Best. Slurpee. Day. Ever.

So, it was officially the Best Slurpee Day Ever last Tuesday!!! 

It began with me baking.  I was quite excited about this, seeing as I got to bake a huge cookie and decorate it for Sabrina's Love Actually and Chili event.  If you don't know me, I have a love affair with baking...it's just so amazingly relaxing! I suppose I sound like a dork, but the baking started my day off amazingly well.  

And then, it was off to the CSC for Slurpee Day!  But first, Kat decided to give Tyler and I our Christmas gifts.  And it was quite possibly one of the best gifts I've ever received.  She gave me *drumroll* my very own ZIPPO!!!  Needless to say, I was ecstatic!  It's a rather beautiful Zippo, if I do say so myself, with a marvelous design of a wing in white on a grey-silver base.  I have named her Delilah, because she is beautiful!  Of course, after receiving a gift like that, a trip to 7-Eleven for Slurpee Day was quite possibly one of the best things I had ever experienced.  After 7-Eleven, Tyler and I went to pick up some Zippo lighter fluid (I wasn't about to waste any time), and Tyler acquired the ever-epic 3:10 to Yuma on DVD.  So we returned to the CSC to watch the western while I decorated the cookie.  

Then it was off to Sabrina's for Love Actually and some really good Chili!  I had never seen Love Actually, and I have to say, it was an awesome movie.  Seeing it with a crazy legit group of people just made it that much more fun.  After Love Actually, we suddenly decided that since Inception had gone on sale that day on DVD, Ryan, Tyler, Andy and I would go on a late-night Walmart run and get a copy so we could watch it!  And when it comes to late-night Walmart runs...they are never dull!  So the night was ended with a completely crazy epic movie!  

I have to say, it may have qualified as one of the best days of my life.  Not only was the day filled with fun and beautiful events, the people I got to share it with just made it perfect.  It was a euphoric way to bring in the end of the semester here in Bobcat Country.  I can't wait to see what next semester brings!

From The Bobcat's Mouth

It's amazing how life tends to throw us into those odd situations that push you to your limits.  And it's even more amusing how we think we're at our limits, only to have the universe push you just a teensy inch forward.  

To be perfectly honest, it's been a bad week for a few people, not just me.  But at the same time, there have been these amazing moments where I can't help but be grateful for the good all around me.  Such as the 2 season marathon of Metalocalypse with friends (it was supposed to be all 3 seasons, but it was too long), along with cooking dinner.  Or being wonderfully surprised with a trip to see Burlesque by Sabrina to cheer me up.  Ryan took me on a random "let's-go-look-at-things-we-can't-afford" trip to the outlets as well.  And one of my favorite things was just having fun laughing, plotting and lyric-writing with Tyler for pretty much an entire day.  

You know, looking back, this week may have actually been a decently good week.  Granted, some horrible things may have happened, but in the end, the ones who care about me never leave me, and always know just how to put a smile on my face.  I suppose that's all one can ask for. 

Slurpee Day

There is a recent phenomenon that has suddenly begin to pop up here at the Catholic Student Center...

SLURPEE DAY!

You may be asking, what is this Slurpee Day holiday of which you speak?  That, my friend, is the right question.  Thanks to my wonderful friend Tyler, Tuesdays and Thursday of every week have now been designated for Slurpee Day.  We make an excursion to the local 7-Eleven, where there is a wide variety of Slurpee flavors to choose from.  Then, usually after grabbing some snackage, we travel back to the CSC, sipping on Slurpees, the day being suddenly brighter and happier having performed our duty of keeping the new-found tradition of Slurpee Day alive.  In the few weeks of its existence, Slurpee Day has gained a few more followers, and some definite fame.  How can it not, when I rush in from my 2 o'clock class, screech to a stop next to Tyler (who usually is waiting quite seriously for me by that time), say in a quite excited voice "Slurpee Day!", and then all the occupants of the building witness both he and I running helter skelter out the back doors?  It is quite a spectacle, I must admit.

And by the time I post this...it will be...SLURPEE DAY!  Join in the sensation that should sweep the nation and start a Slurpee Day at a 7-Eleven near you!!!

Rally Towels!

The Basketball season at my university has officially began!  And has started well, might I add.  Both Men and Women's team ended the night with wins, which is quite exciting given the announcement that we will be joining the WAC by July 1, 2012!

