Meanwhile, I’ve been listening to leaked Glee songs and rocking out like a rockstar. I also found out that I heard the Canto version of Air Supply’s “All Out of Love” and Olivia Ong’s cover before I heard the original. This is not an uncommon occurrence. Go me.

Seriously, self?  Next time you think you can take four courses (two 200-level and Intensive Chinese should be considered a 200 level course), two PE classes, tutor, volunteer at FACTS, work 12 hours every pay period at the library, and juggle study abroad paperwork (visa papers!) and housing forms for this summer/finding a second job?

THINK AGAIN.

1. My Brita filter pitcher and my water now smells and taste like sour milk because I keep it in the communal fridge. A girl in the hall left her expired (in February!!) milk next to it. I am displeased.

2. I just learned that the rough draft of my 20 page paper for Cities is due next Monday. I thought it was due the Monday after next week. Uh, no.  HI, IF ANYONE NEEDS ME I’LL BE IN MY ROOM SOBBING HYSTERICALLY.

3. I also need a topic for my paper proposal for Chinese Revolution. I’m thinking: Rape of Nanjing,  May Fourth Movement: Change from Classical Chinese to Vernacular Chinese, or something about the Soong sisters and their influence on Chinese political history.

I need hugs. And chocolate. And hugs.

So I’m now inclined to believe that there is a god and I’ve been sacrificing virgins or baby cows to this wondrous deity in my sleep or something. There are no words to describe how much I needed this snow day, despite finishing my paper proposal at freaking 4 AM in the morning.

I do have mixed feelings about the King of Prussia trip being canceled tomorrow, especially since I planned to go with friends. I’ve been in the mood for some major retail therapy. I wanted to buy a hat, a pair of comfortable heels (I need all the help I can get since I’m so vertically challenged), and a white dress for May Day.

Anyway, I have my Chinese oral tomorrow and I’m in nowhere prepared because the lessons we’re being quizzed on are “post office” d “sightseeing” the vocab in both sections are not my forte. If I need to know how to say “人老珠黃” ["women grow old and pearls turn yellow", idiom] tomorrow, I may just punch myself in the face. I also have a paper proposal for my CITIES class tomorrow and I haven’t even started and I need it to be done by noon because I have to catch a train at 12:20 to Philly so I help out at a Chinatown charter school. So, um. Yeah.

I definitely did not need a four hour nap today!

TO DO LIST:

1. Chinese homework/review of characters I still don’t know how to write (read: all).
2. Finish Wild Swans + paper.
3. Get at least 4 hrs of shelving done tomorrow, submit time sheet.
4. Prepare for my individual conference for tomorrow because I don’t know anything from this lesson.

Breaking out the Red Bull.

A lot of my favorite music puts me to sleep. I need more nu-metal and heavy rock songs.

We’re covering the first book of The Tale of Heike and I can’t keep anyone’s names straight (and I’m usually decent with names) which is a major problem. Plus I have to do a write-up for this and I’m so not up for discussing the role of gender in this piece when I can’t even remember who’s who. I should probably dispose of this piece of paper because I have notes like “JERK WHO EXECUTED HALF-BROTHER AND HIS FAMILY” scrawled on the margins, but hey, if it helps me remember…

2. Aikawa Nanase and Shiina Ringo are the Queens of Japanese Rock.

3. As much as I love Hell Week and I like being a sophomore rep (so I know all the behind-the-scenes stuff!), I am so exhausted and can’t wait for it to be over. I am, however, excited to see my hellee all gussied up for the traditional Crashing the Shipley Dance! I told her that she needed to collect numbers from all the boys– but they had to be written on her body. :P Yes, I’m mean. But my heller made me do the same thing last year– so it’s tradition!

4. I need to get my hands on some more J-rock songs. Where did Luna Sea, Uverworld, and The Pillows go?! (I still have the FLCL soundtracks though.)

