The Myth & The Majesty

Wild and crazy weekend. Well, it's me, so it's more "crazy" and less "wild." I need to get back to work ... Good weekend/time of year for some serious re-evaluation, too. I've got a lot more thinking to do, though. In two weeks, I might even have time to do the thinking. *Sigh.*

It snowed. Again. On Saturday, it was 75°F outside, and we were barbecuing and playing Frisbeee. Today, it was cold and snowing and the stadium parking lot was like soup. Mer. In other news, it turns out that I have a microbiology inner voice that sounds remarkably like my old boss. It's a very insistent voice.

The grass is always greener on the other side.

Yeah, so over the weekend I got a new phone. Thank goodness -- my last one had an antenna that fell out and a cracked screen (which proceeded to bleed, thus obscuring the screen. I couldn't see who I was calling or who was calling me. Some hilarity ensued). Anyway, I got this new phone, and it's great. But in true Ashley fashion, I seem to have misplaced my charger. Any ideas?

I have very little to say today, but I also have a strong desire to write. So here I am. It's still snowing, and I'm still confused. I feel like I should be used to RC mood swings, but they still manage to catch me off guard. Funny how that works ... Homework this week, but that's about it. Lots to finish up in the next three weeks. Loose ends and such. Yeah. Like I said, nothing much to say. I actually have a desire to go to the library and finish some homework, and I think I might take myself up on that. Current obsession: Script reading If I had a mine shaft, I don't think I would just abandon it. There's got to be a better way. -Jack Handy

I wore flip-flops all weekend. It's snowing now. I'm so confused.

The definite downside to a break is the complete and total lack of motivation that always seems to happen. Alas, we have only 4 weeks left. No time to not be motivated. Too much that must be done first. My last physical chemistry lab is in two hours; I get to check in my drawer and turn in my last two reports, and then I'm done with p-chem (as a class) forever! Yay! Aside from that, there's a lot of homework to be done today, and I'm hoping to maybe get a little ahead in a couple of areas. Not much time left! A little time now to read and daydream about this summer ... Oh, I can't wait ... Currently craving: A grilled chicken burrito from Taco John's. Thinking about: Room layout at Storm. Looking forward to: Jane Austen class in 40 minutes! I bought an occasional table ... Sometimes it's a microwave oven. -Steven Wright

In true slacker fashion, I've been home for 45 minutes, on the computer for about 30, and I just can't bring myself to write up my lab reports. It will happen eventually. But right now, I can't seem to concentrate. Easter was awesome, as usual. This is one of my favorite holidays ... The meaning, the family, the food -- it all comes together. Awesome. Only three weeks left of the semester, plus finals week ... Egads. It's a little strange; here I am, wrapping up my senior year, and I'm having the hardest time picturing summer. I even have some idea as to what to expect, since I'll be back at Storm, but things are so different now that the picture escapes. Maybe if I were graduating, things would be different. Scarier, at least. Instead, the only emotion is anticipation -- I'm ready to be out of here! At last. A summer of cooking and hiking. Rock on. And, as a bonus, Anya (one of my roommates from Russia) will be in the area in August. (!!!!) She...

Happy Easter! I headed back to my parents' place for the weekend; here I sit in the (now) computer room, trying to organize my thoughts at an earlier hour than usual.' I just returned from church, where I took part in the prayer vigil. Each year, they set up the vigil to last from some point on Friday night till some point on Saturday night/Sunday morning. This year and last year, it is/was from midnight to midnight. I like to take part when it's still dark, and as such, I signed up for the 5AM slot. Early mornings like today leave a lot of time for thought. It's been an interesting year, full of events and challenges that, five years ago, no one could have predicted. Alas, that was only a small portion of the thoughts in my head. Last night, one of the last readings was about ... today. It's Saturday. But it's not just any Saturday -- it's the lost day, the day between Good Friday and Easter. It's a solemn day, but it's a confusing day. I wonder wha...

I just realized I started calling this thing "Musings of a Demented Mind: Autobiography in Blog," but there's less autobiography in here than dementia. Or something like that. In lieu of this information, I thought I'd use a modified mass-email-survey-thingy and possibly fill in some blanks for the two of you who haven't known me for the last 3+ years. (Plus it gives me something to do instead of studying.)- So here we go ... My interview with me ... What is your name? Did I just ask myself that? It's Ashley. Age? 21. Highest level of education? I'm into my senior year of college. Pretty sure I'll max out here for awhile. Birthplace? Here, in Rapid City. Funny story ... The building I was born in has been converted to a mental hospital. What time did you get up this morning? 10:00. It was beautiful. But tomorrow I'll probably be up at 7AM at the latest. Big presentation in the morning. What was the last film you saw at the theatre? Um .....

