Rain on the Roof
Here I sit in the law building on campus, "studying" before I head off to work, rain being bipolar and occasionally slamming the roof in torrential bursts. I usually take this time between Archaeology and work to study, but today my mind is wandering aimlessly (of course, when it really needs to focus on the heaps of readings piling up). I keep thinking of many parts of my life in the present and near future.
Today I caught myself observing my reflection in the bus window during the dark morning ride to campus. The scale number keeps dropping, but I feel like my chin keeps giving birth to a gigantic fetus chin or something. Of course, we are always more harsh on ourselves...but I'm having one of those weeks where I just do not feel productive and feel the urgency to get rid of said chin fetus. I noticed that while I was watching "The Devil Wears Prada" for the eight billionth time last night, I was saying to myself, "I really need to start measuring out almonds like those girls" and "cellulite really IS a main ingredient in corn chowder"...that sounds completely ridiculous, and it should. But it's a general synopsis of my thoughts on the topic. I'm so glad it is cooling down finally, because I love to exercise in the early mornings when it is very brisk. I can see my body as it can [and will] be, it is just a matter of discipline, and grocery shopping on a regular basis. :) When I shop, I eat healthy. When I eat healthy, I exercise more. When I do both, I lose more weight. Therefore: grocery shopping weekly = losing weight. I do very well in structured settings I create for myself, and the more I have to do, the better I do it and the more I accomplish. I've been plateaued for a while now at eighty (80) pounds lost, so I really want to get over that hump.
Of course, my thoughts are also directed toward Oviedo, Spain, which will be my home next fall. I was given a waiver of the credit requirements and the ability to leave in January, but there is no feasible way I can get $6,000+ by December. I'm okay with waiting...have to practice patience. I am just aching to get there, experience the culture, become fluent in the language, and take in every aspect that I can. I can't wait to meet the people and take courses at the Universidad de Oviedo. I'm excited to make Spain my new home!
My thoughts are on graduating. I'm loving every moment of school right now, but I can't help myself in daydreaming about going on for my Masters in Anthropology, and wondering what school I will end up at. I have a few places I want to live...Oregon/Washington, Massachusetts/Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Canada, and of course any other country abroad, really. I wonder what I'll decide to put my focus in...I'm sure I'll go the Linguistics route, though I really am fond of Sociocultural Anthropology and Ethnography (Linguistics falls in there somewhere). Will I study languages? Will I focus on Archaic Spanish languages? Will I become an academic lecturing on Moorish influence of Mediterranean cultures? Will I live in France and become fluent in French, too? Will I get my dream and work with refugees in the field? Will I someday become a midwife? Will I really go live in Sicily for a year and study the place of my ancestors and write a dissertation on the lifeways of the people there (similar to my current read: The Blue Zones)? I love far too many things to pick just one...that's why I'm always tasting and sampling so I can experience it all.
England is on my mind. That is really random and strange, but it really has been on my mind a lot lately. I keep feeling like I may end up there for a while, maybe a long visit or exploration, who knows why. I can't stop thinking about it, its beauty. In Sociolinguistics yesterday we had a dialect coach come in and speak in all of these accents from the British Isles, and it reinforced my want to go there even more...I just thought of how fun it would be to pick a language and study the dialects and phonetics and master the variations.
As always, I want autumn. I can't wait for sweaters. I'd like to visit somewhere with a decent autumn...I really thrive on the aroma of soaking leaves, wild apples, fresh rain, bonfires...the sound of laughter echoing in the woods on a chilly night, the waves of large bodies of water tearing up the shorelines and crashing into cliffs. I love hearing little trick-or-treaters rustle through leaf piles and having one hand cold against the skin of my face while the other hand is warmed from holding a cup of hot cider (or affectionately, someone's hand :)). I love wool scarves, chunky knit duster sweaters, boots.
I want to thrift-find a cute little dining table and have a candlelight dinner at my place. I deep-cleaned the kitchen and the wide-open space surrounded by huge windows is just begging for a sweet dinner. I've wanted to make ratatouille for a while, and some fresh breads. I'm in such a baking and cooking mood lately...I often wonder why I'm not in culinary school. I have a long list of recipes just dying to be whipped up in the kitchen.
Tapas would be delicious right about now...
