I know, I know. I owe you an update. Preferably a real one instead of just a little blurb. But... will you let me sleep first? I promise, when I wake up I'll write. I just feel like a sledgehammer went to my head and I need to sleep.

Promise.

eh.

Do you know how hard it is to find a list of agencies for things like child abuse and the like? Granted, you're probably sitting there thinking "Silly Courtney, pick up a phone book."

...

I don't have an Allentown phone book. And since my assignment is to get a list of agencies for the area I want to teach in, well, I'm doing Allentown. (Whilst donning my Cedar Crest sweatpants. <3 yay.) But I'm having a lot of trouble trying to locate any agencies... maybe if I put in words like organization or community. I mean, I know they have to be there. Cedar Crest had way too many volunteer opportunities with groups of this sort to not have it! Gah. I need to be up there apparently to do this. I'm getting an Allentown block from Delaware. 

I'm also really tired, since that "Hey, I'm up at 1 am updating my blog" thing from last night had me up until 5 am. And I woke up around 9:30 or 10. So really, I had no sleep. And I painted more at work tonight, and was a rather snooty bitch while there I'm afraid. But, it was just one of those days... with the exception that I do not draw firemen hats every day. That was quite unique. And took forever. I never have spent 5 hours on making a sign before. A bit much. 

I really just want to snuggle up with my teddy bear and fall asleep, but for some reason I'm instead doing homework on a Friday night (That in and of itself is just WRONG. But, I also don't mind... since one day I will be doing lesson plans all the time). 

Speaking of homework, I go for my first class observation this upcoming Tuesday. Dude. Awesome. I'm going to Tall Oaks school (which I need to figure out WHERE it is because I don't know), and I'm gonna sit in on a 6th grade gym class before I go off to my own class that night. Exciting? Yes it is. But that's still two work days and a Psychology class away (which reminds me, I have a psych response to do as well)... it's also possibly at least one karaoke away (knowing me), but that's only possibly at this moment in time. 

I'm gonna stop writing about school now, try to see if I can get a little of this agency assignment done (which, by the way, is worth only 63 points of my final grade. That's it. No more), and then I am going to pass out for about 6-7 hours since I have to be back to work at 8 tomorrow morning (gross!). 

Sorry for my boringness tonight, but sometimes a girl has to be a bookworm know-it-all and study her little butt off. It gets worse close to tests, so you're still safe for now. :)

Just a bunch of rambles really.

So Glee? Yeah, made my life really really happy. Like REALLY really happy. I was grinning and laughing and just, well, happy. It was a nice feeling.

So I'm probably posting this at the latest time I have in a while, but this is because I just got home. Well, I got home like a half hour ago, but I had to get a shower when I got here... I was covered in paint. Due to making signs for work for a fire safety thing we're doing. But that's not why I just got home (since I got off of work 3 hours ago). We went to karaoke. :) We = me, Dan, Eric, and Rachel. And this guy who Rachel was trying to scare off from being interested in her. I think she picked the right people to bring around (especially Eric).

Which means, I'm posting this with a slight influence of alcoholic beverages. And I'm feeling really philosophical (no, really. Eric just called me Confusious via text). I was just telling him how everything happens for a reason, which is making me think about the whole me + Allentown + school-in-general thing that had happened. Plus how much I grew up up there, and how much I've grown up since coming home. I feel like I'm becoming an adult, which is scary and I really wish it would, you know, stop.

But, if I never came home from Allentown, I would have never run into Katie Tifer at a Weight Watchers meeting, which means I wouldn't have met Dan and Eric (whom are two guys I cannot live without at all now). I also would have never worked at the Depot, which means I wouldn't have Tina in my life either (and I really would not be okay with this fact). Yeah, I would be with Jenn, Leah, Grace, Kristin, and everyone else up there on a daily basis, but I would be missing a whole other part of my life that I feel like I really need for the growing up I'm doing right now. It's like an I-can't-return-to-Allentown-for-good-until-I'm-done-growing-here type of thing, and I feel like, looking back on the past two years (more or less the length of this blogs existence actually), everything has been a placed stone in my life.

