Big weekend!

A lot is going on this weekend. 'Nuff said. (Not really, because that would be a boring blog.)

I am officially done with college. And Saturday, I will be an official college graduate. AAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!!! It was so weird, leaving campus for the last time. Our class presentation went really well, and it was a relief to be done (the last week of my life was absolutely consumed with editing a book. That's right, we had a campaigns book). But of course there was lots of nostalgia gooey-ness to go through. I hummed the graduation march when I left the SLC for the last time and really wished I has cash for some Jittery Joe's.

Last night was my first shower--the lingerie shower. Bow-chicka wow. Heehee. It was fun, we had cupcakes and cookie cake and wine and of course, opened some presents, but that's all you get to hear about that.

Today I get to pack feverishly. See, I was supposed to move out Friday. New Roommate was supposed to move in Friday. So imagine my surprise when I got back yesterday after class to find N.R. moving her stuff in! She's moving in today. At 10 a.m. So I have to rush to get all my stuff out and we're staying with a friend tonight. It was all just a big misunderstanding about dates, but complications make life interesting, right?

Tomorrow and Saturday will be full to the brim with graduation festivities. Tomorrow, pictures at the arch (yes, I made it through my entire college career without ever walking under it and I still haven't decided if I will because I haven't gotten the diploma yet), decorating BCM for the party. Saturday, graduation and the party my parents are throwing for me (a weekend all for me? before my wedding? Awww, thanks, guys), and moving out for good. And then, it's goodbye, Athens. So sad. But ready to move on. I think.

Still have to find a florist for the wedding. I'm still going on that whole, complications make life interesting, thing. But that will have to wait 'til next week when I'm doing absolutely nothing bacause I'm unemployed. So, anyway, off to pack!

Name Change!

I didn't like my blog's name. But when I tried to think of new name, it was always cheesy (and not the good kind, the stinky cheese) or dumb or just didn't make sense. So when I came across this quote by Gilda Radner, I knew it was perfect:

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity."

I think this is kinda how my life is right now. I had a plan--go to school, find a great job, start my own business that involved lots of travel by the time I turned 27, get a few cats (no, seriously) and about the time I turned 30, start dating seriously to maybe find a husband (that was optional)--but my life is TOTALLY different. And I'm okay with it. I'm still adjusting, but I'm okay with it. So, since the quote fit so well, it was time for a change. I like using quotes anyway, because there is so much I want to say and I'm not eloquent enough to say it right, so why not use words by someone who is? Anyway, same old blog, new (hopefully cooler) name!

Busy busy...

So this weekend is the last one where I'll have to drive back and forth from Athens! YAY! But, not I have to figure out what I can leave. I was going to take everything... pots, pans, tv, microwave... but then I realized I'm still going to be here for about a week, so it'd probably be better if I left something for me to cook with. So istead of packing and figuring out where everything needs to go, I cleaned the carpet. Not just vacuuming, I got domestic and lugged my mom's Bissell from home and steam cleaned. Whoa, big step for me. But I do like things clean. I'm not a very neat person, but if I clean, there's no halfway. So when I saw eraser-sized stains in places I'd already cleaned, I got down on the wet carpet (it's kinda itchy--I wouldn't recommend it) on my hands and knees and scrubbed til the stains were gone. Oddly enough, a huge stain that's been on my floor since the day we moved in two years ago is gone. Huh. Oh, well, I can enjoy it for a few days.

I haven't been able to sleep well lately. Which is bad for me, because I love to sleep. Naps are the ultimate joy of life. Kidding (sorta). I've just got too much on my mind. And when I have too much on my mind, I have trouble falling to sleep, and when I do get to sleep I clench my jaw (never heard of TMJ? good for you), making my sleep fairly light and tossy-turny. What's on my mind, you ask? Well, even if you didn't you're reading my blog and I can tell you if I want to:

• I'm getting my dress on Saturday!!!
• I have to find a dress for graduation, and shopping for dresses is honestly the worst thing to shop for for me. It even tops bathing suits. At least those aren't supposed to fit unless you're a size two with a big chest.
• Packing (of course, it's my life right now).
• Finishing up my class. Our presentation is Wednesday, and for some strange reason, I decided to volunteer to bake muffins. I don't really like to bake and I don't even really like muffins. Brooke, wanna help/do it for me? (My sister is a baking diva.)
• Personal stuff that you probably don't know me well enough to get details about.
• Final wedding planning stuff. It's getting old. Reeeeaaaalllll old. I'm officially a broken record.
• Finding a job. Seriously, is every company in Atlanta needing PR managers and CEOs? Nobody needs entry-level people? I think it's a conspiracy. Not sure what conspiracy but it is one. Really.

