These Are the Voyages of Christina TM

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My grades came today. My scholarship is gone for good. To add insult to injury, I got a nice C in my Rhetoric class, my absolute worst English grade ever.

I think I'll go throw myself off a bridge.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18919775?GT1=9951

Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Cindy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5yFxPg8Cjg

So...I was noticing the other day that whenever I have something on my hip, in my arms, or against my chest, I have to bounce/rock/etc. like I'm holding a baby. Doesn't matter what it is-my computer, a textbook, a bag of groceries-anything. I don't notice I'm doing it. I wouldn't even be making this post had a lady in my class not said to me, "Wow, you must have a baby!" when she saw me exhibiting this behavior on Thursday.

I have to wonder if this is a genetic female thing, the whole mom instinct. Maybe I spend too much time with small children? I shall have to watch this now that I'm not a gymnastics teacher anymore and my time with toddlers is going to decrease drastically.

So I completed my first week of biology at UNH. I'm so glad I didn't go there. Hillsdale may be out to ensure that I never have a respectable GPA again, but at least my classmates aren't hung over and stoned.

The class will probably be pretty easy. The TA who does the lab has such a heavy accent I can barely understand him. Eh, I'll figure it out. It's all worth it for the bagel place up the street.

There is also a nudist park in Brentwood. Uh, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? That's just so incongruous with NH, especially northern NH.

I really need to figure out how to get videos onto my computer. People do it all the time; how hard can it be? Does anyone know how to do this?

Heroes = Is Peter dead?? I like Peter! Can he survive the explosion? What about Nathan? Could the blast at least reach the Wicked Witch of NYC, aka their mother? I guess all that will be answered in the fall.

I so called Matt buying it. Score! Though I liked him too. Poor fellow. I think he's the unluckiest Hero. But I thought Sylar would live to be a pain in everyone's neck again next season. And though I know it couldn't happen, I kind of wanted Mohinder to off him. I really wanted to hear that refined British accent say, "You have so got to die." Completely out of character, but I would have laughed.

Today in biology we were talking about isotopes. Apparently in the Seabrook area children are given a pill of radioactive iodine to take in the event of an accident at the power plant. Supposedly it will protect the thyroid from nuclear radiation.

Huh? What good's a perfectly healthy thyroid when the rest of your body's turning into a radiation sponge? People who buy this could only be public school teachers.

I'm contemplating making my journal friends only.

24 = awesome. The ending wasn't so hot but what else could they do? Poor Jack :(.

I have become addicted to Heroes. I must carve out an extra hour in my schedule this fall to watch it.

I have a hair thing. I notice everyone's hair. Peter and Isaac need haircuts and combs. Mohinder needs a haircut, a comb, and a razor. Somehow though it works for him. Hiro could use a haircut too.

I took some time to browse the Heroes fanfiction today. I wish I hadn't. Mohinder/Sylar? Hello! Mohinder = good guy. Sylar = bad guy. That's just disturbing. Nathan/Peter? BROTHERS! Peter/Claire? OK, even before we discovered they were related...Claire is a MINOR! EW!

That's all, folks. More biology tomorrow!

I mailed out my payment to Pembroke today. I hate spending money. I really hate spending money when the reason for spending it is my stupidity.

I sleep SO MUCH BETTER on my Bob-O-Pedic. It is AMAZING.

Monday is back to school for 5 weeks. I still have not a parking pass or my book.

Numb3rs = Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?? I like Colby!!! COLBY IS NOT ALLOWED TO BE A SPY!!! Grg.

I've been catching up on Heroes since I can't watch it at school. Yay for DVR!

I'll probably have something to say about all the immigration bruhaha later. Or maybe I'll spare you all since you know what I'm going to say. I'm still stutter-stepping back into talk radio and news, since I'm so isolated from all that in school.

Last night I learned an important lesson I wish to pass on: should any of you receive a ticket in Pembroke Township NY, pay it. They require the officers to show in court and getting off a ticket is next to impossible.

