Banananananana

SO MUCH BANANA IN MY DORM ROOM. O_O

It's seriously a little ridiculous. 

We have bananas, banana pudding, banana bread (right), and banana chocolate chip bars (left).

OH YES!

Seriously, though. You should make the banana chocolate chip bars. It's a freakin' banana miracle.

Banana Chocolate Chip Bars

3/4 cup butter

2/3 cup white sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla 

1 cup mashed bananas (about 3)

1 3/4 cup flour (all-purpose or wheat)

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chip (any variety)

To make: Cream butter and ALL THE SUGAR! With one hand, gracefully break the egg into the bowl. Do a backflip. Add vanilla (with generosity). Throw in flour, baking powder, and salt and mix together. Add as much chocolate as your heart desires. Bake for 20+ minutes (seriously, it takes forever) at 350F in any cake pan, preferably one that's unicorn shaped. Eat with your face. 

On another good note, I am all registered for classes next semester! :D God I love early Honors registration. 

I am taking American Literature from 1870 to Present, Advanced Readings in French Literature, Organizational Behavior, Honors Technical Writing, and Physics of the Solar System. Wheehoo! 

PS - My professors are Conn for American Lit, Lawler for Physics, Powell for Organization, and Kaplan for French, in case you know anything about any of them (I'm looking at you, Alex). 

A Long Rant About How Awesome My Life Is.

I seriously love my school. I could not have picked a more exciting, opportunity-filled place. Despite the workload and the studying and the classes that aren't the best, I am happy here. Every day as I walk around campus I am reminded that I made the right choice to come to UNT.

I love that my indecision about a second minor isn't actually all that big a deal. I love that I'm a sophomore already, that I have so much time to do what I want to do. I love that I can take a Linguistics class or a Philosophy class or an Anthropology class and it won't even mess me up a little bit. And I can still minor in French as well as Management or International Studies or Communications or whatever the hell I feel like minoring in. I love that all I have to do is check my email or look at the walls downstairs and I'll have something to do at any given moment in time, be it having lunch with the Deans of the Honors College or going to a Student Forum to talk about the campus plans.

I'm still figuring out what organizations to join. Theatre is out. I might join photography club, and possibly play a little Quidditch. I could also do fencing, but mostly I want to join a politically active group. I'm a little leery of the Socialist group, as well as the Feminist Majority people. I am half considering starting a chapter of the Global Secular Humanist Movement here on campus, as I've met many, many people who would probably be interested in joining. Or maybe I'll start a Book Exchange Event. At the very least I want to join a literary something-or-other. Either way, I feel like I need to get active in something now. In high school, I didn't really think about my options--theatre was a given. But without that, I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to dedicate my time to. But whatever it is, it'll be friggin awesome.

Also, my roommate moved in (quite suddenly) on Sunday, and turned out to be probably the coolest person ever. Michelle is a sophomore transfer from Abilene Christian University, a Greek, and a Technical Communications major. We both love books and writing and cooking and Mediterranean food. We have a very similar taste in music and movies and pretty much everything. We got gloriously lucky, seeing as how we ended up together purely because both our housing situations were apparently the weirdest on campus.

So all things considered, I am incredibly busy, busier probably than is actually possible to be, and I am incredibly happy to be so. Lucky, lucky me.

New Home: Welcome to HoHa!

Well, Jeremy, Godric, and I are all moved into our new home! Thanks very very much to everyone who helped me move in, especially Jackson and my mom (espcially especially my mom--thanks for helping me get ready and for buying me so much stuff--I couldn't have done it without you! <3). The last two days have mostly been tying up all the random loose ends that come with moving and starting an independent life at college. But now my room is pretty much a home, though a relatively empty one, as my roommate doesn't exist. 

Anyway, let me give you the tour of my private abode!

I have a comfy (if rather tall) bed and a nice view...

A nice and organized desk...

With some books and desk friends on top...

A bulletin board in the works...

A gloriously large closet (and a (rather unfortunate) poster courtesy of Jackson)...

A nice bathroom area with my jewelry tree on display (along with some of the Jackson's artwork!)...

And a box full of my friends Wise Sloth Man, Baby Ugly, Haboob, Alfonso Johanne Smith, Sidnopolis, and Olio...

An efficient little kitchen area...

A dining area, with my mom's watercolor on the wall...

And a cute little reading area!

There's also a small bathroom/shower area, but who wants to see a picture of a toilet? 

But that's my new home! I feel so fancy with all this space to myself! And no signs of getting a roommate yet--seriously, I think it's too late until the next semester at this point. But other than setting up my room and dealing with all the things that fall down during the night, I've been scoping out the campus and meeting people. Just an hour ago I made two new English-major Honors-Hall friends who are remarkably similar to myself, and five minutes ago I got a knock on my door from a girl I've been emailing all summer. 

And then there was the wonderful adventure of playing Apples to Apples with some HoHa vets and watching Good Burger followed by The Room (seriously, it's the second time in a week--what's wrong with me?). But I feel pretty integrated into Honors Hall life and culture. Things are going well. Classes are going to start, and that'll be a whole new adventure, but I think (I hope) I'm ready. :)

Well, at least I have (almost) all my textbooks! ;) 

PS - Good luck to all my high school lovelies as you start school. I LOVE YOU! (Also, HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA! *points and laughs*)

Surprise! Summer Reading. -_-

So, I got a package today. From UNT Honors College. Containing a book. Which book, you ask? This one:

Yes, that's right! Elie Wiesel's Night. Which I read in 8th grade. And now I have to read by move-in on August 25th. 

This is what I get for making fun of all my friends who have to do the same thing. 

On the one hand, I think the way they did this was pretty cool. By not telling us about this (oh so joyous) project until two months of summer has passed, we weren't burdened with it and got to actually enjoy ourselves for a while. Also, the fact that they bought the book for me is amazing. I mean, UNT must have bought two thousand copies of this book, all so kids don't have the excuse of not being able to find or afford it! And this isn't even for a grade! I must say, I'm impressed. 

But on the other hand, this book--though good--is so freaking depressing. It's about the Holocaust, which I am very much burnt out on. I feel like I've done my duty to humanity, learned as much as I could about this horrible and immense tragedy, and of course couldn't make any more sense of it than anyone else. If there's ever another genocide of this scale, I will not be the cause of it, nor will I support it or turn a blind eye to it. Nor will I tolerate those ignoramuses that claim "the Holocaust never happened" (insert drooling, cross-eyed face of an idiot here). I've already reached that place which is the purpose of this novel, and all other novels like it. I have infinite respect for Mr. Wiesel, but his book is not one I particularly want to read twice. 

But, alas, I will. Because I'm me, and I just can't help myself. Sigh... :-/

Also, I'm disgustingly sick. Which sucks because it's summer. And because I'm sick, I'm missing a cooking-dinner date with my friends and hanging out with Jackson (who is also sick (sorry about that)). I swear I've slept more hours than I've been awake in the last twenty-four or more hours. And every time I think I'm mostly better, that I can't possibly sleep another minute, I get up and get dressed and feel awful again. Uuuuuuuuuuugh. :(