Hello Summer Break!

As of yesterday, I am done with the fall semester! Four months went by rather quickly and I'm just happy that I'll be getting some extended time off to rest and relax.  :)

First on my agenda is to tend to my mother's needs. She may need surgery in the next month or so and I need to be available for her, and my father. Second is catching up with friends. I literally don't have much time to partake in anything fun during the semester, so I'm hoping to get together with some friends during my break. Oh, and I can't forget that I need to do some spring cleaning too. In the meantime, I'll be anxiously waiting for my grades to be posted.

About a month ago, someone from my school emailed me inviting me to join some organization. I first thought it was an invitation to join a sorority, which I have NO plans of ever joining! Anyway, I ignored those two emails and today I received another invitation--this time by mail--inviting me to join my school's chapter of a particular honors organization.

I've never been one to join clubs or other types of organizations because groups have never been my thing, but I think this organization is different. I'm considering joining it and hope that it will help me in the long-run, especially when I graduate, which is hopefully late next year.

The thought of joining a club or an organization of any kind reminded me of this quote:

"I sent the club a wire stating, please accept my resignation. I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member." ~Groucho Marx

I Think About You In The Summertime...

No, the above title isn't in reference to the NKOTB song that was released in 2008. Actually, it's in reference to the fact that I am now officially on summer vacation! :-)

I took my last final exam two weeks ago and I feel so happy! I received two 'B's' in two courses and now I'm just waiting to find out what grade I received in my third course.

In other news, I think I've seriously lost my motivation. My intention was to do some spring cleaning during my break, but I think I've only accomplished two days worth of work. UGH!! And my writing is also at a standstill. I've seriously been thinking of creating another blog, which would focus more on my writing and the stories, and articles I've written & had published. However, the idea is on hold for a bit until I can do more research on what it would take to get this new blog more attention. Anyway, I need to get moving and start putting my plans into action!

Lastly, I can't believe summer begins in 20 days. Nonetheless, the last few days haven't felt anywhere close to summer. We've been experiencing rain showers & some cold temperatures. In fact, I think some call this earthquake weather. :-( Speaking of earthquakes, we had one earlier in the week, which registered 3.7 on the Richter scale. It shook me a little, but you would think I'd be used to them by now. Nonetheless, they are so far and few between. Oh, and on the same day we had the earthquake, I saw snowflake showers a few hours later. Go figure! Anyway, we've had some weird weather this year and I think it's all due to "La Niña."

Until next time!

My Summer Break is Over!

All good things must come to end and that's the case for my summer break. :( This was the main reason why I've been MIA for a few months. I needed some ME time and I definitely got a lot of it!

During my break, which started in late May, I found myself reuniting with three childhood friends. I've known "S" & "C" since the fourth grade and I've known "I" forever (our parents have been very good friends for many years)! We literally haven't seen each other (with the exception of I & S) since high school graduation. We all agreed to get together for dinner one evening and well, the rest is history (or in this case, HERstory)! It's like our friendship resumed where we left off many years ago. During this time, C mentioned that she wanted to try Zumba, so I went along with her and gave it a try. It's a good workout and I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, a few weeks later, I injured my lower back, which was likely a result of the strenuous exercise plus stress, which lately is a never-ending saga with me. Anyway, about a week later and after having consulted with a chiropractor, my back felt much better. I returned to doing Zumba two weeks later, but shortly thereafter my membership expired. I'd love to go back and do it on a regular basis, but right now it's just not possible. In the meantime, C and I have taken up hiking and will continue to go when we can.

In addition to getting back to an exercise routine this summer, I've been trying to finish a few cleaning projects, which I hadn't been able to do since I've been in school. I still have a few more things to go through and will get back to it during a well deserved break!

Earlier this month, my family--minus my oldest niece--got together and celebrated my sister's 50th birthday by taking her out to lunch. My nephew (my sister's son), who was on leave from the Air Force, was even able to make it. We drove to a neighboring city and enjoyed a delicious lunch outside on what turned out to be a gorgeous day!

Lastly, I finally went back to school last week and let's just say that I'm glad that week is over with! Stress took over the best of me (yet again), but a few days ago I started noticing that things are slowly starting to fall into place. :) This semester is going to keep me quite busy, but I'm looking forward to what could happen as a result of taking the "fun" class!

Back from my hiatus

Well, school is finally over and I can relax for the next 2 1/2 weeks! I need to get caught up on a few things around the house before I start summer school next month. And I had to put off my internship with the publication for another semester or two. Just didn't think I'd have enough hours to pull it off this summer.

On May 2nd, my friend L and I went to go see one of our favorite bands perform: Duran Duran! We had a blast! We were seated about 50 yards away, which meant that we couldn't really see the guys up-close. Thank God for my binoculars and the 2 big screen TVs next to the stage!

The boys from the U.K. first played 4 new tracks (Falling Down, Nite Runner, The Valley, and Red Carpet Massacre) off their latest CD, Red Carpet Massacre. Soon after, they played about 10 oldies, which included: Rio, The Reflex, Hungry Like the Wolf, A View to a Kill, Wild Boys, Girls on Film, Come Undone, and Planet Earth. The last time I saw the boys in concert was in March 2005, when guitarist Andy Taylor was still in the band. I think this concert, by far, was their best one.

Ok, so I tried giving the guys equal viewing time, but my heart still belongs to Roger Taylor, the drummer. Despite him sitting behind the drums most of the time, I caught him smiling once or twice at the crowd. I was finally glad to see him out in front for one song so that the whole crowd could see him with the other guys. When I was younger, I used to think Roger resembled Johnny Depp, who I also had a crush on back then. Anyway, RT still looks good! My friend L had a great time too, but I think she spent most of the time drooling over the other Taylor lad...John! ;)

This concert is now a total blur to me because it went by so quickly. After 30 years together, Duran Duran still has it and I'm certain they'll be around for a while longer. Heck, if the Rolling Stones, who are all in the early to mid 60's, are still performing, so can Duran Duran, who range in age from 44 to 50!

Looking forward to the next round of concerts!