To study or not to study...

Update again:
-DAT went REALLY well, I'm hoping it'll be the deciding factor to get me into dental school
(currently knocking on wood 'til my knuckles bleed)
-Living at home won't be as scary of an adjustment as I thought; I spoke with mom and I'm not getting an unreasonable curfew imposed on me, she's actually treating me like a normal, capable adult
-Tomorrow I need to remember to call the cops and try to get out of an erroneous parking ticket.

Okay here's where I poll the readers again. The question has been brought to my attention that if I am to find out I'm accepted into dental school before classes start second semester, (again with the wood knocking), would I still take classes second semester?

Mom says I should continue to keep my health insurance and says it'd look good to take the classes I'm signed up for. The classes part is irrelevant, 'cause if I'm already in, they don't care what I do after I get the acceptance letter as long as it's nothing illegal. The health insurance thing brings up a good point, although I'm a healthy 22 year old woman. I'm pretty convinced I can go the semester and summer without health insurance and be perfectly fine. The only exception to this would be if a car accident was to happen during this time or any other catastrophic thing you can't plan for.
Another point in the anti-classes approach is the fact that I'd be able to work full time and save up some mad cash for maybe a down payment on a townhouse or something, depending on what housing option TJ and I go for. Or, perhaps, the wedding costs. Money is good, and I'd get more of it if I didn't take classes I didn't need for anything. I'd already have my bachelor's degree in Health too, that's another point.

So yeah, what do you think? Leave comments, I'm interested in opinions on this one.

Oh happy week!

Wonderful things that have happened this week:

Yesterday: I got accepted into, and all signed up for UWEC for 2nd semester without a single glitch, despite my mother's lack of faith in me to pull it off

Today: Found out I'm getting a B in biostats (I thought I was failing),

and got a half dozen long stemmed roses from TJ with a card that reads "Good luck on your DAT Love, TJ"

and I found out our ultimate frisbee jerseys finally arrived!

I hope this continues through Thursday's extravaganza!

Things are looking up...

FINALLY!!! Someone somewhere was pulling for me, 'cause something I planned for actually went right, without a single problem! It's official: I'm going to UWEC for classes 2nd semester. I got my acceptance letter today, and by 4:30 was all signed up for every class I wanted, at the times I wanted. It also turns out that their microbiology course, compared to Luther's 4 credit, 2-lab course, is only 3 credits without a lab. I'm assuming it has to be a ton easier than here, and what's even better is that I don't have to deal with the evil troll that is Dr. Enos. I'll have a total of 13 credits that included Nutrition, Intro to Sociology, Microbiology, and Anatomy & Physiology. The last one is gonna be the toughest, and I know I can do really well in it :o) OH HAPPY DAY!!! My mom admitted to me on the phone that she didn't think I could actually pull it off. I gave her a "tsk tsk" for not having faith in me and then proceeded to make her happy by telling her I don't have to buy books; we rent them. This means no more buying $300 worth of books only to return them at the end of the year for a total of $50.

I will miss my closest friends here terribly. They've been great friends during this semester and it's been really good getting to know them better. I'll make sure to come back and visit next semester when I can. I doubt my classes will be what hold me back from coming down.

On that note, I'm going to knock on wood and pray my DAT goes well on Thursday. I've lost the will to study, but have become increasingly nervous as the date draws near. I'll crack open the biology section tonight before bed and read through that as much as possible before I fall asleep on the book.

what's on my mind

Not much has happened in the past couple of days to warrant a new blog entry, I just felt like typing. I take the DAT this coming Thursday and I'm not sure how ready I am. I have been looking over the stuff like crazy, and I took a practice round of the thing and improved my score since last time, but- wait, I'm not going to think about it like that. If I get myself worked up, I usually get this paralyzing fear which makes me not want to look at the stuff. It's weird and ass-backwards, I know, but it's something I do. I can't wait until I'm done with it though. Then I can finish my grad school and hygiene apps, and be all done with that shit until they eventually send me their fateful letters. I've been trying to figure out what to do if I don't get in to either type of school. I know I'll move in with TJ, but then what? I don't want to work a dead end job and get stuck with that. I don't know how many more useless classes I can handle taking just to try to impress dental schools again, or what it would take to get me into hygiene school after that point. At least I'll be with TJ. I'm afraid I won't be able to put forth enough money to hold up my end of things in the household. I believe in an equal partnership, so if he's making all the money and paying for everything, I feel as though I'm not holding up my end of the deal, mooching, which I absolutely hate the feeling of when I do. Plus I don't want a "tab" brought against me. He's never done it before, but I have this fear that when I do start making money, I'll have this guilt that I should start paying for everything in order to make up for however much he took care of. He wouldn't do that, it's just an irrational fear, but money problems scare the shit outta me. Past personal experience I guess...

