failed cooking

Usually, when I cook something for the first time, I'm always nervous that it won't come out good, but 99% of the time it does anyway. However, I needed to do a cultural activity for Spanish, so I looked up a recipe for natillas, a Spanish custard-type dessert. The first easy-looking recipe I found called for corn flour, so I went gallivanting all over town for two days trying to find some (Wal-mart didn't have any). I found some, and paid nearly five dollars for cinnamon sticks (the recipe called for just one), and today I tried cooking it. It SO did not work! The mixture just stayed watery and chunky and I could not figure out what I did wrong. I went back to the recipe on the Internet, then looked at other recipes for Natillas, and I believe I found the problem. Every other recipe calls for corn starch, not corn flour. I think whoever wrote the recipe that I used accidentally said flour rather than starch. Which makes sense, because corn starch is what people use for custards, etc. for making it thicken. Grrrr. So I spent all that time looking for corn flour and wasted money just to throw my "natillas" away. So I opted for making sopaipillas, and they are not nearly as good as my mom's, and didn't puff up as much as normal sopaipillas do, but they're edible and pretty tasty. So that's what I'm taking to class tomorrow.

TOMORROW IS MY LAST DAY OF CLASS!!!!
I finished my last paper today!!! Finally!!!!! After weeks of tormentuous (I think I made that word up?) paper writing!!!! I have one online test to take by Monday, then I have my Spanish final on Monday, and my Comm. and Culture final on Thursday! Then I'll be packing and my family will come to help me move out, and within a few days after that, I'll be GONE from here and HOME for the summer! Wahoo!!! I'm happy :-)

Sleeping weirdness and Peace Corps

I am very tired and will probably take a short nap soon. Sunday night I didn't fall asleep til late because the girl in the room next to mine had her boyfriend over and...well, they were being loud...as in their headboard kept me awake....ERIKA NOT HAPPY. Then Monday night I went to bed late again because of homework and I went grocery shopping kinda late, then slept through my alarm in the morning and woke up fifteen minutes before I had to leave. I somehow made it to class on time. Then I went to bed still a little late last night, and had trouble falling asleep because I was thinking about my future, and when I finally did doze off, the girl above me got back from a softball trip or something because she stomped in at about 1 am, was dropping her giant bag of softballs and bats on her floor, stomping around for at least an hour. I'm not a fan of my upstairs neighbors. And I was restless all night, woke up a lot. Then I had to get up a little earlier this morning so I could study for my Spanish test.

My uncle emailed me two days ago and his words were really encouraging to me. We had talked a bit during Christmas about my plans after college (which I really don't know yet), and in his email he offered a couple suggestions that he thought I'd be a perfect candidate for: AmeriCorps and Peace Corps. I'm sure you know what the Peace Corps is, and AmeriCorps is much like that, but service in the United States. To be honest, sometime in high school I thought about what it would be like in the Peace Corps, and a couple months ago my interest was sparked again by recruiters on campus. Then my uncle sent me that email with very encouraging words. He said that I show "grounded maturity" and have a "rare and admirable gift in your heart to serve the disadvantaged". I think my desire to do so stemmed from my experience in Honduras. I spent one week there for two summer with a group from my church volunteering and working at an orphanage outside of Tegucigalpa. It fueled my compassion and desire to help others who are very much in need. I also am trying to better my Spanish-speaking ability so that I can do more service work in Central or South America. I would definitely be interested in the Peace Corps, or at least something very similar. There are, however, a few things holding me back from signing up right away. You get an allowance for living, and you get a generous amount of money afterward to help you transition back to "regular" life, and of course it would look great on resumes and open up a lot of career opportunities, but it would be difficult to be without a job for two years.. I'm also incredibly close to my family, and I would miss them terribly. You get only two days off per month, and some people fly back to visit family or have family visit them, but it's only two days per month. Anyway, my point is that I feel a longing to do something like this. Maybe now's not the time, maybe I can wait a few years, but I think it is calling me.

Apple Juice

If you know me really well, you know that I'm rarely a picky eater, except when it comes to a select few items for consumption. Two of those are apple juice and orange juice. The orange juice I drink should have some pulp, but not too much, and if it has no pulp, it has to be the perfect consistency and not be too sour or sweet. I'm a fan of the orange juice at village inn, I should ask what kind they use. And I rarely drink orange juice anyway. I'm not a huge fan of apple juice in general unless it actually tastes like real apples and also can't be too sweet. I like Tropicana apple juice (but still haven't drank it in a couple years), but today I found an even better kind. It's called Simply Apple. You've probably seen the Simply Orange juice commercials (I can't remember if I like that orange juice), and now the company has Simply Apple. I saw it at Wal-Mart yesterday. It was murky and caramel-colored, and I had an inkling it would be delicious and change my apple-juice drinking life forever. I was right. There was lots of stuff at the bottom of the container, which made it more believably organic, so I shook it up, poured a glass, took a drink, and heard a "Hallelujah" from above (not really). It's so good. Go to the store and pick up a bottle, you won't be disappointed. It actually tastes like apples, as apples are essentially the only ingredient. Yum. I'm going to go pour myself another glass...

my brother...

...is amazingly talented! He tried out for the high school musical production of Bye Bye Birdie and got one of the lead parts (Conrad Birdie), in February. I went home this weekend to see him (I saw the musical twice:) and he was so good! I am so proud of him! He can sing and act, and dance Elvis-style! The musical is a spoof on when Elvis was drafted, so he had to be this bad-boy rocker who can swivel his hips and dance crazy good. Which my brother did. I extremely proud of him! I wish I had videos from the play to post. This is him in one of his costumes. I can't get over all the makeup on him :-) His other costumes included a gold, shiny rocker outfit (lol), a fur robe (haha again), and an army-style, sparkly rocker outfit. Maybe I can get ahold of pictures of him in those too.