Wow, I really am going philosophical. Weird.

Ok, so change of pace. Kinda. Because I've been writing on here on-and-off for roughly two years (I am too lazy to go back to the first post for the date), and I feel like anyone who has stumbled across this, even if you know me personally, might need to be introduced to who I really am... at least to kinda understand a little more of what I write. So here goes it.

I'm Courtney. I'm, as of this exact date (Sept. 24), 5 months away from being 22. I am now an elementary education major (who has switched from a biology major... and had started as a genetic engineering major) and love every second of it. I am a completely silly person who loves to laugh and tries to make light of every minute of life. I'm also very self-conscious and have very little self esteem. I value friendship higher than breathing and water. I secretly (or not-so anymore) love to bake, and really want to learn how to make more things. I am overly obsessed with Harry Potter, and I also am a big Twilight fan... and a Jonas Brothers fan. (Joe Jonas and I will marry if I get my way). I have always loved bright colors, like neon highlighters, but I'm finding that I'm starting to think cool blues and pinks to be really pretty. I collect ribbons, and my shopping weakness is Aerie underwear... well, actually, it's anything Aerie. I sleep with a teddy bear, and a lime green body pillow. I'm going to be M.O.H. in my bestest's wedding next summer (bestest = Sharon. We've been friends since third grade. Think Cory and Shawn from Boy Meets World, and you have us), and I'm really excited about it. I can't go a day without texting friends, especially ones that are in Allentown. I have now been off of facebook for 4 full days (excluding when I was told to put a PR for Matilda's ladies night Tuesday night as my status. And since that was told to me word-for-word as to what I should write, I don't count it), and it's a really weird feeling. I am in love with Glee because it makes me miss high school. I went to an arts school, where it was okay to love music. I miss it so. Boys intimidate me, and I've had one serious relationship since I was 18... we dated for right under 3 months. I love heights and roller coasters. And Disney World, which is my dream place to get married... but I'm going to settle for a rose garden in Allentown instead. Or the beach. I believe in fairy tales, because they make me dream and wish and are full of happy endings. I braid my hair at night so that it will be curly, and not knotty, in the mornings. I also dye it (well, technically my mom does it for me... but you know what I mean). I've had my nose pierced 4 times, and I have 7 other piercings (all in my ears). And one tattoo (so far). I'm addicted to caffeine, and I want to give it up. I love the word anthropomorphic.


Mmmkay, so that was really long and silly and I don't know the reason behind it. But... eh oh well.

It's almost 2 am, and since I have become something of an insomniac as of late, I'm going to read some fanfiction (so that Jenn can have a new story when Sunday comes around if I decide I like it enough) until I manage to pass out. Yup, sounds about right.

Insert catchy title here, because I can't think of one.

Wow, where to start with today...

Let's see. I woke up, cut the grass in the backyard (very boring), and took a water break. This would be the moment I realized oh hey, I have an im on AIM. hmm.

It was from a good friend who's currently in Saudi. Whom I miss dearly... as well as his random texts (that I'm apparently not allowed to hate on, or so he says). This guy also happens to be my dad's coworker, and is at the moment deployed alongside of my cousin. So, seeing his name pop up, obviously I was a happy Courtney. It was a "yayyy Jason" moment.

Then, cut more grass, got a shower, and made icing for my red velvet cake (yumm. my favorite thing to make!). And talked to Jason some more. He got mad at me, and told me I was a jerk because he also happens to be partial to this cake, and he wanted some. Too bad he's at a different part of the earth.

I tried to watch Glee during this time period, but... my computer was being silly, and Jason was iming. So, I only saw the first 5 seconds.

Then, I had to go to work, which is really where all the good stuff (and bad stuff) of today happened. Which is why I had a hard time trying to figure out where to start... so all this stuff above? Yeah, that's just like a foreshadow of how rollercoaster today was. That up there is totally mundane.

If you ever need a pick-me-up for your mood, let me tell you what you need to do.
Step 1. Bake a cake.
Step 2. Make your own icing.
Step 3. Take it to work.