Irish limerick

I just got this in an email from a friend of mine and had to post it:

Just thought of this..it's cheesy, but limericks are associated with Ireland, which is associated with luck, so hopefully this will bring you good luck on your test:

There once was a girl named Cat
Who totally aced the DAT.
Her efforts relentless,
She'll make a great dentist,
There is no doubt about that!

What I learned from college dorm life:

These are things I learned during my 4 1/2 year duration of dorm life here at Luther.
Feel free to add your own to the list:

- Wrinkle releaser spray is a must. Ironing is a thing of the past unless you go broke (See next point)
- If you've run out of wrinkle releaser spray and can't afford a new bottle, a curling iron is sufficient to use to iron your clothes in its place.
- Duct tape is the fixit tool for anything. Even if you eventually have more tape than sandal (if that's what you're fixing), it's still perfectly good as long as it's one piece. (Duct tape can also double as a disposable strapless bra)
- Hemming pants can be quickly and easily accomplished with a simple Swingline stapler
- Laundry can be stretched to last from break to break by purchasing more underwear on sale at Walmart
- Dusting can be averted by putting a school book on top of the dust. Repeat when book gets dusty. It also makes mom and dad think you've been studying hard to see books stacked all over your room.
- Hard liquor doesn't freeze, so you can easily hide it in the little freezer up in the corner of the fridge where no one ever looks
- Goldfish can live up to 3 weeks without food
- Clothes don't need to be washed after you've only worn them once. A cheap bottle of Bath & Body Works perfume will keep your stuff fresh and clean for a few more rounds
- Taking silverware from the caf/Marty's isn't stealing 'cause they let you give them back at the end of the year without question. Take as much as you want. I think I had a full place-setting for a family of four by the end of last year
- Ramen noodles and pizza become a staple in your diet, and even turn into their own major food group category: , the "broke and hungry" food group
- After you've graduated and someone questions something you may have done in your past, you can easily excuse it with the phrase "while I was in college" and they'll understand
- As long as you're on the college internet network, you'll never have to purchase a CD again
- You get really good at math and word problems, i.e. "You have 2 large pizzas for 16.99 and 8 people going in on it. How much does each person pay including a 15% sales tax?"
- Space management becomes your forte. You're able to turn a 10x10 square foot cubby hole into a bedroom, office, and living room. The hot pot becomes its own kitchen
- You appreciate the eventual day when you'll get at or above the poverty level

Here it is: your Moment of Cute

Ok, the Daily Show has its "Moment of Zen," I am now giving you your "Moment of Cute" so here it is:

Why females should avoid a girl's night out after they are married...

The other night I was invited out for a night with "the girls." I told my husband that I would be home by midnight, "I promise!" Well, the hours passed and the margaritas went down way too easy. Around 3 a.m., a bit loaded, I headed for home. Just as I got in the door, the cuckoo clock in the hall started up and cuckooed 3 times. Quickly, realizing my husband would probably wake up, I cuckooed another 9 times. I was really proud of myself for coming up with such a quick-witted solution, in order to escape a possible conflict with him. (Even when totally smashed...3 cuckoos plus 9 cuckoos totals 12 cuckoos = MIDNITE!) The next morning my husband asked me what time I got in, and I told him "Midnight". He didn't seem pissed off at all. Whew! Got away with that one! Then he said, "We need a new cuckoo clock." When I asked him why?, he said, "Well, last night our clock cuckooed three times, then said, "Oh shit.", cuckooed 4 more times, cleared it's throat, cuckooed another 3 times, giggled, cuckooed twice more, and then tripped over the coffee table and farted."

Bad friggin week

Today has been a shitty kind of day. My neighbor next door, the one with the alarm clock issue about a month ago, keeps playing opera music way loud early in the morning and then sings along with it. This is while I'm trying to sleep after being up really really late studying last night, as well as after a big test I took that day before. I was due for a whole good night's sleep. While she has a really nice voice, hearing it bellowing through the solid brick wall at 7:30 in the morning just makes me want to do the thing Ariel had done in The Little Mermaid (where she loses her voice) until my alarm goes off at 9:15; then she can have it back. Morning went as usual after that until I got to biostats. I studied my ass off, hours and hours for that test, and I did horribly on it. My study buddy got an A. What the hell am I doing wrong? I haven't had a life in weeks because of the ochem test friday, the biostats test yesterday, the health test tomorrow I just remembered about an hour ago, and the DAT 2 weeks from tomorrow. I cried for a good half hour after getting back to my dorm today. All this hard work and lack of friends and lack of sleep is getting me nothing, no rewards, no benefits, nothing. All for me to pay $1000 towards applying to something that doesn't even seem worth it anymore. I've done everything for these people, I didn't drop out when my father died at the beginning of Junior year, nor did I drop out when my grandmother died 4 months later, or when my sister was in a serious car accident and ended up with a neck brace 2 months after that, or when my mom was hospitalized for complications from surgery and needed 3 blood transfusions, yep, you guessed it, that same year. Most people would've committed suicide by the end of that. I picked myself back up and got ready for the next blow. The thing that really stung at the end of all that was when the dental schools said "well we see that your father died, but your grades that year are low." That's like saying "we see you were pushed off a hundred-story building, but you broke your arm" as a reason I didn't get in. Assholes.
I completely got off subject there. Oh well, I need a good rant, cry, shoulder to do the aforementioned, and SOMETHING to go right for a change. Maybe this is God's way of saying it's my turn for the lightning bolt to hit me. It's hit everyone else in my immediate family, I'm just waiting to get struck.
I'm going home this weekend. Maybe it'll be a good recharge and 'reset' button for me so I don't lose my sanity before Christmas break.

