Christmas & a 10K.

Do you want to know whats crazy?  I have one week of school left.  ONE WEEK.  Well, then finals.  But let's not dwell on that. This first-week-back-from-Thanksgiving has flown by so fast and I ain't complainin'!  I am trying extremely hard to get into the Christmas spirit around here, which includes hanging paper snowflakes around my room and listening to my Christmas playlist all day everyday.  I may or may not have had to YouTube a tutorial to make the snowflakes...in my defense, its been a few years!  Try elementary school.  I'm also doing my best to stay one step ahead in my studies, as to not kill myself with stress next weekend. 

Shout out to my beautiful Mama for turning 48 30 this week!  I so wish I could be there to celebrate with the fam.  I ate a chocolate gram (yes, Nani; they're still going strong!) in your honor. 

Two random resolutions I made this week: To get somebody hooked on Glee (I am tired of watching new episodes and having no one to discuss them with!!) and to train for a 10K.  Waitwhat?! Yeahhh....that last one was my roommate's idea.  So, starting after Christmas break, Brianna and I will be "training" to run 6.2 miles.  Woohoo. Brianna also fulfilled my first resolution; we started this week on Episode 1 of Season 1 on Netflix, and after watching 3 episodes in a row last night, she is hooked.  Yessss.

Don't think I have many funny/embarrassing/awkward stories to report from this week.  Everyone has been hibernating to stay out of the rain so its been pretty quiet.  Okay, who am I kidding, its never quiet in the dorms.  But no strippers yet, and to me that is progress!

Oh, and one current event I must touch on...Carrie Underwood to play Maria von Trapp in the re-make of "The Sound of Music"?!  GAHH!  She is a country singer!  She ain't no Julie Andrews!  I am so troubled by this.  So very troubled.

Anyways, I just wanted to check-in with you all, though I know this was a short and sweet lil' post.  Unfortunately I don't foresee many upcoming adventures as I, along with my friends, will likely be knee-deep in coffee and all-nighters coming up...but I'll try my best!  TGIF!

xoxo Cami

Thankful.

Hello All!

Allow me to take a break from my typical tales of humorous college experiences, and get a little deep on you all for a moment.  Thanksgiving is just two days away, and as much as I can't wait to stuff my face with mashed potatoes until I can't breathe, I also want to take a second and remember that Thanksgiving is not called "Wonderful-Food Day" (although it may as well be).  Being in college and encountering so many new things that I am not used to, I have been feeling extremely grateful for a lot of new and old things in my life; both here, and back home.  I thought I would share a few of these things with you all!

Headphones-Okay, this one is a little silly.  But headphones have seriously saved my life these past months!  Not only can I enjoy listening to music or watching movies without disturbing the roomies, but they help drown out my roomate's constant snores...bless her heart.

My Location-Let me explain.  I had no idea that I would end up here, out of all the schools I was considering.  And while I'm still not sure how I feel about being a mere 2 hours from my home, I cannot imagine myself being anywhere else.  It's crazy!  What I love most about where I'm situated, is that it allows the occasional visitor(s) from back home to come and see me!  I have LOVED getting to see some of you in my "turf", and it makes me extremely grateful that I'm just a hop, skip, and a jump away!

Church-Growing up in the same church my whole life, I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't find a place that I would feel as connected to down here in Cowtown.  But I did!  And right away!  I have been feeling so thankful for Discovery; going to church is one of the highlights of my week.  I always feel so comfortable and re-fueled for the rest of my week when I'm there.  I have also loved getting to know the people, and making another community in a different area of campus.

Starbucks-Caffiene.  Delicious sweetness.  Need I say more?

Bikes-Although at times I curse the days when I have to ride in the rain, I am very thankful that I have a flat campus that allows me to ride my bike Shelly to class (and other places) in a pinch.  Plus, it can be a great stress-relief after getting out of a not-so-pleasant lecture.  Oh! And I have to give some credit to my little basket, which makes transporting of things so much easier (and cuter!)

Skype-I don't know what I would do if I couldn't see some of my friends faces for months at a time!  Last night I had the pleasure of skyping my wonderful friend Abs in Australia!  Talk about the wonders of technology!  But for real, skype is da bomb.

