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I knew the end of the semester was going to be busy, but this is insane. Just in the last five days I’ve had 2 tests, attended 2 banquets, received lots of certificates and recognition (that part was cool), and continued to work on projects in 2 classes. In the next 2 weeks I’ve got 2 finals, 2 papers, 2 presentations, 2 people are shadowing me at work…are we seeing a trend here?

The good news is that some things are finally wrapping up. I’ve already dropped 2 lines off my email signature and the last title goes next Tuesday! Then it’s back to being your typical college student. For about a week. Then I’m done for real. Let’s just say I can’t wait.

Currently Playing: Lifehouse - You and Me

Between posts. The semester is winding down but I’m at my busiest. Why does it have to be that way?

In the last 24 hours I spent about six and a half hours in the best sleep I’ve had in a year. After the weekend I was so tired I just crashed. I was informed that I was snoring rather loudly. Then this morning I worked from 6-8am and when I got off I didn’t really feel that tired, but looking ahead I knew I would be up ’til 3 tonight. I made the conscious decision to skip class for another 2 hours of sleep. And again, I was out in an instant and sleeping so hard it felt like 5 minutes. I don’t think a train would have woken me up.

So you might be wondering what was so tiring about the weekend. Some will know that Amber is Catholic. Since she wants to get married in a Catholic church, there are certain things that we have to do before the Church will consider us prepared for marriage. Basically for us there were just two things: attending a class on the sacrament of marriage (which we did last weekend) and going to a weekend retreat called an Engaged Encounter.

I don’t think either of us really knew what to expect, even after some friends gave us an idea of what it would be like. In my mind it was surprisingly helpful. Even though it’s sponsored by the Catholic church, it didn’t bother me nearly as much as I thought it might (I have some issues). There were really only a few instances where I was uncomfortable and it was more due to the other couples there than the people running the show. It gave Amber and I a chance to discuss a few (like maybe 2) things we hadn’t talked about already and to reflect on the things we have. I think the best part for us was that throughout the course of the weekend we came a lot closer together in our views when it comes to our kids and religion. It’s something I knew would be an issue in some way or another from the beginning. It’s mostly an issue because of my ignorance of the Catholic church and how things work. But I’m learning, even if it isn’t as fast as Amber would always like.

Anyway, they had us up before 7am both mornings for mass and kept us going ’til 10pm or later both evenings. That combined with the mental energy expended and strange surroundings, we both left exhausted. Then being a creature of habit, I just couldn’t make it to bed before 12:30 last night. I just felt like I had better things to be doing.

So now it’s back to my reality of projects, class, upcoming papers, and tests. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? Somewhere in there I’ve gotta pack up all the stuff in my room and move out, too. Alright, now it’s time to watch tonight’s episode of 24.

Currently Playing: 24: 12am to 1am

…I will post. Even though I have almost nothing interesting to say. Although I just lost the first version. Stupid Internet Explorer.

Yeah, you read correctly. I’m at work, but I managed to forget my laptop power cord and my battery has about 10 minutes left. So I’m stuck using the desk computer for the first time in months.

I had a pretty good weekend. Watched a few movies, went bowling, learned about marriage. Realized I still have a crapload of stuff to do before the end of the semester. Yeah.

I’ve almost finished reorganizing my iTunes music library. I think if I ever get that behind again, I’m just going to let iTunes organize everything for me. Up to this point I just haven’t been able to let it do such obviously stupid things to my music.

Right now I’m just waiting to get off work so I can go back to bed. It’ll only be for about an hour, but it will be so worth it.

Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. Guess what call I got at 6:07am this morning at the Van Zile desk?

“Carson, can you look and see who is supposed to be replacing me?”

How ironic. That’s all I have to say about that.

I started work today at noon in Van Zile. When I got here I noticed that there were two girls sitting at a table in the lobby collecting signatures on a petition. Over and over again I heard “Have you heard about the AIDS in Africa event/epidemic?” At which point they would ask people to sign their petition. I have a couple of problems with this.

Now before I go on, let me be clear…I understand that the continent of Africa has a serious problem with AIDS and I am not belittling that in any way or trying to say that people shouldn’t care or even want to sign petitions about it. My problem is this: almost all of the people that signed this petition in the last hour did so without really having any idea what it was about. There were some comments about money to help stop the epidemic and sending it to the government to make a statement, but most didn’t even ask those questions. What does it really mean to put your name on this petition? I doubt most of them even read the top of the sheet. The majority of the people who chose not to sign after being addressed did so simply because they were in too much of a hurry to stop.

To make matters worse, the girl who apparently organized the event and the petition left shortly after my shift started. That left her roommate; she had their little spiel memorized but really had no idea what she was talking about. I finally did hear a few people ask what they really hoped to accomplish with the petition. She didn’t know the answer. And people wonder why the world is so messed up! How can a person lobby for something and encourage others to sign a petition when they don’t even understand it themselves?

Currently Playing: Howie Day - Collide