Technology

First off, I want to start by thanking everyone for everything they did for my birthday this past week.  It was better than expected since class got cut by an hour and a half!!!  Anyway, I've spent a lot of time thinking on the subject of technology and how volatile it can be.
Yesterday, I got a new phone.  Normally, my family is not the most up and coming when it comes to the latest and greatest gadgets.  However, when we went to the store yesterday, my dad talked me into the new Motorola Droid. (He got one too.)  So as I've been playing with it the past little bit, I've realized how easy it would be to get sucked into everything and not interact with the people around me.  While the capacities are incredible, I'm more grateful for the meaningful interactions with the people I love.
As a side note, I'd like to send out my hopes and prayers for all the people who have been affected by the earthquake and the impending tsunamis.

Moving Home for Summer

As many of us know, moving is one of the hardest things to do.  Not only do the apartments have limited space but for most people, the longest they stay in one place is about eight months.  Fortunately, I live close enough that it's not too big of an ordeal.  But on the negative side, I went home a lot last year.  Loading and unloading my car was a little ridiculous.  The good thing was that my parents didn't give away my room so I still had my own space at home.  Finally after Christmas, my parents asked me how often I was going to be home during the winter semester.  I told them I didn't think I would be home a ton.  They then proceeded to ask if they could give my box spring and my bed frame to my 14 year old sister who only had a mattress on the floor.  I agreed.  Besides, sleeping on the floor could be kind of exciting.  They promised me that I would have a real bed by the time I moved home for the summer.  Then in a twisted turn of events, my bed at my apartment decided to become unwelded the last week of the semester.  I moved to the couch anticipating the idea of a real bed that wasn't five feet off the ground at home.  My bed was fixed and for the last couple of nights I had a bed.  The week after finals, I went to a friend's apartment to spend the week.  Since she was also moving out, we had an air mattress for the floor.  Not the most comfortable thing but it worked.  I came home waiting for news on when my bed was going to be arriving.  It never did.

Buying someone a "Coke"

First of all, I was shocked that this was an assignment because that is so far out of my comfort zone.  I was wondering what I could do without being super awkward.  I consulted my roommates on what I could do and they had a great idea.  I didn't know exactly how I was going to execute it so I just did it as the opportunity arose.
I went to Wal-Mart last night and bought a giant Hershey's kiss.  I was going to give it to someone random in the Wilk.  Then I realized I had to take a test, so I decided it would make someone's day a little better to give it to them in line.  Unfortunately, the line wasn't as long as I had hoped.  I approached the guy in front of me.  I asked him what test he was taking.  He looked at me weirdly and then asked me what test I was taking.  Then I reached in my backpack and gave him the box.  He again gave me a weird look and said thanks.  Then he asked   me if I had a bunch of them in my backpack or just one.  I told him just one and then after he wished me good luck on my test.  It was a surprisingly good experience considering how out of my comfort zone it was.

Dishes

Dishes are an odd sort of phenomenon.  Growing up, there was always a dishwasher so the need to do dishes by hand was almost non-existent.  The only reason to wash dishes by hand was if the dish was not dishwasher safe such as knives with wood handles.  Moving out for my first year of college, I mentally prepared myself for doing dishes by hand.  Fortunately, my apartment in Heritage Halls was equipped with a dishwasher.  Then as the semester progressed, my roommate decided that my dish washing skills were lacking and I was not allowed to do the dishes at all.  I simply had to inform her that I needed dishes and they would be washed.

This year, my new apartment does not have a dishwasher at all.  While dishwashers are nice, they are not necessary.  I'm perfectly fine with hand washing everything.  Somehow, my sink appears to fill up very quickly and soon overflows with the dirty dishes while there are none in the cupboard.  I am amazed at how fast the sink fills.

Tonight, my wonderful next door neighbor did a lot of our dishes and allowed me to study.  I will be forever grateful to her.  She is super awesome and a wonderful friend and neighbor.  Thanks a bunch and I hope our dishes won't ever get that crazy again but they probably will.