The Long Overdue Post

Greetings! I regret that I haven't posted anything in over a week, but I've been pretty busy. Last week, even though it was only a four-day week, was still pretty rough. I think I'm finally back in the mindset of school, although I'm anxiously waiting for those two or three hell weeks when all my teachers coincidentally decide to assign papers or administer tests within the same 3-day time span. My sleeping schedule is far from perfect, and I definitely need to work on improving it.I ended having to buy more books after the initial $460 splurge, pushing the total bill up by another $60 or so. But I'm happy--no more worrying about rushing to get books at the last minute.

I ended up dropping my evening class, History 240 (didn't I say earlier that it would perhaps happen?), simply because it was extremely incovenient and a little annoying. By the time I drove to to the parking garage, found a parking spot in a fit of rage (anyone from UK can sympathize), walked to class, sat through class, left, and got home, it took up about two hours of my time, which was something I really couldn't afford given all the other things I have to do on a daily basis. Well, here are some other really random things that have been going on in school and otherwise:

Did anyone else hear about Pamela Anderson's request to have the bust of KFC founder Harland Sanders removed from the state capitol in Frankfort? Does anyone else think it's absolutely ridiculous? Apparently, with some "help" (durrrrr) from PETA (People for the Eating of Tasty Animals), Anderson drafted a letter to Gov. Ernie Fletcher calling for him to remove the statue of Sanders because it "stands as monument to cruelty and has no place in the Kentucky state capitol." The cruelty, by the way, is a reference to alleged animal cruelty on the part of suppliers of the KFC chain. Wow. What actually struck me first when I read about this on CNN was not so much anger at the sheer suggestion of having the bust removed, but rather the complete uselessness of it. So what if the statue is removed? Pamela Anderson and PETA would have made a point, but I'm guessing that it would also offend a hell of a lot of Kentuckians. Removing the statue isn't going to affect how much business KFC receives or how chickens are supposedly being treated. This is just stupid. It's just another example of a B-list (or C-list) celebrity such as shitty movie star Ben Affleck (who's touring the country with John Kerry, pfttt) trying to get publicity. Or maybe PETA has to have a celebrity spokesperson in order to be taken seriously nowadays? Hey, maybe it could work--"Hey Ed, we better stop spray painting those chickens for fun or PETA might send nasty letters to our families.... wait." I think the bottom line is this--if an organization such as PETA is trying to make its voice heard and take a stand for animals or whatever it's advocating, its spokespeople should think of an action plan which could bring about a result that would actually be in accordance with the whole purpose of the organization. In this particular case, PETA should have done something which would have brought an end to the mistreatment of chickens (assuming it was actually going on) instead of doing something that just infuriated many people in Kentucky and elsewhere. Idiots.

With a little influence from my roommate, I decided to get my ears pierced yesterday! I had them pierced at one time but... I don't even want to discuss what happened; it was pretty gross. I can only hope that this time it's permanent, and that in six weeks I'll be showing off some nice earrings.

In my Honors class, we read some different excerpts from the Old Testament and New Testament. My instructor made the comment that we needed to try to treat them as objectively as possible, setting aside all the different interpretations we had accumulated previously from Sunday school teachers, priests, and everyone else. Being pretty deficient myself in terms of Bible knowledge, I had a pretty objective view while reading the excerpts. Although some of them made absolutely no sense to me (I suppose this was due to the fact that they were all pretty much out of context), one element of the writings really stood out to me--the situations or incidents that had modern day parallels. Even if a person gave absolutely zero validity to any of the stories, their moral lessons could still be utilized. In a broad sense, this is an aspect of many religions (not just Christianity) that I really respect. They can certainly offer different ways of looking at the world and dealing with situations, regardless of whether or not a person really believes in the validity of the written word itself.

Good News + Rants & Raves

Hello, loyal readers! I know I've gone 3 days (gasp!) without updating! My apologies, but I've been a little busy. Classes started yesterday, and I have a pretty decent first impression of all of them. The semester itself will by no means be easy, but I'm pretty sure I can handle it. I was in a great mood yesterday--that never happens. I know why I was in a good mood, but I'm not at liberty to disclose that information on the internet. Hehe. Anyway, my teachers seem to be easing into the workload slowly, which I really appreciate. It makes the transition from sitting on my ass to getting my ass kicked by class a little less stressful. Next week will probably be the first real test as to how I'm going to handle the classwork during an average week.

