This year for Christmas, I got a new phone. It's one of those fancy touch screen things, along with unlimited internet, texting, and calling, and I'm ridiculously excited about it. However, getting a new phone means leaving an old one behind--my beloved pink RAZR.

I got my RAZR on my 18th birthday, October 4, 2007. The very first picture I took on it, one of my car, which had been decorated by my friends for my birthday, that night after band practice, is still on it. Looking back to then, I realize how far that phone has taken me. It's something I usually take for granted, a way to communicate with friends and family. But it has been there for EVERYTHING in the past two years. My senior year of high school. Senior prom. Graduation. My first year in college. My first job. My first apartment. Best friends. Break ups. My phone knows me better than anyone on Earth, and for some reason, getting a new one feels like I'm not only upgrading service, but moving on with my life. I'm literally starting a new chapter of my life, along with a new decade.

A by-product of getting new phones (and new service) is that my dad will be getting rid of our home phone number--the same number we've had for 16 years. It has taken me through my entire life in Gainesville, which is all the life I can remember. It's funny how something as simple as a telephone--or a telephone number-- can be so attached to an identity. Giving up our home phone number means my parents are already pulling up roots, getting ready to move on with their lives and out of the house that I will forever know as my home. That thought is possibly one of the most saddening thoughts to contemplate, because I absolutely hate change. It scares the hell out of me. Will I ever find a new home? Or will I come back 20 years from now, when some other family with some other little girl is living in my house, and feel like something is horribly wrong with the world because my key no longer works there?

So why should I get so emotional over something as simple as a cell phone? It feels like I'm leaving behind a piece of myself and entering a frightening new world when I really want to run back home. Am I excited to have the internet at my fingertips at all times? Of course. But my little pink phone is a small part of the happiness I felt in high school that I always carried with me. It saw many late night calls to Miranda, my best friend, who would talk with me for hours about nothing at all. To my mother, either as just an update on my day, good news about grades, or sobbing and needing to hear Mom's comforting words. To Dad, just to see how he was doing. To Nana, as a "happy day" call, so she wouldn't feel lonely.

Now, I'm not saying I'm not happy now. I love the college life. Sure, I miss my parents like crazy when I'm there, but I have lots of friends and a new boyfriend to keep me company. What I mean is that life was a lot more simple two years ago. I saw my 5 best friends every day. After school, we would hang out in the parking lot, at McDonald's, in the band room, or wherever two or three of us happened to congregate. I miss having a support system that strong, one that was built on years and years of friendship. And that is a kind of carefree attitude that I don't think I can ever find again. I watched a video of our halftime show from junior year and got incredibly nostalgic for those days and fun I had in them.

One thing that I'm determined to take with me, on my new phone, is this text message, saved for over a year and sent by my very best friend: "I love you too, man. And I'm not only glad you're in my life, but grateful as hell." Like my phone, she's been there just as often--although fortunately, I'm not leaving her behind anywhere.

Well, this is going to be a relationship post. It's not so much for other people to read, but for myself. So here we go.

I finally found him. The boy I mentioned in my last post and I have hit it off--we are "together", Facebook official and all. And, to be honest, I'm ridiculously happy and terrified at the same time.

With Boy, I feel like I've found something different--a person who cares for me exactly the same as how I care for him. He's not dating me because he's bored. I'm not forcing something to happen that has no basis. He likes me. Me. Not someone I've pretended to be, not some persona that I put on to try to make him fall for me. Just plain old Stephanie. And for someone with a lot of insecurities, it is a balm for a sore heart that has been rejected ten times more than it has been accepted. He doesn't seem to care that I'm not 120 pounds, blonde, and gorgeous, like so many of the girls in Athens are. He thinks (or so he has told me) that I'm funny and sweet and cute, just the way I am. After years of looking, I've finally found what I've always been looking for, and to top it off, I can't help but smile when I think of him.

On the other side, now that I have him, I'm scared of losing him. I've never really had a relationship before, just a lot of dating--what if I do something wrong? What if, after everything, I somehow drive him away?

So, I have good news and bad news. First the bad news.

On December 5, 2009, Mr. Wiggles died. He had a respiratory infection due to stress and being too cold (I left him at a friend's house over Thanksgiving, and it didn't go well). The vet told me he would be fine, but by Saturday afternoon he was lethargic and unresponsive. He passed on the way to the animal hospital. While I'd only had him a few months, I became attached to him. He was the first and only pet who was completely mine-- I bought him, paid for all his stuff. He was my companion in my first apartment, and kept me company when I felt alone or frustrated with my roommate. He was the first thing I saw in the morning and the last I saw at night. It broke my heart to lose him, and I didn't realize the full extent until I came home last night and saw the empty hole where his cage used to be. No matter what happened in my life, he was always a cute, sweet presence when I felt distanced from the people I love or stressed out from one too many papers. I miss him, I love him, and I only wish I had taken him to the vet a few days sooner. RIP Mr. Wiggles.

The good news is that I met a boy. I like him, and he seems to actually be interested in me--I'm not the one doing the pursuing. I can be myself around him, which is another big plus. He also happens to go to UGA and live in my hometown, which is ridiculously convenient. I don't have my hopes up quite yet, but I like where this is heading. My mom always told me something would find me when I least expected it--maybe this is it.

Sick, sick, sick. This is my little corner of drugs in my bathroom-- cough drops, Cepacol, cough medicine, antibiotic, Mucinex, Vicks VapoRub, Nyquil, and Chloroseptic. I hate sinus infections. I once had a sinus infection that lasted somewhere between 6 and 8 months (my fault, I didn't take all of my antibiotics... but my symptoms were gone! And I just left one of them!), so I'm quite familiar with them. The coughing so hard my lungs pop out part is my personal favorite. Fortunately, I think I'm mostly better? Or I'm just so drugged up I don't notice it as much anymore.

In other news, I really want to see Men Who Stare at Goats. Anybody else with me?

Happy Halloween! Well, belated Halloween. This is my super awesome pumpkin that I carved, as well as the tasty chocolate candy Miranda and I made.

