Recap of the Semester

So...it's been a crazy semester. All sorts of inanity and insanity, which heavily contributed to my lack of postings. So what have I been up to?

1. I now work at the Career Development Office. I am a student employee, with regular hours and a paycheck that covers my gas and groceries and Miscellaneous Account bill. I make appointments, score personality tests, post jobs, and whatever other tasks they see fit to give me.

Greatest personal achievement? Making double-sided copies. Seriously, it's a life skill.

2. I had an internship with Zondervan, a Christian publishing company. I worked with one of the production editors, learning the business and editing manuscripts. I edited three (yes, three) manuscripts, and will receive credit on the copyright page. I also figured out what I want to be when I grow up, which is kind of a big deal.

Greatest personal achievement? I may/probably will receive an acknowledgement from the author of one of the books I edited. That's right, my name, in print. It's not on a cover (yet), but hey, for a 21-year-old aspiring writer/editor, I'll take it. I'm very, very excited.

3. I've been working out. Not as much as I'd like because of everything else I've been up to, but still going at it. Even started jogging a bit, though the cold weather has ended that for the moment. I may even have to get a new pair of shoes because I've worn my old ones out. That's right. I didn't outgrow them, I wore them out.

Greatest personal achievement? I lost another 4 pounds (bringing it to a grand total of 27 since the end of January), and managed to run 3 miles. Not regularly, but it's a start.

4. I had my first relationship. Now, because this is a semi-public forum, I won't go into details, but I was un-singleized for a while. It was fun. I got dumped in the middle of exam week. That wasn't/isn't fun.

Greatest personal achievement? Contrary to popular belief, having a relationship isn't an achievement. But I'm glad it happened.

5. I increased my church attendance. Because of my difficult experience with church in high school, going to church isn't easy for me. But over the past year or so, I've been trying to make it a regular habit, because I do feel like a church home is important. It's slow going, but I've managed to go more often than not this semester.

Greatest personal achievement? Sadly, it's merely getting out of bed on a Sunday morning, but the spiritual rewards have been amazing.

That's just a sampling of what I've been up to. It's been quite a busy, stressful semester, but it's been a wonderful experience. It also makes me look forward to next semester, which will (hopefully) be a little slower-paced. So what's in store for me?

1. JUST 14 credits (two Japanese classes, my senior seminar, and then 18th Century British Lit and Women's Self-Defense for fun)
2. Work at Career Development
3. The Festival of Faith and Writing (I'm hosting two authors now, and I'm very, very excited)
4. Preparing for post-grad life (AHHH!!!)

I'm sure there is much inanity and insanity to be had.

Frustration: Road Rage and Me

I hate driving. People who know me know that I hate driving, because I am (excessively) vocal about my hatred of driving. It's a stressful, dangerous task to me. Especially parking.

However, I have done rather significant drives on my own. Yesterday, I drove 9 hours from family in Ohio down to North Carolina, accompanied by a carefully constructed playlist, snacks, coffee, and a dramatized, audible rendition of The Two Towers. This was part two of my journey; Wednesday, after my last exam, I packed the car and drove 5 hours from Michigan to Ohio. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), my bum was not too excited to be in the driver's seat again. But I had the best light at the end of the tunnel: home.

* * *

I pulled off the last highway, Peabody, my trusted-yet-despised GPS chirping at me to turn right, and then left. I, the ever faith Igor to her Frankenstein, obeyed. I turned right, scooting into the left turn lane.

But I was too slow. The light turned yellow, and not being one to tempt fate (or traffic cameras), I reluctantly stopped at the thick white line. It was frustrating: so close, yet so far away. Why couldn't the 70 mph speed limit and lack of traffic signals extend all the way to my driveway? I watched as Peabody's ETA crept up a whole minute. Another minute dividing me from home.

Behind me, a woman honked her horn. I looked in the rearview mirror to see her gesticulate at me. She was dressed in business attire, driving a nice car. I gesticulated back through the mirror. "What do you want me to do, b****?" I asked angrily. Usually, this question is directed towards Peabody. I'm sure she was relieved to have the cursing targeted elsewhere. 

My brows were furrowed, my lip curled, my shoulders tensed nigh to my ears. The road-rage beast, already stirring from lack of sleep, food, and patience, was awake. 

Maybe, just maybe, the woman behind me is a nice person. Maybe she had someplace to be. But after I've been driving for two days after a very stressful exam week, you don't get the benefit of the doubt. You get called naughty names.

You won't like it when I'm angry.