Halloween Prank

Jared toilet papered my room in honor of halloween yesterday, so I decided to get him back. Later that night, while I was hanging out with him, he ditched me to go to La Rana, leaving me feeling awkward alone in his room. So I decided to mess with his sh**. Now keep in mind, Jared earlier that evening taped a ton of opened (unused) condoms all over his neighbor Jay's door, so Jay was happy to help me.

There are two things you need to know about Jared before I continue:
1. He hates zombies, and
2. He hates the French.

Jay came in and we put a big creepy zombie as his wallpaper and added a halloween screensaver. Then Jay password locked it.
The password: i love the french
The password hint phrase: f--- you Jared

I wasn't satisfied with just that

Jared has this "baton" from the frat he was in, which is actually a dildo that's a replica of Ron Jeremy's 'member'. I found the Ron Jeremy and hung it underneath his roommate's bunk of the bed, hanging down pointing at Jared's pillow. I figured he'd come home drunk that night and just crawl in without even seeing it, then look up and have it one-eyed staring at him. I then added shaving cream to it, making it look like it came on itself, making sure to leave some hanging off the end so it might possibly drip on him if he fell asleep under it.

I still wasn't quite satisfied.

His roommate suggested, "take his sheets." I figured it would be too obvious if the entire sheet set was missing, so I took the fitted sheet only and hid it under his bed, then covered his bed up so if, again he came back drunk, he'd realize in surprised annoyance that it was gone.

That still wasn't doing it for me, so I found the condoms I supplied Jared with earlier (to tape to Jay's door) and unrolled one onto each of Jared's glasses temples. These were lubricated condoms too.

I stopped back down to see if he was back, and I had perfect timing. First it was Joe (Jared's RA, also my RA last year). He returned to a room that, in the words of Jared, "looked like spiderman [came] all over". We (Jared, a bunch of his cluster mates and I) toilet papered the crap out of it earlier. So Joe picked up all the TP and threw it onto Jared's bed. This was a heaping pile of toilet paper. Right after he walked out of the room, Jared came back. Of course, first he noticed the TP on the bed. Then he went to his computer and discovered it was locked. Jay eventually told him the password and made Jared type in "i love the french" to fix it. Next he saw that his sheet was missing, which then his clustermates took the opportunity to tell him something else was messed with in his bed. He then proceeded to crawl into his bed to see if something was hidden inside, not seeing the dangling fallace right in front of him, and ran forehead-first right smack into it, shaving cream and all. It was shortly after this point that I high-tailed it out of there. Even though he was messing with his computer first, and sat back down at it after the aforementioned run-in, he still hadn't noticed the glasses that were right next to his left arm. I didn't stay to catch that discovery, but he IMed me later to say it was all lame, probably to make himself feel better about it all. I went to bed feeling pretty proud of my Halloween prank :o)

friendships with the opposite sex

I'm starting to think it might be impossible for me to have a good plutonic friendship with anyone. I have remained on good terms with my ex boyfriends to the point where I'm in one of their upcoming weddings, and all but two of them have apologized to me for how they treated me during the short time we were together. But for the most part, I seem to be incapable of maintaining a good friendship with those of the opposite sex. I'm referring to the types of friendships where we'd call each other on a regular basis for updates, and be able to turn to each other if either of us has had a bad day, etc. This is an exception with TJ of course, as he is my best friend of the male persuasion, but I don't consider that to be plutonic, I'm marrying that one. I can never seem to get my guy friends to open up to me and be able to come to me with good/bad times. My one, "closest" guy friend here at school doesn't even stop by to hang out ever, I usually have to initiate everything. Am I just too much of a "girl" to be close to guys? Is the fact that I'm even blogging about this my downfall? Even as a tomboy when I was growing up I seemed to repel boys from being my friend. Teasing was our only form of communication, and that still seems to be a factor for a few of my current ones. I love my girl-friends, but it's nice to have some guy friends to put a male-spin on the world too.