I will now attempt to summarize the last month of my life. Just think: in high school, I blogged at least three times a week—and my life was even less interesting than it is now.

The CSC Spring Fling was on May 6. Sara, Becca, and Hana were supposed to be going to the New York Film Festival that day, but they got in a bad accident on the way back from the Fallout Boy concert that Tuesday. Sara's insurance company totaled her car, though it was drivable. She has a new one now; it's the same model, only in silver instead of green. I talked Hana into joining me for the Spring Fling because I didn't have anyone else to go with. (I forget what Maura was doing that night—oh, it was the Relay for Life.) I started getting ready too late, but Hana took a while, so I was fine. We both wound up wearing white dresses. Hana said it looked like we were going to a wedding. I was like, "Who would have a wedding in the Union?" I got a lot of compliments on my dress, actually. The dance was, as usual, an awesome time. It took about an hour to get going, but then we were good. Megan N. and I managed to instruct the room in the Booty Call (I am from PG County, after all), and I found yet again that the Cotton-Eyed Joe is really hard on my left leg. Around 10 or 11, Guy and Danielle showed up. They'd left the Senior Formal over in the Grand Ballroom because there weren't nearly enough people. The PG Room (coincidence?), however, was packed. I danced almost all night, including another spin with Fr. Bill. (He's still better than I am. I'm just not used to dancing with people.) My feet were so sore when I got back, but I believe that is the sign of a successful dance.

That Sunday was the HH Barbecue. They'd planned to hold a formal the same night as the Spring Fling. I'd thought about going to the HH dance, but when I compared my experience at Fall Ball to last year's HH Semiformal, the choice was easy. I let my hair down for the barbecue. Andrew took a ton of pictures, and Hana/Olga (don't ask) had a great time working the grill. It was good to see all the HH people again. Since we all moved across campus and ARHU 206 wasn't an actual class, the only HH people I saw were the same ones I saw all the time. It was a good time, and there was free food.

Classes were... scholastic.

Af-Am lit: Oh, dear. I started writing about this a few weeks ago. We finished the class with something on the Harlem Renaissance, I think. On the last day of class, our second paper (or was it another assignment?) was due. My printer was running out of ink, so I had to use the printers in the library for the last two or three weeks of school. (I downloaded the print drivers from the library's website. They worked like a charm. That was a brilliant idea.) I rushed out of my room, printed and stapled my paper in the library, then rushed off to Susquehanna. It was drizzly, so I'd had my umbrella out. I went to put my umbrella sleeve/cover in my purse, like I always do, only to find that my purse was not there. So I panicked and went sprinting (well, I don't run, but I walked really fast) back to the library, literally praying that I would find it. That's the second time I'd lost my purse in one semester. The woman at the library hadn't seen it. Then it occurred to me that I might never have taken it out of my room. So, exhausted and losing my mind, I burst back into my room to find it on the hook where it always was. I took a minute to breathe, then went back to class, actually late that time. Partway through class, I had to go to the bathroom. It didn't seem like she'd be finishing anytime soon, so I just got up and went. While I was washing my hands, I noticed two other girls from my class. Immediately I thought, "She dismissed the class while I was gone." And she had. I caught her in the hallway to turn in my assignment. Mind you, she'd let the class out over thirty minutes early. I suppose that's standard procedure when you cannot teach.

The final wasn't bad. It was at 8am on Saturday, which is academic evil, but manageable. She had graded all our papers by then, so she gave us a progress report of sorts. Mine had an A, which is also what I got in the class. The final was remarkably like the midterm, probably because we were covering almost all of the same material, having learned nothing new since then. She left course evaluations for us after we finished the exam. I managed to restrain myself but remain honest. I've never given any professor a 1 before (the lowest you can give on any criterion), but she totally deserved it. I filled up the space at the bottom of the page with additional comments, which amounted to saying "OMG SHE SUCKS!!!!!!!1111!!!" in a style more becoming of an English major. I have never been so glad to finish a class—not even ARHU 205, and I despised 205.

Shakespeare: Like I said last entry, we ended with "Coriolanus." Almost everyone else hated it. I didn't mind that as much as "Henry IV, Part One." I'd never read a Shakespearean history before. If they're all like that, it'll be the last one I read, as well. "Midsummer" is still my favorite. Overall, Leinwand was an amazing professor. I'm registered for another class with him next semester. I have never had a teacher before, let alone a lecturer, who was so captivating. I've never been excited (that's not quite the right word) about a lecture before. The final worried me because it was the only exam we had in that class. He prepared us well for it. We had to answer 16 of 20 short-answer questions covering, in his words, "who did what to whom." Hana and I had talked out all the plays the night before, so we had the plots down pretty well. The essays were just like he'd said, two plays' worth of information for each of our two choices. I left unsure of how I did, but confident enough. Leinwand had mentioned that he and his two TA's would start grading right after the exam and ideally have the grades up the next day—and they totally did it. I got a 96 on the final, which was the highlight of, like, my week. It worked out to a B+ in the class because I got B's on everything else, but I nailed that final!

