Kristen

I was re-reading journal entries from my trip to Montana--I wanted to see if my Australian friend's name was listed somewhere in there, but no such luck.  Anyway, I came across my second entry on June 20th after my first night on the bus.  We were in Youngstown, Ohio and I decided to list the interesting people whom I had met thus far.  Here is the best one (note: I was seriously tired when I wrote this because my chair didn't lock so when I'd go to sleep my chair would tip back):

"And older man from Europe (Lebanon?) who sat next to me overnight from NYC to Pittsburg.  His laptop and visa papers were stolen in NY when he was at a restaurant.  He's heading to Knoxville soon, so that was interesting talk.  Then he opened his cell phone and his background was a picture of himself in a tarzan outfit -- awkwardness."

HAHA.  Omg, I remember this man vividly and he is one of my faves from the trip.  Him and the boy in Chicago who was coming back from the army.  He made me write my myspace page url in his checkbook!  I love the Greyhound.

Oh and my Aussie friend gave me excellent advice for travelling "Don't overindulge in dried apples; they'll give you diarrhea and there aren't many toilets in Nepal."  Haha, I so wish I got her e-mail. The last leg of our trip was so hilarious because we were both so exhausted from our looooong bus ride.

School work may be the thing that drives me completely insane.  Every one of my classes this semester are "reading intensive" and "writing intensive."  Woo! I did a good job at choosing classes!  But, I could technically get this all accomplished, go to work on weekends, and still find time to sleep and relax...except on friday and saturday nights I have to compete with the music coming from the living room.  Yes folks, my apartment's living room is party central...I suppose.  However, Im always in my room trying to read some sort of anthropology essay or something...so I never really join in.  The party usually moves to the club around midnight..so that allows me to sleep (YAY!) so I can get up..study and then go to work the next morning.  Its quite the routine.  This weekend, I only have 3 chapters to read for Anthro 360, 30 pages to read for Anthro 322, about a zillion pages to read for English, some reading for Philosophy which I haven't even approached to find out what it is yet, and then of course a map to do for Classics class! I guess its not THAT much for a weekend..but my little brain doesn't like to process all of this in such a short time.  Anyway..thats my rant. :)

One of the ladies at work asked me to bring her something back from France for her Granddaughter if I end up going.  Her granddaughter wants to be a model and move to Paris...so I told her if I go I'll pick up a scarf or something "fashionable"...if i can find that haha. This is my mission...if I choose to accept it. hehe.

Music and movies are what have been getting me through UT. Sadly.  I don't have the tight-knit type group that I found back at Hofstra.  I'm okay with that..maybe next year...or someday I'll find that at UT.  For now, Ill just go to class...work...do homework..and repeat about 3 million times.   But, Ive been enjoying the movies---they've sort of encouraged more of an imagination and creativity that I've never had.  And rocking out in my room (with my headphones on) has been an amazing energy lifter.  I'm usually really, really lazy..but as long as I put on the right mix of music, I'll just dance around my room like Im crazy. :)

Uhh yeah.  Back to reading...its getting late and I still have 9 pages left on this reading..boo! 

Oh.and I was invited to a party tomorrow (WHAT?! mE?!).  Its a Jimmy Buffet style, Hawaiian attire party at someones apartment.  I doubt I'll go..I have work..and then work the next morning.  But, it just makes me really happy that Ive made a friend in one of my classes. :)
Okay. BYE!

Im having a bit of trouble with the concept I hold in my head for what I want to do in life.  I like archaeology, but I don't think I want to go on into a master's program.  My classes this semester are really intense, and it has got me to thinking that I like to be more hands on and less memorizing.  I enjoyed field school this summer more than anyone can know, Im sure at times I complained because HEY we were troweling holes for 8 hours at a time! :)  But, I enjoyed it..and I really enjoyed the interaction with people.  I've come to a point where I don't know what I want to do with my life, but Im pretty sure that a master's degree will be the right way to go.  I want to enjoy life, not be stuck in my room reading a textbook for 8 hours just to finish one assignment. I like to learn on my feet, just reading about it bores me.  This is one reason I chose Archaeology...a very hands-on field.  Or it mostly is. 

