More Awesomeness!

This past 24 hours has been great!

Crystal, my dear friend since the days of yore (May 7, when anatomy started and we happened to sit next to each other....) needed a place to stay for the night since her apartment lease is up, so I told her she could stay at mine. We went to Bourbon Street Distillery for dinner and had some delicious salads while being extremely nerdy and whipping out study guides in the middle of the loud restaurant.

After dinner, we resisted the extremely strong urge to drive to Cheesecake Factory ($1.50/slice cheesecake yesterday!!! wtf?!?!), and instead opted for Dunkin' Donuts down the street (closer, and also delicious). We brought our donuts back to my place and started the marathon studying...of course taking a break somewhere around 11pm to watch some Grey's Anatomy DVD and eat the donuts. We got up pretty early this morning for even more studying (in between dozing off and getting ready to leave). So much learning.

We got to the exam pretty early, did some more cramming, and then finally took the damn thing. I was sort of nervous because, even though I'd studied a lot and had always done well in the past, sometimes you just never know what's going to be thrown at you and I needed to do well to keep my A in the class.

Well.... I DID!!

Anatomy = *OWNED*, Physiology = *OWNED*, IUPUI GPA so far = 4.0

After the exam, Crystal, Maresa, Heather, and I went to PF Chang's for lunch. Even just walking through the mall to get to the restaurant was fun...we were all in such good moods after finally finishing both classes over the past two months.
The food was delicious, of course, and we even got some of those cute little $2 dessert cups (highly recommended). After lunch, we walked back through the mall and very actively resisted buying things, and then went to check our grades on campus.

After saying goodbye to my three favorite classmates, I met up with Vicki! We hung out at my place, then strolled Mass Ave for a while. I finally went into Silver In The City and Luna Music, two places that I will definitely be returning to. I love that I live just down the street from all that. Then, we went back to my place and listened to a tape (yes, like a cassette tape) of the two of us from freshman year in high school. We're talking 8 years ago. Back then, we went on a kick where we'd take this little tape recorder with us sometimes when we'd hang out at each other's houses or once when we went to school. We were very...um....interesting....young women. We couldn't really understand all of what we were saying, but our lives back then seemed to consist mostly of lauging with a lot of loud, high pitched talking and Offspring/Sublime/random semi-popular music of the day playing in the background.

After we'd exhausted the entertainment we could get from the tape (which, by the way, used to be an educational Spanish tape from elementary school), she went back to the land of Carmel and I ended up here, in the computer room of my apartment complex, finally getting connected to the internet again.

Ya know, even though it's sometimes (OK, usually) annoying that I don't have a regular (not to mention secure) internet connection in my apartment, it's sort of nice to have to do other things instead of being attached to my computer. I think I'll go a little longer without ordering cable and see what happens.

Tomorrow I'm off to WL to clean out my apartment for the last time (not really excited about all of the cleaning), turn in the keys, and then I'm officially moved out of WL and Purdue for good. Sort of a weird feeling since I've lived there for the past four years, but it's the way life goes, I guess.

And life....is awesome. I love it. I have a healthcare job, got A's in both of my summer classes, awesome family and friends, great new apartment in a wonderful city, I've been going out a lot lately, and meeting more new people all of the time.

Awesomeness!!

I GOT A JOB! :D

I'm now a lab assistant at the blood bank, serving three of the biggest and best known hospitals in the state. Good times!!

In related news, I got an email from an awesome professor in nursing who's been helping me out and I might have another job and volunteer opportunity with the nursing school. That will DEFINITELY be awesome, too! The nursing school here is my top priority, so getting a chance to work there would be the best.

Lots of jeorbs!

It's so nice to be able to have an income again!

I'm excited!! :)

In other news, things have been going GREAT here. I love this city and my life here. My apartment is almost all done and, after finally getting my bed and couch last weekend, it's been a lot of fun decorating and getting ideas of what to do.

Indy is such a great city because there are so many places to go and things to do on any given day. If something's not going on, then there's always a new restaurant or something to check out. I have a growing list of places both here and in Broad Ripple that I've heard of and want to try out, and have been checking things off lately. Not to mention how awesome it is that I can walk to so many places.

