Saturday

Going to Olive Garden last night was great.  I finally got my 21st birthday celebration!  I had wanted to go to Olive Garden for my actual birthday, but they are closed on Christmas Day.  So I just had to wait 6 months.  I did order my first drink at a restaurant last night.  Ironically, they didn't even card me!  Somehow that great big 21st party never happened for me.  Oh well.

Earlier this week, my molly mama had about 20 babies.  That same afternoon, they were all gone. :(  Today, my Tequila Sunrise guppy decided to have her babies.  While I was changing the water.  So I was frantically catching the brand new babes so they wouldn't get gobbled up at the same time I was trying to keep the mama from jumping out of her temporary bowl.  Dad was also demanding that Mom and I sit down and eat dinner at the same time.  Now, I have a bowl full of about 30 baby guppies.  I'll have to put them in the tank soon, but I don't want to lose them all!  Hopefully at least a couple will stay hidden long enough to survive.

My 1/2 Birthday!

Today is my half birthday.  The day of the year I get to celebrate my birthday since my real birthday falls on Christmas.  (I still celebrate then, too, but this gives me a separate day like everyone else).  Not a big deal, just a small celebration with cake and a few small gifts.  This year, though, we have to wait and celebrate on Friday.  Mom & Dad forgot about it until I reminded them on Monday, and Mom had a meeting tonight.  I'm a little bummed, especially because Mom didn't tell me until this late afternoon that we'd have to postpone the celebration.  Oh well.  I suppose I can wait.  ;)

Today I am exhausted, thanks to having no caffeine whatsoever.

Bats' Game

I love seeing friends unexpectedly when I'm out and about. I knew I'd see people at the Bats' game tonight because we were going with the church, but it was fun to see one of the girls who works at the lab with me.

Amazingly enough, I wasn't exhausted all morning! I guess I got enough sleep last night. I wish I could maintain that pattern...

back to the usual...

Well, after 3 days of working full days at The Vanguard Academy, I'm back on my normal schedule tomorrow. I'll head down to U of L to work at the Infant Cognition Lab for the morning, then grab some lunch and high-tail-it to Vanguard. I've really enjoyed being the full-time teacher (and the money's gonna be great too!). It's a little weird being an assistant and knowing that I'm gonna have to leave in August. I could do so much more in terms of planning and decorating and such, but I'm trying to let Angel decide all that since she's the lead teacher. Once I get all the degrees I'm hoping to get, I'd be able to do this no problem. But could I be an infant-toddler daycare teacher every day for the rest of my life? Hmm. If it's at a place like Vanguard, then yes. I much prefer the private sector to the more-public less-private one of which the Y is a member. Who knows.

I guess that's what senior year is for. Deciding what to do next and where to go. I've got so many options available right now. I could get a Graduate Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders or as an infant specialist; I could get a Master's in clinical or developmental pysch, speech language pathology, or special education; or I could go for the Ph.D in clinical or developmental psych. At this point, I'm leaning more towards the Master's and Certificates, because they would allow me to do what I want to do. I want to actually work with infants and toddlers. I'd love to earn a Ph.D, but I don't want to teach at a University. I'd really like to work in a therapy clinic at a children's hospital like Vanderbilt. I'd be a developmental specialist with expertise in autism and language, and I'd work with typically and atypically developing infants and toddlers. I'd teach infants sign language and work with young toddlers on emotional, cognitive, and social development. It's a huge wish, I know. But I'm hoping I can get at least a good chunk of it. That's where the short study time for the Certificates and Masters' comes in. I can get 2 Certificates and 3 Master's in less than 10 years if I play my cards right. I think if I go for the Ph.D, it'll be in clinical child / developmental psychopathology. I guess my research would be along the lines of language or thinking. We'll see. I've got to survive my 2-thesis senior year at DePauw first!

boys and communication

I wish boys would say something’s wrong when things get rough instead of cutting off all communication. It would save a lot of confusion, and who knows, girls might actually be able to help! Keeping in touch might also save the relationship. It certainly would make me feel like less of an idiot when I finally did find out what was going on. I’d probably be a different person in a totally different place right now if a certain someone had answered my phone calls instead of ignoring them. Who knows. Now, if a certain person will talk to me instead of ignoring my calls, I might be in a different (I think better) place soon. I think I could help, and I know it would make me feel better to hear his voice. As it stands, I feel stupid and confused. I’m terrified I’ll scare him off, but I have to take care of myself. And right now, he’s got my heart headed for the wringer, and I’ve gotta get it back before it’s torn apart.

the 2nd official day of summer

The window unit is doing a wonderful job. I have my own oasis of a/c upstairs! Of course, when we have storms that bring in the cooler weather, I don't need it as much. But I sure wouldn't trade upper 60s for upper 100s!