countdown to the end

My first exam starts tomorrow at, oh, about this time.

By 5.30pm a week from today, I will be done for the semester. By 7pm I should be on my way to Wellington, and from there (wed morning) back to the states for 2 weeks of food and cheap fun.

I started studying for tomorrows exam today, still have a pile to go over for the one the day after, and haven't even started on the one next week. I haven't started packing, or arrainged a place to store my stuff. I don't have my hostel bed booked in wellington. I have a pile of crap the size of an airplane hangar to do, and just haven't started most of it yet.

I would like to thank the p-sychology lecturer, tho, for putting up an exact description of what we need to know for each part of the test- with all options. Really going to save me studying time.

For the people reading this (I don't know who you are, just that you do) is there anything you'd actually like to see, or is the screaching twisting metal death of my normal train-wreck like life/ school stuff good enough?

oh, right, and another recipe to taunt you with-

mini quesadillas

• meat (or tofu, beans, fake meat, veggies) about 1/4- 1/2 cup
• cheese- whatever ya got, shredded, another 1/4-1/2 cup.
• chopped onion- as much as you want
• chopped jalapenos- if you want
• wonton wrappers (you can get them pretty cheap and frozen at most of the import food shops here- I get mine at davis trading co.)
  
• water
• cooking oil
• frying pan

put the oil in the frying pan (don't really need it, but the wonton wrappers be sticky) and heat it untill it's good enough to cook with. Not too hot tho- k?
all the wonton wrappers should be wet on one side as you put this together. You should be able to fit 2 or 3 mini quesadillas in the frying pan at a time.
lay out a couple wrappers, wet side up. Put some of the meat, cheese, onion, and whatever else you want in your 'dilla in the middle- not too much, you want the edges to seal. Cover each one with another wrapper, wet side down, and press to seal the edges. Toss them into the frying pan and cook 'em like you would for normal-type quesadillas. Keep going untill you run out of fillings or get sick of cooking.

eat them whole if by yourself, with or without sourcream and fresh guac, or cut them into boats (diagonals, ya know?) for appetizers.

Whatever you do- don't try baking them on parchment paper- that way lies hell. Trust me...

j.

A mini celebration! and a recipe

No, the pants aren't here.

But my ethernet port broke itself, and uninstall/ re-install actually worked to fix it. And I was so excited when it connected that my mammals notes fell off the bed and spilled all over the floor.

So, to save me from having to pick it up just now, I'm going to share a recipe i like.

Honey mustard dressing-
scale it up or down depending on how much you want- part= heaping T is just about right for one big salad.
Pricing reflects what I pay here, for imported stuff, in NZ dollars.

1 part each

• Hellman's or Best foods Mayo
• Whole grain, brown or dijon mustard
• Honey

3 parts light flavored oil- I used olive, but anything works.
sprinkle of salt.

Toss it all in a blender or food processor, or in a cup and use one of those wand blender thingies. mix it up untill it's all nice and together. test the flavor and add more honey or mustard, depending on what you like. Eat. And for bob's sake, don't use that stuff that looks like schoolbus yellow paste!

cost-

• mayo- .17
• mustard- .17 to .30
  
• honey- .10 to .50
  
• oil- .6 to .24

Price range is based on brand/ type. Soy oil is cheap, olive not so much.

But unless you like miracle whip, don't try it with NZ mayo, which tastes closer to that than regular mayo- too much sugar, I think....

So it's not that cheap for salad, but if you want to use it to dip your veggies in, or coat chicken, or something, it works out pretty good. And it tastes better than the crap they sell in the stores here. actually, if you only put one or two tablespoons on a burger, or whatever, it's pretty cheap. I just use too much dresing.

Got my practical back

Not quite sure what they were looking for on some of the questions, now that I look back over it. Deff. more than I gave them.

