Thus Far...

The first two days of school have come and gone, and I somehow made it through. It was so weird starting on a Thursday...but I guess it was nice to only have two days of class before the weekend! I miraculously woke up at around 7 AM each day, and had time to eat breakfast and take my time getting ready for the day. Eating a good breakfast with a cup of coffee, as well as snacking between classes, helped significantly in getting through the day. Particularly on my 9:45 AM - 5 PM days. But it wasn't just food that got me through; I think I'm starting to feel somewhat "normal" again (knock on wood). By that, I mean it wasn't like pulling teeth to get through the day. I did have moments in class where I was struggling, but that's to be expected. And trudging around campus in the heat wasn't easy either. But I was actually able to do it all, which was a huge relief. Next week will be the true test of how the rest of the semester is going to go, however. We'll see if I can get through an entire week of classes. I think I can, as long as I keep taking care of myself.

I'm excited about my classes! I'm taking Modern, Ballet, Transition Projects (our senior capstone class), 3rd Year Creative Practices (which focuses on community dance; I'm taking it to make up for the semester I missed), and a Shakespeare class. It feels so great to be dancing with all my favorite ASU students and teachers again. And I'm especially excited about the Shakespeare class! My teacher rules. Which is so great...a class can be ruined so easily by a boring teacher. But our teacher is really funny and, more importantly, passionate and enthusiastic about the material which makes his lectures fun to listen to. And I love that his favorite Shakespeare play is Cymbeline. Such an out-of-the-ordinary choice. We'll be reading that later this semester. We have a ton of reading to do each week, but hopefully I can handle it.

I'm nervous about my capstone class, mostly because adjudications for the senior project concert are in NOVEMBER. That's in like five seconds. Meaning I have to get my project together enough to be adjudicated by then...Gahh. Luckily, I've been researching and brainstorming all summer on the idea I'm thinking of pursuing: a piece about the Red Scare and Cold War tentatively called Duck & Cover. I've always been obsessed with that era, and especially with Soviet propaganda, so I think it'll be a meaty subject to choreograph about. I just hope I can get everything together in time for adjudications.

I'm really enjoying living alone so far. My apartment is cozy and the complex is really nice. Living alone is by nature a little lonely, but in a good way. It's so nice to come home to my own space and not have to deal with being around people. It's peaceful and very liberating. Plus my amazing kitty is always around to keep me company! I'm still getting settled in and STILL have cleaning to do at Jonathan's (starting school kind of had me sidetracked), but hopefully I'll be all done by the time Kaylene comes to visit next week. :)

That's about it for now. I'm leaving you with a snippet from an anti-Communist propaganda film that I discovered on YouTube while doing research for Duck & Cover...hopefully it'll teach you how to sniff out those evil Commies!

Jitters

It just hit me tonight that school is starting in a couple of days. I'm kind of freaking out. I really can't stomach fucking up another semester. I desperately need it to go well. Or, if it truly feels that I'm not meant to be in school anymore, I at least want to make it through the semester. I don't want to randomly disappear in the middle. I'm sick of that.

I think the main thing I'm scared of is keeping up with self-care. On Monday/Wednesday/Friday, my schedule basically has me in class from 9:45 AM to 5 PM. Echh. Granted, I have hour or so breaks inbetween each class, but still. On days like that, I need to be sure to eat breakfast and have lunch and snacks and enough water packed to get me through the day and keep my energy up. I'm scared that I'll fall behind on taking care of myself, and then it'll just snowball until I'm a complete mess all over again. As I said before, I really can't stomach that happening. Fortunately, My Tuesday/Thursdays are much less daunting, as I only have two classes and am out by 2:45. Hopefully I'll be able to recharge on those days.

Aghhh. I'm still nervous, though. :/

Moving Day!

Today is the day! I'm sitting here all awkward while the movers load all my stuff into the truck. I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to be doing. So I thought I'd write.

My poor Ragnar kitty was scared shitless when the movers arrived! As I knew he would be. He ran up on the counter and tried to hide behind the stuff on top of the fridge, which didn't work out too well. He finally ran into the back room and I shut the door so he could freak out in peace.

Even though today is moving day, I still have a couple of small boxes that aren't fully packed yet, like toiletries and kitchen stuff. But they're light enough that I can schlep them over by myself later. Then there's a lot of stuff in the garage that is all going to be recycled or going to Goodwill, and I have to pack that up and get rid of it. Then there's a massive amount of cleaning to be done before I'm officially moved out. So I've got a good few days of work left here. But at least I'll have the majority of my stuff over at the new place, ready to be unpacked. My goal is to be completely settled in by the time school starts.

The movers are just about ready to go, so I'll sign off for now. Think happy, efficient thoughts for the cleaning/unpacking process!

Tangent Triptych

I) So much packiiiiiiing. The worst part of moving. I have about a billion of those small banker boxes packed (I refuse to subject movers to a huge box full of books) and I'm only about halfway done. Aghh. It'll all be worth it, though. I have to keep remembering that.

II) Today I put together my dining room table. It was a stubborn little bugger, but I DID IT. And it looks supercute. Take that, you tricky IKEA Swedes! You can't fool me! I've discovered that putting together furniture yourself is both infuriating as all hell and completely satisfying at the same time.