Dude. Seriously. I felt soooo good about myself after everyone kept coming up to me going "Courtney. I tried your cake. Best. Cake. Ever." No lie. I cant even tell you how many people said that! I have yet to be this proud of my cooking/baking abilities.

Wait, no. That's a lie. I forgot about the orgasm-in-your-mouth pancakes from Cedar Crest that Nadine and I made when we were trying to get rid of milk. (A dinner of eggs, chocolate-chip-cinnamon-pancakes, mac & cheese, and choc chip cookie dough ice cream? Epic win) But... I haven't made those in about two years. So, don't know if that counts anymore.

I feel like the cake thing happened a lifetime ago now however. It was gone within about two hours! And I never did figure out who took the last piece... but I did manage to force some down Lou's throat this time around with making it, which I must say I'm very proud of myself for. :)

But... the reason that it really feels like a lifetime ago is because for the past three hours now I have looked like I've seen a ghost. I don't think I've come out of my scared/shocked mode yet.

We had this huge storm roll through tonight, lasting a little under two hours for the most part (there's still a little bit of lightning and thunder going on right now), and I'm really not a fan of storms. And by not a fan, I mean I'm completely terrified. I've come a long way with it though... ask Leah, she'll tell you (Creation? Yeah... that wasn't pretty). But tonight? I've been a goner since the lightening really started to hit.
I was standing by the front doors (since thats where I'm stationed with returns anyways) with MOD Tony, and we watched as three things happened simultaneously:
Lightening hit by the hospital across the street.
The rain and wind picked up to a full force.
and
The door to our right flew open and wouldn't close.

Obviously, an open door is not the best thing to have during a storm, so Tony went over and turned the power off on it. As he was trying to close the door shut (which is made of glass and metal, mind you), there was a HUGE bang and the next thing we both know he's on the floor next to me (20 feet or so away from the door) and we are both screaming.
Though Tony doesn't even remember the screaming because, well, I'm not sure. ha. But people came rushing when they heard the bang, and they said Tony looked like he got shot the way he was rolling away. But he was totally standing there and then the bang and he flew to the ground and just, well, rolled.

Let's just say, my fear of the storm increased and I was on the verge of tears for the rest of the night, much to both Will and Lou's amusement. Boys ugh. Will kept texting me telling me the different ways lightening can travel to hit me, while Lou kept trying to get me to go to the window to watch the lightening (and he was working the lot too, so he would go "Okay, I'm gonna go play in the storm! Hope I get hit too! woohoo" like an idiot which was making me go "no Lou get your butt in here now! STOP!!!!" yeah...). I'm very put off with those two right now, which is sad. They're two of my favorites.

I'm still slightly in shock of all this, but now I'm sitting on my bed in my Aerie sweats (LOVE), with my cup of chai (DOUBLE LOVE), and I'm a bit better. Until it hits me.

I still haven't watched last night's Glee yet. Crap.

Siriusly, Tuesday? Siriusly?

"Write a report on 'How do I get in shape?' Write as if you are a person looking to get in shape and what are the basic principles that you need to go by."

That was my assignment of the week... thanks for that Paul (my Health/PE class teacher). Really, the wording of that just bothers me, but it's okay Paul, I know you're a high school gym teacher, so I will let you slide on it this time around. But only because you're letting us play classroom games like 7 Up, Red Light Green Light, Red Rover, and Simon Says during class tonight. Am I excited? ummmm YES, even though I'm missing Glee for this.

Do you want to know what not to do for the above assignment? I'll tell you... Do NOT sleep through your wonderful Zumba class (that you absolutely love and have no clue how you lived without it) and then proceed to eat the leftover Red Velvet Cake batter you have sitting in front of you. These two things aren't helpful in the practice of getting in shape.

But... that batter sure was delicious. And my bed was too comfy to get out of this morning. So... I guess Zumba will have to wait until Thursday. :)

Well, it's Tuesday. Another day into this whole no-Facebook thing that I was silly enough to start. The reason I find it silly at the moment is because, well... It's TUESDAY. I have so many things I would update my status about that people would have pushed 'like' on!!! I mean... I baked my red velvet cake (that always gets 'like'd), I'm playing classroom games, I'm going to Ladies Night... and... IT'S THE FIRST NIGHT OF GLEE.

