Fall in Michigan

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Ever since the iPhone, and more recently Instagram, it seems more socially acceptable to be taking pictures of (almost) anything and everything. Without my Nikon it’s easy to feel like a fool waving your phone around to get a nice shot.
I know having an account on Instagram does not make me a photographer – I’m not deluded enough to think like that – but there are some incredibly beautiful photos floating around in that app.

Digressing, sometimes you just have to stop and take a picture instead of relying on your memory to do it justice.

the tree on fire

 

I was almost late for class because of this tree. It was an unusually clear and bright day and the yellow, orange, and red leaves were practically on fire.

The sad thing is that after a week, the leaves have fallen and the tree is almost bare. You get that one magical day and the next, everything is gone.
If only I could just kick that stupid garbage bin out of the way though -_-

 

cheers.

Fall: my favorite season, full of pretty colors and chilly weather and GERMS.

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Even though it’s week 5 of class, I was still riding high on summer vibes until Sunday evening when I noticed my throat was sore and my nose was runny.

I forget that will fall comes one sickness or another – either from the temperature change (which was very drastic this year) or being surrounded by 15-220 other people in one ill-ventilated room – and I’m that pretty much knocked on my ass and I’m rendered even more useless than usual. Gotta work on my immune system fitness.
My regimen of tea and thera-flu began last night, but tonight I think I’ll try my luck with some Nyquil.

I’m sure my cat sleeping on my face isn’t helping me recover either, but SACRIFICES DAMMIT.

sniffly bed bums.

fun fact: In the time it took me to write this post, I sneezed 4 times.

goodness gracious

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I’m honestly excited to graduate and be done with homework and studying and all of the extra stuff that goes with actually taking classes.

Vacations will be easier and I’ll have more time to actually do stuff that would make blogging worthwhile…

You know, besides posting photos of my cat. Although you best believe there will still be photos of him long after I start doing things with my life

Xharles

I walked into my room this morning and he decided to take advantage of my freshly made bed.

9th time’s the charm

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I’m three weeks into my last semester of college (hopefully…) and I just realized this is the first time I’ve ever truly felt like a college student. It has taken me four and a half years (or, nine semesters).

My first job when I was 16 was at a Quizno’s and I worked as many hours as I could. After I graduated high school, I received a job at the College of Education at my university and once again worked every spare hour possible. I worked every single week day before, in between, and after classes and averaged more than 20 hours a week, but now my Mondays and Wednesdays are only for class and I’m home every day before 5 pm.

Since it’s my last semester, I’m a few credits short of full-time and am not taking any classes that demand excessive work beyond reading hundreds of pages and tinkering around in InDesign for nearly 10 hours a week. I could be doing worse.

The job I currently hold as a research assistant will be able to carry over after I graduate, so soon enough the time will blur together and I’ll have a degree and spend 40 hours a week still on campus, staring at a computer and reading until my eyes go cross.

There’s just that one little question that I still ponder…

what next?

cat nap

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cat nap

My cat Xharles loves boxes and bags above most things, except perhaps a laser pen. Yesterday afternoon he was sleeping in a re-usable grocery bag (with stuff still inside) and eventually stretched himself out on top of my Birkenstocks.
His little white feet are popping out of the bag in the back.
Precious prince.

more of an arial view, if it please you.

Recent times.

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This summer has breezed by so quickly I recently caught myself wondering, “What the hell have I even been DOING?” Besides the infrequent deviations from my routine, the answer is: nothing. 
Yes, I’ve been taking summer classes (3 online, 1 – BLEH – face-to-face) and working every spare moment that I can, but other than that I have lazing about and sleeping. I’m also on the third book in the Game of Thrones (for those of you only familiar with the TV show) slash the Song of Ice and Fire series and my free time has been devoted to my Kindle rather than homework, which is clearly a great life decision.

It’s hard to not be a bit depressed when I think about where I was and what I was doing this time last summer… 360-some odd days ago I was in the Pryor Mountains, surrounded by some of THE MOST BEAUTIFUL creatures I have ever seen. As cliche as it is to say, I’ve been infatuated by horses since I can remember and I practically cried when I was invited to intern with the Cloud Foundation in 2011. I remember getting the phone call during class and running out of the room to speak with Ginger Kathrens, and when I returned I had the dumbest grin on my face.
I remember one year for Christmas (90% sure it was in 2001) I was gifted a book about this beautiful palomino stallion living in the wild, and I sat on my uncle’s massive leather couch all night reading it. 
Fast forward 9 or 10 years later while I was browsing for internships, I stumbled across something that sounded vaguely familiar… beautiful palomino? Wild horses? I nearly lost it when I finally stitched it all together, and realized that I could potentially work for a woman whose work had moved me nearly a decade ago. 

I moved to Colorado in the beginning of June 2011 with my little Chevy Cobalt packed full of everything I thought I needed for this 1200-mile relocation. 

Throughout my time there I “kept” a blog about my adventures, even though it wasn’t as thorough as I originally wanted. Looking through it now just makes my heart hurt. I miss everything about it and can’t believe I am now sitting in an office at Michigan State University, doing nothing with my life besides reading about soil types in North America. School has never been my thing and it drives me nuts to be so far away from something I discovered I loved so dearly. I feel completely out of the loop and I desperately wish I could be closer to the wild horses, but alas I will have to wait a while longer until I am able to visit them again. I originally planned to make a trip out west this summer, but unfortunately I didn’t win the lottery, and had to give all of the money I managed to save to my awful property manager. 

Last night while I was cleaning and preparing to move, I found my notebook that I had with me in the Pryors. One year later and I still cannot believe that I was there, trying my best not to mess anything up and photograph practically every single moment. All I can do for now is complain and reminisce, I guess.

 

I just… don’t want to be in Michigan anymore. 

Cheers.