so listen close

Sometimes I listen to really mainstream music. Don't judge me.

buahahahaha

math is a wonderful thing

After spending half of my life struggling with math in literally every grade, I think I'm getting it. I think. It could just be that this is the last math that I'm required to take with my education, but I'm actually - dare I say it - TRYING?!

I am required by my sorority to have six study hours a week, and it's really nice. Three of those hours are monitored by a fellow sister and tonight was my first night of doing it. I sat in our computer lab, screaming at the screen, because I tend to talk to inanimate objects and things that I have no control over, like my math homework. I scared my sisters half to death by yelling things at the computer, and at first they were asking if I was alright, and then they became used to it as the three hours progressed.

I think with math, I've finally realised that the only way to get better and to understand it is to practice. And to practice, it's to do the homework. Honestly, if I wasn't being monitored and required to do homework while at the house, I probably would not be doing the homework.

I love being in a sorority at WSU. I feel like it's different than any other sorority experience I have witnessed. I grew up in a college town where every summer I would see girls lining up for recruitment and it scared the daylights out of me and turned me off to the whole idea. I truly love my sisters so much, and they are all such crafty, strong and wonderful women.
If anything, it's nice that it keeps you on the right track in college, by making sure that all of your homework is done and everything. If I didn't have this, I probably wouldn't worry that much about it, but I need to.

Anyway.

Here, have a song:

I LOVE THIS SONG.

okay bye

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des rêves

If you, dear reader, did not know this, I speak French. Just thought I'd catch you up.
I was an Exchange Student in the Walloon region of Belgium from August 2009 to June 2010, and I learned French through full immersion and attending language school two nights every week.

I had an interesting time adapting to the English language when I came back to the States. I spoke in English almost daily with other exchange students, but I had become used to hearing their voices and accents. There were some days where I went without speaking English at all, only getting the language while I was reading or doing something online. If I skyped with people, I became used to hearing their accents as well, but I never skyped with anyone other than my family and my close friends, whose voices I could hear in my head right now if I wanted to.
When I was at the airport in Bruxelles leaving to come back, anytime someone would speak to me in English I would promptly burst into tears. I'm pretty sure I was freaking out the people working at the airport so they hurried me through my check-in quickly.
Two days after I was back in Oklahoma, I went to Kansas for my university orientation. By the end of the day, I had the absolute worst headache on earth. I had heard so many different people speak, without me really speaking myself, and just taking it all in, and having to remember to concentrate on the words and putting them together . . . I was a mess. Hearing my mom's voice was a relief because I was used to hearing her. It got better with time, but it really did take a while.

Now, the entire time I was an exchange student, I never had a dream in French. We were always told that "once you're fluent, you'll start dreaming in French". I mean, I heard that so many damn times.
I never dreamt in French once. As my exchange went on, all of my dreams became mute. There was little to no language spoken in my dreams, which was weird for me. I don't remember exactly when my dreams started having English again, but I know it was sometime during my first semester of university, in fall 2010.

BUT. BUT BUT BUT. Last night I had my first ever dream in French.
I don't know why. But that's when it happened.

Sometime during 2 AM to 8 AM CST on August 29th, 2011, I dreamt in French.

It was groundbreaking.
Not really.

I dreamt about my third host family, who I love just as much as my biological family. It was comforting to see their faces. My host sister is currently an exchange student in Florida and I hope I'll be able to see her. I actually was just offered my first ~real~ job on campus, so hopefully I can save enough money to work something out.

The end.

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Being Sorted.

By now we are all aware of Pottermore, the website that JK Rowling decided to support instead of writing an encyclopedia - BUT THIS IS MORE EXCITING! IT'S INTERACTIVE! IT'S ONLINE! PAPER IS OBSOLETE IN OUR TIME NOW!

Hahahahhahhahahaha no.

I would have preferred an encyclopedia, but the features I *do* enjoy on Pottermore include actually going through the Hogwarts "experience" yourself.

I went and was able to get a wand at Ollivanders, one specially catered to me, which was pretty darn awesome if I do say so.

There it is!! My wand. My very own, fake and electronic magical wand. It's Beech with a unicorn core, and it's thirteen and 3/4 inches, and it's brittle.
I don't remember exactly what they said about the beech wood that was used, but I remember that I liked it and that I felt like it suited my personality.

Then you can also be sorted.

Now. I have always identified with Hufflepuff. I have never truly felt any other affiliation with other houses - I just thought that Hufflepuff was where I would belong. Recently every test I have taken has placed me in Gryffindor, which is disconcerting because I don't feel like I belong there. If any other house, I would probably say Slytherin just because of how bluntly honest and unintentionally bitchy I can be. It never occurred to me that just because I was in Hufflepuff that I could feel these type of things.

On Pottermore, I was sorted into Ravenclaw.

