Winter Weather Advisory.

So right now it is about 8º F with a windchill in the -20s and it looks like this outside:

Pretty much every other school in the greater Nebraska area is canceled except us. At least I got to sleep in because my practicum school had a snow day because of awful conditions. Did I mention that under all the snow is a layer of black ice? I have lived in Nebraska for close to 20 years now and I'm definitely used to the weather, but I wouldn't want to be driving in this crap.

More snow is expected as a Massive storm begins trek across Midwest. We'll see if it hits Nebraska and if Harvey gives us a day off tomorrow. Probably not, since we had snow days the first two days of the semester.

I'm still wearing shorts and I haven't left the building yet. My first class is at 2. I'm not excited.

Tips for Surviving Nebraska winters:

• Layer up! I'm probably going to be wearing my Under Armor tights under my pants when I leave.
• Invest in boots. And I mean good, waterproof snow boots, not Uggs or anything with heels. (I do have Uggs and I love them, just not today).
• Stock up on travel mugs, hot chocolate, and coffee. Nothing makes the walk to class better than being able to drink something warm when you get there.
• Keep an ice scraper in your car AT ALL TIMES.
• If you have to drive, leave waaay early. Even if the roads don't suck, people freak out and drive slow when there's snow on the ground.
• Don't think that winter is over when it warms up. It was like 45º on Friday. Nebraska weather is a bit bipolar.
• Don't forget gloves, scarf, hat, etc. My friend works downtown and he walks there and he was trying to find a ski mask. Creepy, yes, but warm.

I'm off to brave the arctic weather and head to class. Wish me luck.

Les jeux sont fait.

The games are done. That's a really good book we read in French last year, but that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm done with class. Done with finals. Done with my first semester of college.

Well technically, I still have a paper to turn in tomorrow, but I'm basically done with that too.

It's kind of amazing.

I may or may not have done terribly on my bio lab final, but I had a 112% before the test so I'm hoping that will offset any damage caused by lack of studying. Otherwise, I survived and I think I'll have a 4.0. Or at least a 3.9 something.

But as a former student teacher and college graduate said, all you really need is a 3.5 and that can easily be accomplished with an A- average.

So I'm gonna revise a paper today, and then chill for the next month =)

How to Survive Dead Week

Today, the unthinkable happened.

WE GOT A SECOND SNOW DAY.

That happens like never.

Dead Week is much more enjoyable if you don't have to go to school.

But since that isn't the case most often, I've been coming up with a survival strategy so I don't go crazy.

First off, get some good music. Preferably nothing produced in this decade, but whatever floats your boat. Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with the 80s-R.E.M., The Police, Journey, Hall&Oates, Elton John, Queen, Styx, Foreigner, stuff like that. The 90s are also fantastic, but none of that N*Sync crap. Goo Goo Dolls, Third Eye Blind, Counting Crows, Better Than Ezra, Ben Folds, more R.E.M, Barenaked Ladies. And then of course The Beatles. You can't go wrong with The Beatles.

Second, don't sit at a desk and try to do homework. It doesn't work. Find a comfy couch somewhere, bring your books and your iPod and be productive. Also if you have someone to study with, that helps.

And third, don't freak out. Yeah there's a crap ton of stuff to get done, but take a break to watch a movie with your friends or go play in the snow. Your not going to lose anything by taking an hour or so off. I took about 12 hours off yesterday, and I'm fine =)

Survival.

Surviving college is not all that hard, at least so far. You just gotta know some stuff.

Like don't sit by people with laptops in lecture classes. I spent almost the entire 50 minute class period watching the guy I sit by play solitaire and the kid in front of me play some game where you throw turtles.

I sit in the second row.

Also, I found out sometimes it helps to study someplace other than a dorm room. There's just something about that I can't focus on anything. Go to a study room if you want quiet or the dining hall if you need background noise. I can't do anything in complete silence. It drives me crazy. I always bring homework to breakfast, especially if I don't have anybody to go with. It's nice. My new favorite place though is the Coffee House. Bring your laptop, grab a mocha, be productive. I was there for like 3 hours the other day studying for my biology test.

And finally, you gotta learn to outsmart the weather. You know how in movies when it's really windy and the umbrellas turn inside out? That totally happened to me today. Also, it's probably not a bad idea to invest in a pair of rain boots. Chuck Taylors do not cut it.

Tip of the Day: Well, I already had like three, so we'll call that good.

Adventures!

So today, my roomie and I came back from lunch and...our door wouldn't open.  We have the key card things like in hotels, and neither of our keys worked.  Apparently our battery had died.  What???  They're supposed to flash red before they die, but for reasons unknown, ours didn't.  So we had to sit out in the hallways for like forever and wait for Elmer to come fix it for us. 

Elmer is awesome by the way, he's our building maintenance guy.

The really funny this is that there was a guy interviewing the girls across the hall from us for journalism class, and he was asking them if they had had any strange, unexpected things happen to them this week.  As we were trying unsuccessfully to get into our room.

Luckily, neither of us had class right away in the near future, I just didn't get my homework done.

Now I'm off to the bus stop to trek to East Campus!  Because for more reasons unknown, UNL decided to have two campuses, and the one is like 20 blocks away.  So we have to bus, which is ok, more adventures!  Hopefully this time we make it to the bus stop in time though, cuz last week we literally had to sprint after the bus until it stopped at a red light.  It was classic. 

Tip of the Day: Be on time!

Oops...

Haven't updated in a couple days, it's been super busy...

I survived my first weekend of being an official college kid.  Yay!

My clothes also survived their first time in a college washer.  Yay again!

Homework takes up way too much time, and it's really weird getting used to not having every class every day, like in high school.  Meaning, I forget about things, like homework.  The other day, I checked the website for my honors seminar class at, oh I don't know, 9ish in the morning and found out I have a paper due that day at 2.  Luckily, I start class at 11 on Tuesdays, but that was a crazy two hours and a really crappy paper.

Moral of the story, time management and organization, kids.  It's important.

Tip of the Day: Invest in a planner.  Write in it, look at it, it helps, trust me.  Also, use sticky notes.  Sticky notes are my new best friend.  They're nifty for reminders, and you can put them anywhere you'll see them: your planner, computer, mirror, bulletin board, wherever.  They're great.