As always, I've been pondering some random things--What can I say, I'm a general intellectual. I should explain this rather vague label so that I don't sound cocky. While I was in high school, my mom randomly received a letter from my school in the mail. It was apparently some kind of skill/talent assessment with comments from a variety of teachers whom I'd taken class under. The high school's conclusion? I was a general intellectual. What does that mean? It's so ambiguous and shady. Was the school simply trying to assure my mom that I wasn't a total inept? I still get a kick out of it. Anyway, the random thoughts:

1. For some reason, I think 98% of things are cute, including: old couples (they are adorable) and older people in general, shitty cars, funny clothing styles (esp. the professors who rock the cardigans and sweater vests), "nerdy" people and their fascinations with whatever, any example of OCD behavior (I say "Awwww..." about 4384385 times when I watch a single episode of Monk), and guys' general obsession with sports (to an extent, of course).
2. Stupid Lexington People Alert: Apparently, not only are a lot of Lexington inhabitants terrible drivers (see previous post), but they are terrible pedestrians, too! I was out and about this afternoon driving around campus to turn in a scholarship application and I noticed some pretty bad pedestrian tendencies, the first being jaywalking. I don't have much room to complain about this, because I do it all the time on campus. But the jaywalking I saw today while driving was far different from the actual campus environment where the power of the group, so to speak, would allow students to jaywalk and force a car to stop for them. No car is going to hit a group of 10 students walking together. But the guy I saw today was jaywalking across a regularly busy street (Euclid) at about the time rush hour traffic was growing. I've also seen people casually jaywalk across Nicholasville during broad daylight. Someone explain this.
3. Speaking of roads, Farm Road. Drive it! It's fun as hell. It's right off Nicholasville near campus. Get to it by taking one of the first rights after passing Alumni if you're driving in the direction of Limestone. I won't give away the fun part of it....... Okay, speed bumps. Big speed bumps. Big speed bumps on a straight road with little or no traffic.
4. One last driving rant: while I was driving down Rose Street today right in front of the Chem-Phys building, there were of course the usual masses of students crossing the street. A few of them pretty much walked in front of my car without even looking--not a glance. One girl was on her cell phone, and I suppose the call was more important (she didn't even give me "the wave" when I let her cross, the hoe). Those students were safe only because I pay attention when I drive. Unfortunately, the next guy driving down Rose with his body half out the window, hollerin' at the college chick wearing the ass skirt/Ugg boot combination may not notice the student who's just started walking across the street. Pedestrians should be very cautious; they can never just assume that drivers are always attentive and aware.
5. My left eyelid is still twitching. What the hell. I'm going to call an optometrist or something this weekend if it doesn't quit soon. It's driving me absolutely insane.
6. Myself and my fellow students played the damn name game tonight in my HIS 240 class as part of "getting to know one another." Well, if any of you have never played this game (I hadn't until this evening), it works as follows: one student (usually the student in the front seat on the far left or right side of the room) starts by saying his or her name. The student directly behind that student says the person's name in front of him/her, then says his/her own name. It works like this until each student gets a turn. I ended up being the second to last student to take my turn, meaning I had to say about 25 names. Blah.

Enough randomness for one evening. I've gotta go do some homework. I'll probably update sometime this weekend.

The Tower of Hell

The 30 or so books on the left are my required books for the spring semester. Kennedy's Bookstore raped me of about $450 today. Awesome! Luckily, I didn't need to buy two of the books because I already owned them. Unfortunately, even this huge tower doesn't include all the books I need, as Kennedy's had run out of a few of the texts. Oh well. At least I have the majority of my books and that's one less thing I'll need to do in the middle of craziness. To be honest, I'm actually pretty excited about getting started. I know this semester will require more work than I've ever had to do before, but I know I can handle it. My motivation on top of my intent to create a strict study regimen will combine with my (I'll willingly admit) general lack of social obligations to create a situation conducive to decent grades. If I approach this with the right mindset, I'll come out fine, although probably exhausted as hell. Stay tuned for the fun that's yet to come!

Summer classes? I dont want to even attempt to give a definite answer for that yet.

