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Uhh, yeah, I haven't posted for a long-ass time. This will probably be a long post, just as a warning. I'll try and categorize it the best I can.
The Rest of Thanksgiving Break
It was pretty uneventful. Saturday night we went to Branmore's for steak. It was yummy. I had filet mignon, medium rare, which was the best thing ever. I didn't even touch my baked potato, but with a steak like that, why would you? And yummy wine and yummy banana foster. It was a nice meal. Drive back on Sunday wasn't too bad, either. Though while we were driving through NY back to Buffalo (Tricia driving at this point) a semi-truck decided to tail-gate us going 80 miles per hour - scary. And it was nice to have Liz H with me on the drive from Buffalo to Ithaca, so I was never alone, although I did get lost going to her house. Ahh well. When I got back to Ithaca, I was EXHAUSTED. I fell pretty much right to sleep and stumbled to class the next morning. Managed a parking ticket. Damn
I think the worst part about break was the fact that I was supposed to go with my mom to visit my grandmother at the nursing home, and she didn't wake me up to take me, and then I never felt right about going again. I know it might sound funny, but with everything that happened, I was wary about going without my mom there. Also, part of the reason I went home was because of everything that's happened in the past few months, and it just seemed kinda pointless. Whatever.
Phi Sigma Pi Celebrations
Can I just say that I had the best time at the formal than I have at any formal we've had? Herb, Bolcar and Helen were all there, which was great. Will awarded me with my Service Key, which was really nice. I got to give all of my friends big hugs afterwards, yay. (I still miss that Vinny and Adam were not there.) Ryan got a Service Key. Congrats to him. The five Service Key wearers all took a picture together next to a fireplace, which was cozy and nice. I danced around and chatted and looked good in a not-low-cut red dress. Herb brought Jeff with him to Ithaca, so I got to introduce him around. Because my car was parked far away (relatively, for the icy ground and hills) and Herb's was not, I got to drive his car, which I always enjoy. Then the after-party... people normally don't leave our parties drunk, but apparently a lot of people did. Let's attribute that to lots of vodka shots in the kitchen. There was also wine a-plenty for those of us who like to drink it, and apple-pie-shots a-plenty as well. Even Anthony took one, which was a huge surprise. Once everyone left, Herb, Jeff, Liz H and I went to the diner, which felt like old times. We went the next night as well. So yah, I had a lot of fun. :-)
Project Work
My group is really starting to get to me. We met on Wednesday during Study Week to work on our proposal, and it just ended up in me getting very very frustrated. Basically, there was a section of it (the Problem Statement) that needed some work - I felt it needed one thing, whereas everyone else thought it needed something else. I couldn't adequately describe it to them, and they wanted me to just sit there and write it, and of course I can't write like that.... so yah, I just sulked, in typical me fashion. We moved on, and I was quiet, so they asked me to participate, but every time I did everyone got angry and bitchy. One guy was like, let's just do whatever we need to in order to make Liz happy. And that's not what I wanted at all - I just wanted a good proposal. In the end, I left them to work on the problem statement (after we'd worked on everything else), and then when our advisor still didn't like it (which I knew would be the case) I rewrote it (and our advisor loved it). *sigh* I hate being right sometimes, and having to fight for it - it would be so much easier if I had just been wrong and could move on. Also, two people in the group can't be back before Jan. 12, AND have to leave during those two weeks for various things. I'd like to go to Boston during that time, for Herb's party, but at least I'm willing to come back earlier (if everyone else was). But alas, no. I wish other people would put more of a priority on this project. We eventually got the proposal done, and now I really don't have to worry about anything until January, but it's mad frustrating.
Finals Week from Hell (and the Drive Home)
I don't know if it's possible for all the stuff that happened to me to have actually happened, but it did. Let's see where to start...
