Lesson 46) Mother knows best

Daphne has a bracelet that says
"A daughter is a gift that grows up to be a friend."

Now, I'm the best I may not be the greatest gift ever - but I did come wrapped in pink!

There was once a day when all we wanted to do was prove our mothers wrong (or fathers, I don't want to discriminate boy/girl). Admit it- you went out of your way to wear shorts when she said it was too cold for them. You shivered instead of taking the offered jacket. You stayed up reading the night before a test instead of going to sleep as instructed. We're all guilty of this.

Then you matured... kinda. You start listening to her, but that's mostly because it really is 20 degrees outside, and that test is now the SAT. As much of a rebel you want to be, you'd also really like to get into college. You at least wanna beat what's-his-name in your English class 'cause he will not quit bragging about his stupid score.

Then there's these days. I don't know when it'll come for you, or when it did. You realize you need her advice, and go seek it. You don't sigh when she's on the caller ID of your cell phone. You actually tell her what's going on in your life and asks what she's up to. They're there when you say the wrong thing, when you get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and when you need a paper checked.
You think she's gotten cooler.

I hate to tell you this, but chances are Mom (or Dad) has been the same since the stork dropped you off. Isn't that annoying?! Try as we might, it looks like we're the ones that grew up. The lesson here is that if you've hit these days- love 'em and appreciate it. One day you'll be a mom and you'll be able to see from the other side what happens. Thank goodness our mothers were once daughters too so they knew just to be patient with us!  If you haven't hit these days- here's my promise that they'll come. You just gotta hold on a little longer.

Another note- biological or not, we all have a mother on this earth. Today, be thankful for those women in your life, whoever they are! Here's a glass of wine (even though it tastes gross, they seem to like it) for moms everywhere!

Curl Girl- out.

Interruption

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog to entertain you with something hilarious.

Put the following into your address tab, and enjoy!


http://www.flashbynight.com/drench/

and

http://www.wimp.com/animalvoiceovers

Curl Girl, out!

Lesson 45) Old Man Winter

This is a continuation of Lesson 44, when I spoke to you about Spring's love-powers.

You see, Spring is here now. Just a few days of light and green growth and we've already forgotten how cold we were and all the scarves we layered up. I hate to tell you this, but the Earth continues to move, and Winter will come back. This means that this love-power is going to go away too.

Which means that a bunch of the couples getting together these fews weeks will be breaking up breaking up as well.
But think about it, everyone has to break up at some point, right?

When I became an annoying pre-teen, my mother got me the little book "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff," which I of course tossed aside for long periods of time. I eventually picked it back up one night when I couldn't sleep and started leafing through it. One little chapter I found was about breaking up and it brought up the question- do you remember that very first person you had a crush on, that very first relationship? I mean the veeeeerrrrry first one, when you both still had braces and you'd just gotten over the whole cooties thing.
Yep, I saw you shiver. You wouldn't date that boy today if someone paid you, would you? Imagine if you'd NEVER broken up with him. If no one broke up, we'd all be stuck with that first person we crushed on.
I would never have existed because my Nana stole my grandfather from his fiancee', to being with. But on a more personal level, that boy I first liked was adorable at four. Now? He's shorter than me. He doesn't play a sport, an instrument, he's not doing so great in school, I mean this kid just isn't that fantastic. I'm sure you can come up with one or two of those kids that you look back at and say "what was I thinking??"

Now you're thinking: thank God for break ups. I want you to enjoy your Spring, bringing you butterflies on your nose and in your tummy, but remember it leaves as quickly as it came!

Curl Girl, out!

Lesson 44) Timon and Pumba

"I can see what's happening."
"What?"
"But they don't have a clue."
"Who?"
"They'll fall in love and HERE'S the bottom line- our trio's down to two."
"Oh."
"The sweet caress of twilight, there's magic everywhere..."

Honestly, if you haven't seen The Lion King and therefore do not know the above lines... I just don't know what I can do for you. Just kidding! I can duct tape you to a chair and make you watch it, haha!

