weather, movie & printer problems...

hallo!
my dad left this morning - so sad! i was perfectly fine until he was just about to leave...thanks for the nice visit daddy! yesturday we went shopping (thank goodness for rental cars!!!!!) at sam's club - which was out of bottled water, because all of the people from Houston freaked and bought them out!!!! now, i don't blame them in any way. had i lived in an area that was potentially going to be disabled by a hurricane, i would freak too - especially coming right after katrina. but geez, all i wanted was some water because i don't get off campus much! at least wal-mart had some! anywho, i bought a printer yesturday. this is really exciting because now i don't have to use the lab and/or mooch off of friends! for some crazy reason though, i could not get anything to install like it should have, causing me much vexation! grrrrrrrrr....i definitely spent a couple of hours yesturday, but i didn't get anything to work until about 1/2 hour ago. if you should happen to have a hp printer and the included cd won't install, i really suggest merely downloading the software from their website - it actually works (and goes pretty quickly), opposed to the cd. i made my dad sit through an "uber chick-flick" (his words) with me last night...hahaha. i loved just like heaven. over the years, i have come to realize that i like chick-flicks because you know that they will have a happy ending of some sort. i don't care if they have a somewhat obvious plot - you can watch it happily knowing that somehow everything will turn out right in the end. of course, i love other genres (does "chick-flick" qualify as it's own genre??) too, but these movies can usually guarantee a good mood, and are especially nice to watch after a really bad day. just like heaven was pretty amusing (even my dad admitted that). the only problem was that my dad busted out laughing during the times that were supposed to be emotionaly distressing. i can totally see his point of view, and his laughter caused me to laugh too, but i felt bad for the people in front of us who were trying to enjoy the movie. oops. twas great! off to do some homework now, for i haven't done anything all weekend...
steph

shaaaaaaaaaark!

yup, you guessed it. tonight was "movie in the pool: jaws!" and it was great fun!! i was all worried that they would have to change the location back to the mall because of safety issues, but nope! i was supposed to get there at 8 to help set up, but i arrived about 8:40ish. oops! i have a good reason though! this weekend was supposed to be parents weekend, only it got canceled because of the hurricane rita. lots of people from down south came to dallas to avoid the storm, so there are no hotels left open anywhere! so they had to cancel the events, only my dad had already booked stuff. since he has never seen ud, he came down to visit anyway. the school decided to have a small dinner at an italian restaurant nearby for anyone who still came, so i went out to dinner. the food was absolutely delish! if only i could remember the name...ah well. so back to the movie...a lot of people showed up, and people kinda came and went, but there were definitely a bunch of people who actually stayed in the pool to watch it. it was cool. my favorite part was when the sg president and some friend declared themselves the "chastity sharks" and went to go break up some couples in the back of the pool. twas fun, and i loved swimming! i haven;t gone swimming in about 2 months, so it was really exciting!!! lol. off to go fetch my bathingsuit from the dryer and head to bed!
steph

sleeeeeeeeeeeeep is calling me!

(1) bride and prejudice is an amazing movie! i don't think i laughed outloud so hard at a movie in a LONG time. lol. it was kinda cheesy, and some of the dances were kinda funny, but everything was absolutely hilarious!! plus, we watched it in the guys dorm...and we definitely got at least 4 of them to stay and watch all/most of the movie!! various other ones walked in and out. it was a great time!
(2) i actually did ok on my first lit trad paper...i was incredibly nervous becuase the professor kept saying how most of the papers were typical first papers from freshman (aka - not good). i guess we did really bad, because we have an extended time to write it and we must have a tutor or the teacher read the rough draft first. i don't want to write on any of the prompts that he gave us...bummer.
(3) it looks like jaws in the pool is going to have to be moved back to the mall. AHHHHH. this is so upseting, but no one appears to know how to work the pool lights (or they won't return calls) and for safety reasons, it will not work. it's so sad!!! but it's still going to be a pool party sans pool, so come ready for it!!!
(4) i joined Crusaders for Life today - can't wait to go and start!!! everyone should come on sat morning am to go and pray outside the abortion clinic
(4) i actually did my homework for tomorrow last night, so i have done absolutely nothing today except for take a really long nap and start at least my third reading of the princess bride...it was great!! so, now i am going to go back to my reading and actually go to sleep before midnight (maybe the 4th time since school has started...) g'night y'all!
steph