Want to talk about a house I don't feel connected to??????? OH WOW HERE WE GO.
I always got the assumption that Ravenclaws were just very intelligent, bookish people. Where there's nothing wrong with that, I was a terrible student all through high school, while Ravenclaws excelled at everything that had to do with academics (I mean, come on, Hermione turned down Ravenclaw to be in Gryffindor and she was the best in her year).
I could always identify with Luna Lovegood, my favorite Ravenclaw of the bunch. I see so much of myself in Luna and she is the one character that I have felt such a connection with. I figured she was the exception to the rule about Ravenclaws: Luna always had her head in the clouds while the rest of her house stayed with their feet rooted to the earth.

I read the Welcome Message written by JKR and honestly, it helped me come to terms with something that felt like an identity crisis.
It said that Ravenclaws were sometimes eccentrics, and sometimes they were very quirky. Those are two words that I have been able to describe myself as practically my entire life, so just by using those words, I felt at home. The message also said that Hufflepuffs were the closest friends to the Ravenclaws, and that Ravenclaws enjoyed getting to know people before making judgement on them (Slytherin house).
The Ravenclaw house was also told about one of their alumni who was Minister of Magic when Harry Potter defeated Voldemort, Millicent Bagnold. Upon everyone complaining about all of the parties and such that could give them away, Minister Bagnold said:

"I assert our inalienable right to party."

Millicent Bagnold seems like my type of lady.

One of my favorite things about Harry Potter is how in depth their fans can be with things. I have always enjoyed taking House tests and such, and a while back I discovered Harry Potter Astrology. It's my favorite.

I am an Aquarius, and according to Pottermore (so basically by JKR herself) I am a Ravenclaw.

The stereotypical geeks of the magical world, Ravenclaw Aquarians are noted mostly for their genius. They are gifted theorists and inventors, and highly talented students. Most wind up doing pure research after graduating from Hogwarts. Their noses are always in books of esoteric lore. Some people may laugh at them, either for their unconventional lifestyles or (more commonly) because they are obvious nerds, but they don't care. While they can have sharp tempers, especially when they encounter ignorance or stupidity, these wizards generally mean well, and have a "live and let live" philosophy. Their wit is legendary; not everybody gets the Ravenclaw Aquarian's jokes, but those who are subtle and intelligent enough find conversation with an Aquarian Ravenclaw to be quite funny, in a satirical and ironic and irreverent sort of way.

This could be me. I could be this person.
I am this person. I just need to find her within myself. I don't think of it as changing who I am to fit my new mold or whatever. This is the mold I have had forever, I just need to embrace it for the first time in my life.

I am slowly but surely trying to identify myself with my new House. One AM on a Monday morning when I have class in eight and a half hours may not be the best time to try and figure it out, but I have the rest of my life to try and live up to where I was placed.

My name is Alyce, my middle name is Elizabeth, and I am a Ravenclaw.

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Alyce's Adventures in Aunthood Part One

I'm going to be an aunt in January, and I am super excited. I won't get to meet my niece or nephew (my sister and brother-in-law don't know the gender of the baby yet) until June but that has not stopped me from shamelessly exploring the baby sections of Target and looking at all of the adorable children's clothes.

Knit sweaters with skulls, little cardigans with felt flowers, onesies with weird sayings and just everything else that babies may or may not need.

The sweaters with the skulls are what get me every time. They are so small and adorable and I cannot stand it to be quite honest. It's hard for me to imagine that we, I, everyone, were once that small, too. Before we could speak and type and sing, we were incredibly incredibly small. And our world is incredibly incredibly big.

Anyway.

I have found a couple things that I think are adorable and that this child needs, even if my sister may not agree with me, lol whoops, but I'm so excited to be an aunt it's ridiculous.

Okay. These bibs are adorable for two main reasons.

1. My brother-in-law is a Major in the US Army, so OMG SO PERFECT IT'S RIDICULOUS. THE LITTLE CAMOUFLAGE? KILL. ME. NOW.
2. My sister's biggest thing for the nursery is elephants and LOOK. AN ELEPHANT. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR. SO GREAT.

MUST. HAVE. NOW. I, personally, am all for gender-neutral items. These are intended for a boy, but okay: Women can be in the army as well. Little girls can be Grandma's Little Hero just as much as those little boys can. I am just saying.

There's a music collection called "Rockabye Baby!" and they produce albums with popular rock songs transformed into lullabies. Their collections include songs by Kanye West, Madonna, The Beatles and U2 and many more, and OMG. I'm obsessed with this version of "Don't Stop Believing", I mean, it's so beautiful and I bet if I closed my eyes right now I would fall asleep instantly.

Okay. That's all for now. Later skaters.
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time left to be lazy

I fell in love with Fun last fall or spring, and this song in particular has always stuck out to me. It's so simple and beautiful. My dear friend Nikki went to their concert and called me during this song so that I could hear it live. I was having a particularly terrible night and hearing the crowd and the jerky quality of the music being transfered through cell phone towers really made me feel connected to something. I love love love this song so damn much.