Mr. Walkway!

Mr. Walkdownmei'mthewalkway.

It wasn't too long ago that I feared my awkwardness was a liability. I was too random, too loud, and too involved with school. Now these qualities provide the foundation for the rest of me. What made me "uncool" years ago is just what makes me... me. And nowadays, I really like me.

On "Fresh Air" last night, the interviewee said "[my mother] told me that when I found myself, I would be beautiful."

I second that statement, with all my being.

8th Grade Reading Level

Out of curiosity, I ran an analysis on this blog which determined the reading level of my page. As it turns out, this blog is somewhere in the 8th grade range. I apologize for that but not wholeheartedly. In fact, I don't apologize at all. I'm going to retract my previous statement. If you want good blog reading, you should probably follow my friends, Ashley and Ian. They're both pursuing advanced degrees in English or writing or something like that.

I, however, will be pursuing an advanced degree in higher education administration. More precisely, I will be pursuing a degree in student affairs administration or student development administration or college student services admin-- you get the idea.

However, I won't say that I wasn't concerned when I saw the low grade on my page. I ran sections of my statement of purpose through the "grader" to make sure I wasn't going to cheat myself out of hundreds of dollars; what I mean is, I don't want my SOP to look like a junior high schooler wrote it. To my relief, the SOP passages came back at a much higher difficulty rating, putting me in the range of college graduates. (Phew.)

I'm pretty pooped from studying for the GRE. I would say that I can't wait until Saturday for it to be done with, but the way things are going, I may have to take the exam again. Looks like the ETS just may get another $150 out of me. For what? Proving myself against the rest of grad school hopefuls, I suppose.

All About Flannel

Nah. That would be way too boring.

I generally dislike winter. Sure, snow's pretty to look at, and sometimes I even go snowboarding or sledding, but other than that, snow/ice/cold cramps my style. I'm a summer girl; I feel and look better in the summer. It's this simple fact that causes me to miss my Wenatchee summers. 90 degrees during the day! Tank top weather at night! Now that's summer weather-- none of this 70-degree, wussy stuff I've been living with for the past four years.

When fall and winter sneak back, I find myself struggling with clothing choices. I'm proud to say I expanded my cold weather wardrobe last year, and I'm continuing to do so. It's almost to the point where I look good a majority of the time. That also means I have a lot of boots. I never thought I would be a person with a boot fetish, but I have a tub of boots now. It's my treasure chest.

I suppose winter (note: I keep referring to fall and winter as just "winter." Take that, cold weather.) does give me an excuse to snuggle up in blankets. I have an electric blanket, and it's heavenly.

This post really has little direction, so I'll end my rambling with just a few more thoughts.

One: There was frost on my car last night. Not. Cool.

Two: A dear friend's wedding took place yesterday. It was so much fun-- everything about the day made me smile. (And there were funfetti cupcakes.)

Three: Flannel sheets are awesome. I'm totally buying myself another set from Target when the ridiculous holiday prints come out.

Vote

Today, I updated my voter registration. I will be a registered voter in King County.

Weird.

Also, Stumptown Coffee is amazing, especially on a Friday morning. And especially when coffee was out of the picture all week.

Leavenworth Oktoberfest tomorrow. They added several new beers. I'm excited for the crowds and the delicious smell of sauerkraut and brats.

Add-on:
If I were the president of the USA, and my hometown was in the running to host the Olympics, OF COURSE I would show up to support it. It isn't a question of whether I'm liberal or conservative. Heck, if anywhere in Washington was in the running, I'd go crazy! Jeez. And if my city was running against other "cool" cities and didn't get the bid, it would be absolutely ridiculous for people to tout it as a failure on my part.

Goodness. Seriously? The Olympics going to another city has become a talking point for conservatives? Get real. No way.

Also, protecting marriage does not mean blocking gay marriage. Reform the rules for anyone getting married. Or ban it all together. Do you really need me to dig up all my old debate notes on this topic? Again, get real. No way.

That's the end of my semi-political rant.

(I would be much more composed and elegant with my writing if I felt it would reach "certain people on multiple sides (C.P.M.S.)" but since "C.P.M.S." like to be immature about politics, then I suppose I can tone it down.)

New Dress

Getting a new dress is fun for me. I wonder if it would be more fun or less fun if I hadn't gone through a strict "no dresses, no skirts," phase in middle school. I remember wearing a long skirt once in 7th grade because our b-ball team was playing a game that afternoon. People were shocked. It may have also been accentuated by my boy-ish haircut.

I wish I had more dresses and skirts, and I wish I lived in a climate where I could where them all the time. I wish I still had an excuse to wear my cheer uniform. There's nothing stopping me from doing that, except for maybe being committed to a mental institution.

Back to new dresses, though. The new dress I received today will be worn as a bridesmaid dress. This is the second time I will don a dress as a bridesmaid. The last time I was in a wedding, I was in 8th grade; it was my cousin's wedding in NJ. This next time, it will be for my good friend, Kate.

And then I'm going to wear that dress on a date. Perhaps I'll wear it to a ballet or a musical of some sort because the dress Kate picked is beautiful. I love everything about it it.

Except for one small thing.

It has stitching around the bust that doesn't quite stretch enough for me to get it over my hips or shoulders without fear that the dress will rip. Once on, the dress is gorgeous and comfortable. But...

...I wrote this entire blog post to tell you I spent 15 minutes trying to decide how to get out of the dress. Then I spent another 5 or so trying to position myself into a dress-getting-out-of stance. I made it out okay and so did the dress.

My life is exciting.

Brrrrrr.

Fall is here.

Thanks for the sun today, Seattle. I guess it really is "Sun"day.

I put in my first graduate school application yesterday afternoon. Alright-- so I only turned in the online portion. I had to pay, though, so that counts for something. I still need transcripts from Western and a LOR to come in, and then I can send in the rest. I wonder if the school will allow me to just walk the application to the admissions office. I live four blocks away. I'm going to save my stamps, darn it.

Short post for today.

Not Cool, Dude.

It's my own fault.

No one should move into a new apartment and buy some home furnishings (however, I did stay in my target spending for that category), then try to attend a baseball game and a concert within a day of each other, while trying to budget for grad school applications, friends' weddings (bridesmaid dresses, presents, and plane/train tickets), and having wisdom teeth pulled.

Why?

Because the drain on one's checking account will be so stressful, that said individual will experience stomach cramps for several days.

Just when things started to look a-okay... grr.