Coffeehouse

Currently Listening To: Whatever is playing on the Courthouse Coffee speakers

I decided to write this post on a whim. I am currently sitting in one of my favorite coffee houses in town. Today is my birthday and I found myself sitting alone in the back of a coffee house working on a ridiculously long paper for my senior seminar class. I am proposing an experiment. Doesn't that just sound lovely? Ah well, once I finish I will have two bachelor's degrees. I feel really accomplished.

Anyway, yes, I did say today was my birthday. I am now 22 years old. A freshman asked me today if I was 21 now, and when I told them I was now 22, she was like, "wow, I didn't realize you were that old!" I laughed but it made me realize how big the gap really is between 18 or 19 to 22.

That was my random note of the day.

I decided to write because I have been creeping on everyone in the coffee house for quite a while now. I moved to a prime table in the back just so I could watch people a little bit easier. The sun was setting through the windows and everyone was just relaxing. It is a really nice sight. There is a guy to my left who is working on homework just like I am (or was, now I'm writing this). There is a lady up ahead who has been watching videos on her phone for who knows how long. There is a lady and a man that I have seen here before. The man is wheel chair bound and has disabilities, and the lady always patiently works with him and whatever she is working on. There are two people ahead of me that are just talking. There is a girl at the counter talking to the barista. Two people are sitting in chairs talking about a bunch of random things. There are also two old couples diagonal of me who have been playing games, chatting, and having a good time.

What always amazes me is that everyone in this room has a completely different story than me. They have had completely different days, completely different experiences, different concerns, different successes, different failures, different everything. Yet we all end up here in this little coffee house just for a small amount of time for who knows what reason. We are all here for different reasons but we all make up the atmosphere. It is fascinating.

Nobody in here has any clue who I am, nobody knows that it is my 22nd birthday, nobody knows that earlier today my coworkers sang happy birthday to me and we all ate cake.

Some guy just walked in an ordered hot chocolate.

I thank the Lord for making me a person who is observant, analytical, and someone who is hyper-observant to my surroundings, but not because it makes me awesome. It helps me to take in the people around me and think about other people and not just myself. In a small way it makes me look past my circumstances and think about other people's worlds. All these people are God's creations and He loves them all.

Now the lady who was watching things on her cell phone is working on paperwork.

When tempted to just focus on yourself, I would suggest stopping and taking a moment to look around at (or think about) other people.  You'll start realizing that you're going to make it. The world does not revolve around you.

Time to get back to work. Ciao for now

Life Is Sweet

Song I am currently listening to: Pompeii - Bastille

I haven't written a blog post in... I don't know. A long time. I don't feel like counting. So, here I am. I am back.

Since whenever the last time I wrote was, I have had so much going on in my life. So many awesome events that I am not sure I can fully describe them all. So here is a picture of my cat in the bathtub:

Why are you looking at me, hooman?

And that is all. Have a nice day.

Just kidding.

One of the most amazing things that has happened in my life is that my wonderful sister and brother-in-law had their baby, Charles! My nephew! I am an aunt. I believe I have taken on this new title and role very well.

I think I took this picture holding my phone with my foot. The things I do so I can properly snuggle with my adorable nephew.

I think Charles believes I have taken on this role of "auntie" quite well as well. Except when I try to feed him. Or comfort him. Or sing to him. Or whenever I am not either one of his parents.

Just kidding, I actually became more comfortable taking care of baby Charlie, and I got quite a few smiles and chortles from my nephew. I read to him and played with him, as well as finally changed a diaper for the first time all by myself (yeah, I am not around babies much. Ever). He only spit up on me once, thankfully. I got kicked a couple times because he was upset that he didn't have the bottle RIGHT when he thought he should have it. He is strong for his age, that is for sure. Every time I tried to give him a bottle, he wiggled and squished himself in the exact position to receive one. Every time, he also gave me a look that said "jeesh, do I really have to help you, Auntie Sarah?" Yep. A one-month old baby had to tell me how to hold him. *sigh*

Besides the fact that we have a new member of the family, it has also been really great to see how my sister and brother-in-law have embraced their new roles as parents. Watching how much they both love and care that they give their child is extremely heartwarming and encouraging. I have always looked up to my big sister, but seeing her as a mother just makes me look up to her even more. I am beyond proud of her ability to overcome the challenges of having a newborn and be the best she can be. Charles will certainly be well taken care of under the care of Bethany and Dustin. There is no doubt about that.

*Anti-climatic and not nearly as endearing and cute as the paragraphs above moment: I got glasses because I can't see the broad side of a barn.

SEE PHOTO ABOVE

Because those are my glasses.

The eye doctor looked at the numbers for my vision and said, "Wow, that is bad! It is no surprise you need glasses!" I was thinking: Erm, actually, I didn't realize my eyes were THAT bad... What I said: "Haha, yeah, I guess so!" So, yes. I have glasses. I bump them in to everything because I am not used to them being on my face. I also have different depth perception, so I have been knocking over everything trying to adjust to my glasses. I feel like I am going through puberty again.