In other, less nerdy news:

1. I went to Friday's this afternoon to eat with my roommate. Since it was late in the afternoon/early evening (about 5 o'clock), the place was not very crowded at all. The only customers in a close vicinity to us were a young couple--maybe in their early 30's. As I was talking with my roommate, I took notice of how little the couple was communicating. I felt the need to lower my voice and use a little more discretion (hehe) when talking, because I was pretty sure they could hear everything I was saying. It was a pretty sad spectacle to watch, simply because the man and woman were engaging the waiter in more conversation than they were with each other. I'm almost positive they weren't angry with one another; they just had nothing to talk about, obviously. I thought that a spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend was supposed to be someone with whom conversation came naturally. I'm finding out that I'm incorrect in that assumption.
2. Bad drivers! Too bad there is an abundance of bad drivers in Lexington. Combine the bad drivers with roads whose inability to accommodate Lexington residents + visitiors results in eternal congestion, and you've got some pretty bad driving conditions. Although morning and evening/night driving is usually reasonable, I attempt to avoid rush hour traffic and Nicholasville Road (at all times) like a plague. I just don't understand terrible drivers. Decent driving isn't that difficult. It makes me wonder how crappy drivers actually learned to drive. Did their parents just hand them their car keys and wish them good luck? Damn. Here are some bad tendencies I've noticed when it comes to Lexington drivers in particular: (1) The owners of big trucks and large SUV's seem to feel entitled to drive aggressively everywhere they go. But, I mean, they do drive large vehicles, so I guess all of us small car owners must yield to them. (2) This is the worst: drivers who feel the need to stay at least 100 feet behind the next closest car. I promise, you won't wreck. The driver in front of you isn't randomly going to decide to slam on his brakes or put his gears in reverse because he doesn't like you and your car. Jesus. (3) Lexington drivers misinterpret road signs. "No Turn on Red" = "Turn on Red." "4-Way Stop" = "All Other Traffic Will Yield to Your Superior Car, So Gun it!." And what the hell is a "Left Turn Yield on Green," anyway? I've had my own share of driving mishaps, but...Wow. I'm from the county (Pike-VUHL) and I know I drive better than 80% of the people here.
3. My left eyelid has been twitching sporadically all day, and I feel like a freak. I think I need glasses or something.
4. My financial aid is processed, finally. No battling with financial aid people... At least for awhile.

Well, unfortunately I really don't have much else to talk about. Tomorrow I plan on taking it easy, reviewing some Latin, and buying some binders and paper for class. valete omnes!

The Last Supper

Well, no, it's not really as dramatic as it sounds (remember, this isn't emo), I was just looking for an excuse to post this painting. This is, however, my last night of total relaxation before I've gotta start preparing for class. How do I feel? Well, it's been a different feeling (apprehension, nervousness, excitement... pissed) every hour, but generally I think I'm more than ready to start again. I've had a substantial amount of sleep the past two weeks, enough so that I could probably pull an all-nighter or two in the coming week and be fine. I'll try to avoid that at all costs, though. I mean, I never pull all-nighters, isn't that right my loyal readers? Anyway, I've had enough free time to do all those things mentioned in my previous post and a bunch of other minute things. I have a tendency to ponder a bunch of completely random topics when I'm bored. I know you'd like nothing better than to hear them, so:

