Random thoughts

I love dance. The thrill of the pre-show excitement is getting to me. Tonight we had practice with everyone for the entire show, and on Wednesday we will have a full dress rehearsal. Friday and Sunday are our shows! I am SO EXCITED to wear that tutu on Wednesday. You have no idea. Last semester I wore a leotard and shorts for my dance...not as much fun as a tutu. Seriously. Tutus rock.

You never realize how much something becomes part of your routine until it's not there anymore. Dave lost his cell phone last week (and it stayed lost for an entire week), and never before then had I realized how often I texted him (and received texts from him). It was strange, I'd go to check my phone and have no message (apparently, not many other people text me...). Which also meant that as the week progressed, I checked my phone less and less often, reverting back to my being terrible at owning a phone ways. Any of you that know me at all know I almost never answer the phone on the first try. Or sometimes the second. Sorry about that.

A quote : "The biggest change associated with the transition from [graduate school] to working life was the abundance of free time. Being a dedicated student can represent an 80-hour per week commitment (or more). My newly-minted engineering position required 37.5 hours per week. That gave me roughly 40 hours of time - about 33% of my waking time. What to do with all those minutes?" - James Berardinelli

We are on the final stretch of the semester. It only gets better from here. In the summer, I will convert to a full-time worker instead of a full-time worker + full-time student. And then the following two semesters will be 100% easier than my first two, mostly because I can take a few 400-level classes instead of all 500-level, AND I will be DONE WITH FLUIDS!!!! The combination of fluids 1 followed by fluids 2 was exhausting. I am ready to be done with the 38%'s on tests and spending 20 hours a week on one homework assignment (without even finishing). So ready.

This weekend is not only my dance recital, but ALSO relay for life! If you'd like to still make a donation (even a very small one, any little bit helps), then see my previous post :-). I will be walking the sunrise shift. Excited!

I quite enjoy my friends. The engineering grad student ones are fantastic, and spending the weekend at Relay with them will be excellent. But I wish I saw the non-engineering ones more often. I ran into an old friend from high school on Sunday in the library, and it made me realize how much I miss her. Seriously. There are a lot of people in my life that are so close here, and yet I never get to see them. I need to try to make an effort to see people not immediately in my circle of regular people I see. I'd also like to get to know my roommates more. They are quite awesome as well.

Those are my random thoughts from the past few weeks of non-blogging. Sorry about that guys, the semester's kicking into its final crazy mode. But that's okay, because while the work is hard and sometimes frustrating and long, my life is still wonderful. I am surrounded by great people and an awesome God who loves me more than I ever deserved. That's all I need. :-)

Also, I can't figure out how to get all of the typing into one size. Blogger is silly like that sometimes... so for now the first half of this post is smaller than the second. Whatever.

Relay for Life

And now for a shameless plug:

I am participating in Relay for Life here at Penn State in 3 weeks. It raises money for the American Cancer Society, which is a cause that is very close, almost everybody. I've lost 2 grandpas to cancer, I've watched 2 friends battle cancer, I've watched a coworker battle cancer, and I have a handful of close friends whose parents or other family members are currently battling cancer. That's a surprisingly large number of people in just my life that have been closely affected by a disease that harms so many.

As readers of my blog, I ask you to prayerfully consider donating to this cause. Here is a link to the page:

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY11PA?px=12452334&pg=personal&fr_id=30825

I hope that link works, but if it doesn't, let me know.

Even a very small donation would be a big help :-)

Thanks guys!

Here's a pretty picture from one of the other Relay for Life's I have participated in (July 2008, picture taken by me at sunrise):

The Stand

This is my absolute favorite song ever. We sang it in church this morning...it always reminds me of the Urban Plunge trip I took with InterVarsity my freshman and sophomore years of college, because that is the first place I heard it. Here are the lyrics. And here is a video (purely for the audio...the video doesn't have anything special in it visually). Good words to reflect on.