Spring is in the air, Ladies and Gentlemen. Spring is beautiful and I absolutely love it. I'm in a constantly better mood in the warm weather, as many people are. The returning sunshine brings out the new leaves, the flowers, the birds, the animals...
... and the couples.
BOOM! It's like everyone just EXPLODES with the need to be in a couple. They want to have that someone to go on a picnic with, someone who will kiss them goodbye before they head into class. They "need" that someone to take cool evening walks with now that the snow's melted and we can actually leave the dorm room.

...Yeah, that's stupid.
No, I'm not a bitter single girl telling you that having someone is stupid because I'm jealous. Don't get me wrong- I think it's wonderful to be part of a couple. I'm telling you this because I don't want you to make the same mistake that I'm seeing in several people right now. There are some couples that are getting together at this time of year just because of accidental timing. But I don't want you dating someone because you want to be a part of this seasonal movement. That's a horrible reason to be with someone! If you wouldn't date them in the dead of Winter, don't do it now. That's not you liking them, that's the pollen messing with your brain! You don't need a boyfriend, you need allergy medicine.

If you're lovestruck- go for it. But do me a favor and before you say yes (or maybe you're the brave one asking), take a moment from staring at his tan face and summer shorts and ask yourself- would you say yes if he was in his big down jacket and those clunky snow shoes?

Curl Girl, out!

Lesson 43) "Losers Like Me"

First of all, I'd like to give a moment to Liz Taylor, who died yesterday morning. As Elton John said "We have just lost a Hollywood giant; more importantly, we have lost an incredible human being."


So... I'm sure that you've noticed what a fail I've been with my updating recently. I told you I would never do such again, and here I am. I guess I'm still learning, huh?


Today's lesson is brought to you by Glee (judge me all you want, I love that show) and a fellow F500, Erin. 
Glee is a teenage drama turned musical, so it's awesome. Recently they did a song 'written by the members of the Glee club' for Regionals called Losers Like Me. It's about people wanting to be -you guessed it- losers like them because "everyone you wanna be, well they started out like me!" This is pretty true, actually. Whether it's actors who started as the whimpy theatre kids, or Einstein who wasn't that great at class or making friends, the people we look up to didn't start out that wonderful. They were the normal kids, maybe not the losers of the losers- but not the ones everyone knows either.

I was sitting with Erin yesterday and I made some silly joke that really is only funny to me, probably something about wanting to be a dinosaur. She laughed and looked at me saying "I feel as if you say things like that way more often these days. You started out not saying it at all, then you just said it to us, and now you'll speak that way to anyone!"
Yeeeeeaaaaah. So maybe I shouldn't make these comments so frequently (who doesn't want to be a T-Rex, though?). My point is, I hadn't even realized this. In a lesson before about dancing in public I told you that I've become very (too much, perhaps) comfortable with who I am, and I'm not afraid to show it anymore.

These two things are going to be combined (like a DOUBLE lesson, so intense!). Now, we have losers who grow up to be awesome and a dinosaur girl who can't NOT but be herself. What can we get from that?
Anyone?
I'll just tell you.
WE ARE THE AWESOME PEOPLE OF TOMORROW. Isn't that such good news? Doesn't that get you super excited?? I can't wait to tell how this band geek became a star. You've come this far with me, so let's be honest- you're in that loser boat with me. This sounds like just a statement, but it's a lesson. We might as well sign up for those classes/degrees next semester that we want to take, rather than the ones our society tells us will make the most money. We might as well stomp up the stairs like a velociraptor because we'd embarrass ourselves tripping anyway. We can watch Glee and The Big Bang Theory with no shame because as 'Finn' said "Yeah, I'll just shake it off, I'll get you back when I'm your boss!"

Theme song of the day: Pink's "Raise Your Glass!"

Curl Girl, out!

Lesson 42) Party Harness

Happy St. Patty's Day!
I'm wearing my green, and I hope you are too so that you don't get pinched!
The Yummy page has been updated for those of you that plan on celebrating tonight ;)


I don't know if any of you had friends that were leash kids when they were younger, or if you were one yourself, but I know one or two that were. I used to make fun of these people with all the "free the leash-kids!" jokes and all. But I'm starting to rethink this idea. I suppose it's better to have a kid on a leash then to lose them in a crowd.
So... do you think they come in adult sizes?

Ha ha, just kidding!
No I'm not. I'm totally serious, where can I get a few?.

