Today's rambling: First day of classes
Written on Monday, Aug. 26, 2002 at 10:47 a.m.
while feeling a bit

I think this is an entry that I'll be adding to as the day goes on, but it's almost 11 am, my first class finished early because it was just general "Hey, this is what we'll be studying this semester" type stuff, and I've got a few more minutes before I meet Chelsea for lunch.

There's a guy somewhere outside my window mowing the grass. For some reason, the sound is comforting. Maybe it just makes me think of waking up on some lazy weekend morning (or afternoon, ha ha), hearing Mom or Dad with the lawn mower right underneath my window. Ah, good times...

So anyway, my first class was pretty good. Like I said, it was just easy, first-class-of-the-year stuff, but I really think I'm going to do well in that one, at least. It's just an entry-level course teaching various computer-related things, so I have the feeling that I'll know at least the BASICS of everything she teaches...so I won't feel completely at a loss! Somewhere right in the middle of her talking, I just felt this strange swell of happiness. It felt so GOOD to be back in classes again! Granted, a couple of weeks from now I'll probably be grumbling and complaining, but generally speaking, I'm very happy to be learning again.

One of the RA's, Jess (I think that's her name) is such a cute little thing!! She's really bubbly and outgoing and friendly, and for whatever reason I just want really badly to be her friend. That probably sounds really lame, but there's something about her that just seems to pull you in! And no, I'm not talking homosexually here, hehe ;) I'm just really going to try and make the effort to befriend her (and hope that she doesn't think I'm just some loony!). Her door was open when I came upstairs from class (I was walking with some other girl), and I called out, "Hello hellooo!" Then the other girl and I stood in the doorway and chatted for a bit (though the two of them were talking more than me). Ah well, we'll see what happens!

For now, it's almost 11, so I'd better run downstairs before Chelsea gives up and leaves without me!!! Like I said, I'll probably write more in this entry later! I have French at one o'clock...wish me luck, because I'm sure I'll be lost!!!

11:47 - If I keep up all this stair-climbing and fast-walking to class, I'm going to have the Sexiest Legs You Have Ever Seen.

I just wish I didn't feel like falling to the ground and dying on my way to gaining those legs.

5:12 pm - Alright, classes for today are over! Yay!! French was at 1, and at first I was like, "Oh my gosh, I'm going to die!" The teacher started talking in French, and I just stared at her blankly. Thankfully, though, she started talking in English for us (though I know that's not always going to happen). Oddly enough, Miranda (the only other girl I met at orientation) was in my class, so it was nice talking to her! And, we found out that we had our 3 o'clock class (Writing II) together as well! Yay!

But back to French. I felt like I was the only one there who really had a passion for learning the language. Everyone else was speaking with a blatant American accent, and it's not that I didn't have one, but I was trying my best to actually pronounce things the way they should be. Like, the word "quatre" ("four")...everyone kept pronouncing it like "CATra", when it's more like "cat" with a vague throaty sound at the end of it...y'know how the French do their r's? Nobody was doing that. I was trying to...Back in high school French, I was always too self-conscious to actually do it, but now I don't care.

I've literally been interested in this language since I was around 5. Granted, I didn't think about it all the time from then 'til now, but I always thought French was really cool. I remember in 7th or 8th grade, my friend (who was just starting high school) came on the bus with a French textbook, and I automatically KNEW that I'd be taking that course. So it actually means something for me, whereas for the others...

Well, here's what I don't get. Before I got here, I was afraid that everyone in that classroom would be really passionate about the language, that just coming out of high school, they'd still remember everything and totally leave me behind. But today, it just seems like none of them want to be there! They must have to go as a requirement for their major, because I mean, c'mon: this is college, and if they didn't WANT to take it and didn't HAVE to, then why did they?

Maybe I won't shame Miss Columbus after all, LoL! I certainly have a better appreciation for the language now that I've been away from class so long and realized how easy it is to forget...

Alright, enough of that. My next class was Writing II. In steps the one teacher thus far that I don't think I'll care for very much. It's not that she's MEAN, really, it's just that she's very rule-oriented and doesn't warm up to people. I consider myself to be a very warm person (unless I don't like you, ha ha), and so I can't cope well with people who aren't. Actually, I guess I could deal with that personality trait, if it weren't for the fact that the course itself looks like it's going to be very difficult. We're learning how to write essays, how to document sources, etc., and that's the kind of stuff that I've never been very good at. So to have a hard course AND a teacher who's very straitlaced...well, I'll deal with it, but I wish it could've been otherwise!

Miranda's in that class, too, so at least I have someone to talk to. After we got out, we traipsed over to the library, figured out how to work their catalogue system, and then checked out a book each. She got "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", while I got "The Witches" (I told you I'd read it eventually, Jam!). It felt sort of silly checking out books from the Juvenile section, but the entire REST of that library was incredibly boring. I've never seen so many books in one place, however. There's like 4 floors of them!! If only they were all interesting books...

And now I'm here, stressing over the fact that my Earth Science class tomorrow is actually at 7 in the evening, as opposed to 7 am, as I'd previously been thinking! I didn't want to have any evening classes! I don't know how the 'pm' part totally slipped my attention, but it's a good thing Miranda pointed it out to me! Otherwise, I'd have been wandering around the building like, "Where's my class???"

I think I might call Chelsea now and see if she's around. Today is Activities Day, and there could be something out there that I'd like to sign up for! And there's a live band out there somewhere, but it's too hot for that. My main reason for wanting to call her is for dinner, however. I'm hungry, and I'm in the mood for soft-serve ice cream, which they have at Chandler. Yoooooomeh!