I have recently stumbled upon another blog, Rate Your Students. It is a blog which serves as a bitchfest of sorts for disgruntled professors. It speaks of the frustrations of the educational bureaucracy, lazy students, and the true lack of adequate pay. I am in love. I also can't stand the b.s. that is the U.S. educational system. I am also driven to complete insanity by the kid in the back who not only doesn't read or study, but spends the first half hour of the class time I am paying a bajillion dollars for screaming about how he didn't deserve the failing grade he earned on the last exam. Really? You didn't deserve that? Oh, yes. I studied and earned an A...so did the girl next to me. Hm, it seems that most people here have As or Bs. The test was easy, kid, I'm sorry the scantron machine must have broken riiiight as your scantron sheet went through. I can stand these awful drains on Mommy and Daddy's checking account about as much as a full force kick in the teeth by non other than the great Chuck Norris. I will now present a bulleted list for those people who drive me crazy.
ATTENTION WASTES OF SPACE:
- Suck it up, you're in college. High school is required by law until you turn 16, so it can't be too hard. College is a CHOICE! It is supposed to be difficult! You are not forced to be here, so if you don't like it, get the hell out and stop giving me (a sort of joke as it may be) competition in the job market. You are devaluing that little piece of paper I get when I cross the stage. A bachelor's degree used to mean something; now it's the new high school diploma because you and your waste-of-space counterparts made a few jokes throughout the semester to befriend the teacher, and s/he feels bad failing "such a nice boy." You're not nice, you're a manipulative asshole who will continue to be a manipulative asshole the rest of your days. I hate you a lot, and I strongly feel that you should pay for my master's degree since your laziness has so devalued my bachelor's degree. Ass.
- "But this isn't a writing class" is NOT an excuse for incomprihensible writing. Grammar and punctuation are integral parts of the English language, and you are not above the rules of the language you have chosen to communicate with. I'd suggest you find another language to try, but I don't want to plague another language with your idiocy.
- If it is answered on the syllabus or on the paper right in front of your face, do NOT ask the question.
- Do not disagree with everything the professor the or the reading says. It doesn't make you look smart; it wastes classtime. You can't formulate an educated opinion, and everyone stares at you with the "shut up" look, so please...shut up.
- Don't ask me to edit your paper at 11pm the night before it is due. It's just plain rude. First, I have to fix all the punctuation and grammar mistakes. Then I need a newly printed copy with corrections made; I can't read a paper with so much red covering the words. I then have to decipher the steaming pile of crap you smeared on a Word document to find some sort of intelligent and coherant thought. From that glimmer of hope, I have to rebuild your entire paper. That's a few hours of work, and yes, you do owe me a gigantic favor or $20. Look, kid, you were going to fail...not kinda fail...REALLY fail. I brought your grade up to a C, and it's the best you can hope for. You didn't use an outline, you quoted whole paragraphs to fill up space, and you completely avoided all creativity and critical thinking or analysis. It's common curtosy to slip that "paper" under my door by 6pm; I'll have a long night ahead of me.
- Feel free to make fun of me for getting As. I work my cute little ass off for them, and when it comes to graduation, I'll be looking like a freaking Christmas tree because I'll have so many cords and medals to visually say to you "Ha! I worked harder, and employers are lining up to hire someone who knows that staying up late to finish a 10-page paper is way more rewarding that staying up late to see if I can do a 15-seconds keg stand. Don't get me wrong, it's not about partying; I can do that pretty well, too. It's about priorities, and I'm sorry you are spending four years here and missing that whole "adulthood" thing.
Ok, a little harsh, but the Rate Your Students blog really put me in the mood to complain about this I personally can't stand. Anyway, read the blog, you'll love it! Hey, Ma, at least you know you're making an investment!
