mydarling

It has been a rollercoaster couple of days for me. However, there is much to look forward to in the next few days: The Office baby episode, Oscars, and the final two episodes of Numb3rs. Which, thanks to Spring Break, I will most definitely be back home for.

Also, it's that time of year again:

What's been going on in my life (aka, things I'd rather be doing than post):

1. Playing around with my new webcam, which arrived yesterday afternoon.
2. Marathoning the entire series of How I Met Your Mother.
3. Reading up on football and political news via Google Reader.
4. Deciding what to write for my picfor1000 story.

Other than that, not much else. I go back to Grand Valley next Sunday, and I'm incredibly anxious to do so - going so far as to get my ridiculous sleep schedule back to something more normal. Some of the drama alums from my high school are having a party Friday night, but I'm probably not going to go because a) I can't get a ride to this person's house; b) Numb3rs returns then (SHUT UP, IT'S IMPORTANT); and c) there's going to be a lot of people there I don't know/weren't really close to while in high school, so it'll probably end up being really clique-y. So.

(See, I told you: Boring.)

I totally didn't forget about yesterday (December 16th) being John Spencer Day; in fact, my first tweet of the day was on that particular subject. However, I did not participate in the annual obligation to quote Leo McGarry here on LJ, as I was too busy getting finals finished up and cleaning/packing/getting ready to go home. I planned on making a post once I got back home, but I ended up not getting here until after 1 AM, even though I left Grand Valley around 7 and it takes roughly 2 and a half hours to get here - there was a really bad accident on the freeway just outside of Grand Rapids that left traffic backed up for miles, so instead of waiting we took a detour to the local Target for a little bit, then ended up sitting in traffic for roughly an hour AFTER the accident was getting cleared. This is not the first time getting home from somewhere has gone badly: you'll remember it was this time last year that I had a hard time getting home from Chicago via Amtrak, since my train was canceled as the tracks had frozen and a another train (oddly enough, from Grand Rapids) was stuck on the tracks, and ended up having to take a bus home and arriving around 7:30 PM, nearly five hours later than my original arrival time of 2:30 PM.)

But anyway, I've been doing the whole "Quote Leo McGarry on LJ" since it started back in 2006, so to compensate for missing this year's, have Leo's Big Block of Cheese Day speech and Leo asking Josh how that bullet didn't kill him. If we're going off the comparison that the Obama administration is exactly like season 7 of The West Wing, that makes Leo Joe Biden, which I absolutely love because Joey is adorable.

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Obviously all finished with finals, which went off without a hitch. I only had finals Monday through Wednesday, and they were well spaced enough that I didn't have to go through my usual self-exile from the internet that usually happens during this week. In addition, all of them seemed pretty easy; even my World Politics one - the midterm was brutal and it was my hardest class overall - went over smoothly, which I chalked up to the fact that the five free response questions on the exam were all ones I knew really well and could properly answer (although I struggled with the multiple choice portion, simply because I didn't study at all for that portion, focusing more on the free response questions because that's where the majority of the points were.) Comm Research was open-note/open-book and Mass Media&American Politics was just a simple four-page paper, so high marks are guaranteed; not sure how Comm, Social Problems and World Politics are going to shake out. Grades are available on Christmas Eve, so depending on what they are, it'll be a great Christmas present or a not-so-great Christmas present.

And now that the semester's done and I've got nothing important to do over my nice long three week break, I'm just going to relax. I've got all kinds of Christmas-themed TV to watch, from episodes of The West Wing/Studio 60/Sports Night/The Office/CSI:NY (there are also Christmas episodes of The Big Bang Theory and The Simpsons, but I've watched them already), as well as the holiday standard fare of A Charlie Brown Christmas and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, both of which I had to download due to inconvenient scheduling on television. After the holidays are over, my TV viewing will basically consist of various Bowl games and watching the first wave of television come back for the new year - including Numb3rs, which I'm obviously really excited about because, hello, shiny HD! And I'll have to say goodbye to Jon and Stephen for a few weeks, which is totally okay with me because Stephen gave this really cute little send-off at the end of his show last night.

