Getting Married TOMORROW!!!!

I can not believe that I am getting married tomorrow. At random intervals it hits me how close the wedding is and how much my life is going to change. I am giddily happy and excited and cannot convey this enough through the mere medium of writing. Unfortunately, won't be able to blog on the wedding day since my computer is in the process of being fixed, and I am currently using my mother's. We're going up to NY for the last 4 Sheva Brachos on Thursday and our last Sheva Bracha is going to be on Purim. That should be lots of fun! :) Of course, then we get back and I have to take an anatomy test and a Hebrew test. Not so fun, but not going to worry about it the day before my wedding. If you have any names you want me to daven for, just leave it in my comments, or shoot me an e-mail.

First Day of Class

I'm taking a hebrew class, and that was my first class of the semester. It was...interesting to say the least. Most of the students had some kind of background in hebrew, and for the most part were Jewish (though not religious), there were perhaps 3 or 5 who had no idea what was flying, and the teacher gave them hebrew names. We learned three letters of the 'aleph-beis' (not the first three letters either, don't ask me why, I've got not a clue) Anyways, this should be an interesting class throughout the semester. We were put into groups and I somehow became the self-proclaimed 'leader' of our group if only because I was the only one who knew what was flying and was not too shy to speak. Tomorrow starting two of my other classes, can't wait to see how that goes. And right now, Mariner is jumping on me, wanting to play, so I'm gonna stop typing so he'll stop drooling on my keyboard and play with him.

Burn Out

Stress. We all get stressed at some point or other. There's the good type of stress (preparing for a wedding, getting ready for guests) and the bad type (studying for a test, trying to finish a project/paper last minute). Either way, can lead to burn out. And boy, am I getting burnt out. Unfortunately from the bad kind of stress as opposed to the good kind. The good thing though is I'll be getting a month-long break from that after next Tuesday. Going up to NY for a week and a half, going to work, and in general relaxing. Then, once I'm recharged - back to school. A new semester, a new start, a new stress.

Classes

I don't think I really did a post on when this semester started, which is what I usually do. Cover what classes I'll be taking, which I think I'll love, which I think I won't be so fond of. Alright, the semester is already half over, but why not do that post now? I'm taking five classes, all of which are psychology related classes. This should, technically, make me very happy, right?
Wrong.
My first class is Biological Basis of Behavior, and everytime I go to this class I am reminded why I tended to skip anatomy in High School, and why I will never ever follow in my father's footsteps. It falls under WAAAAY too much information, and is (in my opinion anyways) too fond of big words for its own good.
My next class is Fractals in Psychology. The title is a bit misleading...what it boils down to is trying to convince a bunch of psych majors that "math is fun! and pretty!" At this point, I'm convinced that mathematicians are more than a bit crazy. Considering my college algebra teacher had a tendency to refer to problems as being "adorable" and "cute", and this teacher says "look at how pretty it turns out!" would you really argue with me? On the other hand, at least he tries to make it entertaining. Such as creating a hypercube ( a 4-D cube) from whatever you can find lying around at your house.
Class after that is the one I like the most. Social Psych, which has always fascinated me, as well as making the most sense to me. While I'm not into researching myself, the research that comes from this area of psych is pretty interesting stuff, all about how relate in our social settings, and how our cultures and environment effect us more than we think.
Second to last class, is probably my least favorite, if not actually tied with my last class. Billed as "Evolution and Animal Behavior" I was sold on it by the "animal behavior" bit. O'course, when I went to the class I was in for a bit of a surprise....we were gonna be learning Darwin...doing almost as close as we could be to meeting the man, we would be reading his biography, autobiography, and his most well-known work, "On the Origin of Species". Which currently, I have to read a chapter a week of and then come up with questions on it. And he is NOT an easy read, despite what my teacher seems to think. Plus I happen to completely disagree with one main part of his theory and have to sit through a 3 hour long class of people who agree with it...It's my once a week torture session.
The last class, which I hate almost as much as Darwin, is my Research Methods class. Now, I'm not going into the research side of psychology, however, the college I'm currently at only has a research psych graduate program, so that's what a lot of their classes focus on. So, like it or not, I have to write a research paper. Fortunately not expected to conduct a whole experiment myself, but I think I may have to do that before I can my B.A. And I'm a wee bit behind on it.
Well, that's it. All five classes. Thank goodness the semester is halfway over. Just need to survive the rest of it.