I lost a lot of my collection during the Great Data Migration of ‘08 (translation: got a new macbook, old computer refused to give up some of my music, manga, and old writing–woeangst). I keep listening to Shiina Ringo and while I still rank OLIVIA my favorite Japanese artist ever (and favorite artist in general, she’s really that amazing)  Haiiro no Hitomi gives me chills. Shiina Ringo is a goddess.

5. I can’t wait to watch New Moon at the Campus Center. I hate the Twilight series and everything it stands for (DEAR IMPRESSIONABLE YOUNG WOMEN, please know that you should totally abandon your family for the selfish reason of being with your STATESQUE ASSHOLE UNDEAD LOVE) but at least it brings the lulz. If it’s truly painful, I have a stand-in date with Netflix. I can’t wait to see Love*Com.

6. Today was a “no make up day”. Stress and Hell week have caused havoc on my skin. Sleep schedule? Completely disrupted. That said, I’m surprised it’s not worse. Looks like my skin is on the mend!

I’ve gotten used to wearing make up just because a) I like sparkly things b) I need to wear blusher or I look like a ghost c) spending three minutes in the morning gives me a chance to orient myself /to get myself human before stepping out the door.

I also like to look nice. And I try to look nice. (I try really hard to look nice, okay.) On days when I go “screw it, I’m too tired to bother” I will inevitably bump into someone I like/want to impress. Every time. I just like to play it safe.

Waaatch me me bump into someone I like and become completely mortified. No make up, mussed up hair, my loosest pair of jeans, and a Columbia fleece. (I ought to do something about my bangs– they’re getting too long again.)

This happens every day and I’m usually okay because I sleep with my noise-canceling earbuds in, but I feel like I need to have a talk to her.

ME: … So, do you know that your alarm is set for 4 AM? …Because I know. <– I wish I could say that.

But yeah, if this happens again– I’m going to talk to her. I was in a total bitch “I HATE SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS AND BUNNIES WITH PANCAKES ON THEIR HEADS” mood yesterday.
But! Hell Week officially started yesterday at sundown and Melody is such a good sport. One of her Hell Week tasks was to ask people “Have you accepted the love of Severus Snape into your heart today?”

She printed out fliers; complete with a picture of a brooding Alan Rickman and instructions on the back on how to be “saved” by Severus Snape.

Today, one of her tasks was to wear all her eyeshadows. At the same time. Her first attempt was zombie extra-esque and her second attempt made her look like a victim of an unfortunate mugging. :D

(Also, tomorrow, she has to interject with “c’est ce qu’elle a dit” (that’s what she said) in her French class at every opportune moment.)

My hellee > your hellee.

So today’s shaping up to be a lot better than yesterday. I’ve witnessed countless Hell Week shenanigans, received Zombieland (finally, Netflix, finally!) and Love*Com in the mail, got two other packages (one of them containing my super comfortable new rainboots). I skipped my Chinese drills class and my Chinese professor (thankfully, not the one who conducts drills!) told me that she has already finished and sent my recommendation letter for my internship. We had a fascinating discussion on the Japanese Buddhist interpretation of Hell today in class.
All and all, I’m pleased. :D I’m probably going to skip my PE class today because I have to catch up on schoolwork. I’ve been very good about going to my classes this semester– I feel like this should be okay.

I am so tired right now. On the bright side, I managed to complete my hellee’s schedule and it’s only about eight freaking pages because I’m a little crazy. I finished my discussion question for Chinese Revolution, copied some notes from a class I missed, am currently thoroughly knackered.

However,  I still have  a bazillion pages to read for CITIES, a lesson to review for Chinese, and a lot of Chinese history to catch up on right now but all I can really think of is “bed, now”. I had a Red Bull earlier and there was a slight caffeine spike (followed by a headache) and really, I’m reading all these words and nothing’s sinking in. I think I’m calling it a night and hopefully waking up early tomorrow to get some more work done.

In other words, I need to post some passive-aggressive post-it notes by my bed that says stuff like “WAKE UP” and “DON’T FAIL CHINESE” and even “IF YOU DON’T DO THE READINGS, YOUR FAVORITE PROF WOULD BE VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU”. I need to find a way to shorten the last one so it’ll actually fit on a post-it note.