III) My Mom and I unpacked all the little appliances we bought and the stuff I got for my birthday. My kitchen already looks like a kitchen! Only it doesn't have food in it yet. Ha. But at least it looks cute!

And that's about all I can muster right now. I'm a sleepy girl who has lots more packing to do tomorrow. *sleepy wave*

Movin' On Up

I got my keys today! And I got to see my apartment. I was worried that mine wouldn't be as cute as the unit I saw on the tour, but I was wrong to worry because it's ADORABLE. Cute little living room and dining room, cute little kitchen, cute little everything! I'm so excited to get all my stuff in there and start unpacking and decorating. The rest of the day was spent buying and putting together a coffee table and TV stand from IKEA. I usually suck at putting things together, but it actually wasn't too bad at all! The only bad thing is that the coffee table ended up being bigger than the TV stand and it looks a bit awkward...oops. I'll figure out what to do about that later this week. Tomorrow my Mama and I are heading back to IKEA to buy bigger furniture like a sofa and dining room table, and then possibly head to Target to get some kitchen stuff (I got a lot of sweet kitchen stuff for my birthday, but still need a few appliances like a blender, coffee maker, etc).

Woo-hoo! I'm so exciiiiited. I'm trying to fall asleep, but I'm too antsy. I keep thinking about stuff to do and lists to make and flipping through decorating ideas.

In other news, I stopped by the new Oregano's that's opening up in south Tempe to drop off an application. Unfortunately, they already hired enough people for the opening. Damn it! But the manager said that they may need more people in about a month. I'm crossing my fingers that they hire me then, because I reeeeally need a job. I had fun filling out the application; I hope they get a kick out of my responses. One of the questions asked about the funniest thing that's ever happened to you--I chose the time I fell down in an elevator full of people at IKEA while wearing a skirt! Bahaha. It was fun to reminisce about that shining moment in my life.

Whaaaat a day. And it's only the beginning. LOT'S to do before the movers come on Saturday!

Antsiness and Earlybird Daydreams

I'm ridiculously antsy.

There are all these big things coming up soon--getting my keys, moving into my apartment, starting classes, and potentially getting a job. But the dates for all these things are approaching at a snail's pace. I just bought a lovely new planner for the upcoming school year (I'm obsessed with planners!) and I keep opening it; staring at and touching the pages as if that will make time go by faster. I'm going crazy just waiting! I want all these things to hurry up and HAPPEN! I want my keys so I can start decorating! I want the movers to come so I can settle in! I want classes to start so I can have more things to do and jot down in my planner! I want a job so I can have some semblance of financial stability! But even waiting a day to get my keys feels painful.

Aghhh. HURRY UP! I'm losing my mind waiting around!

I've been daydreaming about the upcoming school year. Over the past couple of weeks, I've been going to bed early and therefore drifting awake early. Waking up early gives you so much TIME. So much that I don't even know what to do with it at this point. I'm hoping that I'll be able to wake up early once school starts so I can get some things done in the morning. I have fantasies of doing early morning yoga, of watching Disney movies and sitting down to a breakfast of half a grapefruit with a poached egg, toast and coffee, of going for a swim before class, of taking morning epsom salt baths (I just read an article about a dancer who does this every day to warm up her muscles for the day ahead). It all sounds so amazing. I'm praying that I'll actually be able to do it instead of oversleeping and rushing to class out of breath. For once I'd like to feel well-fed, warmed up and generally prepared for classes. Send earlybird vibes, pleeeease!

Where's my Marshmallow Shooter?

I've been completing various tasks over the past couple of days in preparation for my upcoming move. I got renter's insurance, paid all my move-in fees, set up my water account, and scoped out cable/internet prices (which are absurdly expensive). Today I went down to SRP and set up utilities in my name. Then I signed my lease! I'm pretty much all set to get my keys! Which I'll be doing on Monday, and then the movers come next Saturday. So I'll have the week to shop for furniture and pack. SO. EXCITED. I was so overwhelmed when my complex handed me this daunting list of scary tasks to do, but I managed to do them all. And on my own. AHH. It doesn't sound like a big deal, I know, but you have to understand that I basically don't know how to do shit. So it's a big deal to me. I kind of feel all adult-like. Except I'm a fraud, because a real adult would have a job by now, which I don't. Although there is a new Oregano's opening up in Tempe, so maybe I'll apply there? Who knows.

I've been devouring Parks and Recreation lately. That show is a little tough to get into because the first season is a bit awkward, but then it takes off and becomes ridiculously hilarious! I highly recommend it. There are so many moments when I had to pause it because I was laughing so hard! Anyway, I watched an episode today where two of the characters are essentially taught how to be adults. But at Bed, Bath and Beyond, they totally buy a marshmallow shooter along with all their home gadgets. That's more my style! After a day of adult-like tasks, I'm ready to do something silly like buy a marshmallow shooter for equilibrium.

I'M SO EXCITED TO MOVE! KEYS IN TWO DAYS, MOVING IN SEVEN!! Now I just have to pack....Eek.