Snowmageddon

Everything is shutting down and closing. Everything is turning to survival mode. Everything is preparing for disaster. Chaos in the stores. Chaos on the streets. But we're happy and excited. We got a snow day tomorrow. And why is all of this happening. They call it Snowmageddon, for now. That's the storm from last year. They need to give this one a cool name too... but anyway.

Mega Storm

People are packing up on food and preparing for power outages. We were told to make sure we had enough warm clothing and water in case the power really does go out. We're charging all our stuff to make sure we have entertainment in case. We're making plans with friends to have a sleep over. Yay for that. Everything outside is frozen and extremely slippery. And tonight there should be a lot of snow and dangerous ice under it. I hope we don't lose power because that means we have to move to the gym... that would suck.

Getting a State ID

The process of getting a State ID. Oh my bejesus.... Really? Is it that complicated? Do people not know what their job is? I started off going to the International Students Service office because they told me I need to bring my information to them and they would get one for me through the University. I thought, that's great! I can get an ID at school, no problem. But well, it's not what I thought. I get there with my information, the lady told me it will be ready after two in the afternoon the same day. I thought that was really quick, but I guess they know what they're doing. So I go back after two and they give me a piece of paper. What's this? Well, I need to take this paper to the Motor Vehicle and Drivers Licence office down the street. Do I need anything else? Nope, just the paper. 

I get to the office. May I just mention that it's bloody cold outside? Ok, so I get there and hand the paper to the lady and tell her I am from the university and would like to apply for a State ID. I'm not a US citizen so I have this paper etc etc. She looks at me like I'm stupid. Well, she says, you need your passport, and your I-20 etc. I have that so no problem, I brought it along too. Then, she says, you need a proof of address... well i don't get any bills so how am I supposed to get that? She says, just do it somehow. I tell her I have a box, not a home address mailbox. I don't pay bills like that. Well, she says, then we can try it without but if you don't get the card then it didn't work. So that means I would have to pay the fee and all and it might not work? I don't think so. Also, I need a social security number or a letter from them. Uhh... what? 

Can I walk there? I ask her.. she tells me the address... I tell her I'm not from here I don't know where that is. OK, she says, well it's just off this and drive there. I tell her I'm not from here. How do I possibly get there? What is wrong with her? Has she never talked to someone from another country? So now I have to get to that place somehow and head back to the MVDL afterwards, as quick as possible too... I can't believe the school didn't tell me about all these things. They told me all I need is the paper and my passport. Is it the first time they did this? Do they understand what their job is? Stupid people got my hopes up, then ruined them, got them up again and now they're on the floor stomped on and trampled several times. I hate them.

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Also

WATCH THIS MOVIE! It's fantastically artistic and magnificently acted 

by everyone involved with great direction.

Picture from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/

One of those days

You know the saying. You feel that way a lot. Everyone does. It's just one of those terrible days, you want it all to end, you want there to be a happy ending. But who knows what will really happen? You just duke it out hoping that it's just your emotions going overdrive, or your body wanting to freak out. Maybe it's both at the same time? Whatever it is, it needs to end. It's one of those days for me. 

I feel like I wrote about this before... Probably. I like complaining. So really, this might be repetitive to some of you. If it is, just stick a finger in each ear and say "La" repetitively. For the rest of you, the rampage begins:

Some of you students may know this scenario: you're talking to friends about your classes and your majors. Someone says that their major is exceptionally hard. You answer "I know! Mine too." Their answer is not a giggle of understanding or a frustrated grunt while you two bond through the connection of frustration and anger at the amount of work you have. Their answer is not the silent sound of friendship being created while you act angry at your classes although you know that the challenge is really what you crave and love about your classes. No. Their answer to your statement is: "You have no idea! Your major isn't that hard. My major is ridiculous. The classes I have to take make me do things that I don't ever want to do again like speak in front of lots of people." Oh believe me honey, I don't want to stand in front of people either and give a speech, I have a public speaking class in my future too. You're not the only person in the world with that fear, you're not the only person in the world that has to take that class. Don't you tell me your bloody major is harder than mine because you chose to follow that path and you decided to go to university and you decided to take that class and you decided not to overcome your fear and you decided on every step of your life. Unless you take every class in my major that I took you have no right of telling me what's harder or easier than my major. Do you see me telling you my major is harder than yours? I'm not that juvenile. 

