Posted in Uncategorized, tagged final countdown, GREs are to grad school as... on April 23, 2012| 4 Comments »
I can count on one hand the number of classes I have left.
I can count on the other the number of assignments I have left to turn in.
To get to graduation I still need all my fingers and toes (and an extra hand), but it’s a far cry from where I was when I first got the senioritis bug.
I feel giddy. And anxious. But mostly giddy.
Because graduating means never again having to say:
“No thanks. I’m spending all Saturday at the library.“
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged checking things off my list(s), growing up, holidays, kitchen trials, learning is fun!, you learn something new every day on April 9, 2012| 4 Comments »
I have just over two months to complete my birthday list and, as usual, I seem to be letting things get down to the wire. So this past Easter weekend, in between celebrating, I checked two more things off my list.
1) I changed a tire! (Last year I learned to check the oil.)
Now, to be fair, I didn’t put the spare on – I just practiced taking off the current tire and putting it back on. That proved to be the hardest part, though, lining up the tire so I could reattach it.
BNF and my brother were coaching me along the whole way (with BNF also taking the photos), and then my parents came out to add their two cents as well. An audience of four isn’t quite the same as having to do this on the side of a busy highway, but it’s a start. And it’s more than I knew how to do before.
It’s safe to say that I was pretty proud of myself.
BNF told me to look tough. I tried, then couldn't help but laugh, resulting in the odd face in the photo.
2) I made empanadas!
When I try them again, there are a few things I’ll do differently, starting with finding (or making) a different dough. Due to lack of options I used Pillsbury, and it just wasn’t the same.
But once I got the baking time right, they were delicious!
Still not quite like my future mother-in-law’s, but I have plenty of time to practice.
I’m sure BNF won’t mind taste testing.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged childhood, life lessons, quack, sports on April 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Hear me out.
Before you scoff, think about all the life lessons you can learn from the Mighty Ducks franchise. (And by franchise, I mean the first two movies. The third was forgettable, at best.) They may be more applicable than you realize.
1) Ducks fly together. It’s simple, really. Your friends have your back through thick or thin, peewee hockey or the Junior Goodwill Games.
2) Don’t quack at your boss unless you’re prepared to forfeit your job. It’s generally frowned upon in the work place, though I don’t know that for a fact since I’ve been too nervous to try it out on El Jefe. Quacking with friends, however, is an awesome way to get fired up. I’ve debated trying to encourage it on my softball team, but I don’t think it would fly. (Ha!)
3) Contrary to what Will Smith sang, the bad guys always dress in black. The Hawks, Team Iceland – both in black, both bullies. Coincidence? I think not. That said, there’s always hope for them. Even Gunnar Stahl had a nice word for the Ducks after the game.
4) “Two minutes, well worth it.” Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. And be prepared to defend your convictions, even if they put you in the penalty box.
5) Learning in the classroom must be supplemented by on-the-street experience. It teaches you to think outside the box and embrace new ideas – like the knucklepuck.
6) Being called a “cake eater” is not a good thing. To me, this is counter-intuitive. If you call me a cake eater and I’m actually eating cake, I think, “Indeed! And it’s delicious!” If you call me a cake eater and I’m not actually eating cake at the time, well, then it just feels like you’re being a tease and I start thinking about cake. So I probably wouldn’t have responded appropriately to Terri’s insults.
7) And finally, sometimes awkward ducklings really do grow into very attractive swans.
