disalarming

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Starting… my classes for the fall semester. So far I’m really excited about them all, which is great because my schedule is overpacked this semester and it would be horrible if I didn’t like my classes!

Loving… my internship. It’s early days, but I have a really good feeling about this. I was already doing hands-on work my first day, which is a very positive sign.

Working… a lot. I love my job (I have a part-time job in addition to my internship and classes) and I look forward to work every day, but having such a thorough schedule impacts my social life a teeny bit. I’m not complaining, though :)

Spending… time with my friends, roommates, and boyfriend. It’s hard to juggle seeing everyone on top of all my other commitments, but I vowed to not let my social life slide in favor of class and work. So far I seem to be balancing everything pretty well, but it is only the first week of the semester.

Buying… daily deals from sites like Groupon and LivingSocial. I only buy them for things I would go to anyway (like discounted museum tickets) or for a restaurant I’ve been wanting to try. It reminds me of those coupon books my mom had when I was a kid and we’d use the deals in the book to try out new restaurants!

Budgeting… more stringently from now on, thanks to the help of BudgetPulse. (Funny how “budgeting” comes right after my bullet about “buying”!) My goal is to use BudgetPulse as a tool for me to not only manage my money better but also to figure out where it all goes.

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Exploring… Xi’an, one of the Four Ancient Capitals of China and one of my favorite places in the Middle Kingdom. The sights are amazing (I love cycling along the City Wall) but what’s even better is the food! Nom nom nom.

Applying… for fall internships. I have a few ideal ones in mind, but I’ll apply for any that I’m interested in; hopefully I can score an interview or two!

Writing… various freelance articles for several websites. It’s good to get back in the writing swing of things.

Preparing… to be reunited with my beloved Beijing in two days!!

Thankful… that my teaching gig for the summer fell through. My two friends that accepted the position absolutely hate it for a myriad of reasons and have told me repeatedly that I’m lucky I backed out when I did.

Reading… classic English literature. I’ve finished Jane Eyre and am going to tackle David Copperfield next.

Feeling… nervous about my impending return to the US. I’ve been gone so long; reverse culture shock is inevitable. Kind of scary when you remember that I didn’t have culture shock when I arrived in China.

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Traveling… throughout southeast Asia! Just finished up seeing Laos and have plans to head to Vietnam next.

Celebrating… one of my best friend’s 21st! He is one of the friends I am traveling with and we definitely had quite the celebration.

Feeling… very sweaty all of the time. People aren’t kidding when they say it’s hot and humid in the tropics, let me tell you.

Relieved… that I have housing sorted for senior year. I am going to be living with two of my best friends in a complex close to campus. Score!

Working… on finalizing my summer plans after I travel. Trying to do this while on the go with sporadic Internet access is incredibly stressful, but unfortunately I’ve no other option.

Missing… Beijing street food. It’s become my comfort food over the last year, and it’s very strange to suddenly go without it.

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Battling… with this mysterious plague-like illness I have been fighting all last week. I think it’s a bad sinus infection. I have a penicillin vaccination lined up for me tomorrow at a local hospital :(

Brainstorming… ways to re-lay out the furniture in my room in a way that maximizes space. Right now, the furniture set up is appalling and I’m constantly bumping into my bed/closet/desk/desk chair/bedside table. Krissy would be appalled.

Researching… summer internship opportunities. I have my heart set on interning somewhere in China (PRC), Taiwan, or Hong Kong. I have my fingers crossed that something will work out.

Exploring… the area surrounding my new apartment in Beijing. I already have my following favorite places picked out: bakery, massage parlor, bubble tea stand, cafe, and jiaozi/baozi stand. It’s going to be a sweet semester.

Bonding… with my new flatmates. I am very pleased at how well we all get along, which will make things run a lot more smoothly this semester.

Trying… to keep humid and warm in the (very) dry and cold Beijing winter. Thank God for humidifiers and portable heaters.

Preparing… for my short trip to Pingyao, where I will be spending the first few days of Chinese New Year! More on that later.

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Relieved… that no drama resulted out of my senior year roommate situation. Thank goodness!!

Searching… for that perfect pair of boots. I’ve completely worn down my old ones and am in desperate need of a new pair, but unfortunately my feet are too big for most shoes sold in Chinese street markets.

Missing… an oven in my kitchen so I can bake! There’s nothing like warm apple pie or spiced pumpkin cake on a cold winter day. Unfortunately, I can’t bake as I have no oven :(

Freezing… my butt off in the cold Beijing weather. By law, Beijing is not allowed to turn on the heat until mid-November, so until then I’ll be perpetually frozen. Luckily, it’s warmed up a little today.

Continuing… my intensive Chinese language studies next semester!! After lots of pondering and consulting, I’ve decided that it is the best option in the long run.

Feeling… accomplished, as my friends and I climbed the Great Wall yesterday! Photos will come soon. As will all my other photos from my time so far abroad…

Celebrating… Halloween! I didn’t put together a costume this year, so I ended up wearing my hottest dress when my friends and I went out last night and good times were had by all. Happy Halloween!

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Melting… in the Shanghai heat and humidity. I’ve never been skilled at handling excessive heat and humidity, and I think the extra weight I put on in Germany has made it harder for my body to cope with heat. It’s quite saddening.

Deciding… on a Kindle for my choice of e-reader. The newly released model sealed the deal for me. However, I couldn’t get one in time for my birthday as Amazon went out of stock! I’m keeping my eye on when they get new stock so I know when to place my order.

