Holiday (Mis)Happenings

I've never gotten a speeding ticket. I've never been pulled over for anything more than a bum headlight. Today however I was in a car accident...and it was my fault.

Traffic was stop and go and the car in front of me stopped and I tried and failed miserably. His beast of a van is completely fine, but my Volvo is not. I'm so upset. Most of you might know already but my car is somewhat of a sore spot in my parent's and my lives, but I do really like having a car that works and that looked decent and now it's messed up and I feel so horrible. Thank goodness Corinne's down here too because she came and rescued me and took me in for the night since I'm stranded.

This holiday season has already not been the greatest. I miss home more than I have in few months that I've been down here. It doesn't feel like Christmas at all. I don't get to go to Candy Cane Lane in Monterey, I don't have Christmas movies to watch and I don't have my normal Christmas things around. It's pretty heartbreaking.

So this is my rant for tonight. I'm really sad and stressed and I want my mommy and I don't care who knows it. = (

A Change is Gonna Come

Just when I feel like things are going to go smoothly and I can clearly see the path of something that's happening in my life God changes the plans.

I don't really understand why this happens to me so often. Am I too bossy with my own life and God's not cool with that? Is He trying to teach me something? Show me something? I just don't get it.

Today was another one of those times and I literally hit my knees and started praying because I was so confused. I'm still confused. Things just don't make sense.

God says he has a plan for my life and those plans are not going to harm me but help to prosper me...I just wish that I could see how this is going to be prosperous...

Hold The Tomato

Today I got off work right around dinner time and really only had an hour to come up with something to cook and finish some homework before I went to an Inner Varsity bible study on campus. I decided to go get a 99 cent spicy chicken sandwich and small fries from Carl's Jr instead of cooking something.

Now, the spicy chicken sandwich is a favorite of mine, however; the one at Carl's Jr. is small and only comes with lettuce and mayonnaise. I really can't stand mayonnaise but I do love tomato, so I asked for the them to nix the gross white stuff and give me something I like. Now here's the kicker...they charged me 39 cents extra for one tiny tomato slice! Now, 39 cents might not sound like a big deal but I've been trying to avoid eating out as much as possible with the whole being-a-broke-college-student thing going on, so this was a big deal. I guess I will know from now on to hold the tomato and just go with plane lettuce on my chicken sandwich.

In other news, I'm doing pretty good. I've been working more at Hollister which really is a relief. I'm hoping to get a promotion in the next few weeks, the guy just has to quit first. For those of you who remember to you can say a quick prayer that he stops complaining and really does quit so I can work and make the money that I need.

Thanksgiving and my birthday are coming up really soon. I'll be 21 years old a week from tomorrow. I'm going to be back in the 831 Monday night-ish! I'm very excited about that. It'll be nice to be home for more than three days. I don't really have any set plans except to go see New Moon at some point because movies down here are way to expensive (over $11).

Well folks I think I'm going to print out some homework and get to bed. I'll write again soon.

I'm a poet and I didn't even know it.

English 180, Literature Appreciation.  Probably one of the best classes on my schedule this semester and the reason for that is my professor.  I've always found that the classes that I've loved the most are taught by amazing people.  For this class I have Boak Ferris and yes that really is his name.  

In the few short months that I've been in his class (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) he's taught me how to analyze what I read and has done it with humor, wit and style.  We've rarely had assignments but this week Boak decided to sort of pile it on.  We've moved into poetry recently and he decided that we should try first hand at writing some ourselves.  Two sonnets and two haiku are what we students had to take on.  I'll admit, while I love to write, poetry has never really been my strong suit.  Sure I've tried it and thought I had done a pretty good job on some but poetry just wasn't what I really felt compelled to write. 

I managed to complete three out of the four while sitting in the LB Town Center's Starbucks with Corinne as we drank our peppermint mocha from red cups (I think red cups will have to be a separate post all on its own).  The last one I completed this morning.  The sonnets had to be about love and a situation that is only relevant to me.  The haiku had to be about bumblebees and whatever I wanted to write about which ended up being snow.  

