Hello DeviantArt! Long time no update, over a year actually. I still check here regularly, I just do not post my journal entries here as I never had very many watchers, but for those of you who may still remain, here is the most recent news. Well, first, a recap.

After a lot of trouble, I went to Italy for the Spring 2009 semester. I traveled EVERYWHERE; Spain, France, Greece, Egypt, Germany, Scotland, Britain, Ireland, Wales, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland. I discovered that I love Italy, but hate Rome, and that my favorite country so far is Britain.

I came home and walked (graduation) the next day, but I had one more course to take over the summer, so I actually just graduated in August. My graduation party is this Saturday.


Anyhow, most recent post:

If you have been watching my status updates anywhere, then you know two things:

First, today...err...yesterday...October 21st, was my birthday. I generally play hermit on my birthday, but I was unable to this year because I had ballet. Every year my birthdays are terrible, but this year was not so bad. Which brings me to the second thing.

I mentioned last month that I was going to try to be in Rockford Dance Company's Nutcracker, but they did not have enough men to have another woman. Well, Margret approached me and informed me that one of the women had to step down, and she asked me if I was still interested. So now, I am in The Nutcracker! It is not a big role, it is not even a ballet role, it is as one of the adults in the party scene. If you have never seen the Nutcracker before, it is basically just simple partner/ballroom-type dancing. But for the first time since high school, I will be on stage! I am so excited! I will be purchasing a DVD of the performance, so I will probably upload it. Now I need to buy new character shoes...but first I need to find out what color my dress will be.

For those of you in the area and interested in seeing the show, the performances are both on Thanksgiving, at 2pm and 7pm. Information and tickets are here: Rockford Dance Companys Nutcracker.

On another exciting note, last February, some of you may recall I had made a video of myself dancing, complete with a blooper real. Most of that blooper real involved footage of me attempting to land a clean double turn...I could not. Well, tonight I was playing around while dancing and out of no where I did a clean one and a half turn that I have choreographed. I was surprised, so I tried it again, and I nailed it again. So, I thought, might as well attempt a double, and I nailed it, twice! That might seem like nothing to most of you, but it is little things like that that serves as rare evidence that I am improving. It feels nice to have a double back...now to get back to a triple.


Oh, by the way...
Stephanie wins first birthday wish of the year, she was very proud.
And Sarah wins my favorite birthday wish, as she included a picture of Jareth and Sarah from Labyrinth. Mmmmm...Goblin King!

Before I start on School...I saw the strangest birds today crossing the street by my house and I would have taken a picture but there were other cars. They looked like a cross between a turkey, a goose, and a peacock. I have no idea what they were.

Anyhow, school. This is everything I have to do between now and the end of the semester. So, in the next four weeks. (Space between indicates a new week)

*Renaissance - Finish Machiavelli
*Italian - Homework that was due Friday (he accepts late and I did not understand it)
*Italian - Homework due Monday
*Perception - Pain Summary
*Gender - Quiz on Kimmel Chapter 11
*Gender - Quiz on Disch Chapters 54 & 56
*Gender - Three page paper and Presentation of article relating to gender (anyone seen any articles lately?)
*Perception - Chapter 6 Summary

*Lab - Paper 1 Revisions
*Lab - Paper 2 Intro
*Italian - Quiz 5
*Perception - Exam 3

*Perception - Chapter 7 Summary
*Lab - Homework Assignment 5
*EPFE - Journal Entries (12) due
*EPFE - Course Summary
*Renaissance - Take Home Final Exam Practice

*Perception - Chapter 8 Summary
*Gender - Olivia Paper
*Lab - Paper 2
*Perception - Chapter 9 Summary
*Horseback Riding - Take Home Final

*Renaissance - Final
*Italian - Final
*Horseback Riding - Riding Final

***PLUS***
*Italian - Homework (assigned daily)
*Renaissance - Reading Assignments (given once or twice a week)
*Renaissance - Reading Quizes (assigned weekly)
*Gender - Reading Quizes (given once or twice a week)


Not counting the bottom four unknowns, that is 24 separate things...over four weeks...an average of six items per week, and other than the Horseback Riding finals I only go to school three times a week, so a MINIUMUM AVERAGE of two items due per day.