Maybe this will be my million-dollar-invention (you can't steal it, I have it documented on this page!). Think about it: They could come in all different colors and sizes. Girls could get matching ones for their friends!  We could make college-designed ones with team colors and mascots, or even ones with the different sorority/fraternity letters. They'd come with reflectors for the walk back, just incase your pet friend ran out in the middle of the road dragging you with them. They would even have a wrist adjuster so you could tighten it on and still have your hand free for your own red solo cup soda can. You could have them custom-made with your name on the handle and your friend's name on the harness!
I feel as if there are a lot of events, big and small, that could have been avoided if only I'd had one or two.
Yes, I'm brilliant and about to be RICH!

But incase you opt out of my amazing Curl's Party Harness (do you like the name? Maybe not catchy enough) allow me to remind you of an earlier lesson of mine. I once told you that you need to make sure you have a plan before you go out. I've also told you to watch out for your friends when you go to places. Here's one thing that I haven't said yet that maybe I need to: allow your friends to watch out for you. Keeping tabs on the whereabouts of your friends is one thing, but making sure they can see you too is a big deal as well. If you're heading to the bathroom, let them know. If you've decided to go home, let them know. If you've found a cute boy to kiss in the corner, make some eye contact with your girl to let her know you're okay. That way, when the moment comes when you're not around and haven't said anything, she can panic accordingly and go in search of you.

Maybe I'm sounding like a mom here, but hey- lessons learned, right?
So have a safe weekend...
...and get your orders ready!

Curl Girl, out!

Lesson 41) Cosmo

If you think about it, a girl's life can be time-lined by which magazine she's reading.

• She starts out as a small child in sneakers that light up and pigtails with her little American Girl magazine that tells her to be pretty on the inside. 
• She then moves into Girl's Life, which I don't think was that popular when I was a tween, but I've seen it around a lot. I'm pretty sure it touches on the topics of that first kiss and such.
• The prestigious moment comes when our girl becomes a young lady and reaches for her Seventeen Magazine. It breaches the world of fashion and what may or may not be going on... down there. It's an introduction to the awkward questions, but sill has the funny stories to keep her light-hearted.
• Then, there's the day she picks up her first Cosmo. We've hit the Glamor and Lucky stage, dear. Baby girl is now a young woman and she wants "50 Ways to Seduce a Man (In A Minute or Less)" to be only a few pages down from "The Most Influential Women in Today's World, and How You Can be One of Them" and "Orange is Back to Stay!" Yes, she still wants the horoscope in the back so that she can find out when her little Taurus self is gonna be blessed with a Prince Charming, but she's left her light up sneakers and braces far behind.
• I refuse to say that Good Housekeeping follows these. Instead, I will say that this woman moves on to Southern Living or Martha Stewart, even. Garden Design and all sorts of categories open up, but I will not be one to hop the Housekeeping wagon, no Ma'am.

However, I would like to propose that maybe one never leaves the Cosmo time of life. I say this mostly because this is where the F500 are right now, and none of us ever want to leave. Perhaps we will remain perpetual college girls. But really, which of our future husbands will complain about that?

The current Cosmo issue actually has the "50 Ways to Seduce a Man (In A Minute or Less)" article, and we have been pouring over it. No, we're not desperate for a way to finally land that cutie from lecture- these things are just hilarious! We started going through the list of ideas other women have sent in. There are comments that range from sexily taking a sip from his drink, all the way to knowing which type of chocolates to bring his mother (because if Momma likes you, you have an automatic in). Sara read them off to us, and let me tell you- there are a few girls that are a little too creative for their own good. 

This is simply the point of life we have reached, and it's interesting to look at. Grabbing my Seventeen, I always wondered what secrets hid behind those sacred pages on the shelf right above. Now here I am, admiring the coming summer colors and trying to do the weight-pumps just like the girl in the picture (btw, who actually exercises looking that good?). 

I dare you, no matter what point in this magazine-line I've constructed you're at, to sneak out and get yourself a Cosmo tonight. Curl up in front of the nightly news, or in your bed where your teddy bear still hangs out and enter the sexy, sale-seeking universe brought on by great clothes and boy talk! Maybe you should still be more concerned about getting your report card or picking up the groceries, but tonight is a Cosmo night, you deserve it.