I understand, stock photo man. This is my life. Always and forever.

*Jarring topic switch: Scott and I celebrated our one year! We went out on a date to Casa Grille where I got to order whatever I wanted and get dessert as well! I had such amazing cheesecake... I just love cheesecake. Oh my goodness. We spent a lot of our July 4th weekend up at the lake, where we watched fireworks two nights in a row, went down a giant slip-in-slide, and explored shops in North Webster.

Scott also attempted to teach me how to be a stronger swimmer. However, since we were in the lake and mini waves from the boats kept pushing me under water, this swimming lesson ended in me planting my feet on the lake floor where my head was still above water and refusing to move unless Scott pushed me around on the raft. This may be a slight exaggeration, but captures the general attitude I had about learning how to tread water. He also "dropped" me once (he didn't, he just didn't warn me quick enough that he was letting go of me, so I said he did) so that also ended in me refusing to move once I got to solid ground. Mostly, I just wanted to give him hugs and splash around where I could reach the bottom of the lake. That is mostly what I did. Scott was ever supportive and said I did a good job learning how to tread water, but I do believe he was being polite. What a sweetie :).

This was taken after we went swimming. Apparently I did not scare him away with my tenacious attitude. :). I love him.

I am sure more has happened, but this blog post is long enough. I haven't been able to move since I got home from work three hours ago because my cat decided to snuggle with me and sleep. I would feel bad if I disrupted him... wow. Yeah... And I actually wonder why he is the most spoiled and brattiest cat in all of existence. I guess that's what happens when you only live with a cat.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Me, in just a few short years.

Ciao for now, everyone, I shall attempt to write again soon.

"Tips" from Pinterest Part 1

*I haven't written a blog post in such a long time. I apologize for this from the few people who follow me and my random thoughts.

Since it's already finals week in our 8 week class schedule, naturally I'm on Pinterest. I love Pinterest. I've found great recipes to try, cute clothes, home things I'm never going to afford because of the field of work I'm going in to, cleaning tips... and other random things. Today I thought I would share a piece of advice that I found on this wonderful website.

I decided that I was going to go through the home decor section and see if there were any random things I would like to have in my dream house. I stumbled across a cleaning tip pin. This pin said "who knew. a window squeegee removes pet hair from carpet."

Amazing! So what this is saying that all you have to do is crawl around on your hands and knees scraping a squeegee along the carpet. The pet hair will come up and you won't have to worry about having hairy carpet anymore. What a relief. 

Here is the example of what an amazing job this does.

Okay, seriously now. You know what else removes hair from carpet? A vacuum. You know what else can also remove dirt and dander that a squeegee won't get off the carpet? A vacuum.

Here is my cleaning tip for removing hair from carpet. Invest in a vacuum that will last. Plug in the vacuum. Vacuum your floor. Unplug the vacuum. Empty the canister. Put away vacuum.

Even a smiling vacuum can do this job.

This takes a lot less effort and is way more effective than scraping a tiny squeegee throughout your entire carpet. No matter how hilarious it would be to see someone attempt to do this, I would suggest just taking the time to just vacuum your carpet. Practicality wins with this one.

There's a tip from Pinterest that isn't so practical. Hopefully I can start a series of these :D.

It's a New Year

Band currently listening to: Safetysuit

I am quite aware I haven't written a blog post in a very long time. Last session was incredibly tiring. I had so many papers and such due, I had not time to do anything except eat, work, and sleep. I suppose I showered a few times in there as well :P

This post doesn't really have a specific topic, nor will it be hilarious or anything. I just thought I'd update everyone on my life.

Christmas break was a fantastic time. Going home after such a stressful session of school was amazing. I ate a ton of food, hung out with my family (including the dog) and just relaxed. Even my body felt better after sleeping at home for a while. I was less tense and felt so much better. Making the journey back to college was the last thing I wanted to do after such an amazing break. 

Transitioning back in to college wasn't difficult, it almost feels like I never left. Unfortunately, some of the stress decided to wait for me when I got back, so I'm already a little bit stressed out.

College is full of some really good experiences, though. For example, I went to the Winter Jam in Fort Wayne on Sunday, and it was absolutely amazing. Concerts are one of those places that make me so incredibly happy. I'm one of those people who would drive for hours and stand in line for hours to go see a band perform. I absolutely adore concerts.

There were three times at the concert yesterday that had me crying with happiness. The first time was during a random band I had never really listened to before, but I was just so happy to be back at a concert that I didn't care. The second time was when a couple old Newsboys songs were played, and it just reminded me of sitting at the back of the bus in the seventh grade, singing with Brandon and a few others at the top of our lungs. The third time, though, was when I teared up the most. Skillet performed a couple of my favorite songs by them, and I just started crying because one: I was glad to hear it and two: I really wanted Brandon to be there in flesh and blood to experience it with me. I went for him though. I'm pretty sure I told him I would go to the Winter Jam with him someday, so yesterday I went for him. I'm so glad I did.