I started reading Kimmel for this week...such a boring book, the Disch readings are so much more painless. I have a rough attempt at the overdue Italian Homework, but I could not understand the assignment. The pain summary should be easy...its only a one page reading this time, as opposed to the usual chapters. Thats about it from me. I am tired and I have to be at work at 9am. Stupid meetings.

Maybe I will go read some bedtime Machiavelli...

Just returned home from horseback riding class. I do not think Katina cared much for me, she seemed rather stand-offish with me. Not that that is a problem anymore, and you will see why in a second.

Katina and I started brushing RB, and then Katheryn (one of the hands) came in and told us to pick RB’s feet. So I took the pick since Katina did it last time. After I did the two left feet, Kathryn told me not to do the other side, that Katina would. When the hand went over to RB’s right side (where Katina was brushing RB), Katina said "I already picked last time, I had to do all four!" Meow. Anyhow, we finished grooming RB and then Katina saddled him and I bridled him. I walked him into the arena, but I let Katina go first so that Sarah (a girl I made friends with on the first day) and I would be riding at the same time.

So while the first group rode, the rest of us went in the viewing room to try to figure out what color the horses are. We were very unsuccessful. Then it was our turn to go ride. After only a minute or two in the saddle, the teacher announced that after today Belle’s rider and I would switch horses. Belle likes to go fast. I asked Gail (hand) after class and that was indeed a promotion as far as horses go. So yay! I already was promoted to a better horse. Not that RB was not good, I liked him, but he is old and slow.


Before class I received a call from the place I ordered my helmet from and it is on back order, so it will be about a week and a half before I receive it Oh well, that is not too long. Two, maybe three more classes with the loner.


That is all from me for now. I am hungry and I have to go to work to do GEMs and go to Martial Arts tonight.

CURRENT:
It is almost 1:30am, and I just finished writing the results, discussion, table, title page, and abstract for the first Perception Lab research paper. We are allowed to revise almost all of the paper though, and I am sure I will have a LOT to revise.


SCHOOL:

Horseback Riding - Since class on Thursday was canceled, today was our first day at the stables. We were first showed some basics on horse safety, and then we were paired up and taken to the stables to meet our horses. The girl I am paired up with is nice, but the teacher had a lapse in judgment, and although she said she would be pairing us up based on leg length, she paired us up based on head height. My legs are at least six inches longer than my partners, so that is going to cut time into our riding so that we can adjust the saddle. Grr! The horse we were assigned is named RB, and he is supposed to be a "boring" horse, which is a bit upsetting. Even though, he fought me when I was trying to bridle him...those teeth are scary. We brushed and picked the horses, then tacked and bridled them, but we did not actually ride today. That will be Thursday.

One of the women at the stable gave me the business card to a tack shop in Battavia, and I drove there after class. I ended up buying a pair of riding gloves, but nothing else. The boots there were EXPENSIVE. There was one pair behind the register that were all black except for purple lace (and lace lace, not shoe-lace lace) in the front. They were beautiful boots, but I am sure they were very expensive. The shop was an English shop, and I heard them direct another customer to a Western shop, so I inquired about it and headed off towards the Western shop. The Western shop was nice too, lots of Western boots, though none I really liked, but they were much cheaper than the English boots. I also found a helmet I liked in an metallic purple, but they only had it in large. I found the helmet online though, and I ordered it tonight. I also found a pair of black Western boots I really like, but they are $140. There is slightly cheaper pair I like, though not as much, and I am debating which pair to buy.

EPFE - Business as usual. I need to write/pick those journals though.

Gender - We have not received the Gender and Work papers back yet, though hopefully we will have them tomorrow. I am dying to know how I did. The next paper is due next friday. I have all the newspapers for it, but I have not started the research yet. I should start that this week...maybe when I go in to do GEMs at work.

