Whoops!

Well it's been a while since I've logged on here. While it may not be good time management to type this up right now, I feel the need to update. I haven't been doing it during my night shifts for various reasons, some of them because I didn't work the night shift.

Social- I am back together with Nathan. There it's said, and to explain more would take a day and half. I am also a newly initiated member of Phi Sigma Rho and I'll become an active member of Alpha Phi Omega on Thursday night. I've made so many new friends (sisters/brothers) through these organizations. There are moments for both of them when it just hits me and I know I joined the right place. Phi Rho fulfills my nerdy, girly side while APO fulfills my need to serve others and have a wide variety of friendships. Along with these groups comes a lot of time committments though, and I'm definitely feeling it.

School- Academics weren't going so well at the beginning of the year because I was too stressed out on everything else going on in my world. Between family, strained friendships from last year, trying to get involved to take my mind off things, and figuring out what my job exactly was, I never found time to just sit and study. Now I'm pulling myself out of a hole and am looking at taking a GPA hit, pretty hard. My scholarship isn't in jeopardy (knock on wood) but my Honors College status is. Hopefully the worst that happens is a semester's probation til I get my grades back up.

Work- My boss expects us to have 70 hours a semester, and I'm leading the pack with about 45 right now. We only have a month left! I don't know how she is going to react but she already said we wouldn't be fired. I'm not sure if there were even 70 hours of work offered. It's stressful but I'm working at getting more hours in this week. Between last week and this week my hours should be up to 56. Oh, a couple weeks ago, my other housing intern and I made door decs for every girl in our dorm. Ok actually one for every room but it was still a LOT of turkeys! One last thing; programming, programming, programming.

Family- I can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving next week. I wish I could say that I'll be relaxing and playing with the kids. Unfortunately, I have too much studying to do, and the kids won't be there for very long. Just to be home for almost a week will be amazing though. It may be a tempting taste of Christmas Break that will leave me wanting more time though.

Friends- While, as stated before, I'm making new friends in other organizations, I don't ever get to see my friends from last year. It takes a miracle to be able to see more than one of them at a time. It's usually my busy schedule, but it comes off as if I'm hanging out with my new friends over the ones who have been there for me. It's just that when I'm with the organizations, it's usually a required event.

So much to do, so little time!

Back to normal(ish)

So once again it's Friday night at the desk...



It's parents weekend= lots of random parents around til midnight, then the girls leave for parties and come back at the wee hours of the morning.



This doesn't seem to be smart considering the game starts at 11:21 tomorrow...

Speaking of, I'm glad I got my nap in earlier because I likely won't be able to sleep til tomorrow night after 10ish. Crazy!



I slept out at the stadium last night, and it was surprisingly comfortable. It was kinda cool to fall asleep under the stars of Fayetteville and wake up when people were walking by to go to class (in a socially acceptable manner haha)



I have the most amazing friend for bringing me a drink to my shift :) Thanks Ciara!!!



I really hope it doesn't rain for gameday. Painting would NOT work. Not to mention how miserable it would be.



A girl just asked if she could feed the fish. 1) It's 1 AM, go to bed. 2) No, that's done during the day. 3) Don't pout when I say no. It's a fish, you're not 5.



The blustery wind keeps making the doors slam shut. It's kinda funny to watch the girls jump as they walk in.



dear insomnia,

We're doing this again?

sincerely, College Student



ha ha I like dearblankpleaseblank.com



How did I finish a Route 44 in an hour and a half?!



Yay...my shift is over! Now time to shower and get ready for the game! WPS!

An eerie October night

So over half of campus has left this weekend...there are about 20 cars left in the parking lot.

I honestly don't even feel like typing tonight...I'm watching Beauty and the Beast..shhhh.

Ciara came and kept me company, but I decided to release her of her friendly duties so she could get some rest. No need in both of us suffering.

I'm going home tomorrow!! I've seen my parents twice this week already, but I wanna go home. I haven't been in a while, and it'll be nice to get away.

