The view from here...

...is so much nicer. I mean, of course, the view from holiday Meghan rather than finals Meghan. =)

I actually ended up with a B in Marine Science...which isn't phenomenal, but it could have been worse. I just wasn't super motivated for that class...not so much my thing. But I still don't know my other grades (Spanish and Biology). I'll probably get a B in Spanish (that used to be my guaranteed A and now it's a LOT harder. Darn it.) and a C+ in Bio-DEFINATELY not my type of class. I think I am done updating on that for now though. It's SO NICE to have that behind me. And I am now enjoying thinking about seeing lots of movies I haven't had time to see, celebrating Tom and Madeline's birthdays, baking yummy cookies, seeing everyone who I don't see as much in the school year, Christmas shopping and wrapping presents, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve, the Talent/No Talent Show at Trinity, and the list goes on. I've been listening to Christmas music tonight, and I love the feeling it gives me. I put away all the stuff I brought home from school for the break while I listened/sang along to the music. And I'm even excited about going to Dad's office tomorrow to get checked out since I can't get rid of this awful cold. I mean, yay- I actually have time to take care of myself. haha And the animals-I have to take every cat (that means 3 trips, as we only have one carrier) to the vet's office to get shots. (FYI-Lucy is fine now-the Vet gave her a shot and some arthritus meds; she's not limping now!=)

Ok, so I don't know if I mentioned this earlier in a post, so I will do it now...I got picked to be a Rho Chi again for the 2006-2007 UGA Fall (sorority) Recruitment (aka Rush). YAY! I am so happy because, to be honest, on my list of things to do, Rush is right up there with cleaning public bathrooms, getting splinters under my fingernails, having a fever, taking a test after pulling an all-nighter for a different class...you get the idea. And lemme make myself clear-I love my sorority. There are girls that are no longer in it that will forever be my sisters because of the friendships that I have formed there. One of Tom's fraternity brothers put it well when he said that if he bought those friendships, then thank the Lord that he had the money because it was well spent. I may not be best friends with every girl...there are almost 200 of us...but I am best friends with some, friends with most, and am really impressed by the group as a whole. Those girls are smart, talented, and pretty...basically the total package. Rush does provide the chance to get to know sisters you might not have known as well before better, and it strengthens ties that you already had. That being said, I still detest rush because of a few reasons. One is that it can bring out the worst in people-you are tired, stressed, and forced to act cheerful all day then go cut girls from your list of invite-backs...it's not the best time to get to see peoples' opinions of why some girls should be cut or carried to the next round. Another reason is that you have to look perfect and happy while COMPLETELY depleted of energy...I mean...I was in the skit, the singing group, and the regular part of rush. That meant I had to be at the house at 6:45AM looking perfect, rush girls all day, practice until 1AM, go get a shower and sleep, then get up at 6AM to start the next day. And rush for sororities is not the same as for the girls going through rush because they have to arrive a week early to PRACTICE rushing girls. That's right. Another thing was that all of that made me sick-so sick that I couldn't talk in my normal voice for a month or so after rush ended. And one of the main reasons that I dislike rush is the voting process...I just don't like spending 4 hours deciding whether or not girls would fit in well in my sorority...it's tough. I would much rather be the comforter and advisor to a girl going through rush than the decider of that girl's fate, at least her fate in the Greek life. So you can see why, even though being a Rho Chi was just as tough on the hours if not worse, it was more my type of thing. I just LOVED it...as you can see if you go back to my earlier post on what I did throughout rush. Every bit of work I put into it was worth it-even talking to girls' moms at 5:30 in the morning when they called me about what to do with a sick girl or wearing what looked like Wal-Mart vests all over campus for a week and half or living in a hotel and not having any contact with our sorority sisters what-so-ever. (that was the hardest part-when I got back to Gamma Phi on bid day, I got a movie-like entrance with Claire Peters running down the lawn, arms wide open, and we sounded like football players when we hugged because the impact from us both running was so hard. Then Melissa, Jess, Jennifer, Lauren Fortner...everyone asking how my week was and saying that "rush wasn't the same without you" and Lauren made me start bawling...that was really a great feeling, because, forgive me-everyone could do with the feeling that their total and complete absence-no phone calls, text messaging, even having to pretend not to know each other if in accidental contact in public-made an impact on their friends. You might say it just fed my ego, but really, it just made me appreciate those friendships even more and feel really loved. =) It was also great being a Rho Chi because I got to meet so many girls in other sororities and be friends with them. So, I decided that being a Rho Chi was by far the best side of rush I had experienced. I went through the interview process again, and made it! YAY! AND GET THIS- NINE Gamma Phis were chosen to be Rho Chis this time around. WHATWHAT?? That is some great representation! One of them, Beth, is going to be an Orientation Leader too-and that is REALLY tough to get. I think they only take like..11 or 12 ppl to be OLs, and they are in charge of the ENTIRE incoming freshman class. She is not the first Gamma Phi to be an OL, but I am proud of her for making both positions.

Ok, that is enough about that for now. I need to get back to a normal sleeping pattern-Last night I was up till 4AM and slept till 1pm. Now it's 3:15AM, and I am going to force myself to get up at 10:10AM so I can work on getting back to being a normal human who gets up at normal times on their time off. I am going to have to get over sleeping late if I want to enjoy half my day, and I have to get over it anyway since Tyler and Maddie get up and run around early in the morning and are here for December with Jonathan and Lisa. But I wouldn't want them to be anywhere else! =)
Goodnight! Be safe going home or visiting places!
Love,
Meghan