5 Goals for Summer 2010

So it's been a while, again. It seems like every time I start a post I say "it's been a while," but this time it really has been a while. Last time I updated I was in the midst of finals, was going crazy, and was ready to leave State College for the summer. But now I'm back in Syracuse and am not much more amused than I was at school. But it's all my fault - I've done nothing but lay around in bed on my laptop/watching television and go to work. Bor-ing. So since my life has become to boring and unproductive, I've decided to make a few goals for this summer:

Goal #1: Spend less time online, and more time reading - I have a really bad habit of going into a book store and walking out with at least two books. Why is this a bad habit? Because (1) I spend way too much money on books and (2) I don't read all of them! I have stacks of books all over my room that I haven't even touched since I bought them. If I spent an hour reading for every hour I spend online (doing absolutely nothing, might I add), I could finish all of those books by the time I move back to Pennsylvania in August! So the main goal is to spend at least an hour a day reading.

Goal #2: Stop using AIM - I don't know why I even still use AIM - I have the phone number of every single person I talk to on AIM. Why sit around talking to them online when I could just text them or call them? Plus I'll text someone and they won't respond and then I'll look at AIM and see that they're online and just think they're ignoring me when clearly they signed on and walked away. So AIM basically makes me paranoid for absolutely no reason at all. The first step to this goal was accomplished when I un-installed from my laptop it this morning. It's going to be weird not signing on every morning.... but I can get through it.

Goal #3: Run more, lay-around less - I have been laying-around way too much this summer, and I'm falling out of shape real fast. I wanted to stay in shape this summer and get a gym membership (which I've still failed at doing...) but instead I've slept more and done absolutely nothing to keep up with everything. So instead of laying in bed all day (which is SUPER comfortable) I need to run more. The only way I can make sure I actually keep up with that goal is the knowledge that my Nike+ mini is posted on this page - and if I don't update it I hope people will start hounding me on it. And I have a few people in mind that I know will do it....

Goal #4: Channel my boredom into something less fattening - when I get really bored, I bake. Or cook. I should find something new to channel my boredom to, because baking a pan of brownies and eating them all isn't going to help me lose weight. And when I cook for myself, I cook for like four people.... eating enough food for four people is disgusting and unhealthy. The only problem is I have no idea what I can do instead of baking and cooking. Cleaning? Maybe reading? Instead of laying around online and being bored and then jumping to baking I can use that time to read?

Goal #5: Get my shit together - I think this goal is probably going to be the hardest one.... There's a lot I need to get together this summer - I need to move on from the past, budget myself, and get my life in order. I still have no idea what I'm doing with my life. I used to know what I wanted to do, but then I switched my major last year and I have no idea what I'm going to do with a degree in French History. I need to learn how to budget my money better - I'm going to have to come up with rent every month and pay an electric and cable bill starting in the Fall; budgeting is going to be hard. And the past is... well, it's the past. And I want to leave it there. There's a lot I need to leave behind me, and I just need to get over everything that went wrong in the past few months. I think if I accomplish my other four goals, I can move on from everything that's happened. I can keep myself busy and not dwell on things that didn't work out. I want to make Summer 2010 the best summer so far. We'll see how that works out, but all I can do for right now is hope and be optimistic, right?

How I Lost My Mind in Five Days

I've completely lost my damn mind. And here's how: I studied Modern East Asian History for five days straight. I started last Wednesday, and studied until Sunday. My final exam was yesterday afternoon and luckily I was completely prepared. But how could I not have been when I studied for FIVE days!? I might have been too prepared though - my answers for the identification/significance portion of the exam were out of control; like, entire paragraphs of useless information that didn't really need to be there.

And now I can barely put a coherent thought together when I'm talking to someone. My brain is completely fried - at this point I'm lucky that I could put this post together. I'm constantly spacing out, and trying to hold a conversation with someone is starting to get difficult. I can't sleep at night - I haven't gotten more than five hours of sleep in a night since Thursday.

The worst part? I have two more finals tomorrow, the first of which is at 8:00 AM. That's going to be interesting.... What's going to end up happening is I'll probably take a nap later this afternoon and then stay awake all night and then take my exam. Hopefully I don't pass out in the middle of the exam!

The light at the end of the tunnel: I get to go home Thursday morning! Granted I still need to pack up my entire life between then and now while still studying, but that shouldn't be too hard. I'm just ready to go home; I'm sad to leave my friends for the summer, but I just need to get away for a little while. There's too much shit going on here, it's time to get away for a few months. And I'm pretty pumped to do so.

My Last Month as a Teenager

Happy May 1st! It's that time of the year ago: the one-month countdown to my birthday! But this time it's completely different, because this year marks the year that I'm no longer a teenager. While that is both thrilling and horrifying at the same time, I'm both relieved and generally neutral on the idea of it being my birthday.

I'm sick and tired of people saying "oh my god, you're so young!" or "you're such a baby!" when they find out I'm only 19. It's especially annoying when it comes from people you work with. While 19 isn't exactly ancient, you should never call someone "young" or "a baby" if they're only two or three years younger than you. Trust me, it pisses them off. A lot. Usually meeting new people includes the question "so how old are you?" and people never believe me when I say my real age. My favorite response? "Wow, I thought you were at least 20." Wow, you really thought I was a few months older than I actually am? Cool.

So while it's exciting to finally be old enough where people think I'm in the correct age-bracket, my birthday isn't really all the exciting to me anymore. I mean, what can you honestly do when you're 20? When you turn 16 you get your license, when you turn 18 you're legal, and when you turn 21 you can legally drink alcohol. What happens you're 20? You just keep going to college and work and pay taxes? Sounds riveting, sign me up pronto. Or in a month...