Life is settling down, and it hasn't come a moment too soon. Most of the residents are gone, with the exception of the graduates who will be out of here by saturday afternoon. I actually got to sleep in this morning, then go to the mall with Laura and Lu. I got to play the snuggly aunt and tote her around to all the stores. I love carrying cute babies around; everyone gets jealous because they can't snuggle such an adorable little creature. Again, I felt the incredible power of making a child stop crying and fall asleep. It was amazing. I bought a very cute summer dress and tube top that actually fit! They were both on sale, and I got to use the $30 from book buyback that was burning a hole in my pocket. Book buyback is always used for end-of-the-year fun money. I work my buns off all semester long to earn the right to spend those few dollars on something entirely selfish and fun. No practical spending allowed! I figure I'm very good with finances, and almost always spend wisely, so I can afford to splurge a little at the end.My boss from my summer job called yesterday to tell me my first day is on Tuesday at 10am. I get to sleep in on my first day of work! Nice! It's basically just to get a lot of paperwork finished, get fingerprinted, and get some last minute details together before training.I need to clean my room today. This semester has been absolutely insane, and I don't think it's been clean but maybe a total of 2 weeks this entire time. I know I'll leave it until tomorrow, but I'm a step closer by just committing it to the to-do list.I can't wait until next year! I'm taking Chemistry and Society, and that should be difficult but fun. I'm also taking some of the random elective I need to get out of here. I have worked very hard for my requirements, and now I have room to play. I'm taking Jewelry Making, Intro to Acting, and Ballet I. I have no experience with jewelry making or ballet, but I know they'll be fun. I'm most excited about the only spring semester class I've already decided on: Editing and Production. It's a class entirely comprised of editing writing and learning the absolutly newest grammar and punctuation rules. It's nerdy, but it's kinda my thaaaang. :o)This semester was awful; personally, professionally, and scholastically, my life fell apart. I am proud of the way I've handled it with grace and a usually calm demeanor. Some would disagree, but I think that I kept my head quite well most times. I miss my dad, I still can't stand my supervisor, and my cumulative GPA fell faster than a man in a barrel over Niagra Falls; however, I have one more guardian angel, I have learned how to keep my mouth shut when I need to, and I still have a shot at graduating with honors. I have learned so much this semester. I have become so much stronger. I have grown up. When did that happen? I am coming into the point in my life when I almost always refer to myself as a "woman." I am now becoming very comfortable with being a woman. I'm comfortable with my wide hips, my bad hair days, my checkbook balancing skills, my handle on my credit score (which is very good!), and the various other things that come with being an adult female. It's a rather intimidating process, and I have many scarier things ahead, as I have learned through Laura's whole baby thing...that is just...nuts.Ok, I've yammered on enough. I'm going to open up my window wide and sing some Joni Mitchell at the top of my lungs. No residents are here to tell me to shut up!As always, thanks for reading, and don't forget to comment!-The Suz
I hung out with Laura-Love, Boss-Man, and Little Lucy Goose this evening. Important things first:
She pooped on me.
Projectile poop.
She was completely adorable the whole time, and kept giving me half smiles as she shot out brown liquid from her tiny little butt. Sheesh. God made babies cute because they're disgusting. Grown-ups would never care for them if they weren't so warm and snuggly.
Andrew finally emailed me pictures of me and LuGirl. They're awesome. I'm still trying to figure out how to post picture within a post, but I'll ask Laura about it later. I love to hold her. I made her fall asleep today, and swaddled the crap outta her. Laura says I'm a champion swaddler. Holding babies and making them not cry makes me feel more feminine, as if I'm using a talent or skill that was instilled in me at birth.
I'm glad I'm so close to Lucy. I never got to be very close to Chanler of Chalsie, my youngest nephew and niece. I wish I had been able to build a close relationship with them, but college and silly family spats has made that difficult--impossible, rather. I'm taking out all my pent up love, attention, and money on Lucy.
Yeah, I've dropped fat cash on this kid...she's so spoiled by Aunt Suz.
I'm excited for my friends to start having babies. It's fun! I'm not personally ready for such a life altering gift from God, but snuggling other people's life altering gifts is wonderful!
On another note, I feel MUCH better! I think I was at the brink of death with my illness, but after a very personal ER visit with a burly Russian doctor and a bottle of Percocet, I'm feeling dandy. In my self-soothing, I drank all my yummy organic chocolate milk and pineapple juice, and now I'm out of tasty beverages. I may treat myself to a Mountain Dew tonight before bed.
In my Percocet haze, I missed my Econ exam. I thought it was Friday, and the professor thought it was Thursday. Oops. He's letting me make it up on Monday (Good Lord bless him!). The report that was due in business writing was late. My professor emailed me asking where it was after it was due and not in her inbox. I explained my near death illness and she gave me a 2-day extention. It was a steaming pile of crap in a Word document. She gave me a 69% on it, the lowest grade possible to give me a 79.6% in the class, rounding up to a B. She's forgiving, I certainly deserved less.
