!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well. let's see..... I'm going back to work today!!!!! And a long 2 1/2 weeks off. I've gotta kinda stir crazy, so it will be fun at first, but I know I will be sick of it very soon. And I can't really afford any time away from my studies, homework, and institute stuff. So that sucks. :/
On a horrible note, I failed that ORELA test again, the one I drove down to medford for. So I'm still waiting on the Praxis II from last saturday...and I should get those results on May 23...a ridiculous time I must say. So exactly 1 week before I leave I find out how much I'm going to be dreading life and that last test. :/ I've got a 30 minute presentation in my latin american studies class and a 20 page thesis paper I must write before I can get started on my pre-institute work and SEI course, which is reading like 4 books and doing a ton of activities with them. It pretty much sucks! Sooo I'ma get off, and hopefully make some progress on all this!

aaand....I leave in 22 DAYS!!! TWENTY-TWO DAYS! holy crap. It's coming QUICK!

It's May. I Leave In ONE MONTH!!!

yessirree. I am pulling away from my life in Oregon one month from today, and headed to start a new beginning in Phoenix. April was an overwhelming month for me, but I expect May to be even more so. Being May 1st, I have started my SEI course thru ASU, which is an online course to prepare one for teaching students who speak English as a second language. Of course I can't get the website to work, so that poses a bit of a problem. I'll probably spend the rest of today rewriting a human rights report for my philosophy class and then hopefully making a bit of progress for my 20 page thesis paper that I have to have done within the month as well....yeah. the one I haven't started yet. The rest of this evening and tomorrow afternoon will be spent studying for my THIRD ORELA Social Sciences test which is on Tuesday. I took the Praxis II Saturday and felt I did alright, but I am not willing to wait 4-6 weeks to hear my fate. If for some reason I failed that test, it would be devastating. Especially since I will already be in Phoenix with all my stuff by the time I find out. This test on Tuesday is computer operated, and so I receive an instant print-out of my score. Yes, the Oregon passing scores are generally 20 points higher than everything else. So if I pass this I will feel completely confident in my new found knowledge and abilities in Social Studies content. It just sucks that I have to drive to Medford to take it, since I'm already in pain to begin with, and driving makes it worse.

Part of the reason April was so tough for me was that 2/3 through the month, on the 21st, I was driving with my sister to the gym and was rear-ended by a crazy lady going about 40 that hit us while stopped at a red light. I've been trying to muster through my days with whiplash, and now an intensifying neck pain. My options are either to suffer with pain, or be completely sedated by my muscle relaxers. So it has made it extremely difficult to study and do homework. And my body naturally is tired all the time trying to repair itself. I am going crazy from spending so much time at home on the couch, but I do feel fortunate for one part of this. While I'm bored as hell and need to be working to pay my bills, I'm grateful that this has allowed me some time to spend with friends and family, that I otherwise would not have gotten before I moved.

I am increasingly restless as I know my physical health is going downhill, and my muscles are going byebye and the fat is piling on. So I am really hoping that I can get into training again soon. Today was the Eugene half-marathon, and I know a couple of people that ran it. That takes a lot of balls and determination. And so I'm inspired, and have officially committed myself to running a half-marathon in Phoenix by the end of the year. It will be exciting, and hopefully I can get through it! I think it's a great goal to work for, and will be a good stress reliever once school starts and I need a release. Aaand I've found one of the other girls to run it with me. So thanks Janelle! :)

I have also decided that I want to sell my couches before I leave so I can just rent a trailer instead of a giant uhaul. It will save me a lot of money. So if anyone wants to buy them, let me know. I'm still deciding on the price. So you can always throw something out there.

I'm off to enjoy this sunny day, and possibly read outside in my lounge chair or nap the day away. Either way...The countdown has officially begun. 1 month!! EEEEE!