Pack or Herd?

Walking along the Breezeway, on my way back to my car after class, I looked around me and watched the way people walked. I saw a loose group of guys and girls walking easily and loosely. Then, around the corner I saw a group of guys walking, close together, very loud. The first thought that crossed my mind when I saw them was "Pack - predators". After that, I realized there were two ways people tend to group together, as a pack, like the predators they are, or as a herd...easily led, and easily swayed.
So how about you? The next time you're out and walking, you might want to watch...pack? Or herd?

Going to NY

Tomorrow I'm going to Brooklyn, NY for a friend from seminary's wedding. Staying there only till Sunday though, because I'm starting classes (again) on Monday. I just finished my semester today, and this is my "break", not very long, is it? On the other hand, only taking one class twice a week next semester, so it shouldn't be too bad.
Whenever I get into a discussion with a NYer about living in NY, I tell them I like visiting, but I wouldn't want to live there. For some reason, every NYer I have told this to, then decides to take it upon themselves to convince me how great NY is, and why I should live there instead of South Florida. I've heard it all, and I'm still not convinced. Then again, maybe I'm just biased. Both of my parents were born in NY and grew up there, and both of them hated it (which is why they moved down here obviously) so it's quite possible that I'm just brainwashed. But that doesn't mean I'm changing my mind, I love FL!

College

I'm taking 2 courses this summer, one is a basic computer class, the other is cognitive psychology. Now, technology, especially computers, is a wonderful thing. When it works. When it doesn't, I'm very tempted to go "Office Space" on them, with a good dose of some heavy artillary. I have a test in cog psych tomorrow, and I just hope that I don't completely mess it up. It's an interesting field, but a little bit much when packed into only 5 weeks of class.
I also went to a Bake Sale for Shavuos tonight, and we bought a very choclatey choclate cake ( I know, techically cheese cake is the food of the yom tov, but my brother and I get sick of it VERY easily). We listened to a fantastic speaker, Rabbi Jonathan Rietti, and watched a couple of BY girls put on a very amusing skit. All in all, a very enjoyable evening.
Now if only I could get out of this test, tomorrow evening would be nice too....

The Semester is OVER...Among other things

I took my last final last night, and got it over with in 20 minutes. I'm SO glad the semester is finally over, freedom at last...for about a week. And then starts summer class, oh joy. Oh well at least it's only 1 class as opposed to 4, and it will only last 6 weeks as opposed to 16. So there is a bright side. I still have work and will be looking for another job, for when the school year is over.
I took some new pics, and decided to show how big Mariner's gotten by comparison pics. In the first pic, he is 8 weeks old and about 10 lbs. In the most recent (taken today) he is 7 months old and weighs 50 lbs. He's huge. He steals food off the counter ( he LOVES peanut butter) and he goes for "drags" not "walks". He is also going to puppy training class starting tonight. The last picture is the back of a pick-up truck I saw in the Walmart parking lot. It looked so cool, couldn't resist sharing.

Studying for a Test

I've always found that the easiest way for me to study for a test is to read the material right before the test. Though this time I'm a bit nervous because I don't know how this teacher will test and from what I've heard, his tests are hard...also the fact that he wasn't able to finish the material that will be on the test in class hardly inspires my confidence. On the other hand, MOST of the stuff on this test I've learned about 3 times before, perhaps more. So it can't be TOO hard, right?
I hate studying....wish me luck everyone!

My Apologies....Yet Again

Today was the Presidential Inauguration....Barack Obama is now the President of the United States. Ok, I know I usually don't go into anything having to do with politics on my blog (for good reason, I have no wish to get into any political deabtes) but this is a historic day and should be noted....ok, it's been noted, that's all I have to say on it.
Anyways, I started my classes, I love all of them so far, which is a good way to start the semester. A bad way to start the semester however is getting a parking citation for not having a decal at one of my colleges. I'm taking 4 classes this semester: Personality and Social Development, Human Development, American History (with the same teacher that let me skip a final last semester) and Intro to Religion, which I haven't started yet and don't start till the 27th.
CJ came back from NY for a week, I hung out with her a total of twice in the time she was home. But at least I spent SOME time with her. She was enchanted with the pup (of course) though he kept on making spirited attempts to eat her clothes. (Which he does to me on a daily basis, he seems to think my skirt is very tasty)
Hmmm, what else...my brother is going back-packing with his best friend for two days, he's leaving on Sunday. And then on the 28th he's leaving to Chicago for a week to visit his rebbe, who just moved up there. Can't think of any other news now, but we'll see how the week goes.