I had missed basketball season.  The chants, cheers, music by the band and just the overall atmosphere lifted my spirits and brought joy to me like no other sport besides Track & Field tends to do.  And yes, I'm the girl that actually pays attention to sports.  I like the competition and bragging rights and sense of pride.  It's absolutely awesome!  

This weekend has started off with a bang.  Can't wait to see what the rest of it holds.

I Never Expected This...

So, it's officially happened.  

I'm homesick.

That's right, homesick.  I love it here at my university, in this town where there's never a shortage of things to do...but I honestly miss South Texas.  I've never really missed home this much, but lately it's the only thing on my mind.  The slightly saddening thought is that I won't get to see home during Thanksgiving break, due to me spending it in the Hill Country with my family.  While yes, I'll get to see some of my family, there's still a great majority that I won't get to see til December at least.  The thought of that is almost torturous.  My family is a huge factor in my life (as I believe it should be for everyone), and their support gets me through even the worst of times.  

I'm finding myself daydreaming of the lazy days spent with cousins, the feeling of waking up to the sounds of my family in the house, or waiting for a relative to come home from work so I can tell them the one idea I've had pent up inside all day just for them...I suppose it shows just where the heart lies.  

No only do I miss family, however.  I do miss my boyfriend greatly.  Since he lives in another city, the distance can be frustrating sometimes.  But we're determined to get through this, and I look forward to the day when I can see him again.  

I know I call this city home...but my heart is definitely in different places right now.  Not a bad thing I suppose, but I'd like to be reunited with my heart sometimes soon.

Warm Music

So recently I've decided to make a playlist of my best "warm" music.  What is warm music?  Basically, music that, even in the dead of winter, can make me feel all warm and toasty.  And the best I have of this is by Jack Johnson.

I'm a huge Jack Johnson fan.  And yes, to the point where I had two of his CDs before he got all famous.  There's just something about his music that takes me to a place where I'm calm, usually with the image of the beaches of Port Aransas and fishing off a pier.  He is quite possibly one of my favorite artists of all-time, mainly because he has this crazy ability to explain through lyrics the most basic, yet inexplicable, thought processes in our day-to-day lives.  Personally, they strike me to the core sometimes, and remind me why life is worth living.  Not to mention, his new video is...well...check it out for yourself.

At Or With Me - Jack Johnson

Coats Indoors

So tonight, I finally caught up with my laundry!

Okay, yes, that's not that big of an accomplishment.  But finally changing my major to History with a Secondary Teaching Certification is!  Needless to say, I was quite excited about that.  I am now a History major, with a Music minor.  I definitely feel much chipper about what my life will be like now.

As it is now November, the cold weather is finally making its way into the borders of Texas.  Much to my dismay.  Especially since the dorm building in which I live has an odd policy on heating systems.  You see, the entire buildings' heating doesn't turn on unless it is below 50 degrees outside.  So, it is completely out of my control that the temperature in my room is 65 degrees.  Flat.  For a girl who loves a good 110 heat index in the summer, this is just cruel and unusual.  So I have resorted to wearing my black wool coat at all times today.  I feel like an idiot, but at least I won't die of hypothermia.  Also, I decided to go down to the laundry room and catch up on laundry.  Not only was I in desperate need of warm clothing, the laundry room is the central hub from which all residual dryer heat resonates.  I was in bliss, curled up with a book, warm for the first time today...  

I think I'll make the laundry room my haunt for the rest of the cold months...or at least until the weather warms enough for me to go bask by the river.  Ah, that beautiful day will be the dream that gets me through winter... 

The Torture and Beauty...

Music.  

Just the word makes me happy inside.  The problem with music, though, is that something new is always on the horizon.  Such as today.  I find out one of my favorite artists is coming out with yet another album.  Of course, a new CD is something that I cannot afford at this moment in time.  But something tells me I will end up buying it...soon.

But sometimes, it's not always the new things that we want the most.  Again, I saw a record today (yes, vinyl), that I almost caved and bought.  And was it from the past ten years? Nope.  Definitely was from 1984.  But to have that record...*sigh*.  And even further, there is a certain piece of music called Symphony fantastique that I would DIE to acquire.  And that isn't even from this century!  