This year, I wasn't particularly interested in anything I saw at Party City, and I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg buying a costume (especially since said costume would then look funny with one leg/arm missing). I racked my brain for days for something I could be that I could just make at home or use things that I already had--and then I realized I'm an idiot. Easiest costume in the world? Biker. My parents are bikers and have tons of stuff, so the only thing I had to buy was a leather skirt (which turned out to be a "pleather" skirt made out of 90% PVC and 10% polyurethane. I was a walking flammable pipe.). I went to the annual Halloween party my sorority throws in my biker costume--it was a lot of fun!

For the actual Halloween night (the party was on Wednesday), I was at home. This week is Fall Break. I'm pretty sure it will always be Halloween weekend because Halloween weekend happens to coincide with the GA/FL football game, which is always held in Jacksonville, since it's neutral ground, and they want to allow everyone to drive down. So, we get Friday off, giving me a three day weekend. I get out of class at noon on Thursdays, so I was home by about 1:30, giving me a three and a half day weekend. I spent it doing absolutely nothing. And it was amazing.

I did dress up to hand out candy with one of my friends, using my Greek goddess costume from last year. She was a cat. Now I'm sitting in my apartment, gearing up for another busy week. I was also sick earlier this week--didn't go to class Tuesday because of a 100 degree fever. I'm better now, although my throat is still sore and I have a lot of sinus drainage. Hopefully a lot of drugs will cure me!

Today... well, today was an interesting day.

Let's start with the back story:
Yesterday, I got a flat tire (on the tires I just got a month ago). Not just a slightly flat tire, oh no, I mean the rim was sitting on the ground and the tire was just a rubber pool underneath it. I, of course, have no idea how to change a tire and was completely useless. Fortunately, Randa's dad has a towing company, and he sent someone out to put the spare on for me--after being stranded at a friend's apartment for about 6 hours.

So today, my dad came out to Athens to get everything fixed up. He took me out to lunch, yelled at the stupid tire guys who put an off-brand kind on instead of Bridgestone, bought a new one to replace the one that I apparently ripped to shreds, and sent me on my way.

I went to my College Republicans meeting and then went back to my apartment to have a quiet night of reading and watching TV.

Then, there's a knock on the door. I open it and am told that I am being kidnapped, so I need to go get my shoes and jacket. It is apparently not acceptable that I haven't seen Toy Story 2, so my wonderful friends came to force me to go watch the Disney 3D Toy Story and Toy Story 2 double feature. I have to say--if this is what kidnapping usually involves, it should happen more often.

So, I've been completely AWAL for about a month. But, to be fair, I've been celebrating my birthday! And a slew of other things.

October 4 was my 20th birthday, and it was amazing. To kick things off, I had dinner at Olive Garden with about 23 of my closest friends. I felt so loved! And did you know that they now charge if you want to take home extra breadsticks? It's ridiculous!



On my actual birthday weekend, I went home to spend time with my family. I spent that Saturday watching an embarassing loss to LSU by my Georgia Bulldogs and ate a HUGE steak dinner that night. On Sunday, my dad and I went to the Metallica concert!! Best. Birthday. Ever.



The next weekend, my best friends came to my house. We carved pumpkins, went to dinner at O'Charley's, and saw Zombieland, which, to my surprise, was actually pretty good. A little gory, but funny--a good Halloween zombie flick.



This past weekend, I spent Friday and Saturday with 15 of my Xi Delta sisters at our fall Sister Retreat. It was a weekend of basically being really lazy and hanging out. We watched movies, the Georgia game, and laid around in our pajamas all day. Then, I went to the Gold Rush Festival with my mom!

Finally, I've planned a trip to Disney World for the weekend before Thanksgivings. One of my friends did the Disney College Program, so she is getting us in for free. So, this weekend is semi-formal, then Fall Break, then Homecoming, then a home football game, and then my Disney weekend, and then Thanksgiving! I'm busy but I love it =]

No picture today, because this is just a really short post.

Today, my life changed forever. Why, you ask?

Thanks to some genius at mylifeisaverage.com, I discovered that by typing (^^^) and
<(") into Facebook chat, you will get a shark and a penguin, respectively. :putnam: makes a little man.

If you have Facebook, I suggest you try it. It will rock your world.

Today started out as a normal Sunday. My mom got me up. I went into the living room. I said good morning to my parents. My dad got up and went to the kitchen. He came back with an envelope...WITH METALLICA TICKETS INSIDE!!!!!

Metallica is my all-time favorite band, and they are coming to Atlanta on October 4th, which just happens to be my birthday! So they gave me the tickets today, because I'll have to make plans to go back to Athens that Monday morning. My parents are awesome!

I also bought a rainbow-colored GIANT umbrella today that also happens to fold up small enough to fit into my bookbag. It both opens and closes with a button. Amazingness? Yes.

While walking through Belks to get the umbrella, I happened to see, out of the corner of my eye, a gray, black and red dress on SALE! It's the perfect colors for a Georgia game, which I will be going to this weekend (most likely in the rain, since this monsoon isn't going away for another week). I also had a ten dollar off coupon, so I got ridiculously good deals on both umbrella and dress.

One of my good friends got back from a cruise recently, and brought me back a t-shirt from Nassau, as well as some of my favorite body spray in a scent that has been discontinued. Oh, and I took a nap. Basically, I had a good day.

Now off to have some of my favorite frozen yogurt, Cool Mint Cookie. Yum!

RAIN.

Oh my God it has done nothing but rain for the entire week. Every day, it's drippy, and wet, and puddly, and... rainy. Sometimes it's a really good drenching, other times it's a fairly decent drizzle, and occasionally a weak little mist that coats your glasses so you can't see (which I'm wearing until this weekend, when I can grab another pair of contacts). And when is it going to stop? There's not a single sun to be found on the weather forecast until next Saturday.

Yesterday, I ran to the mailbox. It was not raining. Halfway to the mailbox. It started raining. Not just raining, oh no--POURING. I was drenched within five minutes, and I even had to go change clothes. Not cool. I like rockin my super awesome Republican rain boots, but there's only so much stuff I have that is navy blue.

IT'S SATURDAY IN ATHENS! GO DAWGS!

Okay, well, it was Saturday, two days ago. I've had an amazing weekend. Seriously, these are the ones that are the ultimate college experience.

