My Motivation is On Vacation

Lately the weather has been sucky, rainy and cold, but before then it was so nice and warm and sunny. I want that weather back. It was such a tease. Mother nature is such a tease. The weather affects my mood so much. If it's cold and rainy when it's supposed to be sunny and warm then I don't even want to leave the house. I get sad or grumpy and don't feel like doing anything but staying in bed and sleeping, or watching movies and eating junk food. And when my happiness leaves me, so does my motivation. I think they are attached at the hip. And there is only one month of school left which makes me have NO motivation whatsoever anyway, so it's important that I get that good spring/almost summer weather.

It's getting so close to the end of the school year, and the end of my college career nonetheless. That is enough to make me so antsy. You would be too if you had only one month left of a 16 year education.and want to skip classes and procrastinate. Case in point: I have a Greek exam on Wed. and it's a doosy (is that how you spell that word?). And I'm about 50 pages behind in the grammer book, which means Marissa has A LOT of memorization to do tonight and tomorrow, which also means all-nighters, which she is not excited about. And of course I didn't get any studying done this weekend because I went home for Easter. But anywhen...back to the point.

To help with my wanting summer here so bad and my procrastination problems due to this CRAPPY weather, I have decided to start listening to some of my "summer" music. To me, this music reminds me of the summer, with the sun shining, me driving in the car with the windows and sun roof open, music blarring. Some of my summer music includes:

• Aerosmith- Oh Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits (specifically Crazy and Girls of Summer)
• Traveling Wilbury's- Volume 1
• The Lovin' Spoonful- Greatest Hits (specifically Daydream and Darling Be Home Soon)
• The Beatles- 1
• James Brown- Greatest Hits (specifically I feel good)

So, I've been listening to this music hoping it would put me in a better mood and whatnot but I'm afraid it just isn't working. It just makes me want summer even more. So, I'm afraid I'll have to wait a month or so before I play it again. :( All I need is good weather atleast. I feel like if I get that then my good mood will come back and along with it, hand in hand, will be my motivation.

My Summer Wishlist

With summer comes new, bright, fun, summer clothes and things. And I LOVE summer clothes. :) Plus, my birthday is in Summer, so I am allowed to have a wishlist! :D

1. Bathing Suit- okay...technically this isn't a "wishlist" item since I just bought this swimsuit this weekend. But, I wanted to show it off. :) I got it in black though.

2. Shoes!!! These are just something that I saw and thought were really cute. Usually I get a pair or wedges or heels for summer, but these sandals are so cute!

3. Purse- Every summer and winter I get a new purse. I have a million of them..but they are my weakness. That and everything green. So, it's only appropriate that the purse I want this summer is ..GREEN !! :) I can't decide between the original floral or the geo moss on the same site.

4. Ipod- Since I graduate in May I get a graduation present from the rents (thanks mom and dad. i love you) And I have decided to finally get an IPod. After years and years of not ready for the change in technology I figured it would be a very helpful thing to have. I will never stop using my cd's though...lol. I am about 90% sure that I want the IPod Classic. It holds 30,000 songs and is cheaper than the IPod Touch, which holds less. I decided I didn't really need the screen. I hope I don't change my mind because this one is about $100 less than the Touch.

Well, that is most of the things I want this summer. lol.

Only Because I was Curious

So I haven't read a book since Christmas break. And I have a really easy semester so I was planning on reading more this semester. There are so many books I have in my mental list that I want to read. But the problem is that I have to be in a mood for a certain book. Like, I was going to start ready Catch 22 (for the third time). Everytime I start it my workload gets too heavy and I have to stop. But then I was talking to Caroline about books and she said she had the Twilight Series if I wanted to partake in the band wagon. Hm...

The truth is...I've judged EVERY single silly girl who becomes obsessed with those books. I had not intended to start reading them. But...it sounded a lot more lighthearted and easier to read than Catch 22. Plus, I am semi-curious to see if this Edward Cullen guy is as dreamy and perfect as he is made out to be. So...I read the first book. I was very skeptical...but I read it nonetheless. I still have three more to go...but I can tell you a few conclusions I have come to.

This should NEVER ever be compared to Harry Potter. It's not even as good as one chapter of any Harry Potter book. The writing is just awful, in my opinion. It's like she's trying to hard to be a "good writer". And it's like a sappy romance novel for teenage girls. The main character, Bella, is not that interesting of a character and if frustrates me that Edward Cullen is so fascinated by her. I feel like she doesn't deserve him. And he is as charming as people make him out to be I suppose. But it's a little too cheesy for my taste. Edward and the whole book really. I'd rather have Mr. Knightly any day. Mainly, I'm reading it because it's an interesting enough story. Vampires and what not. Plus, it's a fast read. I mean, it's not a series I'll ever read a second time, but for now it's okay. I'm just not as into it as other people are. And I just don't understand why he's so against turning her into a Vampire. He's sooo in love with her and wants to be with her "forever" but she's human..she's going to get old..and die. So, I predict that she'll be a vampire by the end of the series.