Out of all the things that make us human, I'd have to say that music is one of the most important.  It is a constant expression of emotion and the world that is in constant motion around us.  For what is music without joy, suffering, and longing?  Emotions are what make music, and music is the perfect, and sometimes only way, to reveal the innermost turmoil and euphoria of the soul.  Music can bring us to tears or make us feel as light as a feather, and all due to the raw sentiments that it represents.  Few things in life can do this.  I'd go as far as to claim that it is even more powerful and moving than poetry or writings, because sometimes, words are not enough.  We've all had that one moment, that, when later recounting it to a friend, we end up saying "There are no words to describe it..."  But I find that music can sometimes transcend the gap of explainable and inexpressible.  To quote Aldous Huxley "After silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music."  I agree with him completely.

Myself For Halloween

Halloween.  The day of the year where it is possible to be anything you have ever loved...or feared.   Now, I have always wanted to be Princess Leia for Halloween.  I'd like to think for obvious reasons.  Our names sound the same, I'm a brunette, she's just that awesome...So when this year's costumed holiday rolled around, I went for it.  I was going to be Princess Leia!  But not the white dress.  The slave costume.

While yes, this one is a bit more...provocative, it didn't require me to have long hair.  Which is one thing I don't have.  Instead, I could just put my short-ish hair in a bun, and be done with it.  Since this is Texas, Halloween is never that cold, meaning that the costume was doable in that sense.  Also, I didn't really plan on being around a ton of people that night.  Just a few close friends, which was fine if they saw me in an outfit of this nature, because all of them have seen me in a bathing suit with far less material to it.  

The best comment of the night, however, was when my friend (who was a genie...without a bottle), turned and said "Isn't it cool that we can still call Leia, Leah?  She's herself for Halloween!"  Suddenly, the costume took on an entire new outlook.  How many people can say that they were, well, "themselves" for Halloween?  Last I had checked, not very many...  Which, needless to say, this is now a point of pride for me.  I was finally Princess Leia for Halloween.  #22 on my Bucket List checked off.  

Of course, after Halloween, comes the cold weather...at least here in Texas.  I'm sure in other areas of the U.S., it tends to come around sooner.  The first cold front (real cold front) came in today, complete with a chilly wind in the morning and drizzly rain in the evening.  To top off this under-the-weather weather, I'm feeling a tad sick.  Joy.  Oh well.  After being a character as epic as myself for Halloween, the universe must expect you to pay somehow...

Happy All Souls Day!

Pinky Awkwardness and Dreams

As this is the first post, I suppose I should explain a few things before I get down to my thoughts.  "I'm usually at The Bat Cave" comes from the fact that, well, I'm usually at The Bat Cave.  According to my status indicator outside my door, that is.  Where/what is The Bat Cave?  ...I'm afraid that information is classified.  However, I can assure you that I am not, nor ever will be, affiliated with Batman.  Unfortunately.

Ah, now to my thoughts of the day.  It's absolutely amazing how the littlest actions and happenings in a day can make it seem so much...brighter.  For instance, "awkward moments" every day with a good friend.  Now, it may seem a wee bit odd to randomly stroke people's arms with the tip of your pinky finger, such as I did earlier, and I'm sure it could be termed as invading ones personal space.  But between friends (who are comfortable with each other and their quirks), it can really create the kind of memories that stick with a person for years.  You know, the kind that tend to make you smile in the middle of a lecture on Public Interest Groups in Political Science class.  It seems so wonderful that a simple little action, with what could be considered no intention to it, can be so meaningful.   Personally there should be more of those random incidents from everyone in the world.  Truly!  A moment of silliness can change what was hours of stress and frustration into hilarity in the blink of an eye.  It seems like a fair trade to me.  

Which reminds me.  I had the privilege of seeing the movie Inception once again today (for the ever-beautiful price of $0.50), and it got my mind wandering on the topic of dreams.  No, not in the aspect of inception and extraction and whatnot, but on how much importance most people put in their dreams.  It is true, a dream can give you an idea that takes on a mind of its own sometimes.  But first that dream had to have some kind of importance for you to pay attention.  I admit to putting some store into my dreams and nightmares.  Personally, who wouldn't every once in a while?  If I happened to dream of an 18-wheeler crushing me on a highway, I would tend to be a tad more cautious next time my path took me on a highway.  But where does the line between what we deem important, and what we know is fiction in a dream lie?  It seems that a pick and choose sort of approach is the most used.  Funny how selectivity comes into play even in fictional thoughts.  If we don't like it, we don't pay attention.  Granted, such an attitude isn't always wise, but in dreams in can't hurt I suppose.  Unless the dream is telling you to turn in that murderer who confessed to you a month ago.  That might be worth listening to.  Only you could decide, however.  Seems that the human subconscious has some morality to it after all.  We can only hope.