Granted, I'm missing Glee tonight because of class AND Ladies Night combined. But, still. That doesn't erase the fact that Glee starts back up tonight. And that I'll be watching it first thing tomorrow morning (while debating on going to kickboxing or not... I'm terrible at this shape/exercise thing!), and finding really good quotes to update a status with. BUT IT WILL HAVE TO WAIT. Until Sunday. Which Tina has already decided to tell me is 5 full days away (she's been counting since the second I went on hiatus I think).

But, it's okay, because the next 5 days will go quickly... I have 40 hours at the Depot to strive through until it's time to get back onto my beloved Book de Face and start my creeping of all my friends once more.

On a completely different tangent/topic... my foot is STILL vibrating. But it's not hurting as much as it has been the past two days. Like, I can put pressure on it today. I don't get this stupid foot thing. But yes, I am aware I should go to the hospital for it since, well, ya know, that bump has been there since I was dating Steve. But it would only ever hurt for a few minutes... nothing like the past 2 days has ever happened to it (I mean, whose foot VIBRATES?). I bought a new thing of moleskin cushioning for it, because I think that could be the problem... I got this other type (after getting used to the type I just bought like 20 minutes ago) that was really thin and not at all cushiony. It made me feel everything. So I went and got the thicker, cushiony one. And now my little plantar bump feels all comfy and snug, like it's snuggled up in a fleece hoodie.

Except they don't make fleece hoodies for bumps. Especially not bumps in the middle of your foot arch.

But that's what it feels like. I would know. I'm sitting at school snuggled up in MY wonderful Aerie fleece hoodie right now. About to watch The Back-Up Plan before this fun classroom games thing starts at 5:30.

Oh Tuesdays, how am I to get through you without Facebook?

On the bright side... new white sunglasses for the win. (the highlight of my Tuesday thus far!)

Day One

I interrupt my writing of Nature V. Nurture for psychology to update you on how this Facebook thing is going.

Why did I do this??? haha.

Actually, it's not as tough on the first day as I thought it might be. I mean, I've gotten texts a few times over today asking me why and them saying that they dislike the idea. Which makes me feel awesome. :)

I've got no boy worries today (well, that's a lie but... none that I'd like to talk about on here), and I'm contently sitting here sipping a Diet Coke while working on my psych response. Next on my list? How to Get in Shape... the crappiest topic to write about in the world of elementary education.

But one that I struggle with on a daily basis. Maybe I can take my own advice on this? ha.

Oh, and my foot is vibrating for the second day in a row. It's quite an odd feeling.

Okay, that's it for now. I need to get this homework done... :)

*10 minutes later*

ps... I hate money. Bills suck. Especially tuition bills. Gah.

An Experimental Gain

I'm experimenting. And I don't mean the kind that I'm used to with Bunsen burners, nasty smelling carbon chemicals (though some of those did smell okay... like fruits), or microbes. I wish it was that kind, but we can't always get what we want right?

No, this experiment is with me personally. I want to see how long I can go without getting on Facebook. In my Health/PE class (how to teach it..), we have been talking about drugs and addictions... and my teacher brought up cell phones and internet as parts of the addictions. So, that got me to thinking.

I'm addicted to using Facebook, I will be the first to admit it about myself. I update my status from my phone, and love hearing from people about things that I post... either in person or via text. I was on Facebook during that terrible date the other night for crying out loud!

So, now I'm cutting myself off cold turkey. It just must be done. Prior to writing this, I deactivated my texts so that way I won't get any of my alerts when someone posts on my wall, or comments my status, or when a few of my friends update theirs. Nor can I update mine. I also removed it as my home page on Google Chrome (my wonderful internet source yay) and replaced it with this very blog.... thus also increasing my determination to write more.

Hey, a girl needs some sort of creative outlet, doesn't she?

Plus, a few of my friends now know of this blog... and I made sure to put it on my websites (as well as removed any posts that I really rather not have people read) so that way it can be found if wanted.