Story two begins on a nice quiet evening with friends. We're playing games, drinking games, but nothing super silly or outrageous. We're playing charades, basically. Two teams, the team scores and the opposing team drinks. Working well, until one of the guests, who is rather new to the group, decides to get a little too into the game and starts shouting and getting up in people's faces. He shouts "DRINK" very loudly and aggressively whenever the opposing team has to drink. Look buddy, we get the game rules. We're not the drunk ones and we're the ones that came up with the damn rules. Sit your ass back down and clam your s***. Geez! What is going on? This game ends abruptly, after some people were little party-poopers and didn't take their turns until someone sounded disappointed in them. Peer pressure always works, but does it have to go there first? Apparently... I was on top of it when someone said they were going home. "Me too!" I said and grabbed my jacket. I just didn't like the atmosphere anymore. Everything was done. The party had become awkward. 

What else can I complain about? Well, there's so much I just don't know how to squish it all into a blog. I hate stomping. The person above us is so loud. They sound like an elephant on bloody crack. I just don't know how long this house will still hold. 

Well, I guess I'll go back to reading my textbook about policing again. I've been doing that almost all day and stopped for the past 3 hours. Luckily I got to take a break from taking a break and vented to a great friend! 

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Precious sleep

Since I've gotten here I've not been trying to get over jet lag. The main reason being that I have morning classes at 9:30 for the first time since the beginning of my college life. So I've been going to bed at 9 or 10 pm. One night I made it all the way to 12:30! Can you believe it? But then that cursed third day came along and I was beat at 6 and in bed by 7, pm that is. And you know what that means in the morning, yes, I was awake at 4am. But I decided not to do this to myself and I slept on and off until 7. Since then I went to bed an hour later each day and yesterday I went to bed at 9pm. 

Now every morning I wake up well before my alarm, it's supposed to go off at 8:30. I'm up at 8, ready and bustling. I have a wonderfully relaxing breakfast and can get some work done, something that won't work for very much longer, I can assure you. For all of you out there that don't know me, I am not a morning person. And this post is so remarkable because it has been going on for a while now without fail. How much longer will this work? I'll update you on that. 

So who gets to say this: I get a full nights sleep, more than that actually, each night right now. I sleep until I wake up naturally, and mostly after that I sleep some more because it's too early. I wish I had this all the time. And this morning my morning class got cancelled because of the awesome amounts of snow that have been falling and I didn't go back to bed like I normally would. I stayed up and watched a movie and did some work. I like this new me. I hope it stays. Maybe then I have a chance in the real world with a job. 

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Worst nightmare

Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy, no. I really don't. I wake up in the morning looking like my hair went through a blender and then solidified in a cement machine. Last night I went to bed with wet hair because I was exhausted and came home later than I thought we would. So when I woke up this morning I had a serious superman curl going on with my fringe. I kid you not. It was pretty crazy, part of me wanted to keep it because it looked hilarious. But thank goodness my brain told me it would not be a good look for the first day of classes. So my handy dandy straightener came to the rescue. 

And, as some people know so well, when I get up on normal days, without wet hair, my hair is a hot mess too. Sometimes I get the urge to shave it off because it's so difficult. other times I think I'll just befriend great hair people and shave off their hair and create a wig. I'm this |----| close. 

Right now you might be thinking: why do your titles sometimes have nothing to do with the article? Well, you decided to read all of this so it's your own fault you're still here. The other thing is, I write those before I write the text so I never know what kind of BS comes out of my fingers. Mostly it's more BS than anticipated. But it's about time I explain this title. The worst nightmare part of having really terrible hair in the morning is this scenario. Imagine, you have a friend, a really close friend, a boy friend, family members, whatever it might be. They are people you value and you value their opinions. Now imagine waking up in the morning to their screams of horror before they recognize you underneath the unruly mess of your hair. You try to tame it in time, but it's just too late. From that moment on your relationship will never be the same again.

Yeah, it's that scarring sometimes. Beware.

Picture from weheartit.com

Ding Dong

Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen, 

welcome aboard this Boeing 747 to Chicago on this fine day *snort*. It will be a flight filled with annoying mainland Chinese men sitting right in front of you, getting educated in America but not knowing that it is common courtesy to check if the person behind you is leaning forward before slamming your chair back into recline right before a meal. Will will also be showing movies you have already seen in your flight home and didn't really enjoy just because we can. Later in the flight we will be turning off the lights and there will be one light flickering in the corner of your eye until then. Hey, at least you're not the one sitting right there, you would be going crazy. Two meals will be served on this 13 hour long flight, a soggy beef and potato thing that will be half cold and half really really hot. With a delicious apricot crumble. In the morning you will also be able to enjoy a breakfast of teriyaki noodles that have been standing in our cabin for probably a week and we forgot about them because the noodles have fused together into one lump. Halfway through the night we will be serving your a noodle soup so you don't dehydrate because our drink service will be terrible. The noodle soup will be something you can only decipher half way through the meal as the soggy mess in your cup tastes like a very generic chicken, rice, noodle, vegetable mix, but it is in fact tofu. 

