Update!

[rachelleneveu]

Hoo, boy, it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these.

 

• It’s cold out here. Cold and grey. No snow yet, but it’s coming…I can feel it.
• I need a haircut. And a second bookshelf. And eyeliner and new leggings and hand lotion and a new spiral notebook and maybe a pony. We’ll see what happens.
• Money’s been kind of tight, lately – I have exactly $27 in my checking account right now and I’m still looking for a new job. But I get my paycheck at the end of this week, and I’ve got two checks from babysitting that I’ve got to deposit on Monday, so at least I’ll have something to hold me over.
• I’ve been looking at grad schools and am trying to figure out where I want to go (and how the hell I’m going to pay for them, but that’s another story): Chicago State University, UT in Austin, and Rutgers are currently at the top of my list, with Albany and UB hanging at the back. And UB’s presence on there isn’t permanent, either – their Library and Information Department is amazing, but they’re also dangerously close to losing their accreditation this year and nothing is going to be certain until March.
• But the fact remains that I have come to absolutely hate being in school. I know I need it, I know, but it leaves me feeling stupid, like I can’t cope as an adult because I can’t write an essay that works or draw in a fucking map or remember how to conjugate –er and –ir verbs in the preterit tense. And the fact that I’m going to be stuck at Buff State for not one, but two more semesters after this one is making me hate it even more. God, I’m so dumb, sometimes: this whole “extra semester” thing could have been avoided if I just knew how to count like a human.
• The only good thing about it is that the Music Department? They’ve finally opened the Chorale to everyone, not just Music majors. I still have to register for classes, and I need to take science and math and I think one more Spanish class, but no one is going to be able to stop me from getting into that choir. No one.
• Also, one of the things that’s keeping me going right now is the fact that at least this winter, I’ll be going someplace warm: close to New Year’s, Harper and I plan on driving down to South Carolina to visit our friend Meaghan and spending the holiday there, and in January I’m going to fly down to Florida to visit my grandmother for a few days. I’m excited! And not just for the possibility of experiencing warmth and sunshine!
• I saw McBuff two nights ago and my hair still smells like a bonfire. He’s doing well: he’s got a new girlfriend, his time is almost up at Paul Smith, and he’ll either be going back to Alaska this summer or to California to help fight the forest fires. I’m proud of him. :D
• I missed seeing Ruby while she was home, though, and I feel absolutely awful about it. I miss her. Soon as I can, I’m going to find the time to drive up and visit her at Brockport.
• Tessa came home for Thanksgiving on Tuesday and she’s going back to Potsdam today, which means that my parents are making the long drive with her – my dad because he’s the one who will actually be behind the wheel, and my mom because she hasn’t seen Tessa’s new place yet. It is 15/16 hours round-trip, so it’s good that my mom’ll be there to take over if my dad gets tired, because Tessa is not to be trusted behind the wheel of a car (and not just because she’s about three inches above being legally declared a “little person” and can’t see over the steering wheel without a couple cushions. No, really: this is both true and hilarious.).
• Speaking of, my mom is fine. Her Roswell visit went well and so far, there’s nothing to worry about.
• But on the other hand, my dad’s having knee replacement surgery next month (on the 20^th) and I’m nervous. My mom can’t take off work so I’ll be the one going with him, and God, I just…I don’t know. He’s still waiting to hear back from the lawyer about what’s going to happen with the woman he got in an accident with, which is good because his knee was never this bad – seriously, he sometimes has trouble walking, it’s that bad – before the accident, but the whole thing is just messed up on a couple different levels. I know I'm worrying too much, but I can't help it. It's what I do in situations like this.
• I'm trying to finish up the two or three stories I've been working on, and I'm sorry to everyone I've been neglecting, comment-wise. I feel like I'm being pulled in a million different directions right now and I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm trying to catch up, I promise. :)
• Also! I'm reading Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus right now, and it is fantastic. A definite must-read for people who like magic, mystery, circuses, illusionists, life-threatening competitions, and (unintentionally creepy) redheaded twins, or any combination of the above.

Alright, so that’s what’s going on with me. Right now I’m finishing up my Spanish homework and making cookies at the same time, and I’ve got to get back to the oven. Catch you all later, lovelies.