End of the Semester and things to come

So the semester is finally over. I am SO glad. No more finals, no more papers, free for the next three weeks, life is good. I know I have been neglecting the blog, but hopefully, more updates will be forthcoming since I am no longer overwhelmed by school. Though I don't know how much I'll be updating when my friend SC is here, I'll certainly make some updates after that, and maybe include pics of where we went. So look forward to more updates, especially those on Mariner. I think he grows overnight...he's so big now! Will be putting up more pics once I load them on my comp, I think I lost my sd card adapter....but whatever. Eventually, you will be seeing more.

New Comp and Finals

Got up at 3 am Friday morning to get my new comp...went to Office Depot and waited 2 and a half hours for the store to open. I made friends with a couple of people already on line, an Isreali guy and his British girlfriend. Apparently his parents own a bakery in our area....and I found out later that my step-father knows the owner of the bakery. So I got my new comp finally, and now I have some pics of the pup on it. I also have finals this week whicdh means I prob won't really be updating till next week. In the meantime, enjoy pictures of the oh-so-cute puppy, Mariner!

Just a Few More Days....

Ok, I know I often talk about my brother, I live with him, I'm pretty close with him, but he has a tendency to drive me bonkers, that's what brother's do after all....problem is, he's 17, four years younger than me, but he often acts more like he's 7. And it's not that he has issues with long car rides, we've both done much longer car rides than a mere three and a half hours each way...but this time, for the first time, it's just the two of us, without my mother in the car. The good thing though is that since I'll be driving for the most part (he hates driving my car, but I'm hoping he'll take over some as well) there are parts where I will have to say, don't bother me I have to concentrate,and I know he WILL shut up then. That, and I went out and bought some things to keep him entertained. CDs, a movie, maybe even a book....whatever, anything that will keep his mouth shut. Maybe I should get duct tape too, just in case.....nah, I'm kidding, though I think during the trip I might be tempted.
I've been asked, why do we go to a breeder to get our dog, why not a shelter? We have several reasons not to get from a shelter, or a puppy store. Often times, pups that are in shelters came from something called a "puppymill" meaning that there was no pedigree involved, there is a good chance that later on the dog will develop problems, and get sick. By that point of course, the owner is too attached to the dog to bring it back and will spend thousands of dollars on vet bills. Secondly, with dogs in a shelter, you can't tell what their temperment will be like when you bring them home. Will they get along with the cats, will they be scared of everything they see, will they be aggresive towards everything and everyone, and those are not questions the people working at the shelters can answer. With a reliable breeder, they bring the puppies up by hand, make sure they're used to ppl and will get along with the family, they can pick out the pp most likely to get along with our family lifestyle, the pups are less likely to develop problems later on bec they have been bred from good lines with healthy bones. A reliable breeder will keep in touch with you, and you can always call them up to ask questions. Yes, it's a bit more money, but in my opinion it is totally worth it.
I think this answers a couple of questions, yes? If not, feel free to ask away, I'll answer the best that I can. Anyways, I got to go study for my test today, wish me luck!
FINAL NOTE: The last and probably biggest reason, *I* am not the one making the decision, not am I the one dishing out the money. My mother is. You have issues, take it to her, she'd be more than happy to explain why she'd rather go to a breeder than to a shelter.

Lakewood, Voting and Puppies

Lakewood was interesting, though to quote my friend that I was staying by its also "one of the most messed up places ever." The weekend I was there, there was a chicken shortage, apparently no chicken to be found anywhere in Lakewood, which was to me amusing, to the people of Lakewood, rather less so. I went to the wedding, had a blast, got to see friends I hadn't seen in a year, and the friend I stayed by I hadn't seen in two years, since she got married as a matter of fact. All in all, a great time, though I have definetly decided I never want to move to Lakewood.
Today I'm going to go vote after my afternoon class, and hope that it doesn't take TOO long, I'd like to be able to get to my evening class on time. Luckily, the place where I vote is within walking distance so it should all be good.
And on Sunday I'm going up to Tampa with my brother to look at the puppies. No, we're not bringing one home yet, they're only six weeks old, can't leave their mother till they're eight weeks. So two weeks after that, we'll be bringing one home. I can't wait to see them, so excited about that. However, the one thing I am most certainly NOT excited about, is sppending 6 to 8 hours in the car with my brother.... I really hope he doesn't drive me too nuts.