busy day

today i went "thrifting" with some new friends, one of whom owns a car (yes!!! i might have to become more friendly with said car owner...lol) and bought lots of books to add to my rapidly growing book collection. I CAN NO LONGER BUY ANY MORE BOOKS! ever! at least until it looks like i will finish the ones i currently own...and because i am spending WAY TO MUCH money on them. oops. not that i have a lot of time to read anyways...the iliad is taking up a lot of my normal, recreational reading time. alas! well, the day was fun, though i think i am allergic to some substance that can be found in most thrift stores. i also discovered that I LOVE TACO CABANA! having never heard of it before and my usual dislike of mexican food, i was a little wary. i still like really plain food, but what i did have was really good. i went out to dinner with some different new friends, and then arrived back to michelle's 19th birthday party and the last half of spy game. i thought the ending was good, but a little confusing since i didn't know how is started. so now i need to rent it to see the beginning...whoever made the cake is my new best friend though! they were quite enjoyable!!

tag, you're it!

today was another interesting day...and a very tiring one!! i went to class...always fun time. though we did get to eat food during spanish today - that was cool. i sacrificed my door stop (my case of diet pepsi) to the good of the cause. laura is an incredible influence on me...this is the second friday afternoon that i did homework!! i think that is a world record in the life of stephanie...i mean, wow. that never happens. ever. my spanish homework is officially done for the weekend. i think it's pretty bad because i was in serious need of sleep, but whatever, tis done. however, this only took a little while, so no worries, i DO have a social life. i went to check out the pool here at ud (had never been there before). i'm helping organize a movie in the pool activity next weekend...should be REALLY REALLY FUN!!! who doesn't want to watch jaws while sitting in a pool, probably with some immature guys who think it's funny to freak out the girls??? lol. it should be fun. i'm crossing my fingers that it will all work out...i talked to my mom today and she was very happy that "i am finally getting involved" yeah. now i just have to worry about not gettingtoo involved. tonight was a campus-wide capture the flag game = FUN!!! east side (catherine, madonna, theresa, oconnel) versus west side (jerome, anselm, student apps, gregory). it was great! east won the first game, but somehow there was a mix-up in the second game because no one would own up to finding the flag, so the game went to the west side. the third game got interesting because people actually made it over to the area that i was defending, but we had to end officially at midnight and an unknown girl fell and really cracked her head open....so no one won the last game, but it was still cool. capture the flag totally floats my boat. lol. i came back into the room and began reading my econ book (laura again!) and it has effectively made me very sleepy, so i'm off to bed...........snzzzzz
steph
ps - note to self, find out how anti-virus software works before pressing random buttons. some buttons cut off axis to internet, causing many hours of vexation...arrrrgh! well, now i know!! lol

you know you are having a great time when people start giving you weird looks...

