Still counting down

Well, folks, in case you were wondering if I'm still counting down the days I have left until graduation this post is to let you know that I am. Today marks 100 days until I graduate with a Master's in Library and Information Science from the University of Denver. I'm trying to keep up with my school work as well as my current jobs while searching and applying for various full-time library job opportunities. I'm hoping I can stay in the Denver area because I really don't want to have to move again (every summer for 3 years so far).

The graduation bug has also really hit my room mate. She's itching to go on a trip towards the end of May and I wouldn't mind going too. She's emailing me the results of trip searches to places like Washington, D.C. and Ireland! I only hesitate because of my sense of responsibility. Maybe I should be irresponsible just this once and plan an awesome trip with Amanda. Decisions, decisions. While I think about my options I'll keep counting down.

Mardi Gras Mambo!

It's Mardi Gras folks and I'm stuck in Colorado, where most people don't even know when Mardi Gras is. I wanted to go to New Orleans this year, even talked about it with my room mate, but ultimately decided to be responsible. That and I don't have the money to spare.

AAAAAHHH! People here are so ignorant. I just heard a news anchor say "I used to like to collect those beads until I realized that people expected you to do things for those beads." NOT TRUE PEOPLE!!! There are plenty of places that you can go in New Orleans to collect beads without being "required" to do anything but CATCH them! I've caught loads of beads in New Orleans without compromising my standards. I wish I was there now...

But since I'm not, I do like to bring Mardi Gras to me. I held 2 Mardi Gras parties this year, one in January and the other this past Saturday. I make my Southern food and invite my friends over. I even make King Cake since buying a good one here is near impossible and expensive.

But today is the end of Carnival and I will put away the King Cake for another year. I will be responsible and go to work and class this afternoon and evening (wearing Mardi Gras beads, of course). And maybe next year I will be able to go down to New Orleans where people know the truth about Mardi Gras for the real party.

LESSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULEZ!

Believing

When I finally decided to jump on the blog wagon it was because I finally decided on the perfect name for my blog. I didn't want some random name or title. I wanted it to say something about me. So the perfect title came from one of my favorite songs by The Monkees. Just a few of the lyrics are "Cheer up sleepy Jean, Oh, what can it mean, To a Daydream Believer, And a Homecoming Queen." This has been one of my songs for as longs as I can remember. My friends in high school used to sing it whenever they saw me (and some of them still do). Now, just so everyone understands, I was NEVER Homecoming Queen. In fact I was never in the running although I was always on the field during the Homecoming Game half time show... thanks to marching band. I have never even seen myself as the Homecoming Queen type, but I do consider myself a Daydream Believer. Thus, the title/name of my blog. Even in the times where I am down in the dumps or having a terrible day I use my daydreams to compose myself and go about my life. For instance, last week I got some crushing news that a job I really wanted to apply for was no longer available. I felt like the whole world had been pulled right out from under me and that I was a failure for not even having the chance to apply for that job. I had already been to work at the library that morning and still had to work at Sylvan that afternoon so I had to bring myself together. I cried my eyes out to my mom for quite some time (I'm sure she has no idea what to do with me when I get like that) but I also knew that I had to act like everything was just fine so I could make it through work. That's where my daydreams come in. I pulled myself together by focusing on something else, anything other than jobs or my uncertain future. I focused on my daydreams and made it through that hard time. Since then I have applied for a different job and spent lots of time with good friends.

Which brings me to my next point. In my last post I was very much a downer on friendship and the whole best friend thing. I have since come to realize that in saying I have no friends I am being very unfair to the people who put up with my nonsense and still care about me. First off on that list of people would be my family. Who says family can't be friends?!? I love my family and am grateful for their insights and knowing that I'm not alone in how I feel. Thanks a bunch Mom, Dad, Katie, John, David, and Frances. Next on that list (and no less important to me) are the friends I've made here in Colorado over the past year and a half. More and more I come to realize how important these people are to me and hope that I don't have to leave them after I graduate in 4 months (yes, I'm still counting down). Thanks Rhisa for coming to visit me on my bad day. Thanks Ashlee for the more intimate girls' night and pedicures and other fun times. I could name more, but for now these two girls have meant the world to me and helped pull me out of my funk. And last, but certainly not least, on my list is my awesome room mate, Amanda. We have been living together for 9 months now and we have such a great time together. We each do our own things away from home, but when we are home together we laugh and cry and share our stories of interacting with stupid people throughout the day. Thanks Amanda! You are an awesome roomie!

So, for now, life is good. I acknowledge that I have friends and good ones at that (and it's in writing!!!). I'm keeping up with school and both jobs and church and searching for library job postings all while having a pretty decent social life. I never really thought my life would be this full and fun at the same time, only in my daydreams. But that's why I am a Daydream Believer.