Life is moving rather fast lately!

Just when I think I'm going to sit down and write a story about something, it's done and over and new things have already begun. Even today just flew by! I guess that is sometimes just How Things Go. (When did I turn into A.A. Milne?)

So, I got some new pet sitting appointments on the books! This is exciting. Simone is a little princess kitty with bright blue eyes. Her guardians are loaded. I could not believe their museum-like house. It was so clean and expensive looking, I wondered if they really lived there. It was so fancy shmancy! Very different kind of experience for me. I like comfy homes, not homes in which I'm afraid to walk or leave fingerprints on the glass tables.

Oh well, Simone seems happy. And I love her name. ...Simone...

She meowed a bunch while I pet her and the guy seemed to think that meant she really likes me a lot. She made me laugh. I thought Homer was talkative!

I taught another 5th grade class on Friday. So much for ten year olds seeming cute and innocent like the last class! They wore me out. They were loud and obnoxious and not paying any attention to me. I had to break out the authoritative teacher-y voice when I asked one kid if he would be able to control himself while we were outside. Otherwise, he could go back to the tables. He chose the former and actually managed to behave fairly well, which pleased me. Still, in general, I was interrupted about 14,000 times during the course of the day and had to ask them to listen or come back or stop throwing that or whatever no less than five hundred quadrillion times. Frustrated? Yeah. Just a little.

One girl sighed and said, "How did I get stuck with these boys?" I laughed. Not at her. But because I knew exactly how she felt. One, because I'd gotten stuck with teaching them. And two, because I was always that girl when I was younger. I always felt annoyed at the kids I was grouped with because many of them were loud and didn't listen to the teacher and I was the world's biggest teacher's pet. I got in trouble for talking and passing notes in class. Not for yelling and throwing rocks, like the kids I sighed about. I responded to the girl, "I don't know. But don't worry about it. It's fine," and smiled.

And it was. They had fun anyway. I survived. I still have all my arms and legs. Not such a terrible day, I guess.

I went out with friends on Friday night and unwound. We had a lot of fun together! I met them in my meditation class and we decided to keep in touch through email and regular get-togethers. I'm really happy we did! It's nice to spend time with such fun and awesome people and laugh a lot, and come home feeling great. I'm really looking forward to seeing them all again!

Today I ate lots of girl scout cookies. Gotta love those thin mints!

I finished my Financial Aid application today! I am relieved. When I fill out forms like that, even though they are a giant pain in the ass, I feel like a real honest-to-goodness student. I am aware that sooner than I know, I'll be sitting in desks, in lecture halls, taking notes and stressing about exams. And I'll complain. I'll make new friends and we'll complain about the stress of it all together. But I'll be learning and making good grades and feeling happy with myself for accomplishing goals.

Really, I'm looking forward to it. I am looking forward to the academic aspects of it all, but moreso, I'm looking forward to the socializing. I'm counting on meeting people with similar interests who like cafes and coffee houses and cramming together. I'm thinking I'll enjoy being back in school again.

There's another aspect of school that's been on my mind again lately. I want to study abroad. Whenever I think of it in a serious way, adrenaline pumps through me, I take in as much information as I can, and I feel compelled to go. The more I think of it, the more it becomes something I have to do before I graduate. It almost doesn't even matter where. While looking at UCLA's Education Abroad programs this afternoon, I saw they had a program in the Netherlands. Wow! I'd never considered going there before! It sounds so amazing, and I really want to go! If not there, somewhere. I can't stand the idea of ever looking back and saying, "I wish I'd gone when I had the chance."

Before I graduate, I have to study abroad. I just... have to.

I can't believe it's already so late. I'm hoping to spend some time outdoors tomorrow and maybe even get some exercise. Last week I played my flute, and I realized (again) that it's been too long, especially considering how much I love to play. This week I'm going to do a lot more feed-your-soul kinds of activities. Just because I feel like it. And because no matter how cliche it sounds, it really does feel good to make the most out of each day!

~~Meg