I keep wanting to beat myself up over this semester, but I am so proud of myself. My grades...are frighteningly terrible; however, after the death of two of the greatest men in my life, a terrible illness during finals week, a semester-long battle with a terrible boss with no soul, and the most difficult class schedule of my college career, I'm proud that I have come out on the other end, a little stronger. My room's a mess, my GPA's a little shaken, and I feel like a small piece of me has been torn away these past few months, but I have survived it all. I have started a blog and kept it relatively current, so this is one good thing that has come out of this semester. My relationship with Ivani is stronger than ever. I have a beautiful new niece who smiles at only a week or so old (she's a baby genius, I'm convinced). I have amazing friends. I turn 21 very soon! Life isn't so bad. If, after everything crappy that has happened, I can say nothing else, I can say this: I haven't lost site of the beauty God puts in front of my face every single day, and I take the time to say, "God, you freaking rock" every single day.
I think that's a nice place to end.
God, you freaking rock...and so do you, readers!
Despite how poorly written and obviously unedited this college newpaper article is, it proves a great point-I am more likely to have a job than you. :o) It states that the nonprofit sector is growing much faster than the for-profit sector, and there is a 60% increase in demand over supply of trined nonprofit managers because all the old hippies are retiring, leaving room for us young folks to take over. HA!Nonprofit sector yields many jobs - News
I just got a phone call from one of my very good friends back home. He told me that our friend from high school is one of the kidnapped soldiers in Iraq. He's MIA. I'm terrified. I can't comprehend what he's dealing with, and I feel very powerless. All I can do is pray. You should pray, too. This is a short blog, but that's all I need to say right now. That, and the fact that I'm feeling much better thanks to Andrew the superhero driving me to the ER last night and the crazy Russian doctor giving me a prescription for Percoset. I'm sleeping, finally, and I'm eating a little, too. Thanks for your prayers about that.
Stay safe, guys.
The fun of the Cedar Point trip is now showing its angry flip side. The windy, cold weather has caused an illness, the likes of which I haven't seen in months. My stomach is quite angry. All I want is some plum juice and ginger ale. They are my feel-better beverages. Warren said he would go to Food Lion and get me some at 10:30 when he takes a break from his paper. I've been napping all day, so I think I'll still be up by then.
Ivan went home after Cedar Point (he lives only 40 minutes from the park). I miss him! He was such a sweetie and left two cans of ravioli and some mac and cheese.
I just got distracted by a show on TLC called "Celebrating the American Woman." The first woman it profiled was a dairy farmer. I'd love to be a dairy farmer. I wonder sometimes how some people say that they can only be happy doing one specific thing with their lives. I would be happy as a clam to be a stay-at-home mom, dairy farmer, medical researcher, woodworker, teacher, hut builder, or anything else. Being the executive director of a nonprofit which promotes social justice and a healthy, happy world is simply what I have chosen to do. I think it will make me the happiest. I think it best utilizes the gifts and passions God has instilled in me. I really believe that with enough hard work and desire, I could be a successful anything.
I do not like when people say that hard work will get anyone anywhere and allow them to become anything. It's just not true. It's a self-soothing excuse of people who are successful to not help those who are not. "If homeless people worked hard enough, they'd find a place to live." "Study hard thoughout school, and you'll get into college and get a good job." It's just not always true. Very good people sometimes fall into very bad situations. Mental illness and substance abuse are not the leading causes of homelessness, despite popular middle- and upper-class belief. Shockingly, it is the lack of housing...WOW! Who knew? Ok, that's a little preachy, but I get so frustrated when I tell people about my career ambitions and they give me that tilted head with the slight smile. Their faces scream, "Oh, honey, that's so sweet. You're very naive, but that's a nice thought until you find out about the real world and get a real job as an accountant." GGGAAAAHHHH! I promise my job is real. Many people have the same job, they make very good money, and *gasp* my silly save-the-world career is even listed in the Occupational Outlook Handbook from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
Oh, sheesh, that frustration got out of hand. I'm going to call Warren to get me some juice, watch this neat TLC show, and fall asleep. Tomorrow and Tuesday are the last day of classes, and finals start Thursday. I have a HUGE project due next week that was supposed to take me 3 months...I haven't started researching yet. Oops. I'll do well. Until next time, loyal readers (do I dilute myself into thinking anyone actually reads this? Comment people, it makes the Suz feel loved!), I leave you with thoughts and prayers and virtual hugs.
I am in a very good mood. I'm singing songs very loudly, I made new random friends walking back from my econ exam, and I get to go climb rocks with my hottie boyfriend all day before having pizza with the Cookes & company.
I go to Cedar Point tomorrow with several of my favorite people God put on this Earth. I love roller coasters, and I bought very cute pair of shorts yesterday, so I'm set for a day of fun!