Curl Girl, out!

Lesson 40) Horsing Around

Here's where my train of thought went:
"This lesson is about leading people on... like a horse off the lead... horsing around... haha that's what got to the leading on... Hey, don't horses ride in circles during training?"

But no, this lesson is not about horses. It's about my lovely roommate, Sara.
Sara became quick friends with Mason's roommate, who we'll call Mitch (why do so many of my male friends have 'M' names?). Mitch was actually the boy from THE CODE lesson, in case you're curious.
From the first time they hung out, there was a level of teasing flirtation. Not the kind that leads to anything too heavy, just light fun stuff. This + liquid courage resulted in the place they are now, which is something along the lines of "friends with benefits." Sara's very happy with their current system. She's been very upfront about how she feels and what she wants. This has been the most vital communication! Because of this, it's not awkward throughout the week. They hang out and it's normal, minus a few rude fun comments from the peanut gallery. There are no expectations... or there hadn't been.

What the rest of us are worried about is: what happens after?
There are some expectations developing, involving selections for "date parties" with Greek life and such events. Mitch is alright with this, because it's obvious to all of us that he'd like a little development. However, there's no guarantee that such an action will take place, or that it won't.

I wish them the best, and hope that all works out for them, whatever flavor of relationship that may end up being. The aftermath can be helped by us, the peanut gallery. We have to be the supportive crew. It's our job to give them our real opinions. In situations like these, people benefit from every angle that can be seen. Daphne, Mason, Carrie, and I are doing just that. We've discussed the events with each other, and expressed our views to the two of them as well. (Ew, that sounds so bussiness like. I promise we don't have committee meetings about all this... they're more like gossip sessions!) But, in the end it's their choice. You have to keep the balance of helping them see everything, but also remembering it's their life- not yours.
I believe in this specific instance, all will be well. I know Sara is a logical person, and I'm pretty sure Mitch is too, so there are no real worries. I'm using this time to remind you, whether you're the Sara, the Mitch, or the peanut gallery, you have a duty to be upfront about your feelings, while remembering it can effect everyone around you as well.

Here's to the friends, and here's to the benefits!
Curl Girl, out!

Lessons 31-39) Spring Break

Alright... I've failed my challenge already. It's been so long since I posted that I actually had to sign back into the site- how embarrassing!
I have a small excuse, as it was Spring Break for me and my schedule was way off, but I'm still sorry. However, to make up for it, tonight I will be posting some of the most yummy recipes for y'all!

Let's get down to business (to defeat *beat, beat* the Huuuns).

Lesson 31) Everyone Likes The Top Of A Muffin Best...
But no one likes a "muffin top." For those of you that don't know this term, it is the pudge (aka fat tissue) that rises just above one's pants, forming the same shape as a muffin that shapes around its tin. They can be small or large, and any size in between. Now, you should always love your body- that's a given. If you feel beautiful/handsome, it doesn't matter what the numbers (or anyone else) say. However, I do not love my body when it's looking good and then I go home and eat everything I can get my leopard-polished hands on. This is not nice to my body. In fact, I am being rude to it by stuffing past its "full" notch, and then attempting to stuff it into my party-jeans. How dare I? When you go on breaks you HAVE to be careful to keep to your regular diet. Yes, a treat here or there to celebrate being on break is wonderful, but try to remember that break does end, and those calories refuse to be left at home!

Lesson 32) Spring Flings
No.
Back in "the day" these were fine- back before iPhones, back before Facebook, back before Twitter. These days, there is no one out there that you don't have a way to keep in touch with other than snail mail. Spring Flings are supposed to be precious days spent with someone you found at the beach, or is the son of a family friend you shared a condo with, or the hot life guard by your grandma's pool... the likes. Spring Flings were people you walked away from when school called again and you told your friends about him/her... gazing wistfully into the distance, hoping one day you might meet again. Today, you can just look him up on Facebook or Tweet him. Then, where does the magic go? A few slightly awkward conversations ('cause let's be real- how much actual talking about yourself did you do on vacation?) that end in you just not pressing the "poke back" button and hoping that his family decides not to join yours this coming summer! I could give you many stories of such flings from the F500, but they're all the same. Either agree to be a REAL Spring Fling with barely a last name, or fall in love and be with him forever- because the middle road is no longer available in today's world.
Sorry, to all you Romantics out there, but someone had to tell ya.