I don't know. Somehow, I prefer to come out of a test certain that I screwed up, then be pleasantly surprized when I pass, than think I rocked it, only to find out that I missed one or two more points that I think I should have. Thinking you've failed miserably gives you that happy feeling when you pass- even if it's only with a 50.0001%.

when I think I've done well, I mentally assign a number, based on my (apparantly) backwards american system of assigning grades, in which an A is 90-100, B 80-90, C 70-80 and so on down to fail at <60. So even tho an 85 might be an A here, it still feels like a middle of the road B. And a 76.whatever feels like a C. Which is close enough to failing in my mind that it kinda brings me down. Ya know?

Meanwhile, unless the rest of the class kicked some serious butt on the test, here it's a B+. Now if that's not grade inflation, I don't know what is....

In general, looking at my numbers, and knowing what I can and have done on tests, I'm looking at something between 1c, 1B+ and 2A-'s or else 1pathetic fail 2 b's and a b-. I'm really really hoping not that second one. I don't need any more pathetic fails.

Ah well, another week and a bit of studying for this, then it's off to NY, with built in summer school studying time on the plane both ways. With some actual work (new concept for me, ok- it's taking a while to really sink in....) I should be able to pull off at least an A in that damned summer school class. Heck, a chunk of the grade is homework. About half of which I could probably do now. And the mid-term only counts if it raises your final grade. And I *am* retaking the labs, I think- no reason to miss out on half a dozen or so points just because I'm lazy. Maybe they'll let us make caffeine this time....

Ok, back to studying and waiting for my new jeans. And cleaning. And playing neopets games. And re-doing my grade calculations. And my budget for NY. And my budget for the summer. And looking at furniture. And .... yeah.

j.

Woo hoo! a flat!

For those of you reading this in North America, it's gonna sound a little strange, and really nice.

I got my flat. Me and 4 other girls, it should be... interesting. Man friend promises to visit regularly to offset some of the estrogen (or oestrogen for you freaky wierd spellerers out there). Starting to sort out the furniture. We now have one (1) sofa for five (5) girls. I think we'll be adding to that over the summer/ year.

But for the part that will amaze people at home. Renting in NZ is weighted for the renter, rather than the landlord. My rent (since I know you're all enthralled) will be about $60 a week. oh, yeah, they charge by the week. My deposit- called bond here- is $120, and is registered with some govt. agency. Over summer, probably because this is a student town, and a student flat, rather than normal rent, I pay what is called a retainer, of 8 weeks half rent. Or $240. For the whole summer.

So, in order to move in and cover my rent untill the **middle of February** all I need is $360. Not first last and deposit. Not credit check. Not background check. No private investigation and 3 referances. Just $360. And I get a third of that back when I move out- assuming we don't burn the place down. And it's even in a safe neighborhood, on a quiet street, halfway-ish between school and town. Right on the main bus line. It has bike and car parking. It has a gas station around the corner, and three golf courses within a couple miles. And a park just down the road.

Except the m/f mix, it's freaking shangri-la. And I'll have it mostly to myself this summer, since most of the rest of them will be off doing other stuff. Just like everyone else in this town.

Watch this space next year for cat-fights and crazy girl drama! I hope not. I'd almost rather live with 4 guys and guy smell than 4 girls and girl drama. Ah well, at least it's got 2 bathrooms.

j.

procrastination and a sleepless night.

It's 20 to 5. I'm still up. I was exhusted at 9, crawled into bed, and then could not sleep. Put on movies, still no sleep. Stared at the wall for 3 or 4 hours, still no sleep.

I'm blaming stress. I only have 4 or 5 days 'till my first exam, and every time I start to get drifty I think about that, my pulse shoots up, and I start doing the totally unatractive gasping thing. Very not good for long sleeping.

So since I can't sleep, am I doing the endless list of stuff I need to work my way thru that begins with studying and ends with packing? nope. Not even close. I spent 20 minutes on the phone with mom- who's man-friend is getting his tonsils out- then wandered the 'net for 20 minutes, before realising that what I really wanted was to watch the Kenya clip. Because I like it. And it's cute. And it reminds me I've got to get back over there.