GOD-Ok, this one might get a little lengthy. Without getting too "churchy", I need to give God some ALL the credit for all the things I am thankful for.  To be honest, I was a little bit anxious about how my faith would change and develop as I left home and came here.  But I can say now that I have never felt closer to God in my life.  Its funny, in college there is so much time just to think about things (and usually OVER-think them), and I have realized that ending up here is proof that I can never ever plan my life out as well as God can.  I remember this time last year, as a Senior, I made the decission to give my future college plans to God, and let him place me where I need to be.  Well, admist some kicking and screaming, I ended up here.  A place I never suspected.  But now that I am here, I can't imagine being in any other school, any other hall, meeting any other people.  And that is proof to me that God is in control.  There is no way I am here by coincidence or sheer luck.  As someone who constantly needs to be in control and tends to feel very anxious when I start to loose some of that control, trusting in God is such a hard choice to make.  Its a daily effort to seek out what he has for me; but when I do, I have seen first-hand how things end up better than I could ever have imagined.  There is such a peace I find when I place my hope and fears in the Lord.  Of course being a part of Cru, and being around people who share my same faith has helped it develop.  But it has been a personal journey too--surrendering all of my fears and anxieties of all the "unknowns" that I encounter here has shown me that God can really change my life for the better.  I don't understand how people think that having Jesus in your life is restrictive and boring; I am proof that it can be the most exciting journey, bringing the most unexpected surprises!  I am so so SO thankful to God for all that he has done for me, and for the family I grew up in who supports me in making the personal decission to believe and trust in Him. So grateful.

Of course I have EVERYTHING to be thankful for; especially the fact that I'm coming home tomorrow! (And I just found out my class got cancelled--woooooot!!) This is just a little sampling.  Normal Cowtown Adventures will presume shortly.

xo Cami

Studying and Stalking.

Sometimes when my vision is not being clouded by the ever frequent downpour of rain drops, I look up for the ground that I'm biking on to really take in the people around campus.  What I see always surprises me and never fails to make me laugh.  What I've discovered, is that in college...there are some downright strange people.  I knew I would encounter a vast magnitude of different personalities, but some days I'm still surprised by the things I see and hear.  In the matter of 30 seconds yesterday, I saw a man walk out of a lecture hall wearing a plaid blanket wrapped around his waist into a make-shift skirt.  Did I mention he was also wearing fishnet stockings and high heels?  AND he was being escorted by a very officially-dressed business woman.  What is going on there??  I turn around and see a boy whizzing by on his bike, straddling it and pumping his arms like he is running.  On his bike.  I proceeded home and overheard two girls next to me say to each other; "Just tell your Mom, 'Mom, its legal in Colorado!'"...Okay I think I can guess what they were referring to.  Ahh people-watching/eavesdropping.  The best form of entertainment there is.

This week I also discovered my new favorite spot on campus.  You see, here's what I have found.  I have found that I can stand some murmuring noises/"natural noises" (i.e. birds chirping, lawn mowers, the opening and closing of doors) surrounding me while I study.  I do NOT, however, study well when surrounded by people's voices so clear that I can hear every word of their conversation.  I have found that I like to talk out loud to myself while I study,.  I do NOT, however, study well with music playing.  So my dilemma was finding a study area that I would not get distracted in (yeahhh; the dorm room isn't working out so well), but had just enough noises to where it all kind of blends together.  That spot is the table to the right of the stairwell on the second story next to the window at the front of the SiLo.  You know what I'm talking about, right?  :) Its basically on the second floor of one of our campus's Starbucks, and the window overlooks the outdoor patio area and a round-a-bout.  My favorite table, if I can snag it, is in the very corner; I turn my back to the rest of the tables because, as most of you know...I'm a stare-er...and a people watcher...And while people watching at Starbucks might make for some humorous blog posts, school comes first! Anyways I've been there twice and find it to have better internet connection than my dorm room, a pleasant temperature, and natural light that allows me to focus.  Of course, having a (non-fat) Gingerbread Latte to keep me company does make studying a tad more bearable.

I promised no more weather updates...but its raining again!  On the weekends I don't bike around very much, so my love for the rain will likely not diminish this weekend.  Plus, my midterms are over.  Which makes my weekend so much more glorious. P.S. My mid-term was on Greek Art...SOMEONE PLEASE TAKE ME TO GREECE!  I kind of fell in love with it through a lecture.  How pathetic is that.  But now that I actually know that the Acropolis in Athens was built 450 BC, I would love to visit and take a closer look at the Ionic order of the Temple of Athena Nike and observe the pedimentary frieze illustration of the Classical Period kore...who's with me?

A.C. update: I took a picture of him.  Well, half of him.  Even I admit this is bordering on stalker, but I just had to get a pic to show off to my fam!  Be excited.  Oh!  And beacause A.C.'s face is sometimes just too much perfection to handle at once, I have found a new man who I call A.C.^2.  I swear I do pay attention in class!  But A.C. 2.0, too sits next to me in class. And he, too, is a cutie in his own right.  Perhaps I can snag a photo of him today, too...

Well folks, I realize this has been a rather long-winded post, covering a multitude of subjects.  So I hope Grandpa is happy.  :) 6 days until I get to see (most) of you!

xo Cami

Weather and the Weekend.