So yes, the trooper who busted me showed. I thought I got off because there were 3 other people there contesting speeding tickets. All the other officers called them out to the hall prior to their trial and negotiated a bit. Mine didn't. I thought he wasn't there, but I was wrong.

Anyhoo, the judge was really nice to everyone except me. When I went up to trial the officer gave his testimony, which consisted largely of his expertise in using a laser. That might have been relevant had I been trying to contest the fact that I was speeding. My testimony consisted of "I was speeding, I shouldn't have been, but I had to get to school on time. I'm at your mercy."

The judge said, "Is that th best you can do?"

I wanted to say, "No, Your Honor. I could easily make up a much better story. But that would be lying under oath, and I've watched enough JAG to understand that's a bad thing." But I just said, "Yes, Your Honor."

The judge said, "Well this is easy. You're guilty as sin, young lady."

I said, "Yes, Your Honor, I am."

The judge looked at me like I was nuts and said, "So why are you here?"

"To be perfectly honest, Your Honor, I was hoping Mr. State Trooper to my right here wouldn't show tonight."

"What made you think that? Our troopers always show in court."

The judge had succeeded in making me feel like a dolt. "I wasn't aware of that, Your Honor."

The judge proceeded to take me to the cleaners about how I could have gotten in an accident and blah blah blah. I mean honestly. I took driver's ed. I have a mother who gave me this same speech.

The ticket was reduced "against Mr. State Trooper's best judgment" from $250 to $200. Better than nothing, I suppose. Now I just have to wait for my next hearing date for that ticket I got on the Mass Pike. And hope I don't get a ticket for not having a parking pass when I start bio at UNH on Monday.

Why not to have children in a wedding:

"I hate it when people put their toddlers in weddings and end up pushing them down the aisle. It's not like we don't all see this, and it detracts from the sacredness of the moment to see the fat bottom of some woman in a silk shantung suit duck-walking down the aisle going, 'Go on now, Misty Rae! You can do it!' Inevitably this is greeted with tears, and the flower basket is tossed until the duck-mama gives up and says loud enough for everyone to hear, 'If you want that Dora's Talking Doll House, you'll move your ass down that aisle right now, little missy, you hear me?'" - Celia Rivenbark, Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank and Other Words of Delicate Southern Wisdom.

2 days away from LiveJournal is an eternity for me. There's just been nothing to write about, except that I've been unpacking a lot.

As of last night, I am the proud owner of a Bob-O-Pedic Tempurpedic knockoff mattress. w00t! It's sweet.

Thursday is my court date to appeal Speeding Ticket #1. I sure hope the trooper who busted me has better things to do on a Thursday night in May than ensure that I pay $255 to the court.

I have arrived. I got ANOTHER speeding ticket. 75 in a 65, high speed lane. When I slowed down from 77, the guy behind me sped out going about 90 and I got pulled over. Nice judgment call, TJ Hooker. You all know how I feel about ragging on people who put their lives on the line so I can be safe, but seriously.

Aside from that my drive was...miserable. Yeah. Thoroughly miserable. Bank of America saw a transaction coming from Canada when I tried to put gas in my car and froze my account, so I had no money for that night and the morning until I went to a bank and got it fixed. And it poured rain after I left Mitch in Detroit so I couldn't drive faster than 40mph. And I hit road work and traffic. Overall a lousy drive and I'm glad it's done.

I guess that's all for now.

With the exception of handing in 2 papers, I am done for the year. This is my last post from Hillsdale until the fall. Not sure how well my Spanish final went, but I think I'll be able to keep my B. I hope so anyway. *crosses fingers and prays*

So yeah, no idea what the semester holds for me in terms of grades. I know I'm not getting my scholarship back. My Rhetoric grade is resting on my prof's mercy and grace. Unknown how I'm doing in American Lit either. A in piano, A in the CCA. So there's 2 credits of As. American Heritage is also unknown, but I'm predicting and hoping for a B. It's never as bad as I think it will be, and yet I still lose sleep.

Need to pack. I leave to drive Mitch to the airport at 2:30 and then head for HOME!

