I'll have a Sugar-free Orange Latte, Skinny, Xtra Tall, Xtra Hot

So my culinary curiosity got the best of me this morning. As usual, I was planning on three beverages: water, orange juice, and coffee. Being the domestic diva that I am, I decided to save on dishes and drink them from my travel mug in sequential order. When I had drank it to 5/6 of the way through my orange juice and was preparing for the coffee round I wondered,

Why do we not mix oranges with coffee? We mix chocolate with oranges and we mix coffee with chocolate, so why do we not mix coffee with oranges?

I do not think this combination is any more strange than the blueberry, dark-chocolate truffle I had last night.

And this way of thinking is why I am always late to class.

Karma Karma: It's snowing

It's never fun to use the word Karma just one time, Karma. I have always been a firm believer in it though. I could go on to list the reason why I think I might deserve some good Karma today, but that would go against the rules of Karma.

I think extrodinary weather causes people to be nicer and more willing to participate in acts of kindness. It's snowing quite a bit right now on the lovely city of Duluth. In fact according to my Weather Bug, we should get 5-8 inches by the time all is said and done.

That's all I have to say about the subject. Just go on and be nice, even if it isn't snowing, tornadoing or hurricaning outside.

Illegal Coffee

I am writing right now from the second floor of the library at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. I am drinking some mediocre coffee, from the coffee shop on campus, Northern Shores. This coffee a rainforest blend that has been sitting too long and has developed a thick bland flavor. I had to sneak this cup in because paper coffee cups are banned periphanila in this joint. I tried to bring it in under my pea-coat, which led to me spilling a bunch on the coat.

In other news it is hump day of my second crappy week in a row. I have a bunch of lame assignments due for classes.

In exciting news, the wonderful Sam is gracing us all with her presence this weekend. It shall be a fun one at that.

It's Nippy Out

So its been really f'in cold here, which seems like all anyone around here is talking about, but since I haven't been outside for longer than 5 min. in 72 hours it seems rational to talk about.

My mom and brother drove up on Thursday afternoon to stay at the Inn on Lake Superior for two nights. That is one of the few hotels I would recommend staying in Duluth if you care A)about cleanliness and B)getting a good nights rest.

My roommates and one of their girlfriends met me at the hotel on Thursday night to use their rooftop heated pool. The challenging part was that the windchill was -30 below and the rooftop is completely uncovered.

Chris decided to challenge us to see who could run the most laps around the pool. I made it two laps before nearly slipping on the ice I had created by running my wet feet on the cement ground, and finally plunging back into the heated water.

An interesting fact about swimming in Artic temperatures, for those of you who don't, is that eyelashes really form icicles, like in the movies when people are freezing/froze to death.

Yesterday, my mom and I were really starting to feel the cabin fever, so we picked up some watercolor painting supplies and painted for awhile in the hotel. I pretty much am now caught up on every horrible reality show that currently airs on Fridays, as well. My cousin came from Superior and we all had a lovely Pizza Luce dinner, delivered!

Right now I am trying to write a paper for Health Care Economics on an article that I do not understand because it is really in Ecomicese.

A Loser Day

Ever had a day where you felt like a complete waste of space? A week? A month?

Today has been one of those days for me. I woke up and went to my only class. Then I studied for awhile a subject that I care nothing about, for a degree I do not care to earn that has been a waste of, four years might be exaggerating, about 2 years.

Yes it is official. I hate taking businesses courses. I have never liked them actually. However, four years ago when I rolled a dice and chose a major I didn't realize the amount of work, time, and money that would be involved in supporting my decision.

I know that I can't change anything about it now, but I think it might feel better to get this off my chest.

It all began in high school, where there were minimal options for elective courses offered. By a sad process of elimination, I took 2 years of accounting. I didn't mind working with numbers and it was fun to fill in the old-school workbooks we got to use, like the ones they give you in kindergarten when you learn to read.

Fast-forward to my senior year when I was applying for college. People started asking me what I wanted to do after high school, so I started giving the generic answer of "I wanna be an accountant."

FF to my the fall of my junior year of college. I was sitting in the career counselors office at UMD, which happened to be my first visit with a counselor, for career or otherwise, with tears in my eyes, and sobbing because I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, but I was sure that it did not involve being a green eye-shade wearing bean counter.

That wonderfully sweet and empathic counselor let me take her class in career exploration as an independent study. I got really excited about the class because I would get the chance to take interest surveys and find a job that would suit my interests. I would also get to interview people in different career fields.