Narrative Traveling Essay

While going through my files, I found this. An essay that I had written for one of my composition classes, and it makes good post fodder. Enjoy!
What is every traveler’s worst nightmare? I will tell you, it is arriving at their destination and finding out that their luggage has been sent somewhere else. That is what happened to me two summers ago, as I embarked on a year long journey to study half way around the world. I was very excited. It was only my second time flying by myself, but this time I was headed for Jerusalem, Israel. This was something I had been planning for as long as I could remember. My parents had agreed that upon graduating high school, I could spend a year in a post-high school program in Israel, where I could pursue my religious studies and gain some independence at the same time. Little did I know at the time how quickly I would learn about the challenges that accompany independence. I was en-route from Florida to New York, and once in New York I would have to get my luggage and get ready to connect my next flight. The first flight went very smoothly, not much trouble to speak of, and then we landed in Kennedy Airport in New York. I got off the plane and made my way down to the luggage carousel to get my three, fifty-pounds, giant bags of luggage. After all, I was going to be in Israel for almost a year. When I first arrived at baggage claim one of my bags appeared pretty early. I had arranged for a porter to pick up my luggage and help me bring it to the next terminal where the International flights departed. I stood at the carousel and we waited, and waited, and waited some more. After what seemed like an eternity, the carousel stopped. It took me about 15 minutes to realize nothing else was going to come off.
That was when things started to get interesting. I went to the luggage claims office and I told them my luggage had not arrived. “We’ve been waiting for you to come in.” One of the women said. “Hold on while I look for your -” She asked me for all my flight information, which I gave her, and she started putting the information into the keyboard of the computer. When she finally found it, she told me that an error had been made. Instead of sending my other tow pieces to Kennedy Airport, it had been sent to LaGuardia Airport. It was the in the same city, but given how ineffective the baggage claims works and how bad the New York traffic is, it might as well have been in California. The woman politely informed me that it would take them at least three hours to get the luggage over to Kennedy airport/ I didn’t have that kind of time. I had to be by the other airline leaving for Israel by then!
I called my mother to let her know what was happening. My mother was livid. She had intended to fly with me to New York, but at the last minute my little brother got sick and she opted to let me handle flying by myself. She insisted on speaking to the lady in luggage claims. I’m not exactly sure what she said, but the woman was thoroughly chastened. In one brief phone call the situation changed from me getting my baggage in three hours, to getting it in one hour. “Your mother is pretty scary, you know that?” she asked me. I smiled, I knew.
I sat there for an hour waiting literally on the edge of my seat for my luggage to arrive. When it finally did, I was very relieved. I jumped up out of the chair and thanked the woman. She smiled somewhat nervously, I think she was glad to see me leave, andnot have to deal with my mother anymore. Fortunately for me, the porter was still waiting to take my luggage, so I handed it to him and we went to the terminal for the International flights. Then I gave him a very generous tip and thanked him.
After that, things went pretty smoothly. I had to wait another six hours to board my flight, and I met some of the girls who would be my class mates for the next year. When we finally got to Israel, I waited anxiously for my bags to arrive, praying that the same thing would not happen again. Happily, it did not. I got all of my luggage, right on time. Some of the other girls weren’t so lucky though. A few had to wait three days, and in some cases, even a week to get the rest of their luggage.
I have traveled a lot since that time and thankfully have never had to go through that again. I’ve learned to always have a carryon with all the essentials I might need to get me through a few days without my luggage. And, most importantly, I never take for granted that my luggage will arrive in a timely fashion. I am always very grateful when everything I checked in mysteriously re-emerges out of the black hole in the wall in the carousel.