Friday, I went to a birthday dinner for one of my sorority sisters. There were about 22-23 of us, and we took up about half the restaurant. It was awesome =]

Then, later that night, I went to Phi Kappa Theta's Margaritaville...a frat party. Yes, I know what you're thinking (or at least what Miranda's thinking). You? Stephanie?? At a party??? I figured that I should go to at least one real party before I graduate, so I did. Surprise, surprise, I actually had a lot of fun! I talked to friends, met some new people, and finally got to see what the inside of a Greek house looks like. (Word of advice: bring your own toilet paper to frat houses. They tend to run out in the girls' bathroom).

Saturday was game day! We played the University of South Carolina and won 41-37. It was simultaneously the best and most stressful football game I've ever been to. The score went back and forth and back and forth, and we didn't know if the Dawgs were going to win or not until the last SIXTEEN SECONDS. It was fourth down, three yards from the goal, and USC has an incredible passing game. The receiver missed the ball in the endzone though, and at that moment my voice hit octaves I didn't know it had. It still kinda sounds funny today.

Before the game, I tailgated at the Phi Kapp house and with some of the Xi Delta alumnae, and after it I went to Waffle House with a couple of friends. We determined that Waffle House never tastes better than after 12 AM.

Yesterday, I finally talked to the roommate about the disgustingness that was our kitchen. I came home to this:



And it was unacceptable. So hopefully from now on it won't be as bad. I still have to talk to her about the whole her boyfriend is living with us thing, but one step at a time.

Also, I might be going on a Disney cruise for Spring Break?

Life is good!

Eight years ago, I was in sixth grade. The one thing I will remember about 9-11 until the day I die is standing in the lunch line and saying that I guess the Pentagon's a square now.

Say a prayer for the victims and their families of the attacks. They certainly haven't forgotten, and neither should we.

Okay... so I'm going to try really hard to not make this the rant about the roomie blog a permanent thing. Hopefully this will be the last time for a while.

I leave for class tomorrow at 8:15. My roommate leaves at 7:45. Her boyfriend does not have class until 2:30, so he won't be leaving until a lot later. Now, from what I've heard, he has no intention of getting up and leaving when my roommate does. So.. he's going to be here, and get ready for class here, by himself. Alone. In my apartment.

Now, I've tried really hard to remember if the old roomie and her boyfriend ever did this, and I honestly can't. I don't think they did. She usually got him up when she had to go to class/work, and he would go up to his own room and go back to sleep.

The roommate doesn't get out of class until 2:15, but I get out at 1:10, so in all likelihood, he will still be here when I get back. He can't leave, because he doesn't have a key and therefore can't lock the door.

Should this bother me? I feel like I'm being too picky, but for some reason I just really don't like that. It's one thing for the two of them to be here, but just him? By himself? I really, really don't like that, but they've already gone to bed, and I didn't realize it until just a few minutes ago, so I can't bring it up. It just solidifies the whole "living, not visiting" thing.

This is my roommate's toilet.

Ew.

I happened to come across this when I went into her bathroom to get dental floss (I asked first!) and OH MY GOD. You know those bathroom cleanser commercials where they show their amazing product wiping away all the grime? I always wonder, who in the world would actually let things get that dirty. Well... now I guess I know. Seriously, how hard is it to pour Lysol in the toilet and swish a toilet brush around it? I'll tell you. It's not.

Once again...

Ew.

To clarify, this is not Randa, my old roomie. This is new roomie, who shall remain nameless. What shall I call her? Noomie? New + roomie?

I have mushrooms in my plant.

My mother has a green thumb. Seriously, she can grow anything--she even saved a tomato plant that my dog ate until nothing was left but a little stick. I have never taken care of plants before. I water them from time to time when I'm at home, but for the most part that's my mom's domain, not mine.

To make my apartment look homier and warmer, Mom bought me three plants--two for inside the apartment, and one to go next to the front door. I'm supposed to water the indoor ones once a week, and the outdoor one twice a week, since the heat and sun makes the water evaporate faster. When I went to water the outdoor plant on Thursday, I noticed something... there were giant mushrooms growing everywhere!

Mom says this is because it's getting too much water, but I'm just doing what she told me! One Big Kahuna's cup worth of water twice a week. So instead of forgetting to water it, I've somehow managed to cultivate mushrooms. Great.

So, I'm in my ecology class. We've been talking about population growth and today are focusing on overpopulation in China and the resulting one-child law. People who had more than one child had to either pay massive fines or were often sterilized. As a result, many people started to come to the States to claim asylum. A lot of people opposed having them here, because this was not a reason for us to let them in and because we had to worry about our own overcrowding. Okay, that makes sense.

But why is it that we cannot let the Chinese in, who were being sterilized, but the millions of illegal immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries are okay? I don't get it...

This is the only picture that has anything to do with me in all the pictures that my roommate has taken of "our" new apartment. (Yes, that is a shot glass with butter in it. I melt it to put on my popcorn). Why? Because all of the other ones are of her and her boyfriend. He's on the couch, they're cooking dinner (a picture with a caption--"our first meal")...even though I'm sitting right next to them.

I really and truly don't mind if he's here. I knew he would be, and from last year, I'm used to having significant others around fairly often. What's different between this year's roommate and last year's roommate, however, is that he lives here. He sleeps here, has clothes here (I'm pretty sure), showers here (at least a couple times that I know of), eats dinner here, does homework here. Does that sound like living here to you? It does to me.

Again, I really don't mind that he's here. But, for instance, he has done laundry here. That's my water bill what I am paying for. He's taking advantage of all the amenities of an apartment--a private kitchen, for example, which the dorm he lives in does not have-- but he is not paying for them. There is a difference between visiting often and living. He is living, and not contributing anything. He is apparently incapable of putting anything in the dishwasher, for instance. He's diabetic, and has to drink a lot of juice. However, he doesn't reuse the same glass, so they just build up next to the sink. My roommate isn't much better about it, and while I know I'm not her mother and shouldn't clean up after them, I don't want to get ants from sugary juice left in a glass for days. Also, we alternate taking the trash out, and my roommate didn't want to do it, so she asked her boyfriend. His response? Why should I, it's not my place. If you're not going to help pay for things, the least he could do is help keep it clean.