You see, whenever my mom goes anywhere– she is obsessed with finding the perfect parking space. It has to be near the entrance of the store and it has to be roomy (also preferably with neighbors with cars with sliding doors so there’s not a chance of them scratching her car).

It’s just one of her Things and I always make fun of her for it (“Mom, stop stalking that poor woman. Why don’t we park here? It’s only an extra fifteen steps.” “That’s not the point, I want to park there.”).

When I’m trying to find a carrel in Canaday, I look for one that’s not in open space (I don’t like studying in open spaces) so it has to be somewhat tucked into a corner. It has to have somewhat good lighting and it has to be near an outlet so I can charge my laptop. I also feel a bit weird about studying at a carrel that has someone has signed out (even if there’s nothing on the carrel itself) so it has to be owner-less.

And in even less exciting news, I am a little stressed and overwhelmed by my TO DO list because Hell Week starts tomorrow at sundown! YOU GO BRYN MAWR COCO.

Last night, I was totally lame and went to bed right after the EAS Chinese New Year dinner because I was tired and exhausted. I literally fell into bed at 8:30 PM and woke up at 7 AM more refreshed than I have in quite some time. So obviously, I should give up any chance of a proper social life and adopt the bedtime of a five year old.

♥ Michelle Branch can’t even be classified as a guilty pleasure.

If I just breathe/fill the space between/I know everything is all right

(I wish that were true, but for now, I can pretend.)

♥  I don’t know why I’m so tired right now…?

♥ I am terrified of bombing my Chinese exam. I’ve been trying to study– but I’ve had readings, write-ups, discussion questions for my other classes. I’ve had work, I’ve been busy with my study abroad stuff. I just plain slacked off during winter break and now I’m paying the price.

♥ The aloe vera plant that some girl left in my room over winter break is, uh, dying.

♥ Strawberry milkshakes are amazing.

♥ I am going to be so sore tomorrow. Guess who had to use 8 and 12 lb weights when they ran out of lighter ones in my PE class? I hope I end up in amazing shape after this semester (occasional strawberry milkshake treat aside).

♥ Two movies I want to see: Zombieland and Valentine’s Day. Could they be any more different? Probably not. If I could only see one, I would probably see the former. I think this says a lot about me. (A way through a girl’s heart is through violent zombie movies. Trufax.)

I woke up today at 8 AM with the world’s biggest crick in the neck (also, yay, back pain!) and my right ear keeps roaring. I’m pretty sure I now know what it’s like to be seventy years old, ancient, and having your body falling apart.

Well, I’ve dropped off my study abroad app at the Dean’s office and I have a scary individual conference with my Chinese prof at 4 PM… so I’m going to study now. :|

2. I am embarrassingly excited for Zombieland when it becomes available on Netflix. I may have a slight obsession with zombie movies (I find them hilarious, okay?).

3.  Words cannot describe how much I want the weekend to be here already. It’s only the second week and I’m already tempted to skip a class or two.

4. For future reference, playing the “where the fuck is my phone” game at 2:30 AM is not fun…. especially when your phone is on silent. (I found it in the crack between the wall and my bed.)

5.  I am so appalled. RPatz. Ten minutes away from my house. On Cornell’s campus. Where my mom works. Traffic is going to be an issue and I’m not sure if my hometown can accommodate all the crazy. I have nothing against RPatz– just his crazy following.

6. Seasonal affective disorder is a bitch.

7.  I need to stop feeling like the most incompetent person in any room. I know I’m not. I need to start believing it.

8. Merion 3rd/4th hall tea. Why are all the frosh so adorable?:D

9. It has come to my attention that I pretty much act like I was a (very affectionate) cat in a former lifetime. I just, um, really like cuddling people?

10. One of these days, the universe will stop picking on me.

This was the funniest thing I heard all day which speaks volumes of how terrible today was. :(