A billion other things are on my mind...the curiosity of which route to take, what decisions to make daily in order to put someone in my life's path...it all comes naturally, but the issue lies in the fact that I love too many things naturally and deciding what to do is quite the task!
Today I caught myself observing my reflection in the bus window during the dark morning ride to campus. The scale number keeps dropping, but I feel like my chin keeps giving birth to a gigantic fetus chin or something. Of course, we are always more harsh on ourselves...but I'm having one of those weeks where I just do not feel productive and feel the urgency to get rid of said chin fetus. I noticed that while I was watching "The Devil Wears Prada" for the eight billionth time last night, I was saying to myself, "I really need to start measuring out almonds like those girls" and "cellulite really IS a main ingredient in corn chowder"...that sounds completely ridiculous, and it should. But it's a general synopsis of my thoughts on the topic. I'm so glad it is cooling down finally, because I love to exercise in the early mornings when it is very brisk. I can see my body as it can [and will] be, it is just a matter of discipline, and grocery shopping on a regular basis. :) When I shop, I eat healthy. When I eat healthy, I exercise more. When I do both, I lose more weight. Therefore: grocery shopping weekly = losing weight. I do very well in structured settings I create for myself, and the more I have to do, the better I do it and the more I accomplish. I've been plateaued for a while now at eighty (80) pounds lost, so I really want to get over that hump.
Of course, my thoughts are also directed toward Oviedo, Spain, which will be my home next fall. I was given a waiver of the credit requirements and the ability to leave in January, but there is no feasible way I can get $6,000+ by December. I'm okay with waiting...have to practice patience. I am just aching to get there, experience the culture, become fluent in the language, and take in every aspect that I can. I can't wait to meet the people and take courses at the Universidad de Oviedo. I'm excited to make Spain my new home!
My thoughts are on graduating. I'm loving every moment of school right now, but I can't help myself in daydreaming about going on for my Masters in Anthropology, and wondering what school I will end up at. I have a few places I want to live...Oregon/Washington, Massachusetts/Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Canada, and of course any other country abroad, really. I wonder what I'll decide to put my focus in...I'm sure I'll go the Linguistics route, though I really am fond of Sociocultural Anthropology and Ethnography (Linguistics falls in there somewhere). Will I study languages? Will I focus on Archaic Spanish languages? Will I become an academic lecturing on Moorish influence of Mediterranean cultures? Will I live in France and become fluent in French, too? Will I get my dream and work with refugees in the field? Will I someday become a midwife? Will I really go live in Sicily for a year and study the place of my ancestors and write a dissertation on the lifeways of the people there (similar to my current read: The Blue Zones)? I love far too many things to pick just one...that's why I'm always tasting and sampling so I can experience it all.
England is on my mind. That is really random and strange, but it really has been on my mind a lot lately. I keep feeling like I may end up there for a while, maybe a long visit or exploration, who knows why. I can't stop thinking about it, its beauty. In Sociolinguistics yesterday we had a dialect coach come in and speak in all of these accents from the British Isles, and it reinforced my want to go there even more...I just thought of how fun it would be to pick a language and study the dialects and phonetics and master the variations.
As always, I want autumn. I can't wait for sweaters. I'd like to visit somewhere with a decent autumn...I really thrive on the aroma of soaking leaves, wild apples, fresh rain, bonfires...the sound of laughter echoing in the woods on a chilly night, the waves of large bodies of water tearing up the shorelines and crashing into cliffs. I love hearing little trick-or-treaters rustle through leaf piles and having one hand cold against the skin of my face while the other hand is warmed from holding a cup of hot cider (or affectionately, someone's hand :)). I love wool scarves, chunky knit duster sweaters, boots.
I want to thrift-find a cute little dining table and have a candlelight dinner at my place. I deep-cleaned the kitchen and the wide-open space surrounded by huge windows is just begging for a sweet dinner. I've wanted to make ratatouille for a while, and some fresh breads. I'm in such a baking and cooking mood lately...I often wonder why I'm not in culinary school. I have a long list of recipes just dying to be whipped up in the kitchen.
Tapas would be delicious right about now...
A billion other things are on my mind...the curiosity of which route to take, what decisions to make daily in order to put someone in my life's path...it all comes naturally, but the issue lies in the fact that I love too many things naturally and deciding what to do is quite the task!