Drumroll, please.

Ha. It was inevitable. I have - once again - changed my mind about my major. Well, I guess you could say I've just gone back to my original plan.
As of now, I'm sticking with business. Since my last bout of doubt, I've researched small businesses like nobody's business (hm, I need some new vocabulary). Yes, I pored over books and the Internet and I Wiki'd and Googled half the business and/or legal jargon known to man. Without immediate pressure. In my free time - I use the term "free" freely.
(Seriously, I can't get off these literary techniques... har.)
Four hours of my life. I'm sure my friends are tired of hearing my babbling about business propositions and partnerships and trusts and so on and so forth.
But I'm so ready to finish college, maybe go to graduate school, and then head off into the world and explore the infinite possibilities that await.

Ok, that last line smelled funky. Very cheesy.

No, but really, I'm excited about business. Franchising particularly caught my attention, though in order to successfully become a franchisee, it seems you must be as good at what you do as stockbrokers are on Wall Street. Plus, you've got to have the start-up capital. Business partner, anyone?

Also -
Light-up Frisbee: $15
Text messages: $1
Learning to catch a glider at 10 p.m. in the Six Pack with your friends: Priceless

Umbrellas are not my friends.

Okay - if you hate rain, raise your hand...

I'm not going to raise my hand. I actually enjoy rain as long as it's not accompanied by freezing cold gusts of wind. However, what I do not like are umbrellas. Well, not so much umbrellas as the people who use them. Storytime!

So, Genetics lets out right at 9:50 a.m. instead of a few minutes early, like usual. Of course, between classes the UTC escalators are jammed with people - which actually isn't relevant, so I'm sorry I just wasted your time. Stepping off the escalator, I am immediately swept along in a wave of people in the general direction of Jester; that is, until I'm suddenly forced aside into the light rain by all of the umbrella-carrying patrons of the university. Granted, this time it was only a light rain, but what if it was a thunderstorm?! The umbrella people didn't care that I was huddled inside a hoodie, desperately trying to escape the unforgiving water pelting me across the face - they continued to walk underneath the eaves of the buildings with their umbrellas, forcing me to skirt them and brave the weather with no defense to speak of. It's cruel, really. Inhumane!

So please, please! If you have an umbrella, and you are about to cross paths with an umbrella-less soul, please show some courtesy and step kindly out of their way. Mmkthanks.

Note: I'm sure there were some kind-hearted umbrella-carrying citizens out today; I just didn't happen to run into them. Also, the intensity of the events described in this post were hyperbolized, as is much of my life.

Svelto, Robin! Alla caverna del pipistrello!

