Alright, it's been a little while since I last blogged, so here's a little update on what's been going on in this eighteenandunder's life.

     As of last week, I've heard from the four colleges I applied to. I can't tell you how anti-climactic it was opening those four letters. After years of anticipation, my "fat packets" had finally arrived and it was, well... kind of disappointing actually. 

     The simple "Congratulations!" and words of welcome from the colleges were friendly enough, but they didn't quite give me the feeling I had always imagined. I was happy and relieved to be sure, but it just wasn't the dance-on-the-coffee-table, go-screaming-down-the-hall experience I had always pictured it as. I think the whole process has left me disillusioned...

     Anyway, I may not have danced on the coffee table, but at least now I have my answers. All I have left to do is decide between my four colleges. And here I thought my work was done! I have a lot of pro/con lists to make. Decisions, decisions.          

     Last Friday I was talking to my mom about my plans for the weekend when I slyly brought up the fact that I had agreed to babysit for one of the families from our church and therefore wouldn’t be home Saturday night. Knowing that my mom always hates it when I tie up my weekend with “unnecessary work” as she calls it, I avoided making eye contact with her, but it didn’t work. She gave me one of her “looks,” (you know, the kind of look that only moms can give) and I knew that I was in for yet another lecture.

     She sighed and asked me why I insisted on giving up the few free Saturday nights I had left to spend with friends before going away to work at camp all summer. I was in the middle of pointing out that I had more than “a few” Saturdays left and that the family needed someone and that I hadn’t made plans, when she hit me with a dose of reality.

     “Michelle,” she said, “do you realize you only have eleven more Saturdays until you go up to camp, and that after camp, you’ll have less than two weeks before you’ll be going away to college.”

     It's funny how one day everything can be going wrong and the next, things couldn't be better.

     Last Tuesday and Wednesday were days from...well, you know where they were from. I had the incident with the bus on Tuesday, then the very next day, a frustrating experience involving a MJC parking permit dispenser that wouldn't take coins, a lack of a dollar bill, and an incredibly kind security gaurd.   

     As bad as the beginning of my week was, the rest of the week more than made up for it.  

     On Friday, I received my first college acceptance letter. (Apparantly the four months it took me to write my college application essays weren't entirely wasted.) Then on Saturday, I received a phone call explaining that I had gotten the position I wanted working at a summer church camp.

     Finally, things are beginning to fall into place. I have a place to go this autumn and a job to keep me busy this summer. Life is good.

   Everyone’s had “one of those days.” You know, the kind of day that leaves you in a daze and seems to drag on endlessly? Well, today was one of those days for me.

     Last week, my older sister started her classes at Stanislaus State, meaning that “the third vehicle” that she and I share was no longer available for me to use during the day. While this normally wouldn’t be a huge problem for me, it did present me with a slight challenge. Somehow, my mom and I had to work out a system that would allow both of us to get to our classes at Modesto Junior College which somehow happened to be on opposite campuses and somehow managed to overlap in the most inconvenient way.

     With some careful planning, I eventually came up with a solution: I would drive my mom to the MJC West campus, park the car, and take the school shuttle to the East campus where she would pick me up after her class let out. The plan was pretty simple, but I was quite proud of it.

     I never realized how much time and effort went into being an informed, contributing member of society until my ballot for the presidential primary election came in the mail a few weeks ago.

     I’ve always considered myself a relatively informed person. I try to stay up on what’s going on in the world. I read the newspaper and occasionally watch the news. I attempt to look at matters objectively and consider all the different view points before I form my own opinion.

     As I looked over the ballot for the presidential primary election, however, I soon realized that I had a lot of research to do. Referendums on Indian gaming compacts, limits on legislators’ terms in office, a proposition on junior college funding, …these weren’t black and white issues.

     I spent hours sprawled out on my bed, highlighter in hand, going over my voter information pamphlet, trying to remember what I had read and heard about these propositions.

Including colds.  Thanks for the germs, Kelsey.

Next time, I think I'll just stick with a pair of shoes.

    Today I went to see the new action/thriller movie "Cloverfield." As I stood in line to buy my outrageously-priced ticket for the show, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I hadn't seen the previews or read the reviews for the film, so when I saw the sign on the window mentioning the movie's tendency to produce motion sickness in viewers, I was a little concerned. 

     "How can a movie make you motion sick?" I wondered as I hesitantly forked over my cash.

     To my displeasure, my curiosity was soon appeased.

     About ten minutes into the film, I began to wish I hadn't eaten the half bag of contriband Red Vines I had brought. All I could think about for the rest of the movie was "Stop the shaking. Dear Lord, PLEASE stop the shaking." 

     Once in a while my thoughts would wander to topics such as "Eww, that was really gross" or "the monster thingy really shouldn't have a tail...it just doesn't go" or "why in the world would a parent take their young child to see this?" Overall, however, my mind was generally occupied on the incessant shaking.