So here are my poems.  They are not amazing works of words but I think they'll do nicely for this assignment...just don't mock me.  = )

 

“Long Distant”

If absence makes the heart grow fonder        
Then my heart has more fondness than it can take.
While we’re together time is something we don’t squander
But when you’re gone I feel a sort of ache.  
Your duty calls you to be far away.  
Our love has become long distant.
I just wish that you could stay
And our time spent together could stay consistent.
One day your time will be done and you’ll be here.
The months of waiting and hoping will be no more.
I won’t have any reason to worry or fear
Because you won’t have to leave me anymore.
Long distant love may not be the best
But knowing I’m with you sure makes me feel blessed.

“The Curls in My Hair”

My hair has caught the eye of many a passerby,       
They tell me my curls are something to be desired.
When asked if they are natural I cannot tell a lie.
I tell them that my hair is indeed naturally acquired.
But when I was a toddler my hair was long and straight,
But a high fever came and took that all away.
Left with no hair the only thing to do was wait and wait.

As the months went on my hair grew back in a curly display.
I consider my curls natural and that’s how they’ll always be.
Some people may argue that that’s not really what they are,
But if they look back on my life they’ll see
That these curls have always been me no matter how bizarre.
Loosing my hair and having it grow back a little strange,
Is something that I love and I would never ever change.

“Wonder of Winter”

Snow is on the ground

Sparkles in the moonlit night

Wonder of winter

“Springtime Workers”

Bees zip in and out

Among the flowers bright red

Workers of the spring

     

It's never happened to me before...

I forgot about a test!  Ms. Type A Amanda forgot about a test.  This was no little quiz either ladies and gentlemen, this was a honest to goodness test.

Now I've never been great at tests.  My good grades in high school mostly rode on the fact that I did my homework and turned it in on time.  I freeze when test time comes.  I can study all I want and be able to tell you most everything that I need to know, but when that paper drops on the desk in front of me...blank...my mind goes blank.  I swear it's some sort of learning disorder.

Anyways back to the recent test debacle which occurred Sunday night.  Saturday night Corinne and I had a high school level sleep over and stayed up giggling under the covers till almost 4:30 a.m.  By Sunday evening I was about ready to pass out.  In fact I was completely ready for bed.  Teeth were brushed, makeup was off, face was washed, and comfy boyfriend's pj bottoms and tank top were on.  I was walking up the stairs and just happened to be running through a list of my classes that would occur tomorrow when it hit me.  I forgot about my Media Ethics test.

Let me tell you, this was not pretty.  Being as tired as I was, my emotions were running thin (or is that because I'm a girl? Anyways...) and I proceeded to burst into tears.  I couldn't contain them.  This had never happened.  I had never not been prepared for a test.  Luckily I called my cool, level-headed mother who kindly and gently reassured me that everything would be fine and that it was only 10:30 at night and I had all night to cram if I needed to.  After a tearful goodbye I buckled down and got busy.

My light was off by 1 a.m. and I was sound asleep by about 1:05 a.m.  Monday morning dawned and I was up and ready to face the test head on and face it I did.  There were maybe three out of the fifty questions that I had to really ponder but overall I think I did pretty well for totally not remembering until the night before. 

The week was off the a semi-great start and I survived.  Hurray.

So far so...good?

I have exactly fifteen minutes to blog.  Why fifteen? Because in fifteen minutes it'll be midnight and I will be turning off my light and going to bed.

I've been living in the sunny Southland for 2 months and 13 days although it really feels a lot longer than that.  My transition from Salinas to here has been one filled with ups and downs.  For example...

