1. Was accepted into Trinity's Master of Arts in Teaching program, so that means I'll be sticking around here in ole San Antone for another year. I'm excited - this is the program I've been preparing for since I was a freshman, and now it's an actuality. But...it's so safe. All my other friends are doing internships, applying to grad schools, or job-hunting - they're fighting tooth-and-nail for options that they don't know for certain that they will pursue, to start careers they aren't sure will be their life's work, and are generally living the open-ended lives of graduating under-grads. Is it weird that I envy that? Not knowing what the future holds?

2. I need to stop smoking so much.

3. Remember Patrick? I probably mentioned him to some of you. Well, for those who care, that is done and done. History. Finished. Etc. I'm not upset at all - it was very brief, and mostly just about figuring out if he was somebody I wanted to be with, or if he would drive me out of my mind eventually. It turned out to be the later, and he's already started seeing someone else. I'm a little bitter on principle - the fact that his turn-around time was so fast (from total strangers to dating in a month and a half? Really?) makes a girl wonder how forgetable she is. But you know what? The general attitude I'm taking is less boo-hoo and more fuck-'em. I would have been settling, if I'd decided to get serious with him, and I never want to settle. So that's that.

4. Dear Horoscope: I would really appreciate it if you would stop mocking me. Thanks. Love, Allison.

5. Realizing now, at the end, what a different kind of college experience I could have had, given a few minor changes. I could very easily have turned into a party-girl, or a complete whore to my school-work and never had any fun. I tried to walk the line in between, and have actually discovered that no one gets recognized for taking the middle-way. The party girls get attention, and the nose-in-a-books get to graduate with cords. But oh well. It's done now, and I try to avoid regret at all costs.

6. Have discovered that happiness is 15% circumstance and 85% mindset. That is the sappiest shit ever, but I'm sticking to it.

Okay. I need to go to bed now. Accomplishment?

HAPPY 2009!

Here is to the end of one of the strangest years I've lived through, and to a new year full of exciting changes. I love you all, and wish you all the best!

I'm itching to get another piercing, but I can't think of anything I want badly enough to spend $40 and commit to 3+ months of healing time. I've already got my right tragus pierced, and a rook piercing on the left - I'd like to get something to compliment the tragus. But what? A snug? Another cartilage? And of course, there is always the possibility that I'll have to take some/all of them out as soon as I start my student teaching (IF I start my student teaching - turned my application to the grad program at the end of October. Won't hear back until the beginning of December. Eep!) Decisions, decisions.

Also - where the heck did November go? I swear - October ended roughly 30 seconds ago, and *POOF* we're already two weeks into November. And I thought registering for my last semester as an undergrad was stressin' me out. I don't want to be done, yet! Make it slow down!

First day of classes, of my last year as an undergrad. Eep!

Hmm hmm. Things to report:

1. I'm going back to school in two days, and I'm slightly panicked. Where did summer go? For that matter, where did the rest of my college career go??

2. I have been writing lately, which is something I haven't done seriously since high school. I've got two story-lines going at the moment, actually, and they are both bouncing around my head, nagging for my attention and demanding to be worked on - especially now, when I should be packing for school. Bah, creativity.

3. My little brother was in a car wreck! D: He's fine - another car crunched into his back-left corner as he went through an intersection - but the car is unhappy, as are my parents.

4. I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that I will probably never want to date anyone who goes to Trinity with me. For some reason, the brand of boy my school attracts is completely undatable - at least by me. Where can I find a nice crop of boys who are cute, but not stuck on themselves, nerdy, but not social failures? They've got to exist - I'm sure of it.

5. I saw Pineapple Express. It was good-ish.

Probably won't have time to update again until classes have started (the 28th or so). In the mean time, stay out of trouble!

Summer has slowed down to an alarming crawl. I still don't have a job, and I feel very guilty about it - and yet, this still has not inspired me to go out and find one.