1. If I do become a professor, I'm definitely gonna attempt to start a fashion revolution for my fellow female professors at my university. No more mismatched colors, ill-fitting pants and tops, weird-lookin' frocks, (I'm rhymin' beotch) and terrible looking clothes in general. Okay, so they may not want to carry "fashionable" Coach or Louis Vuitton purses (neither do I: who wants one of those ugly as hell, elitist, overpriced things anyway?), but I don't think it would be too detrimental to their bank account to buy clothes that look nice on them. It actually is possible for women to be intelligent, attractive, and fashionable at the same time. Ugg boots for all! Totally joking, Ugg boots represent all that is wrong and evil in the fashion realm. Then again, I guess some people just don't really care at all about fashion, and I can really respect that. As for the male professors, the majority should just keep rockin' the sweater vests and cardigans and random brands of t-shirts, it's kind of cute!
2. This one's pretty nerdy--Is my major easy, and should I be taking more challenging classes? After a lot of consideration, my answer to both is no. In the matter of the relative difficulty of majors offered at UK, I think many would agree with me that certain majors are much more intense than others. At the same time, though, I think the matter of individuals' inclinations is extremely relevant in this debate. I believe myself to be more inclined towards history, classics, and anthropology than biology, math, or other fields of science. That's not to say that I don't think I could succeed in those scientific fields, but rather that I have a more natural interest and talent in the former ones. At UK, I've slowly learned through lots of observation that what may come natural for one person (a talent in physics, for instance) may be extrememly difficult for others to grasp. I'm sure that if I switched schedules with a second-year Ag. Biotech major, I'd have an extremely rough time handling the classes. I also belive that they might also have a large degree of difficulty succeeding in my classes. Although I'm still only in pretty moderate history/classics courses in terms of difficulty, I would by no means call them easy. They are all pretty intensive in terms of writing, reading, and research. The ability to write well is a must in these courses if one wishes to receive an impressive final grade. Decent writing entails not only the use of solid vocabulary and good grammar, but often the inclusion of terminology relevant to particular studies. The ability to organize, analyze, critique, and paraphrase information and present it in a logical, coherent manner is also essential. I found out quickly that this is not simple. Anyway, while I'm sure I'd take a "C" in Organic Chemistry and feel pretty good about it, I'd like to watch a chemistry major write a 16-page paper on Greek and Roman religion using only primary sources and see how "easy" it is for him or her. I've basically concluded that any college student at UK who talks as if his or her major is "the one and only," and by far the most difficult (I run into those people quite too often, they're usually biolog...yeah) are obviously extremely narrow-minded and have been unexposed to the numerous challenges presented by other fields of study.
3. Lazy people: I grow less and less tolerant of them every day; I guess this coincides with the increased effort I'm putting forth in college. While some degree of laziness is acceptable, I am absolutely amazed by how lazy some people allow themselves to be. Maybe I'm simply jealous because I could never let myself be that unproductive and still feel okay about it. Haha. I really admire individuals who are driven, motivated, and focused--single moms who essentially have two jobs, college students who perform well in the classroom while supporting themselves financially, etc., etc... I believe there's much to be said for these people, especially those who can take a really unfortunate cimcumstance (financial or otherwise) and not let it keep them from succeeding. But lazy people just annoy the piss out of me. If you're capable of doing something, do everyone a favor--get off your ass and do it.
4. And a totally random thought--I think I'll find my future husband in graduate school. How do I know? I know exactly the type of guy I think (take note) I would want to marry, and I think he'll likely be hiding somewhere in my grad school--maybe in one of my classes? We'll be nerdy together. I'm an idiot.

Well, I think I've written enough tonight. Tomorrow will be an exciting day, as I will have to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of books and go "battle" the financial aid staff until they agree to fix something they screwed up. Fun.

The Indescribable Boredom

The picture on the left (my attempt to make an emo picture, thwarted by my inability to keep a straight face) kind of exemplifies my recent ridiculous degree of boredom. Since the craziness of the Christmas shopping season has died down, I've really been left with absolutely nothing to do. Not that that's a terrible thing, as I really needed to take a break from class and get a chance to relax and be a lazy ass. But at this point, I can nearly say that I'm ready to get back into the groove of classes so that I can at least feel somewhat productive. Most of my friends are either in the bustling metropolis that is Pikeville or have decided to be cool and go to a completely different continent (thanks Nick). So it's just myself and my apartment. What have I done with my free time?