Exploring… the World Expo pavilions!! They’re beyond amazing. Except for the US one; it’s so ugly. I know the US government couldn’t fundraise because of federal regulations and whatnot, but I wonder if the reason why it is so ugly is that it was designed by a Canadian. (I kid, I kid. And before I upset any Canadians I should clarify that I don’t mean that Canadians can’t design. They just don’t want the world to think the US can :P)

Re-reading… the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. I love this series so much; Fforde is one of my favorite authors. He’s a literary genius.

Speaking… (or attempting to speak) Mandarin. I’m very rusty since I didn’t do any revising over the summer. Still, it’s all gradually coming back to me, and being in an environment that is saturated in the Mandarin language is doing wonders for improving my ability.

Eating… my weight in noodles. I adore noodles, and China has plenty of them! My favorite are the wonton noodles and Lanzhou pull noodles. Mmmmm.

Excited… to head to Beijing in a few days. As much as I love Shanghai, Beijing is really where my year abroad begins!

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Finding… a happy medium with my “to tell or not to tell?” dilemma regarding introducing my offline friends to this blog. There are still some kinks with my decision that need to be ironed out but aren’t there always kinks in a decision like this?

Listening… to Savage Garden’s discography. I knew I loved you before I met you… ♪♫

Finishing… my two summer courses. I am scheduled to make a presentation today (on Wimba, no less) and submit my final report, and then I am D-O-N-E with class until my fall semester!

Re-exploring… Tumblr. I go through phases with Tumblr; I’ll be very addicted for a month and then I won’t even log in the next. But hey, feel free to add me!

Packing… for my upcoming trip to Minnesota and South Dakota, where I will be spending my Fourth of July weekend. Mt. Rushmore, ahoy!

Baking… dozens and dozens of chocolate chip cookies to eat while on the road this upcoming weekend. Seriously, there are so many cookies that I’m practically up to my ears in them.

Annoyed… that after I upgraded my iPhone 3G to the iOS 4, it’s been really slow and/or lags a lot. Not impressed, Apple. (Or is it AT&T’s fault? Cause I haven’t been impressed with them lately either.)

Anxiously… awaiting to see “Toy Story 3.” I’m so upset that I haven’t been able to see it yet! Luckily, I’m hoping to remedy this within the next week.

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Functioning… but barely. I’m in the final stretch of my final exam period (three papers done, two exams down, one to go) and sleep-wise, it’s not pretty. I plan on taking full advantage of the weekend to recover from sleep deprivation before tackling my last exam.

Pleased… that out of the grades I have gotten back for my papers/exams/classes, they have all been excellent. Hard work and dedication definitely pays off!

Needing… to start cleaning and packing the absolute mess that is my room. I need to get all of my stuff down to two suitcases. Everything that can’t fit must go (probably to Goodwill).

Loving… the fact that Glee is back on television!

Waiting… for a very important letter regarding my scholarship to arrive in the mail. Why does my school’s campus mail system have to suck so much?

Brainstorming… blog entry ideas commanded by Krissy, both of the meme and guest blogging variety. (She’s quite demanding, that one. ;D)

Planning… an adventure to see the Shanghai 2010 World Expo at the end of the summer. I really hope it all works out because if it does, it’s gonna be so awesome.

Listening… to “Airplanes” by B.o.B. featuring Hayley Williams on repeat. I love the chorus so much. Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now ♪♫

Googling… a bunch of recipes for me to try out when I go home. I miss cooking and baking so much when I’m at school, so I am very excited to get back in the kitchen and try out some new recipes.

Eager… to go home. This school year has been a huge learning curve and this past semester’s been real, but it’s time for me to go home and start the summer.

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Feeling… tired. Like, perpetually so. I think most of this is stemming from the fact that I am so busy that I haven’t gotten a chance to sleep in for weeks!

Studying… non-stop. This week is midterm for me, so I have exams and/or papers every day this week. I have so much I need to do to prepare for each exam and I’m starting to panic about whether or not I can get all my prep work done in time.

Excited… for spring break! I can’t even explain how much I am looking forward to go home. It’s not that I’m unhappy at school, but I definitely need a break from school, work, and friends.

Applying… to my first-choice study abroad program for the next academic year. I have one last portion of the application to submit and then my application is complete! I should hear back from my program about my acceptance in about two weeks.

Craving… my mother’s home-cooked food. She is the best cook I know, hands down, and I don’t particularly enjoy eating cafeteria food day in, day out.

Loving… my close friends, both online and offline. (You all know who you are.)

Organizing… my life in a shiny new planner. I’ve never used one before, and I’m now finding that I can’t live without it. I use it to keep track of everything, from what I’m doing to how much money I spend.

Saving… money. I’m rigorously keeping track of my expenses for the first time ever, and once I have some kind of idea how much I need for food, transport, etc. each week I’m going to figure out what is the best percentage for me to deposit into my savings account from every paycheck. If I want to travel as much as I hope to in the next few years, I need to work on saving every penny.

Thankful… that my busy schedule has proven to be a blessing in disguise. There’s been more drama this semester than any other semesters, if that’s even possible, but luckily I am not directly involved in any of the drama since I’m too busy to be around to cause any.

Keeping… all those affected by the Chilean earthquake this past weekend in my thoughts and prayers.

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.