Anywhen...that's my rant. As you can tell...I don't like the book THAT much. If Harry Potter is a 10 and The Island of the Blue Dolphins is a 1 (because honestly...that is the worst book EVER) then I would rate this a 4 or 5 maybe.

I'm just glad to be back on my reading streak. I'm going to read the other three Twilight books, and then The BFG cause Brittany let me borrow it. I'm super excited cause I haven't read it since like fourth grade! And then who knows what! :)

YAY FOR READING!!%#^

What Makes Me Happy?

Lately I've been really, really excited about graduating from college. I've spent four years here, and 13 years on top of that with kindergarten-high school. I'm just ready to be done with school and homework, and all nighters studying for exams. I like college life, but lately I've just been wanting to skip forward to when I have a job and I'm out of school. I'm ready to "join the real world" and have a set job and set hours. I'm ready to start making money and move on with my life....get an apartment, get a puppy, get an income. It'll actually be a while since I can do those things since 1. I'm living with my parents for a year so that I can 2. finish off my second major by taking two courses at Wooster college and 3. I don't even have a job yet.

This summer I'm working on the island as a bartender again, but when I move back home mid August I'm going to have to find a full time job. And this is what I'm really worried about. For starters, there aren't a ton of places around Loudonville where I could get a job that would make my Theatre Degree useful in. And then, I don't even know what type of job I want because I have no idea what I even want to do with my life. I like designing, I like acting, I like directing, but I don't like one over all the others, or enough to want to do it the rest of my life. I'm stuck. I am an indecisive person as it is, but when it comes to my career I'm completly lost. I guess I'll just take whatever job I can get to start out with. And maybe that will help me narrow down what I actually want to do in life.

It's just...I see my mother and how happy she is teaching kindergarten. She's been doing it for 11 years now but it took her that long to find that that is the job that is perfect for her. The job that makes her happy. And Matt...all through high school and the year after he had NO idea what he wanted to do as a career, and then randomly he started to be a volunter EMT and firefighter and now he loves it. And he's good at it, and it's what makes him happy and it's what he was meant to do. I'm just worried that I'll never find what makes me happy. I wish I knew it now. I mean..I've always wanted to teach, but I don't even know how to go about getting my teaching license or what I would even teach. I can't be a college professor. Too much more schooling than I want to go through or could ever handle, and I don't think I could ever be smart enough to know Greek, Latin, and another language if I wanted to teach Classics. And if I wanted to teach Theatre I'd have to pick a focus...and like I said before, I just can't. I'm just REALLY worried that I won't find a career that makes me genuinely happy, one that I was meant to do.

I can't wait to start living outside of college, and get a job, but it's hard when I know it'll probably just be a job to me. What if it doesn't make me happy and I'm just having to go through it, like college. I want to find what makes me happy but I'm completely oblivious. What if the job I end up doing isn't even remotely related to Theatre or Classics? I mean..honestly...at this point I could end up being/doing anything. Who knows where I'll be in ten years. I haven't the slightest idea. But...trying to figure out that is still very exciting to me. Good thing I'm optimistic!

I'm Finally Growing

Either I’m getting bigger or the world is getting smaller. No, I’m not referring to my waist line here, although you can be sure that with bakeries on every street, it certainly hasn’t shrunk. Last night while lying in bed I realized that my feet touch the bottom. This has never been the case. The beds here in Greece, and the mattresses are shorter and smaller in general. I can’t imagine being any taller than I am and having to sleep in these beds each night. lol. It’s just the right size for me.

Another thing that’s smaller though, are the steps. The steps are so close together, not that tall, and so there are more of them to every flight of stairs. I live on the second floor (which is really the third since they count the first floor as the ground floor) and so I have three flights, two of them spiral. And I feel like I’m going to trip (and I have before) every time. Plus, your legs get tired more easily. We have these steps that we have to walk down and up everyday when we go to downtown Athens for Athens on Site or other reasons. Anywhen, they are the steps that go from our street all the way down to the old Olympic Stadium and we call them the Stairway to Hell, because it’s three initial steps and then 7 flights (74 stairs) of steps. They are a bitch to walk up everyday and half the time we debate walking all the way around just so we don’t have to walk up them. They are that bad.

Then there’s the spoon situation. Greece doesn’t have little spoons and big spoons, it has teeny tiny spoons, and gigantic can’t put your mouth around spoons. The smallest ones feel like baby spoons and the other ones are just ridiculous to try to use. lol. It’s interesting.

The cars are smaller here too. Sure they have some regular cars that are like the ones in the states, but the European cars are so tiny and box shaped. They look fun to drive around, like clown cars. And most of them are fun colors too. I would never try driving here though. The drivers are nuts!! Just crazy! Every day walking to class I put my life at danger crossing those streets. lol. That is why we must ALWAYS wait for the walking sign to come on.

So, I suppose all these things are a good thing in a way. I’ve always wanted to be bigger, or taller that is, and in Greece I often feel it. Sweeeeeeet.

