Freeeee

So I haven't blogged since May. Long time.

Things have been really exciting around here... heh.

I've been working in a pharmacology lab at my previous school of higher education. It's been pretty fun actually -- the best summer job I've ever had. A lot of that has to do with the fact I don't have to be there until 9:30, so I can sleep in past 8am sometimes. Woo!

So the most current problem in my life (besides having to pack up my apartment) has been the fact that my iPod quit working correctly about 2 weeks ago. This is a major problem for me, as my CD changer is in the trunk of my car, and I quite frequently travel distances in excess of 2 hours. I like driving, but a lot of that is based on the fact that I get to just listen to music and not worry about anything. SO, you can imagine my distress when I had to shuffle through the same 5 CDs for.... like 15 or 20 hours in the car. It got a little annoying. I like Green Day, but they really just sound whiney when you listen to them non-stop.

So I set up an appointment at the Apple Store here in Fort Worth. Since apparently you have to schedule time a DAY in advance, then wait 45 minutes for them to tell you "This is way out of warranty, and I can't see what's wrong by shining a light into the headphone jack. What's that? It doesn't work through the headphones jack or the other one (I don't know the name of it... the one that you plug into the computer or charger)? That's really strange. Try restoring it."

Yeah dude, I know its really weird, that's why I came here to ask about it before I buy a new one because I'm dependent on your products that are probably a ripoff but you know, whatever.

Also, the guy kind of looked like this chemical engineering TA that I had... long scraggly blonde hair, with some facial hair going on. Heh.

So I leave the Apple Store slightly annoyed, because I could have spent that time at home packing, or at least acting like I was packing. I get home, and decide to look up my problem online to see if there's any other solution other than spending over $200 on an iPod comparable to my current one. So I find my problem on some unofficial and official apple forums... No sound through headphones or dock. Apparently if you press on the corner of the iPod, the sound should come on if its the same common issue... So I do that, and I lo and behold I hear SOUND!

This doesn't really mean a whole lot, because at the time, the posts I read on the website were from like, 2006 or 2007. So then I keep reading, and find out that people had called Apple Support, and if they spoke to a supervisor or something, they'd call this a "manufacturing defect" and even if it was out of warranty, they'd replace it with a refurbished or new iPod.

So I call, talk to someone. And I'll be getting a new iPod. Which is really exciting, especially since I do NOT have the money to buy a new one.

So that's the most exciting thing that's happened to me in the past couple days. And now I hopefully won't have to ride in the car for 2 very long road trips without my iPod. Well, at least one of them. I guess it won't be here before this weekend...

I get to go to the beach this weekend! I'm excited about it, despite not really liking the actual BEACH. I mean, I like listening to the waves and stuff, but sand? It's just annoying. And it gets in EVERYTHING. But I'm going to see my cousins and aunts and uncles and grandma, which will be interesting, if not fun. heh.

And now I must get back to packing. Hmmm what is this "Monetize" tab here in blogger...?

One is the lonliest number...

Lately I've been thinking about my impending move to the new apartment. I am quite excited to be leaving my current location, as I kind of always thought of it as temporary and so I never quite made it feel like home. I also am quite over the whole one room, sleep on a futon thing. It will be nice to have a bed to sleep on, a couch to sit on, a table to eat at, etc. As it is, I pretty much use my futon for all three of these things. I suppose it is rather versatile. Also good for housing guests...but that is beside the point.

Although there are many things to look forward to, I think the thing I most look forward to is having people around. I miss being able to come home and briefly tell someone about my day. I will like having roommates around, particularly on the weekends when you are just kinda lazy during the day and want to hang out at home. I will also be glad that I can more easily host guests. While I can do that now, I just don't think my place is a very comfortable/fun place to be. It seems now that if I want to see people, I have to go out of my way to find some activity and invite people to join me. Which is fine, but I miss the college random hang-outs that occurred. Remember when your friends could just kind of stop by, or when you spent an hour throwing a ball around your bedroom laughing hysterically? (Ok, maybe that last one was just me. And maybe I have thrown/kicked a blue ball around with friends in my current apartment as well. But you get the point.)