I'm going to try and get back into writing again while I've got all this time to do so; I signed up for picfor1000 totally on a whim, hoping that might start something, and I'd also like to get this fic I've had swirling around in my head for a few weeks down on paper at some point. Decided to do a picspammy challenge after a long, long break; thinking about doing their "end of the decade" challenge and have already come up with a preliminary list of the events I want to spotlight (hopefully one or two for each year, but possibly more) and am definitely taking suggestions, as long as they're not too obscure. And as usual, I'll have my end-of-the-year playlist of songs I listened to throughout 2009 - a task which is proving very difficult, as my tastes are constantly changing and I'm trying to keep the list down to about 12 songs.

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And finally, for all of you: my thread at the Holiday Love Meme (to those of you who have replied, a hearty thanks; I'll get around to those flisters who have it sometime tomorrow); and my Formspring, where you are allowed to ask me questions on literally anything - should you be so inclined.

Ugh, I wanted to do a "Woo-hoo, I'm home, Happy Thanksgiving!" post while I was actually back home, but I was feeling so incredibly lazy during my vacation that I'm doing a post now - right at a time when I have to be anything BUT lazy.

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Thanksgiving break was good, incredibly low key. Watched all the football games on Thursday - although I had to give up on watching the Giants/Broncos game because a) I was getting frustrated watching it online and b) they were losing, and losing badly. I ended up watching The Office's "Niagra" on NBC in HD with Dad - it was a lot better the second time around, especially having someone else watch it with me. Dinner was great as well, being with just Mommy, Dad, Graham and Monica. Spent both Wednesday and Friday lounging around the house and getting nothing done - we didn't end up spending Friday with my aunt&uncle&cousins, but we'll see them for Christmas, which gives me something to look forward to after school finishes up.

And then on Saturday, I went with the rest of the fam (along with my uncle and my cousins Luke, Mark and Paul) to Graham's football game at Ford Field! They were playing in the State Championships, and even though I had never been to any of his football games, I figured I should go and support him and his teammates - he's a senior this year, so it's his last chance. Plus, it would probably the only chance I would have to visit Ford Field - I don't plan on going to a Lions game anytime soon - and even better that we watched the game from a suite right on the 50-yard line. What made the experience even better is that they won! We were all excited, because it's his school's first football championship in six years - and Graham being a senior, this was made even more special for him. We all got very emotional at the afterparty.

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Now that Thanksgiving break is over and I'm back at school, it's full speed ahead to the White House to the end of the semester in two weeks - which means all kinds of projects are due. I have my final project in Comm Research due Monday (Which I just realized this past Monday, and now I'm rushing to get it done even though I've had several weeks) and my content analysis project for Mass Media&American Politics due next Thursday. And then there's final exams the week after that, two each on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday. So yeah, I've got a lot of work to do in the next couple of days - I'm surprised that I haven't had a total breakdown yet. And also disappointed that I won't be able to go to the football game this weekend - Grand Valley is on track to win another National Championship (they last won in 2006) and I'd really like to be there to experience it - although it'll be nationally televised on ESPN, so win-win-win? Ugh, I just hate the final weeks of the semester. So much stress before getting a vacation.

BUT. Numb3rs is a new episode on Friday, and that's always something for me to look forward to.

I'M HOOOOOOOOOOOOOME.

It's great to be back. I haven't seen them since before I left for Grand Valley at the end of August, and even though I talk to my parents on the phone every Sunday night, it's just not the same as seeing them in person. I was near tears when I walked in the door, and both my parents gave me huge hugs when they saw me (Dad was home when I arrived, but Mommy came in a little bit later.) That good mood was quickly crushed when I went upstairs to my room to put my stuff away and saw that Monica, who has been using my bedroom for its better WiFi connection and my bathroom in general (since she normally shares a bathroom with Graham and well... EW), had completely trashed the place. She knew I'd be coming home this weekend, so she could at least make the effort to clean it up to almost how she found it.