I've been meeting a lot of friends of friends, lately: mostly, my friend Leigh's high school cronies. Which has made me think about all of my high school cronies. And how I have absolutely no clue what 90% of you are doing or where you are, anymore. Who is still in school? Who isn't? Who is working? Who is dead? Etc.

So: fill me in, if you please. What the heck have you guys all been up to, in the past, um, year? Or two?

Fuck you, nytimes.com. There you go ruining my favorite sub-genre/sub-culture by making it accessibly mainstream. Next thing you know, they'll be selling steampunk clothing at Hot Topic. Goddammit.







P.S. You know I'm avoiding writing final papers when I'm reading nytimes.com.

Some Quick Collegey-Type Updates

1.a. Nothing inspires sudden bursts of creativity quite like having a MILLION other things to do. I haven't been drawing in weeks - but of course, the moment I have two papers and an extensive annotated bibliography to be working on, I suddenly have a burst of ideas that I want to work on. Damn and Blast.

1.b. It is also notable that the only time I want to play video games is when I can't. I downloaded a ROM of Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, and I spent two or three wee hours of the morning when I should have been summarizing sources for my John Donne paper playing it. Why yes, I will graciously accept your nomination for Procrastination Queen.

2. I will not be working at the HRC again this summer, which is unfortunate. I need an alternative job, and nothing is forthcoming. Blarg.

3. The World Hates Me Because: though my computer has decided to work again (I never did get up the courage to go get the ITS guys to fix it) my external hard-drive is freaking out, and I have no access to the music on it. Which...pretty much leaves me with what I've got on my iPod (which is a borrowed 4GB iPod mini, so it's not much). WHINE WHINE WHINE.

4. Writing out LJ entries in numbered lists is so convenient as to be oddly addicting. I can't decide whether it is a bad habit or not.

5. I can't wait for summer. All I want to do is go back to my room, play Minish Cap and draw. I'm getting pretty tired of this whole "school" bit. Done time now, please?

Does anybody else worry about/get creeped out by this?

1. Trinity, as usual, is kind of useless. Turns out, I did get an RA position - over the break, they sent me an e-mail they pretty much said "Haha j/k sry! You've got a spot in Prassel! YAY." So all that panic over not having a roommate was for nothin'. Prassel isn't ideal - it's the dorm farthest away from the academic buildings, and it's an uperclassmen dorm, and I wanted to be with the ickle firsties - but's its also the newest building, and is therefor prettier, cleaner, less ghetto-ass-falling-apart, and bigger than the other dorms, AND I will have a room to myself. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

2. I'm currently reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, and I am OBSESSED with it. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of time to devote to reading it - much too much reading for class to do - but I sneak in a couple pages whenever I can. It's about two early 19th century british magicians (the title characters), and it is brilliant. Everyone should read it. Now.

3. And also - my computer is dead. I thought my external harddrive was just being cranky, but after turning both it and my laptop off and on a bunch of times in order to try to get my laptop to find the music files on my harddrive, the laptop simply refused to reboot. I turn it on, it starts to load, then goes to a blank black screen with a ticking white marker at the top left corner, and stays there. I don't really want to take my laptop to the on campus computer help center, either, because its run by a bunch of comp sci major boys who drip condescension to any girl who has computer problems, because obviously it is the fault of her gender that she is so incompetent as to have allowed her poor, neglected computer to deteriorate to such a state. That, and they play World of Warcraft until someone shows up who needs help, and they get irritated when you interupt them. Oh, excuse me, kind sirs - don't mind the fact that ALL MY SCHOOL WORK is trapped on a computer I can't access. Please, return to slaughtering pixel rendered images of imaginary creatures. Sorry to disturb. Grr. I'll probably just have to suck it up and take it down there anyway.

In conclusion - nothing is as awesome as a bunch of good grades when you were expecting mediocre ones. WINNER.

EDIT: I just noticed that all of my moods for the past 10 entries or so have been either "busy" or "tired." Hah. This is fairly indicative of school in general.