Record Company Executive: Your fans are gospel folk, Johnny. They're Christians, and they don't wanna hear you singing to a bunch of murderers and rapists, tryin' to cheer 'em up. Johnny Cash: Then they ain't Christians. (from "Walk the Line") I was reading a friend's blog yesterday and it made me angry. Have you read it yet? How about now? As I said, this made me angry. How could people who call themselves Christians treat someone like this? At that thought, my anger turned cold. Guilt. Oh, the number of times I have been guilty of just that. Christians are an interesting crowd. On a good day, we're open, loving, and full of mercy. On a bad day, we'll shun you for a single sin. We're not bad people, but we're still human -- we're still susceptible to judgment and hypocrisy, no matter how much we try to deny it. But that's no excuse. However problematic the Christian faith seems to those who aren't a part of it, its basis i...

Not just snow in the forecast, but half an inch on the ground when I left for school. I laughed hysterically the whole time I was scraping my windows. This state is nuts. (PS -- Now it's 67°F outside. Crazy, hmm?) Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for senior design; our presentation is on Wednesday, and we're almost done putting it together. Hopefully we'll finish that up tonight (preferably before too late) and have tomorrow to do, um, everything else. It's the last-minute push before Easter ... My little brother is getting confirmed tomorrow. Yay Shorty! I'm still sorry I'm going to miss it ... :( In other news, this was a crazy, hectic week. Only 5 weeks until graduation! (You don't have to graduate to look forward to it!) To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other. -Jack Handy

*Ahem.* I apologize for that outburst. In my defense, I lost my spreadsheet FOUR TIMES. It was ridiculous. A whole new level. It's raining! It's been raining for most of the day! Whee!! It's so desperately needed around here ... Relief, at last. I hope it keeps up. And, in tune with the bipolar state of RC, it hit 80°F yesterday -- and there's snow in the forecast for tonight. I love this city. Action-packed weekend ahead. Well, packed anyway. Lots of homework, and some raking, and some hanging out with M&J's girls (yay!), and then some more homework ... Oof. Six -- well, five days till freedom!

FRUSTRATION!! Let me say this to the world: this is the worst computer lab on campus. That's why chemical engineers are always in the library. Grrr....

This is it! A new record! Never before have I posted three times in one day ... It's a dubious honor, but I'm excited all the same. It's a gorgeous day, even now. I have no idea what temperature we hit; warm enough to sit outside, not so warm that you break a sweat going to your car. Gorgeous. The perfect day for relaxing in a patio chair with homework and a big glass of Kool-Aid. Went to my first large group team meeting tonight ... I do believe it will take at least one more before I actually see how things go. Things were more than just a little relaxed this week. Now I'm at home, where I can mix up a couple loaves of bread (I ran out again ... I need to find some other food groups to abuse) and continue on homework. Days like today remind me of why I'm here in the first place. My original motivation behind coming to Tech was because of the Hills (besides the coin flip ... ah, my former decision-making strategies!). Sure, the school was great, but the loc...

Curious thought: We've been back in the US for over 8 months now, yet every time I look at pictures from Russia or think about it, I feel like I've only been back for a week. On the other hand, last semester, which ended less than four months ago, feels like it was two years ago. Relativity in action?

Oh, Katie. You just haven't read enough yet to know how truly boring things get around here! I realized that I was gone for two days and the only thing I really talked about was the book I read. A bit indicative of my train of thought this last year or so, but not terribly informative. The trip was interesting. Very interesting, despite spending something like 25 hours on bus in less than 48 hours. Yeah -- over half. Egads. A few of us pulled rank and made sure we had seats to ourselves (that is, two seats to ourselves ... nobody spent much time on anyone's lap, as far as I'm aware), which definitely helped keep things comfortable. In any case, that's not where the excitement was. On Thursday, we made it to Chancellor (just a couple miles from my high school!) and we toured the ethanol plant there ... Interesting, yes, and a little on the small side. Very Chancellor-like. I got to talk to a girl I took advanced chemistry with in high school; it was cool to get ...

Wow, what a week. Too many ups and downs. I'm having odd flashbacks to my previous life, before Tech. I'm not liking it much, but the sensations have been far too similar. They're making things difficult -- things like doing homework, caring about classes, and coaxing myself out of bed in the morning. It's not good. In any case, I have a p-chem lab to finish ... and another one to DO, by the sounds of it ... so I should let y'all go. I'm always looking for blog topics! One man's ways may be as good as another's, but we all like our own best. -Jane Austen

My brain is misfiring, and I still have to finish my p-chem test. Makes things more difficult. The plant trip was pretty cool, despite being mostly bus time. I definitely need to check out Cargill a little more ... Interesting stuff. Besides that, I finally managed to read The Dante Club , a book I've had since Christmas last year. If you're interested in mysteries at all, I highly recommend this one. Loosely put, it's about four (well-known) literary minds in 1865 who are translating Dante's The Divine Comedy into English. In the midst of this, someone starts killing well-known Boston personalities (a judge, a minister, etc.) using Dante's circles of hell as his template. The particularly interesting aspect is that these four literary minds are real people, who were actually translating The Divine Comedy at this point, but the murders are fictitious. Brings an interesting dynamic to the book ... Anyway, I should get back to work. Too much to contemplate; i...