hallo!!
today was such an amazing and incredibly unproductive day!!! yeah!!
first, i actually went to bed quasi-early last night. my roommate went to a concert which i could not go see because (1) it was a country singer, and as we all know, i really don't like country all that much and (2)they wouldn't have let me in because i did not meet the age requirement and/or have fake id. anywhos, i went to bed early but still did not want to get up this morning. that is, until the incredibly loud ringing of the phone woke me up. but that was ok, since it was a call i had been waiting for, so all was forgiven.
after that, i took a shower, ate some breakfast, came back to my room and did some homework that i didn't feel like doing the night before etc. laura meanwhile has already finished her one class for the day by the time i am just starting to get going...it's a little weird, but i like it.
so i went to class...understanding the bible and principles of american politics. both classes were fine, except that they are 1 hour and 20 minutes long, which is way too long for me to keep still (well actually 2 minutes is kinda long...but anyways) but they were fine.
i went to lunch in the rat - have to eat there because my classes run right through lunch...incredibly greasy but really yummy pizza for lunch every tues and thurs (did someone say freshman 15??). we also had a community container of ice cream. chocolate. uuuuummmm. good.
after that, i went and hung out with some friends for a while...procrastination can sometimes be a very entertaining activity.
i get back to my room and find out that i have 2 phone messages!!! how exciting! no one ever calls, so that was fun. it's like getting mail...
then it started raining...just a little bit, but the rain drops were HUGE!!! so laura and i decided that we were going to go out and play in the rain. unfortunately, it only lasted for about 5 minutes...totally unsatisfactory. i wanted a refund. i get back to the room like 5 minutes later only to see laura outside the window dancing happily in the rain that magically appeared again...so i went out and joined her. the rain was really nice, because it's been threatening to rain for about a week without actually doing so...we went and frolicked in the rain for about an hour...walked around getting soaking wet and jumping in puddles (good fun!!!) we met up with some other people and kinda ran around campus for a while. we saw some weird looks, but we figured that (1) you only get weird looks if you are doing something fun and (2) they were secretly just jealous of all of the fun we were having and wanted to join in but didn't. it was awesome! for all of those who didn't go out and frolick, YOU WIMPS!!! lol. just kidding. ahh well, your loss.
so, went and took a shower, put soaking clothes in dryer (and then proceded to forget about them for 5 hours...) and went to dinner.
after that, i joined SPUD (student programming at UD), part of student government. i just kinda walked in and sat down. and now i am planning events for next weekend. i think you were supposed to sign up for it a while ago, but they didn't say anything, so i think it's ok! lol. anyway, it sounds like a lot of fun. and now my mom will be satisfied that i am actually getting involved in stuff...
i thought about going to swing club...but i can't dance. though it is really cool to watch the people who can...wow. i also thought about going to tigt (thank goodness it's thursday) but didn't get to either. i guess i can still go to tgit for another 45 minutes but that would involve getting up....maybe next week. i did meet a friend for some free coffee though i didn't actually drink any (see earlier note on freshman 15) wow, this computer is really distracting. speaking of distracting, it might be a good idea to actually start some homework now...especially since my roommate has already gone to bed...yeah, um, off to do some work!
off singin' in the rain,
steph

gahhhhh!

congratulations, stephanie! i have managed to begin a great start to my college carrier by finishing and turning in myy first official paper exactly 15 minutes before the deadline (the office closed at 5)....ahhhhhh! i really really really need to start working on this procrastination thing...yeah, um...speaking of which, i should probably get going on my other homework now...

sad sad day...

obviously, 9/11 is forever going to be a horrific day in the minds of Americans - that is until this generation starts dying out. then it will become more like Pearl Harbor because everyone will remember the date, but fewer people will actually remember the event. that's all i want to so, except for that we should all say an extra little prayer for everyone affected - which would be all of the USA, Afghanistan and Iraq etc- but especially those that died and their families....because they still need our prayers.......
on a happier note, i have been authorized to drive an approved motor vehicle in the state of illinois for 1 year as of today...hooray! i'm thinking about throwing a party.......

nothing to say...

hi. i have absolutely nothing to say today, and i really really should go to bed...yet somehow, i just can't make myself. giving myself a huge headache contemplating the mysteries of life...

ouch! i'm going to be sore for a week!!

tonight we went rollerskating...and it was a lot of fun! everyone was supposed to be wearing really wacky and/or tacky clothing. alas, i do not have very much taky clothing, thank you, so i borrowed a shiny gold sequined (complete with entire sections of sequins missing) dress that was a couple of sizes too small. my ra is tall, and although i like to tell myself that i am, i really am on the smaller side...anywho, there were some really crazy outfits. we pulled up into the parking lot, and everyone leaving kinda stared at us. lol. their expressions were really funny. some little girl came up to me and touched my dress...that was a little weird, not gonna lie. some outfits included: guys wearing short shorts, red suits, checkered pants and stripped shirt, sequins, multiple layers of clothing, colorful wigs, brightly-colored tights, really tall spiked hair on girls, joggin suits etc. i think you can use your imagination. my all time favorite though was the hat my friend michelle was wearing - it was lime green, looked like a swimming cap, and had large purple spikes in a mohak formation. it was hilarious. all was going well, and i managed not to fall until the last half hour when i attempted (silly me!) to play red light, green light...i don't know why i was in such a hurry - i was far behind anyway - but i tried to stop, and both of my legs managed to fly out from under me as i landed on my butt with a huge thud. OUCH!!!! i got up, and thought i was going to pass out i fell so hard. now i'm kinda sick...plus i'll probably have a blister, really sore legs, and a bruised butt for the next week...BUT i still had an awesome time, and i am really glad i went!!! whooooooooo.......zzzzzzzzzzz!
steph

happy dance!!