My parents were being their adorable selves last night while watching Law & Order with me - Mommy especially, in the way she gets so wrapped up in watching these crime procedurals. I was really excited that even with a stop at Meijer and Wendy's for dinner, I was able to make it home in time to see it; how could I not, as it was two hours in HD on our big-screen TV! SO SHINY. Except it ended up being two completely different episodes instead of one big long one (which I would've preferred, seeing as the first episode sort-of ended in a cliffhanger.) daygloparker's right: tres disappointing. And Numb3rs wasn't much better, partially because our CBS HD feed was faulty, and this is still on my mind.

Today I spent most of the day watching C-SPAN coverage of the Health Care Reform debate in Congress - something I'd never thought I'd do, plus I planned to spend at least part of the day doing more research for my World Politics memo essay (Due Thursday, have not started it yet. I forsee a lot of late nights in my future.) Obviously, that did not get done, and it probably won't happen tomorrow either - I plan on watching Rachel Maddow do Meet the Press and then watch the Patriots/Dolphins game before I have to go back to campus in the late afternoon. I could attempt to start it tomorrow night, but who knows how tired I'll be. Plus I still haven't re-watched last weeks' Mad Men, and I'd really like to talk about it before the finale.

In conclusion, Taylor Swift is adorable.

November is looking like it'll be Midterms 2.0 for me, at least for the next two weeks. I have my second Sociology exam Monday morning, another take-home essay exam for Mass Media&American Politics due Tuesday, and an online reading quiz for World Politics that needs to be submitted by Wednesday afternoon. And then I have a Concepts of Communication project due the 16th; I've had it since the first few weeks of class, but it's one of those projects where you have to do something and then write a paper about the experience - I'm planning on doing a job shadow of some sort, but I haven't had a chance to ask my professor about contact info because I've been so busy and distracted lately, plus I'd like to have the experience fresh in my mind when it comes time to actually write the paper. Hopefully I can get the job shadowing thing done next week when I don't have anything going on. We'll see.

Other school things: I am now working at GVSU's student-run TV station! I'm one of three producers overseeing this brand-new little comedy show called Loserville, which is kinda-sorta-not really like The Big Bang Theory. Anyway, since it's a new show, we had to do a casting call to find our actors - which, ugh. So many people came out to audition, and it was hard enough remembering who everyone was, let alone looking for the people to fit these specific roles. We ended up getting into a semi-fight with one of the drama shows - we both wanted the same actress, but we weren't allowed to cast her in both our shows (even though she wouldn't have THAT big of a role in either show, and she was the only option for the drama show and our show's top option). We ended up getting her at the last minute simply because the actress put Loserville down as her first choice. I was kinda upset that I had to miss The Office and 30 Rock (and Project Runway, and The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report - the casting session didn't get over with until 12:30 AM!), but I had tons of fun hanging out with the other GVTV producers. They're all a really funny and hyper group and I'm just really excited about getting to experience it all.

I finally did get to watch The Office this morning between classes, and while I really enjoyed it overall, ( there was just one thing that was kind of off-putting to me. )

Also Immensly enjoying Law & Order (HI MIKE AND CONNIE, YOU GIVE ME SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO ON FRIDAY MORNINGS WHEN I AM STILL GROGGY BUT HAVE TO GO TO CLASS) - very excited about the 2 hour episode coming next week, and Numb3rs - but that's nothing new. Fridays are definitely becoming my new favorite day of the week.

I may or may not have had an urge to write something, thanks to a picture I found during a random browsing of We Heart It. I'm not entirely sure how it's going to play out yet, but hey, at least I'm attempting to try writing again?

( We interrupt studying for midterms to bring you three and a half of my latest dreams. )

In other news: I loved last night's episode of How I Met Your Mother. Like, a lot.

This has really not been my week, school-wise.

- I have a class at 9 AM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - so in order to be dressed, get my stuff together, eat breakfast AND putter around the internet for a few minutes before leaving the apartment around 8:30, I have to wake up at 7:30, 7:45 at the absolute latest. So I stayed up until around 1 AM Sunday night because of the Emmys, and was thus jarred awake Monday morning by my alarm clock. I turned the alarm off, thinking I could get an extra 15 minutes of sleep. That totally did not happen; I ended up waking up at 8:30 - the exact time I needed to leave the apartment. It was too late for me to get to my first class, so I stayed in bed and watched this week's Mad Men, planning to be ready in time for my next class at 12. Except I was totally not thinking straight that day, because I thought my class was at 1, and it was not until I was all dressed and ready to go at 12:30 that I realized that class really was a 12 and had missed it. Though I did make it to my Monday evening class, because that only meets once a week and if I dare ever miss it, I would be screwed.