Okay, so I think that's how Batman would say it in Italian. But I could be wrong.
Riddle me this: what's the worst thing that could happen after your most nerve-racking, sleep-deprived week of college? Some might say being scheduled to work all weekend. Some might say being stuck in your dorm while all of your friends are out of town for the weekend. Some might say just barely missing out on free tickets from BOB FM for the Rolling Stones concert.
Just to clarify: none of this actually happened to me. If it happened to you, I am deeply sorry for your loss; Rolling Stones tickets would have been priceless. Fortunately, I had a very nice weekend. My parents came to visit and beat the rush before Parents' Weekend; I spent eight blissful hours with them, remembering what it was like not to pay for my groceries and clothing. Because the day was rather exciting (in my book, anyway), I'm going to share:
11:00 a.m. Mom and Dad pick me up from San Jac. Thanks to our collective indecisiveness, we figured we'd just hit the Hula Hut for lunch.
11:30 a.m. We finally arrive at the Hula Hut. Yes, we could have been there 20 minutes earlier, but someone didn't trust my navigation skills (but I still love you, Mom).
1:00 p.m. Watched "The Departed". Excellent movie, by the way. BA 101H showed some clips of the film during class last last Monday, and I was intrigued. Plus, it was probably one of the only movies in theaters that my dad would have enjoyed.
3:30 to 5:30? p.m. Shopping!!! I seriously felt like I had won the lottery with my parents in town; I even have some decent groceries, now. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches, anyone?
5:30-6:30 p.m. Looked for a Sonic. The only two any of us knew about were closed down. Austin is such a confusing city, sometimes.
Then, some other unexciting stuff happened. They brought my bike up, so now I have a speedier way to get to work! Well, except for the fact that my gears are messed up. Hmm. How much is that going to cost, and is it worth it?
Also, I have my violin, now... never thought an instrument could make me so happy. But really, it's almost like having a piece of my hometown with me all the time, now. Playing brings back so many memories - I'm seriously considering joining a group on campus. Of course, before I can do that, I need to work on my time management skills. They're poorly out of shape, and without those skills, I'll just be even more stressed which will eventually lead to the yanking out of each and every last hair on my head and quite possibly reducing my stress ball to a mere fleck of foam. I mean, seriously... I'm writing this at 1:04 a.m. Where's the time management in that?
Alas, although my exams and all went well last week (B in Bio, A in Psych), the impending registration has clogged up my mind. As of now, I would like to sign up for: BA 324H, MIS 301, PSY 304, and ITL 507. Fourteen hours - not bad, right? About average, and if I'm going to keep working next sememster, I'm going to need a manageable school schedule (Ha! There! See?! Time management is already preparing me for the future semester! Go Team Time Management!) Plus, after talking to my advisor, these classes (specifically BA 324H and MIS 301) should help me in my decision to stay in Business or not. Even if I don't, those classes will probably still count as non-major courses toward my degree in Psych. All is well in the Land of Spring '07. Or at least I'm assuming so.
All right, well there's a bug on my fishtank, and it's just begging to be caught and relocated to the trash room, so I bid you: "So long! Farewell! Auf Wiedersehen! Good night!"

Ho dang.

It has been quite a while since I've updated.
And I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but this is going to be very short and very sweet.
This week has, by far, been my hardest week as a college student. I've never felt so frustrated/stressed/hopeless in my life. I had an Italian oral exam on Monday, which went okay, but could have gone way better had I put more effort into it. Not only do I have exams on both Thursday and Friday, but I also had to work tonight (Wednesday) and I work tomorrow night (Thursday) - thus putting a slight stopper in my study schedule. As if that weren't enough, I caught a cold this weekend and am just now getting over it... problem is, it might come back because it got chilly outside and started raining as I walked home from work tonight.
Of course, I didn't have an umbrella.
But I can still see the light ahead. As I did my Eco homework this morning, I was so excited because I actually understood what I was doing. Then, I had the fallacious thought that because I "knew" what I was doing, I was probably doing it wrong (which actually happens a lot with me and Eco homework). But in class today, we went over it, and - yep, you guessed it! - Denise did it right! Yay! So still, there's hope. Somewhere. I just have to search for it.
Also, I think it's about time I invest in a pocket poncho. Where is the one I had from Girl Scouts?

Free hugs!

I forgot to mention:
Some friends and I are starting a club on campus called the Free Hugs Club. The club was inspired by the hugs of one man - Juan Mann (no, seriously, that's his name). You can check out the movement at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4
Before the club is actually "up and running", I'm required to attend one of UT's officer orientation sessions, which I will happily be going to on Monday. If you have any questions about the club or you're a UT student and you'd like to join, look up the club on Facebook (Free Hugs Club) or contact me. Everyone deserves a hug every now and then - and for those college students that need a little pick-me-up or just want a hug, we're here.

Midterms. Oh, Midterms.

