My Summer To-Do List

So, today I was reading a friend's blog, and she came up with 50 things that she wants to accomplish before she goes back to school in the fall. I thought this was a great idea, and decided to come up with my own list of things to do this summer. (some of them I stole from her list, but only because they were so good!) I think I'll stick with 26 things to do (after all, 26 is my favorite number!). Here they are:

1. Learn to knit or crochet, then make a Ravenclaw scarf for the HP7 (part 1) premiere in November

2. Go camping with my family

3. Go on a bike ride or a canoe trip with friends
4. Attend as many Clippers games as I can
5. Grow closer to God
6. Go to a concert
7. Watch a sunset
8. Watch a sunrise with a friend (after staying up all night, of course!)
9. Go to the beach
10. Take a road trip with friends
11. Visit my grandparents (both sets)
12. Read 5 chapters of the Bible every day
13. Start the Europe scrapbook before I forget everything (haha)
14. Go to a midnight showing of a movie
15. Have a HAM Night in Columbus
16. Cook a meal for my family
17. Work on my novel
18. Try new vegetarian-friendly foods
19. Walk Skye more often
20. Get a job (and make some sweet moolah)
21. Have a Harry Potter movie marathon
22. Ditto Star Wars
23. Get my hair cut in a cuter hairstyle
24. Play golf with some of my teammates from high school
25. Beat my dad in a round of golf
26. Read or re-read...

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Pride and Prejudice
• Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go
• The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies
• Jane Eyre
• Heat Wave
• The Book Thief
• Watchmen
• Blue Like Jazz
• The rest of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

I might be close to completing a few of these already... such as #20... keep your fingers crossed!

Long time no see...

Okay, I have not been very constant with my posts at all, and for that, I apologize. I'm going to make it a goal to have at least one post per week, but we'll see how busy life gets this summer.

Today is the last day of school for my siblings: my brother, D, is finishing up his high school finals for the year; my sister, L, is graduating from middle school; and my brother, J, is graduating from elementary school. (My youngest sister, N, doesn't go to school yet, seeing as she is four.) I've been out of school for about a month now, but it hasn't been a particularly relaxing break. There were several times I would have gone back to BG and begged for a paper instead. I've been on the hunt for a job for the summer, and my search has been largely unsuccessful. It's hard to get a job if you don't have experience, apparently. I've applied to at least 30 places, and I don't have a job yet. I did think I was getting close when I talked to the manager of TJ Maxx, but after she said she would call me in two days, she didn't. Even a nannying job that I thought I was a shoo-in for didn't pan out. The woman I was supposed to talk to kept flaking on me. And, of course, I've gotten those awful rejection form-letters, in all shapes and sizes. I really wish I had a job... because then my parents would get off my back, among other things. They have been working me hard at home since I don't technically have a job. I've hardly had time for myself these past few weeks, even though I'm home alone at least 6 hours a day. I've been able to see a few of my friends, but most of my good friends are either A) working pretty much full-time, B) not out of school yet, or C) over an hour drive away. Besides, I've been too busy to even work on my novel (which I'm really excited about). It's occurred to me that this must be what my parents' lives are like all the time, but I'm not a parent! I'm just a college kid. And most college kids don't have the kinds of responsibilities I have at home. It's kind of ridiculous...

I miss the freedom I had at BG. And I miss the friends I made at BG. They all live so far away from where I do... It really sucks. I have seen my roommate, M, a couple times this summer, but we had to plan it all out, which was so weird, because I'm used to seeing her every day.

On a positive note, my friend S who moved to New York about a year ago is coming to visit in a few days! :) It's going to be so nice to see her, since I haven't seen her in 6 months. Last time I saw her, we met halfway and hung out in a mall for the day. It'll be better this time, since we can go wherever and do whatever we want to (at least, more so than the last time). Before then, of course, I'll have to clean the house, per my parents' request, since she is staying here. I'd better get busy if I want to get some stuff done today and go to my siblings' individual graduation ceremonies. Tchao for now!