I registered for national training for Freedom Schools, my summer job, yesterday. I'm very excited, but I'll be in Tennessee on substance lockdown for my 21st birthday! Gah! Oh well, I'm sure I'll have a superb night of drunken debauchery on June 11th when I return. All are invited to watch me drink myself to the brink of hospitalization! I told my mom I want a fun girls night of wine drinking and boy bashing with her, Jacquie, and any other female family members who would like to come.
On that same note, I have a pretty rockin' family! As far as family goes, I think I definitely won the genetic lottery. I am indeed partial to my Aunt Laura because we are so much alike. I am still sure that my cousin Stephanie and I were switch at birth...although she is a few years older. I think I'll email the fam and tell them how to access this blog so they can read for themselves how great they are.
Ok, more on how much my friends and family absolutely rock later. Ivani is very hungry, and for some reason rather excited to eat caf food. Ew. I'll blog soon!
So, my darling little Lucers came today. After 38 hours of labor, three fights with the vacuum, and an emergency c-section, the little girl decided that the outside world might not be so bad after all. I held her today, and I kept staring at her and back at Laura's stomach. I don't get it. I can't make the connection between that wiggly lump inside Laura that we painted for Easter and this also very wiggly little creature in my arms. I just can't picture her back in there.
Babies are also very wet looking. Her eyes looked like the baby alien's eyes that Will Smith delivered in Men in Black. Babies are hot. They are very hot, actually; not sexy hot, temperature hot. I kept having to switch arms because she was making my forearms sweat. Do forearms even sweat? Perhaps not, but mine felt very clammy.
Anyway, I like her a lot, and I think I will take a fun board game to the hospital tomorrow to play with the Laura. She is very bored, and needs to kick someone's ass in Scrabble very badly. Scatergories might work, too.
Ivan wanted to be mentioned, so here it is:
Ivan looked cute while holding Lucy today. He also gave me part of his gigantic steak when I ate all of my tiny, but delicious, steak and was still hungry. He told me I was too smart for my own good when I figured out the entire plot of The Illusionist very early on. He has decided to scrape up the money to come to Cedar Point with me and my very awesome friends Saturday. In conclusion, I rather like him. I denied him popcorn after he gobbled down a can of ravioli. I feel bad, and he got very cranky. *sigh* I guess I should let him have it, even though I hold firm that he is not hungry, but simply has the midnight munchies.
Thanks, loyal readers...*sigh*...reader (Erin). I love you bunches.
I'ts 9:22am, and I have woken up every half hour since 6:00am, waiting for Little Lucy Girl to be born. I really thought birth was like the movies: a big dramatic water break, followed by a quick dramatic labor and birth. I thought babies just sort of shot out. Turns out the water is almost always broken by the doctor at the hospital, and the process of having a child takes hours. It doesn't even take three or four hours. We're talking hhhoooouuuurrrrsss. This pregnancy thing is a serious time commitment!
I'm very proud of myself for blogging two days in a row. This might be some sort of record.
On another note, Ivan is sleeping like a baby (more like a baby after a bottle of sleeping pills; this lump won't get up). All I want is for him to wake up and entertain me until I get the text message to come play with my new niece! I'm antsy, and he can usually distract me from whatever I'm obsessing over. Maybe I'll clumsily fall back into bed and turn the food network on. No one can resist a good episode of Iron Chef or Good Eats.
Oh! That reminds me that we get to go to the Chinese buffet today! We have just a little bit of money to spend when we're together, so we like to go there. It's like $6.00 for lunch, and you get free pop (soda for all you East Coasters) if you flash your student ID! I love the perks of being in college.
Ok, so I'm going to try to wake him up again, and I'll let you know how Lucy Goose turns out!
I've decided to start a blog. I read Laura-Love's religiously, and sometimes I think I should have a place where people can keep up with me. I'm terrible at writing letters, phone calls are sporatic at best, and I get so wrapped up in my datebook that I completely forget that a world exists outside of good ol' Frostburg.
So now I'm going to try my very best to keep up with a blog (which will also probably be rather sporatic). I will be no Laura Cooke, mind you, but I will stop and post when I can. I don't promise fun stories, but I do promise that I will see the humor in life. I don't promise terribly interesting stories, either, but I do promise to make the not-so-intresting updates as interesting as possible.
Sometimes I will make no sense. Sometimes I will make a lot of sense. Sometimes I will ramble on and on (you have my permission to stop reading in those cases), and sometimes a post will be just one sentence. Either way, I hope I keep up with this, and...
WELCOME TO MY BLOG!