Today I got the CDs I ordered. I heard of a band called Safetysuit, listened to a couple of their songs, and decided to buy both of their albums. It was a gamble, but I'm glad I made that choice. They make me happy. :). 

I must go now, I've become addicted to Pinterest, and I must find more pins! :)

Stress and Laughter

Song I'm Currently Listening To: A Whisper & A Clamor - Anberlin

I'm blogging because my cool suite-mate blogged not too long ago, and it reminded me that I haven't blogged since September.

Just yesterday I watched The IT Crowd episode where the boss, who is unfortunately dressed like this:

is talking about how stress is constantly killing people. Which of course then he's the major cause of most of the stress in the building anyway because he's threatening to fire anyone who's stressed at the end of the day, which of course means they're all going to be stressed about the thought of being fired because they're stressed...

The point of the matter is, over the past month and a half or so, I've become extremely stressed out. My workload has quadrupled from the workload I had last session, plus a string of a thousand other things. It's just like stress decided to punch me in the face and steal my lunch money. For those who need a visual, here's an example:

Stress does not wear a blue coat. I am also not a small Asian boy.

You get the point. I'm very tired and overworked, and it's not a fun place to be in. I also learned something very interesting this past week. I was on the phone ranting to a friend, and they noted how that even though I was so tired, upset, and stressed about certain things, I kept laughing about whatever the subject was. That statement made me realize that whenever I don't feel like I can handle something, I laugh. It's like a built in defense mechanism. Laughing makes me feel better, so I automatically do it when things are going wrong. 

I don't think it's a bad thing all the time. If it'll ease up the stress a little bit or help me see what's making me stressed in a clearer light, even for a moment, I don't see how it's bad. If it helps me realize that it's not something that is going to control my life and never go away, I think it's fine. If it starts making me not take things seriously, that would be a problem. But I'm not doing that. 

All I know is, an overload of stress isn't good for anyone. Avoiding it at all costs would be awesome, but I know that isn't possible. All I have to say is... I know I'll live. And if anyone else is extremely stressed out, you'll live and make it through, too. Life isn't always fine and dandy. Take advantage of the moments that are, and kick the butt of the ones that are not.

This Is A Blog Post About...

Song(s) I'm Currently Listening To: Random bits of the Queen Discography

* I'm drinking a particularly good cup of coffee today. It makes me happy.

I did not, however, specifically arrange coffee beans so I felt like I was drinking a picture.

* My dorm room feels like I'm sitting in a bathtub full of ice cubes in Antarctica. 

I decided googling "bathtub" wouldn't be a smart idea. So here's Antarctica!

* Yesterday my room mate, my suite-mates, and I randomly ordered a large pizza from Pizza Hut and devoured and then proceeded to devour it at the hour of 10:45 pm.

Behold, grease!

* I have 5 empty plastic water bottles on my desk.

This is more than 5.

* I get to go play with wolves soon. Yes, real live wolves.

"I love you!!!"

* At the beginning of the week, a fake ladybug failed to perform a stealth attack on me by sitting on my pillow and sneaking up on me. It then was flicked out of the room by yours truly.

"Fear me, I'm kamikaze beetle."

* I'm sitting here pouting because Freddie Mercury's falsetto is a million times better than my regular voice.

He's even gloating about it. :P

* My exam today in Abnormal Psych was okay until we got to the case studies. Those were hard.

I made this exact face while reading them.

This is my day/week so far. I'm pretty sure the rest of it is going to be great :-). Have a great week, everyone!

Mosquitos

Song I'm Listening to - Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons

I have 16 mosquito bites on my legs. I covered them all up with band-aids so I would stop scratching them. 

I'm never going outside in shorts again after dark. I used to do it all the time with no problem. Not anymore.

I hate mosquitoes. They're evil things sent specifically to bother humans and leave their legs an itchy mess, while they buzz off with a belly full of blood and laugh maniacally.

 This one in particular enjoys pretending it's a non-sparkly vampire.

I learned from the ever trustworthy Wikipedia, mosquitoes living in nature (apparently some live in captivity?) usually don't live longer than a couple weeks. That makes it even worse. They hatch, they grow, they bite as many humans and animals as they can, and then they die. But there's like, a bazillion (that is not a trustworthy statistic from Wiki) of them out there. How do they manage this?!

I do, however, feel like I helped assist many families of mosquitoes in to breeding more little monsters. I may have assisted in the building of a giant army of mosquitoes considering the state of my bitten legs. Or maybe they just really like my blood.

I apologize to you all for unknowingly helping the mosquito population get fed.