Round One of Midterms: Completed.
Whether or not this was done successfully is open for interpretation.
Two A's, two B's, one C. I'm a perfectly mediocre student.
Still, I'm not happy.
Not that grades are overly important to me; they're just extremely representative of my preferences.
You see, I enjoy psychology and genetics. I love to learn about the human body and psyche and genome. I pay more attention in those classes, take better notes, study more efficiently, blah blah blah. The point is, I get A's and B's in those classes.
On the flip side, I have a sincere distaste for economics. It's a messy subject with terms that are barely distinguishable from one another (Supply versus Demand? Seems easy enough, until you try to construct a graph based on which one affects which factors and so on and so forth... think about it too long, and you see that it can work either way: supply affects demand, or demand affects supply. Hell, what did I just type? None of that made sense; I'm sorry I wasted your time with my confused economical ramblings. Your opportunity cost of reading this blog entry: your sanity.)
I guess I'm just starting to realize that however much I like a certain course definitely impacts how hard I work for better grades in that class. I should work harder in the classes I dislike, forcing myself to learn the material, but... eh.
In other news, work is great. Ever had that late night craving for a cookie whilst you duly study your life away for midterms? That's what Tiff's Treats are for. I'm proud to say that I'm part of that magical cookie-creating company. I'm pretty sure that my shower is going to smell of cookie dough forevermore. Still not sure if that's good or bad. Hm.
And, as some of you may know, I have fish. I really wanted turtles, but apparently we're not allowed to have anything BUT fish in our dorms (even though turtles require essentially the exact same environment; I just don't understand the big deal). Funny thing is, I'm really not a fish-lover. In fact, I don't care for fish at all. One already died - totally not my fault. I haven't even given the other two names, and I've had them for two weeks. They're just the big one and the little one. Even though I don't like them, I'm not going to neglect them; I'm too afraid of PETA busting in like a bad episode of C.O.P.S.

Oh so amazing.

Austin is seriously one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.
I'm so glad this is where I am.
It's an easy thing to miss during the day - Austin's majesty. It's almost like the blaring sunlight and the dryness blind you from the true picture, from the naked city (I speak metaphorically here, of course; Austin is obviously not naked). And for most people, daytime is when you're the busiest. You never take the time to stop in the park, or look at the clouds, or listen to the quiet murmur of the fountains.
But at night, you do. Or you should at least try. Austin comes alive at night. Even the most peaceful of places are filled with a sort of awe-inspiring atmosphere. You can take a walk with friends, admiring the lights and the sights and the stars and the scars of Austin. You can pause at the fountain and take in all the sounds - the faint music coming from one of the nearby venues, the chirping of thousands of crickets, the plunk-plunk as your friend tosses pebbles into the water. Everything together is calming and energizing at the same time. It's one of those times when you know - right then, in the moment, at that very second - life is beautiful.

Dreams.

I thought this was a really good assignment, and so I'll share my response.

What would you consider as the Job from Heaven (or Hell!) for yourself? Realistic or not, make sure you cover the what, where, and with whom aspects.

The Job from Heaven
Now, I could be stereotypical here and say that the most desirable job would be one where I could maximize my paycheck while minimizing my labor.
But that wouldn’t be very interesting, now would it?
My dream job is to be a writer. Short and simple. But I don’t want to be just another Harlequin romance novelist or just the next author to compose a biography on Elvis Presley. I want to write an entrancing novel that keeps my readers on the edge of their seats and leaves them screaming for more afterward. I want to write inspirational texts helping others in the warpath of life. I want to be able to live and travel wherever and whenever I please without worrying about making it to the office by nine o’clock each morning. I want to work by myself (by writing, of course), but I still want to be connected to the people through conventions and gatherings and weddings and whatever. I want to make a connection through my writings with others.

The Most Hellacious Job Ever
I can never see myself working a desk job. I cannot stand the thought of performing menial, repetitive tasks each and every day for eight straight hours. Have you ever seen Office Space? I couldn’t do it. There is absolutely no way. I could not sit at a desk in Kentucky with an overbearing boss and a far-too-friendly (or even a far-too-cold) crew and push paper for forty hours a week. Absolutely not.

Maybe one day I'll be a writer. Until then, I'll keep working on my wordcraft and just taking each day one at a time.