Lesson 33) Would You Like Some Couch With That Potato?
I'm going to be brief. If you're home for break, GET UP. Get off the couch and go outside. If you come back and everyone else has been going on adventures and all you have to share is a record for how long a person can watch "The Real House Wives of Orange County" before their head explodes, there's a problem and you're going to be sad.
Get up and GO OUTSIDE.
...not that I know what the "The Real House Wives of Orange County" is or anything...

Lesson 34) The Lone Star State
Did you know that when you go into bars in Texas with your parents, they don't ID you?
This is what Sara learned over her break. Her family went with some friends to an estate in Texas and she had an awesome week! We got texts/picture all week about the awesome places she was going and cool sites she was seeing along her hikes and adventures.
I'm going to encourage you to take such trips as breaks. She was with her family, and she had an excellent time (even brought me back an uber pretty bracelet)! She didn't stay at home, but she didn't do one of those crazy drink-all-day-and-night-first-week kinda trips either. All the horror stories about those trips are true, to be honest. I can say that because I know a lot of the kids they happened to. No, I'm not a prude (trust me) and I'm sure they're fun at the time, but wouldn't you rather have shorter periods like that -such as the weekend- and be able to have real memories? I'm not trying to push the mushy-family-time ticket, but we're almost to that age where we have our own house and own mortgage- take the opportunities when you can!

Lesson 35) Center of The Universe
I would prefer this to be me. However, that kinda gravitational pull doesn't look good on that many people, so I'll acknowledge that I'm just one of the shining stars! In reality though, we have to remember that breaks from school are breaks for everyone. Breaks for you, breaks for your Mom worrying where you are, breaks for your Dad sending you grocery money, and breaks for your siblings. It was weird when I was in high school and both my brothers were in college. None of us ever had the same breaks, so there was always one or two of us wondering around while everyone else's lives were going on as usual. It's okay to be relaxing, but there are other members of the household who are trying to enjoy their break as well, or trying to keep to their schedule! As the little sister, I ask you to be considerate of the siblings when you come home. As a college kid, I remind you that your parents are paying your tutition so you should probably be nice while you're home. This is a lesson I'm working on myself- you may no longer be surrounded by 20,000 other college students, but you are certainly not alone.

Lesson 36) Procrastinators Unite... Tomorrow
I hate doing laundry. Honestly, I would rather wash dishes, or iron, or dust. ANYTHING would be better than sorting out those clothes, timing the dryer, hanging things up, folding, ect. I don't know why I feel so hateful towards laundry, I just do.
So of course I put it off until the last few days I was home, when I didn't have anything to wear and was about to resort to digging through my brothers' old drawers. When we go home, we need to get such things done ahead of time. The last few days of break need to be relaxing, not stressful and full of work. We need to be appreciating those last moments of family and free food!

Lesson 37) Sleeping Not-So-Beauty
Over breaks it's really tempting to just sleep forever and a day. You're at home and your alarm clock is taking a week off too! However, this isn't the greatest for your sleeping schedule. This morning I had to get up in time to be ready for class like normal, and that was just difficult. I wasn't too bad over break, but my body was not happy about this whole getting-up-before-nine stuff that I had brought back. Imagine how bad it will be if I do that all summer! Also, I think it messed up Mom's schedule as well since she couldn't do everything she wanted since I was sleeping in, such as turning on washers.
And remember what I said- we want to keep the parents happy.

Lesson 38) You're Like Coming Home
This is a country song by Lone Star that you should go listen to.
For the first time for me, returning from break was actually really exciting! I was so glad to see everyone, it seemed like I was falling back into place, as if we'd never left. All the sudden people got my jokes without explanation, and I could return to my regular vocabulary. Don't get me wrong, I love my family. But first semester was a tiny bit rough for me and this one's going really well group-wise. Plus, I've been in my dorm room longer than I've been in the new house my family moved into this summer. It's not home, but it's a home, and I'm happy to be here. These are the friends I belong with, and you should always appreciate these moments. Yeah, you're going back to school where work and study resides BUT you're back on your campus where you rule the world!