Spanish: I enjoyed Spanish class this semester. It was far less interactive than last fall, but we were at 9am instead of 1pm, so that makes sense. My TA was really helpful and enthusiastic, despite the early hour. We spent the last class or two watching Shrek 2 with Spanish audio and English subtitles (only because she couldn't figure out how to turn them off). That inspired a Shrek-themed review worksheet. The final wasn't hard at all, and I got an A overall. I don't have to take any more Spanish classes to graduate, and I doubt I'll have time in the future, but it'd be nice to practice what I've learned so far. My spoken Spanish still sucks, but it's better than my ASL.

Colonial lit: I kinda miss my German English teacher. I didn't think I did very well on that final, but I got an A in the class, so I must have done okay. It wasn't a particularly noteworthy class. It didn't frustrate me or delight me, but I'm glad I took it. I never enjoyed the mad dash from Jimenez to get there on time, but it was a lot better than it would have been trying to get to the afternoon class I gave up for it.

Adolescent Development: Eh. It was a pretty worthless class. I mean, I learned quite a bit about adolescents, which is handy since I hope to teach them someday. That's why I took it to begin with; that's why it's required. I never felt challenged in that class. Sometimes managing the reading was hard, but I have problems with reading assignments no matter what the class. He gave the final on our last day of class, which is technically against the rules, but was quite handy for my exam week schedule.

ARHU 206: Well. Like I already said, I only managed to finish my Keystone Project last Saturday night. Working on it at home had its own challenges, though we didn't have cable for most of that time, so I had extra time to write. I may have actually screwed it up a bit in the revision, but I'll check that out before I let anyone besides Tanya read it. I tried to finish by the deadline, but I'd only managed two stories, and they hadn't even been proofread (which is not the same as editing), so I just went with my own schedule after that. I'm still very proud.

I miss the CSC. I'm wearing my Hail Mary Land shirt today, which adds even more nostalgia. We're getting so spoiled with such a great place to share our faith. I was elected Financial Secretary of our Catholic Daughters of the Americas court, which is fun, even though I was nominated unopposed. It feels vaguely official; I've already done paperwork and everything. I also set up a Yahoo! Group for us, and now that I've got the Good Ship Guidebook moved in and updated, I can focus on that. Using the logo might be a trademark violation, but I think I can work around that.

I went to noon (12:30) Mass all of finals week, since all my exams were at 8am. (All four of them!) I was already up and not quite ready for lunch, so it fit perfectly. On Friday, they had set up the Chapel for commencement, so we had to set up the lectern on the right side and roll the altar up from the entrance. The psalm that day was structured really oddly. Everyone started responding (I went with "alleluia") before I was finished reading because I paused to breathe. It was hard not to laugh. I learned to sing/chant the "Regina Caeli," and I said goodbye to all my awesome senior friends. Who's going to do everything around the CSC now? Obviously, this means those of us left have to step into those roles, and we'll have new freshmen, but still. I am a creature of habit.

My dad had come to pick up about half of my stuff on Tuesday, but my mom had to help me with the rest on Friday afternoon. I'd sent almost all my clothes with my dad, so it was mostly small everyday things we crammed into my mom's SUV-type car. We had some adventures finding her a parking space (read: room to park on the sidewalk) and carrying everything down by hand, but we did it. Despite not being able to see out of her rear view mirror, we made it home without incident. Unless you count Maura's driving off with her key.

Being at home is still weird. I try not to spend all day in my room, but everything good is in here except food and the big TV. I am loving the freedom to walk around barefoot again, though not as much when I walk across crumbs on the kitchen floor. I love walking barefoot, but I only do it at home. I told my mom about my mission to start eating green vegetables. She made me feel bad when I didn't get any last time we had some. I swear, I saw them on the stove and registered that they were green beans, but I honestly forgot. When she reminded me, I was already finished eating, so it clearly was not fair to point out my omission then. I'm working on it.

I've been working since Main Commencement in the University Honors office on campus. The drive is so long, but it's such an interesting job, and I get the best hours. I get there by 10am and leave between 1:30 and 3pm. Honors is planning a summer program for rising juniors (all minorities) where they'll get to live on campus for a week (and in suites, not even regular dorm rooms, though they don't know that), have lectures with Honors faculty, and experience campus life (to a degree; it is summer). I'm sort of an RA/TA/OA figure, along with Chaz, the other student coordinator. The program is funded by a grant from the Portzes, who donate a ton of money to Honors. Traci, my boss, got it rolling a bit late, though, so the response to our invitations for applications isn't as high as we expected it to be. As of Friday, we had or were expecting just enough to run the program for one week, though we'd planned on two weeks (with two groups). So it looks like I won't lose my job, just have less of it. After the program is over, it's back to OfficeTeam—and after data entry over winter break, I am dreading that. Are there no offices in southern Maryland? Honestly.

I saw X-Men III with my family. I enjoyed it immensely. My mom had never heard of the mutant/minority (or lately, mutant/homosexual) parallel, so I tried to explain it to her. The ending reminded me a bit of Freddy vs. Jason, which brings back many levels of unpleasant memories, but also suggests that they're not done with X-Men movies yet. And why should they stop? They're good movies. Just today on TV, I was watching Millions. I missed the beginning and a bit toward the end (I had to help put groceries away), but I loved what I saw. That kid was fantastic for his part. I don't know how I missed that movie originally, but I liked it a lot.

Now, why didn't that wind up four times as long as a weekly entry would have? To celebrate, I give you this awesome video, via Happy Catholic.

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