The Adventures (and Mis-adventures) of Life

It has been quite the week!

Battled with the university because they insisted I could take a class next year, however, begin a senior, that won't exactly work for me. It ended with me in tears in my advisor's office trying to sort this out, and finally the concluding decision by the "big boys" on campus was that I could complete the course as it had been first arranged...meaning the whole spiel never had to happen in the first place! (A whole lot of stress for nothing!)

In about the span of 24 hours, I started and quit a job on campus AND woke up with practically no voice...I sounded like a contralto. Ugh! And I have a million things I need to be singing. :(

My roommate's computer died; the Apple store is not open till Saturday for some reason. We drove a half-hour to another place to get it fixed only to have them tell us they wouldn't do it. Then, her hamster died.

I had THE WORST voice lesson of my life and was on the verge of losing it the whole time. Lynn was concerned the most about the fact that I walked in unprepared, which I practically never do.

Almost had a very tragic fall down a flight of stairs...never text and walk down steps at the same time...probably won't end well!

And to top it all, I found out I had to pay $50 for access to an online workbook for German, which is simply outrageous. (My roommate and I had a whole discussion on how textbooks are some sort of elaborate scam...they charge you hundreds of dollars on a little book that had to have cost them five bucks to produce, so it is practically all profit. We've decided we should either invest stock in McGraw-Hill or write our own book.)

Oy! On the bright side of life (Samantha needs to get out of this negative funk because it is no fun!), I FINALLY wrote my Fulbright proposal!! Yay! My Fulbright advisor has reviewed it, likes it, and now it is time for revisions. :) I wrote it on Saturday...after about four hours of just staring at my computer with no ideas anymore, I just started typing and bam! It was finished.

Gratitude 119
Saturday was an absolutely lovely day. I stayed in my pjs until 7:30PM! :) Lounging in the flat with my roommate, drinking tea, making mac 'n cheese, watching tv, and cranking out a proposal. Then, I went to see Julie and Julia at the little theatre around the corner from my flat with my dear friend Haley. It was hysterical! And the two of us together just made it even better...it's a good thing there were only like 5 or 6 other people in the theatre with us! haha! And there was also Graeter's ice cream and stargazing on the lawn in front of the university in the mix. A brilliant day!

Friday was even more brilliant...I had THE MOST AMAZING lesson EVER!!!! It was awesome! Lynn just moved to a bigger, more resonantly acoustic studio, so now, we can learn how to really use the big voices that have been held inside us. (Hence, the bigger dismay when I had a horrid lesson on the following Monday.)

Just to make this post a century long, I have been thinking about this past week's events and how life always throws loops at you...good and bad. Then, I started thinking (yes, another one of my mind's ridiculous tangents!) about all the silly little things you learn when you start adventures on your own, mine starting mainly when I went off to college and then abroad...and now as I wonder what will be next for me...

Life Discoveries (Part 1)

1. Being the first in your family to go to college automatically thrusts you into vast, uncharted territory.
2. Toilet paper just seems to disappear.
3. One bottle of shampoo lasts so much longer when only one person is using it, but the grocery bill is always astounding when you actually have to start buying your own things.
4. Life is very expensive.
5. You go to college, and the thing you learn most $30,000 later is that you are stupid about life, and the only way to change that is to go through it.
6. When you stop worrying about time, there is time enough and also to spare.
7. If walls could talk, I'd be in trouble A LOT.
8. Money doesn't mean someone has it all.
9. It's not only how you sing...it's who you are.
10. Library fines are relentless.
11. Play-doh and coloring books are not just for 5-year-olds.
12. It has to be Crayola!
13. As soon as the warranty is up, the computer will start doing funny things.
14. Cell phones are a pest but essential.
15. Without technology, no one in today's society would know how to function.
16. People change...but, sadly, some will never learn.
17. Every time you turn around, it's time to do laundry AGAIN!
18. Whether it is "pop" or "soda" is a constant topic of debate.
19. Packing and moving places every year, although annoying, makes you realize just how much stuff you have...and how much you probably never even used!
20. What is good for you is not always fun.
21. It's okay to make mistakes. No one really cares that much if you admit them, fix them, and move on.
22. Knowing when it is time to work and when it's okay to play is very important.
23. Ask the question...no matter how ridiculous or repetitive it may be.
24. Time is precious. Make the most of every moment.
25. Sometimes, you just have to fall flat on your face because it is the only way you'll figure out how to get back up.
26. You can't accomplish anything without persistance.
27. Although difficult to do, pack light whenever you travel!
28. Music books weigh a ton.
29. Staying in your comfort zone might be "safe" but will never push you to grow.
30. I'm very stubborn...and am far more like my father than I ever realized.
31. It takes living 6000 miles from home to learn just how important it is.
32. I make a pretty delicious tuna casserole.
33. Facebook sucks you in! It is a terrible distraction!
34. You study singing and end up learning more about anatomy than you ever thought you cared to know...e.g. There is thyroid cartillage and a thyroid gland, but they don't mean the same thing or function the same way. Or...(one of the faves in vocal pedagogy class)...The lungs are an organ that do not move on their own. Rather, a partial vacuum is created when the diaphragm contracts, allowing air to flow in.
35. COTA buses are scary.
36. Bells that ring on the hour are charming in Europe...and irritating in Ohio...perhaps it's because they don't ring at the right time!
37. You always find everything you need...but rarely when you actually need it.

More to come, I'm sure... ;)