Here is my article for the Forum. The staff edited it but I'm too lazy to fix the original.
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http://www.dailycollegian.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=e98f25b9-1259-484e-92b1-5ad0a414fa59

I guess liberals aren't beyond hope after all. And this was at Planet U-Mass, too.

In the next 24 hours:
Study for Spanish final
Finish 2 American Heritage papers
Pack up my room
Get my tire checked for a leak
Do laundry.

SO close to The End...

I'm back, for a few days anyway. Nearly missed my connecting flight in Phoenix.

The Ranch was cool, as always. My camo pants grab heat and hold onto it for dear life. Maybe they weren't the best choice. I had an uncooperative horse on the horseback ride. There were 3 of us there from 2 years ago and 2 are graduating :(. I am a recertified conservative. I better make sure I get back next year.

Pictures:

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Chatting with Tammy Bruce. She's a really nice lady, and very interesting.

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Reagan pictures at the Reagan Ranch Center.

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Rutter & Me. Last name on the certificate is obscured because that would defeat the purpose of not using my last name online.

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Picture of a picture. My flash kind of obscured it but props go to anyone who can tell me what's wrong with Gorbachev's hat.

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Group shot. Where am I?

These and more are on Facebook. If you want to friend me search for Christina TM.

Today I took my American Lit and Rhetoric finals. w00t! I sure hope I did well on my Rhetoric final...and the paper my prof let me rewrite...and the research paper. This guy's given me way more grace than I deserve so I really want to do well.

The End - 2 finals and 2 papers

I didn't get the Speakers' Bureau Director position with the CRs. They said they still want me to help. We'll see what happens.

Tomorrow is my pilgrimage to Mecca, otherwise known as the Club 100 trip. I shall return late Monday morning.

My hand hurts.

Today is study day, which for me = sleep day. I stayed up late last night doing homework. 2 finals tomorrow, American Lit and Rhetoric. I'm not as panicked as I should be about either.

I'm going to run for the speakers' bureau chair in the College Republicans. It would be kind of nice to have other people help me bring cool speakers to Hillsdale.

I got published in the Hillsdale Forum!!!! They are not sophisticated enough to publish online so I'll find the text of the article on my computer somewhere and post it. Also, I was the cover story.

I quit my job. Yep. Monday will be my last day as a gymnastics teacher.

FRIDAY IS THE REAGAN RANCH!!!!

Yesterday I got an email notifying me and the other Club 100ers that we're going to the Reagan Ranch Center for dinner on Saturday night and we need to not look like slobs. The problem is all my dress clothes are packed and vacuum-sealed in space bags. So I have 2 options:

A: Open up the space bag, get my good clothes, and go through the hassle of resealing it.
B: Pair a plain T-shirt with decent pants and hope nobody notices my sneakers.

Overhauled my LJ last night. I don't think my icons will make Amelia as happy as last month's did, though I am rather pleased with my default. And yeah, pink kitties and flowers...not my usual thing. Hey it was next in line. Maybe I'm getting more in touch with my inner girly girl.

Last day of classes!!! w00t! Need to go study now...

Courtesy of Dr. Mike's latest article:

http://www.herchurch.org/index.html

I have no words.

This morning's Rhetoric class was...wow. Since we really had nothing to do, our teacher said we could ask him anything we wanted because he's leaving and we'll never get another chance. After a few wisecracky ones such as: "How did you meet your wife?" and "What do you make of Tom Bombadil?" a student asked, "What do you like so much about CS Lewis?"

Being a rather large Lewis fan myself, I sat up a bit straighter. The prof went on for awhile about theological things and whatnot.

Then he said, "My favorite part of Lewis is at the very end of The Last Battle, when the Pevensie children go into New Narnia and..." And here the poor fellow got all choked up on us. "And it goes on and on forever, and it keeps getting better, and the story never ends. That's my hope for all of you."

Ah well, I suppose you had to both be there and be a mushy and emotional female to appreciate it. Call it too many Senior Nights at youth group when PA made comments like this. I hope I see this guy again someday and I can tell him my life has kept getting better. I hope my life keeps getting better.

Now I must discipline my mushy and emotional female mind to study for my Spanish oral exam.