But, in other news, on the work front. I got a pair of free movie tickets for a contest. And got most improved for my department. And cake. I had a really good night tonight, despite my feet hurting and one of them vibrating like crazy. How does a foot vibrate? Really?

And I'm off for the next two days from there... to have classes instead. Then it's a 40 hour week. :) I'm really happy about that fact, no lie. Between tuition, credit card bills, paying a bit on my loan, and rent, well, I need money. If I could figure out a way to get more money at the Depot, I would jump at the first chance to do it.

Hmm... my ipod just made a Facebook noise. I should probably deactivate that during my hiatus of unknown length. Just a thought.

There we go. My ipod has been logged off, my texts deactivated, and my hiatus status put up. Now to get back to my homework.

It's going to be really quite for a while...

The Woes of a First Date

The only thing worse than a first date is a first date gone wrong.

But, I'm jumping ahead of myself here so let me digress. Really digress.

The last time I wrote was in April... and it wasn't much. My apologies, life can be crazy. Death, life, breakups, marriages, getting closer to friends, work (and more work), and just enjoying summer. Not to mention switching schools and majors. So I really haven't had time to write. Once again, I apologize.

Now to jump to the present. Sort of. A few weeks ago, my good friend, Jenn, got me to start reading a blog of a girl with a 3 month subscription to match.com. One of her blog updates had mentioned another website online called Okcupid. I was intrigued, so I went on to the site to check it out, for no other reason than just to see what it was like.

About a week ago I got an email from a guy named Chad. We started to talk, which is natural when you start to correspond emails back and forth. We talked about school (he being a grad law student, and me an elementary education major), and a few other little things... mostly school.

Yesterday (Thursday) morning, while I was up in Philly helping to work on a new playground area with a group from work, I got a message from him asking if I wanted to continue our conversation over dinner and drinks. After talking to my friend and coworker Jenni (different than the Jenn listed above), I accepted. We then decided to meet at 8:30 at the Applebees for dinner and karaoke (my obsession).

Now, since I'm naturally a girl, I decided to start getting ready at 6:45. My mom had to ordeal through an hour and 20 outfits of me feeling like crap, bloated, and everything. Luckily, I decided to start early, because my phone went off at 7:40. It was Chad calling to say that he got out of class early, so he would be at the restaurant a little after 8.

I still beat him by about ten minutes, so I sat at the bar and chatted up the bartender (Richie. Great guy, gay, and singing A Whole New World with him is excellent) while nursing a yuengling. Chad walked through the door, and pulled up the seat next to me. Richie later told me that that was the moment he knew that I was not into the date. At all. Something about body language.

He was tall, bulky (I felt small and fragile), smiled a lot, and had blonde hair that was gelled in some weird way that showed off that he was balding (which is really odd when someone has about 4-5 inches on top of his head). He wore a long-sleeved Polo shirt with ripped jeans... which made me mad that I wasted an HOUR on my outfit.

We got the 2 for 20 deal... wings for an appetizer, he got riblets and I got pasta. He also ate a salad and 4 burger sliders. And he toyed the idea of a huge dessert. Apparently, in his mind, working out for a half hour earlier in the day constitutes having way too much food on a first date.

We spent a good portion of the date playing the Questions game, which resulted in a lot of disbelief on his part... is it really hard to comprehend that I don't like corn or crabs, that everyone one of my exboyfriends had cheated on me, and that I am a conservative republican? Really? Because he had to ask me "really" about fifty times for each one of those. But, for the most part of this game, I paid more attention to everyone else in the restaurant/bar than my date because frankly everyone else was more interesting than Chad.

Because, well, Chad is a boring name.

I also spent my time watching the door to see if someone I knew was going to walk through it (this never happened).

The most talking we did was arguing over politics. But you could have seen that coming, him wanting to be a senator and me being from a politically active family... we just had completely different views. Completely. And that sealed the deal on this date that would never be happening again.

Though this first date did happen to hold its true purpose for tonight I got a text from the same guy I was hoping would walk through that door.

"So how was your date last night?"

So... I guess I really can't complain anymore since it got the guy that stopped talking to me for a week to finally text me again.