Ding dong the witch is dead...

Ok so I never update this because, as per the last entry, most of my life is spent working. When I'm not working I'm usually too tired to go do anything too crazy and exciting, so most of my free time is spent watching movies with the boy and staying out way too late for how early I have to get up.

But, because I somehow got an entire weekend off when I only asked for Saturday night off (ok, I got Sunday off...not the whole weekend, but a whole day!) Anyway, I had a day to cram full of fun exciting things.

Thing 1: The lake! So yes this is Nebraska, and yes we are landlocked, but we've got a crap ton of lakes. There's at least 4 within 30 minutes of L-Town, and there's just something about murky water and burning hot sand that makes it so much more fun than hanging out at the pool. But really, I think it's just the fact that it's something different and it's always good to get out of town for a bit. Also, this time I correctly used sunscreen and did not get crisped. Always a bonus.

Chillin' at the beach.

Thing 2: Pinewood Bowl! Every summer, there's a musical out at Pioneers Park. This year, it's the Wizard of Oz (hence, title of this post). I've gone almost every year since I've moved here and it's like my favorite thing ever. I will admit that it's a little less fun when it's like 97 degrees out and like 400% humidity, but still fairly enjoyable. The last shows are July 14-17 and you (whoever you are) should probably go.

The outdoor amphitheater.
And all the people that come.

Thing 3: Garage sales! Ok maybe this isn't that exciting, I just think it's great because I'm moving to a new apartment and need furniture. Where else can you get cheap awesome things like these shelves?

15 bucks. Win.

I actually did all of these things in one day. I wouldn't recommend that, but hey, whatever works right? Oh, and I am done with summer class now so I don't have to do homework anymore. Hooray! It is officially summer now :)

WORK WORK WORK.

Ok I'll be honest, I haven't had a whole lot of time for finding fun things to do in Lincoln. Between class and working two jobs, free time is minimal.

But I have concluded that the #1 way to stay busy over the summer is...working.

Here's why:

• Depending on where you work, it can take up either a lot or a little of your time. Bored during the day? Get a 9-5 job. Need something to do on almost every single night and all weekend? Work in a restaurant :P
• It's free. Not only is it free, you actually get paid to do it and it also saves you money. I spend much less money when I'm not going out as much, and I'm not going out as much because I'm working more.
• Life skills. If you can find an internship or some job relatively applicable to what you want to do with your life, it'll probably help you a lot here in a couple years.
• It can actually be fun. This again depends where you work. I complain about work all the time but I actually don't mind it and I work with some pretty cool people.
• Necessity. Besides all the above reasons, unless you're spoiled by your rich parents way too much, most of us have to work. But hey, paying for school and books and gas and rent is always good.

So even though the majority of my summer is spent doing whatever random office tasks need to be done, or in a restaurant kitchen taking take-out orders and peeling vegetables, it's not so bad.

Summer in L-Town.

This blog is usually about college, or at least loosely relating to it. But since it is summer and I can only bitch about summer class so much (it's still terrible), I'm going to take a break from the whole "college experience" thing.

This is now (temporarily) a "Summer in Lincoln" blog.

I spose it's still relevant because I'm still a college kid and summer is part of college. Mostly, I'm just bored and even though I've lived in Lincoln for quite awhile now, I'm sure there are still some interesting things to do in this town. So I'm going to figure out what they are.

First on the list: Jazz in June.

Ok, I've been going to Jazz in June for years, but it's still fun. You sit outside, eat food, and listen to jazz. Or you sit outside, eat food, and talk to your friends while jazz music happens to be playing in the background. Whichever.

It's also an excellent people-watching venue.
You see all sorts of interesting things.
I have no idea why there was a person in an otter suit, but hey why not?

Oh hey poor college kids...it's free.

It's Tuesday nights at 7 pm during the month of June with a market-type thing that starts at 5. Dairy Store ice cream, greek lemonade, all sorts of deliciousness.

It's on UNL campus over by the Sheldon, Arch Hall, Westbrook, and Kimball hall, which is definitely the coolest part of campus.

I have a rare night off work tomorrow night so if it decides to warm up and actually feels like summer, I will definitely be there.

L-Town.

I'm currently involved in a long-term, love-hate relationship. It's hard to believe it's been 12 whole years. I've thought about leaving so many times, but I never have.

It's not that I don't like Lincoln. I really do. I love it actually. It's big enough to be interesting, but small enough not to be overwhelming (I moved here from a farm outside a town with less than 700 people). Downtown and the Haymarket are full of fun little shops and boutiques and coffee shops. There's a pretty good local music scene, an amazing ice cream shop, bookstores, restaurants, you know, your typical college town. Add in all the bike paths, Husker sporting events, college, and all my friends that live here, well it's pretty much great.

