Our chef was the best entertainer ever and was pretty resilient when the vent started spouting water all over Lissie's and my plates/cups of water/utensils. He had a great sense of humor through the whole thing, and it was probably good that it happened with us since we didn't take things as seriously as other patrons may have. Saturday, I joined Lis for services - I really enjoy seeing the Jewish culture meshed with a Gospel message. After that, the cousins/brother and I traveled to DC for the Bruins/Caps game. I wasn't a fan of either team before the game, I just went as a neutral spectator, willing to be swayed into a fanbase by the end of the game. We had basically the same seats as Beth and I did at the Coldplay concert, so it looked more like the view of a hockey video game than what I'm used to at the Liberty games. But it was awesome. And I now enjoy the Caps. Steve would be proud.
Aside from that fun-filled weekend, I've been taking advantage of my time off every other weekend. Especially during this time of cold days (we got out of school for frigid temperatures at the beginning of the month) and ice days (where is the SNOW?!), it's hard to get myself motivated to leave the house to do much on the weekends. I'm doing my best to catch up on some reading - especially when I've started about 5 books and forgotten to keep up with 3 of them since the summer.
Yesterday, I finished 2 of those books while home for an ice day. It was all I had to do when the power went out at 11:30 in the morning. The crappy thing was, I couldn't leave the house because FedEx was supposed to ship my computer during the day and the delivery required a signature. Being stuck in a house with no power forced me to buckle down and chip away at that book to-do list. It also allowed me to hear all the traffic between my house and Timberlake Road. Everytime I thought I heard a large vehicle barrelling down the road, I jumped up excitedly, filled with anticipation, only to be let down once again. Mom and I pulled out the portable DVD player and watched a few episodes of Gilmore Girls before we decided to take advantage of the little daylight left and pack what we would need for an overnight stay at Granny's house. It got dark quickly, so Mom went out to get us some food from Domino's and we had a candlelight dinner, wrapped in blankets as the house was slowly getting colder. My computer still hadn't come, so not only was I annoyed with the lack of electricity, but the lack of new technology. We went to church in hopes that upon our return, we would have power again and wouldn't have to stay somewhere else after all. God answers even little prayers like this! As I turned the corner on my street, I saw all the lights on in the house! As we settled our things back in the home, lights outside caught my eye - the FEDEX TRUCK!!! At 8:30, the guy was still out delivering packages. I had to fight the urge to give him a bear hug as I accepted my package and Mom signed for the delivery. I guess there was no need in having it until the power was back!
Now the main project in focus right now is getting everything from my old computer onto this one. Pretty much everything is done - Rosetta Stone, iTunes, iPod Access for Windows, AIM (I was forced to upgrade to the new version - they don't offer 5.9 anymore!!! I had resisted for so long!), and camera software. I just need to get a new printer and load that before I can officially put the other computer (and crappy printer) to rest for good. It's so fun to have a new toy! I'm going to have a hard time getting any plans or grading done over the next several days.. weeks... months..