Furthermore, the expected temperature in Chicago is chilly... no... freezing... no... frigid below zero. We will also have every passenger bump into your as they pass your ails seat so you can never sleep. However, the seat next to you and next to the man on the other side of the middle row will be empty so you will be able to squeeze yourself between the seat and pretend to be resting. You will, on the contrary, be silently swearing because your new position is awful, may it be your laying forward across the other table or laying sideways with a huge stack of pillows. In this flight it will be our job to make you as uncomfortable and restless as possible so that your four hour stop over in Chicago will be extremely tiring and uncomfortable as well. 

Our stewardesses will be mannered accordingly, making up what you imagine a comedy movie team might be made up of. The main steward will be nice but strange with the other man being obnoxiously loud. His voice will book through the cabin when you are actually almost falling asleep. It is all part of our service. There will be another woman, luckily not in your half of the plane, that is rude to people, not making space for them as they look at her in disbelief. She will block their way because the cart is there although we all know the little Chinese girl could easily fit past. There will be the cheerful young girl with the blocky bangs that will keep dropping things right next to you and go to pick it up with you fearing her skirt will split apart right there and you will have a very uncomfortable position to report from. She will also not give you the right forms because she assumes you're American although you asked for the white form. So you will have to ask the next person to come who then also assumes your American until you say rather loudly as he tells me it's all right with only the blue one "But I'm on a visa!". You sound rather exasperated, something wrong?

We hope you have a pleasant flight to report to others later although we know all the people in Economy wish they could fly business every time because a little of their soul is dying in the squashed cabin. Thank you for recommending us to no one after this flight because it was terrible. Thank you. 

Picture by weheartit.com

Zopf

My bags are packed and about 75% of my suitcase is food. I'm not kidding, if my flight crashes I'll recover my suitcase first so that I can survive on a desert island. I would be able to survive for about 3 weeks. 3 Weeks or maybe a little more. Who knows. I have herbs and all that, I have a whole bunch of sauces and curry mixes. And the best part of all? I have an entire huge zopf, started a little this morning, wrapped up and using up about a quarter of my bag. BINGO!

It's like a treasure chest, which brings me back to the dreaded other post about college food... Tomorrow I leave, I'm not happy about it. But it's bound to come one day. 9am classes.... why, dear God, why? But back to the point. My point is that I have an awesome bed nuzzling in my bag. Sleeping in the warm grip of the herbs and sauces otherwise wrapped in their little temporary blankets. 

These two pictures combined are what it will be like when I get up in the morning: early and freezing.

Pictures by weheartit.com

Packing up, backing up

I love packing, but I hate leaving home. Quite a dilemma I have here, I know. But I've waited long enough, I think it's time to bring out the big guns. And by big guns I mean my suitcase. It's pretty big. Well, no larger than other average suitcases... So I guess it's just a suitcase. Whatever, that's not the point. I'm still working on the point...

So, suitcase is out. Cool, step one complete. Now what, right? Well, it's packing so obviously I put my things in there... But which ones......... Presents check, boots check, uhm. Yes... a book? Maybe, so.... uhm... OK so I admit, this time it's harder than it seems. Isn't packing supposed to be hard because you have too much stuff to bring? OK, planning time. Or is it list time? Yeah, lists, I like lists. 

So I sat down and made a little list on my computer of things I needed to take along. I don't want to take too much, I'm scaling back, slowly slowly, so that I won't have too much when I come back over summer. 

This is what my list looks like now, including things I crossed off because I felt they were unnecessary now:

TO PACK:

-heels

-elegant pants

-blouses

-business bag

-presents

-shoes

-boots

-food!!!

-shirts

-pants

-scarf

-winter jacket

-leggings

-books

DONE. I think I just need something to annoy me in my life to be content. This works.

Picture from weheartit.com

Treasure Island

There are some things we college students just don't fully understand. Some things that slip through our innocent little minds without a second thought. That is, until we get home and enjoy the life with parents or siblings or other family members that probably help or aid your life in some way or other. In my house, that means help me with everything. Or do everything for me? I'm not trying to sound obnoxious or snobby about this to say that my mom does my laundry, and cooks and cleans while I enjoy the break. But that's just how it is apparently. I help out, I do, I promise. But now that I got so spoiled by family how am I going to return to college life.
College and cleaning I can handle. But dear God, the food. Now I don't have to think about saving money since my parents will pay for food, so this is what I get to eat. I'll take some pictures of the stuff I eat during Uni times. You students out there understand me. This is heaven, more than heaven, especially compared to something like frozen vegetables or chicken with some plain rice. Why do I even bother? Uh, starvation isn't too far off sometimes. So I'm filling up for winter. Just like the bears and chipmunks and all those furry woodland creatures. Just they of course need it for survival. I just need it for... well... I don't really need it. But let's just say I do.