Perception - The schedule keeps changing in this class, and we just handed in the Chapter Four summary. Chapter Five is due next wednesday, and our exam has been moved from Friday to Monday so that we can have a review session on Friday.

Lab - See beginning of entry.

Renaissance - We are discussing Michelangelo right now, which I am more interested in than some of the other people. We have not had a reading quiz in AGES.

Italian - My brain is going to expload. Although, I did order a couple things from ibs.it to help me internalize the language. First, on friday, I ordered A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back for my personal benefit, and Shrek (The first one) for the club to watch. I cannot wait to watch Star Wars in Italian, I wonder how Yoda speaks. Then yesterday, I ordered a couple childrens books. I figure if reading them works for teaching children their language, it might help me.

General School - It looks as if I am dropping my Sociology minor. I was planning on taking one of the last two classes I need over the summer, but they canceled it. In the fall, it is only offered on T/R, and I am planning on taking M/W/F classes. So, no more Sociology I think. If the deadline for dropping classes has not already passed, I might drop Gender depending on how I did on the Work paper. Otherwise I will take it P/F if it looks like I will earn a B. The benefit to dropping the minor however, is that I will be able to take Horseback Riding II. Also, I have at least two open hours that I can dedicate to Independent study and Psych Independent Study. AND...I could, if I want to, sit in on every Italian level. There is 201 at 8am, 101 at 1pm, and (though I might actually register for it) 301 at 12pm. This is what my schedule should look like:

Summer
05:00pm-07:40pm - MW - PSYC 433 - Social & Personality Lecture
05:00pm-07:40pm - T OR R (haven't decided which night) - PSYC 433 - Social & Personality Lab

Fall
08:00am-08:50am - NOT SCHEDULED - MWF - Italian 201
09:00am-09:50am - NOT SCHEDULED - MWF - OPEN HOUR
10:00am-10:50am - MWF - PSYC 315 - Behavior Disturbances in Children
11:00am-11:50am - NOT SCHEDULED - MWF - OPEN HOUR
12:00am-12:50am - MWF - FLIT 301 - Italian 301 - MIGHT TAKE
01:00am-01:50am - NOT SCHEDULED - MWF - Italian 101
02:30am-04:00am - MW - KNPE 187F - Horseback Riding II
05:30am-07:00am - M - KNPE 174 - Skin and Scuba Diving (could also take at 7pm or 8pm)

Looks like a lot, but only 5-6 classes will be scheduled, one is running experiments, and two are fun.


JABBERWOCKY:
Dell claims that the hard drive is only "refurbished" because it was removed from the packaging to have the programs loaded. So, I installed it into Jabberwocky tonight. I have loaded avast, firefox, and trillian already. Tomorrow I will load WoW and Photoshop. I am going to run a diagnostic before that though.


THIS WEEKEND:
Saturday I am supposed to go out to Schaumburg for a birthday party for Dale's and Emey's girlfriends, but the party is starting hours before I am off of work, and they are planning the swimming first thing, so I am debating going. Especially since it is a long drive, and I have to make an even longer drive on Sunday.

Sunday is the Ego Likeness/Voltaire concert in Decatur. I did not realize just how far Decatur is until Monday. The concert should be starting at 7pm, and I work in the day. I need to be done at work by 3pm to change and make it down to Decatur on time because it is a three hour drive . That should be an interesting drive home I really should not be making that long of a drive after just going up to Wisconsin last weekend, but Josh is coming up as well, and I am not going to say I am not going at the last second like that. Plus, I could use a goth night.


That is all from me tonight. It is just after 2am now and I need to get some sleep.

I cannot say that anymore. My ring finger is all puffy, blue, and purple. It is right on the bottom part of the finger, the joint that connects the bottom and middle parts of your finger, not the very bottom joint that connects it to your hand. I tried to take pictures...but they are not coming out clearly enough to do it any justice.