Accepted

I have officially been accepted into the Masters of Arts in Theology program at St. Thomas! Though there really wasn't much doubt, it is nice to have that official confirmation. Now I just have to hope I get the scholarship...but right now I'm going to bask in the excitement of my acceptance!

Let's start this fake college. Then, we'll go start a meth lab somewhere. It's a gateway crime. That's how these things start.

Woot Woot

I'm officially a college graduate, as of the 18th. Graduation was long, but exciting. A little sad too, as I didn't really think about the fact that that is the last time, at least for probably a very long time, that I will see some of my friends. Commencement itself wasn't too bad; the student speaker was excellent, but the commencement speaker wasn't so great. People were, of coure, pretty annoying and cheered for their friends/relatives. I just don't get why people have to do that--it makes it take much longer and it's unclassy. Mostly it was good though. It was a beautiful day too, so that was nice.

The day after graduation Eric and I went to Turtle Lake Casino in WI. We chose that casino because they have craps and roulette. However, it turns out that craps is really confusing, so we didn't even play it. And we were really unlucky at roulette. We played a lot of blackjack though, and did ok there. Plus, we won $40 total between 2 slot machines, so that was cool. Overall, with our losses at roulette, we ended up about $20 up from where we started. But we honestly probably spent about 10 hours at the casino, so that's pretty good overall. The only disappointing thing was that the casino and hotel (where we had a jacuzzi suite) were not attached. It was a little weird, but at least they had a shuttle 24/7 so we didn't have to drive over. All in all, it was really fun.

My interview last Friday went great! I'm pretty much in--they don't make the final decision, but they are recommending me to the guy who does. Plus, they gave me a reading list for the summer (just some documents and a book that came up during the interview), so I think that's a good sign. Plus, they told me that although I won't find out officially until the beginning of June, I'm supposed to contact them sooner to get the process of figuring out classes and registration and things like that started. Now I just have to hope that I get the 80% off tuition scholarship that I applied for! I won't find out about that until the beginning of July, and I'll probably have another interview for that at some point. It feels good to have this taken care of, and for things to be going well.

Now, it's summer, and even though I have to work, it already rocks. Not having classes, and even more importantly, not having homework, has really opened up my schedule. My life is much more relaxing. Plus, unlike the past 6 summers, I don't have to work at PEI. Yay! I don't even have to work 40 hours a week. It's so nice! This summer is going to be so much fun.

"Do you think she woke up one morning and said: I think I'll go to law school today."

End of the Year

I finished my last paper today and will be emailing it to my professor tomorrow (just to make sure it's perfect, well, good enough anyway). I'm so excited to be done, even though I still have graduation on Sunday. It is just so nice not to have homework anymore! I also don't have anything detailed to write about, so I'll just give a couple of quick updates.

Everyone knows about what happened to my dad, and I am so happy they caught the people who did it. It was a hard couple of days for my family, but we all came together and took care of each other and my dad. He's healing ok and hopefully he will be ok.

Graduation is on Sunday-I'm excited to be done, but not so much to go through the whole process. I don't know why, but I'm just not excited for commencement. Maybe it's because I have to be there at 8:15 and I won't be leaving there until after 4. The hooding ceremony and masses are at 9 and 11, and the 11 was full by the time I signed up so I'm going to the 9:00 one, which means being there at 9:15. Then there is a continental breakfast, and at 1:30 I have to be back in the chapel to line up for graduation. Commencement starts at 2 and apparantly will last at least 2 hours. Then I'm sure there will be pictures with parents and friends and whatnot afterwards, that will take awhile. On the plus side, Eric and me and our parents are all going out for dinner afterwards which will be a nice way to celebrate. And even though I have to get up super early, I'm glad I'm going to the 9:00 mass because the way the timetable works, those who are going to the 11:00 one won't get more than 15 minutes of continental breakfast. Poor planning to me, but whatever.

To celebrate my graduation even more, Eric and I are spending a night at Turtle Lake casino-they not only have slots and blackjack, but also craps and roulette. We're excited. And if we run out of money too fast, we got a jacuzzi room.

Tomorrow I have my interview to complete the application process for grad school. It's about time-the lady I talked to took forever contacting me, and I had to make the effort more than once to call her and figure things out. Apparantly there are 3 staff members I interview with, and I think one might be a priest (but that might be an unfounded assumption). I'm nervous, but my application is strong and I love theology, so I feel confident. Nervous, but confident. Seems contradictory. I will write again either when I know how I did or when I get it.

That's what's big in my life right now. Soon I will be a college graduate, but hopefully still a student!

Stay in school and use your brain. Be a doctor, be a lawyer, carry a leather briefcase. Forget about sports as a profession. Sports make ya grunt and smell. See, be a thinker, not a stinker.

One Day at a Time

My last week of college (at least undergraduate) is fast approaching. Tomorrow is my last Monday of classes. I should be sad, or excited, or something, but really I'm still just stressed out about the work I have left to do, and all the crap people keep piling on me. Plus I think I'm just ready to get out, and it's sad that I don't feel more excited about it. Maybe it's because I'm planning on going to grad school (I have to do an interview as part of the application process, and when I called to see if they had received all my application materials they said they had and that they'd be calling me soon, that was a week ago so I feel like I should call again), but I just don't feel like I've made much progress, or that this is a big deal. And yet, I know it's a big deal, and a part of me is excited to graduate from college. Eric and I are going to celebrate it, not really with anybody but just together. We might go out to dinner with our parents afterward, hopefully. I think some of my fellow graduates are having parties or something, but I didn't think that was common. Is it? I'm not going to do it, but am I missing out? I don't think so. I just wish I felt more excited to graduate, like it was as big of a deal as I know it is. But really, I am just stressed about finishing and the little details with loans and papers and making sure I've taken care of all the right forms and whatnot. Let's hope after this week (or more like after my papers are done) I will be more excited!

"Having taken a few classes at the University this year, I have glimpsed our future. And all I can say is.....go back."

Stupid Thing That Matt Did

Matt did this and is "making" me do it, so here it is (the following is copied right from his blog).

1) Open the nearest book to page 123.
2) Post sentences 6, 7, and 8 from that page.
3) Tag five others.

"We start by observing that the Arabic word Jihad means 'striving for any good end.' As used in the Qur'an and by Muhammad in the speech above, Jihad means striving to obey God's call that we praise him and serve his creation. Jihad has an inward and outward direction."

From "Do We Worship the Same God? Comparing the Bible and the Qur'an" (It's for my studies in world religions course.)

I don't know if we can tag any of the same people, but I have to otherwise I don't have enough. So, Eric, Emily Powell (who I hope still reads this), Mom, Dad, and Maria (who now has to do it twice).

"What about you? You don't have any needs?"
"No. I'm Jesus."