j'ai fini!!!

I had my last final today - Cajun French - and finished up around 2 pm. I don't think it has fully sunk in that I am done for three and a half months. I have so many plans for the summer but now that it's officially here I don't know what to do with myself. Fortunately I don't think that will last very long. Last night I procrastinated studying by looking up the books I'll need for next semester - being the nerd and over achiever that I am I plan on reading some over the summer to get a head start. I also plan on updating my blog a bit more often now that I have no excuse not to. So for starters, here are some things floating around in my mind:

1. Erica and I just watched 'Bridge to Terabithia'. She had never seen it but I own it and have seen it quite a few times. But I still cried like a baby. I don't know if any other movie makes me cry so much. 'Ladder 49' and 'The Notebook' come close I guess but 'Bridge to Terabithia' is such a wonderful movie. If you haven't seen it, go out and buy it. NOW. You should probably buy some kleenexes, too.

2. I LOVE being a history major. Maybe it's because just about every other subject just gets old to me (no pun intended). It seems like there's always a stopping point somewhere, but not with history. It never stops, and everything has a history - people, places, things. You can make learning it as simple or as difficult as you like. I also love being a history major because I was just awarded with two scholarships from the history department, worth a total of $1500. And I got to have lunch with the chair of the department (soon to be dean of the College of Arts and Sciences) and the dean of students for the department. They are both such interesting people, in their own way, and I love how their names match perfectly with their specialties - Gaines Foster (New South) and Karl Roider (East Central Europe). I enjoyed chumming it up with them. In this small ode to history I must give a shout out to my History of France professor - Dr. Martin. He is probably the best teacher I have ever had. I learned so much in his class and hung on to his every word, trying to write everything he said. I remember just about every lecture separately and distinctly and wish I could have recorded him. The man is brilliant. Yesterday before our final started he told us about the cheetah he adopted in Africa with the royalties of his published works. As I went to hand in my final the girl in front of me asked him to sign her book, the one he wrote that we were required to read this semester. Now I am not one to patronize people but I just had to get him to sign mine as well. Unfortunately I can't really read his handwriting, but hey, at least I have it.

3. As stressful as this past week has been, I have had so much fun with Loren. She is one of my best and longest-lasting friends (we've known each other since kindergarten but weren't really best friends until sixth grade) and we always have so much fun together. Recently we have enjoyed eating lots of 'possicles' and 'poppincone', making a mockery of the swine flu (see below: bumper stickers from facebook), napping, discussing the benefits of coming from a large family, planning out how we will decorate our new apartment, watching old Billy Joel music videos, and studying while listening to Tchaikovsky, Gershwin, and Copland. And laughing. A lot. Maybe that's why we've never had a fight. Or why I've never been really mad at her for as long as we've been friends. Seriously. There is something in my mind that does not allow me to get mad at her. We were enemies in fifth grade but it's been smooth sailing since then. And that's awesome.
4. All-nighters are insane. I pulled my third one ever on Tuesday night. I don't think it would have been so bad if I had been well-rested the previous few nights. 6 hours Sunday night with a final at 7:30 Monday morning, 5 hours Monday night with lunch with the deans, a final from 3 to 5, the institute crawfish boil, then another final from 8 to 10 (yes, that's pm) on Tuesday. I am an 8 hours a night kind of person, so I was already exhausted. But I had a final at 10 am Wednesday morning that I had not studied for at all, so staying up all night was really my only option. Fortunately I had Loren pop my back before she went to bed at 1 but after that staying awake felt like torture. I slept from 3 to 3:20 and then again from 5:30 to 5:45. After that second little nap I was totally zoned out, just sitting at the table staring into space, so I then I took a shower. By that time Loren was up studying, and she enjoyed laughing at me try to eat my cereal with my head on the table. It was so weird. I had taken my contacts out from about 3 to 7 so they could get their required minimum four-hour soaking but when I put them back in I felt cross-eyed. I could not focus on anything, and I'm sure that was fun to watch as well. At 7:30 I laid down on the floor to study because my head didn't hurt as much in that position - according to Jon (Loren's bf) because I getting some blood flow to my brain that way. Of course I fell asleep again until 8 and then tried to study some more. I moved to the recliner and was trying to rewrite some notes when I realized what I was writing was coming from somewhere else in my head and was complete gibberish. I was scared I would fall asleep at the wheel on my way to campus. But I made it through the two essays and then came home for nap time. Of course I didn't feel as tired then but after watching an episode of CSI with Loren we were both out like lights. It was nice to get a full eight hours last night. And now, it's almost 2 am Friday morning and sitting here in the living room writing on my blog when I have the whole summer to do this. I must be certifiably insane. But hey, at least tomorrow I don't have to set any alarms and I can get up when I please.

Good night.