today i woke up sick...ugh! i really really got to get more sleep. i feel like i am at one large sleepover, and like all speepovers, i never go to bed. sigh. i need some more will power here...speaking of will power, i really should start doing some homework even though it is a friday afternoon...especially the homework that i was supposed to do for today but didn't finish...which is why i'm currently doing a happy dance! my econ class was canceled today because the teacher was sick. yeah!! i mean i guess i feel kinda bad for him because he is sick, but i'm still really happy that i'm not in class right now!!! so, now i get to procrastinate for a while before i actually start doing some homework and later get to go late night roller skating...i've heard it's kinda 80s themed...alas, i hate 80s fashion, so i don't have anything to wear...what a pity.
dancing for joy,
steph

swing, swing!

today was the second day of class...they went well, though i don't know if i am going to like the 1 1/2 hour classes. if i think 45 minutes can be too long, how and i going to survive?? and they are straight through lunch. luckily i can still pick up food at the rat. i called my dad today because it is his birthday. i love my dad. he's so cute!!! i miss him too...tear! tonight i procrastinated a whole lot, though i did get some spanish done. it took me a long time because i kept getting distracted - laura and jacob were hanging things, so lots of dust was falling from the ceiling tiles. we also found a lamp hidden up there after it almost fell on us - luckily jacob caught it. it looked like it might have been up there for a while because the white paint had turned half yellow...eww. i went and attempted to join the swing club tonight. it was really fun to watch. i think i could just stand there in awe of all of the dancers all night and still have a really great time - they were that good. i was incredibly jealous. basically, i learned one really basic step. i still have A LOT to learn, but that's ok, because i still enjoyed myself even though i was pretty bad. now i have to go and do some econ...ugh. off to read some 100+ year old book.........snore!
steph

first day of classes....ahhhh!!

today was my first day of official classes at UD, and i managed to survive....yeah!! to the left is a picture that i just stole from someone's website...this little boy just looks too cute on his first day of class. awwwww! don't you remember these pictures of yourself when you look super excited for your fist day at school?? they are the best.
i think this is a first, but i'm going to try it. i'm to use some more space, hopefully to make it a little more easier to read. let me know what you think...
my schedule is really kinda nice. first class on MWF is at 10, on TTu it's at 11...grin! little story about my spanish class...i was supposed to take a placement test over the summer so they could put me in the right class...only i kept procrastinating. i eventually did it on a plane flight from ohare to dulles, but forgot to mail it, so i took it with me on the rest of the way to germany. then i managed to miss the deadline and lose it somewheres (i think it's somewhere in my room, probably buried under something...) so i get here, and they had looked at my transcripts and placed me in an intermediate class. they wanted me to take the placement test anyway to make sure that i made it in the right spot, so i did, and got a HUGE headache because unfortunately, i don't remember a lot of grammar....but i went back the next day (twice!) to pick up the results, but they didn't have them. they told me to just register for the class that i think that i should be in...so i just registered for the class that they had already put in my schedule. i walked into my first class today (at 10...yeah! no early morning classes for me this semester!!) and discovered that (1) there are only 10 people in the class and (2) it's designed for students who grew up speaking spanish at home but who don't really know the rules or grammer. and since i am not of a bilingual/hispanic heritage, i don't know if it's the right class. 3 people ended up leaving to go reschedule a different class, so now we are down to 7. i understood everything that was going on, and i really really liked the teacher because it was obvious that he really really enjoys teaching, so i think i am going to stick with it. it might be my worst class, but if i enjoy it, hopefully it'll work out. lol. sorry, kinda a long story...
i'm not coming home until thanksgiving- it sounds like we don't have much time off. why do we have to go to school on labor day/all national holidays?? it's not fair i tell you!!
so basically i went to class, met my teachers, read the sylabus and went back to my dorm. took a nice long 2 hour nap before my roommate laura woke me up so i could actually make it in time for dinner. the sad thing is that i'm still tired. alas! off to read some of my new, really really expensive spanish book...
steph

hi y'all!!