1. I cleaned my living room and kitchen at least five times each.
2. I cancelled both my MySpace and my Xuqa accounts. Why? First, they were both distractions that I signed up for only as a result of the same utter boredom that I'm experiencing now. Secondly, they were distractions that I sure as hell won't need next semester. It's actually pretty funny, because if you cancel your MySpace account, you're asked to write the reason as for your cancellation in a comment box. Normally, I would have kept it short and sweet with something such as "It was f'n terrible," or "It's a playground for pedophiles and guys who suck at getting laid," but, given my boredom, I really took my time to explain why I wanted to get rid of it. Reasons included: (1) Visually-challenged members who thought it would be awesome to make their font colors and backgrounds blend in so that reading anything on their pages is nearly impossible. It reminded me of Where's Waldo?: Where Are the Damn Words on This Page? Find them and reward yourself by proceeding to the next member's eye-straining page! (2) The aforementioned guys who can't get laid or who think they are entitled only to college or high school girls. "Damn, ur beautiful. U got a man?" Nope, but considering you're 35 and have two children, you probably shouldn't be asking me that. (3) The ridiculous amount of shit that people uploaded to their pages--pictures, animated graphics, audio clips, etc., etc. First of all, my computer couldn't handle it. Second of all, I couldn't handle it, as I didn't know what to concentrate on first--the animated, glittery "DIVA" graphic on one side? The huge (and often lewd) background picture? The horrid, loud emo music that I want to stop ASAP? I think I know how it feels to be ADD. Anyway, MySpace is in some serious need of restructuring.
3. I finished reading The Magician's Newphew and began reading Prince Caspian. I've read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe too many times to read it again, plus I just saw the movie recently. The Magician's Nephew was pretty decent, and it also sheds some light on the causes of events in the proceeding books. For instance, readers discover why humans (and only humans) are capable of ridding Narnia of the White Witch. You also figure out why the wardrobe is a portal into Narnia--it's rather complicated actually. I don't want to give the answers away, so read it yourself! It's worthwhile.
4. I finished watching all the sixth season episodes of South Park on DVD. They are absolutely hilarious. I love the show not only for the comedy but for its ability to exemplify both extreme (and equally ridiculous) sides of political or social issues in certain episodes. Red Hot Catholic Love was a good example. The Catholic Church's less-than-stellar handling of the child molestation issue was evident in the Catholic assembly's staunch refusal to alter the Holy Document of Vatican Law to allow priests to marry. All the priests also thought the way to remedy the situation was simply to find a way to prevent the accusations from molested children from coming out into the public in the first place. Simultaneously, though, South Park fans could see the equally condemnable actions of the South Park adults, who decided on the spur of the moment to all be atheists. "Let's kill God!" (This idea was suggested by one of the adults at the pinnacle of their discussion regarding their disgust with the Catholic church.) Kenny's father had a valid point, which the other parents disregarded fully: "Just because some priests molest children doesn't mean all of them do." Funny shit.

Well folks, I hope to have something of some actual substance here soon to discuss. Hopefully this will occur next week when things have picked up the pace again.

Animal Withdrawal!

So, I came across this cute as hell picture last night on the internet and for a moment became a little depressed (in an extremely un-emo way) because I realized that I haven't had a pet of my own in about a year and a half. When my family moved to Lexington in August 2004, we had to leave our cat at home. My brother ended up eventually taking her back to Lexington with him to stay at his apartment, but I didn't get to see her that much. Since then, my campus apartment living situation combined with an immediate family member's distaste for certain animals have kept me from having a pet. I'm sure I could get away with smuggling a small rodent or kitten (or this baby penguin) into my apartment without any of the resident advisors or directors knowing, but the space is still pretty restricted and I wouldn't want to infringe upon my roommates. I'm going to have to wait until I get my own place, but then I'll definitely buy my own kitten or other pet. Pets are excellent stress relievers! I'll need one.

Welcome to My Wonderful Blog!

Welcome! I hope at best to have maybe five or six loyal readers after I get this thing going! I'm sure you've already figured out from the title that this is going to be an extremely un-emo blog. I don't see the point in subjecting my friends or random people via the internet to my personal woes, as I'd like them to stay personal. Moreover, my friends already hear me bitch enough about relationships, school, and ignorant people, and I'm sure random visitors would probably not care at all about these things.

For those who don't know me--I just turned 20 (1 year from legal boozing!) and I'm a sophomore attending the wonderful University of Kentucky. I'm a double major in History and Classical Languages and Literature (Latin emphasis). What the hell am I going to do with these degrees? At the moment, I'd like to get a Ph.D. in either History or Classics (haven't decided) and teach at the college level. If not, I guess I'll continue my family tradition of attaining a law degree from UK. This is definitely just an option, though, as I think I'm more inclined to the research and writing aspects of the academic realm. If I can't improve my fear of speaking in front of large groups of people (imagine that!), I think I'd really enjoy conducting research and writing articles for a university/scholarly journal or a magazine like National Geographic.

I've turned into a bit of a nerd since I left high school--I'm proud of my 3.8 GPA and I'm trying to keep it high! I study a lot when classes are in session, as I would absolutely love to attend a great university for my graduate studies.

When I'm not being a nerd, I basically love to relax. I'll watch South Park DVD's or movies, take naps, sleep, eat great food, and occasionally go to a party to social drink and get my mind off of class. I'll try to post some of my other interests in my profile.

With that being said, I guess I can actually start the real posts!