Miss twenty-something

I am officially a twenty-something. I feel like everything happens in this decade of life.... graduate college, start your career, get married, buy your first house, start a family. Or maybe move to Africa with only what you can fit in your carry on. It's a toss up.

My mommy came to visit the weekend before my birthday. She took me to Sam's and bought me enough groceries to (hopefully) last for the rest of the semester, plus a very cute birthday cake that we dug into at 11:58 pm on the 16th -- Christine gave up sweets for Lent.

Our stove is a little messy. So is the rest of our apartment.

Andrea came in town the next weekend. It was so nice having her around. The second she left, I called a friend to come keep me company. One of our excursions was to the tattoo parlor, which started off with a proposal.

I felt like a creeper taking a picture, but I thought they might want it. I got her email address.

It's Hebrew for "life." Because Jesus gave me one, and I don't plan on wasting it.

A lesson in closing doors

I may have learned a lot of things thus far in college, but apparently I have not learned how to close the front door.

I bolted out the door--late, as usual--yesterday afternoon to meet a friend at Starbucks. The second the barista handed me my hot chocolate (my taste buds are not sophisticated enough for coffee), I got a panicked message from my roommate that she had come downstairs to find the front door open and all of the cats gone. She had managed to catch four out of five (yes, we're up to five cats at the moment, I'm as horrified as you are), but my baby girl Greta was nowhere to be found.

One Chinese firedrill and a spilled hot chocolate later, my friend and I made it back to my apartment building and joined in on the epic search. We questioned neighbors and trekked through snow for half an hour, me all the while trying not to have a breakdown. I finally thought to ask Christine if she had checked under my bed, Greta's favorite hiding place... but she wasn't there either.

She was lying on the floor in front of the heating vent. That's my girl.

Happy Valentine's Day. :)

Yawn...

I survived my first all-nighter. I didn't even cheat! It's 12:01 AM on Thursday morning, and I have not slept since Monday night. Not even a nap. And it doesn't look like I'll be getting one anytime soon, because I have an ad to make for work and a very long chapter to read for class. My textbook is eluding me at the moment, and I'm not sure if I should take that as a sign that a) sleep is more important than a possible pop quiz or that b) I desperately need to clean my room.

The good news is, I'm 95% sure I got an A on my first exam, so it's all worth it. (I'll be telling myself that tomorrow when I'm nodding off during choir rehearsal.)

I should probably take up caffeine.

Who needs GPS?

I get the biggest feeling of satisfaction when I find my way somewhere. This evening I parked in a random parking garage, emerged with no idea which direction I was facing, but managed to make my way to my meeting just on time (without getting lost!) Maybe this campus isn't so daunting after all. Knock on wood.

I just left my first Alpha Phi Omega meeting, and I'm EXCITED. It's a non-Greek co-ed service fraternity full of really cool people, and I can't wait to meet all of them. I'll be initiated next month.

Tomorrow I'm signing a lease at my new house, and I'm very excited about that, too. Isn't it beautiful?

Only half of it is mine, no worries. Three bedrooms, two bath, big garage, and I can have my cat. (Did I mention that it's cheaper than my ghetto townhouse?) I'll miss my nutty, nice, crazy awesome roommate... but now I'll have two to keep me company. :)

What a wonderful day. And now on to studying for my first exam of the semester........

Change of address

I'm considering taking up residency in the library. I just wrote down all the readings/assignments/studying I have to do in the next couple of weeks, and I'm not sure I'll have time for a silly little thing like sleep.

(I'll have time for eating, though. I always have time for that.)

Priceless

Overpriced Mizzou hoodie: $40

Fancy new laptop with webcam: $1200

Messy room in ghetto townhouse: $350/month

Ignoring a mountainous pile of schoolwork: Priceless

Hi. My name's Eliza.

Why don't we talk to each other!? I am dying of curiosity. There are people everywhere here. I sit by someone new in class everyday. I bump into people on the sidewalk, in the restroom, at the rec center. But we never say hi. I know I'm feeling particularly alone on this campus, but I can't be the only one. There are 25,000 people here. Odds are, most people are surrounded by strangers for a majority of the day. So why don't we introduce ourselves? Maybe I should.

(I am feeling especially cut off from civilization right now because I am without a cell phone and will continue to be so until tomorrow afternoon. It's sort of relaxing in a way. In other ways it makes me want to pull my hair out.)

In other news, I've decided that since I'm particularly excited about my 20th birthday, why not celebrate the entire week? I'm compiling a list of 20 things that I want to do. They're all pretty simplistic (and by simplistic I mean cheap). But I'm up to 17 tentative ideas so far and I can already tell it's going to be one heck of a week.

Here's a sampler:
1. Shoot a gun. (Not AT anyone. I'm still brainstorming on the target...)
2. Go to iHop at midnight. Tradition.
3. Go bowling in Fulton. They have the coolest bowling alley EVER.
4. Make a chocolate cake.
5. Have an old-fashioned, junior high-esque slumber party.

Conversations of college students

Me: I'm going to be homeless after college. Thank you, student loans.
Tabitha: Sounds frighteningly familiar.
Me: At least you'll be homeless in France. You can sleep on a bench by the Eiffel Tower.
Tabitha: Maybe. A bench in France is probably better than a bench here.
Me: Definitely. I'll be living in a box by the Missouri River.


Me on the phone at Walmart: "They have EVERYTHING in Great Value! Granola bars... chicken nuggets... poptarts..."


Kyle: "I'm on my way to a party."
Me: "It's Monday night!"
Kyle: "A study party."


Brooks: "I work out everyday."
Me: "Everyday? Grief."
Brooks: "I have to work off the beer somehow."
Me: "So THAT'S why the Rec Center is always full!"