So the whole moving thing sounds great, right? Obviously, the PHYSICAL moving/packing/unpacking is not the best thing ever, that I don't look forward to, but the end result is key. Anyway, I guess the whole point of this post, is that it is just now hitting me. I've spent the last year (plus a month or so) living by myself. I've gotten used to doing my own thing, going out of my comfort zone a bit, and not having to answer to anyone. Now, all of a sudden, I'm going to be living with two roommates (three, if you count the cat), and I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it. I'm sure it will be fine, but for some reason it kind of makes me think of when I first moved away to college and all the worries I had. Except now it's kind of the opposite. I am not scared of being off on my own (which was an underlying fear when moving away to college), but now I am afraid of losing my freedom.

I hope this is not misinterpreted. It's not like I expect that I will be a prisoner in my house or something. It's just the freedom to do things how I want without asking if it's ok with everyone, or the freedom to leave dirty dishes in the sink, or the freedom to invite whoever I want over without having to check with people first. Not that I think my roommates will mind a ton about all these things, but it's just a small concern of mine. How will I handle losing a bit of my freedom?

Meh, I think it'll be better in the long run. My dream in life is to have a huge house that all my friends and family live in together. Maybe like that giant hotel in the Shining, except not haunted and creepy. Anyone interested?

Meat Loaf Madness

You know the Meat Loaf song "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)"?

Here's a link if you are not familiar with that 7 minutes and 23 seconds of awesomeness:
Click Here!

Anyway, today I realized that I would do anything for love...but that. And "That" for me is making a World of Warcraft character. Once you go down that path, you can never turn back.

Where did the last year go?

Seriously though. What just happened?

This is my one year anniversary (give or take a day or two) of moving to Chicago. It feels like it's been awhile, but at the same time, senior year seems like only yesterday. I guess it is interesting to think of the new friends I've made, and all the new things I've experienced, and how I am kind of a part of this new city now. At the same time, however, I'm not sure if this is truly my HOME yet. It takes time, I know.

I guess a lot has happened since I've blogged last. Visits, parties, games, trips to Germany...you know, the usual. This week I feel semi-nostalgic. I miss Germany (ok, I was there a few weeks ago, but it was so pretty and green and European!). I miss GSP (that should be starting soon). I miss running around Louisville, and I miss walking around ND. I'm not sure what made me think of these things, but good times. Oh yeah, I also miss my friends. I guess. (let's see if any of them even read this anymore...)

Ok, on to real life. I am getting excited about moving out of the teeny weeny studio and into an apartment with a BED and a BEDROOM and ROOMMATES! You underestimate the roommate until you live on your own, and suddenly feel 100x more lame for staying in and being lazy. At least with roommates you can stay in and still be semi-social! Man, having my own bed will also be really sweet. You take it for granted. But I guess it makes travelling and actually staying in a bed that much more exciting! (Wow, I sounded really Pollyanna-like there.)

I am also excited about the nice weather (whenever that will happen!) because it means opportunities to go to the beach! That is the one thing I still can't believe about Chicago...the beach is pretty legit! I hear it's supposed to rain this weekend, though. Boo.

Two exciting recent activities were Maifest (like Oktoberfest, but in May!) and trivia night. The first trivia night was better than #2, mostly because we kind of sucked the 2nd time around. Oh well, there is always next week! And Maifest was cool because, well, beer, brats, and lederhosen. You get the picture.

In other news, I am now working in a very large building on a fairly high floor, and now have a desk next to a window, which is pretty nice. I find myself taking pictures more often than is normal. Oh well, I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually, but for now it's new and exciting!

That's really all I can think of to say. Sorry this entry was all over the place, but I felt like I should give some sort of overview of my life. I mean, I guess it doesn't matter, but FOR THE SAKE OF THE BLOG! THE BLOG MUST GO ON!

Uh oh

So I told someone I would blog this week and she even commented about how her friends don't blog on her blog and so I just figured I'd have to since today is Saturday and is almost the end of the week!

Boo ya.

So Julie's in Germany. She can talk about that when she returns.

I graduated from my 1-year master's program, and am currently taking a break before I hopefully start working in a week or two.

I have three weddings on the lineup to attend... The first one is May 30th.

Bachelorette party next weekend for my friend Jessica. That should be fun.

I'm about to leave to go to a crawfish boil in a few minutes. I think I've been to more this year than ever, so that's cool.

The Grey's Anatomy season finale was crazy and I don't even like that show. I must say I didn't see the end coming -- Maybe I'm stupid, but I was surprised.

Hmm... So that's all for now. This is really just here so Susie won't complain to me. But she probably still will.

