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.

3 Day Weekend!

Ok so usually in the summer I don't get too excited about weekends. Even with work during the week, it's still summer so you can basically do what you want. Plus I always work all weekend too. (On a side note, my work scheduled me for Friday night, Saturday morning, AND Saturday night. Ugh!)

Anyway, this whole summer class thing is completely altering my perceptions of summer (Read: summer classes suck). Weekends have become the highlight of my existence, even with working all the time. So I was especially thrilled for a three-day break over Memorial weekend.

Not so thrilling was the process of attempting to get some time off work so I could actually enjoy the weekend. I legitimately needed time off because I had a friend's wedding to go to and I road-tripped out to Sidney, Nebraska to meet all my boyfriend's relatives. Anyway, they gave me Friday and Sunday off, but scheduled me for a double shift on Saturday. I had to majorly suck up to get Saturday off and had to work Sunday instead. So we had to leave Sidney at 9 am Sunday morning to get back to Lincoln by 4 so I could work at 4:45...

Road-tripping!

I suppose that was better than the drive out there. We had to leave Lincoln at 7 am on Saturday.

But that all is besides the point. It was a wonderful three-day weekend involving a lot of wonderful people, a wedding, 12 hours in the car, a gigantic family reunion where I was known as "Colby's Girlfriend," grilling, and not very much sleep. We were going to attempt camping at some point in there but the weather was uncooperative, so we camped in my basement, sleeping bags and all =)

The name tag they made for me.
I literally was "Colby's Girlfriend."

And now it's back to the daily grind of class and work...oh well.

Summer Classes and Adventures in Public Transportation

In my last post I mentioned that I'm taking summer classes.

For those of you who don't know, summer classes are super-condensed classes that cover an entire semester in 3-5 weeks. Mine is a 3 week class, so that means I have class from 8:30-11:20 AM EVERY DAY until June 3rd. I also had to buy an $80 book for it.

Fortunately the class is Nutrition 100. I thought this would have something to do with nutrition. It doesn't. It's basically like college P.E. We have lecture for an hour and then we go to the rec and work out. Every day. Best class ever? It is a little disheartening that I'm paying for credit hours to go work out every morning (along with my student fees that cover my rec membership).

I just realized I complain about paying for college a lot. It's a valid complaint.

So anyway, since I'm living at home this summer, class every day is fairly inconvenient. It's about a 20 minute drive to campus one way. So I'd be spending about 40 min in the car everyday and going through a crap ton of gas. Plus I'd have to buy a parking permit.

I've decided I'm not going to drive to class this summer.

That may have a lot to do with the fact that my car is completely empty and I'm avoiding buying gas as long as possible. It's more than just saving money though. It's being green and while one less car on the streets isn't going to make a huge difference, every little bit helps. (And remember Gas Boycotting (Or "An Easy Way to Change the World")? Exactly).

Day 1 of summer class I biked 8 miles each way to get to class. It worked well. Lincoln's got a pretty decent bike trail system that can get you pretty much anywhere in the city. Not so well was that my knee kind of kills from riding a bike that wasn't mine and a little small. I need to fix mine and haven't had a chance. Biking is great because, well I love biking, but it's super nice out and exercise and all that.

Day 2 was the bus. Knee=no biking today (plus I'm going to P.E. class!) This is where things get interesting. UNL students get a free bus pass that lasts for a year, so if you can navigate the confusing mess of bus routes and schedules, it works fairly well. Unfortunately, Lincoln's public transportation system is not as convenient as it's bike trail network, but it's not bad. I may have done a lot of unnecessary walking because I wasn't sure exactly where to get on or off the bus, but I made it to and from class. I'm lucky to live a couple blocks from a bus stop that goes downtown though. And it's about a 30-40 minute ride, which seems like a lot, but I worked on my homework. Nerd, I know.

It was slightly concerning because the bus driver was a very aggressive driver. He was going ridiculously fast (for a bus) and honked a lot. He even opened the bus door to cuss out a lady in her car. I made it home in 25 minutes though =)

Dead week?

First of all, happy early Easter everybody!

Second of all, Monday marks the beginning of dead week. Every college kid has to deal with dead week and I'm sure it's great for some people.

I am not one of those people.

I do not understand why it is called dead week. In theory, dead week is supposed to be dead. It's the week before finals week, so there isn't supposed to be any tests, homework, meetings, etc.

Notice I said "in theory." Here is my "dead week" schedule:

Monday: Honors Project, online test, job interview, meeting, another meeting, work on group research project
Tuesday: 20 minutes group research project presentation, work orientation
Wednesday: Another group project presentation, work

Thursday and Friday aren't too bad, but holy crap the beginning of the week. Especially Monday. This means I should really be working on stuff this weekend...buuuut...it's Easter and I'm heading home in about an hour or so, so I'm sure I won't get too much done. Home is kind of a zero-productivity zone for me.

Actually, at this point in the semester, everywhere is a zero-productivity zone for me. I have lost the will to continue...ok that's a little over-dramatic. I'm just ready for summer! Less than 2 weeks left!

Spring.

Today it hit about 90 degrees, and it was absolutely wonderful.

After volunteering at an Easter Egg Hunt this morning and apartment-hunting this afternoon, I went and got frozen yogurt and then laid outside and did nothing/took a nap for about two hours. I brought a book with the intention of being productive, but ehh.

This is the part of the semester when productivity becomes near impossible because all you want to go do is sit outside. Nebraska is kind of known for having crappy weather, but it has its fair share of absolutely gorgeous days. I spose I should also mention that it's incredibly humid and we're in a tornado watch until 1 am, but I'll take what I can get. It's nice and warm outside.

This is also the part of the semester when everybody and their mother are trying to find apartments. It's a bit crazy. My future roomies and I don't have a place picked out yet, but we are on a waiting list and have a few more places to look at. I won't be homeless! (That's always good...)

This is also the part of the semester when everyone starts hating college. Ok I love college, but I am SO ready for summer. 3 weeks left! EEK!

I love college.

So once again, we're at dead week, and this semester, it actually is dead. I literally have nothing due except one 2 page paper on Friday. It's wonderful, because for once I can actually be completely unproductive and not feel bad about it. So far this week has been full of carnivals and soap carving and movies, with coloring, olympics, bike rides and who knows what else coming up in the near future. It's pretty much amazing.

Then I just have 4 finals to look forward to next week...(yeah that's right, I start summer next Friday)

After almost finishing an entire year, I've come to the conclusion that college is great. I mean, where else is it acceptable to Febreeze clothes instead of washing them? (I've actually only done this once, cuz yeah, it is a little weird). And Sunday night, there was just a random carnival in front of the union, complete with ferris wheel, inflatables, and cotton candy (and it was all completely free!) And I bet you all thought that nobody rollerblades anymore? False.

I think I'm going to miss this over the next couple months.