Lesson 39) Garfield Is Right
Mondays suck. Let's be real, they just do. Every professor wants to throw things at you because he/she's coming back from break to and realizes they have to get everything done before the semester exams start. None of the F500 is having a good day. My bio professor pushes up an exam, Sara's math proctor yelled at her for doing something another proctor told her to do, Daphne found out her 10 page paper is actually due THIS week, and Erin's teachers were just generally unkind.
But it's supposed to be in the 60s/70s by Thursday, so we just have to get over Hump Day (Wednesday)! Mondays are evil, but surviving it just means you're a little closer to the next weekend. Push through it, Honey, because next Sunday is the official beginning of Spring, so the sun will be shining!!

Sorry all of these came together, but they're just as loved as all my other lessons!

Curl Girl, out!

Lesson 30) Red Wine and Bow-ties

Today is the first day of Spring Break, YAY!!

The start of Spring Break was supposed to be celebrated by Sara, Daphne, and I joining my brother and his friends in an epic dance party. We'd been looking forward to it all week because we decided a few weeks ago that my brother's would be a place we only took the Fantastic 500 rather than bring our whole crew (Erin had taken off earlier in the day to get home to her cadet beau, so she wouldn't be joining us this time).

Friday's classes end and the three of us go out for some celebratory ice cream before we decide what to do with ourselves for those awkward hours of Friday before one gets ready to go out for the night. We all pack a little bit, then just hang out. Eventually, we decide to nap for a bit. I got up before Sara, so I went to lounge around with Daphne. While with her, she gets a phone call from a very distraught Jake, a friend we made due to his boyfriend, Hanson, being a real close friend of ours.
Daphne is closer to Jake than I am, so when he came over I peaced-out to give them a moment. I had only been back in my room for about two minutes before Daphne knocked on my door with Jake in tow.

"Wake up Sara, we have to get all of Jake's stuff out of Hanson's room- now."
Oh. I could see the hurt, anger, and confusion on Jake's face, so instead of asking questions I did as was told, grabbed a sweatshirt and pair of sandals and off we went! Being girls experienced in heartache, we made Jake sit down for a bit and tried to get him to eat (how could he resist Chipotle?) as we learned what had happened. It appeared there had some cheating found out by some misplaced emails on Hanson's iTouch Jake had picked up earlier that day.
So after some food, and a stop by the grocery store for Jake to pick himself up some cheap red wine, we returned to their frat's house to their shared room. During all of this, Hanson is calling and texting Jake up the wazoo- just tearing the phone up trying to figure out what to do and explain that he may have messed up, but he would never actually cheat on Jake.

We were the moral support and talking coaches. We were the board to bounce ideas off of and the ears to rant to. We were the cheerleaders and the glass re-fillers.
I watched as the minutes went by... we were missing more and more of my brother's party, but Jake needed us there, and he didn't want to go out with us.
In the middle of a quiet moment, Daphne spotted bow-ties. Only she can not seem silly asking Jake to teach her how to tie one at a time like this! He laughed and offered to teach all of us. How crazy we must have looked- all of us girls in our yoga pants and disheveled hair from our naps, sporting fancy bow ties! But it was hilarious, and for just a moment it took Jake's mind off of the situation and gave his body a moment to relax before the next tense phone call. Whether she did it on purpose or not, I'm not sure, but either way Daphne defiantly gets points for that move!

We probably would have had a better time at my brother's. There would have been more music and a crazier time, but we had a choice to make and I know we made the right one. Jake needed shoulders to lean on, and we were all willing to give up our night to make sure he made it through his!

Next time, we'll dance!

Curl Girl, out!

Lesson 29) Oh, Poor Grasshopper

Never, ever, EVER correct a TA.

If you don't already know, a TA is a Teacher's Assistant. They are typically a part of large classes, such as Biology or Philosophy classes. They lead recitations and labs, the menial things that the professor doesn't want to do because he/she is too busy doing real research.