So...I'm In Greece Now

Hello all! It’s been a really really long time since I’ve written a new entry. This summer got a little busy I suppose. And I could spend a whole entry dedicated to what I did this summer…but I’m not going to because you know what?...I’M IN GREECE RIGHT NOW!!! That’s right people. I, Marissa Lunt, is actually fulfilling one of her lifelong dreams of going to Greece. I’ve been here studying abroad for a week now, and am trying to get settled in. This past weekend we went on a class trip to Kea (or Tzia), an island in the Cyclades. It was AMAZING! Just like I imagined any Greek island to be. But this week we are back to Athens, and we started school today.

Living in Athens is very different than America, not only with the obvious reasons though. I mean, hello, they don’t exactly speak English here, I’m aware. lol. But, it’s just so interesting. For instance:

1. You can’t flush things down the toilet here. You have to throw toilet paper or anything else in the trashcan, which is hard to remember. I’ve already forgotten twice, luckily, it didn’t mess up the toilet.

2. The Greek salads are very different. They don’t have any lettuce, as most of the salads here. Instead it’s just cucumbers, tomatoes (tomatoes are big here), green peppers, onions, olives, a huge chunk of feta cheese, and olive oil (Greeks LOVE olive oil- it’s on just about everything). They are still really good though.

3. Greek desserts are AMAZING!!! The bakeries are what I’m going to live off of. Bread, pastries, desserts, w/e…I’ll eat it and lots of it.

4. It’s a very confined city. Very cramped and the streets and drivers are nuts! I though Chicago or Washington D.C. was crazy…but no! Athens wins. And cars park anywhere they can find- especially curbs and sidewalks.

5. Mostly every apartment has balconies. This I LOVE!! My apartment, specifically, has a long balcony leading from my room, to my three roommates rooms, and the kitchen. I love leaving my double doors open at night and waking up to the sound of the hustle and bustle from outside.

6. The nightlife is crazy! Since they have siesta time from 2:30-5 everyday where the whole city is quiet and lots of shops or cafes close, they are wide awake at night. They usually go out around 11 or so and don’t get back till 4 or 5 am. I know what you’re thinking…”wow, Marissa…that’s right up your alley”. Well, kids…Marissa is still trying to deal with the time change…lol. She’s not ready for that yet. But when you’re trying to get to sleep at night it’s still very very noisy and busy. It’s interesting.

7. Greeks don’t smile. Americans are generally pretty happy people. They will smile and greet you while walking down the street or entering and leaving shops. Well, Greeks don’t do that. Infact, they look at you weird if you do- you know, like you don’t belong. Which, well, I don’t…so…w/e. It’s a hard habit to stop, so they will have to deal with it.

These are just a few of the random Greek things I find interesting enough to share with you. I will talk more about my experiences/trips/school/life in Greece later. I’m sure they’ll never be a dull moment on this page this semester. But only because I’M IN GREECE and I can’t get over it yet! lol.

I Think I'll Miss You

Well, I take my last final in five hours. I’ll be on the road in about nine. And I won’t be back to school in Oxford until January 2008- which is 8 months away. It’s so hard to believe. It seems so far away. I think last year I wouldn’t have even cared. In fact, I would have been really happy about it. But this year I’m sort of sad. Don’t get me wrong…I am really, really, really excited about going to Greece in the fall. But I had such a better time here at Miami my sophomore year than I did my freshman year. I finally made friends, I finally actually felt like I belonged, and I got more involved with the people and events of the theatre department. And considering how depressed I was first semester everything came together second semester and I’m truly sad about leaving this time. Here are things I’m really, really going to miss!!

1. Mandy and Susan!!!!- I finally made some great friends here! I love you guys! Hopefully I’ll get to make some trips to see you this summer though.
2. peanut butter and jelly sandwiches- not even kidding…I don’t know what it is about them but this campus makes the best pb & j ‘s I’ve ever had. I basically lived off of them this year
3. the Rec- Sure I’m going to run over the summer to stay in shape, but oh my…having a rec right across the street from you is perfect! And that abs, glutes, and thighs class is amazing!
4. Haines Food Court grilled cheese sandwiches- once again- the BEST I’ve ever had. Wheat bread…extra cheese…goodness!!
5. Hiestand- I spent many, many long nights in this building, specifically the design studio, with some great people. Sure, sometimes it sucked and sure the ceilings leak, and sure it’s not technically the “Theatre building” (because ours is being renovated), but still I will miss it until Jan.

I guess 8 months isn’t that long. But still…I think I’ll be happy to be coming back to Miami, even after spending three months in Greece. haha. But it’s still a while away, and first there’s summer…and with summer comes some things that I have to look forward to! Here’s a few of them.

1. Wicked the Musical
2. Bob Dylan Concert
3. Visit Mandy in Maine
4. Put In Bay
5. Christian and Kate’s Wedding
6. 7th Harry Potter Book
7. 5th Harry Potter Movie
8. Icky Thump by the White Stripes

I’ll miss you Miami. But my god am I glad to be going home today for 4 ½ months of summer! : )