Of the two weeks and a half weeks I have spent in my apartment, I have spent one of them with just Emma, if I'm not by myself. She's one of my good friends, but we don't get to have any time alone. There's no "girl talk", because there's a guy around. I understand that he has become her best friend, especially after last year when this is how they lived. She stayed in his dorm every night because it had a private bathroom, she didn't get along with her own roommate, and because, of course, she wanted to spend time with her boyfriend. I get it. But, seriously, this violates the terms of our lease. We can't have anyone "visiting", for over a week. After that, that person is technically living with us, and we're not supposed to have third roommate.

I know I should talk to her about it, but it's a touchy subject. I told her I didn't mind if he came over (which I don't), and I don't want her to feel like I never want him here again, which just isn't true. But when I said I didn't mind if he was here, I didn't realize that meant every single night. I also don't want things to be awkward between us, or for her to get mad at me. I don't do well with conflict, and I'd hate to live with it. But if I want a girl's night, I have to schedule it. In my own house.

Don't get me wrong, I love my roommate, and I'm glad I'm living with her. I just needed to vent for a bit =]

Hello world, my name is Mr. Wiggles, and I live in Stephanie's bathroom.

I have a new member of my family! I've bought myself a teddy bear hamster. It's not quite the rabbit I had in mind, but he's adorable and I love him already. I put him in my bathroom mostly because I didn't have anywhere else for him to go, but also so I can close the door to block out noise/smell. He went through several names. I originally thought Gizmo, but he doesn't look like a Gizmo. Then there was Gus-Gus, Angus, Fat Louie, Sir Poops A Lot... and then Mr. Wiggles!

I finally moved into my apartment! I actually moved in last Friday, but today was the first day of class so there are just all kinds of new beginnings. This is my living room, or one view of it, anyway (I picked the one that didn't show the white couch that I don't really like).



This is our kitchen. I didn't get to choose the wallpaper, unfortunately, and it's a little loud. I also expected to really hate the table (yellow 50s era Formica), but it turned out to be really cute. Yesterday, I even baked a potato yesterday. And a pie! Which is a big deal for someone who doesn't cook.



I really love my bedroom. It feels exactly like the one I have at home, so I'm really comfortable there. Not to mention, that's the furniture I used when I was little, so it's like reliving my childhood! I even have a TV in it, which I've never had before.



And I have my own bathroom! No more dorm community bathroom! It's kind of small, but I don't have to wear flip flops in the shower or carry my shampoo with me.

So this is my humble home. It's so nice to have a place that's separate from school--I don't live, eat, and go to school in the same little area.

My GOD I have a lot of clothes. I figured out the full extent of that today when I started the daunting task of tackling my wardrobe to pack it up for the apartment. I'm entirely too lazy to fold, pack, unfold, and hang back up in my new closet. Instead, I got a whole bunch of new hangers (black and green) to take with me that I'm going to put my clothes on. I'll just throw them in the car and hang them up when I get there. Now, most people wouldn't be as anal as me about what hangers they take with them. I want all plastic hangers though (no wire hangers!) and roughly the same color. This means re-hanging most of my wardrobe. Yes, I'm crazy.

I didn't realize exactly how much stuff I've accumulated over the years. I've taken a lot of my t-shirts out, folded them, and put them in drawers/in boxes in the attic to make room for other things. But even after that, I had 42 t-shirts hung up. 42, just in my closet! I have 11 Old Navy tank tops, 10 pairs of jeans (I had more but took them to Plato's Closet earlier this summer), 25 short sleeve shirts, 8 camisoles, and 6 cardigans. Holy crap! When did I get all this stuff?! I don't remember going on a massive shopping spree. I don't even remember going shopping all that often. I'm in college--my money goes towards food, textbooks, and massive amounts of caffeine. Did the clothes fairy pay me a visit in my sleep?

After all that though, my closet is actually organized for one of the few times in my life (at least until I move all of it on Friday). It's not in color order, because I'm not quite that OCD (Miranda), but it's separated into long sleeves, short sleeves, t-shirts, dresses, skirts, shorts, trousers, jeans, cardigans, sleeveless, tank tops, and camisoles. In the way back is all the stuff I'm not taking with me (there's not much of it). In honor of this, I decided to document this momentous occasion by taking a picture. It'll probably never be like this again.

Today was the ultimate lazy day. I spent the night at a friend's house last night (sadly because I'm addicted to her Nintendo DS. I want one and the Rhythm game!), and in the morning I came home to a nice, homecooked breakfast. Then I took a nap on the couch for an hour and took a shower.

After the shower, I gave my dog a bath. I painted a couple of picture frames. I watched Legally Blonde 1 and 2. I made and ate dinner. Now I'm watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel (best TV week of the year). I'm seriously considering doing my nails.

That's it. That's all I did all day. And it was awesome =] This is what summer's about.

And my mom bought me a euro sham! Good day.

Over the course of two months, I wrote and researched 80 pages for my two study abroad classes, 30 of which was in the past two weeks--over three times the length of my senior thesis and in about half the time. But now, I am happy to say...

I'M DONE!!!

And I have to say, it feels pretty amazing. I can get up and just do whatever I feel like. I don't have to spend hours researching or trying to BS my way through a 15 page paper.

So now, I'm watching Australia with my mom while we pack up all the crap I'm taking with me to my apartment. I forgot what an amazing movie this is--anyone want to take a trip to the Outback with me? (And I don't mean the restaurant). Also, I'd really like to marry Hugh Jackman. Think his wife would mind?

I'm about to go start the daunting task of packing my clothes, which will probably take me the rest of the week. And I have no idea how I'm going to transport them all. Or maybe I'll just head up to the outlets and buy more...why deal with the problem when I can just add to it?

=]

Well it took me six months, but I finally reached my 111th post. I know most people do this at the 100th post, but I didn't have the time. So I will be celebrating today, on day Eleventy-one, by writing eleventy-one things about me.