So now I'm off to finish cleaning the carpet. I'm not done? Nope, still have to do my room. But all my stuff is spread out all over my floor to be packed (Read: I haven't done laundry and clothes are strewn everywhere). Which to do? Packing, cleaning, packing, cleaning... Maybe I'll just eat dinner.

Thank you, creative journalist!

Okay, so I know I'm not a journalist, but I've taken a few classes, kinda know the basics...
Rule #1 to appeal to readers: Use a catchy headline to grab attention!
Rule #2 to keep readers' attentions: Make your article stand out!

So what was this CNN writer thinking? His headline was "Man counted calories, watched the pounds go".

Not great. But I was thinking maybe it was going to be some feature about a new product or new method that's sweeping the country or something so I clicked on the article, but no. No no no. It was a story about a man who lost 40 pounds. Not hundreds, and not because of some heartbreaking medical condition, only forty and because he had high cholesterol and his wife told him he had a belly. Big deal. He cut calories, he worked out. Thanks for being original, dude.

This is not good journalism! It's boring! What was he thinking? There had to be a more thrilling health news today than a man losing 40 pounds because his wife thought he was fat. I get that it's great that he lost weight, got healthy, but people do that every day. Shouldn't this be more of a discussion board post encouraging all those other men who need to lose a few pounds? Definitely not front website page material. CNN, come on. Do better.

Here's the link in case you're still interested:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/07/18/weight.loss.sujit/index.html

Hello, Belgium!

Someone saw my site from Hoboken, Belgium... and of all things, for searching for the exact title of my blog! I personally thought the title was kinda lame, but any other pun-ny names I thought of were worse. But cool anyway... I've gone international!

In other news...

I need to learn patience. Actually, a mix between patience and initiative. A few examples of what I'm impatient for:

-Ray's wedding ring coming in

-our class event this weekend (check it out: http://www.ugakickoff.com/)
-the camera Ray and I just bought (our first joint purchase! Okay, so her paid for it, but we made the decision together)

Here's the initiative part: I've been looking incessantly for a job. I would love to find a foot-in-the-door job, but so far that's been difficult. However, tonight I found an agency that I really like and would looove to work for. And they're hiring! BUT... I'm so reluctant to apply. I hate failure. HATE it. I don't want to try and not get it just because someone didn't like me. It's the same with all the jobs I've looked at, but this one I actually got giddy about. So I will apply and hopefully charm their socks off and become a functional, productive member of society.

More "other news" (well, not really news, but how many times can I write random thoughts that don't get old?):

- the M and '/" keys on my keyboard are getting stuck. And its getting old fast. Any solutions? I've already tried slamming them over and over (m'm'm'm'm'm'm'm'm').

-I've been thinking about my new last name and decided I'm going to like it. Anna Carver. Nice and simple. Don't get me wrong, Akins has served me well, but you can't misspell Carver. Maybe Carter, if people can't hear correctly, but there will be no added letters, mispronunciations, people asking if I'm related to the Athens Ford people. Car. Ver. Done. I also think it sounds like an old-timey name, like from Little House on the Prairie or something. Can't you just imagine looking at some old sepia photo of some woman in a long dress and a bun with the creepy stone-cold staring eyes and turning it over to find written on it, "Anna Carver, 1872"? I think I'll take some pictures like that with our new camera, if it ever comes in.

Lots going on

Wow, it has been a week! I moved everything out of my apartment but my bed, some clothes and school stuff, kitchen stuff and the tv. It looks so strange, all empty and drab. Oh, well. Just enough to live off of for three weeks til I graduate. AGGGHHH! It's soooo close! It's weird, too, because the event for our class is this weekend, and that's it. We finish our project book and then it's over. Yikes.

My wedding dress came in! YAY!!! But I can't get it yet because my family went to Baltimore this week for a mission trip, so I have to wait to pick it up. And we got Ray's wedding ring! It makes it seem so much more real now, with only 84 days left and getting all these plans finalized. We've just about picked a place to live (do you realize how hard it is to find a place to live when you don't know where one person will be working and the other works 80 miles from Atlanta?), wedding planning is almost done, honeymoon's pretty much planned.