Friday, Dec. 12: I decide to look at my Time Series take-home final (worth 60% of my grade), which I thought was due Monday, Dec. 15. I see that it was due the day before, actually, and start hyperventilating. I email the professor, begging for forgiveness, and then spend the next 8 hours working on it. Finally get it done, print and turn it in, along with emailing the professor a copy, still begging for forgiveness. A few minutes later, I get an email saying I can have an extension until Monday. I basically collapse from all the adrenaline flowing through me, and watch TV the rest of the night. I feel a cold coming on late that evening, so I go to buy supplies: ice cream, Nyquil and Dayquil, ginger-ale, throat drops. Good stuff.
Saturday, Dec. 13: I wake up really sick. Not much I can do about it. I continue to drink my ginger ale, and study for my Linear Algebra final, which is Monday. Studying involves typing up theorems and definitions, since we can bring cheat-sheets. Sometime in the afternoon, I go to buy A Beautiful Mind on DVD, because I need to watch it for Game Theory. I notice something is wrong right when I get to the mall, and it turns out I have a flat tire. Herb was going to talk me through putting the donut on (which would have been interesting, given the cold and me being sick, wearing mittens and holding a cell phone) but then a nice man in the parking lot changed it for me. Being in the mall made me nauseous. I go home, do a little more Linear Algebra, watch the movie, do a little more Linear Algebra, and go to bed.
Sunday, Dec. 14: I wake up, still sick. I spend the ENTIRE DAY working on the Linear Algebra notes. Around 10:30pm, right when I'm looking at being done soon, I hit a keyboard command that closes my doc without changes. Because apparently the doc was too large to save after 2 PAGES, I lost 17 pages of notes, which was almost all of it of course. I continue typing, but now I'm really upset. I lost 2 more pages of re-typed stuff later, which sucked even more. Go to bed feeling hopeless about the next day's final.
Monday, Dec. 15: Wake up, still sick. I decide not to move my car from its metered spot, since it's buried under a lot of snow. Continue working on Linear Algebra notes. Print notes that I have, walk to final (Ho Plaza has not been plowed, boo). Take final. Come home, go check on car. My car is covered in over a foot of snow, both on top of it and around it, and the lovely Ithaca Police Dept has helped out by clearing my car enough to give me a parking ticket. I later track down a shovel, and spend half an hour shoveling out my car so that I can move it to the other side of the street, but unfortunately not an unmetered spot.
Tuesday, Dec. 16: Wake up, still a little sick. I go to move my car, but it won't start! I had run it out of gas, smart move. I give up for now, and go in to take a shower, my first in like 5 days. There's no hot water. By now I want to crawl into bed and never come out, but I go to proctor an exam and grade papers anyways. Poker that night was fun, of course, even though I lost $15, which I don't consider a bad thing.
Wednesday, Dec. 17: Uneventful studying and sleeping, saw Lord of the Rings.
Thursday, Dec. 18: Take Game Theory final. Being done for the semester feels good. Go to try and get flat tire fixed; but of course it can't be. My mom pays for 2 new tires for me over the phone. Lots of cleaning.
Friday, Dec. 19: There was lots of cleaning, watched a movie with Ryan, took a shot with Cat to celebrate.
Saturday, Dec. 20: The drive home. I drove Scott home, because he lives in Wheaton. Our first stop for gas was somewhere near Erie, PA. I got off of I-90, put my foot on the break, car started to skid, I freaked out because there was a car in front of me, hit the brake harder, and the car spun out of control and ended up in a ditch. Yeah. I was in a ditch. No one was hurt, and amazing, no damage to the car that I can tell. Luckily I have roadside assistance from my friends at Hyundai. So we called for a tow truck and were just delayed for an hour. The rest of the trip was uneventful. Uncle Nick and Aunt Lola were here when I got home, so we exchanged presents with them. The usual money and candy for us girls. My parents got a wine fridge. My uncle got Ghettopoly. I'll never look at Monopoly the same way (and I already have issues with it).
So yeah, that was my last three weeks or so. Sound like fun? Ohh yeah. Now I'm at home, sleeping on an air mattress (for now - last night it failed to stay inflated and I basically slept on the floor) and trying to keep the cat from eating Cat's hamster. Tomorrow I'm going "Christmas shopping" and to my mom's work to say hello. I'll probably update again after Christmas.
- Lizzardie, at 12:08 AM
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