1. I have a dachshund named Snoopy. He's lazy and good for nothing.
2. I also once had a hamster named Cookie Dough. He lived for three years and is now in a shoebox under my bay window.
3. I have a California King size bed that makes me room look three times smaller, but I wouldn't give it up for the world.
4. I kept a piece of my tail light from my first wreck. It's on a shelf next to the bed.
5. I'm an only child, and my parents spoil me.
6. I had a sister who died as a baby when I was two. Her name was Natalie.
7. The only kind of pizza I like is cheese.
8. I'll eat pepperoni or even hamburger on occasion, but it's not as good.
9. The only thing I can make from scratch is peach cobbler.
10. My favorite color is cerulean, but my room is green and yellow.
11. My apartment bedroom will be in green and pink.
12. Even though green's not one of my favorites colors.
13. I drive a gold 2000 Malibu LS.
14. I told my dad I didn't care what kind of car I got, so long as it wasn't gold.
15. It also happens to be the same color as dirt, so I never wash it.
16. If he'd wanted me to wash my car, it shouldn't have been gold.
17. I do like the sunroof, so I can't complain too much.
18. I've seen every single James Bond movie ever made.
19. I've seen most of them at least twice, except On Her Majesty's Secret Service because George Lazenby sucks.
20. I'm half British - my dad was born in Manchester.
21. I like Irish, Scottish, and Australian accents better than British.
22. At this very moment, I am looking up cruises for Spring Break to celebrate my parents' 30th anniversary.
23. Last time they took a trip like this was to Hawaii, and they left me back in Georgia.
24. It won't happen again.
25. Even if Dad is under the impression that I'm not going.
26. One of the most valuable things in life is a long, hot shower.
27. I like to play with Scotch tape.
28. I have three best friends, one of which is my mom.
29. My hair refuses to curl.
30. I have 9 different colored solid tank tops from Old Navy. I have an addiction.
31. I have matching flip flops for each one. Addiction number 2.
32. I have a pink Razr phone that I love, even if everyone always told me they were crap.
33. I live in a yellow house that used to be sky blue.
34. It has a red roof (even though Dad swears it's brown).
35. Destin is my other home.
36. I have a strange attachment to Van Gogh's Starry Night that started all because of a Cyndi Lauper album.
37. I really like mixing paint.
38. The only authors I cannot read are Charles Dickens and Jane Austen.
39. I took ballet for five years and jazz for one.
40. I performed in the Nutcracker and Beauty and the Beast.
41. But I can't dance.
42. Aladdin is my favorite Disney movie.
43. Belle, Jasmine, and Ariel are my favorite princesses.
44. I wear Princess perfume, by Vera Wang.
45. My favorite lotion is Magnolia Blossom from Bath and Body Works, but it's been discontinued.
46. I use my Garmin GPS all the time. It saves my life.
47. Sometimes I watch it just for fun even when I know where I'm going, and I end up getting distracted and passing my destination.
48. I love strawberry jam (not jelly, not preserves), but not strawberries.
49. I've never eaten a watermelon.
50. The only cat that's ever liked me was eaten by an alligator.
51. I hate snakes.
52. And spiders, lizards, and frogs.
53. Pretty much all reptiles.
54. Except turtles. I like to feed them pancakes.
55. I get into pancake battles with my mother.
56. I joined Twitter specifically to follow Tom Felton. I'm sad.
57. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl is my favorite movie.
58. Ave Maria is my favorite thing to sing in the kitchen when no one's at home (great acoustics in there).
59. I like to make fleece blankets. Both my parents and all of my cousins have one. I have three.
60. I have more books than I know what to do with, but I'll never get rid of a single one.
61. I'm too cheap to buy dresses, even though they're comfier than anything else.
62. The first and only alcohol I've ever bought was some English Scotch for my dad.
63. Getting through US customs was a nightmare because I was convinced they'd find it, and I'd get arrested.
64. I had tuna noodle goo for dinner.
65. You must be related to a Dekalb Co. fireman to know what that is.
66. I like to take pictures, but I never remember to take my camera anywhere.
67. My favorite kind of gum is the blue 5 kind.
68. It used to be Polar Ice Extra.
69. I live in a Beaver Cleaver type neighborhood.
70. I would rather spend the day inside reading by the fire instead of playing out in the snow (when we actually have snow).
71. I will never eat another Chick-fil-a milkshake because it once gave me food poisoning.
72. Right before Thanksgiving.
73. I very rarely get really angry with anyone.
74. I honk everytime I pass a golf course in the hopes that I'll make someone miss the ball because I think it's funny =]
75. Because of an Are You Afraid of the Dark episode, I'm afraid of pool drains.
76. I live in the Poultry Capital of the World.
77. The Civil War is my favorite time in American history because I think it's the most interesting.
78. There are a lot of Beatles songs I only like in the Across the Universe remake.
79. I've recently started to watch NCIS on USA every single day.
80. I have a crease in my nose from rubbing it up and down my entire life.
81. I've actually gotten a nosebleed in the nosebleed section. I'm not sure they're related.
82. My face refuses to tan and is usually several shades lighter than the rest of me.
83. I highly support the lottery because it pays for my education - thanks HOPE!
84. I like writing in pencil better than I like writing in pen.
85. I have to sleep with my door and the hall door closed because I was told as a child fire couldn't get me that way.
86. I've always wanted green eyes.
87. Braces were absolutely awful, but my Herbst appliance was about as nice as a medieval torture device.
88. I was on colorguard in high school, and joining was one of the best decisions I've made.
89. Because I got to march in a parade in New York
90. And eat cat in Chinatown.
91. My first and only job was at Banana Republic.
92. It made me hate people.
93. Especially Asians. Not in a racist way, but they mess up stacks more than anyone else.
94. I can't wait for Shark Week!
95. I'm glad they put it at the end of the summer because if I saw it in May I wouldn't get in the ocean.
96. I'm constantly on the lookout for animalage.
97. Dirty Jobs and Ice Road Truckers are two of my favorite TV shows.
98. So are Myth Busters and America's Next Top Model.
99. I would rule at Cash Cab if I ever got in it.
100. I love horror movies, but I spend most of the time watching them with my eyes closed.
101. My favorite one is Darkness Falls, but the most scared I've been is watching The Descent.
102. I have vastly different vision in each eye: 20/100 in my right, and 20/25 in my left.
103. One day I'll get lasik surgery so I won't have to worry about contacts ever again.
104. I love brightly colored, decorated socks.
105. I don't like inanimate objects to stare at me.
106. I would cheat on my husband with Taylor Lautner.
107. Just because I like the guy doesn't mean I like the movie.
108. I know how to make apple pie... with no apples.
109. The B flat scale on the piano is my favorite to play.
110. Sheboygan is one of my favorite words.
111. Complete with distractions, this took me about three hours to finish.

Anyone know where the phrase eleventy-one comes from? Brownie points if you can guess without Google!