I finally narrowed my search down to human resource manager, marketer, journalist, and broadcaster. I chose to pursue journalism because it fit my interest and I liked the beginning journalism class that I was in.

I started working for the school paper for the student life section. I covered most of the cultural events on campus or connected to campus. I joined the Society of Professional Journalist, as well.

FF to this August, after I had written for the paper for a semester, applied to UM-TC, where they have a journalism degree, talked to several burned out journalist, and spent a month backpacking in Europe. I thought, not very long and not very hard about it, and decided that I could get a marketing degree in 2 more semesters, or a journalism degree in four or more.

Here comes the pathetic part. I had my dad call the school here to see if it would even be possible to go back to school here. And of course they said yes, and here I am, 2.5 months away from a degree that I don't want.

Time Flies

Saturday night I went rollerblading at the World of Wheels in Superior with Gabe, Dan, and Andy and some other people. It was pretty fun, we paid $5 to skate from 7-10. We could have used their rollerskates for free, but I was scared because I haven't been on those since I was five.

After the World of Wheels we went to the 3 Rock bar for some crappy live music, then skipped out and went to Norm's beer and brats to play a few rounds of pool. I left at 11:00pm to go back to Duluth to Tony's to watch El Mariache with Kristen, Kate, Sarah and Jason. The movie was pretty good, but by the time we got it started I we were all really tired, so we didn't finish it.

On Sunday we went to the Flogging Molly concert at First Avenue. It was really a great time. On the way to Minneapolis we stopped at Tony's house to pick up the tickets. In Minneapolis we met the twins at Chipotle. Kristen forgot her ID at a coffee shop, which could have prevented her from getting into the 21+ show. Fortunately, the bouncer was sympathetic and didn't want to see her cry. Flogging Molly was really go to see live. The Roller Blackouts and the Scotch Greens opened for them, I didn't mind seeing either one.

We got back to Duluth at 3:30 am on Monday morning and instead of setting my alarm for 9:00 am, I set it for 9 pm, so I missed my only class on Monday.

Technical Difficulties

My printer tried to saw my hand off and I think I might have broke it in self-defense.

In happier news, I spent a splendid time last night with Jenny and Sheena watching Johnny Holmes play at the Tap Room. Jenny and I left after and hour of music, but Sheena stayed and ended up giving her number to one of the guitar players.

This morning Tony and I had a lovely breakfast at Uncle Louis in Duluth with Chin and two of his lady friends. That place never fails to deliver an excellent breakfast. I think I like the service even better though.

After breakfast with our bellies full, I went with Tony to take pictures on Superior Street for his photography class. It was only 15 degrees out, but the sun keep us toasty.

Also today, I went to half of the UMD men's basketball game versus South Dakota. We were winning by quite a few at half-time and my interest was dwindling.

Yeah UMD

Today I spent inside UMD from 8:00a-5p. It was my "long" day with three classes at 1.25 hrs. a pop. In between classes I had to do homework for the following class. At 3 I had coffee with Tony and at 4 I went for a run. It was the first time I had ran since I came back from Christmas break about 3 weeks ago. It was really a good 1.5 mile jog. I am hoping to get back into shape before the 5k season begins here in The Northland.

In an internship update, I sent my mom a copy of my resume to proofread. She is well qualified as an olde English major. I am planning on polishing it up before giving it to our internship coordinator.

A Whole New Journey: Internship the Next Frontier

So life in the minimal 12-credit world of college has finally settled in. I am officially getting bored. The problem for me with being bored in college is that I feel guilty not studying, so rather than doing something productive like picking up a new novel or getting reacquainted with my artistic self, I settle for a night of Wheel of Fortune, American Idol, and the State of the Union Address or Wheel of Fortune, American Idol, and Beauty and the Geeks.

In my other spare time I have been trying to find an internship for this summer that I need before I can graduate. I am searching for a marketing internship at a non-profit. So, if you know of any possibilities please leave me a comment. I am really open to moving anywhere, but I think it is realistic to look for one in the Minneapolis area.

Besides feeling sorry for myself and being bored, several people around me have been depressed lately and it is starting to drag my perky butt down.

In other happenings, Chris, Tony and I went snowboarding/skiing today and the snow was pretty good. We got a couple of inches last night. I really couldn't believe the difference after snowboarding on slush and ice for the last month.