I haven't seen anyone in about 30 minutes. Getting really creepy quiet.

Nathan showed me Kingdom Hearts 2 last weekend...it's awesome. I wanna learn to play (if I ever have time)

I can't wait to sleep! Waaaaay too many early mornings this week. I had 11 hours of RESPECT from last Friday to today. So much for only needing 70 a semester!

Well, like I said, not really into writing tonight. So that's all.
Night!

Desk...It's OCTOBER!

Wow the time has really flown by! October already and a chill of fall in the air. Gotta love this time of year.

So I will only have about an hour and a half of randomness tonight since my epic friend, Ciara, came and entertained me for a long while tonight. My girls and I went late night at Papa John's/Quizno's and then to Bikes, Blues & BBQ for the sight. Add in some fro-yo, stargazing in the Greek Theater, and hot chocolate from Starbucks= Amazing time!

So if you walk in intoxicated, don't shush obviously...I'm not dumb.

I didn't post last week because I took the night off to camp out for the Alabama game...totally worth it! Crazy night, can't even begin to explain. Little sleep and slight dehydration made my sickness worse though, and I felt almost dead after the game. It took the rest of the weekend to recover.

Jimmy John's at 3AM? Poor delivery guys.

So I love being a pledge...I get tons of gifts :) I got a sundae glass filled with candy and a calculator and a bracelet from Phi Rho, and a red velvet cake with my name spelled out in Sour Patch kids from my APO big sis. Such cool stuff!!

I missed my family. I felt bad that I wasn't really up to visiting after the Alabama game. I get to see my brothers and their families tomorrow (today) for the Beauty and the Beast sing-along movie. Wish my sis and her family could come too!

Hey now, you're an All Star, get your game on, go play.

So many people left campus this weekend. It's pretty quiet except for all the bikers.

Sleeeeeeepy. It was a hectic/busy day. I'll be glad to sleep in my nice warm comfy bed.

A group of girls came up when we were sitting out at the Greek Theater, and they reminded me of my group last year. Then it struck me, I'm already looking back on college days. I feel old.

Along the same lines, my high school's homecoming was tonight, and I really didn't care either way. Last year I was upset that I didn't get to make it back for homecoming. This year I haven't even paid attention to who they're playing and what the scores are. It's a bit weird, but I'm moving out of my small town roots.

I met a lot of people camping out last week. It's an awesome feeling to walk around and know so many people on such a large campus. It makes me feel like I'm actually doing something besides killing myself with academics and service while I'm here ha ha

Well...my shift is FINALLY coming to an end. Til next week, Woo Pig Sooie! (I know it's an off week but still)

Desk duty thoughts 9/17

yoohoo in a juice carton and banana chips tonight :)

also have my skype up on my laptop so I can chat with friends since some have agreed to stay up and talk to me. So awesome of them.

Considering joining Phi Sigma Rho (math,science, and engineering sorority)- I went to dinner tonight and they gave me a bid. I have til Sunday night to decide...

Powerade is amazing when I seriously am thirsty.

I have stressed myself out this week but this weekend has a day of football and relaxation. Just 10 hrs away!!

My eyes are so heavy tonight. I'm actually afraid of accidently falling asleep.

I like dancing in my chair when no one's around

It's been a busy week with RESPECT. SO many hours of work!

Writing people up isn't fun

Just keep going, just keep going...an hour til sleep :)

Can't wait to watch the Hogs beat Georgia!

I wish they would get the A/C fixed down here on the first floor...

"I know the heart of life is good"- I really like this lyric by John Mayer

How hard is it to follow a 3AM curfew?! Go to bed!!

I have a new name badge to wear when I'm working for RESPECT. It's all official with my name and photo id and everything :)

What this blog was originally about...