"The Stand"
by Hillsong United

You stood before creation
Eternity in your hand
You spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand

You stood before my failure
And carried the cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon your shoulders
My soul now to stand

So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart, Oh God
Completely to you

So I'll walk upon salvation
Your spirit alive in me
This life to declare your promise
My soul now to stand

So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart, Oh God
Completely to you

I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the one who gave it all
I'll stand
My soul Lord to you surrendered
All I am is yours

Come to think of it...I probably already posted these lyrics on an earlier blog because I am having deja-vu doing all of this now... but that's okay. Good song anyway :-)

Impossible goals

I don't like them. I have a strong thing against them, actually. On Thursday I was incredibly frustrated after a meeting with my adviser, when she told me and the other grad student who is working with me that she wants 6 tests done before Tuesday. Let me break this down for you about how impossible this is:

1. Traditionally, running a single test has been a commitment of 10+ hours at least. Doing 6 tests, therefore, would theoretically take (if everything goes as it has before), 60 hours. Technically it can be done faster if we get really good at our jobs suddenly. But for right now, the estimate is 60.
2. There are 5 days between Thursday and Tuesday.
3. There is a weekend between Thursday and Tuesday.
4. There are other things that need to be done BEFORE we do three of those tests.
5. I have homework. And things in my life other than this job. I like to occasionally eat, sleep, and hang out with my friends.

So, on Thursday afternoon (at 3pm...so the working day was already almost over...), I had 60+ hours of work to look forward to between that moment and Tuesday. I was upset. Visibly upset, at that moment in time. I fumed about it the rest of the night.

Impossible goal. I WILL NOT work 60 hours in 5 days, over my weekend. I will not do it. And I haven't. But I did go into work today for 6 hours, and I am planning on going in tomorrow for about 2 hours...even though technically I should get the weekends off.

It's just frustrating. I like my job, I do have fun while I'm at work, I like my project, and I think my adviser is very good at advising ... but I can't hit impossible goals. Let me work at the (already ridiculously fast) pace I am going at. 6 tests can be done in about 2 weeks. Let us take that time to do it correctly. And let me leave work once in awhile to enjoy the rest of my life.

On a happier note, last night I went to the Creamery and ate delicious ice cream. Dave and I discovered bunnies. By 9:00 last night, I kind of understood my fluids homework after 2 weeks of floundering in it. And today I get to do ballet. Life is good.

Laundry

The first thing I do when I become a real person, with a real, permanent (ish) apartment or house, is install a washing machine. And then I won't have to drag my clothes outside in the snow in the dark in order to wash them.

It's up to you, New York, New York!

The engineering grad student take-over of New York City: Success. The pictures pretty much sum up our weekend.

I am currently in the center of Spring Break, and am really enjoying it. I am still in State College and working, yes, but I have no classes (and am ignoring homework). After work on Monday, I went to a mexican restaurant for burritos and margaritas. On Tuesday I went to the dollar theatre to see Unstoppable. Tonight I went to Wegmans to buy some food so I can cook for myself the rest of the week, and then watched a movie and ate ice cream in my apartment with the boy. Life is good this week. It's like I have a real job, with no homework afterwards. I could get used to this...unfortunately next week brings me back to reality and I will once again have to be working on fluids and convection homework in all of my free time.

For Lent, I am planning on being more deliberate about my morning devotionals. I've slacked a bit the past few weeks, and need a more solid schedule. Instead of doing something silly like giving up chocolate for the sake of giving up chocolate, I'm going to be proactive with my Lenten goals. It's supposed to be a time to draw nearer to the Lord...and I will try to do just that. This morning I went to Mass at 7am; it was a pretty great start to my day and to Lent as a whole. Tomorrow I'll get up just as early to spend some solid time with the Lord in His word and in prayer. It'll be the best Lent ever!

On this date last year...

Dobbins caught fire. Watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp5eSbicHc4

Also, my grandpa died. It was a big day. A big few weeks, actually, some of the most travel-filled times in my life were spent between February 26 and March 21, 2010. Two grad school visits, an out of town funeral, and a spring break trip all coincided between those dates. Crazy stuff. Traveling is stressful! Except this weekend's travel plans are hopefully not stressful. Aha, we'll see how that goes...