I feel so much more settled this week than last. I still have a lot to do, but all the anxiety about it is gone. I guess it's just because soooo much was going on last week and the stress that's left won't be piled on so much. I counted how many more times I have to drive back and forth, too. Three! Only three. Okay, maybe four. Next weekend before my family comes home the store where I got my dress is having a sample sale and I really want a way-too-expensive necklace. One. Trip to get my dress. Come back for a friend's b-day. Two, maybe three, depending on when my mom can go with me for the dress (can you tell I'm excited about that thing?). And then back home for good after graduation! Whoa!

Summer tv confession: I love random shows, especially in the summer. Sure, lots of people watch So You Think You Can Dance, but I love Army Wives. I have nothing in common with the lives of those people but its so good. I think I cry about every other episode (and I am not a cryer). And the really off one is The Secret Life of the American Teenager. It's done by the people who did Seventh Heaven. And it reminds me of it. Despite the pregnant 15-year-old, its seems wholesome. Please tell me someone else my age watches these shows. Great quote from Secret Life:
Dad: Now go away, or I'll pummel you.
Jerk Teenager: I though we were all Christians here.
Dad: Okay, fine I'm a Christian. I'll smite you, and then I'll pummel you.

Quality, people, quality.

A strange lull...

I feel anxious. And apprehensive. Couldn't tell you why.

Actually, maybe I can. I'm hitting a point in my life where I have to do something with it. Not small things that keep me busy, but big things that you have to make decisions about and plan for. I'm trying to think of a time in my life where this has been so difficult for me. In the past I've always had either a huge specific internal goal to work toward or someone/something to compete against. That's missing right now. And it makes me nervous. I think the main thing is that I can't figure out what to do for a career. Where do you look for jobs when you don't know what you want to do? Why bother preparing for an unknown? That's kind of how I feel. I'm a little lost, it seems like that will come out in whatever I do. Sometimes it's like I'm always coming up short. Inadequate.

Maybe it's just because the craziness from the past few weeks is gone for a few days. And it's been cloudy the past few days. Not sudden summer sunny storms (baaad alliteration--sorry), but suffocating, energy-draining cloudy. I actually got to do nothing yesterday. I watched a Law and Order: SVU marathon and read a new book. Nothing left to pack, leaving nothing left to clean, no work for class (update: well, I just got work for class), it's given me time to think. And that could be a dangerous thing. Or maybe the downtime will help me find my motivation. I've just got a case of the doldrums. Or have you ever read Breakfast at Tiffany's? Maybe it's the mean reds.

Random stuff...

I drove home today (yes, again) for the 4th. I think the trucks on 316 and 285 are out to get me. Seriously, maybe they should learn that you're not supposed to stay on top of the line down the center of the road-- it isn't like a drunk test. Oh, well, I'm safe. Until the next trip gives me more life-threatening experiences.

Tomorrow should be good--this is the one holiday that Ray's family does a lot for that we don't, so it's fun to have a whole day with them--swimming, eating, and of course fireworks!

I'm watching Mythbusters right now. This is the best show... I learn so much. Life lesson of the day: If you drive a truck leave the tailgate up to save gas. Oh, yeah, and don't follow Bugs Bunny and stick your finger down the barrel of a gun to stop the bullet. It doesn't work.

I brought home my first load of stuff from my apartment today. Eight trips up and down steps just at home. Who needs a gym when you're moving? Now I just have to sort through all my clothes. Yay.

It's about to storm again. Have I mentioned that sudden afternoon storms are my favorite things about summer? I'm loving it!

I'm headed to a party on Saturday for a friend that's leaving for Africa for two years. It'll be great, but it's sad to see friends go. I get jealous sometimes of the people who leave like that for years (or even months) because I love to travel and see new places and I haven't really done that a lot, but I know long trips aren't really my thing. It takes me awhile to get used to places. I can dive right in if I know there's a short amount of time, but long-term missions, vacations, or even work trips aren't for me. And I think one of the motivating factors for me doing something like that would be to tell people that I travel frequently, and that's silly. Silly Anna. Oh, well, adventures will come wherever I am (maybe on my next trip down 316?).

Don't forget to celebrate the 4th and remember the soldiers who are willing to fight for us and our country. They are heroes. Give them the honor they deserve!

80s Fashion

That's how some random person came across my blog after searching on Google. Why Google would send this person to my blog, I have no idea, because as far I know, I have never mentioned the words "80s" or "fashion". Neither are things I'm very knowledgeable about, so those are topics I try to stay away from. So anyway, now maybe someone will find it again (hee hee)! One more time--80s fashion. And just to make it complete, here's a pic from an 8o's party I went to a few years ago:
(I was the wife, Leslie was the sexy secretary... fun times)

By the way: Google Analytics is pretty awesome... try it!