*A few days back I wrote an entire entry which I thought posted; apparently it did not!  My apologies. I will try to sum up all that occurred.*

If you know me at all, you know that I am a rain lover.  If I could live 365 days a year in a terenchial downpour, I would.  However, since having to bike ride around campus in the rain, my love for it is faltering.   I don't know about you, but when I think of rain I envision being indoors with a heater, blankets and The Parent Trap...instead, my new reality has become pedaling my way through puddles without a hood on (okay, that part was my bad), finding the first bike spot I can, and showing up in an AIR-CONDITIONED class with wet socks, wet hair, and cold hands.  Rain, you are skating on thin ice my friend.  Please remind me why I love you so.

But let's not get into weather talk again...its the weekend!  Well technically its over, but thanks to our Veterans it lives on for another day!  This weekend was a busy one.  Friday: Laura came up to visit for her birthday, and we spent the night eating froyo (yep...frozen yogurt in 50 degrees) and playing intense round of bowling in our MU's basement; thats right, my school is awesome.  Although upon requesting bumpers for our lane, the cashier informed us that they were for "8 and under only"...harsh.  I blame that as the reason my performance was a bit below-par.  Saturday: spent the afternoon with my wonderful grandparents, indulging in indian cuisine and macaroons...writing it out now I realize those two foods don't exactly go hand in hand...but everything's an adventure with the g-rents!  In the evening a few of us went out to get lattes with yet another friend who was visiting for the weekend.  We all agree that we felt like real grown-ups going out to coffee and actually having stuff to "catch-up" on like old(er) people do! Today (Sunday) was church, my weekly tradition of grapefruit and hard-boiled egg brunch at the DC, and a little trip to Forever 21-also known as the only clothing store within biking distance of our school.  I swear, I see girls wear identical shirts on a daily basis around here.

Which brings us to tomorrow-a holiday!-where I will likely be spending my day studying.  Guess I need to remember that college isn't just fun and games at some point!  And only 10 days until Thanksgiving break, when I will be seeing (most) of your beautiful faces once again!  Can't wait.  But until then, I'll do my best to keep you updated with the current events!

xo Cam

General Update.

Long time no write...my apologies!  There is not much to write about when you are knee-deep in mid-terms!  But my last one for this "wave" is tomorrow, so hopefully I can get back on track.

Other than mid-terms, not much has been happening, but I'll try to fill you in on a few things that may not be extremely comical, but informative none the less. Update on Archaeology cutie (A.C., as we will now refer to him): nothing. :( We did get placed in the same group during our discussion section the other day, buttttt that's about it.  I'm working on it!

After watching my former dance team perform via Youtube, I have realized how much I miss dancing!  I used to wake up every morning at 7:30AM and dance for an hour, and now my jazz slippers are collecting dust.  I'm a little rusty, but I just want to DANCE!  So I took matters into my own hands.  Its too late in the quarter to sign up for lessons at the ARC (our gym), so I researched on-campus dance clubs. You're looking at the newest member of the "Salsa Addiction" club! Yep, that's right.  I haven't actually gone yet, but I'm going to try it out tomorrow...and I ain't gonna lie, I'm a little terrified.  I'm willing to bet that I will be the only white person...YOLO (Translation for the grandparents: You Only Live Once).

In other news, I have been really loving Cru!  Meeting so many good people and especially loving church services on Sundays.  Whats funny is that back home, Thursdays used to be my crazy days: school all day, work until 5:30, do a little homework, and then straight to youth group.  Well, down here my Thursdays are also becoming my crazy days: its the day when I have the most classes, and get a quick dinner before going to youth group!...Some things never change.  Speaking of youth group, I am considering volunteering in the children's/youth ministry at my church. I contacted the ministry director and downloaded an application; perhaps next quarter I will start!

What I'm Missing this Week:  My car.  I miss the Wuzzinator so so much! Austin obviously isn't taking giving him enough love as proved by the little fender-bender my poor Wuzzy got involved with last week...poor baby!

Hmmm....yeah, not much is happening in these parts.  I did have a good weekend; Firday night my friend and I got some girls from Cru together and hit the town!  We stuffed outselves with dinner and ice-cream and it was lovely.  Saturday we were hoping to use a friend's zipcar and go hiking near the coast, but couldn't get the car in time.  Plan B?  2-on-3 Ultimate Frisbee in the quad!  Hey, don't underestimate; it was an intense game, which I intensely lost. 

Oh, and can I just say, this daylight savings things is trippin' me out.  I have to start bringing my bike light with me everywhere!  What the heck!

Anywhoo, hopefully you all aren't giving up on AICT due to my lack of posts recently!  I promise to be better!

xoxo Cam