I'm just tired of it. My family has lived here since I was in 3rd grade, so I don't even get to go farther than across town when I go home. I've grown used to it.

Usually, I get to go somewhere cool over the summers. Last summer, it was a week-long bike trip across the state and another week or so in Haiti. The summer before that, Minnesota and New Orleans. Before that, northern Idaho and South Dakota. Another summer was San Antonio. One summer was even Chicago, Niagara Falls (the Canadian side), New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Virgina.

This summer, so far, is nothing. Absolutely nothing. I have to take 2 summer classes, so I'm stuck in Lincoln until July 8th. Everything I was planning on going and doing happens in June (read: plans ruined).

At first, I was pretty upset about this. Most of my friends are going somewhere cool for internships or study abroad stuff or something, if not this summer then the fall semester. I'm going to be stuck here in Lincoln all by myself the entire summer working. Ickk.

Then, I realized that I'm not going to be stuck here the whole summer. I'm only stuck here for half the summer. I have an airline voucher that has to be used by September. I have an entire month when I don't have to take class, and I've got an under-used passport collecting dust on my shelf. I'm going to go somewhere cool this summer. I don't know where, and I don't know with who, but I kind of want to go to Europe. Actually, I really really really want to go to Europe.

They say that you just have to go and do things or you'll regret it. I've been kicking myself all semester for canceling my study-abroad trip to France. I know I always say I'm going to go do stuff like this, but it's happening. I don't care what happens or how much money it'll be, I'm going to hold myself to this or I'll hate myself forever. So in July, I'm going somewhere. I'm coming back in August for school in the fall, and I'm going to have the most amazing summer adventure ever.

Anyone want to come with?

Resolutions.

Yes, I realize it's January 11 so I'm a little late jumping on the New Year's resolution bandwagon, but I'm finally getting around to making them and I figure by putting them on here it'll actually make me somewhat accountable so I actually try to stick with them.

That's the idea anyway.

I've never actually made a New Year's resolution, and this year someone told me that I had to make three. I can't remember what the categories were supposed to be, so here's three random ones that I think are good.

Resolution #1: Be healthier. I know it's vague and cliche, but it's a good goal. I'm running a half-marathon in May and hopefully going on another bike trip this summer, so I really need to keep my body up for it. This includes getting (and staying) in shape and eating better. I'm already a runner, but I need to step it up so I can run 13 miles without dying.

Coconut milk is healthy, right?

Resolution #2: Make this semester a damn good one. Another vague one, but I'm still a little bitter that I didn't get to go to France, so I'm going to milk Lincoln for all it's worth. I know it's not going to measure up to a study-abroad experience, but I'm at least going to have a good time.

Resolution #3: Be more spiritual. I don't know exactly what that means, but I'm going to try to figure it out. I have pretty strong beliefs, but I've never considered myself a spiritual person so I'd like to become more so. I'm not really sure how to go about doing this, but it's definitely something to work towards. Suggestions are welcome.

Resolutions start tomorrow (maybe I should have made one to procrastinate less...?), but no resolutions start tomorrow with yoga class. I figure yoga is a perfect way to be healthier, have fun, and I'm sure it can be a spiritual experience. It's not the only thing I'm going to do for my resolutions, but I figure it's a good start.

The Rec has free classes all this week and they have one called Yoga for Runners. Yoga 101 is tomorrow, so I'm going to go to that and hopefully learn a little about it (I don't really know how to do yoga...) and ideally I'll be ready for Yoga for Runners on Thursday. We'll see how it goes.

Wish me luck!

Gettin outta here...

So I've officially decided that I need to get out of Lincoln, Nebraska.

There's nothing wrong with it, except I've lived here for eight years and I'm going to school here and I need to be somewhere else. I'm just tired of it.

I'm not gonna go transfer schools or anything, I love UNL and all the people here, I'm just kind of stuck in a rut. (Ah cliche. We learned not to use cliches today in English class, but I think it works).

So I'm going to France this summer.

Hopefully.

I think I can swing it so I can go and take classes and live in France for like a month and get an automatic minor, so it's educational, right?

That just means I need to get a job like...now. And I really don't want to.

:Sigh:

If France doesn't work out, I'm going to go do biology for a few weeks this summer up at Cedar Point in Western Nebraska. Not quite as cool as Arles, France, but still, somethin' different.

Tip of the Day: Do something different every day. Shake things up a bit.