I've also been meeting and hanging out with so many new people over these past couple of weeks. I'm learning not to pass up any opportunity where I could possibly meet people, even if it doesn't seem logical that I'd talk to or become friends with anyone there, because you can meet people just about anywhere. I've even met people at the Starbucks near campus and the study rooms at my apartment complex. It's great.

School is going well, too. Only one week left of summer classes and I'm hoping to escape the summer sessions with a 4.0. Today's exam didn't go as well as I'd hoped it would, but I still have a pretty good chance for an A in the class so all is not lost.
After classes are over, I've got a couple of weeks without class, so I'll be working and housesitting in Carmel (more money!). Hopefully I'll hear from the nursing school soon and be doing that, too. AND if I have time, some more Red Cross stuff.

My life is an exciting adventure.

Not Grumpy Anymore!!

The job search is finlly paying off!!!

:D

Tired

Wow, it's been a week since I last posted!

It's been a really busy week! Last weekend, I mostly studied for my Monday exam. My dad came up on Sunday to put together some of the IKEA furniture (I have lamps and a table with chairs now!!).

I also spent a good amount of time this week getting to know some more about the area. I've been up and down Mass Ave a few times with some new friends, stopping in some of the shops there. They have a lot of little random, artsy places (and a Starbucks). One interesting little store, Global Gifts, has exclusively free trade stuff and everyone who works there is a volunteer. Best Chocolate In Town is a tiny place that has some really weird but amazing truffles. And there's also a toy store I went into that's a lot of fun.
This morning after my interview, I went over to the new Dunkin' Donuts on Penn & Washington. Thank God for that place. While on that trip, I also tried to further understand downtown parking. So far, I think it's best to just drive around the block a few times to see if there's a spot open until you get annoyed enough to park in the mall garages.

There are of course about a million places on my list of things I still want to try here.

In other news, I had that job interview this morning. I can't tell how it went, which is bothering me. I was interviewed by three people (two interviewed me together). Sometimes I thought they liked me, but sometimes I wasn't sure what they were thinking. Maybe that's how they do things, though. Every other time I've been up for a position, it's been with a place small enough to be able to tell me yes or no right away. I don't know how common that is, though.
I dunno, I'm hoping for the best but the ambiguity of it put me in sort of a bad mood. So now I'm grumpy.

Plus tired, since last night I was out at the concert at White River. Sam and Laura came down from WL and my sister came to visit. Parking was crazy because of everything that's going on here this week, so yay for my IUPUI parking pass. Anne and I went to Buca for dinner before the show (AMAZING chocolate cake. Amazing.), then we met up with Sam and Laura at the park. It was a good time. :) But not a lot of sleep since I had to wake up early this morning.

So yeah, I'm grumpy right now. :

Another thing I've noticed about not having cable is that there's a crazy amount of those cheesy judge shows on TV. Is the market really that big that they need 3+ of them?

Anyway, time for a nap.

IKEA! and other things.

Today marked the long-awaited IKEA trip! I woke up this morning feeling really crappy (thanks, stupid stomach + nachos and pretzels I had for dinner last night....at least it was free), but it went down to a manageable level once my mom got here and we started off for Cincy.


We spent pretty much all day at IKEA....if you've ever been there, you know that's pretty much necessary. IKEA is practically heaven to me, so I was not complaining. The two of us went throughout the whole store and ended up buying a LOT...probably too much, which unfortunately means that some of it is going to have to be returned.
I love what I got though! I can't wait to get my bed and couch in here so that everything else can fall into place!! Then....housewarming party! :)

After my mom dropped me back off at my place, I walked over to Yats (0.3 miles away!!) to get some dinner and the grocery store to get some dessert (yay for cookies). I got called "shawty" on the way back, and slightly harrassed by a couple other people, so it sort of makes little suburbanite me wonder how friendly I should really be to people I pass by on the street.

Becoming a city girl takes time, people.

So now I'm holed up in my apartment again, about to do some more studying for the exam on Monday, and really bummed out that the weather is supposed to be awful tomorrow, so it looks like I won't be going up to WL for Crystal's BBQ or to see someone I've been looking forward to seeing. Double bummer. OR to get my modem, which means no regular internet connection for me just yet. Triple bummer.

Anyway, I guess I should go study....

Jeorb?!

I have a job interview next week!!