So, I'm trying to decide what to do...any suggestions? (I don't know if anyone actually reads this anymore since I've been MIA for like a year...)

The idea of a traveling gypsy sounds A OK to me.  I don't think that will fly too well with my dad...especially after he has paid for my tuition. 

But, I could always get jobs excavating..just digging holes.  Its not too fabulous--until you find something!  I know for a FACT that I never want to work retail again in my life.  Its been fun people, but seriously I cannot handle getting yelled at by customers anymore because I can't find the shirt they want in their size. 

My other dream:  open up my own little bookstore.  This would be once I settle down in one place from my globe trotting. (bahhahaha..yeah right)

I've always had in my mind that I don't really care if I make a lot of money or if I make just enough to get by and then perhaps a little bit more.  I'm not sure if I've ever actually believed this in my own head...it sounds like a nice idea, right?  I guess that as long as its just me, and I can still keep a pretty cheap roof over my head and stock the cabinets with Ramen noodles (That picture just made me gag..but that stuff is pretty cheap) I would be doing okay. 

...

Alright, someone give me advice..I could go on and on and on.  What should I do with my life!?

Oh...well I should go read the Iliad since my prof assigned books 1-6 on the first day (oh joy!).  I hate writing intensive classes....almost all my courses this semester seem to fall into that category.

New Obsession:  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber on Fleet Street.

I know, Im mostly lame for only discovering Sweeney now when the movie comes out...and not last year when I lived Ally (aka Muffin!  By the way, Ally, I want to know your opinion of the movie...so IM/Email me sometime, giiirl).  Anyways, I like movies...I like musicals.  Heck, I like Tim Burton's version of Sweeney--I enjoy his style.

New aspiration for 2008---visit a movie set :)  I'm working on that one. *crosses fingers* I have an idea for March.     
   And summer aspiration: Visit the Grand Canyon.  Im working on this one too--just sent in an application for a summer program.

I donated blood today, that was a new experience.  They sure give you a lot of free stuff.  I got: a t-shirt for the competition between UT and University of Kentucky over who can donate the most blood, a pint of Baskin Robbins ice cream (butter pecan), cookies, cheese and crackers, soda, water, juice, and a tweety band-aid. Oh, and I get 1 extra credit point added to my final grade in sociology.  WOO!
 
The kid next to me was giving plasma...it looked like it could possibly be uncomfortable...sitting there foreverrr.  And, they got confused when I told them I had gone to Portugal, Spain, and Tenerife.  Well..they got confused about Tenerife.  Oh well, I went with Rachel so she kept me company while they took some blood...she donates a lot so she knows the whole drill.

Now Im on sugar overload from eating my pint of ice cream---since I didnt eat before giving blood (I didnt know I was doing that until Rachel talked me into it in Sociology) I was suuper hungry after.

Oh..and they said something about not operating a backhoe for a few hours after...uhhh what?  Maybe I heard her wrong...but I guess maybe they need to warn everyone since we are in Tennesse.  (In class today my professor said that its legal to marry your first cousin here...ew!)

So, I'm having a bit of an annoyed moment right now.  I really really really really really want to see this movie that came out around September 22nd (of this year): Into the Wild.   It has one of my favorite actors in it (Emile Hirsch) and just seems like a movie that I might really enjoy. 

The problem?

It doesn't seem to play down here.  Not in Tennessee, not in South Carolina, not in Virginia, not in Georgia, not in Alabama, not in Kentucky..you get the picture.

I was willing to go out of the way to see this movie because I just really need something like this at the moment.  Maybe I should read the book, but even the music on the website makes me want to see it. 

The movie does play in D.C...a bit too far for me to drive for a movie?  I thought that might be crazy.  I'm just really upset (i guess that would describe it...but not in a bawling my eyes out kind of way) that I can't see this movie.  So far, I've discovered that it plays in DC, Boston, and NYC.  Places all too far away for me to just drive to for a movie after work. 

Does anyone know of anywhere else that it might be playing?  Or even, has anyone seen it?

I sure hope that they put it out on DVD quickly after it comes out of theaters.  Or that its still in theaters around Thanksgiving (highly unlikely..I would think).

Lame.

