Uhhhh...what? or Am I normal?

It's Lent, and as a result I've started looking my habits, both good and bad, in order to try and figure out what will be the most healthy thing for me to do. While I don't really believe in "giving something up" for Lent, I don't think it's ever a bad thing to try and improve yourself with a purpose in mind. Lent often makes it easier because it has a definite end date, so you sort of trick yourself into thinking that the good habits won't stick (but they usually do).

Some of my (bad) habits:
--hitting the snooze button a minimum of 3 times
--taking clothes out of the closet, trying them on, and throwing them on the bed instead of hanging them back up
--leaving DVDs and CDs out of their cases, such that I can never find what I'm looking for

This morning, especially, my snooze habit amazed me a little. I know I do it just because it feels so wicked and delicious to snuggle back into the warm covers after launching myself across the room at the alarm clock. But today was particularly bad. A brief description of my morning from 6:46 to 7:14—

6:46—my first alarm goes off. I don't remember getting out of bed to hit the snooze but I must have.
6:53—my second alarm goes off. I get out of bed and hit the snooze. My alarm clock has 2 alarms which you can stagger to your liking. I do this KNOWING that in 5 minutes the other alarm will go off again.
6:58—first alarm goes off again. I get out of bed, hit the snooze, and return.
7:01—T. calls me to wake me up. I mutter something about two more minutes with my face squished into the pillow.
7:02—I rouse myself enough to SET MY PHONE ALARM for 7:04. I lay back down and close my eyes. Why I thought 2 minutes was a good idea is beyond me. It gets better, though.
7:04—phone alarm goes off. I set it again for 7:07.
7:05—the second alarm goes off (my snooze is only 12 minutes). I get out of bed, hit the snooze, and then go back to bed.
7:07—phone alarm goes off. I turn it off.
7:10—the first alarm goes off again. I stagger out of bed, turn it off, return to the bed where I lie for a few minutes before mentally flagellating at the realization that I have spent more time in the last 15 minutes getting up and turning stuff off than having my eyes closed, uncomfortable with the idea that I've actually gone to absurd lengths for what amounts to approximately 4.5 minutes of extra sleep.
7:14—I get up and hop in the shower. I have class at 8.


Is this normal? For reals. I have no idea whether or not my insanely convoluted and difficult morning routine is just a typical thing, or whether I am exhibiting symptoms of some profound and rare sleep disorder.

As a final note, I had considered giving up the snooze button for Lent. As you can tell, I rejected that idea pretty darn quick.

Overheard in Lafun:

Girl #1: What's the capital of Washington?
Girl #2: Uhhh...uhhhh...Helena!
Girl #1: Helena?
Girl #2: Wait, no. Helena is...
Girl #1: Tacoma!
Girl #2: Helena?
Guy: Olympia
Girl #2: Olympia?
Girl #1: Olympia? Olympia! How did you know that?
Girl #2: So what's Helena? Ah! Montana!


Round of applause, folks!

Clarification: I wouldn't really care about this at all had it been a simple conversation between friends. However, it happened to be a simple conversation between friends from across a crowded room. As in, shouting. The rule is: if you're going to be loud, we're going to make fun of you.

Percy: It's complicated

Percy has an unusual habit that Maurice did not: he likes to go into the castle (and I mean, really go into the castle) and squeeze himself up into the hollow body. Maurice, too, enjoyed the castle, but he used to just lie in it with his head and tail sticking out. Percy folds himself up to such a degree that I'll often look into the tank and panic because I can't see him anywhere.

I'm not really sure what to do with this. On one hand, I'm glad he likes his tank and castle. On the other, I'm a little worried that something is wrong with him; Maurice was very lethargic in the latter days of his life and I'm concerned that Percy might follow in those footsteps (finsteps? tail sweeps? whatever).

Getting used to the habits of a new fish is an interesting endeavor. I won't really be comfortable with this little routine of Percy's until a month or so goes by and I'm reassured that he is, in fact, just chilling (rather than, you know, slowly wasting away to a sad and lonely death).

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming

Big news (like getting engaged) is a rarity in my life. Instead, I usually blog about the mundane trivialities — how I'm planning for the 30th time to organize my apartment (it's going to happen, I swear!), what delicious but calorie-laden baked good I've recently produced, the weather, etc. Clearly, I know what the public wants. And I deliver. Case in point, this M&M:






It's attached! A mutant M&M!

I have a weird thing for funny shaped foods. Once, in college, I discovered a heart-shaped potato chip which I saved in a little plastic container. My roommate Ruth, on a cleaning frenzy, thought that it was an empty container and washed it. She realized a little late that my special chip was inside — despite her valiant attempts to dry it out in the oven, it was never the same and we had to throw it away. This story, to me, demonstrates 2 things: one, that I'm really odd and two, that Ruth loves me. A lot. Enough to indulge my whims and do things like try to salvage a heart-shaped potato chip.

Not sure yet if I'm going to save this. I've already photographed it so it's been preserved for posterity. We'll see how this goes.

At last, a bullet point

--I'm engaged.

I'm really excited and happy. It couldn't have been any more romantic — T. took me to the top of the Hancock building in Chicago and proposed overlooking the city at night. It was wonderful. Even a number of minor snafus (forgot to pack my outfit for Saturday, couldn't find my camera charger so had to use a low-quality disposable, etc.) couldn't dampen the trip.

Did I mention it was Valentine's day? Because it was. And Chicago on Valentine's day will always be special because of it.

Besos

life is not that busy, but really busy right now. I guess I'm spending a lot of time doing a whole lot of nothing, which is good for my stress level but bad for my productivity. A few things of note:

--Monday night tennis lessons have turned out to be really fun and one of the few things I look forward to each week. If I can keep it up I might be able to hit more than 3 shots in a row.

--


--



Wow. My life is really boring. I can't even muster up enough news for more than one bullet point. If you have only one bullet point, what's the point of even bullet pointing?

I'm thinking in circles here. Maybe I should stop procrastinating and just do my reading.

The crumbs of life

So between the baking, the baking, and the still more baking, life has rolled on. T. comes to visit in less than 2 weeks and I am so! excited! Percy is doing well, just chilling in his tank, and my apartment is gradually sliding out of the canyon of despair (a.k.a. piles of clothes and books).

In a conscious effort to declutter my life I've started trying to maintain a neater and more organized apartment in the hope that it will lead to a neater and more organized mind. Can't tell you much about the latter, but at least the former has had a positive effect on my life. It feels pretty good to come home, look around, and be serene because my surroundings are serene.

I've also tried to get a jumpstart on the two papers I have to write this semester. i figure that if I can manage to get them done earlier I'll have more time to study for exams. Come on, productivity! You know you can do it!

Having said that, it might be time for a nap.

Confirmation of my absolute insanity

Stayed up until 3:30 baking and frosting these bad boys:







I'm a little shocked at how ambitious this project was, but really proud of how they turned out. Even though some of the cardinals do look a little...blobby. And the blue on the Steeler stars isn't as dark as it should be.