It's not the same job I've been talking about, but is still a very awesome one.

I may soon be employed once again! YAY!

I Found The Internet (For Now)!

So, I'm officially a resident of downtown Indianapolis!

The suburbs are for squares. ;)

I spent pretty much the entire weekend moving stuff back and forth from Carmel to here, with my parents' help. We got most of the small stuff moved in, except of course for those things that you only remember when you realize you need it.

Last night I piled up the car again and drove down here for my first night here. I couldn't find any wireless connections (I don't have cable/internet yet) and I am just barely hanging onto a signal right now.

One thing I've learned about myself is that I can't live without the internet for too long.

But this apartment is beautiful! I know it's going to look even better when I get it all set up and decorated. The view is the best, especially at night. I can see the lights from the hospitals and watch the LifeLine helicopters flying overhead.

Picture time!:

The picture doesn't really do it justice, but this is sundown over some of the view.

Trying to get a picture of the lights outside at night.

Nighttime lights. Again, doesn't do it justice. You guys are just going to have to come see for yourselves! :)

This morning, it was great to wake up at the same time I've always been, but to get an extra hour that I don't have to spend commuting. 5 minute drive to campus!!

So I love this place.

Aside from that, the job search is still going on. I'm still hoping that all works out. Hoping...a lot.

Other than that, things have been ok. Sort of lonely, but I guess that's how it goes sometimes. Just gotta stay positive that everything else will fall into place.

Moving.

Even though I'm in love with my new apartment, I'm not sure if it loves me back or not.



When I get frustrated with all of this moving and redecorating stuff, I like to pretend that I'm on an HGTV show. It helps. :)



Today = more moving, some studying.

Apartment!

So I finally got the keys to my new apartment!! It's all mine now :) Somehow just knowing that when I went there today automatically made it seem more like home than it ever has before, even though I've been in and around it pretty often during the whole process.
I know it's going to take some getting used to for a little while....things like going to the basement to do laundry again, having 4 new keys and a keycard and remembering which doors they go to, still having to figure out where the nearest grocery store is, and how those first few nights at a new place by yourself always feel as you get used to the different sounds and sights of the place at night.

But I finally once again feel like this is going to be fun. It'll probably be scary sometimes, probably lonely sometimes too, but overall it's going to be a new adventure.

In honor of my new apartment, my mom bought me mace.

In other news, I heard back from my contact last night that she has a lead on the job. I'm still trying (but mostly in vain by now) not to get my hopes up too much, but when I'm honest with myself I think if it doesn't work out I'll feel really sad. The more I think about a chance at having a job like that, the more I feel like it would be extremely great. I know that's probably a dangerous way of feeling, since it sets me up for being disappointed, but I don't think I can help it after a certain point.
So, I hope it's good news!!

In more news, I have this ridiculous exam tomorrow morning. This class is definitely a lot more work than the last one, which was a little shocking at first. At least know I know how much work I have to put into it to do well (a lot).
Time for studying....

Wait, What Day Is It?

For some reason, I still keep forgetting what day it is.
I've been thinking for most of the evening that it's Sunday night, even though I had classes today. And I think I scared Crystal when I started talking about how we have our exam on Wednesday (except it's actually on Thursday, which turned out to be a pleasant surprise for me).

Today I get to go sign my lease for the downtown place, which I should be more excited about probably. I don't get the keys until tomorrow morning, though, so I guess I have a reason to not be super excited at the moment.

My mom came in my room tonight while I was studying and told me "you're not acting like yourself lately." I'd have to agree with her. This whole time period in my life, this "new chapter" or whatever is definitely not going so smoothly just yet. I can't get excited about things anymore, or more like when I do it seems to be for only a short period of time.
I don't mean to be having a pity party for myself, but I just sort of feel....bleh.

Hopefully this will go away soon. Stuff has to change, right? I've been doing just about everything I can, putting a lot out there, and not getting a lot back. After a while that gets tiring and it's hard to keep up the optimism. I'm getting really sick of the word "transition", too.

But I guess I still have some optimism left in me. I'm still plugging away....studying, trying to go out and meet up with friends as much as possible, working on the job search and trying to look forward to what's ahead....because I know it's going to pay off sometime. At least that's what they tell me!