Warning- that link contains an addictive song. With cute dancing animals. And Norway. which I am dancing along to as I type this. It might be time to cut the caffeine/ sugar out of my diet. Like I didn't know that already.

Yeah, so no sleep for me. And not enough concentration to study. And way too wired already to even think about popping some ginko. Give myself a freaking heart attack.

If I were a running kinda girl, I'd be out doing that. It's taking all of my vast lazyness to keep from doing crunches and stretching and whatnot. I need to bounce. I get the feeling, tho, that the person who lives below me might not appreciate that very much. Not at 10 to 5 in the morning, anyway.

j.

Now! with more procrastinating!

SO I went to the store and bought junk food. Because I insist I'm going to be back in shape before I leave for NY- in about 2 weeks (no, of course I haven't started packing). Then I came back and checked the mail again. Still no jeans.

Did I mention that for the first time *ever* I've actually put on the freshman 15? or 10? or whatever the hell it is these days?

So yeah no jeans. So I watched part of a movie and munched some chips, and played some more space traders, which is an outstanding game for palm os, and a great way to turn a tool into a super toy.... Then I wandered over to clear up some more questions on the stupid project from hell, then back here for more procrastinating. With games this time, on the computer. I know where all the states go- sort of....

But between that bit of goofing off and this bit, I did my favorite-ist type of putting stuff off ever- I went to craigs list, and went to a big city, and read the m4w casual encounters page!

How totally desperate do guys have to be to post the same ad 10 times in one day? don't they get the hint, or are they just that needy.... And why the nekkid man-parts? I really don't want to see all the hairy man bits of strange men... And damn, Why, when the bits look like a failed alien experiment, do they still post them? I mean, sure it's amusing for me- in a kinda ewww sorta way- but isn't that bad for the guy? isn't it more likely to get no response?

Altho the nice cleancut guy looking for an LTR in the casual encounters forum was very amusing. His photos were even fully clothed. Scary.

So.. back to putting stuff off. I think I'll start working out a menu that uses up all the food in my part of the fridge. And maybe I'll vaccuum my room. Or not. So.. now I just have to figure out what to do with a whole frozen fake duck, some broccoli, wonton wrappers, cheese and a big thing of mayo. Oh, yeah, and the yoghurt and beets, and....

j.

Things I've learned this week-

In no particular order- and yes, I know, there's nothing about bio, stats, or p-sychology in there- that's because I haven't actually started studying yet. Or packing. Or looking for furnature. Oops.

• I need a break
• I don't have time to take it now
• Procrastination, like crime, doesn't pay.
• I *don't* need to watch that movie/ read that book *now*
• When you're too cheap to buy your textbooks, you gotta get to the library to check them out *while they're still there*
• Beer is good
• Drinking soda and munching junkfood will not help me get in shape for NY. It will help me get in *a* shape, but not one I want
• Bicycles are evil, and are patiently plotting your downfall every second of their pathetic, non-motored lives
• Bicycle seat at the right height makes it a lot easier to ride
• Mens bicycle seat, however, be harmful to the girly bits
• You gotta believe- in the outstanding ability of the mets to screw up when things were going so very well
• 3-5 weeks may actually mean 3-5 months- splurge on the flat rate envelope!
  

So, no, my new jeans are still not here, and I've developed wicked lust for the sweaters and the car coat at gap.com, and my bikini hasn't shipped yet, and might not before I leave the states. But other than that, everything's good.

Oh yeah, another thing I learned? You don't want the brand new, just out of training call center rep who not only doesn't know what she's doing, but also can't actually speak english yet. Tho she was *very* helpful, efficient would have been nicer. And she forgot to give me her "american" name.

All in all an amusing call. Deff. better than trying to talk to the automated dude at united. I hate that guy. A lot. (learned this more than a year ago, so not this week)

j.