I also got my passport issue taken care of. Now I just have to wait for it to come. The woman at the post office said it should be about three weeks. Hopefully it won't get messed up and come really late :-O
I should type in Spanish. Esta semana sera muy ocupada. Tengo que hacer una actividad cultural, diario, y un mas quiz para espanol. Tambien, tengo el tercer examen para espanol en miercoles, y el examen final el proximo lunes. Tengo que escribir un papel analisis para comunication de familia. Finalmente, tengo que acabar el segundo quiz para la orientacion de mi viaje a Costa Rica.
Translation: This week will be very busy. I have to do a cultural activity, journal, and one more quiz for Spanish. Also, I have the third test for Spanish on Wednesday, and the final exam next Monday. I have to write an analysis paper for family communication. Finally, I have to finish the second quiz for the orientation of my trip to Costa Rica. :-)
I have to practice my Spanish all summer so I don't lose it all by the time I leave for the trip.

breathe in.......breathe out.......

I keep needing to tell myself the above words, as they only work temporarily. Two weeks better go by freakin fast. Right now the bass from the room below is making my chair vibrate and I can't concentrate on homework with it. It's the same guy that, after asking him twice in one week to turn down his bass, was astonished that I don't go out and party. Come on, get a life! Then my blood pressure is on the rise because of my roommate as well, as she and I are in a constant, silent power struggle. I know I am a communication major, but I don't do well with conflict management. Well, I'm an avoider I guess, at least with my roommate, and when I do confront her, it doesn't go anywhere because she just has to have her way. URGH!!!
I'm going home this weekend to see my brother's play and to apply to renew my passport. I'm actually going back tomorrow after my classes, and playing hooky on Friday so I don't have to rush home to make it in time before the post office closes. I'm taking a bunch of stuff home that I know I won't need in the next two weeks so I can have more room in my car for when I actually move out. (Thump...thump thump...thump....thump thump...sound of the bass that I am hearing right now). Two weeks.....only two weeks left....... Now the next two things I have to selfishly but strongly pray for are, 1) my passport comes in time for Costa Rica, and 2) I get one of those apartments that I want so badly. Supposedly I'm near the top of the wait list, and the management says I probably have a good chance of getting one by the time school starts in the fall. Man I am SO ready to get out of this awful place. I'm going to the AC with Jake in a while, as I haven't gone running in a few weeks.
I guess I'll put in my iPod to do homework and try to concentrate beyond the bass-sounds. Hope you're comfortable and content.

kessadiller

I just made a quesadilla with leftover Easter ham. It was yummy. Soooo....my parents gave the OK to go to Costa Rica, and I'm doing it for two weeks and getting credit that will count toward my Spanish minor! Woohoo!!! The only big thing that's bothering me right now and completely stressing me out that there is the slightest chance it won't work out, is that my passport is expired and I didn't know that. Apparently when you get your passport under 16 years old, it only lasts five years, and I got it when I was 15. And I'm freaking out because passports have been known to take months to be mailed to you. Costa Rica is in 3 1/2 months. However, I'm trying to stay positive, thinking that since I already have a passport, and I'm just renewing it, it may not take as long. And if worse comes to worst, I can expedite it so that it'll get here much more quickly. That costs a lot though. But if that extra money is the difference between me going to Costa Rica or not, then I'm so paying for it.
So next Friday I am going home in the morning so that I can make it to the post office before it closes (not open on weekends), so I can get my application sent ASAP so that I can freakin' go in August dang it! *Breathe*..... And I have to go to Los Alamos to do it because that's where my birth certificate and expired passport are. I'll have to decide next week if I want the expedited shipping. I'd rather not pay that much, but I also definitely don't want to risk not getting my passport in time.
Besides that stressful ordeal, Jake and I are incredibly stoked to go. We think we're going to do a different campus the second week, and the weekend between we're going on a tour into the cloud rainforest in Monteverde, a thick, beautiful forest with lots of animals and bird species, and a hummingbird sanctuary! I'm anxious to learn some good Spanish skills while I'm there. I'm a little nervous about being immersed into a totally Spanish-speaking culture, but that's the best way to learn. And I'll have to prepare myself for a five-hour a day, 10-day class. Wow. It'll be great though (if my passport comes soon enough)

sicklyness

I was sick again today. I did not sleep well last night at all; for some reason I could not get comfortable, and my bird kept making little noises that kept me up. Grrrr. I finally fell asleep, but this morning I woke up with a terrible migraine. At first I thought it was just a bad headache, but as I started getting ready for school, I realized it was definitely a migraine. I was distressed, because I had a presentation to do today in my prejudice class and a paper to turn in for another class. But I knew I would not be able to do my presentation in that condition. So I emailed my professor and explained it to him, and that I will go any other day he wants me to, and emailed my other professor saying I will turn the paper in tomorrow (he already got my electronic version of it, so it should be fine anyway). Then I went back to bed. Later my comm. and prejudice professor emailed me back and said that would be fine. So that's good.
I threw up three times from my migraine. Ugh. I drank red Kool-Aid earlier, so it looked like I was throwing up blood. Sorry for the graphic explanation. Jake brought me Sprite and chicken soup for lunch and stayed with me until I felt much better. I love him :) It's been a reeeeaalllly long time since I stayed in bed that long (til about 5). I actually slept til about 1, and after I had my soup Jake and I played cards when I started feeling a bit better. I feel much better now, but now I'm even more unmotivated to do homework than I was yesterday. I am so burned out on writing papers. That's basically all I have left to do for the semester (besides final exams), but it seems like they are never ending.