The Year Two Thousand and Fourteen Anno Domini

Happy New Year's Eve!

2014 has been a year for the record books in my opinion and I thought I would muse about what I remember of this wonderfully strange year. 

Enero

Began this year in Trafalgar Square, London surrounded by what I could only assume was the entire European population. But it was an experience I will remember forever. 

I don't really remember much more, probably because it was literally a year ago. I probably worked on a Chem IA, cursed the name of AP US History and went to a bunch of wind ensemble rehearsals that I didn't want to go to, just counting down the days until spring break. 

Febrero

¡Mi cumpleaños! I circled the sun once again but nothing really changed except that I could see R-rated movies by myself. 

Another Valentine's I spent by myself (Oh well)

Probably more academia-related anguish (Any IBers out there, junior year is the pits)

Marzo (This is where I started to consult Instagram for help)

Concert Band ends with half excellents and half superiors, I believe, but it didn't really matter because our director was legally blind and the "show went on"

#sb2k14 College Road Trip (No, not the Raven-Symone/Martin Lawrence movie. Thought you had forgot about that hadn't you?) The fam traveled up the East Coast to UNC, Wake Forest, Duke, Elon, and UVa and I effectively eliminated half of my prospective college list. 

State Solo and Ensemble - Snuck behind enemy lines at Buchholz HS and Clarinet Choir got an Excellente and a shopping spree at the local mall because no one wanted to go back to school. Nease Band at their finest

Abril

Not much to report because April is arguable the most useless month in any year. 

Anti-Prom was swaggy and introduced  me to the comedy gold mine that is Cards Against Humanity. Woot

Probably cramming for the stupid amount of exams I had as well. And by that I mean cuddling my cat while watching Lie to Me or some other Netflix drama

Mayo

Examinaciones - APUSH, Calc, Lit, and (my least favorites to study for) IB Psych Paper 1 and 2 (Two days of testing? The IB's sadism strikes again)

Entrevistas de iglesia (Church interviews for ya'll monoglots)

So I was on a church committee to elect a new pastor at my church and the Skype interviews coincided perfectly with my exams schedule. So after hours of horrendous testing I had to act perky and positive and sell our youth pastor position. Not a whole lot of fun to say the least. 

Band Things (Oh yeah band is still a thing) Banquet was the bomb except for kind of getting kicked out off the house we were getting ready at. Three of my friends and I became 2014-15 Clarinet Section Leaders and I was so freakin pumped. Spring game before that was chill except I had to say goodbye to my senior babies and accept the reality that I too was becoming a senior baby. New Orleans before that was awesome and I got in on a lot of band gossip which is always fun. We had like 70 person Cards Aagainst Humanity going on too and that is never not fun. 

Junio

A lot of traveling and working and band officer planning. Nothing supremely specific or noteworthy. 

Julio 

ROOKIE CAMP 2K14 But really I was terrified (What if they don't like me, What if I flunk at my first ever leadershippy thing ever) But it was all good and I was embarrassing sore afterwards so I think I did it right. 

Literally the next day The Jellison ladies Take Texas. College Tour number two with momma and grandma. The three things I learned Rice is cool, Baylor is obnoxiously Baptist and I come from a long line of heinously loud snorers. Enough said. 

Agosto

BAND CAMP 2K14

College Apps

The Beginning of this dinky little blog

And you guys know the rest

As you can see this year was jam-packed with good and bad and as I coast (I mean working very diligently) I hope to enjoy all the moments I have left in this chapter of my life. I guess that's my New Year's Resolution - Enjoy what you have while you have it and end this chapter with a smile

Have a rockin' New Year,

Colleen

December Catch Up

Last Real Post of 2014 (There's a recap post coming soon)

So my Christmas present to myself was finishing all of my applications! *Insert party balloons and streamers emojis*

For real Christmas I got some clothes, some stuff from Lush which was awesome in theory but I think it's making me breakout and fell in love with my dad's Keurig coffee machine. Then I weirdly felt the need to play The Sims but I'm too poor and lazy to get the new one so I dug up the Sims 3 we had and have been wasting my life away living vicariously through my computer generated family. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. 

Some family and other visitors came to ser us and the only questions apparently worth asking were, "Where have you applied? Where have you been accepted? What's your top choice school?" Boy, I can not wait to be past this. At least it's not "Why don't you have a boyfriend?" I feel like that's the next 20 questions category for my life. Hoorah

So there you go, my Blogmas post about  Lush, The Sims and The Single Life

Have a peaceful December 31st,

Colleen

Who am I kidding? Go party, Watch Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve (I refuse to call it Primetime New Year's Eve or whatever they're calling it) and drink up that disgusting sparkling grape juice.

Happy 2015!

They Like Me, They Really Really Like Me!

So I got into Florida State today, whoop whoop!

And even though I don't really plan on going there, I am super pumped right now, which is weird. It's probably just the fact that I am a human and I fear rejection. I was also racked with guilt that I didn't write the optional essay and my entire future would collapse because I didn't want to write 400 words about how I exemplify leadership.
But Merry Christmas to me, I'm going to college. Unmerry Christmas to me, my next acceptance decision day is Valentine's Day a.k.a a LONG time away. And in the meantime,
5 application fees,
4 CommonApp schools,
3 short answer essays,
2 scholarships,
and a FAFSA in a pear tree. Yippee

Have a merry December 17th,
Colleen

The Symbiotic Relationship of Netflix and Illness

I am writing to you from the warmth and comfort of my bed of which I have been marooned for the past 12 or so hours because I have come down with the worst cold/cough/sneeze/general disgustingness that I have ever experienced. And because of all this "free" time I figured some blog posting would be therapeutic or maybe just make me feel like I maybe did something useful today other than wretch phlegm all over my laptop screen and watch Netflix.

Which brings me to my title point -- Netflix and Illness

As I lay here, helplessly watching Pirates of the Carribean and The Breakfast Club, I realized that all the memories of my worst illnesses are intertwined with the memories of the movies and TV I watched to pass the time.
My visit to the hospital with appendicitis - Dancing with the Stars before the surgery and Cash Cab during my recovery week
The days before I found out I had appendicitis and thought I had Swine Flu - HSM3 and Food Network
Anytime I had fever/flu - March of the Penguins (This thing worked better than Nyquil to put me to sleep)

Why are these the things I remember? Is it because I watch way too many movies that I binge watch them whether I am sick or not? Probably. But I like to think that the movies I watch are a "home remedy". A place to escape to so that you don't have to think of the work you're missing or how terribly you feel. Feel Bad -> Watch Movies -> Relax -> Feel Better A rather simple recipe I think.

So let us be thankful for Netflix and Blockbuster and HBO for being our nurses during our most miserable times.
Long live movie streaming services!

This was a strange blog post, but whatever.
Have a healthy December 10th,
Colleen