Adventure ix - The Final Countdown

(doo-doo doo dooo, doo-doo doot-doot-dooo, doo-doo doo dooo, doo-doo doot-doot-doo-doo doo...)



Yes, the 80's hair-band interlude was so necessary.

It seems crazy to think that at this time next week, I'll be moved in to college. It's partially the whole culture-shock of being away from everyone, but more the fact of how on earth I'm going to fit all my stuff into enough boxes to fit in the truck. I've been camping before, so I know how much stuff it takes to sustain a person for a few days, but I'm honestly starting to run out of places to put things.

This week's adventure, along with navigating my birthday (the big 1-8, le gasp!), will be trying to get everything organized enough to bring with me when we leave on Saturday. This should be interesting.

(And in follow-up news from my blood donation extravaganza on Friday, I have a hematoma in my arm. It makes sense, there was a lot of blood going out, and it's not like it'll kill me or anything. The thing that doesn't make sense is the fact that my donation arm is just a bit bruised, and it's my IV arm that has the hematoma. Whatever.)

Adventure viii - Third Time's the Charm?

For the most part, I'm not a good Samaritan by any standards, but I do try to give blood when I can. After my boyfriend donated at our school blood drive in October and I didn't, I felt like a real ass, so I tried again at the next one in March. I got really light-headed after they finished, but I was still on the table, so that's ok. Then I signed up for one in June at a local library, but it was really hot out and I think I was dehydrated because my arm refused to give any blood. So I signed up to donate yesterday and hoped this time would be better.

Yeah, right.

I had to be at work at 5:30, but the donation was at work, so I scheduled an appointment for 4, that way I had time for any possible delay, plus regrouping afterwards. They took me right in, hooked me up, life was good. After I was done, I got that light-headed thing from the first time, but I knew that was coming so I told the ladies at the drive ahead of time, and they gave me cold towels and stuff, so I was fine. I had a few cans of juice, moved over to the outgoing bench, ate a few pretzels and then they said I was free to go whenever I felt like it. I left the donation bus (pretty cool set-up, actually), and it was pretty hot and sunny out, so my head hurt, but I walked down the length of the bus and I knew I was done for. My vision and hearing started to go, and I didn't fully pass out, but I had to lie down on the sidewalk to regroup.

The ladies came out to help me, and I felt fine, but then they called an ambulance to make sure I wasn't going to really pass out. Embarrassing. As. Hell. They put me on a saline drip and I ended up staying in the ER for almost two hours, but everyone was really nice (paramedic: "150 cc's [of the saline] per hour. Not per minute, your arm would swell up. And then we could poke holes in you and you'd be a fountain." He was from the same division as the paramedics that stay at the stadium just in case someone gets hurt, so he said that they'd sneak into the games a lot, too.)

Of course, my mom freaked out when the ER called her, my boyfriend freaked out when I told him that I had a funny story to tell him but couldn't call him because I was in the ER, and I had to call my boss to tell her that I wasn't going to be into work, so there were a lot of awkward phone calls last night, but I'm fine now. I ripped off the tape and gauze so I can move my arms now, and I don't have to worry about feeling guilty about not donating, because they told me I really shouldn't do it for a few years...

Adventure vii - Stocking Up

As much as it might've sucked in younger years, it actually works out very conveniently to have my birthday at the end of the summer, because anything I might need for the school year doubles as a birthday present.

This year, it worked out especially well because I had my graduation party and birthday party as one conglomerate, so I ended up using most of that money to buy stuff I needed.

Like, for example, the third season of The Big Bang Theory and a fuzzy dragon hat with earflaps and pom-poms.

Anyway... as my room has gotten progressively smaller with the stuff I've accumulated, here is what I've found with having bought so much stuff.

1. Coupons, coupons, coupons. Stuff adds up very quickly if you're not paying attention. For example, I went to Kohl's earlier in the week. I bought a pair of black pants, two bras and a belt. I needed everything. Everything was on sale. And I still paid over $50 for it. But I also saved over $50. So coupons are your best friend.
2. On the clothing front, losing weight is both good and bad. Having your pants not be as tight is a nice feeling, but it also means you have to buy new things, especially bras. At this point in the game, they almost don't make them small enough, and oddly enough, the only ones I can find in my size are all blue...
3. Wholesale places are also your best friend. You get more stuff in less packaging, so that means you can buy even more EasyMac to fill your room with.
4. Once you're done packing a box or Rubbermaid container or whatever, make sure you have everything inventoried before you close it. Packing is all the same: once you open it up and take stuff out, you will never get it back in again. However, unlike on vacations, you'll generally leave with less stuff than you came with (what with all the food).
5. Don't go crazy with buying stupid stuff, but allow a little bit of splurging. Graduation (and in my case, also birthday) money should mostly go towards useful things or saved, but there is nothing wrong with buying the aforementioned DVDs and fuzzy hats. They will come in handy, should you get snowed in in the winter.