I HATE UGA Parking Services. Hate them. Why? Because they decided not to give me a parking permit for this coming school year. Instead, I'm on waitlists. About five or six of them.

I applied for a parking spot in North Campus because, hey, that's where all my classes are, so it makes sense, right? I put my name down for 7 lots and figured that I'd get into at least one of them - especially the ones that are farther away. However, I was wrong. For my desired lot, I am 906 on the waiting list. The best chance I have of getting into a North Campus lot is for N02, where I am 259.

Needless to say, this freaked me out. I have to have a parking permit - I'm not on the UGA bus line at my apartment, and it's certainly way too far to walk. So, I called UGA Parking. Apparently there are no available lots. The best chance I have is the Carlton Street Deck, in South Campus.



My classes are at A. My parking spot, should I even get one, since I am 15th on the wait list, is at B. To give you an idea of how large this space is, (sorry the picture's so small), there's a green circle surrounded by a brownish circle about half way up and to the right. That's Sanford Stadium. So, as you can see, this is a REALLY long way from where I need to be.

So, I decided to call downtown Athens and see if I could get a spot in one of the parking decks there. Three. Year. Wait list. THREE YEARS! So that's not going to happen. There are, however, three lots that will probably be available by September (even though I start school in August). If you look at the first map, the red box at the top is where my parking spot would be. I'd have quite a ways to walk to get to campus... yay.

However, Randa came to my rescue, and is willing to let me park at her apartment and walk to the UGA bus line. It's still a long way to walk, but it's a lot better than having to rely on the Athens Transit System, which is really unreliable and would make me late to class pretty much every day.

Ugh... this is unneeded stress. I'd rather be reading about 1580s English Society than having to deal with this. So I think I will.

Well, the "vacation" portion of my summer is over. I've been to Destin twice, then England, then New Orleans, then Destin again, and now I'm home for good. Until I move into my apartment on August 8, anyway.

I'd never been to New Orleans before. It's SOOOOOOO hot. Heat index of 115. Just going outside meant you'd sweat about a gallon - ew. I liked the French Quarter though, and for the Fourth we went on the steamboat Natchez for dinner and to see the fireworks. Before we got on the boat though, we had to wait in a long line to board. Apparently I hadn't had enough water or food or both, because I almost passed out from the heat, but Dad came to the rescue with a bottle of water and a cold rag. I still felt really sick the rest of the night, but regardless, it's been one of the best Independence Days to date!

Destin was fun, if uneventful. I ate fish, went to the beach, and rented a ton of movies (we don't have internet there). I also bought some of the first few things for the apartment. I'm particularly proud of my pots and pans - a 10 piece set that also came with 3 utensils, 5 glass (or clear plastic... I don't know) mixing bowls, and a covered roasting dish. All for fifty bucks! I don't know exactly how much cooking I'm doing to do, but I have the stuff to do it in!

On a completely random note, my laptop is sick. It doesn't have a virus, but the Internet Explorer has started to freeze my whole computer, and sometimes the fingerpad decides it wants to go wacko. So I took it to Best Buy, where the Geek Squad is running a diagnostic on it, which will take two to three days. In the meantime, I'm using an ancient Gateway that my mom brought home from work.

I've also finally started working on one of my two 15-page term papers for the Oxford classes. Since I don't have my own laptop, and therefore my iTunes, I'm using Pandora. I've had "All That Jazz" from Chicago stuck in my head all day, so that was my radio of choice. The first song it came up with was "Roxie", also from Chicago. But this wasn't the movie soundtrack version that I'm familiar with, it was the actual Broadway version. It's really different... and I really don't like it.

I'm finally home! And man am I loving the food - I've had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, giant pancakes, real bacon, and macaroni and cheese in the past day and a half. But England was amazing. I absolutely know that I'm going back one day, no matter what. There's so much that I didn't get to see or do, and I will see Stonehenge before I die.

This is me in front of the Queen Victoria monument in front of the gates to Buckingham Palace. Two friends and I took a day trip there on one of our days off. We went to Harrods, Buckingham Palace, and Trafalgar Square.

I'm really tired now, because I've been writing all day, so I won't say much, other than I wish I hadn't had to leave so early. I never even got to try treacle sponge!

Today, we went to Westminster Abbey. It was absolutely gorgeous, but they wouldn't let you take pictures! I thought that was ridiculous, so I cheated and took them with my phone instead. They're horribly quality, especially compared with my fancy new camera, but I thought I'd post them because it was easy to send
them to my computer via Bluetooth.


Ceiling




Someone's tomb. One of the King Richards, I think?


Coronation Chair


Queen Elizabeth I's tomb


And again


One of the people buried with Mary, Queen of Scots whose name I can't remember


Top of Mary, Queen of Scots Effigy Tomb


Mary, Queen of Scots Effigy Tomb

Picture custom of BBC

So, here's my interesting story for the day:

I got up this morning to go see a play, The Tempest, in Regents Park in the Open Air Theatre at 9:45 AM. We were to leave at 7 AM in order to get there in time, but three people didn't wake up on time, making us late. Instead of hiring a bus to take us there, Dr. Trivedi, the program director, decided that we would use public transportation to take us to London, since there's a bus stop right next to Regents Park, and it would be cheaper and convenient. Because we were late, we had to take the Oxford bus to the bus station to take us to London.

We got to the play 5 minutes before it started, watched it, and left (unfortunately they had designed this one to be geared towards kids, so I didn't like it as much as the one I watched a few days ago).

Dr. Trivedi had given us round trip bus tickets, so we could go back any time we wanted. The Victorian literature people had class at 2:30, so they had to leave immediately to get back in time, but history wasn't until 4:40, giving us some time to do whatever before going back. Two friends and I decided to get lunch before getting back on the bus to go home, so everyone else left, and we went to Pizza Express (which was actually pretty good!).

In the middle of lunch, we get a call from Trivedi. Did you know that there was a protest about Sri Lanka going on in London today? Well, that means that all the roads get blocked surrounding the protest. The rest of the class hadn't been able to use the bus stop we arrived at, because the roads around us were blocked. He told us to get a cab to take us to Victoria Coach Station, and we could catch another bus there to take us to Oxford. So, we finished eating and hailed a cab. Twenty minutes later, the cab driver told us that he couldn't get to Victoria Coach Station, because with the road blocks, he was just going in circles. So we got out, and called Trivedi again. He told us to hail another cab and go to Paddington Station, then catch a train to Oxford. We got the cab, and drove around for another twenty to thirty minutes. We made it to Paddington Station, and bought three train tickets. However, the train was leaving in 6 minutes, and we didn't know where the platform was or how to get to it. We did find it, right as it was leaving, and were able to get on.