Well. I have a problem. Judging by the stories of my father and my brothers, it's genetic so I refuse to take full blame for it (haha)!
You see, when someone is blatantly wrong, I have an irresistible need to correct them, especially if it effects other people. The unfortunate part of this is that I don't have a filter on these corrections... even if it's for someone in higher authority than myself.
In high school I did this a lot. Teachers would write something wrong on the board, or put incorrect grammar in an assignment and I just couldn't stop myself! But back in my hometown, people knew who I was and who my parents were and that I was a generally good kid so they never took offense, they just laughed and chalked it up to another point of Curl-Girl-ness.

TA's do not feel that way. In fact, they get rather upset. You see, I received an email that was sent to my entire recitation group from our TA, who we'll call Antelope (because his name is a similar creature). A fellow student replied (honestly, they should just remove the 'reply all' button) asking about what we should do about the homework due in the next class. Antelope's reply was that we should slip pages blah and blah with the attached questions under the door before we took off for Spring Break if we wanted credit.
Well, that seemed silly to me. Why would we turn something in two weeks earlier than the other 146 kids in Phil 1504? So I sent a message back pointing out that the syllabus stated that the homework wasn't due that early, nor was that the next assignment due, but there was one before it. Perhaps he had meant something else, since we had not learned all of the work required for that particular assignment.
Antelope was not exactly pleased. If I were to translate his email to something a little more polite than his actual message it would say something like:

"Dear Curl Girl,
You are but a young grasshopper, and I am a master. Though you are correct in this instance, you should be aware that masters do not listen to grasshoppers, no matter how correct they may be. I will send out the correction to your fellow grasshoppers, and will expect the assignment on the date established in the syllabus.
-Antelope"

So, crawling back under the rock undergraduates apparently belong, I sent an email back thanking him for being so understanding and he could shove his master-ness where the sun doesn't shine I wished his Spring Break was positively awesome.
I'm behaving from now on, scared to step out of my little lines for my grade, but I tell you, Antelope better check himself because the last time I checked, lions hit the top of the food chain, and have you SEEN this mane of mine?

Curl Girl, out!

Lesson 28) The Code

"...Wait, you have to take me to shore, according to the code of the Order of the Brethren..."
"...First, your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement, so I must do nothing, and secondly you must be a pirate for the Pirate's Code to apply and you're not, and thirdly the code is more of what you call guidelines than actual rules..."

Once again, if you don't know where this quote is from, you need to sprint over to the closest movie-rental and fix it.

Today, we talk about THE CODE. Boys have this thing they call the "Bro Code," which is actually kinda funny and just about every male follows it, whether they're aware that's what they're doing or not. It's the regular sort of 'do not date your bro's ex-girlfriend without permission' and 'driver gets to decide rule for shot gun' stuff along with 'men do not go to the bathroom together' jazz. Most of it is common sense, at least to the majority of semi-nice people. Well, girls have this code too. Although some girls are complete b*tches losers and do not follow it, we were all born with a deep connection between females that comes from an innate feminine knowledge and the suffering/common sense/love/joy that comes with such knowledge.

Thursday (when this was supposed to be posted) brought an interesting time when THE CODE actually had to be examined. Allow me to start with that there was not a fight- so no worries.
As I explained last week, Thirsty Thursday have become a part of our group's lives these days. I, like I've stated before, cannot take part in such events due to having actual classes on Fridays. This week, my 8 am was cancelled, so I suppose I could have participated, but chose not to.
Sara, however, decided that she could afford to go out. Early in the afternoon, we were both done with our classes and sat around to discuss the night. You see, she had a strong inclination that she would not be returning alone from the party...

No, my roommate isn't one those girls. It was a particular boy- keep the judgement to a minimum!
Either way, it was not going to be that great if she and I were both occupying the room that night. So exactly what was the protocol for this sort of situation? For many girls, this would have resulted in a very tense conversation filled with uneasy looks and uncomfortable silences. However, Sara and I have already been through our share of weird phases and can talk about things like this rather openly. We even have some fun talking about such things these days!
THE CODE states that no girl can be kicked out of her own room, no matter how hot the guy is. THE CODE does also state, though, that once a boy becomes a big enough deal, room occupancy does need to become at least a discussion. The conclusion Sara and I came to (that we were both happy with) was that it wouldn't be so bad if I had a sleepover with one of our friends, such as Erin or Daphne, since none of us had anything too early or important to do the next day, and it was the last day before Spring Break anyway. But the deal went like this: we were baby-proofing and cleaning the room together, and this wouldn't be a regular thing but would be discussed each time and the result would depend on the individual circumstances of our schedules.