College This Semester

Keeping true to my last several semesters here, I met someone is Jewish, but not religious, though the rest of thier family is. In this case, it's one of my teachers. *Sigh* It's getting kind of depressing.
All my professors this semester are good, but I've decided I really dislike online classes, there is absolutely nothing that will get me motivated for those classes. I've made some friends, (kind of, people that I talk to at least.) I start one more class tomorrow, and I wonder how that will go. This semester I'll be missing more classes than before, due to the holidays, but what can you do? At least all of my professors are understanding about it (even if they've never heard of some of these holidays, like Sukkos) So far my favorite classes are Psych (no surprise there) and history, the teacher is very good at getting you interested in the subject. I have my first test this week. and am not looking forward to it, mainly cause for me, first tests are always the ones I do the worst at. I don't have a very good idea of how the teacher tests, and so I mess up. Oh well, I just have to hope I don't do TOO badly.

Tropical Storm Fay

Thanks to Tropical Storm Fay, I didn't have class today, and I don't have class tomorrow either. So the good news is no class, the bad news is that it's due to a tropical storm, but at least it's not a hurricane. Our area (all of South Florida) is only expected to really get the out bands of the storm, it's expected to make landfall farther to the north and on the west coast of Florida. I'm just hoping that my flight out won't get canceled. I'm going to be in NY for two days, shopping. I mentioned a while ago about the challenge my mother set me? So since I passed it we're going to get me new clothes because my closet is two thirds empty. I'm looking forward to it. Again, assuming my flight doesn't get cancelled.

What I did on Vacation

Monday - Awakened at 5:30 am by the fire alarm, we had to go down 16 flights of stairs, and then wait 15 minutes to finally get on the elevator back up was given (5 minutes after we got down) fire alarm went off again at 8:30 and again twenty minutes later. My mother and I did not g downstairs those times, because by then it was pretty clear that some kid was playing a prank. My brother went down however. He mentioned that the first time, 4 fire rescue trucks, the second time 3 showed up and the third time only one showed up. And all the fire alarms came from the 14th floor. (Really the 13th but they don't have that as a floor) We went on Dolphin Watch, we saw a pod of dolphins and I lost my long cherished CIA hat.
Tues. - We rented a boat for 4 hours, my brother drove it, we stopped on a deserted beach and I collected shells. We also saw two small crabs, watching them walk was odd.
Weds. - We went to the IMAX and saw two films, The Grand Canyon, and Monsters of the Deep, both were pretty good. It rained all day.
Thurs. - Went miniature golfing, and went to Barefoot landing, a tourist shopping place. Also went to the shooting range where my brother rented a gun for half hour. He did pretty good on the target. There was also a civil war museum in the shooting range, I took quite a few pictures there.
Fri. - My brother and I went Jet skiing for the first time, I had loads of fun, but my bum and back are rather sore today.We drove down to Rita's for ice cream, and then we went to see TIGERS!!! There was the cutest little baby tiger, it couldn't have been more than four weeks old, and it was falling asleep while people were taking pictures with it. There were four really big tigers, they were gorgeous, and quite a few cubs. I wasn't able to take pictures however because I forgot my camera at the apartment. Go figure. I have decided that I would love to volunteer t wok with tigers this semester. I think that would be an incredible thing to do! I start classes on Monday, and I'm taking five this term...we shall see if I get anything interesting to post about from college (it's almost guaranteed at least once...)

Rant: Florida Drivers

I know I have ranted about this before, but I feel there are a couple of things that cannot be stressed enough. 1) Turn signals: they are on the car for a reason! Use them! And when you don't use them, don't be surprised that people aren't letting you in the lane, and are in your blind spot! Which leads me to: 2) Watch where you are going!!!! There are other cars on the road, and other people are in these cars, we are not mind readers, we can't tell what your intentions are! So please, use your turn signals, be aware of what's around you, and there will be far fewer close calls and far less accidents!

I spent some "quality time" with my brother today for three hours, I had to take him down for a doctor's appt. For 2 hours and 10 minutes of those three hours, he drove me absoulutely bonkers. The rest of the time? He was asleep, or in the doctor's office. So, as a result of this "quality time" my temper is a little frayed, hence; the rant. On the other hand, today I had my final and I am now done with Algebra! Whoot!

Testsand Birthdays

Looking back at the last post, geez, did I really write that? My brain must have been completely fried, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Yesterday I took my second to last math test, and I think (hope) I did well on it. I have two classes left and then I am done! Yesterday was also my kitten's first birthday, it's hard to believe she's a year old already. It seems like it was only weeks ago that she was a small ball of fluff, trying to climb over her gate, now she's a bit bigger and bouncing all over the house, but she'll always be a kitten to me.