Once in Oxford, we had no idea where we were, because none of us had ever been to the train station. We asked several bus drivers, but none of them could take us to the UGA House. So, we got another cab.

Three hours after we left Pizza Express, three cabs, and a train later, we finally made it back - before anyone else! They must still be either in London, on a bus, or on a train - I'm not sure. On the bright side, we did get to see a lot of London our first day there, and we're being reimbursed for all the money we spent on transportation. Plus, we figured out where the train station is and bought our tickets for when we go back tomorrow!

While you can't see it very well in this picture, because we were facing the wrong way, this is me and some others from the UGA at Oxford program standing in front of Christ Church, which has one of the most beautiful gardens I've ever seen. I haven't gone in yet, but I'm planning on it as soon as I have the time. This is where they filmed the moving staircase scene from Harry Potter! I've also seen the place where they filmed the dining hall scenes. Exciting =]

On the same day that we took this picture, I also went into a building that has been around since the 1200s. It's been completely refurbished - in the 1500s! Everything is so old here. What they consider to be "recent" is often before my country was even a real country yet. It's incredible!

Yesterday and today have been devoted to papers. I was up until about 4 AM finishing one, and I'm now working on the other. But after that, I don't really have much due the whole time I'm here.

As a side note, here are some things I've learned thus far:

• The dollar to pound exchange rate SUCKS
• Coke Zero tastes funny
• You're supposed to eat pizza with a knife and fork
• They intentionally give you more reading than you could ever possibly finish
• Drunk Englishmen will serenade you with birthday songs if asked nicely
• The peanut butter also tastes funny
• People back home sometimes forget about the time difference and call you at 3 AM
• In the summer, the birds start chirping at 3:45 AM and the sun starts to rise at 4
• Pea puree comes with everything
• This is the land of no free refills
• Everything comes in really tiny glasses. Obviously they don't like liquids
• Baked beans are a breakfast food
• It's a trolley, not a cart or a buggy, and you must pay for it, along with your plastic grocery bags
• If you have one foot in the bike lane, someone will ring their bike bell angrily at you

Well, I'm off to do more of my paper. Cheerio!

Well, I made it to Oxford in one piece. This is a picture of my bedroom. There are four beds (you can't see one), but I only have one roommate. I'm on the third floor, and let me tell you, dragging a 65 pound suitcase up two flights of stairs is NO FUN.

It was... interesting, getting here. I arrived in London at noon yesterday after the longest flight of my life. I found several other people from UGA, and we managed to find the right bus to get us to Oxford. Then they went to their hotel, and I went to mine. It was quite possibly the smallest room I've ever seen, but comfy enough. It had a bed and a shower, which is all I really cared about. The jet lag is getting to me though - I went to bed at 8:45 PM, woke up at 1 AM, went back to sleep aroud 4:30 AM, and then woke up around 8 AM. And now, I'm sleepy again, but I'm trying to keep myself from taking a nap so I'll get used to the time difference.

It's weird. The people here have been either really rude, or really nice. Some of the rude ones were in the airport, and all airport people are rude, so that's not too surprising. I went to lunch at an Italian place with 4 other girls today, though, and the man who brought our food out was terribly rude to us. He was nice to the rest of the (British) customers though, so it had to be because we're American. Our waitress was really nice, however. It's like there's no "in the middle".

I've also found that I'm a little more homesick than I thought that I would be. It's probably because this is the first time that I'm really traveling alone, with absolutely no one that I know and am familiar with. I've met some people, but it's not quite the same. I find myself wanting to call my parents all the time, but at $1 a minute, I can't.

Also, the voltage converter I brought with me so that I can use British outlets decided it doesn't want to work. One of the other people here let me use his, so I'm able to charge my laptop. I just hope that the stores are still open when I go on my walking tour through the City Center of Oxford later.

I'm also slightly stressed, since I have two papers due Monday, neither of which I've started. I guess that's what I'll be doing tonight and tomorrow night, I guess. I have a free day on Monday, so I'm really hoping that the papers will be due by Monday night.

Overall, I'm doing pretty well. I feel a bit lonely, since I'm separated from the other 4 girls, who are rooming together, and my roommate is off with her dad. I think things will improve in that area once we start going to class and on the various excursions. I'll be taking lots of pictures!

I thought I would post my itinerary. Just in case you're wondering what I'm up to!

Friday, June 12: Arrive at Heathrow Airport at 12 PM. Take the bus to Oxford and check into Parklands Bed and Breakfast.

Saturday, June 13: Check in at Oxford Center by 10:30 AM. Orientation meeting at 12 PM. Walking tour of Oxford at 1:30 PM

Sunday, June 14: 9 AM-11 AM History class. 2 PM-4 PM Shakespeare class

Monday, June 15: Free day

Tuesday, June 16: 9 A-11 AM Shakespeare class. 11:15 AM- 1:15 PM History class

Wednesday, June 17: Excursion to Stratford (Shakespeare's birthplace) and play at 7:30 PM

Thursday, June 18: Visit to Hatfield House

Friday, June 19: Free day

Saturday, June 20: 9 AM-11 AM Shakespeare class, possible play in London at 9:45 AM. 4:40 PM-6:40 PM History class

Sunday, June 21: Free day

Monday, June 22: Visit to Westminster Abbey, Westminster Hall, and Banqueting House

Tuesday, June 23: Visit to London. Play at 2 PM. Lecture at Globe Theatre at 6:00 PM. Globe Theatre plat at 7:30 PM.

Wednesday, June 24: 8:30 AM-10:30 AM Shakespeare class. Play in London at 2:30 PM and 8 PM

Thursday, June 25: 9 AM-11 AM History class. Play in Stratford at 7:30 PM.

Friday, June 26: Excurson to Hampton Court Palace and Tower of London

Saturday, June 27: 11:15 AM-1:15 AM Shakespeare class. 2 PM-4 PM History class.

