I had a dream the other night where I was trying to tell people how to set up a document ("Text goes here, picture goes here"), and I woke up and realized I was talking out loud. Saying absolute nonsense, but talking nonetheless.
Today I had my first day of classes. I had Introduction to Social Work Professions and Introduction to Social Welfare and Policy. The first seems like it'll be interesting, the second maybe not so much (I think Anne's the only one I've heard of ever liking a policy class. hehe.) The teacher (not "teature", as I just spelled it) is from Ghana, and she has a thick French accent which will take some getting used to. She seemed very nice, though. I really liked my teacher for my Intro to Social Work professions class. She's from Northern Ireland and has the very slightest accent.
begun on Monday, continued on Tuesday

ok, two more classes down, one to go. I'm going to be busy this semester. Whew. Today I had Intro to Social Work which seems like it'll be cool. It deals with the assessment of problems, and it involves using case histories, which I love. The second class is Human Behavior Theory, which I will not love as much. The prof seems cool, but it's a heckuva lot of theory.

I'm so tired of introducing myself. Counting orientation, I've done it five times now. And almost exactly the same people are in every class. I felt like I could recite their introductions for them, "Your name's Michelle, your undergrad is in pscyhology, and you work at a mental health institution." "Your name is Suzanne, you have an undergrad in psych from NYU, and used to work in book publishing." "Your name is Bill, your undergrad is in English and History, and you most recently lived in Washington." "Your name is Linda, you have an undergrad in social work, and are a patient advocate." etc., etc. I'm sure they feel the same way about me. "Your name is Colleen, your undergrad is in Advertising from UK, and you got into social work because some members of your family were involved in it." I was all social before my last class, talking to people outside. One chick's from Charleston, so that's cool. If I'm going to be in nearly every class with these people for the next two years, I should get to know them.

There is a unsurprising lack of males in the Social Work program. The most we've had is three in one class.

Oh, I almost forgot... the teacher for my first class looks like Tina Fey! In a major way. She has the same body type, haircut, and glasses (although her hair is a bit lighter.) I kept expecting her to break out a wisecrack, but she did not. Not that she wasn't fun, but well, without Jimmy Fallon egging her on, I guess Tina or Tina's identical twin is more reserved.

Now I'm waiting for Jay to get out of class. He has to do timesheets afterwards. I should just stay here to meet him (I'm in the library, where he has to return his timesheets.) However, if I go to HIS lab, I can drive him over, and it's less walking for him, and not too much more for me.

I miss having a homebase on campus. Back in my undergrad days, the Journalism computer lab was my home (as Liz can attest to.) Well, I am no longer in the school of journalism, and I do not work for nor manage the lab. My friend Brittany USED to, but she doesn't any longer. She manages some other labs. Maybe one of those can be my surrogate lab. hehe. Since the removal of MIK as a library, it just doesn't feel like there's a central place I can work/study/etc. The computer lab is in MI King, but there are no study tables. The new library, as awesome as it is, can be a bit out of the way. I'm really only on campus two days a week, though, so I'm sure it won't be a big deal. I'm sorry if all that is confusing to non-UK people, which is most of you. That's ok. You forgive me.

I haven't blogged about my Super Donuts yet! When I was in elementary school and high school, I would sometimes eat breakfast at school. They served a tasty yet healthy confection called Super Donuts. They're made from Nutridough (tm), and t hey are delicious. They're about 250 calories apiece (not low-cal), but they have a ton of vitamins and protein and stuff. So anyhow, they opened up a Gordon Food Service store that the public can go to in Lexington, and through them I ordered case (80) of the long-lost Super Donuts. They are wonderful. 28 seconds in the microwave gives you a hot donut full of love. Yes, the donut loves you back. Now if I could only get little cups of orange/grape juice with foil lids, and it'd be a recreation of my youth. Now I'm craving one, dammit, and I'm still on campus. In theory, I could be doing homework, but the only homework I can do at t his current moment isn't due for two weeks, and I need a new book, as I have the wrong edition (argh!)

Beth starts school tomorrow, as she pursues her new career in accounting. It'll be nice having someone else going through the busy-ness that I am. On a sidenote, one of the chicks in my classes has her undergrad from Indiana University of PA, like Nathan. I was going to ask if she knew him, but she said, "If he wasn't in the biology program or played rugby, I probably didn't know him." That greatly amused me, the idea of Nathan playing rugby. I laughed out loud. He'd probably play mean, though, if he did. I can see him biting. ;)

I should go now, and think of something productive to do. Leave me happy comments, so I feel connected to a world outside of academia.

I'm in Jay's computer lab right now. He has to train some guy, and since the stupid Lextran buses don't run on Sunday any longer, I drove him down here. I figured it was easier to wait here for the two hours while he worked, rather than to drive back home and back again.

I had my College of Social Work Orientation yesterday. It was uneventful. They served a mediocre lunch. I was all excited about having my first class on Wednesday, only to find out it's cancelled and won't meet until the following week. Bah. I still work this week, which is cool, but no actual classes until next Monday (I have two classes Monday, two classes Tuesday, and one on Wednesday.) Argh. I just looked at my schedule and realized I have to make it from dowtown Lexington (where one of my classes is held) to the other side of campus from where I park in forty minutes. This could be a potential pain in the ass. Oh, well. Such is the life of an academic. hehe. I'm looking forward to starting classes and stuff. I really wish there were some syllabi online, but there are not. There are SUPPOSED to be, but they aren't there yet.