I could go on and on and on about THE CODE and the way you need to follow it and the consequences of not following it, but I thought this little example of my roomie and I chatting one of the rules out would remind you to always keep in mind that we, whether ladies or bros, do have some guidelines set down for us no matter your religion or beliefs. Talking about it with your besties will always keep fights and disagreements from occurring, so today we take our lesson from Mr. Gibbs:

"What do we do??"
...
"We keep to the code."


Curl Girl, out!

Lesson 27) Pass The Happy Pills

"Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't kill their husbands."

If you haven't seen the movie "Legally Blond," then you will not understand the above quote, and should probably drop everything to remedy the situation immediately.

Crew, I'm going to be straight up with you. This has not been the greatest week for me. Despite my best efforts, I've been quite disappointed in the last several days. Nothing really exciting has happened, my exams have been extremely difficult despite intense studying, and my professors seem to think it's hilarious to assign massive amounts of work all at the same time. So, today, when I was told that once again I'd come up short and not received an RA position for next semester, I was most defiantly at my wit's end.

I will be the first to admit that it is near impossible to get me out of a bad mood once I have settled into it. I felt it coming on, and took action! The sun was shining today, so I told Erin to throw on her sneakers, that we needed to go for a run. The endorphins that exercise brought were so helpful. The headache of stress died away and I was able to chase after the ducks by the pond without another thought! It was defiantly a help, and I would encourage you to take similar actions when stressed, as exercise not only releases endorphins to please you, but also burns the calories you got from eating your feelings. 

But today, not even that could do it, and I had to resort to calling my mother and whimpering to her for a while. Which is awesome- sometimes you just need some mom-time.

Life is hard. It's impossible to always be up, and sometimes the world just brings you down and it's just easier to crawl back in the bed. We never have that option though. 

So today I ask you to join me in a challenge- to FIGHT these days with everything! Time is going to keep moving whether we're engaged or not, so we have to keep up straight until we get all the work done. The weekend is going to come eventually, I promise. We can't give in to the other days, because then we have to spend those weekends making up the work! 

Go for a run. If that doesn't work, call your mom/girlfriend. If that doesn't work, let out a few tears and wipe them off. If THAT doesn't work, eat some small little sweet. It THAT doesn't work, find the next thing- we have to. 

My day was pretty rough, but that doesn't stop my four page essay from being due on Friday. My week just could not cut it for me, but that doesn't mean I won't be going out on Friday and trying to forget that!  We're all going to have those days, and on a lot of them the only person that's going to understand is you. 

The lesson today? As a family friend used to say "Life's a bitch, and then you die."

Here's to putting that bitch in her place for all the stuff she throws at us!

We can do it, because we don't have another choice.

Curl Girl, out!

Lesson 26) Snow White Condition

This week I have been all of the Seven Dwarves:

• Doc
• Grumpy
• Sleepy
• Bashful
• Sneezy
• Dopey
• Happy

and it has been rough!

I was Doc when I baby sat my ...slightly inebriated friends on a week night. I was Grumpy as I trudged through way too much work and too many exams. I was Sleepy constantly. I was Bashful when a cute guy tried to talk to Sara and me about jobs this summer. I was Sneezy as my cold made one last small attack before leaving for good. I was Dopey with my constant awkward comments because I wasn't fully listening to anyone (due to the tons of work). I was FINALLY Happy when my head hit my pillow.

I suddenly feel really sorry for people with Multiple Personality Disorder. It is tiring, let me tell you. 

Sometimes you just have to let your crew know that you can't handle their issues one week. Like: "Babe, I love you- but can we talk about this later? I'm kinda busy with my crumbling consciousness."

I should have spoken up sooner that I needed a second to myself. I should have just walked out earlier. I eventually had to to get work done. Daphne was in the middle of a story and I got a "what's up?" look from Carrie and Erin, but I had to get out. 

Always be sure of yourself so that your SELF doesn't get away from you. I didn't have time to be all the Seven Dwarves this week!

If I could be anyone right now, I think I'd take Sleeping Beauty. She at least got to take a nap.

Curl Girl, out!