The title of this blog is Rachel's Ramblings, based on the fact that I tend to ramble whenever I talk. I've gotten better about this over the years, but I'm considering an experiment; typing up all my random thoughts during my midnight-4AM desk shift. I have so many things that I would normally say or text people about, but no one is awake. I also wouldn't want to be one of those annoying facebook friends that update their status 12 times a day. I just want to type them out, read them later, and decide whether or not it's actually worth typing. If nothing else, it should produce some (not actually) funny ideas.

Football game is in Little Rock this weekend, leaving the campus half empty. Apparently, if you're not at the game, you should be home. Luckily, my parents are coming up here.

My car scares me. It almost didn't stop going down a hill and then skidded all over the road on the same hill when I was driving the other day. Dad came and looked at it, and said there was nothing wrong. I'm still not completely convinced, but I'll have to drive it again eventually.

I feel weird putting up a "Back in 5 min" sign to leave the desk, when I haven't seen anyone for almost 20 minutes.

the RA on duty is always entertaining to chat with, because you're both "sleep-drunk"

sleep drunk involves the delirious way you start acting from lack of sleep

Route 44 lemonberry slush is the perfect desk companion

How did I not get a Pandora account years ago?!

Sleepy RA's hunting down a beetle at the front desk...great footage for Reggie :P

Rice Cake snacks are a healthy option; until you eat the whole

Making my schedule on Excel seems so "adult" but it has to be done

Why in the world would other people be up right now? Other than RA's, you have no reason to stay awake til 4!

Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high- dreamy song while sleepy :)

Tingly, asleep foot is really bothersome

My phone pretty much needs charged every night, and I'm always afraid it will die before it gets charged

My friends and I are amazed at how dumb guys can be. When you try to politely say you just want friendship, they assume you're playing hard to get. It's an age old problem and we keep using Pride and Prejudice as an example.

Why is there such an abundance of post-its around here?!- every size, color, and style I can think of.

Only a handful of people know I blog, and even less have read it. Maybe once I get this as a constant thing, I'll let it go more public...

Well that wraps it up for tonight (..er...this morning?) Time for my relief and some sleep.

Don't forget that I posted two blogs tonight if you're trying to keep tabs on me :P

And so it begins. Year II....

So to start off, I can already tell this year is gonna take every last bit of my patience and strength at times. Why? Well, let's just look at what my life is about right now.

1) Once again separated- It's almost like Freshman year-part 2. Not only am I away from my family, I no longer live with all my friends from last year. Disadvantage- not knowing what's going on with all my friends and feeling disconnected from the Pomfret group. Advantage- making so many new friends and getting to know my staff. Which brings me to the second point.



2) R.E.S.P.E.C.T.- my job. I went through training #1, now have training #2 going on. Until it's done, I'm trying to remember the girls I meet in my dorm, working with the RA's and figuring out good programs for the organization. I've got my calender all sorted out with events and Also, desk duty from 12-4 AM every Saturday morning. It's quite the show. I've learned to embrace my authoritative side, and have found it extremely useful/effective!



3) Classes- Cal 3, Honors Cultural Anthropology, Spanish Intermediate II, Discrete, and Philosophy have my brain going in so many different directions. I feel like I need to sit and study more than ever, yet have less time than ever. It's going to take a study schedule for me to keep on top of everything this year.

4) Frequent caller minutes?-If there were such a thing, I'd have a whole stack of them from the amount I have talked to my mom in the past month. I not only want to check on her in light of recent events, but also because of how fast my life is. I will call her and tell her everything so that she knows before I forget to tell her later. Some days, the busy/stressful one, will be a series of short check-ins while others are long deep conversations. I know there are other people that I could talk to, but it's just easier to talk to her when I already have another reason to call. I just hope she's not getting annoyed with all of the random calls.

I wrote this about three weeks ago, but just got back to it and tweaked it accordingly. It may sound a bit stressed/whiny, but that was before I got into a feel of things. It's been quite the adjustment for the past month, but I'm getting it. No matter what comes, you gotta keep living and pray for the best.