• Down: For the first few weeks I thought my address included a house number, that wasn't my house at all.  That address was on my new checks, my textbooks (that were not delivered until three weeks into the semester), my Wall Street Journal subscription, a scholarship check and many other various forms and job applications alike.  Luckily it was just the house next door and my neighbors were cool and put up with my mistake and I was able to switch over everything to my new address quickly.
• Down: I've filled out almost, if not over, 20 job applications in four cities (Cypress, Long Beach, La Palma and Lakewood) and have never received a call back from a single store, restaurant, or babysitting seeker.  
• Up: I was the "new girl" at the Lakewood Hollister for all of about a day.  Now I'm once again being called the best in the store and really love working for my managers there.  I don't really know exactly how to describe it but when I walk into work down here I feel like I'm home.  I've really realized how much I value working and how much I truly do enjoy it.  
• Down: I had a lot of downtime for the first month that I was here.  I didn't know what to do with myself!  I'm not used to being in a house all by myself.  In Salinas my home seems to be always full of people, whether they're related to me or not, and that's what I'm used to.  It was a really big challenge for me.  The television was always on just so I would have some background noise.  
• Down: I watched a lot of TV...ugh.
• Up: I went to a school event with Hannah Elliott and we got free t-shirts and our picture was posted on The Nugget's (a restaurant on campus) website.  We were sipping our "mocktails" and it's really cute.  
• Up: I've been going to Rock Harbor church since I got here.  My roommate Angela has been going there for a few years now and Stephen Paulsen recommended it to be long before I moved.  I love it.  It's very geared towards people my age and their worship is amazing.  

• Major Down: What would my life be like without car trouble?  I can't even begin to tell you because I don't really know.  I drove my car around for two weeks with a major gas leak.  The guy at the repair shop said that I was lucky that my car didn't explode.  I unfortunately couldn't agree with him...I wish the dang thing had exploded.  Two days after I got that fixed Corinne and I were on our way back to Salinas when my radiator cracked on the Grapevine.  We had it towed to the nearest shop, left it there for the weekend, got a ride back to Northridge to get Corinne's car, and by the time we were on the road again heading home it was 7:30 at night and if things had gone right the first time we would have already been home.  That weekend really was not the best for me.  Now my ABS light is on and while I'm driving on smooth, paved roads it feels like my car is going down some unpaved, country road.  I swear this car will be the death of me and my parents.

Well it's now 12:08 a.m. and I need to get some rest.  I have many more stories to share with you and I'm making blogging a priority now.  I need to write.  It feels good to write something that I know I'm not going to be graded on.  Goodnight world.  

The Night Before Life Goes On...

Tonight feels like my last night as a kid.  I mean I haven't been a kid for awhile but I haven't had all of the responsibilities of an adult either.  Tomorrow I'm leaving Salinas, my family, my friends, my church, my dog, and my house.  All in all I think I've been handling it pretty well but in the last five minutes or so my walls have come crumbling down and man all I can say is this is going to be hard.  

Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited to move down south and start a whole new chapter of my life down there.  The thought that I very well could be done with college in two years brings a huge smile to my face.  However, there are things about moving that break my heart.  The fact that I'm going to be so disconnected from my sisters and my brother kills me.  Missing out on hanging out at my house with the gang and getting together at someones house just because we feel like it is going to be tough.  Shoot, having to watch Lost and So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol without everyone makes me want to cry!

I know that God is gonna take care of me and He's gonna bring me amazing friends and He's gonna watch over me and the ones that I love while we're apart.  Right now it's just a little scary and overwhelming.  I'll be alright though and I can't wait to post things later and tell you all the amazing things that are happening in my life. 

Home Away From Home

Just thought I would let ya'll see where I'm going to be living while I'm going to school!

This is the outside of the condo. That's my room right there on the corner.

 

This is my bedroom!

And my walk-in closet. I'm really stoked about this.

Living room downstairs.

  

The kitchen where I will be trying to cook.

Alright that's it, there is a bathroom and a laundry room closet but I don't have pictures of them.  

I'm leaving in 5 day! Can't wait!