Oh, and one of the maintenance ladies was in our apartment checking the windows (I think mostly the blinds) and I mentioned that I'm from NH.  She told me that she is originally from the Boston area, so I asked her where.  She listed off a few places...blue hills, Canton, Brockton.  I told her that my parents grew up (well at least went to high school) in Canton.  She said that her grandfather started the RadioShack on Washinton St.. 

Oh, and her name is Kris or Chris...I didn't ask her how to spell it.  Weiiird!

So, lately I've been thinking a lot about life.  I have so many things that I want to do and see in life.  (I think I have a problem with staying in one spot, too, but thats another issue.)  I know that I have my whole life ahead of me, thats all fine and well, but I figure why not start early on my laundry list of goals?  I'm already working on the whole college thing (Goal # 7).  But, one of my big goals in life is to become more cultured and to see the world (and the entire US)--Goal # 2.  So, here is where this is all going:  I want to do some sort of traveling this summer.  Why this summer?  Because I'm a college student..and I figure I'll travel abroad by way of study.  Yes ,folks, I want to do a study abroad. 

So, I've been thinking...and researching...and thinking.  And I haven't made any decisions yet.  I haven't had any time to talk with anyone seriously about any of my thoughts either.  But, there is a Semester at Sea that I've been seriously looking into.  The itinerary for the summer 2008 voyage is as follows:

• Nassau, Bahamas
• Bergen, Norway
• St. Petersburg, Russia
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Antwerp, Belgium
• Naples, Italy
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Piraeus, Greece
• Dubrovnik, Croatia
• Norfolk, VA

What a fun voyage that would be?  The issues...monetary funds (eeew), getting permission from my dad, the fact that I would AGAIN be away from friends on my birthday, and of course the fact that it runs into the first few days of class at UT (no big deal...right?).

But, I'm looking at different avenues as well. I would still like to do some sort of field school or field work during the summer...and if worse comes to worse..I can just take courses at UT for the summer.  (I think they have both mini-sessions and summer sessions)  And I have a place to live in TN all summer...because my apartment lease goes until August of 2008.  So, that would be one "cheap" way to get school credit this summer.

Who knows.  I've sent out an e-mail to the study abroad department here at UT.  Hopefully they can point me in the right direction regarding great programs.  But, I know for a fact that I would like to broaden my horizons and do a bit of traveling.  And, I figure I can put the money I make at Stein Mart towards this endeavor. 

Oh yeah.  I got a job...more retail. Its not bad, just a lot of standing. And everyone I work with is about 40 + years old. (well almost everyone)

Time for some Anthropology Discussion section underneath Neyland Stadium.

Knoxville, TN...here I come.

I leave in 3 days. 

Exciting.

I thought I would make a post...being as I haven't in so long. 

I'm still here.  I've just been super busy between field school and trying to rest up for the 3 more weeks of field school I have ahead of me. 
But, enough about that.

I saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on saturday with my Dad.  It was good.  (The books are still better)
Then it was quality time with Brie...in her new mustang!  haha, we just cruised for a bit and then grabbed some food at Friendly's.  Nothing too big and fancy, just a good time.

I came back to Conn. College today around 10 and read some Harry Potter (the sixth book).  Then Elliot  (who is living in the house next door) came by and we went to Chili's for some dinner.  So, it was an all around good time.  I started my Harry Potter book today...and I'm more than half way through it already.  Oh! And I pre-ordered the new book (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), sooo we're difinately taking a trip to Borders on the day it comes out to party it up with the other cool kids to midnight.  And, I actually know where this Borders is...so I won't get super lost like I would trying to find the Barnes and Nobles that is like a million miles away.

But for now, I'm going to curl up with some Harry Potter and head off to bed.

G*night!

The Heart Walk was on sunday.  So far, they've raised around $79,000!  Their goal was much higher, but thats still a large chunk of money right there that will help future generations beat heart disease.  So bravo to all who walked or donated or volunteered for this event. 

The final walkers for Team CAL (standing for Cheryl Ann Lewis who is my mother) were my Dad, Kelly, Mrs. Mustone, and myself.  We ended up walking 3 miles, so I'm extremely proud of everyone.  And the scenery was beautiful.  We were in Rye, NH right on the sea coast and could see the beach adn water as we were walking.  Always a nice view.  It had rained in the morning, so the air was still a little crisp.  But, it was way better than sticky hot weather.  And other than the walkers, the other beach goers all seemed to be surfers, which is always exciting to see. 