hello from dallas y'all!! once again, i managed to tell a big fib because i promised to tell you all about germany, and then proceeded not to....oops! my deepest apologies. if and when i ever find a scanner, maybe i'll through some pictures and explanations...there are some good ones!! lol. anywho, i have officially moved to college!! whoooooooooooo!!! tomorrow is the last day of orientation - it's been cool so far. my roommate is laura = super nice and really fun. i live in the hall known as "catherine convent"...sigh. no one that lives here likes the nickname, and we are all determined to overthrow the stereotype of this hall. all of the girls and most of the guys that i've met (some at least 3 time...um, memory issues...) are really nice and welcoming. we have had various mingling opportunities, movie (american grafitti - actually quite funny. i think my favorite character was carol(?), the young girl who "goes steady" with the drag racer. ha! she's hilariously innocent...anyway, you got to see it to know what i mean), really yummy root beer social, casino night, party at the houses of the professors (which was actually fun, not dorky. we had a lot of fun) etc. the only problem is that i really gotta stop eating junk food at 10pm...i can justify healthy things like fruits/vegitables etc, but chips and m&ms has got to stop!!! ahhh!!! tomorrow i have to register...fun times. last day before the hectic schedule of classes begin...the good news is that on monday/wednesday/friday my earliest class is at 10, and on tuesday/thursday the earliest is at 11!!! wahoo!!! lol.
sleepily yours,
steph

big hi from wyd!!!

hi everzone!!!
im writing from a small internet cafe in dusseldorf germanz waiting for tonights wzd events to start, so i thought i would just saz hi. thats it because i dont have anz more time. ill fill in the stories later!!! lol. having a blast and hope to talk to yall soon (just practicing!!lol)
steph
ps the kezboards are different and thez are driving me crazy!!! not lack of punctuation and misspellings!! in case zou haven't figured it out zet, the y and z kezs are switched on german kezsboards!! lol ttzl!!

pink and orange

today i finally decided on a color theme for my dorm...well my half of the dorm anyway. yup, you guessed it, it's going to be pink and orange. i was meaning to talk to laura (my roommate) about all this, but for 3 reasons, i decided to just go ahead and start buying stuff. 1- i just got the letter yesturday letting me know who laura is. 2- i emailed laura, but have yet to call her, so i haven't gotten the change to actually talk to her yet. 3- i'll be really stressed out if i leave on friday feeling that i won't be ready for anything when i come back, so i need the assurance, that yes, i do have basic life essentials. so, sorry laura if these aren't exactly your favorite colors. but what's the worse thing that can happen?? maybe our dorm will just clash horribly...but that wouldn't be too bad, right? it will add character!
steph

happy dance

hey it's an exciting day because i finally received the letter telling me my roommate and dorm hall assignment!!! happy dance!! this is very exciting, but now i have to actually use the phone and call...shudder. i have a fear of phones. it's weird i know, but oh well. tis life. i'm just happy that i finally know who i will be living with for the next 6 months! now, if only i could figure out where i am staying in germany at the end of the week.....
steph

the previous entry made me think of this sticker....ahhhh, the sticker. although i believe the saying is true, it does have a funny memory attached to it. SENIOR QUOTE THAT NEVER MADE IT!!!! lol. but how do you try to say something like this without sounding frumpy/old fashioned/prudish/insert adjective of choice??? i don't know if you can. i guess it all depends on your intended audience. hmmmm....it's true!!! believe it, even as you remember the memories associated with it = good times!!!
me

i am beautiful, you are beautiful, this is beautiful!

hey all -
http://www.you-are-beautiful.com/ESSAYS.htm
i stumbled across this site after i stumbled across some stranger's blog (you can really find some interesting things sometimes by hitting the 'next blog' button.) anyway, i thought it was really cool...i think just stumbling across one of theses stickers would make me feel so happy inside, even though it wasn't left for me particularily or if no one else cared. it's just a happy message - kinda like a complete stranger giving you a compliment. hmmm....happy feelings....
steph

thank goodness that tomorrow's a new day, because today i feel like an idiot!!!

ahhhhhhh!!!!!! today i went to buy a new alarm clock for my soon to be new dorm (if they would let me know what it is??? i would like to know before i leave the country!!!) anyhow, after using my gift card, i still had to pay $26 something...and wouldn't you know that i only had $25 on me???? what does life do that to you?? anyway, so i went to go pay with my debit card which i carry around with me for situations exactly like this one...only i wasn't thinking to clearly (imagine that!), and i swear i couldn't remember my pin #. i know it, but for some reason it wasn't clicking, and i felt like an idiot when nothing was working!! finally the clerk just bypassed it, and i kinda ran out of the store, calling myself an idiot the whole way home. too bad there wasn't some incredibly hot guy there, because then at least i could blame my mometary stupidity on someone...though i guess that could have made it even worse...yeah! way to think on the positive side....
steph