Adventure vi - Technology Upgrade

I don't get why everyone is all into the Apple superiority thing. iPods are nice, yeah, but when it comes to computers, I've been raised on PCs and prefer them. (Well, my first computering experience in elementary school was on those big, clunky Macs with the handles, but in terms of computer usage when I was doing actual computer work, not just that Type-to-Learn crap.)

Unfortunately, my school requires Macbook Pros for journalism majors, so much to my chagrin, I am now the owner of a 15.4-inch hunk of über-expensiveness. I don't even technically need anything beyond Microsoft Word for this year, but we got it early so I could know how to operate the dumb thing before I needed to use it for real.

Instead of a 5-item list, I'll do a 3-item list of each good and bad.

What I like about the new computer:

1. My PC is starting to get a little slow opening things, like Google Chrome and iTunes, so the new computer will be faster.
2. The touchpad works like an iPhone screen in the sense that you can zoom in and out by moving your fingers around on it.
3. My PC can't support the software we need.

What I don't like:

1. The fact that Apple is so exclusive that you can't have all the important software, like iLife and Final Cut and the other stuff I need for journalism, on a PC.
2. Said software being extremely expensive (almost as much as the computer itself).
3. When you click the X to close out of a program, it doesn't actually close the program and you have to go to the bar at the top to "officially" close it.

And now I have two computers. I'm not sure what to do.

Adventure v - Shipping Up to Boston

No, not to find my wooden leg. (If I had wooden legs, you bet I'd make myself taller than 5'4")

Part of my early birthday present was tickets to the Red Sox/Royals matinee yesterday. It works out nicely because I root for the Sox, and two of my favorite players are on the team, and my official favorite player is on the Royals. Unfortunately, one of my faves from the Sox is their backup catcher and because Beckett was pitching, I didn't see him, but hey, two out of three ain't bad. The Royals won 4-3, but overall it was a really good game.

As for the bits and pieces from yesterday:

1. Not wearing sunscreen at Fenway is not an option. I have a patch of about 3"x5" on each knee of friedness.
2. I both love and hate my camera. Impressive zoom and continuous shot mode are good, the delay and people walking in front of me not so much.
3. When you're in the North End, the only way to go hungry is to be indecisive as to where to eat. Knowing where you want to go ahead of time might help, but some arbitrary decision-maker, like eenie-meenie-miney-moe or spinning around in a circle and stopping with your finger pointed at a place, is a good way to do it too.
4. No matter when you go, Mike's Pastry on Hanover Street will always be packed. Know what you want to order before you make it to the cases. And finally,
5.  Jeff Francoeur is adorable.

   

   Just saying.

Adventure iv- Starting at the Bottom

It happens in every school. The "big kids," whether they're 4th graders, 8th graders or seniors (that's how it went in the schools I went to, at least), think they're all that and a bag of chips because they're big men on campus... only to find that the next year they're on the bottom of the totem pole again. I was never one of the mean big kids that abused the younger ones, and actually I had several good friends in grades below me, but going to orientation reminded me that, once again, I'm at the bottom.

In my first official college experience, I also learned a few other things.

1. There is no such thing as a freshman 15 at my school, because you spend so much time walking up and down the hill that you'll burn off all the extra calories. Plus you'll have fantastic calves by the end of senior year.
2. There is always something to do. Unfortunately, that's not a good thing when you're an early to-bed person, like me. But the showing of Rolemodels in the pub was definitely worth staying up for.
3. The best thing you can do at a meal is sit at a table with people you've never met. It forces you to talk (to avoid the awkward silence thing), plus chances are pretty good you'll meet someone cool.
4. When you're in a tower-style dorm, especially if you're on a high floor, looking out at the view is a good idea; looking down is not.
5. And finally, there don't appear to be any boy journalism majors. Interesting.

Finishing the weekend with a day of camping with the rest of my family isn't really that exciting enough to require any details, so that must mean *le gasp!* I'm caught up with my posts. I have a good adventure tomorrow that I'll report on when I get back.

Adventure iii - Getting Away from Everyone

Well, not really. I was able to get away from peers, but only because I was in Florida with my family as a graduation present of sorts.

Anyway, since everyone and their brother has been to Florida, I'll keep the details down to a minimum. Epcot was, is and probably always will be the best part, which may or may not be related to the amount and variety of food you can get there. Plus we were there for Canada Day, which was honestly more entertaining than being in the Magic Kingdom for the Fourth of July because Canadian people are cooler. As for the lowlights, I knew we'd have downtime at the end of each day, so I brought a grand total of 11 books with me, not realizing that I would be spending said downtime sleeping. Disney is a lot more exhausting than I remember. Also a lot rainier. I know Florida, like any state in the summer, gets the obligatory threat of thunderstorms, but  a week straight of pretty heavy rain, including a flash flood right as we were leaving Animal Kingdom, was a little bizarre.

I get a week to regroup, then off to college orientation.


(Also, my apologies for being behind the 8-ball with posting, since my vacation ended 2 and a half weeks ago...)