Sunday, June 28: Check out of Oxford Center by 12 PM. Flight around 1 PM. Arrive in Atlanta around 5 PM.

My Oxford history professor is insane. He honestly expects me to be able to read 20 pages of that. Even if I could make out what the words say, I don't read Old English! Did you know that sometimes, they liked to use weird looking f's instead of s's? It looks like a lowercase f, but with the right side of the horizontal line cut off. I can't find any pattern to it - one time they used "pass" and another time they used "pafs". So this is what it looks like: the Prieft of the Parifh must Ufe the new Prayer Book to preach to his Parifhioners. 56 pages of that!

But anyway, this time tomorrow, I will be on an airplane, somewhere over the Atlantic, just barely into my nine-hour flight. I will either be asleep or reading Julius Caesar, or possibly eating some sour gummy worms. I'm kind of nervous about travelling by myself... ever seen the movie Taken? Not a good idea to watch as a girl travelling abroad by yourself. But I'm still excited. I just really hope the schoolwork part dies down a bit while we're there. For $2000 plus airfare, meals, and souvenirs, this trip isn't exactly cheap, and I want to have fun! I do have two assignments due tomorrow (on the day when everyone will be flying over... not cool) and two 5-6 page papers due a couple days after I get there. I have no idea how I'll get it all done, but I guess I don't have much of a choice!

So, here we go... about to become a world traveler. I'll try to post some while I'm there, but if I don't, I'll be back on June 28th, hopefully all in one piece. Wish me luck!

This is my neighbor's pool. You can't see it, but there are about a trillion bugs floating on the top of the water. But that's okay. You know why? Because it's a pool.

Last summer, I had access to the apartment pool where one of my friends babysat. We'd go three to four times a week, and I had a very nice tan. This summer though, the family doesn't live there, and so I have no pool access. We sold our boat a few years ago to pay for my car, so I can't go to the lake. I had convinced my dad to buy us an above ground pool, but the only level area we have in our yard is on the side, where it would be in view of the street, and the stupid neighborhood laws say we can't do that. So, I was missing out on the summer fun of swimming and floating and basically doing anything to get wet.

So, on the day of The Meltdown (as I've come to call it), my dad went over to our neighbor's house (an older couple) and asked if I could use their pool in an attempt to make me feel better. Well, now I have a pool... kinda.

I sat out today with Romeo and Juliet so I could simultaneously enjoy my summer and do my work. I put on SPF 30... and still got fried. My attempts to set myself apart from all the pasty British people has worked - but I'll be red, instead of tan.

Hi. My name is Stephanie, and I'm a bad blogger. I came to this realization when I noticed that my supposedly daily photo blog has turned into a once in a while when I have the time and I feel like it blog. So, from now on, that's what it will be. I wish I could remember to do it every night, but since I can't, I won't try. I will no longer feel remorse for being remiss in my recounts (or what I remember of them) of my life.

Anyway. I haven't had the greatest day. The online portion of my study abroad classes started yesterday, so I've been doing nothing but reading Shakespeare in preparation for the past week. Unfortunately, I didn't get ahead in my reading enough for life not to be stressful. Last night, I was up fairly late writing my two page response to the assignment on The Winter's Tale, which I finished up this morning. When I got the grade back... it was a C. I do not get C's. Ever. I've only ever made one B in a class in my life. My really crappy grade paired with the fact that I have another assignment (in the history class) due tomorrow, which, at the time, I hadn't even started on (for which I had to read an entire 300 page book as well as about 40 pages of online stuff), and I have to read The Tempest by tomorrow as well lead to my first academic breakdown. I've never had that feeling of "oh crap, I'm not going to get this done. I'm not going to get this right. I'm not going to get a good grade and there's nothing I can do about it." Let me tell you, it's really not a good feeling. At one point I actually considered withdrawing from both classes, getting over the loss of almost $3000, and not going.

After a couple of particularly bad hours, I calmed down enough to rationalize and make a plan. I contacted my Shakespeare professor and realized that the history assignment isn't that hard, as well as had some of my mom's homemade fried chicken and a bowl of ice cream, so I'm feeling a lot better about life now. I'm still stressed, more so now than I've ever been for finals or for any other class, or any other thing in my life, really. But as an optimist, there is a bright side: tomorrow, my neighbors are letting me use their pool to study by, so I can take a swim and get a tan, all while reading. Also, if I can get through this and not fail, there will never be another class as hard as this one. I just don't get Shakespeare. I don't think he wrote his plays with any kind of deep literary meaning in mind. I don't think he agonized over the subtleties of every single world. I think he just sat down, and he wrote it, because that was how he made his living. It was either write a pretty decent play that would sell out the theatres, because otherwise, all he'd have to eat is a couple of shoelaces. This opinion of mine makes it slightly difficult to analyze his work, because I'm making things up. I don't believe what I'm saying, I think it's a load of crap. And it probably is.

As for the pictures, I was taking a break last night around 2 when I decided to start playing with my webcam. The first one is my favorite because the book that's burning is Shakespeare. Too bad it wasn't a real fire...

I also just realized that this is my 100th post! So yay. I didn't do the 100 things about me... but oh well. I'll do them on the next post, and it'll be 101 things about me. Or maybe I'll save it for 111, so I can call it Eleventy-One things about me =]

This is my dog, Snoopy. There's nothing particularly special about him today, but this picture was taken on my new digital camera!

As you might've read earlier, I was going to go with either the Canon Powershot or the Sony Cybershot. However, when I got to Best Buy today, they didn't have the specific version of either camera that I wanted, so I bought the Nikon Coolpix instead. Now, the camera I have now is also a Nikon Coolpix, just a much earlier version of it. I love that camera, but it's just outlived its expiration date, only turning on when it feels like it. I'd hate to get to England and my camera be in a bad mood!

The new one has 10 megapixels and a 5x optical zoom! It also has VR & ISO 3200, but I have absolutely no clue what that means. I also got a package deal with a 4GB memory card, an extra lithium-ion battery, and a camera case all for 50 bucks, instead of the $100 it would've cost had I bought it separately. So yay for good deals!

I also saw the Night at the Museum sequel. Great movie! Very funny, and something the whole family can enjoy. The new Terminator is pretty awesome as well - not nearly as cheesy, now that Arnold's not in it. I recommend both =]