I don't have any pictures becauuuse my camera broke a little while ago on a geology field trip..and I haven't been able to dig out my old camera.  Ill find it one day.  I bet its hiding with my mp3 player somewhere. 

Well, I started work yesterday.  And got a sweet raise! It was only a few cents, but every cent counts with the hike in gas prices that has lead to everything else being insanely expensive.  A few days ago Brie and I bought a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk for her mom and it had cost roughly $5.  Intense. 

But work was good.  8 hours of blissful cashiering.  And...I'm still on "LOA" (leave of absence) according to Target.  So, I couldn't punch in.  I wasn't on any schedule.  And I couldn't use my cashier numbers--which was the lamest part.  I had to borrow some numbers from someone working that day.  But, it worked out.  Also, everyone who I worked with seems to have quit.  Or wasn't working yesterday at least.  It was during the day...so I worked with a lot of the older employees, which is fine because they're all pretty fun.  But, I'm not even sure who works there still.

Today is my relaxing day.  i've been semi-busy all week since I've been home.  So, its time to relax.  Next week, if my hours don't improve...I will have to go apply for another job.  But, for now, I have no clue what my hours are because I'm not in the schedule for next week...our HR (human resources person) is on vacation till monday...soo I can't find out what my schedule is till then...I hope I'm not working on Sunday...or I will not even know.  But, I guess thats okay.  Blah, I close on saturday.  Exciting...something I've never done before.  And staying till 11 may sound like fun...but its not (or so I'm thinking).

Time to go find my old camera.  Its around here somewhere.  I hope everyone's summer is going well. 

I've made it.  Its officially summer for me and I am now considered a sophmore.  My freshmen year is over and done with.  Its scary and yet exciting to be able to say that.  I walked over the unispan (which connects the academic and residential sides of campus over the turnpike) and thought, "this could be the last time I ever walk over this thing."  And then I just kind of let that settle for a bit and watched the traffic (and fire trucks) as I reached the top and then descended to the student center.  I mean, Ill miss Hofstra..and the insane number of tulips on campus.  I'll miss my friends, but they'll be getting an insane amount of IMs and phone calls from me if I don't come back.  And if I do end up coming back, then it happens.  I only regret a few things from this year...and maybe its best that I wasn't so outgoing...but I'm pretty much happy with how I've lived out my Freshmen year at Hofstra.  (some other aspects of life aren't exactly "happy"...but life seems to like to throw curve balls like that)

So, bye bye Hofstra.  Bye bye Hempstead.  Bye bye friends (for now).  Bye bye dorm room...Ill miss it even though we never had heat or a/c.  And bye bye to those crazy people who always call my room looking for Juan (ps. he still doesn't live here). 

I'm off to make new adventures in life.  And who knows what will happen this summer...everything can change in the blink of an eye.  Thats the biggest lesson I've learned this year...nothing is permanent, so treasure every moment you have.

This time tomorrow...Ill be close to home (if not in NH) and I am excited.  Time to get back to Target, finally see my friends, family, and dogs, and work on my baking/cooking skills (mm vegan cake). 

So all my good Hofstra buddies. Make sure to call / IM / facebook / myspace / LJ me...and Ill do the same.  :)

Toodles for now.

So, Ive come to a realization.  I need to get off my butt and apply for a new job.  I know Ill only be home for about a month and a half before July when i go to Connecticut...BUUUT I still want to see if I can get a cooler job.  Im good with the whole Target cashiering thing...itd be super sweet to get a waitressing job.  I've decided to go ask Cracker Barrel if they have any openings. 

Maybe Friendly's or Pizza Hut?

I have 3 finals...and 4ish days left!  Im very excited..and yet a little depressed to go home.  Especially since gas prices are like CRAZY.  Back over winter break..when prices were lower...my car took $40 for a full tank.  Im going to go broke trying to get to work to make money.  Which is a pain in the butt.

Oh well.  Ill be back in NH soon enough.