I think I'm going to skip my ten year high school reunion the weekend after next. I'm still undecided. There are some people I really want to see (mostly band people, but a few outside of that), and a whole lot I really DON'T want to see. Most of the people I care about I'm still in regular/semi-regular contact with. I miss the former Sara Burgess (whose current last name I can't remember), and I think I might call her parents to get an address for her.

The other day Aimee and I saw I, Robot at the discount theatre. It was suprisingly good. It was an action movie, which I'm usually not a fan of, but it was well done, and I appreciated it. Aimee and I are going to see Garden State this week, as well as Without a Paddle.

We're going to go to the Student Center Spectacular after this, since we're parked across the street from it. It usually has free food, giveaways, etc. I'm all for free stuff. It also usually has some sort of hypnotist or illusionist, but I want to get home by 10 so I can see Dead Like Me. I suppose I could always watch it afterwards On Demand, but it's not the same. Whine.

Cracker is playing a free show in Louisville on September 9. I'm excited about that. Aimee and I will be attending. If they're coming anywhere near you, I recommend you go see them, for they rock. Yeah, yeah, most people think of Cracker as one (or two) hit wonders from the 90's, but honestly, they have a great body of work and they put on a good show.

OK, other random stuff I will talk about since I'm here for another hour and a half:

I recently finished Penn Jilette's first novel, Sock. Eh. It wasn't bad. It was told from the point of view of the protagonist's sock monkey (which makes me think of Stan, the sock monkey, who holds a special place in my heart. hehe.) However, there was so much atheistic/Libertarian prosletyzing that it put me off. Ok, so I'm agnostic/atheist, but I'm not out to convince everyone else in the world that they're wrong. I can't know what's really out there, and I leave some room for error. And I've never been a big fan of propoganda disguised as literature (see: John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath.) It was worth reading, but it could be annoying.

I'm hungry. That's not really worth noting, but I started a list, so now I have to follow-through with it.

I saw Cabbage Patch Kids in original-style boxes at Wal Mart the other day. This makes me happy. For awhile, they were selling them without any packaging, which just wasn't right. Christmas is just a few months away, people. CPK forever! I'm a dork.

I'm tired, too. Unrelated to the above-mentioned hunger, but they kinda go hand-in-hand.

Jay had six computers stolen from his computer lab while the lab (and building) were theoretically "closed." Jay didn't have access to the building, but evidently RAs moved in around August 7th. Someone (not Jay, most likely a custodian) left the doors open for THREE DAYS. Someone thought this was a good opportunity to steal the machines (along with mice, mousepads, power cords, etc. The whole shebang.) The cops came and dusted for fingerprints, but evidently the computer desks were designed to be smudge-free. Dammit, Briscoe from Law and Order coulda done it. hehe.

I'm tired of typing. I will now go surf the web.

Happy belated birthday to my lovely Jay! For his birthday, he got a Gamecube, some clothes, and games for the aformentioned GameCube, and a generous gift certificate to Joseph-Beth. We went to spend it today, and as Jay was checking out he learned we had been in the store as the same time as William Shatner (he wasn't doing a signing or anything, he just has a horsefarm nearby and stuff. famous people buy books too.)

I got a small scholarship for the fall, which rocks.

I swear, I had more to write about earlier.

Oh, we met Ben and Lori's new puppy Teal'c today. He was the sweetest thing ever. So cuddly and cute and absolutely tiny. He was very well-behaved, as well. hehe. Jay and I have offered to watch him if they ever go out of town.

I went to the dentist on Friday. I have to break in a new student dentist. This guy seemed nice, though. I had to explain my situation:
1) I don't do needles or blood. Hide them both from me.
2) I have some weird piece of metal in my jaw. We don't know what it is, but it doesn't hurt.
3) Make sure my bite is adjusted right or I will be in great pain.

I feel like I have more to say, but I don't. The family that Jay and I have in Florida are all ok. My cousins Shelly and Carrie's grandma died last month, which makes me sad. It was a few days after Shelly's wedding.

YAY! I got the research assistant position for the fall. I rock! hehe. 20 hours a week. That's cool. I didn't have to go back to SCS, and I have the chance to work in my field.

I'm excited. :)

I start school in three weeks. Whoo hoo!

Still no word on whether or not I have the research assistant job during the fall. I wish she'd hurry up and decide. I really like doing it.

On Monday, Jay, me, Emily, and her roommate/boyfriend/whatever went to King's Island. The lines weren't very long, which was happy. Jay rode a few roller coasters. I looked at his picture after the Vortex, and he looked like a JK Rowling/Harry Potter style dementor was eating his soul. It was horrible. For some reason, he really liked the indoor roller coaster, Flight of Fear (akin to Disney's Space Mountain.) He was actually smiling on that one. We went to the water park, which was very refreshing. I had on my two piece bathing suit, which is a tank top with shorts, basically. However, I didn't know that the shorts had rivets, and to ride one of the slides I had to take them off. I had on bikini bottoms underneath, but still. She also made me take off my water shoes (which are dorky, I admit, but helpful.) I felt like she should have tipped me after I was done. I discovered that when you ride the Beast as the only person in the seat, you absorb ALL the shock for that particular seat. It was harsh. I think I have a few coaster-related bruises. That makes me feel old. I love the roller coasters, though, so getting old doesn't deter me.

I was listening to part of a John Kerry speech on NPR earlier, and just the way he speaks sounds ten million times more real than Bush. It gives me hope. No more Bush! He's a moron! (ok, I'm done stating the obvious.)

I'm sure I have more to say, but I can't think of what that'd be at this particular point and time.