Ticket lottery

Wow! It's been over a month since we've blogged, and lots has happened! St. Patty's Day, Crawfish Boil, multiple Backer visits, oh my!

But I am not here to talk about these things. Sorry. Maybe Katherine cold fill you in on those. No, I am here to talk about the nice little ND Football Ticket Lottery application I received in the mail today.

So the first thing in this packet is a letter from the AD. I will paraphrase it for you:

Dear Person who gave us money in return for the CHANCE to POSSIBLY buy football tickets,

Thank you for your interest, aka $50+ "donation," in our football team. We hope that we won't suck so bad this year.

A long time ago we decided to raise ticket prices every year, and this year it's supposed to be $3. We know the economy is bad, so we've considered this long and hard.

We know that no one has money, the economy sucks, and a $3 increase blows. Why should we raise prices when everyone is hurting monetarily? We think we probably should not go forward with this increase. That would be the nice thing to do. We probably don't need any more money for our athletic program.

BUT...since the $3 goes towards furthering the CATHOLIC mission of our CATHOLIC university to inspire people and emphasize how CATHOLIC we are, we've decided that we do, indeed, want your $3. I mean, it's only $3...that's practically NOTHING! C'mon guys, we've got to think of the CATHOLICS out there!

But just so you don't feel so bad, we have done some shady stuff with our athletic budget, allowing us to save money other ways. So don't be surprised when you see a jumbotron advertising Adidas and Coke and whoever else decides they want to give us more money. Remember, it's for the CHILDREN!

Go Irish!

Sincerely,
(scribble scribble)
Not Kevin White

Yeah, that was cool. Anyway, along with this nice letter, there was also a pamphlet with rules about contacting student athletes. I just learned that I pretty much can't even talk to anyone who plays or may ever play any sport at the University of Notre Dame. Being an athletic supporter (which has a very open to interpretation definition) is kind of like being a registered sexual offender...you are on that list for life! And much like a Registered Sexual Offender, I better stay the HELL away from any hot, young, under 18 kids OR ELSE. Boy, that makes me feel special!

I bet I get shut out of the lottery again this year...BUT THE JOKE'S ON YOU ND!! I managed to go to EVERY HOME GAME last year! Heh.

My biggest fears

While I was in the shower just now, I decided to think about my greatest fears. I am such an optimist, right? (ahem...sarcasm) So for your reading enjoyment, I shall list them below:

• I actually have a tumor growing inside me somewhere, and since I never go to the doctor, it won't be discovered until it's too late and I die a painful death.
• One day I will be unable to resist the urge (yes, I actually do kind of have this urge) to touch the el train as it drives by me, and I will lose my balance and fall onto the tracks and get electrocuted. Or...someone pushes me onto the tracks while I am looking to see where there next train is, and I get electrocuted or hit.
• I will be in a really high floor of a building when it is on fire or collapsing or something 911-esque, and unable to go down that many floors to safety.
  
• I will marry a man who later turns out to be a pedophile, and all my friends and family see him on "To Catch a Predator" and I am super humiliated. Worse if we have kids and he abuses them.
  
• I am actually really REALLY bad at graphic design, but no one has ever told me because they didn't want to hurt my feelings.
• I am actually the smelly kid, and again, no one told me.
• Some of my memories are, in fact, fabricated.
• I find out a deep, dark secret about a member of my family that causes me to completely change the way I think about him/her.
• I have done/said something really bad or really embarrassing while asleep.
• I have a gas leak in my stove and it fills my tiny apartment with carbon monoxide while I am sleeping, I die, and people donn't realize for days.
• People are just pretending to like me.
• There are rodents living in my apartment/house. Seriously. This is super scary to me, and I have no idea what I would do because I couldn't even check the traps without freaking out.
• Someone breaks into my apartment and rapes/assaults me. Or even just watches me sleep, because that would be creepy as hell.
• I am actually living in an alternate reality and none of this is real (like the Matrix).
• I am actually a man and I will have to come to terms with my new gender identity (and yes, I realize this one is pretty much impossible, but you never know, I could be a freak of nature).
• I get really, really obese.
• I fall from a really tall building. Worse if I just break my back but am still alive to feel the pain and live the rest of my life paralyzed.

That's really all I can think of right now. Hopefully none of these things actually happen, but if they do...well, that would suck I guess.