- On Tuesday, I was planning on going to the weekly meeting of Grand Valley's TV station at 9:15 PM, but I was also incredibly tired. So I took a nap from 7:30 to 8:45, but was still really sleepy and decided not to go. But then I slept until 11 PM, stayed up for a couple of hours and then went back to sleep until 7:30 the next morning. WEIRDEST SLEEP SCHEDULE EVER.

- I missed my first class yesterday morning simply because I was tired and didn't feel like going. It's my Mass Media & American Politics class, which I really like and actively participate in, but I figured I could miss the class just the one time, and the outline for the class is available online. Still, I feel guilty about missing the class simply because I was tired - even if the professor doesn't care why you're absent.

- Totally forgot to do my first writing assignment for my Comm class, so I have to do it this weekend, turn it in late and only get half credit. Simply because I forgot it was due today. BLERGH.

(The moral of these stories? I NEED TO GET MORE SLEEP. AND POSSIBLY START WRITING THINGS DOWN.)

BUT. Positives! Numb3rs premieres tonight - in just a few hours, actually! I REALLY COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED. I bought peach rings all the way back at the beginning of the school year in anticipation, and now I FINALLY get to eat them while I watch in celebration. And I'm going to try and hit up Meijer to get the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly that the flist has being chattering about - I tried to get it earlier this afternoon, but last week's issue was still on display. I figured if I go tomorrow afternoon/evening they should have it by then. I can also see if I got in the mail back home (I have a 3 month trial subscription that I don't think has quite run out yet) and if so, have it sent to me. Plus it's the weekend, so you know what that means: SLEEP!

I have come to the conclusion that Don Eppes could wholeheartedly benefit from Being Don Draper. This after spending an entire weekend rekindling some Numb3rs love and then watching the season premiere of Mad Men on Sunday night (which will get its own post, as I have a lot to talk about regarding it.) So I watched every episode from seasons 4 and 5 that featured Don Eppes' wife girlfriend Robin, and I know I've mentioned this before, but they are absolutely adorable together. TOTALLY FAKE MARRIED. I'm working on a picspam to prove this point. And it is here where I point out that Don Eppes could heed the advice of Don Draper and take six hour lunches and/or disappear for weeks at a time (OR AT LEAST TURN OFF HIS PHONE WHEN HE'S WITH HER)- simply to improve his relationship. (Ironically, the opposite is true for Don Draper.) At least, that's what my fangirly self would like to happen.

I also re-watched the end of the Numb3rs season finale - where Charlie proposes to Amita - simply because I've been thinking about that plot point being carried over into next season. I came up with a pretty rational explanation as to why Amita would say yes right after the episode aired, because it was pretty much certain. But ever since I read a certain spoiler that Amita wouldn't make her decision right away because she and Charlie "still have some things to discuss", I'm now unsure. Although I really can't think of anything they'd have to discuss at this point. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Basically, the point of this post is that I'm thrilled Mad Men is FINALLY back, and I really can't wait for September 25th to get here. Also, I've been in this funk all weekend where I listen to Death Cab For Cutie's "Transatlanticism" and "A Lack of Color" on constant repeat. Is it possible that there's something wrong with me? I did just try to compare Don Eppes to Don Draper, you know.

I'm perfectly content with the fact that no one on my flist watches Numb3rs, and I'm not going to use this as a point to say "OMG YOU GUYS SHOULD WATCH THIS SHOW BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME", because I'd actually like to keep the flailing to myself - it's the one show where I can have crazy thoughts and not think about the flist's reaction/input, as well evidenced by the following:

( Numb3rs season finale, or 'Primacy: a redux!' (because that's basically what it was.) )